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DOJ ‘weaponization’ report accuses Biden administration of biased prosecutions against anti-abortion protesters
The Trump Justice Department released a new report Tuesday accusing the Biden administration of unfairly using a federal law meant to protect access to abortion clinics to go after anti-abortion protesters.
Just kidding about the separation of church and state?
You may recall the old truism the three things you shouldn’t discuss at a cocktail party are religion, politics, and, well, that last one often depends on the situation. But those first two tend to be commonly warned against as topics for conversation in polite society. So, guess what we are going to talk about […]
Hezbollah official says the group won't abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US
A senior Hezbollah official says the Lebanese militant group will not abide by any agreements made in upcoming direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in the United States.
Live updates: Swalwell drops bid for California governor; Trump and Pope Leo feud
Get live updates and the latest news as Eric Swalwell drops his bid for California governor amid sexual misconduct allegations and Trump feuds with Pope Leo over his criticism of the Iran war.
Radiology Partners reportedly eyeing international expansion
America’s largest radiology group has purportedly considered making a bid to buy its Australian counterpart, which tallied over $176 million in adjusted earnings last year.
Sam Wang, Politician-in-Training
The neuroscientist went from analyzing elections to running for Congress. But can this rookie win over New Jersey locals—and Trump voters?
After Masters bid falls short, Scottie Scheffler airs Augusta frustration
Scottie Scheffler's quest for a third Masters title came up short, and afterward he voiced a frustration over Augusta National's setup.
Rep. Eric Swalwell suspends campaign for California governor after sex assault allegations
Rep. Eric Swalwell faced intense pressure to drop his bid for California governor after reporting Friday that prompted many supporters to drop their support for him
Eric Swalwell drops bid for California governor after sexual misconduct allegations
The Democratic candidate faced immediate calls to end his campaign, with many supporters withdrawing their endorsements.
'Missing' black holes are real - and scientists may know why
Astronomers believe they have found the mysterious forbidden void between black holes that has puzzled scientists for years.
Swalwell faces pressure to resign from Congress as former staffers denounce alleged misconduct in new letter
A letter signed by more than 50 former staffers of Rep. Eric Swalwell described recent allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against him as “serious” and “credible,” while demanding he resign from Congress and drop his bid for California governor.
Coveted transfers Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad reportedly commit to Louisville
Bidunga and Shelstad were two of the top players in the transfer portal.
Flory Bidunga reportedly commits to Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey
Flory Bidunga, who many considered to be the top player in the NCAA transfer portal, has reportedly picked Louisville basketball and coach Pat Kelsey.
Duke hosting Kansas transfer Flory Bidunga on visit
Duke is set to host top portal prospect Flory Bidunga out of Kansas as he evaluates NBA Draft interest and potential landing spots.
Best 2-in-1 Laptops (2026): Microsoft, Lenovo, and the iPad
Whether you want a detachable tablet or a laptop screen that spins, these 2-in-1 devices manage to balance being both a tablet and a laptop.
The Screen Time Maximalists Who Spend an Ungodly Amount of Time on Their Phones
As debates over social media addiction rage, people with extreme screen times tell WIRED they have no plans to cut back.
Crash Ends Heim’s $500K Bid at Bristol
Multi-truck incident with 70 laps left derails Triple Truck Challenge sweep
Anthropic's Claude for Word is a new challenge to Microsoft's empire
Anthropic launched a beta version of Claude for Word. It's another challenge to Microsoft's software empire, and a bid to appeal to lawyers.
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
A longshot, upset bid and a few quick takes
It is hard to keep up these days. The flow of news often seems overwhelming. Let’s focus today on an unusual congressional race before moving on to a few quick, supplementary observations. Since its creation 54 years ago, Congressional District 5 has been represented by a grand total of five people – Bill Armstrong, Ken […]
Trump, sounding like Biden, says he deserves more credit
America’s last two presidents have spent years as political foils. Both feel the American public does not give them enough credit.
