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How Al Gore Politicized Climate Science
An Inconvenient Truth turns 20 next month. In the 2006 documentary, former vice president Al Gore argued that human-driven climate change was an urgent, civilization-threatening crisis. The film became a cultural phenomenon, winning two Academy Awards and making climate change one of the defining political issues of our time. I am sure that there will be many retrospectives seeking to relitigate the scientific claims in the film. But the far more important anniversary story is not about the accuracy of any of Gore’s individual claims but rather about what the film helped to unleash in the scientific community: bringing partisan politics into the institutions of science. Gore did not simply make a film about climate change: He implored the scientific community to join him in overt climate advocacy. The fuel that Gore added to the fire of pathological politicization of the climate science community is the most important legacy of An Inconvenient Truth. Almost three years after the film’s release, Gore took the stage at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)—the country’s largest and most prominent scientific organization—and delivered something much closer to a revival sermon than a scientific lecture. Gore told the assembled scientists that they could no longer “in good conscience accept this division between the work you do and the civilization in which you live.” His directive was clear:
Approval of Trump on economy falls in new AP-NORC poll, as Iran war drives up prices
The findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show a president who is struggling with unfulfilled promises to tame inflation and testing Americans’ patience with a conflict in the Middle East that has dragged on longer than expected.
Why soccer match timing confuses American sports fans
The clock never stops running in soccer, but referees add more time at the end. The clock counts up, not down, unlike in most American sports.
Why soccer match timing confuses American sports fans
The clock counts up, never stops, and the game continues past 90 minutes — here's what's happening
Why soccer match timing confuses American sports fans
The clock counts up, never stops, and the game continues past 90 minutes — here's what's happening
ARPA-H announces first research teams for $139 million initiative to transform behavioral health and bring new, more precise and effective treatments to Americans
The EVIDENT initiative builds on the Trump Administration’s executive order to accelerate medical treatments for serious mental illness.
Seven Key Moments: Hearing with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ways and Means Committee Republicans emphasized the importance of expanding access to health care for Americans – particularly...
Flu vaccine no longer mandated for US troops, Hegseth says
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military will no longer mandate the flu vaccine for American troops.
Pulitzer Prize winner shares historic nature of politics as U.S. celebrates 250th anniversary
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham discussed the nature of American politics through pivotal moments in U.S. history. Meacham said that the nation was originally founded on the notion of politics as “an aspirational arena of contention,” where different interests were disputed before reaching a consensus. He added that conflicts regarding power and other matters are inevitable.
Oberlin Launches Rotberg Lecture in African Politics with April 22 Inaugural Talk | Oberlin College and Conservatory
Oberlin College and Conservatory has established the Robert I. Rotberg ’55 and Fiona J. Y. Rotberg ’90 Annual Lecture in African Politics, a new endowed series that will bring leading scholars to campus each year.The lecture series is designed to expand opportunities for students and the broader community to engage with the study of political development across the African continent—past, present, and future—while also reflecting Oberlin’s longstanding connections to influential African leaders and thinkers.
Americans killed in Mexico car crash following drug raid worked for the CIA, sources say
The two US embassy officials who died in a car accident in Mexico on Sunday worked for the CIA and had been collaborating with Mexican officials on expanded counternarcotics operations in the country, two people briefed on the matter confirmed to CNN.
Albuquerque business owners plead guilty to selling counterfeit Native American jewelry
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A husband and wife from New Mexico pleaded guilty in North Carolina federal court to smuggling and selling counterfeit Native American jewelry. Kiem Thanh Huynh, 60, and …
American Cancer Society honors ECU Health Cancer Care with national award
ECU Health is one of two health care systems nationally to win ACS Health System Partner of the Year Award
5 ways your doctor may be using AI chatbots — and why it matters
Millions of Americans are turning to AI chatbots for health answers. But are doctors using these tools? And if so, how?
FBI investigating possible links between deaths and disappearances of at least 10 scientists
The law enforcement agency’s announcement came after President Donald Trump highlighted the recent deaths of several scientists and government workers who may have had access to sensitive information
Essentia Health receives American Cancer Society transportation, lodging grant to support cancer patients
The Essentia Health Cancer Center in Fargo is honored to receive a $35,000 grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to help alleviate some of the financial burden for patients undergoing cancer treatment through transportation and lodging assistance.
