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Volunteers Find Oddly High Solar Flare Rates
This study relied on inputs from NASA’s Solar Active Region Spotter citizen science project, which asked volunteers to answer a series of questions about
Under pressure from Trump, Republicans plan long talkathon on voting bill
Senate Republicans plan to launch a full debate next week on legislation to impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements
SCHOOL POLITICS? SOS Morales touts Club America voter registration effort, but critics are wary
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen March 11, 2026 Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales announced on Tuesday a partnership with Club America, an arm of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, to register Hoosier high school students to vote, but a voter-advocacy group said the collaboration could inject partisanship into what should be a
Thune says Senate to consider voting bill but pushes back on demands for 'talking filibuster'
Majority Leader John Thune says that the Senate will consider a bill to impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements in elections
Iran crisis: Three ways this could end
From one moment to the next, this Iran crisis appears to be cascading in ways that are increasingly uncertain for governments, investors and ordinary citizens alike. Much now turns on the individual decisions of unpredictable leaders, including President Donald Trump, and now perhaps Iran’s new and untested supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
ICE is keeping tabs on American citizens
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been using a variety of tools to keep tabs on not just immigrants the agency intends to deport but also U.S. citizens who publicly oppose the agency’s tactics. We discuss what that surveillance looks like and what the impact is for people whose activity the agency has tracked. This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, reporter Kat Lonsdorf, and power and influence reporter Jude Joffe-Block.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
DHS leadership change is not enough to reopen government and start funding department, says Hakeem Jeffries
House minority leader says ‘we want ICE to conduct itself like other law enforcement agencies, not use tax dollars to kill American citizens’
The next redistricting battle might be who is counted in state legislative districts
A Republican push to alter the census may lead to a radical shift in redistricting for state legislatures — drawing districts that don't take into account children and non-U.S. citizen adults.
Can deliberation save democracy?
By Vince Bzdek In September 2019, 523 Americans traveled to Dallas, Texas, for an experiment called “America in One Room.” The gathering was designed to test a theory: Could representative citizens deliberate productively even in an era of intense polarization? The event took place soon after the presidential primary and it focused on policy proposals […]
Can deliberation save democracy?
By Vince Bzdek In September 2019, 523 Americans traveled to Dallas, Texas, for an experiment called “America in One Room.” The gathering was designed to test a theory: Could representative citizens deliberate productively even in an era of intense polarization? The event took place soon after the presidential primary and it focused on policy proposals […]
‘JUST POLITICS’: Bopp accuses Election Commission of favoritism, expects GOP candidate to be ousted
By Marilyn Odendahl The Indiana Citizen March 6, 2026 In the increasingly bitter Republican fight over who can be on the May primary ballot for the Senate District 38 seat, a nearly 20-year-old opinion from former Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has new relevance in the attempt to get one candidate tossed from the race.
About 250 years ago, the nation’s Founding Fathers took on one of the nation’s first invasive species
The invasive Hessian fly spurred suspicions of biological warfare, threatened the new nation’s economy and inspired the nation’s first citizen science projects.
Man in apparent mental health crisis taken by ICE from hospital, transferred out of state
A 27-year-old man, who is a citizen of Mexico was taken by ICE agents from a hospital and out of state against the advice of medical professionals who diagnosed him with acute mental illness.
Takeaways from Kristi Noem’s combative Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
Senators grilled Noem about her early descriptions of two US citizens who were killed by federal officers in Minneapolis, her use of executive jets and whether ICE will be sent to polling places
WATCH: Sen. Schiff asks Noem to justify her claims of 'domestic terrorism' after Minnesota shootings
The senator focused on comments Noem made in the aftermath of the killing of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents weeks apart in Minneapolis.
Trump tests a new approach in Iran: Regime change without owning the fight
Trump has taken an approach to selling U.S. citizens on military action in Iran that contrasts with his predecessors, seeking to avoid completely owning it.
Beyond grants: Can local news sites find a lasting business model?
If we want informed citizens, transparent institutions and connected communities, we must ensure that local journalism not only survives but thrives.
Trump deliberated on Iran for weeks. His ‘massive and ongoing’ operation comes with acknowledgment US lives could be lost
President Donald Trump’s announcement of a “massive and ongoing” US military campaign against Iran — and his explicit call for the country’s citizens to shake off their oppressive leadership — put on display his fresh appetite for geopolitical risk and thrust his presidency into a deeper period of uncertainty.
