Russia oil shock looms over Fed inflation fight
The Fed is already expected to begin a campaign of interest rate increases next month in a bid to remove its support for economic growth amid a blistering job market and rapidly rising prices.
Today's Liberal News
Biden takes victory lap with January jobs report
“America’s job machine is going stronger than ever,” Biden said at the White House.
U.S. employers shrug off Omicron, add 467,000 jobs in January
The burst of jobs came despite a wave of Omicron inflections that sickened millions of workers, kept many consumers at home and left businesses from restaurants to manufacturers short-staffed.
Opinion | Why Are Minority-Owned Banks Disappearing? Washington Holds the Smoking Gun
Congress needs to create a new safety net for such lenders — not let regulators squeeze them out of business.
Biden’s first year: A tale of 2 presidencies
Inside the White House, there is still optimism: “President Biden was elected to a four-year term, not a one-year term.
Sen. Tim Kaine Has Long COVID, Introduces Bill To Study Lingering Illness
Up to 140 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and many have suffered symptoms weeks or months later.
Tucker Carlson Called Out After ‘Racist’ Attack On Ketanji Brown Jackson
The Fox News host absurdly demanded to see the LSAT scores of the Supreme Court nominee.
Trump Engaged In ‘Criminal Conspiracy’ Says Jan. 6 Committee
The 221-page filing marks the committee’s most formal effort to link former President Donald Trump to a federal crime.
Ukraine update: Russia attacks focus on civilian centers in attempt to break Ukrainian resolve
The last 24 hours have seen severe damage in Ukrainian cities as the Russian military, as widely expected, transitions to more indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas after the initial Russian push faced heavy Ukrainian resistance—and seemingly uniform incompetence on the part of Russian military leaders.
Biden After UN Vote Condemning Invasion Of Ukraine: ‘Russia Is To Blame’
“There is no room for excuses or equivocation,” the president said Wednesday.
Righteous keyboard warriors are using social media platforms to counter Russian war propaganda
Ukrainians are fighting for their fledgling democracy and independence, but this fight is bigger than just one country. In a very real sense, they’re fighting for us and for everyone on the planet who loves democracy and hates autocracy. Contrary to the traitorous whining of the Putin-appeasing GOP, President Biden has been a rock throughout this crisis, assembling a coalition that’s brought the hammer down on Putin’s economy and left his long-term plans in cinders.
‘I just want to get out of here’: Immigrants testify on abusive conditions at New York facilities
Immigrants and their advocates testified on detention facilities before a New York City council hearing this week, detailing inhumane and abusive conditions that people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody are frequently subjected to in New York-area facilities (and around the country).
Testimony included people currently in detention. They submitted their experiences in written statements.
Gov. Gianforte killed Yellowstone-monitored mountain lion who was trapped in a tree
You may remember Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte as the bully who physically assaulted reporter Ben Jacobs the night before Gianforte won a 2017 special election in Montana. Gianforte was running to fill corrupt Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s vacated seat.
We’re down, but not out: Seven things you can do to defend democracy in 2022
While most of us watch in horror as Russian president Vladimir Putin orders his armies to blatantly invade neighboring Ukraine, it’s difficult not to fear that the same sort of mentality that makes that crime possible is brewing right here in the U.S.
Judge Blocks Texas Policy Classifying Trans Health Care As Child Abuse
Gov. Greg Abbott’s new directive required the state to investigate parents who’ve helped their transgender kids receive gender-affirming care.
What Happens When We Back Putin Into a Corner
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. Every Friday, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.What are your thoughts about the war in Ukraine? What questions do you have? What are your hopes or fears?Email your answers to conor@theatlantic.com. I’ll publish a selection in Friday’s newsletter.
What Russia Is Stirring Up at Chernobyl
The Russian military’s capture of the Chernobyl nuclear facility in northern Ukraine last week led to heightened levels of both radioactivity and confusion. Since the infamous 1986 explosion at Chernobyl, which sent nuclear materials as high as five miles into the atmosphere and likely condemned far more people than the United Nations’ projected long-term death toll of 4,000, the plant has been radioactive. It’s defunct.