Shaky political science: using "simulated" elections over real-world elections
[Dear DSOS readers – this article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in early December, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting. We found that many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data, and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first three articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report, the second one analyzing a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report, and a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research]. In this fourth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we shine a spotlight on seven studies that were web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group (the ERRG is an ad hoc committee headed by New America’s Political Reform Program and joined by the American Enterprise Institute, the Unite America Institute and Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law). This research consortium has been led by Lee Drutman, senior fellow with New America’s Political Reform Program. These seven studies are simply not credible from any objective standard about how political “science” is supposed to illuminate our understanding of either ranked choice voting or politics in general. The feature that six of these seven studies have in common is that they all used surveys – artificial, simulated elections -- to attempt to say something cogent or interesting about ranked choice voting (RCV) elections. None of them used real world data from actual RCV elections – either the 1000+ elections in the US or the many thousands of elections from places like Australia, Ireland and elsewhere where RCV has been used for 100 years. While a few of these studies conclude with some mixed positives about RCV, our analysis here is content neutral. The idea that, with a political reform like RCV, you can ask respondents in a mock, artificial election to vote with that method, with only the barest of explanation about how RCV works or its likely impacts (i.e. no spoiler candidates, majority winners, voters liberated to pick their favorite candidates, coalition-building), and then ask them their thoughts/reactions about voting in that system, with fake candidates and no real campaigning, no real exposure to an actual election or actual candidates, rests on some very puzzling assumptions. The findings of these seven studies actually are contradicted by the findings from many other studies based on real-world RCV elections. These New America studies also failed to list the real-world RCV studies in their own citations, instead including those studies that reinforced their conclusions. The seven studies featured in this article were chosen because they form a cohesive cohort which precisely illustrates one of the main points of our research paper, namely that using surveys, i.e. artificial elections, or mathematical/theoretical models, instead of real-world data, is in fact “shaky political science.” Below are summaries of our analysis of five of the seven New America studies. You can read our complete analysis of all seven studies at our paper, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting.” Choosing to “Vote As Usual” by Andre Blais, Carolina Plescia, and Semra Sevi. New America. (Blais et al., 2021). This study, web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group, used two surveys in which respondents completed ballots for simulated elections using plurality, approval, RCV and point (Score) voting. In both cases the authors provided the respondents with only minimal explanation of each method. For example, the entire explanation for RCV was “For this vote, rank the candidates from your first to your last choice (you do not need to rank them all). This is called the ranked vote.” That’s it. The study did not provide any context or explanation to survey respondents about why she/he might want to rank multiple candidates. Participants were not even told that ballots would be tabulated using an “instant” runoff, not to mention any description of RCVs ability to eliminate the spoiler effect or liberate voters to rank their favorite candidates without fear of helping the “greater evil” candidate to win. That’s like taking an iPhone back in time to 1970 and asking someone if they like it better than their rotary phone without explaining how it works. Their first survey targeted states that held 2020 Super Tuesday Democratic primaries and used the real candidates’ names in the survey; the second survey used fictitious candidates. In other words, they surveyed respondents who had only ever participated in plurality elections, had no history or background with using RCV or any of the other methods, had no clue about its likely impacts, and did not communicate how the alternative methods would be counted, and then asked them: “How satisfied are you with using each system?” Predictably, the winner was plurality elections, the system used for president, Congress, gubernatorial and state legislative elections – in other words, the method they have been using, year after year, all their voting lives. With so little explanation of RCV and its impacts, this study is simply not credible in discovering anything useful about real-world RCV elections. It merely shows that a basic voter education campaign is needed when adopting a new election system. Additionally, the result contradicts many other post-election surveys following real RCV elections, asking opinions from voters who had just participated in a RCV election, that showed a great deal of satisfaction with RCV (see details on that in Studies 22-25 in our paper, as well