AI Impact Summit Commitments Must Counter ‘AI Unreality’ in Politics
Democracies must invest in systems and institutions that help citizens discern fact from fiction, write GMF's Lindsay Gorman and Sharinee Jagtiani.
Beyond Politics: A Haitian Immigrant’s Call To See People
Cedarville music professor Dr. Lou Lilite, a Haitian immigrant and U.S. citizen, urges neighbors to see immigrants as people, not labels. Visiting Springfield...
Time to put politics aside and focus on Pueblo’s children
I am a long-time resident of Pueblo and live within the Pueblo School District 70 boundaries. Because I care tremendously about the authority of parents in the education of their children, and the old-fashioned notion that schools should be about preparing children to be literate and to be prepared to be engaged citizens of our […]
State Fair entertainment: Country music lineup
A country music lineup that features singer-songwriter Ian Munsick, multi-platinum artist Dylan Scott and country music icon Neal McCoy.
6 things to do in Iowa City this weekend to bring February to a close
February might be the shortest month of the year, but Iowa City has a busy weekend planned with these six events.
WATCH: ‘You killed Americans,’ lawmaker says as Trump asks Congress to stand for protecting citizens
While Republicans stood and applauded for two minutes, at least one Democratic lawmaker in the room shouted “you killed Americans,” a reference to two citizens shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota in January.
Citizen scientists discover a Great Barrier Reef coral giant ‘like a rolling meadow’
Volunteer group Citizens of the Reef made the find as part of the Great Reef Census
Trump administration considers forcing banks to verify customers’ citizenship
The Trump administration is weighing a new requirement for US banks to verify citizenship information of current and future customers as part of the president’s aggressive immigration crackdown, sources told CNN.
Birders Around the World Help Track ‘the Heartbeats of the Planet’
Launched three decades ago, the Great Backyard Bird Count mobilizes citizen scientists to monitor bird populations and advance research.
New Volunteer Data from 143 Observatories Unveils the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
On April 8, 2024, volunteers participating in NASA’s Eclipse Megamovie citizen science project all around the United States hurried to photograph the solar eclipse with the latest, greatest equipment, capturing groundbreaking images of the Sun’s corona.
Letter: Missouri’s ‘business climate’ and the future of our communities
A Springfield business owner recently received a "business climate survey." He writes that businesses depend on strong public services and communities.
81% of Americans Say Money Controls Politics – Can a Constitutional Amendment Fix It?
Polls consistently show that nearly all Americans across the political spectrum agree that there is too much money in politics – whether from foreign sources, corporations, or so-called “dark money” groups.
House Science Committee takes on data center permitting
The panel will discuss barriers that may slow the development of infrastructure for artificial intelligence.
Hicks Commentary: Quality of Life Is a Smart Business Attraction Tool
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael J. Hicks February 22, 2026 Quality of life matters more to businesses than it does to households. That may seem counterintuitive, but the data are unambiguous and the implications for economic development are profound.
Ways to save liberal democracy — the pick of the latest political books
A welcome shot of serious thought about populism, a bold argument for citizen rule, Gordon Brown revisited — and a work by Cass Sunstein that all politicians should digest
Food inspectors find moldy carrots, rodent droppings in local businesses
The state Department of Agriculture released the following reports of restaurant, market and school cafeteria inspections conducted in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties between Feb. 1 and…
Fact-checking DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on her agency's role in elections
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made comments that could lead people to misinterpret her agency’s role in elections as she lobbied for legislation that would require photo ID to vote and documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration.
How Jesse Jackson freed dozens of Americans held captive overseas
Jesse Jackson's "citizen diplomacy" freed hundreds of people held prisoner abroad.
Citizen science: Map the Earth's magnetic shield with the Space Umbrella Project
A stream of charged particles known as the solar wind flows from the sun toward Earth. Here, it meets Earth's magnetic fields, which shield our planet like a giant umbrella. The Space Umbrella project ...
Democrats say citizenship question could derail census test and deter immigrants from participating
Congressional Democrats are warning that the U.S. Census Bureau risks undermining an upcoming test of the 2030 census by using a form that includes a citizenship question
DHS is hunting for any US citizens who may have voted before being naturalized
The Department of Homeland Security is doubling down on the administration’s ongoing investigations into potential voter fraud — reviewing cases involving US citizens and whether they registered to vote, or voted, prior to being naturalized, according to an internal memo reviewed by CNN.