Rachael Rollins claps back at rivals over her Suffolk DA bid
Rollins took out papers earlier this week, signaling her intention to run to regain her old job as Suffolk district attorney.
Democrats withdraw endorsements of Eric Swalwell and demand he end bid for California governor
Rep. Eric Swalwell’s bid for the California governor’s office was reeling Friday as staffers resigned and top Democratic supporters withdrew their endorsements in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct.
Maryville Entertainment Pavilion work underway
By Kathy Turner • Work is progressing on the new American Legion Entertainment Pavilion at Fireman’s Park in Maryville. Boeker Construction Company was awarded the bid for the project and had a milder-than-usual February and March to thank for the progress. The pavilion will be the setting for many activities and concerts at the park…
Accusation of sexual assault threatens Swalwell governor bid
The Democrat running for governor categorically denied any misconduct involving congressional staffers. Then the San Francisco Chronicle published an article quoting an alleged victim.
Potential Democratic 2028 Candidates Condemn Trump’s ‘War of Choice’ in Iran
At a convention in New York, several Democrats mulling presidential bids rallied around opposition to President Trump’s decision to attack Iran.
'I am thinking about it,' Kamala Harris says of 2028 presidential bid
Former Vice President Kamala Harris says she’s actively considering another presidential bid | 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA
From politics to punches: Biden Jr challenges Trump sons to cage fight
US politics already feels like a contact sport, but one of Washington's most bitter political feuds may literally be headed to the mat after former president Joe Biden's son challenged
Cynicism, Performances And Reading’s Faltering Playoff Bid
A broader check-in from Sim on his own mood, and that of the fanbase, as Reading’s playoff bid appears to be faltering.
This Women’s Healthcare Stock Is Up 15% on Reports of a Takeover In the Works
Organon shares surged Friday following reports India’s Sun Pharmaceutical made a bid for the women's healthcare company.
Meta’s New AI Asked for My Raw Health Data—and Gave Me Terrible Advice
Meta’s Muse Spark model offers to analyze users’ health data, including lab results. Beyond the obvious privacy risks, it’s not a capable stand-in for a real doctor.
Stefano Gabbana Isn’t Leaving Dolce & Gabbana
Gabbana’s resignations from his management positions within the group “have no impact whatsoever on the creative activities carried out by Stefano Gabbana,” the company said on Friday.
Supreme Court blocks candidate after alleged GOP infiltration scheme exposed
The Supreme Court rejected a progressive candidate's bid to enter Ohio's Republican primary after he allegedly misrepresented party affiliation.
Judge blocks Pentagon’s latest bid to limit press access
A federal judge tore into the Department of Defense on Thursday for attempting an end-run around his decision voiding parts of a restrictive press policy rolled out by Secretary Pete Hegseth last year, saying the Pentagon had flouted his ruling when it quickly implemented a tighter policy.
House Republicans block Democrats' latest bid for war powers resolution
In a pro forma session in the House Thursday, GOP Speaker Pro-tem Rep. Christopher Smith didn't acknowledge Democrats' request for unanimous consent
Sam Wilson banks nearly $23K in Q1, brings fundraising to $38K in Clearwater City Council bid
'This campaign is about bringing common sense back to Clearwater.'
Gloria Romero Roses nears $200K, touts endorsements in HD 113 bid
About 95% of the donations she received last quarter came from South Florida sources.
Political oversight reaches Texas college classrooms, with Texas Tech and A&M at the forefront
Public universities across Texas have instituted sweeping changes to course teachings and offerings in recent months, in a bid to appease concerns from Republican lawmakers that they're indoctrinating students with what they consider to be liberal ideas.
As Trump throws lifeline to coal plants, critics warn of higher costs and health risks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Before Donald Trump returned to the White House, the Biden administration and many electric utilities were building a future dominated by renewable energy. They aimed to replace coal, slashing greenhouse gases and reducing air pollution that kills more than a thousand people ann...