as the four studies cited in the review for Study 28). Share Other studies on “satisfaction” and “understanding” make similar mistakes, in terms of basing their surveys on inadequate explanation to respondents and lack of education about context. How could any survey ever hope to measure accurately, in essence simulate a real-world election, without actual campaigning candidates, the media writing about those candidates, organizations endorsing candidates and voters being inundated with crucial information? More than anything, what these “studies” based on surveys show is that if you ask voters about something they don’t know very much about, and fail to adequately educate them, their responses will unsurprisingly reflect their confusion. Equally puzzling is that New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group, headed by political scientist Lee Drutman, found this to be a credible enough study that they not only published it but highlighted it in Drutman’s own discussion of research related to ranked choice voting. This pattern was repeated in study after study featured by New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group. For example in Ranked-Choice Voting and Political Expression: Voter Guides Narrow the Gap between Informed and Uninformed Citizens by Cheryl Boudreau, Jonathan Colner, and Scott MacKenzie, the researchers based their analysis on a survey which found that respondents who were asked to vote in a simulated RCV election, with minimal explanation of RCV or how it works, displayed less evidence of being informed about how to use RCV effectively, with the least informed voters ranking fewer candidates. As pointed out under the study above, in a real election voters are informed by a wide variety of methods, including public education by the election administration, by interested political groups, the media, and the candidates themselves who benefit from voters being aware of how to vote in the new system. In Support for Ranked-Choice Voting across Race and Partisanship by Joseph Anthony, David C. Kimball, Jack Santucci and Jamil Scott, the researchers used respondents from different parties and races voting in simulated plurality and RCV elections, who indicated their satisfaction with each voting method. Instead of using real world election results, the authors fell back on the easy, armchair and less reliable academic research methodology of making up mock elections. As with the other studies, little explanation was given of how RCV works or what its implications might be (electing majority winners or eliminating spoilers, for example). Unsurprisingly, this study found that respondents were not very satisfied with RCV. However, when the authors added an explanation that RCV has a tendency to elect more women and people of color, they found that this greater explanation increased the preference for RCV. The more voters were familiar with it, and the more they understood potential positive impacts – surprise! -- the more they were open to switching away from the status quo. Of note, the results from this study are thoroughly contradicted by a number of other studies whose data was obtained from real RCV elections with real voters. Those studies show a great deal of satisfaction with RCV. More “fake election” research An interesting wrinkle on this “research by fake elections” approach, which only served to illustrate how unreliable such “research” can become, was taken in Ranked-Choice Voting, Runoff, and Democracy: Insights from Maine and Other U.S. States by Joseph Cerrone and Cynthia McClintock_,_ also web-hosted and funded by New America’s ERRG. It gets high marks for creativity, but an eye-roll for thinking this could possibly add anything meaningful to our understanding of real world RCV elections. This study tried to determine whether RCV, plurality or two-round runoff elections provided greater voter satisfaction and acceptance of election results. To determine that, the authors conducted a survey asking if voters were satisfied with a fictional newspaper report of an election, with three different versions given to respondents – plurality, runoff and RCV, with variations of Republican/Democrat winners and variations of “come-from-behind” winners,” i.e. candidates not initially in first place but who win the “runoff.” Again, a minimal explanation of RCV or how it works was given, and the survey showed that respondents had the greatest unfamiliarity with RCV than the other methods. The unsurprising result? Respondents were much more satisfied with “come-from-behind” victories in a traditional two-round runoff election than in RCV, even though RCV is also a runoff system but with a single round of counting. Interestingly, the dissatisfaction with RCV disappeared for those who were more familiar with RCV. In fact, among those respondents who were “very familiar” with RCV, they were equally satisfied with RCV, runoff and plurality. Surprise, surprise. Again, what this study revealed, more than anything, is not only the inadequacy of the explanation for RCV given by the authors of this study, but the failure of the research format itself, thinking that such an artificial mock election could somehow simulate what actually happens in the real world in a real RCV election. Those four studies reviewed above are fitting examples of inadequate and shaky political “science.” Other studies reviewed in our paper from the New America/Electoral Reform Research Group cohort which also used mock elections included: Ranked-Choice Voting is an Acquired Taste by Joseph Anthony and David C. Kimball. New America. (Anthony et al., 2021). Ranked-Choice Voting is No Refuge for Extreme Candidates by Melissa