Today's Liberal News

No bull—Democrats are in range of a Manchin and Sinema-proof Senate majority

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President Joe Biden is unpopular. Really unpopular. Civiqs has him at 31-57 nationally. And in the states? Oof. He’s even underwater in California. And Massachusetts. Vermont is barely hanging on.

Civiqs Results

In a normal midterm cycle, this would be the end of the president’s party, especially given the razor-thin Democratic majorities in both chambers (including that 50-50 Senate).

News roundup: Republican hostage taking, Big Oil rip-off, and an offer to work for no pay

From Friday’s news: Republicans continue taking hostages—first veterans, now marriage equality—in their ongoing temper tantrum over the Manchin deal. And because hypocrisy is their way, after screwing over the veterans, a group of Republican senators held a “Support the Troops” photo-op. There are now texts from Jan. 6 missing from the Department of Homeland Security.

Ukraine Update: All eyes on Kherson as Ukraine tightens the noose

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After a flurry of activity the last few days, things have settled down, if by “settled down” we mean “back to HIMARS systematically degrading Russia’s ability to wage its war.” Last night, the Russian-occupied cities of Ilovaisk, Nova Kakhovka, Brylivka, and Kherson all enjoyed dramatic fireworks displays at the expense of a great deal of Russian ammunition.

This really is the ‘most important election in our lifetime,’ and Democrats need to explain why

The next two national elections will probably decide the fate of the American republic. And that means specifically whether our country continues to operate as a democracy dedicated to the preservation and expansion of human rights, or whether it descends into a quasi-fascist autocracy, seeking to limit and curtail those same rights and freedoms under the thumb of white, evangelical-oriented, right-wing minority rule.

John Fetterman Is Very Online. That’s Not Why He’s Ahead.

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.The Democrat running to be Pennsylvania’s next senator is famous for his ultracasual aesthetic and irreverent social-media strategy.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

Beyoncé’s Renaissance Is a Big, Gay Mess

Beyoncé herself might admit that her seventh solo album, Renaissance, is a mess. Conventional songwriting rules, polite-taste paradigms, and the best practices for headache avoidance were clearly not priorities here. The songs clatter, wobble, and lurch into one another while Beyoncé wavers between singing and doing silly voices, in multitrack. Listening to her past albums felt like being whisked in a luxury sedan through a landscape of mountains, valleys, and meadows.

What an Alzheimer’s Controversy Reveals About the Pressures of Academia

For scientists, publication in Nature is a career high-water mark. To make its pages, work must be deemed exceptionally important, with potentially transformative impact on scientific understanding. In 2006, a study of Alzheimer’s disease by the lead author Sylvain Lesné met those criteria: It suggested a new culprit for the illness, a molecule called Aβ*56, which seemingly caused dementia symptoms in rats.

America Should Have Been Able to Handle Monkeypox

When the monkeypox outbreak was first detected in the United States, it seemed, as far as infectious-disease epidemics go, like one this country should be able to handle. Tests and antivirals for the virus already existed; the government had stockpiled vaccines. Unlike SARS-CoV-2, monkeypox was a known entity, a relative softball on the pathogenic field.

The Dark Side of Tourism

Vacations are often depicted as escapes in which one leaves the stresses of home and travels to a blissful paradise, unburdened by worry. Yet, as the best literature about tourism makes clear, there’s a cost to believing that any destination could be uncomplicated.Sarah Stodola’s The Last Resort, which traces the ocean-side hotel over time, easily exposes the dark side of this fantasy.

Prison Health Expert Warns Monkeypox Could “Dramatically Increase” Behind Bars, Calls for CDC Action

The first case of monkeypox behind bars was reported in Chicago this week, and health experts are warning that jails could accelerate the spread as they are dangerously unprepared to combat against a virus that spreads through close physical contact. We speak with Dr. Homer Venters, the former chief medical officer for New York City’s Correctional Health Services, whose new op-ed for The Hill is headlined ”CDC must act to prevent monkeypox explosion in prisons.

“Hellholes”: Heat Waves Worsen Conditions in Prisons with No Air Conditioning, Understaffing

As tens of millions of people in the United States live under heat alerts this summer, we look at conditions faced by those in prisons and jails with poor cooling systems and lack of access to running water. “Although heat has been an ongoing issue in Texas, this year it’s exacerbated by a staffing crisis that’s been years in the making,” says Keri Blakinger, the first formerly incarcerated reporter for The Marshall Project.

“Our Lives Depend on Passing Climate Policy”: Meet Congressional Staffer Arrested in Senate Protest

Before a deal emerged this week on a bill to address the climate emergency, six congressional staffers were arrested Monday on Capitol Hill as they held a nonviolent civil disobedience protest inside the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging him to reopen negotiations on the bill. We speak with Saul Levin, one of the staffers who was arrested, and discuss the role the action had in pushing the bill forward.

Why Is AIPAC Spending Millions in Primary to Defeat Rep. Andy Levin, a Former Synagogue President?

As the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) invests millions in Democratic primaries to defeat progressives who support Palestine, we speak to one of the candidates: Michigan Congressmember Andy Levin, whose primary is on Tuesday. He is a self-described Zionist who supports a two-state solution, but earlier this year a former president of AIPAC described him as “arguably the most corrosive member of Congress to the U.S.-Israel relationship.