Politicians Are Spending More Money on Security as They Increasingly Become Targets
Political candidates are purchasing more home alarms, bulletproof vests, and other protections amid rising fears of political violence.
This AI Wearable From Ex-Apple Engineers Looks Like an iPod Shuffle
Two former Apple Vision Pro developers made an AI wearable that only listens when you tap it. They hope to win where other AI gadgets have fumbled: privacy.
Hector Mujica: Why I'm taking the fight to Florida's 28th Congressional District
Senate bid ends as campaign shifts focus to winnable House race
Amazon Pulls Support for Perfectly Fine Older Kindles
In an email to customers, Amazon announced that it would be ending service for Kindle devices older than the 2012 edition. Those devices will lose access to the Kindle Store.
Washington’s most powerful drug industry lobbyist is stepping down
Steve Ubl built PhRMA into a more aggressive operation as its longtime leader. The White House has tangled with Ubl and the pharmaceutical industry in its bid to lower drug prices.
Brandi Gabbard launches St. Pete mayoral bid with focus on infrastructure, housing, energy and critique of Ken Welch
Gabbard used much of her own remarks to lay out her vision for the city.
Science Center’s last-minute bid fails as town advances acquisition of Main Street building
The Riverhead Town Board voted 3-2 to advance acquisition of the Long Island Science Center’s East Main Street building despite a last-minute 92-page submission from project supporters.
Liverpool receive sensational Yan Diomande transfer boost
Barcelona drop out of Diomande raceA report from Spain via Sport Witness now suggests that Liverpool will have one less rival bid to worry about this summer. Barcelona did their due diligence on Dioma...
Sandy Alcantara questions Marlins' decision to end his bid for back-to-back shutouts in 9th inning
As decades-old Lehigh Valley business bids farewell, 19th-century barn on the move to Ohio
A longstanding, family-run business is set to end operations later this spring in Northampton County, but a historic structure on the same property will find new life in a nearby
Maryville Entertainment Pavilion work underway
By Kathy Turner • Work is progressing on the new American Legion Entertainment Pavilion at Fireman’s Park in Maryville. Boeker Construction Company was awarded the bid for the project and had a milder-than-usual February and March to thank for the progress. The pavilion will be the setting for many activities and concerts at the park…
Rollback of state minority business program will damage Harris County’s tax revenue, legal filing says
The comptroller's action, according to the lawsuit, will damage the stability of the county's procurement system, narrow the universe of potential bidders and reduce investment, workforce development and tax revenues in Harris County. The comptroller's office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Ferguson’s failure to fill WA campaign oversight panel spurs recall bid
Two of the commission’s five seats have been vacant for months. Leaving them open for that long violates state law, according to the recall petition.
Ola Hawatmeh notches Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorsement for CD 19 bid
She’s running in a crowded GOP Primary.
Spencer Pratt runs as ‘angry taxpayer’ in LA mayor race: ‘I am not a politician’
Los Angeles mayoral candidate and former TV star Spencer Pratt joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to sound off on crime, homelessness and voter frustration, while outlining his bid to unseat Mayor Karen Bass.
77-year-old House Dem facing younger primary challengers seeks to impeach Donald Trump
Rep. John Larson mounted a longshot bid to impeach Trump citing the president's military intervention in Venezuela as he faces younger primary challengers.
Nate Diaz rejected bigger UFC offer for Netflix MMA return
Nate Diaz chose to accept a lower payday than the UFC’s offer for his upcoming return to fighting, Nakisa Bidarian has confirmed. Diaz walked away from the UFC back in September 2022 after a long, tense stretch with the company and made his first move into boxing against Jake Paul.
My Blissful Week as a ‘Do Not Disturb’ Maximalist
I turned off my phone notifications for an entire week. It made me a less disturbed person, but the people closest to me got annoyed.
