Today's Liberal News

What’s Standing in Elon Musk’s Way?

The thought of a three-letter government agency preventing Elon Musk, currently the richest person in the world, from doing anything he wants might seem like a bureaucrat’s fantasy. This is the guy who got approval to launch a Tesla into space, who got a street renamed Rocket Road, who disregarded coronavirus restrictions when he felt they got in the way of business.

Canada’s Trucker Blockades Are a Warning

Updated at 6:50 p.m. ET on February 11, 2022.Within a week of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, demonstrators were marching in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, and many other countries. The European and Asian protesters mimicked the style and symbolism of the protests in the United States: taking a knee, pulling down statues. In the social-media age, all protests are potentially global.

“American Reckoning”: 55 Years After KKK Murder of Mississippi NAACP Leader, Case Remains Unsolved

This month marks 55 years since the assassination of an NAACP leader. The new documentary “American Reckoning” seeks justice in the cold case of murdered civil rights activist and local NAACP leader Wharlest Jackson Sr. in Natchez, Mississippi. No one was ever charged with his 1967 murder, despite evidence pointing to the involvement of the inner circle of the local Ku Klux Klan. It’s one of many unsolved crimes targeting civil rights activists.

Spotify Signed Joe Rogan for $100 Million But Won’t Hold Him Accountable for Spreading Misinfo, Hate

Comedian Joe Rogan has come under fire for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, using racial slurs and other harmful rhetoric on his Spotify podcast. Musicians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have pulled their music from the platform in protest of his $100 million contract reportedly paid by Spotify, raising questions how responsible audio platforms should be over hateful content.

Despite new memo, advocates say Border Patrol’s shadow police units still have no legal authority

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a memo that claims to limit the power of the shadow police units that have for years worked to cover up abuses by border agents, including the brutal death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas in 2010. The Feb. 2 memo loops in the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which investigates misconduct among federal employees.

Colorado mom who faked the illness that led to her child’s death sentenced to 16 years in prison

After abusing her daughter and lying about her child’s health in order to receive gifts and payments from charities, a Colorado woman has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. The woman, identified as Kelly Turner, was given 16 years on the child abuse count, 10 years for charges of charitable fraud and theft, and three years on charges of theft. Her sentences will run concurrently.

Caribbean Matters: Remembering and honoring Stuart Hall, the ‘Godfather of Multiculturalism’

The month of February marks both the birth and passing of Stuart Hall, one of the key architects of cultural studies, explorations on race and the diaspora, and the globalization of culture. We’re facing Republican attacks on multiculturalism, as well as right-wing supremacist zealots across the U.S. foaming at the mouth around the term critical race theory (CRT)—not that they even know what it was or is.

How to Reclaim Normal Life Without Being ‘Done’

In many ways, the pandemic has never felt quite so paradoxical. In the United States, cases and hospitalizations are falling, and millions of people are as vaccinated as they can be. A rash of coastal-state mayors and governors is peeling back mask mandates—a stateside mirror of countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, where pandemic restrictions have all but disappeared. Things are definitively better than they were just a few weeks ago.

Laura Bennett to Join The Atlantic as a Senior Editor

Laura Bennett is joining the staff of The Atlantic later this month, where she will be a senior editor focusing on The Atlantic’s most ambitious feature writing. She is currently Slate’s editorial director, and was previously the culture editor at Salon and a staff writer for The New Republic.“Laura is an immensely talented and creative editor, with an infectious enthusiasm for magazine journalism.

How Is America Still This Bad at Talking About the Pandemic?

With cases decreasing, well more than 65 percent of the eligible population inoculated with effective vaccines, and new COVID therapeutics coming to market, the United States is in very different circumstances than it was in early 2020. Life is currently feeling a little more stable, the future a good deal more clear.But one thing about the pandemic has remained largely unchanged: Political and scientific leaders are still struggling to communicate recommendations to the American public.

Rep. Ro Khanna: The U.S. Could End the Yemen War Tomorrow. It’s Time to Stop Arming the Saudis

President Joe Biden had promised to end support for offensive operations by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and stop all “relevant” arms sales, but the U.S. continues to service Saudi warplanes, and the administration recently approved the sale of $650 million in air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia. Congressmember Ro Khanna, one of the most outspoken congressional critics of the war, says the U.S. has the power to stop the fighting.

Rep. Ro Khanna Wants Big Oil to Confront Record of Climate Denialism, Meet Emissions Reduction Vows

Congressmember Ro Khanna chaired a congressional hearing this week that called out fossil fuel companies for failing to meet their pledges to reduce emissions and demanded CEOs of corporations like ExxonMobil confront their climate change denialism and correct their record of contradicting statements. “The goal is to get them to admit that they made mistakes in the past and commit to change going forward,” says Khanna.