Today's Liberal News

News Roundup: Contraception rights may be next to go; single Ukrainian bridge now of dire importance

As state Republican elected officials waste no time in their efforts to kill off not just abortion rights, but even the right to use contraception, attempts by strategy-minded Republicans to get their party to temper such extremism for the sake of upcoming midterm elections aren’t going very far. Republicans know what they want: a rollback of the entire civil rights era. The leaked Alito draft opinion rejecting Roe v.

Ukraine update: This ‘Victory Day’ comes without much in the way of victory for Russia

For those who gathered in Moscow for the May 9 parade, there was one big let down on the pomp-and-circumstances front: Reportedly, very few aircraft passed over the city, with none of the low altitude flyovers from fighters, bombers, and support aircraft that marked such occasions in years past. Many planes that were practicing about the city just two days earlier turned out to be no-shows on the day itself.

Maybe most notably — there was no flying ‘Z.

Ex-GOP strategist fumes: Sarah Palin is a ‘degenerate liar’ and Meghan McCain is an ‘entitled bully’

Sarah Palin is running for a seat in the House of Representatives now that a vacancy has been left open by the late Don Young. Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, is hawking a struggling memoir to renew interest in herself, and presumably in the “traditional values” of the Republican Party. 

Steve Schmidt is having none of it. And he had no problem airing out the reasons why over the weekend.

U2’s Bono and The Edge ‘Stand By Ukraine’ in surprise concert in Kyiv subway station shelter

U2’s frontman Bono and guitarist The Edge made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Sunday to perform a 40-minute concert at a subway station converted into a shelter from Russian attacks. After the two members of the Irish rock band listed some of the many cities where U2 has performed, Bono said, “We’d like you to know … there is nowhere in the whole world that we would rather be than in the great city of Kyiv.

The Atlantic’s Jennifer Senior Wins 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing

The Atlantic staff writer Jennifer Senior has won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. She was awarded journalism’s top honor for her remarkable September 2021 cover story, “What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind,” which looked at one family’s heartbreaking loss in the 9/11 attacks and their struggle to move on. This is The Atlantic’s second Pulitzer Prize, following Ed Yong’s 2021 Pulitzer for his reporting on the coronavirus pandemic.

‘I’m Very Conflicted’: Readers Share Complex Views on Abortion

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 Monday, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.In the last Up for Debate I asked readers, “What are your views on abortion?”Joey shares a personal story:
I am a 78-year-old grandmother.

The Overlooked Reason Russia’s Invasion Is Floundering

Airpower should have been one of Russia’s greatest advantages over Ukraine. With almost 4,000 combat aircraft and extensive experience bombing targets in Syria, Georgia, and Chechnya, Russia’s air force was expected to play a vital role in the invasion, allowing the Russian army to plunge deep into Ukraine, seize Kyiv, and destroy the Ukrainian military. But more than two months into the war, Vladimir Putin’s air force is still fighting for control of the skies.

Introducing How to Start Over

Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google | Pocket CastsIn this series, Atlantic staff writer Olga Khazan analyzes what it takes to change our relationships, our work, and our perspective—with a practical approach to one of life’s greatest mysteries: how to start over.Change can be really hard. Inertia is powerful, mortgages and marriages are long-term, and personality traits can feel pretty hardwired. But we’re in an era characterized by change.

Chase Strangio: Alabama Ban on Trans Youth Healthcare Is Part of Wider GOP Attack on Bodily Autonomy

Alabama has become the first U.S. state to make it a felony to provide gender-affirming medical care to trans youth. A law went into effect Sunday that bans the use of puberty blockers and hormones, which can be lifesaving for trans children and teens. Doctors and others who are found in violation of the law could face up to 10 years in prison. The Alabama law is the latest in a series of escalating conservative attacks on LGBTQ people in the United States.

Anatol Lieven: U.S. Lawmakers’ Framing of Ukraine as Proxy War Is “​Wonderful for Putin’s Propaganda”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his invasion of Ukraine, saying it was a necessary blow against NATO. His remarks came during Russia’s annual Victory Day celebrations on May 9 marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. U.S. lawmakers, meanwhile, are increasingly describing the fighting in Ukraine as a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia.

“I Was Raped by My Father. Abortion Saved My Life”: Prof. Michele Goodwin on SCOTUS & the New Jane Crow

As the Supreme Court is poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, we speak with law professor Michele Goodwin, who has written extensively about how the criminalization of abortion polices motherhood. She discusses how on the eve of the court’s oral arguments in the Dobbs case in November, she wrote about how an abortion saved her life. She describes how the U.S.

Premature “Normalcy” Could Backfire as U.S. COVID Death Toll Passes 1 Million & New Variants Spread

Governments around the world are eagerly returning back to pre-pandemic conditions by relaxing preventative restrictions, lifting mask mandates and pulling back public funding. Dr. Abraar Karan, infectious disease fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine, says these moves are overly optimistic and that the U.S. is not prepared for new variants spreading around the country. “We’re trying to say it’s over. It’s not true,” he says.