MAGA Is Winning Its War Against U.S. Science
Source: NBER With all the other terrible news right now, you may not have noticed that Donald Trump is in the process of killing American science. OK, that’s an exaggeration — but not that much of an exaggeration. The Trump administration’s latest budget proposal calls for a gigantic increase in military spending combined with severe cuts to social programs. But as the chart above shows, it also calls for debilitating reductions in research funding. Furthermore, Trump appointees have already been strangling science by sharply reducing the rate at which research grants are approved. Here, for example, is the number of new grants approved by the National Science Foundation: Source: Nature Large numbers of existing grants have also been frozen or terminated, especially in the study of infectious diseases. Add to this a sharp drop in visas issued to foreign students, who often play a direct role in research and who help support academic departments that do research: Put all of this together, and much U.S. scientific research is set to come to a screeching halt — not a few years from now, but over the course of the next year or two. This new assault on U.S. science is taking place at a time when the role of American science in the world has already been greatly eroded. The chart below, based on research recently reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research, measures national strength in science by the share of publications in highly ranked journals. In the 1990s the United States had more such publications than the rest of the world combined. Since then we’ve dropped into third place — well behind China and slightly below the European Union. And this was before the Trump administration’s attack on science had time to take its full effect. Source Some erosion in U.S. scientific preeminence was inevitable given China’s growing sophistication and wealth. But we’ve also fallen behind Europe, even though everyone says that Europe is lagging economically and technologically. Claims about Europe’s underperformance are, in fact, dubious if one looks hard at the data. But it’s still striking to see America lagging. What’s going on? There are presumably multiple factors behind America’s scientific lag. But even before Trump II the growing hostility of the U.S. right to science surely had some negative effect. And since the rise of MAGA G.O.P. attitudes toward science in general have become overwhelmingly hostile. This is true even for the Republican rank and file: And while I haven’t been able to find good survey data, it’s obvious that the anti-science turn has been even more pronounced — and began earlier — among the Republican political elite. Chris Mooney published The Republican War on Science in 2005, and even then was describing a longstanding trend. Why have Republicans turned so anti-science? Part of the answer is that they believe that scientists don’t support them. And they’re right! A study of who scientists give money to shows that only a small percentage gave money to Republicans even 20 years ago, and that almost none of them donate to Republicans now: Social scientists have always been strongly pro-Democratic, while there used to be a significant number of physical, “hard” scientists supporting the GOP. But these days physicists are almost as uniformly Democratic, or at least non-Republican, as sociologists. Why are there almost no Republican scientists? It’s not a mystery. GOP political orthodoxy includes positions that are at odds with the scientific consensus on multiple issues, ranging from the validity of the theory of evolution, to the reality of climate change, to the efficacy and safety of vaccines. In each case the scientific consensus is solidly grounded in evidence. But even before the rise of MAGA the U.S. right was increasingly hostile to evidence-based policymaking — especially, of course, where the evidence is unfavorable to fossil fuel interests or quack medicine, both financial mainstays of right-wing politics. So scientists don’t support Republicans, and the feeling is mutual. Today’s Republican Party doesn’t like science or scientists. It doesn’t like having its preconceived views challenged by appeals to evidence. It knows that very few scientists are on its side electorally. In general, it sees scientific research as a threat to its grasp on political power. Add in MAGA’s combination of rabid anti-intellectualism and allergy to any hint of criticism, and one has the makings of a drastic anti-science turn in policy. “Ignorance is strength” might was well be an official MAGA motto. And as I said, we aren’t talking about something that will happen over the course of multiple years: The U.S. scientific enterprise is threatened with severe damage, even collapse, over just the next year. There are many reasons to find this prospect horrifying: Think of all the beneficial advances, affecting almost every part of life, that won’t happen because U.S. science — still crucial to the world — has been eviscerated. But think, also, of America’s international standing. Can a nation that has forfeited its role as a leader, or even a contender, in global science, still be a Great Power? No. MUSICAL CODA
The Democrat vying to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene faces a tall task, but Republicans are still watching closely
A Democrat’s bid to pull off a major upset Tuesday in former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ruby-red Georgia district will be closely watched by national Republicans trying to maintain a razor-thin House majority.