Baker. New America. (Baker, 2021). Also included in this New America cohort is Does Ranked-Choice Voting Reduce Racial Polarization? by Yuki Atsusaka and Theodore Landsman, which actually did use real-world election results data but applied an odd and unconventional methodology to the data which relied on shaky assumptions and non-real-world scenarios that were too divorced from reality. To determine levels of “racially polarized voting,” the researchers imagined “ethnic parties,” by which they mean political parties for each ethnic group, which was especially odd since the election data they were using came from nonpartisan RCV races. But then they made an even odder assumption, namely that since race and ethnic characteristics of studied voters were not available, the authors tried to infer that information based on who voters selected and the racial make-up of voters in each district. This amounted to little more than vague and ambiguous guesswork dressed up with a bunch of mathematical equations used to give it a veneer of scientific appearance. Indeed, it seemed to assume racial polarization in order to prove racial polarization. Based on this questionable methodology, the authors concluded that RCV doesn’t reduce racial polarization. But the premise of this study missed an obvious reality: since RCV incentivizes more candidates to run and can result in more diverse fields of candidates, one would expect more racially-polarized voting in voters’ top rankings, not less, because more voters would have someone on that ballot who represents their racial or ethnic identity and more freedom to vote for their real first choice. By encouraging more diverse candidates and eliminating the spoiler effect, RCV facilitates voting for a favorite candidate of your own race and then selecting a second choice with the best likelihood of winning. The real measure is what voters do with their additional rankings – do they consider other candidates and vote “for the best of the rest”? This study didn’t tell us anything useful about that. But readily available data shows this is common in real RCV elections, and candidates act on this knowledge by engaging with voters outside their racial group. So the authors of this study failed to consider or account for what actually happens in real-world elections, and their conclusions are tainted by this failure. New America has contributed a great deal over the past 2.5 decades to our understanding of many policy areas, including politics and political reform (full disclosure: Steven Hill, one of the authors of this article and of the “Shaky Political Science” research paper and series, is a former senior fellow and former director of New America’s political reform program, 2005-2010). So it was especially disappointing that New America funded and published such a large batch of dubious studies about ranked choice voting. The stated praiseworthy goal of its Electoral Reform Research Group was to inspire new academic research about ranked choice voting that would shed light and help the public better understand the impacts of RCV. Instead, the ERRG research did just the opposite. It produced dubious research that created more confusion and misinformation. In so doing, New America’s political reform program contributed to “shaky political science.” Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS, a reader-supported digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
How American Express became an MVP in professional sports
How American Express became an MVP in professional sports
Dr. Aditya Bardia elected to American Society for Clinical Investigation
Each year, the organization selects up to 100 physician-scientists in recognition of their outstanding contributions to research and patient care.
South African business confidence hits five‑month low on impact of Iran war
South African business confidence weakened to a five-month low in March, dragged down by a weaker rand currency , a slowdown in trade and share price falls linked to the Iran war, data showed on Tuesday.
South African Business Optimism Wanes in March on Iran Conflict
South African business confidence moderated in March as the US-Israeli war with Iran roiled financial, commodity and foreign-exchange markets.
Trump, Pope Leo And A New Chapter in America’s Religious Politics
(ANALYSIS) American religion has rarely, if ever, seen anything quite like these past weeks. Start with President Donald Trump’s profane Easter Sunday message to Iran: “Open the [unprintable F-bomb] Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah." The l
Why Trump is reading the Bible — at a complicated moment for his relationship with American Christians
One day after he posted — then deleted — an image comparing himself to Jesus Christ, President Donald Trump sat at his desk in the Oval Office and read from the Bible directly to a camera.
Hurricanes 3, Senators 2
Jordan Martinook notched the game-winner in double overtime to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at the Lenovo Center. The win gives Carolina a 2-0 lead in this playoff series and allows them to keep their home ice advantage. The Canes thought they had won the […]
South African rand flat as traders eye business confidence index, central bank policy report
The South African rand was flat in early trade on Tuesday as investors tracked geopolitical developments and awaited the release of a domestic business confidence survey and a central bank monetary policy review later in the day.
AI Isn’t The Threat
Americans are using AI even as they distrust it. For public health leaders, the bigger risk isn’t the technology—it’s failing to engage with it and shape how it’s used.