Israeli settler killed Palestinian-American teen in the West Bank, local health ministry says
A 19-year-old Palestinian-American citizen shot by an Israeli settler in the West Bank has died from his wounds,
Map the Earth’s Magnetic Shield with the Space Umbrella Project
Use data from NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale Mission to shed light on solar storms. For anyone with a laptop or cell.
United States and Madagascar to Implement $175 Million Five-Year Health MOU - U.S. Embassy in Madagascar
United States and Madagascar to Implement $175 Million Five-Year Health MOU U.S. and Malagasy health officials are convening in Antananarivo for a two-day joint review process, marking the first major step in implementing the strategic health cooperation framework established in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries in December 2025. The MoU outlines the structure and terms of U.S. support to Madagascar’s health sector from 2026 through 2030, with a total commitment of $134,305,000 from the U.S. Government and $41,216,252 from the Government of Madagascar working jointly to address malaria, maternal and child health, polio and global health security issues. This approach reflects the America First Global Health Strategy by prioritizing effective, results-driven cooperation that advances mutual health security and supports Madagascar’s progress toward self-reliance and independence from foreign assistance. The events bring together U.S. Government health experts and Madagascar’s Ministry of Public Health leadership to conduct a comprehensive review of seven major health programs currently supported by United States funding, discussing current activities, and developing recommendations for programs to align with the signed Memorandum of Understanding, which advances both the America First Global Health Strategy and the Government of Madagascar’s goals. “This memorandum sets the course for U.S. strategic cooperation and support to Madagascar’s health sector over the next five years,” said Chargé d’Affaires Stephanie Arnold at the workshop’s opening. This review will help determine how to maximize the effectiveness and impact of these programs, ensuring resources provided by U.S. taxpayer dollars are used wisely,” she added. “By working together to address global health challenges, we demonstrate America’s leadership and commitment to a safer, healthier world, making both the United States and Madagascar healthier and stronger.” Under President Trump’s leadership, the United States is implementing a Global Health Strategy for foreign assistance that emphasizes increased host country ownership, resilient health systems and human resource capacity to reduce dependency, maintaining frontline support to reduce infectious disease threats, and strong performance monitoring systems for accountability and service delivery. “Diseases do not respect borders, and when we support Madagascar’s capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to infectious disease threats, we are contributing to global health security that benefits communities both here and in the United States,” Arnold emphasized, noting that “The MoU represents a commitment to transparency, accountability, and results.” The United States recognizes the commitment of Malagasy leadership in prioritizing investment of time and significant resources on the healthcare of their own citizens. With recent changes in leadership, Madagascar has an opportunity to strengthen governance, improve performance, and move forward toward greater self-reliance, particularly in the healthcare sector. Through strategic focus and thoughtful collaboration under this MoU, U.S. health programs in Madagascar will deliver meaningful results that advance both countries’ interests while supporting Madagascar’s journey toward greater self-reliance and a healthy future.
Kathy Hochul's health care push runs into GOP wall
The Democratic governor has been trying to enlist the help of House Republicans to ensure people with low incomes and noncitizens can keep coverage.
Citizens cuts Caesars Entertainment stock price target on weak demand By Investing.com
Citizens cuts Caesars Entertainment stock price target on weak demand
CA Politics 360 Full Episode | Proposed Voter ID ballot initiative, CA Democratic Party convention
There’s a proposed ballot initiative that would require voters to show their ID at the polls and for election officials to verify citizenship.
Some Florida voters foresee voter access changes if SAVE America Act becomes law
The act would require voters to bring photo ID and proof of citizenship, such as passports, an original birth certificate or naturalization papers.
Join the Great Backyard Bird Count—for science!
Avian enthusiasts around the world will identify and count birds from February 13 through February 16 as part of a massive citizen science project
Downtown Cary Park adds citizen science station
Visitors can contribute to citizen science and help town horticulturalist care for lotus plants that help keep water clean and control mosquitoes.
Downtown Cary Park adds citizen science station
Visitors can contribute to citizen science and help town horticulturalist care for lotus plants that help keep water clean and control mosquitoes.
House GOP pushes strict proof-of-citizenship requirement for voters ahead of midterm elections
The bill passed Wednesday is a Trump administration priority aimed at scrutinizing ballot access. But it faces blowback in the Senate.
