Today's Liberal News

Censorship for Citizenship

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.
Not that long ago, believe it or not, Donald Trump ran for president as the candidate who would defend the First Amendment.

Why Trump Can’t Make the Epstein Story Go Away

Donald Trump’s ham-fisted reversal on his promise to release a secret list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients has accomplished something long considered impossible by virtually everybody, including Trump himself: He has finally exceeded his followers’ credulity. The Epstein matter is so crucial to Trump’s base, and the excuse offered is so flimsy, that the about-face has raised questions within perhaps the most gullible movement in American history.

Judges Don’t Know What AI’s Book Piracy Means

Should tech companies have free access to copyrighted books and articles for training their AI models? Two judges recently nudged us toward an answer.
More than 40 lawsuits have been filed against AI companies since 2022. The specifics vary, but they generally seek to hold these companies accountable for stealing millions of copyrighted works to develop their technology. (The Atlantic is involved in one such lawsuit, against the AI firm Cohere.

ICE Rounds Up 300 California Farmworkers, One Dies: Eyewitness and Oxnard Mayor Respond

An immigration raid in Camarillo, California, on Thursday led to an hourslong standoff between protesters and federal border agents, who blocked the roads with military-style vehicles and tear-gassed community members, including children, as crowds attempted to protect dozens of farmworkers from arrest.
The Department of Homeland Security said over 300 immigrants were detained in dual raids on cannabis farms and agricultural fields in Camarillo and the coastal city of Carpinteria.

“War on Children”: Doctor in Gaza on Massacres, Starvation and Israel’s Plan for Concentration Camps

The official death toll in Gaza has topped 58,000, with Israeli forces continuing to shoot at Palestinians seeking aid and talks over a ceasefire agreement stalled in Doha. This morning’s injured were taken to Nasser Hospital, the largest functioning hospital in Gaza, facing fuel shortages and a widening Israeli offensive in the area. Democracy Now! spoke with Dr. Tarek Loubani, an emergency room medical doctor who has been volunteering in Nasser Hospital in Gaza since June, live from Gaza.

U.N. Human Rights Chief Slams Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Policies, “Militarized Response” to Protests

Democracy Now! recently interviewed U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in Geneva, Switzerland. The wide-ranging conversation touched on immigration policy in the United States, climate change around the world, the global fight to preserve human rights and more.
See Part 1 of our conversation with Türk, including his response to Israel’s brutal war on Gaza.

Judge Blocks Trump Birthright Citizenship Order; DOJ Caught Lying About Men Sent to El Salvador

A federal judge in New Hampshire has issued a nationwide injunction against President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born in the United States since February 20. In a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrant parents, the ACLU argued that the order would leave children born to undocumented parents “effectively stateless.

Ex-NOAA Official on TX Flood: Trump Breaking “Disaster Response Chain” as Climate Crisis Escalates

Rescue teams in central Texas are still searching for about 160 people who went missing in the catastrophic flash floods on July 4. The official death toll has climbed to at least 121 victims. State policymakers are now in the spotlight, as questions swirl around Texas’s lack of emergency precautions and the climate denialism of Republican political leaders.

“Economy of Genocide”: U.S. Sanctions U.N. Expert Who Reports on Corporate Profits from Israel’s Gaza War

We speak with United Nations expert Francesca Albanese, one day after the Trump administration announced it is imposing sanctions on her over her advocacy for Palestinian rights. Albanese has served as the U.N. special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 2022. She recently released a report highlighting dozens of companies aiding Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and fueling its genocidal war machine in Gaza, including U.S. tech giants.