Today's Liberal News

Why Ukraine Is the Best Place to be a Comedian

Late last month, a couple of days after Russian missiles hit Kyiv, killing a Ukrainian journalist; a few weeks after Russian forces laid siege to this city, my hometown; two months after Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded my homeland, I went down into a converted bomb shelter and laughed. A lot. And it felt great.“It sucks that so many of us have to live in evacuation with our parents,” Anna Kochehura told the crowd around me.

Ukraine Update: Russia’s river-crossing debacle is beyond belief

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It’s said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. If that’s the case … Russia qualifies. 

We saw it in the early days of the war in Hostomel airport northwest of Kyiv. Russia made an unsupported airborne landing on the base. Got wiped out. Tried it again. Same result.

Democrats across the country are trying to ‘pull a McCaskill’ and pick their own opponents

Pennsylvania Democrat Josh Shapiro made headlines earlier this month when he began airing ads to not-so-subtly boost one of his Republican rivals: state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a QAnon ally whom many Republicans fret would be a toxic nominee should he win Tuesday’s primary for governor. Shapiro, though, is by no means the only Democrat who’s trying to pick his opponent by meddling across the aisle, a tactic that has a long history in American politics.

Is a Common Virus Suddenly Causing Liver Failure in Kids?

Last October, a young girl with severe and unusual liver failure was admitted to a hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Her symptoms were typical: skin and eyes yellow with jaundice, markers of liver damage off the charts. But she tested negative for all the usual suspects behind liver disease. Her only positive test was, surprisingly, for adenovirus—a common virus best known for causing mild colds, pink eye, or stomach flu.

Open Now: A Forest for the Trees

A forest grows in downtown Los Angeles. Opening today with a limited run through summer 2022, A Forest for the Trees is an immersive art show created and directed by visionary artist Glenn Kaino, together with The Atlantic and Superblue, that is designed to inspire audiences to reimagine their relationship with the natural world.A Forest for the Trees is open to all ages, and tickets are on sale now. Press should inquire about opportunities to tour the show.

The Crypto Crash Is Just the Start

Sign up for Derek’s newsletter here.The American economy isn’t looking great right now. U.S. GDP shrank last quarter, despite a hearty showing from American consumers. Inflation is high; markets are down; both wages and personal-savings rates show some troubling statistical signals. Is the U.S. destined to have a recession in 2022? I don’t know for sure. But here are nine signs that worry me.1. Everybody’s stock portfolio is disgusting right now.

The Allure of the Campus Novel

Why are so many writers drawn to campus novels? In a 2006 article, Megan Marshall writes that the genre is “escape reading.” Citing older works such as The Harrad Experiment and 3 in the Attic, Marshall sees many college novels as “fumbling and sophomoric confessionals.” That’s certainly changed. Campus novels today have expanded beyond the confines of the Ivy League and deal with some of our society’s most pressing questions.

German Peace Activist Warns Finland Joining NATO Could Be Step Toward Nuclear War with Russia

Finland’s president and prime minister say they plan to end decades of neutrality and join NATO. Sweden is also expected to seek NATO membership. The Kremlin says Russia sees the expansion of NATO on its borders as a threat. “People on both sides will suffer,” says Reiner Braun, executive director of the International Peace Bureau, who warns Russia will escalate in response and move more nuclear weapons near the 830-mile-long Finland-Russia border.

Mexican Journalists Protest “Staggering” Toll of Journalists Murdered with Impunity; 11 Slain in 2022

Three journalists were killed within a three-day span this week in Mexico, bringing the toll to 11 so far this year and making Mexico the deadliest country in the world for journalists, behind Ukraine. Most of the murders have gone unsolved. This week journalists across Mexico took to the streets protesting the murder of their colleagues and called for accountability.

Nick Estes: Leonard Peltier’s Continued Imprisonment Is an “Open Wound for Indian Country”

Calls are growing for President Biden to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier, the 77-year-old imprisoned Native American activist who has spent 46 years behind bars for a crime he says he did not commit. Amnesty International considers Peltier a political prisoner, and numerous legal observers say his 1977 conviction for alleged involvement in killing two FBI agents in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation was riddled with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct.

Nick Estes: Indian Boarding Schools Were Part of “Horrific Genocidal Process” Carried Out by the U.S.

The Interior Department has documented the deaths of more than 500 Indigenous children at Indian boarding schools run or supported by the federal government in the United States which operated from 1819 to 1969. The actual death toll is believed to be far higher, and the report located 53 burial sites at former schools. The report was ordered by the first Indigenous cabinet member, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, whose grandparents were forced to attend boarding school at the age of 8.