Today's Liberal News

‘Right track’ polling numbers jump following GOP’s lackluster midterm showing

As the ‘red wave’ narrative took hold in the Beltway, many prognosticators cited the country’s abysmal right track/wrong track numbers as evidence Democrats were destined for heavy losses.

It’s true that, heading into Election Day, the numbers were spectacularly bad, according to Civiqs tracking of the issue. Just 21% of registered voters said the country was on the “right track” compared to 68% saying it was on the “wrong track.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announces she’s stepping down from leadership

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is opening the House floor session Thursday, and will announce whether she will remain leader of the House Democrats, or step back following the narrow defeat of Democrats in the 2022 midterms. Pelosi is undoubtedly also weighing her decision on her husband Paul’s recovery from an attack in the couple’s California home before the election, an assassination attempt in which she was the target.

Enjoying Soccer in Its Dark Age

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.Franklin Foer, a staff writer who is contributing to The Atlantic’s new World Cup pop-up newsletter, The Great Game, has been a soccer fan since he was a kid in the 1980s. I talked with Frank about the disturbing aspects of this year’s Cup and what keeps him coming back to the sport.

The Menu Skewers Class Politics

Let’s get this out of the way quickly: The Menu is not—I repeat, not—a movie about cannibalism. I say this not to spoil potential viewers but to reassure, since it’s the first question almost anyone who’s aware of the film has asked me.

You’ve Almost Certainly Been Duped by a Bird

On a dusky evening in 2007, while completing her Ph.D., Laura Kelley was traipsing through the backwoods of Queensland, Australia, when she heard her landlady shouting for her cat. Bonnie! Bonnie! Bonnie! came the call, just as it did every mealtime. Kelley peered across the property, hoping to say hello—but the woman was nowhere to be found. Only when Kelley gazed upward did she discover the true source of the sound: a spotted bowerbird perched in a nearby tree.

Twitter’s Slow and Painful End

When Elon Musk bought Twitter, the suggestion that he might run the platform into the ground was, for many, including me, a shorthand. Many supposed that Musk would roll back key moderation policies or reinstate some banned accounts, or that his ownership would be some kind of anti-woke Bat-Signal, flooding the platform with people who are attracted to social media for its capacity to alienate people.

At COP27 Indigenous Land Defenders from Mexico, Guatemala Warn “Green Capitalism” Creates Violence

We continue our coverage of the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, by asking what Indigenous leaders at the frontlines of the climate crisis are calling for from world leaders. We speak to Andrea Ixchíu, a land defender from Guatemala, and Rosa Marina Flores Cruz, an Afro-Indigenous activist from Mexico, who are both part of the Futuros Indígenas collective.

Amazon Leader Welcomes Climate Vow from Brazil’s Lula to End Deforestation with Indigenous Help

Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed world leaders at the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Wednesday, vowing to end deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and create a ministry to represent Indigenous peoples in his government. Brazil’s new approach to climate change aims to reverse outgoing far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s policies that have devastated Indigenous lands.

Vanessa Nakate Condemns Fossil Fuel Lobbying at U.N. Climate Talks as Global Warming Devastates Africa

At the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, we speak with prominent Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate about the impact of the climate crisis on the continent of Africa. Earlier today she spoke at a COP27 event and blasted world leaders for not doing more. She describes the need for wealthy nations gathered at the U.N. climate conference, particularly the U.S., to finance loss and damage for poorer nations in the Global South.

Imani Perry Wins the National Book Award for Nonfiction

Imani Perry, a contributing writer to the Atlantic, has won the National Book Award for nonfiction for her book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation. Melding the language of poetry and historical research, Perry sought to understand the South, the region where she was born, and which contains, she believes, the key to understanding America.

Republicans are headed for a long-overdue reckoning… or not. Either way, it will be very painful

Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 presidential bid with such a low-energy harangue of a speech that attendees streamed toward the blocked exits while even Fox News eventually pulled coverage.

When Trump first ran for president in 2016, he promised his roaring hordes they were “going to win so much … you may even get tired of winning. You’re going to say, please, please it’s too much winning. We can’t take it anymore.