Yet again, when rights are in conflict
I admit, it is going to take quite a bit of self-control to not have this entire column end up being yet another screed about a certain president who continues to shock the world in his race to the bottom of intellectual discourse. Like many, I suspect, when I first read the social media post […]
The Business of Euphoria
From Nate Jacobs in Bottega to a Balenciaga fashion show collab, luxury is front and center in Euphoria season three.
Annette Taddeo weighs run for her old Senate seat as Dems seek to build on recent wins
Democratic operatives say momentum from recent upsets has sparked renewed interest in a potential Taddeo comeback bid.
San Antonio Express-News: Rep. Gonzales allegedly sent lewd texts to campaign staffer in 2020
Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales is facing new allegations he sent a former campaign staffer lewd texts, just weeks after revelations of his affair with another former employee rocked and ultimately ended his reelection bid.
Do You Have Questions About a No-Bid Federal Contract? Tell Us Here.
The government is supposed to let many vendors compete for contracts, to get the best deal for taxpayers. We are looking at cases where it did not.
Ten Exits SM Entertainment, But Stays With WayV and NCT ‘Where Possible’
Here's what to know about his departure.
Supreme Court sides with Steve Bannon in bid to dismiss Jan. 6 conviction
The influential right-wing podcaster spent four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the House panel investigating the 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Lana Condor gets candid about her sexual health, libido and talks 'XO, Kitty'
USA TODAY chatted with the \
This “forbidden” exoplanet has an atmosphere scientists can’t explain
A strange “forbidden” planet spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope is turning planetary science on its head. TOI-5205 b, a Jupiter-sized world orbiting a small, cool star, has an atmosphere surprisingly poor in heavy elements—even less enriched than its own star, which defies current theories of how giant planets form.
How the Internet Fringe Infiltrated Republican Politics
Inside the battle for the post-MAGA G.O.P.
‘Time for the next chapter’: Lehigh County sports bar bids farewell after 18 years
A longstanding spot for beers, burgers, sandwiches and sports viewing has ended operations in the Lehigh Valley.
I’ve Been Testing the New Sonos Play for Weeks. It’s My New Favorite
With great sound and versatility, this new speaker may be Sonos’ best.
Final Four 2026: Lauren Betts, UCLA shut down Texas in 'ugly' game to reach national championship
Follow along with the latest as the Texas Longhorns and UCLA Bruins face off in the Final Four for a bid to the championship.
Trump issues executive order to bolster college sports rules
U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday that aims to reinforce the rules of college sports in a bid to restore financial stability and protect the future of college athletics.
Scientists Have Made French Fry Breakthrough
Researchers have developed a method of making french fries that results in a healthier bite without sacrificing crispiness.
Morbid Metal launches in Early Access on April 8
Roguelike hack-and-slash action game Morbid Metal will launch in Early Access for PC via Steam on April 8 for a limited-time launch price of $13.49 / €13.49, publisher Ubisoft and developer SCREEN …
International News: Bids In For Brisbane Entertainment Precinct; War Roils Touring & More
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Mark Lee Leaves NCT After 10 Years, Ends Contract With SM Entertainment
Both the star and some of his teammates have taken to social media to address the sudden news.
Austin weighs allowing front-yard businesses to help residents launch dreams from home
Austin is considering a pilot program to allow more home-based and “front yard” businesses, aiming to lower startup costs and help residents launch small ventures within their neighborhoods.
Braves bats wallop Diamondbacks in 17-2 blowout victory
In what quickly became the most lopsided game of the season, the Braves struck early and often against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday night en route to a 17-2 win. The Braves are now 5-2 on the young season, It took until game 17 last year to win five games. Matt Olson […]
A ‘forbidden planet’ the size of Jupiter has astronomers stumped
TOI-5205 b has an odd amount of heavy metals.