‘Citizen Kane,’ ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and More Set for Rereleases in Fathom Entertainment’s Big Screen Classics Film Series (EXCLUSIVE)
'Citizen Kane,' 'Ocean's Eleven,' and more are set to show in Fathom’s 2026 Big Screen Classics Film Series.
‘Citizen Kane,’ ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and More Set for Rereleases in Fathom Entertainment’s Big Screen Classics Film Series (EXCLUSIVE)
Fathom Entertainment, a speciality distributor to theatrical partners worldwide, has announced its 2026 annual Big Screen Classics film series. The slate of movies set for rereleases this year include...
Sam Greco's memory care reforms ready to move to House floor
The measure is backed by advocates for senior citizens.
House GOP pushes strict proof-of-citizenship requirement for voters
House Republicans rushed to approve legislation on Wednesday that would impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections, a Trump administration priority that faces blowback in the Senate.
AFCON 2027: What is the truth behind the postponement rumors?
Is AFCON 2027 at risk of being postponed? The truth behind the speculationAFCON 2027 / @thecitizen.co.tzConflicting reports have emerged in recent hours regarding the date of the 2027 Africa Cup of Na...
New rule to bar green card holders from US Small Business Administration loans
A new rule by President Donald Trump's administration will bar green card holders from applying for U.S. Small Business Administration loans and limit SBA loan eligibility to citizen-owned businesses, an SBA notice showed.
Virginians can help science take flight during bird count weekend
Bird lovers across the Commonwealth are invited to help scientists track bird populations during the Great Backyard Bird Count, a global citizen science event running Feb. 13–16, 2026. In Virginia, p...
SBA’s New Citizenship Rule Reshapes Small Business Lending
A new SBA rule limits loan eligibility to citizen-owned businesses, removing green card holders and altering access to federally backed small business capital.
‘Sound science’ bill could jeopardize anti-smoking, other public health efforts, advocates say
“This bill doesn’t help our citizens, it just benefits our state’s bad actors."
New Trump administration rule will bar green card holders from applying for SBA loans
The new rule, which goes into effect March 1, says only firms owned by citizens or U.S. nationals will qualify for Small Business Administration loans.
Only one House Dem voted in favor of voter ID, proof of citizenship in US elections
The House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at enhancing election security ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
What SBA’s barring green card holders from business loans means for WMass
The SBA announced last week that all business owners applying for its loan programs must either be citizens or U.S. nationals.
Prosecutors Fail to Bring Charges Against Democrats Involved in Illegal Orders Video
The rejection was a remarkable rebuke, suggesting that ordinary citizens did not believe that the lawmakers had committed any crimes.
An American xc skier charms the world at a tense political moment: He’s “the kind of president America should have”
PREDAZZO, ITALY — Particularly among the citizens of the Scandinavian nations where cross-country skiing is religion, bringing up the United States right now does not exactly elicit warm fuzzies in Europe. U.S. President Donald Trump, after all, has done his best to shred traditional North Atlantic alliances, complained to Norway’s prime minister that he should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and said he could take over Greenland by force. At the Winter Olympics…
Takeaways from a tense House hearing with Trump immigration officials
With the Trump administration’s mass deportation push under intense scrutiny, the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services faced tough questions during a congressional committee hearing on Tuesday.
Asheville business owner charged with poisonings had prior fraud allegations
An Asheville business owner was indicted Jan. 28 in the murder of her daughter and in a 2007 cold case. A 2016 lawsuit alleged business fraud.
Seagrass Saviours – Citizen Science, Divers and the Fight to Restore Plymouth Sound
Citizen science divers are helping restore vital seagrass habitats in Plymouth Sound. Inside a hands-on marine conservation success story.
