Today's Liberal News

California militia group exploits massive Oak fire to give its public image a veneer of legitimacy

From their very beginnings in the 1990s, “Patriot” militia groups have tried to portray themselves as civic-minded defenders of their communities who show up at natural disasters as well as for “communist” threats to their well-being. Over the years, they’ve posed as flood rescue workers, volunteer border watchers, and anti-pedophilic “groomer” watchdogs—but in reality, they always have been nothing but unaccountable thugs with gun.

Trump Meets His New Brain Trust

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.Donald Trump returned to Washington, D.C., for the first time since leaving office in a show of support for the organization trying to make MAGA more than just vibes.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.

Kamala Harris’s Blue Suit

Yesterday Vice President Kamala Harris briefly caused a significant portion of the social-media world to think that she was hopelessly liberal or simply out of her mind. At a recorded roundtable event in the Eisenhower Executive Office building, she introduced herself by saying, “I am Kamala Harris; my pronouns are she and her, and I am a woman sitting at the table wearing a blue suit.

Is It Worse to Ban a Book, or Never Publish It?

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. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Question of the WeekIs there class prejudice in the United States? If so, describe how it works.

Melville. Faulkner. Spider-Man.

The slow embrace of the comic-book medium by elite audiences is a history with its own particular milestones, each marking a moment of sudden approbation by previously disapproving constituencies. George McManus received a congressional dinner and warm words from Franklin D. Roosevelt in celebration of his comic strip, Bringing Up Father. Mid-century-modern artists like Roy Lichtenstein adapted (okay, lifted) images and panels from comic books.

Economist Jayati Ghosh: Global Debt Crisis Is Perfect Storm of Unrest, Economic Disaster, Starvation

We look at the looming possibility of a global recession amid rising inflation, the pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine. World financial institutions and wealthier countries should take stronger actions such as writing off debts that are crippling developing nations, says Jayati Ghosh, economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “This is just completely lack of political will. It’s not because we don’t know what to do.

“Aftershock”: Film Explores Disproportionate Black Maternal Mortality in U.S., Could Worsen After Roe

With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the battleground for abortion access now shifts to the states, even as the U.S. faces the worst rates of maternal mortality among all rich nations, with Black maternal mortality three to four times higher than the national average. Now a new documentary examines the crisis of Black maternal mortality through the families of two young Black women who died after giving birth.

Fox & Friends commit open heresy against Trump. Has Murdoch finally tired of his rabid dog?

Maybe, after all is said and done, promoting an irritable bowel with a Sriracha beer bong attachment as your party’s standard-bearer isn’t such a great idea after all. For years, Donald Trump was to Fox News what Jared was to Subway: the face of the franchise. The only difference is, Fox knew all along what an odious lump of id Trump was but decided to make him their mascot anyway.

That may all be changing.

After shamelessly airing Pride promo, Fox spent nearly every day of June attacking LGBTQ people

It is a fact that the Fox propaganda channel is virulently anti-LGBTQ. In just one example, Daily Kos’ Marissa Higgins has previously reported how the right-wing outlet has played a significant role in re-popularizing the Anita Bryant-era “groomer” slur against LGBTQ people. 

Oh, but that’s just outright false, Fox might rebut. We honored LGBTQ Pride month just a couple weeks ago, it might insist.

Trump’s 2024 Soft Launch

The idea of a Donald Trump–oriented think tank is inherently absurd. Whatever your views on the former president, there’s no question that wonkish attention to policy was never the point or the focus of his administration—which might explain the strangeness of his speech today at the America First Agenda Summit, where a blood-soaked philippic on crime became a cringey laugh-fest of transphobic jokes.The D.C.