Goodwin wants repeat against other half of Old Firm
Jim Goodwin has called on Dundee United to replicate the level of performance they produced in their victory over Celtic as they bid to derail Rangers' Scottish Premiership title bid on Saturday. United defeated the other half of the Old Firm 2-0 at Tannadice in their last match before the international break to leave Martin O'Neill's side five points adrift of leaders Hearts. "We've got to take a lot of confidence out of that Celtic game," manager Goodwin said looking ahead to facing second-top Rangers, with whom they have drawn 2-2 home and away this season.
Coinbase clears key regulatory hurdle in bid to bolster its stablecoin business
Coinbase has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to operate as a trust bank, the company said Thursday.
Federal judge dismisses South Texas woman’s wrongful arrest lawsuit
The lawsuit stems from the woman’s arrest four years ago in the Rio Grande Valley over a self-induced abortion.
Discussing the Future of Shopping at the Vogue Business x Swap Shoptalk Dinner
On Wednesday, March 25, Vogue Business joined commerce platform Swap to bring fashion and beauty brand executives together during the conference.
Cursor Launches a New AI Agent Experience to Take on Claude Code and Codex
As Cursor launches the next generation of its product, the AI coding startup has to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic more directly than ever.
Anthropic Says That Claude Contains Its Own Kind of Emotions
Researchers at the company found representations inside of Claude that perform functions similar to human feelings.
Even Artemis II Astronauts Have Microsoft Outlook Problems
The mission commander’s email inbox failed during the journey to the moon. Have they tried turning the computer off and back on again?
How did this get made? Giant planet orbits small star
New observations of "forbidden" planet TOI5205-b reveal surprising details about it its atmospheric chemistry.
WME Sells Sports Agency to Publicis
Publicis Groupe is set to acquire 160over90 in a bid to win more of advertisers’ spending in sports.
Hector Mujica enters CD 28 race, setting up potentially competitive challenge to Carlos Giménez
His switch from running for Senate to a Congressional bid follows polling that showed him within striking distance of the incumbent.
Tampa Bay Sports Commission pitches bid to FIFA to use city as home base for World Cup team
The Tampa Bay Sports Commission is aiming to bring a team to Tampa to use the Rowdies' facility as their home base.
How Melania Trump Reset the Way We Speak About Fashion in Politics
Her approach harkens back to the pre-Obama era.
Federal bill would let cities bid to keep pro sports teams
The bill could reshape how pro teams negotiate deals.
Trump to attend supreme court arguments on landmark birthright citizenship case
Court case will weigh the constitutionality of his contentious bid to end birthright citizenship
Apple Will Push Out Rare ‘Backported’ Patches to Protect iOS 18 Users From DarkSword Hacking Tool
As a DarkSword takeover technique spreads, Apple tells WIRED it will release fixes for millions of iPhone owners who remain on iOS 18 rather than force them to update to iOS 26 simply to be protected.
Spotlight Now: Civil Beat politics editor Chad Blair
Civil Beat’s Chad Blair says Derek Kawakami’s LG bid energizes 2026, as Sylvia Luke faces scrutiny and key congressional races take shape.
How to Change Your Gmail Address
You’ve probably had the same Gmail address for years. Now, it's easy to make a name change without worrying about the transition.
Fired F.B.I. Agents File Class-Action Suit Claiming Political Retaliation
The suit is one of the broadest bids yet seeking accountability against the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, and Attorney General Pam Bondi for getting rid of employees who have run afoul of President Trump.
Silicon Valley's tech world takes center stage in state politics
From a wide-open governor’s race to a bitter congressional contest, Santa Clara County has emerged as a key battleground in the tech industry's bid to control California politics — and shield billionaires from a wealth tax.