Trump’s order on psychedelics could have far-reaching science consequences
A new executive order could make it easier for researchers studying how psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, LSD and ibogaine may be useful in medicine
'Everyone's nervous': Wells Fargo CEO on how businesses and consumers feel about the economy
Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf said on Monday that the US economy right now is “extremely strong,” but he also acknowledged how bad sentiment is among Americans consumers and businesses.
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft down to just two working science instruments
The iconic spacecraft launched nearly 49 years ago and is running perilously low on power
FERC seeks $1.1 billion from Abram-led Durham energy firms
Regulators have fined Durham-based energy-efficiency business American Efficient $722 million, saying it’s behind “one of the largest and most brazen frauds” they’ve ever seen.
The one thing Formula 1 can learn from American sports
Stefano Domenicali believes Formula 1 can learn from the business side of American sports such as the NFL
A Majority of Americans, 54-26% View It as Good For Sports for Coaches And Athletes To Speak Out On Perceived Social Injustices
Majorities Remain Opposed to Transgender Athletes Competing with Those Who Share Their Gender Identity – But 20% Say They ‘Don’t Know’ If Prompted 62% Have Used a Streaming Service to…
Jenna Bush Hager sits down with former Presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden
The former presidents shared a message for the American people ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary in July.
Guest article: Physical AI isn't replacing farmers. It's critical for keeping them in business
Dealer networks are at the center of physical AI's reach into farming, and key to restoring American agriculture and rural communities.
Grand to spin ‘Charlotte’s Web’
The classic tale “Charlotte’s Web” will be performed on the Stanley Subaru Stage at The Grand on Friday, May 1, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 2, at 1 p.m.
Why Democrats with 2028 hopes are calling Lina Khan – and what she’s telling them about remaking the economy
Lina Khan is getting constant calls from Democrats, many of them thinking about presidential runs, to sound out problems and workshop potential solutions. That’s a shift from when she was Federal Trade Commission chair and some party leaders avoided meetings or events with her. Khan hasn’t changed so much as the world around her has. Many Americans are furious about rising costs, affordability, technological changes, and soaring profits for the rich. And President Donald Trump has maximized the levers of federal power in ways that were once considered off-limits in both parties. What Khan has in mind for the next Democrat in the White House isn’t a 1,000-page blueprint like the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. It’s more of an overall strategy rooted in her specialty: excavating long-forgotten laws already on the books, then finding ways to apply them to 21st century companies.
Charlie Kaufman On Finding Inspiration In Béla Tarr & Why He Isn’t Interested In “Conventional Notions Of Entertainment”
On Saturday evening, the veteran American filmmaker Charlie Kaufman appeared at the Sands Film Festival in St Andrews, Scotland, for an onstage Q&A, originally billed as an exploration of the relation...
The pope's English fuels a Trump feud
No translation, no buffer: A pope Americans hear directly.
Got wearable data? Your doctor can help you connect the dots
The American Academy of Neurology issued guidance on using wearable data devices, like smart watches or Oura rings, to track key health metrics that can help flag serious conditions.
Audi Crooks joins Oklahoma State women’s basketball out of transfer portal
Audi Crooks is heading to Oklahoma State. After signing the All-American, Jacie Hoyt's Cowgirls are winners in the women's basketball transfer portal.
Cribbage tournament April 26
A cribbage tournament and lunch will be held at the Mariaville Community Center and Grange Hall on Route 181 on Sunday, April 26, from 12-3 p.m.
AI shaping our health care decisions, even whether we go to the doctor
For nearly half of Americans, artificial intelligence plays some sort of role in their health care decisions, a new Gallup poll found.
House Oversight Committee to investigate missing, dead scientists
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on Sunday said the committee will investigate the deaths and disappearances of 10 American scientists who all had links to U.S. nuclear or spa…
Who Is Pellegrino Matarazzo? American Math Expert Leading Real Sociedad
A 48-year-old American coach who studied mathematics at Columbia is now part of the history of Spanish club Real Sociedad.
How a Sault High graduate helped shape WWII radar and American science leadership
Bernie Arbic will use a PowerPoint presentation at Bayliss Public Library Thursday, April 23, at 6 p.m. to trace the life of DuBridge, from his days at Sault High School to national prominence in science
Small business tax deduction highlights challenges for Wisconsin entrepreneurs
MADISON, Wis. — This week, millions of Americans filed their taxes, including 497,000 small business owners here in Wisconsin.
