This is a big fucking deal, folks. President Joe Biden is making critical moves to decriminalize cannabis, most significantly erasing federal prosecutions for simple possession.
As I’ve said before, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Today, I’m taking steps to end our failed approach. Allow me to lay them out.
From the witness stand on Thursday, former Oath Keeper John Zimmerman of North Carolina recounted to jurors how in September 2020, he watched the extremist group’s founder, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, take a phone call from someone Rhodes claimed was an active-duty Secret Service agent.
Zimmerman admitted he didn’t hear the person on the other end of that call, but he assumed what Rhodes told him was true.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse confirmed Thursday that he will resign to become president of the University of Florida, which has named the Republican as the sole finalist for the post. Multiple media outlets report that Sasse’s departure will occur before the end of the year, which would allow Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, who will leave office in early 2023, to appoint a successor.
So where were we? Oh, right. On Monday, The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger reported on super-born-again Christian and Republican Georgia Senate nominee Herschel Walker paying for a woman’s abortion back in 2009. This was problematic, as Walker has gone on the record saying he is against all abortions with no exceptions—including rape, incest, and health of the pregnant person.
“College doesn’t look like it’s fun anymore,” the Fox News host also grumbled.
President Joe Biden says the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
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.Vann R. Newkirk II, our senior editor and Floodlines podcast host, told me, “Some of the fastest-growing areas in the country have really intense flood and hurricane risks.” He explains why, and what this means for the future.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
All passengers, including U.S. citizens and residents, who have been in Uganda in the last 21 days will be flown to airports in New York, Newark, Atlanta, Chicago or Washington.
Joe Biden’s drug warrior past put him in a unique political position to change the federal government’s approach to marijuana.
Joe Biden is an unlikely stoner hero. Three of his four Baby Boomer predecessors in the Oval Office had explored marijuana in their youth, but by the time they became president, they all disdained the stuff. But Biden, like Donald Trump, was a straight-edge who says he never touched marijuana and was skeptical of any liberalization of drug laws throughout his long career in politics.
President Joe Biden recently visited Puerto Rico and Florida in an effort to reassure the people there that the U.S. government would help them in the aftermath of Hurricanes Fiona and Ian. But a key difference between those two places—Puerto Rico is a “commonwealth” and Florida is a state—means each faces a very different path to recovery.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a phone call on Tuesday that he will help peace efforts with Russia, just days after India abstained from a United Nations vote condemning the Russian annexation of four regions in Ukraine.
Protesters in Iran are continuing to demand justice for Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in the hands of the so-called morality police, as well as envisioning a political future beyond the Islamic Republic. The Norway-based group Iran Human Rights estimates at least 154 people have been killed since the protests began.
As of Wednesday, abortions are almost entirely unavailable in 14 states and significantly limited in a 15th, according to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute.
The move comes as President Joe Biden meets with officials, doctors and advocates to mark 100 days since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
It’s the biggest single donation to the ACLU’s political work on abortion rights in the group’s history.
In the two months since President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging states to use the health insurance program to expand abortion access, no state has applied to do so.
The push to heed warning from public health experts faces buzzsaw of end-of-year budgeting.
It’s a rare moment for a Fed chair to toss aside all political considerations and ignore frantic investors.
The Fed’s interest rate hikes have fueled market turmoil by boosting the value of the dollar and feeding higher borrowing costs.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has pledged to do whatever it takes to curb inflation.
Despite the signs of moderating price increases, inflation remains far higher than many Americans have ever experienced and is keeping pressure on the Federal Reserve.
The plan touted by the U.S. Treasury secretary aims to diminish the Kremlin’s revenue while preserving the global oil supply.
Not many people are buying this one.
The Wyoming lawmaker highlighted the dangers posed by the election-denying Republican candidates for Arizona governor and secretary of state.
A new report reveals how many clinics have closed their doors or pivoted to other services after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
The Republican U.S. Senate candidate claimed to have no idea who the woman could be. But apparently she’s the mother of one of his kids.
“As everyone knows, I had a real battle with mental health, even wrote a book about it. And by the grace of God, I’ve overcome it,” Walker said.
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 teachers, nurses, and child-care workers who haven’t already left their jobs because of low pay and stress are hitting their limit.
This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Question of the WeekWhy are men and boys struggling? What should we do about it?Send your responses to conor@theatlantic.com or simply reply to this email.