The Show That Made Single Motherhood Into Art
Over five seasons of television, Pamela Adlon’s FX series, Better Things, has been a tribute to keeping on when you can’t anymore, and to all the people—many of them women—who carry their families because no one else will. The show is about, Adlon told me in her gravelly drawl over Zoom last month, “this woman who constantly almost gets her foot in the door, but then the door closes, and it’s funny, and it doesn’t kill her.
Robert Pattinson’s Batman Is Wonderfully Grim
The best onscreen Batmen have always understood the value of a good frown. Over the many cinematic iterations of the comic-book hero, one thing has remained consistent in his portrayal: His menacing cowl leaves the bottom half of his face exposed. The actors who did the most with the role in years past (think Michael Keaton and Christian Bale) made full use of their mouths, pouting with all their might.
Why the Cultural Boycott of Russia Matters
Russia is isolated. In the week since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the country has been ostracized not just diplomatically (even by some of Moscow’s closest allies) and economically (international sanctions have made the ruble worth less than a penny), but culturally too.Russia’s national and club soccer teams have been banned from international matches and tournaments, including the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Biden wants to move U.S. past Covid. Here’s his plan to do it
The strategy represents a major milestone for the president after a first year consumed by the pandemic.
Filipino Scholar Walden Bello on Why the Global South Is Suspicious of U.S. Motives in Ukraine War
We speak with acclaimed Filipino scholar and activist Walden Bello on the Global South’s response to the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. Bello says there’s hesitation from many world leaders to take an active role in the crisis, arguing that there is a lack of explicit national interests and a general suspicion the U.S. provoked the invasion to take advantage of the subsequent backlash against Russia.
As Biden Touts Anti-Russia Response in SOTU, U.S. Remains Addicted to Fossil Fuels That Drive War
We discuss President Biden’s first State of the Union address with Jacobin magazine’s Branko Marcetic, who says Biden should have focused more of his speech on laying out goals to reach renewable energy independence since the continued reliance by the U.S. on the oil and gas reserves of countries like Russia and Saudi Arabia gives those countries “relative freedom” to commit war crimes on the world stage.
“Ukrainians Only”: Nigerian Student Fleeing War Describes Rampant Racism Against Africans at Border
The United Nations reports more than 800,000 people have fled Ukraine since Russia attacked last week, but many foreign nationals trying to escape have described racist discrimination and abuse, saying they were turned away from buses and at the border, while Ukrainians were welcomed with open arms. We speak with one of the African students who documented their experiences on Twitter with the hashtag #AfricansInUkraine.
Nonviolence Int’l in Kyiv: Resistance Mounts to Russian Invasion as 2,000 Civilian Deaths Reported
As a massive Russian military convoy approaches Kyiv while Russia intensifies attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine, we get an update from Andre Kamenshikov, Ukraine director for Nonviolence International in the southern Kyiv suburbs. He says “people are holding out, and I think there is growing confidence that the Russian forces will not be able to take the city.
U.S. officials: Russian escalation in Ukraine could lead to humanitarian crisis
Over the last several days, as many as 520,000 people have fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations.
Democrats’ signature abortion rights bill falls short as SCOTUS ruling looms
The 46-48 vote comes just a few months before the Supreme Court is to rule on half-century old protections for the procedure and before the midterm elections.
Health workers’ vaccine mandate undone by religious exemptions
Several hospital executives said they believe they have to approve the religious exemptions for their employees.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala calls for more ‘political will’ on Covid, future pandemics
For more than a year, WTO members have discussed a possible agreement on a Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waiver.
CDC says most Americans can now take off masks as Covid cases plummet
The announcement comes after weeks of deliberation about what metrics officials should use in deciding when and how to ease public health restrictions.