10 best cities for college graduates in 2026
This year's college grads are up against a lot. These 10 cities may offer them a better shot at the American dream, with more jobs and affordable housing.
Lake State Railway, TGS Cedar Port receive ASLRRA Business Development Awards
MINNEAPOLIS — Lake State Railway and TCS Cedar Port, a Texas industrial park which operates its own short line, were honored with Business Development Awards at the recent American Short Line and Regional Railroad annual conference. Also honored on the conference’s final day was Gary Vaughn, recipient of the ASLRRA’s Schlosser Distinguished Service Award. Lake State Railway was recognized for its work
Business Ins and Outs: Edwardo's closes; Great American Bagel Company, House of Garlic, MizFitz Pizza and Tossed & Found opening
Business Ins and Outs: Edwardo's closes; Great American Bagel Company, House of Garlic, MizFitz Pizza and Tossed & Found opening
Poll: Trump's approval rating hits second-term low as Americans sour on the economy and Iran war
Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of inflation, according to an NBC News Decision Desk Poll, with some cracks emerging in his GOP support.
Concert to feature works by Schubert, Mozart, Bruch
Winter Harbor Music will present an evening of chamber music with Erika Allen and Richard Hsu at Hammond Hall on Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m.
Curing U.S. Health Care, Part I
In 2008, much to their own surprise, leading Democrats unified around a program of major health care reform. Policy wonks had spent years developing the concepts behind what eventually became Obamacare; big Democratic victories in the 2006 midterms and the prospect of controlling both Congress and the presidency made it possible to imagine turning those ideas into reality. During the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama advocated similar plans, based on those ideas, for expanding insurance coverage. And it happened! The Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010. When it was fully implemented in 2014, millions of Americans got health insurance: Impressive as the raw numbers are, they don’t tell the whole story. Before the ACA, even upper-middle-class Americans often found it impossible to get health insurance if they had pre-existing medical conditions. Many Americans were trapped in jobs they wanted to leave but couldn’t for fear of losing their employment-based coverage. Meanwhile, dire predictions from the usual suspects about runaway costs proved wrong. In fact, overall U.S. medical spending has grown much more slowly since the ACA was enacted than before. But the U.S., alone among advanced nations, still falls far short of providing universal health care. As you can see from the chart above, 8 percent of the population was still uninsured in 2024, a number that is set to rise over the next two years as a result of Republican policies. True, many of the uninsured in 2024 were undocumented immigrants, who we don’t try to cover. But there are still a lot of uninsured. Moreover, a significant number of Americans who have health insurance are in fact underinsured. As a result, they are at risk of incurring devastating healthcare costs and are sometimes forced to forgo needed care. This number is set to rise sharply in the next two years as a result of Republican policies adopted under Donald Trump. And not only is the U.S. unique among advanced countries in its under-provision of health care coverage, it also incurs by far the world’s highest healthcare costs per capita. So now may well be a good time to get behind a new push for major health reform — an effort, if you like, to finish the job begun under Obama. Today’s primer is devoted to the economics of health reform. During his failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Donald Trump famously complained, “Nobody knew healthcare could be so complicated.” Actually, we did know — and it’s not that complicated. Health economists understand the principles very well. And because health policy varies greatly among advanced nations, we know a lot about what works and what doesn’t. This will be the first in a series about health reform. Beyond the paywall I’ll address the following: 1. Why markets can’t be trusted to deliver healthcare 2. Routes to universal healthcare 3. What works? In a follow-up post I’ll discuss the pros and cons of different approaches, and possible paths forward for the United States.
Eddie Murphy receives life achievement award by AFI, drawing standing ovation at star-filled tribute
Eddie Murphy has received the American Film Institute's life achievement award at a star-studded ceremony.
Eddie Murphy receives life achievement award by AFI, drawing standing ovation at star-filled tribute
Eddie Murphy has received the American Film Institute's life achievement award at a star-studded ceremony | WWJ Newsradio 950
Eddie Murphy receives life achievement award by AFI, drawing standing ovation at star-filled tribute
Eddie Murphy has received the American Film Institute's life achievement award at a star-studded ceremony | KNSS Radio
Hurricanes take Game One Fight against Senators 2-0
The Gloves were dropped early, and the Canes take a 1-0 series lead
Senegalese kora master and French accordionist bridge cultures
Kora player Ablaye Cissoko and accordionist Cyrille Brotto will share the stage at the College of the Atlantic Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Community Center on Monday, April 27, at 7
American Cancer Society awards grant to Monument Health to help cancer patients with travel costs
The American Cancer Society awarded up to $30,000 to Monument Health’s Cancer Care Institute to help patients with transportation and lodging during treatment through March 31, 2027.
Ranking American sports league & championship logos from worst to best
Logos play a big role in how fans view a sports league. They are more than just designs. They represent history, emotion, and identity. A good logo can last for years and become part of the sport itself. A bad…
Losing Health Insurance? Here Are Ways to Cut Medical Bills
With increasing numbers of Americans forgoing health insurance because of cost, other services provide ways to lower bills.
Lincoln County billboard falls during storm, lands on business
A billboard that was knocked down during a storm Friday night ended up landing on American Family Home Sales in Lincoln County.
Lincoln County billboard falls during storm, lands on business
A billboard that was knocked down during a storm Friday night ended up landing on American Family Home Sales in Lincoln County.
The science behind the peptide craze
The world of peptides has exploded in wellness circles, but the benefits of injecting these gray-market molecules rest on little clinical evidence
NSF awards record number of coveted PhD fellowships in surprise move
Quantum science and AI research are big winners just a year after the U.S. funding giant slashed its Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards in half
Trump touts 'record refunds' but polls show US indifferent to tax cuts
Trump barnstormed around the tax-filing deadline promoting cuts on tips and overtime but polls find Americans think taxes are still too high.
How Americans really feel about immigration
The messy politics of immigration reform, explained.
Opinion: Politics and religion
The relationship between religion and government is explored in this article, highlighting the influence of Christianity on American politics.
Daniel Stallworth shares 'American Idol' journey, how to vote
Mississippi native Daniel Stallworth is in 'American Idol's' Top 9. Learn about his journey. Want to help him win? How to watch Season 24, vote.
The Help That Many Older Americans Need Most
With shortages of medical professionals and an aging population, thousands of community health care workers prevent older adults from falling through the cracks.
US and Cuban officials met recently in Havana amid new diplomatic push
An American delegation has met recently with Cuban government officials in the island nation | WWJ Newsradio 950
West Eugene break-in latest in Asian business owner burglaries
Eugene police are investigating a new break-in targeting an Asian American business owner, part of an ongoing pattern of similar crimes in the Eugene-Springfield area, with authorities urging increased vigilance
Free Webinar to Help Charlotte County Businesses Prepare for Hurricane Season Free Webinar to Help Charlotte County Businesses Prepare for Hurricane Seas
Free Webinar to Help Charlotte County Businesses Prepare for Hurricane Season
The Trump team’s puzzling ‘all is well’ message on the economy
After spending the early part of the Iran war trying to sell Americans on an economic message of short-term pain for long-term gain, President Donald Trump and his team have increasingly reverted to their previous posture: that of Kevin Bacon in “Animal House.”
Costliest US hurricanes of the 21st century
Hurricanes have only become more dangerous — and expensive — over the last 26 years.
Today on OTM: The American League is upside down
Play the lottery tonight if you had the Rays, Twins, and Athletics as your division winners.
How Islamophobic rhetoric leaves an impact on the mental health of Muslim Americans
Negative portrayals of Muslims shape public attitudes and lead to increased discrimination, often resulting in hate crimes and psychological harm.
Michael Phelps Reflects on Impact of His Mental Health Advocacy
Michael Phelps sits down with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas for a new series called Great Americans to mark 250 years of the United States. Phelps talks about his life after the Olympics and reflects on the impact that openly discussing his mental health struggles has had on others and why he says that's "better than winning an Olympic gold medal."
Two scientists to receive 2026 Ralph L. Sacco Scholarships for Brain Health
DALLAS and MINNEAPOLIS, April 17, 2026 — The American Academy of Neurology and the American Heart Association have awarded the 2026 Ralph L. Sacco Scholarships for Brain Health to two neuroscientists, Sarah Kettlety, Ph.D., of Baltimore, Maryland, and...
Marine Corps veteran builds wooden flags business
Marine Corps veteran Forrest Samalonis shares his journey of establishing Forrest's Flags in 2020. Creating handcrafted wooden American flags and unique challenge coin displays for other veterans.
Complete schedule for Carolina Hurricanes first round NHL playoff series with Ottawa
The top-seeded Carolina Hurricanes and wild card Ottawa Senators meet in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
Radiologist pipeline barely keeping pace with population growth
“Expanding residency slots and mitigating workforce attrition will be necessary to mitigate increasing workforce gaps," experts write in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Native Americans respond to Washington Commanders' new polarizing logo
Native Americans were largely critical about the Washington Commanders' "new alternate logo'' that features a spear embedded in a W.
Inside the CDC’s leadership vacuum: work at a ‘standstill’ and low morale as 80% of top posts remain vacant
Current and ex-officials at the CDC warn Americans’ health security in danger under RFK Jr’s direction
American Politics Is Already Inundated With AI Deepfakes. It’s Only Getting Worse.
These aren’t your 2024 deepfakes. Bad actors will go for broke using state-of-the-art AI tools to blunt voters’ confidence in elections.
U.S. Steel to restart Gary Tin Mill, add 225 jobs
The restart aims to position the steelmaker to provide customers with greater access to American-made tin mill products.
The dangers of the Trump administration using faith to justify its war
American presidents have long sought God’s benediction in wartime and for soldiers heading into the fire of battle.
🏆Shocks and LOTS of goals: Thursday's Sudamericana highlights
That’s a wrap on all of Thursday’s Copa Sudamericana matches, and here we bring you the star, the surprise, and the disappointment of the day.Álvarez’s machine got goingAfter the draw in Paragu...
Review: Three books on the confusing, complex world of American politics
Three authors explore the American political landscape and offer provocative ideas on how to fix it—and if it is worth saving.
Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, nominated to be next CDC director by Trump
The Atlanta-based CDC, which is charged with protecting Americans from preventable health threats, has been in turmoil since Trump returned to office more than a year ago, with a succession of mostly temporary leaders.
Making Employer Health Plans More Flexible and Transparent
Innovative alternatives to traditional employer sponsored insurance are desperately needed by 180M Americans.
Small Business Owner Paola Hinton Praises Tips Provisions of Working Families Tax Cut - Americans for Tax Reform
Paola Hinton is a taxpayer and small business owner of Five Senses Spa, Salon & Barbershop in Peoria, Illinois. Her business and employees are benefiting
Congress grills RFK, Jr., about vaccines and cuts to health budget
The HHS secretary defended proposed budget cuts to science, his vaccine moves and health care costs Thursday on Capitol Hill
Why so Americans are using AI for health guidance
Turning to artificial intelligence tools for health advice has become a habit for many other Americans, according to a West Health–Gallup Center on Healthcare in America poll published Wednesday.
Data highlights gaps in finding in-network mental health coverage
Americans across 43 states enrolled in health plans from the nation’s four largest commercial health insurers face potential disparities in finding in-network coverage for mental health care and substance use disorder treatment relative to physical health care, according to the Mental Health Parity Index released by the Kennedy Forum.
Triangle sports bars to watch the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Carolina Hurricanes are heading back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here are some Triangle-area sports bars that are sure to provide lively atmospheres for what's hopefully another deep playoff run.
10 dinosaur science books recommended by a paleontologist
Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs and The Story of Birds, recommends 10 dinosaur books to dig into
FIFA Fan Festival Entertainment Lineup
FIFA Fan Festival concert lineup in Kansas City includes The Chainsmokers, Flo Rida, The All-American Rejects and Tech N9ne.
Boomers won't run politics forever. Gen Z isn't ready.
Courtesy | Unsplash The end of the baby boomers’ 40-year reign is almost at hand. The scepter will presently fall to a young generation that is staggeringly unprepared to receive it. Since the foreshocks of succession first began to rattle American politics in the early-to-mid-2010s, candidates and their parties began to pander to the youngest...
Shannon Elizabeth joins OnlyFans after Hollywood 'controlled' her career
Shannon Elizabeth, known for "American Pie," says she joined OnlyFans to take control of her career and show a "more sexy side."