Making science more visible
As he enters a laboratory with saltwater pools full of fish, Luka Žuvić explains how climate change is affecting the feeding ecology and reproductive biology of Atlantic bluefin tuna, and how the species is adapting.It is a topic that may seem remote to many people. But in a country where fishing and aquaculture are important to the economy and national identity, Žuvić’s research is at the intersection of science and society. “In Croatia, marine and environmental science are closely connected to people’s lives because fisheries, aquaculture, tourism and coastal development are a big part of our lives,” explains Žuvić, a doctoral student working at the Croatian Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in the Adriatic coastal city of Split. He also serves as one of Croatia’s ambassadors to Science Comes to Town (SCTT), a European Commission-funded project that aims to make scientific research more accessible, while inspiring young people to study the sciences. The project kicked off in Spilt on 20 January with a conference attended by partner institutions, community representatives, policymakers and scientists. Along with Split, Brest (in France) and Kiel (in Germany) will host a year of activities connecting scientists with the public.Žuvić, 31, is part of the Young Researchers' Career Development Project, a doctoral programme funded by the Croatian Science Foundation. His research on Atlantic bluefin tuna builds on a foundation-backed project focusing on the reproductive potential of farmed tuna, including their sexual maturation and spontaneous spawning in captivity, which has implications for the restoration of the Adriatic Sea's natural tuna populations. He also studies the tuna's feeding ecology through stomach-content analysis, using DNA metabarcoding and morphological approaches, and employs geometric morphometrics to improve the identification of juvenile tuna and related species. The research aims to enhance understanding of the tuna farming ecology, improve fish farm management and contribute to sustainable aquaculture and fisheries research.Engaging with local communitiesConnecting with the community is crucial for Žuvić’s research. Conversations with fishermen help him better understand the bluefin tuna's habits and how marine pollution affects the fish. “They are also curious about the biology and ecology of bluefin tuna,” he says of local fishermen, adding that sharing research with non-scientists benefits everyone. “Sometimes scientific research is invisible,” he explains. “That's why we as researchers need to go out from our institutions and labs to the public so that we can show them what we are working on. This helps create more trust in the scientists and their research.”Engaging the public also raises awareness about the anthropogenic changes to the marine environment resulting from human activities and pollution. Žuvić helps remove plastic and other rubbish from the Adriatic Sea that pose a direct threat to marine species. Predators, such as bluefin tuna, are especially vulnerable to ingesting waste churned up by fishing trawlers. “They are very opportunistic fish that follow trawlers and ingest everything,” he notes. To illustrate the impact, he has shown students the contents of bluefin tuna stomachs. “Finding a plastic bottle cap in the stomach of a bluefin tuna is concerning,” he says. "Science can be a powerful way to turn curiosity into practical solutions,” Žuvić adds, and sharing research outcomes “helps increase public awareness and improve understanding of human impacts on the marine environment.”The research also has implications for Croatia's economy. The Atlantic bluefin tuna’s rich, flavourful meat is highly valued for sushi and other raw fish dishes. However, overfishing nearly brought its population to collapse by the early 2000s. Although the species has made a comeback in the Atlantic and Mediterranean regions, catches continue to be managed through agreements with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Croatia was a pioneer in developing commercial aquaculture as an alternative to open-sea fishing and accounts for about 10% of the EU’s farmed production of the bluefin tuna, with Japan being a key export market.A history of European collaborationCroatia has participated in Europe’s framework programmes for research and innovation since 2007, six years before officially joining the EU. Žuvić believes that EU funding and collaboration with other European researchers is vital for Croatian science. As part of the SCTT opening conference, the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, the University of Split and other local institutions were part of a science fair to showcase research on topics, such as robotics and an EU LIFE project on the protection of sharks and rays in the Mediterranean. “I hope that Science Comes to Town will help increase scientific literacy and curiosity among citizens, particularly students, and show that science is not something that is distant or abstract, but something that directly affects everyday life,” Žuvić concludes. “Ultimately, I hope that projects like it contribute to building a society that values knowledge and critical thinking, and that we can think about long-term sustainability using knowledge from science.”Science|Business, which connects policymakers, academics and industry through its news reporting, analysis and events, is an SCTT partner.
Help scientists document Midwest light pollution by looking at Orion
More people participating in the citizen science project Globe At Night could help fill gaps in what astronomers know about the extent of skyglow.
Volcano Watch: New ‘Is Tephra Falling?’ citizen science tool launched in Hawaiʻi
Like the “Did You Feel It?” earthquake reporting tool helps make maps of areas affected by shaking, the new tool helps scientists map areas affected by tephra fallout; observations will be used to assess the character and size of the eruption plumes from Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, along with the dispersal pattern of tephra fall.
Potential Impacts of Trump Administration H-1B Visa Policies on the Health Care and Social Assistance Industries
This issue brief provides an overview of the H-1B visa program, analyzes trends in H-1B visa approvals for the health care and social assistance industries using data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and discusses potential implications of recent policies impacting the H-1B program on the U.S. health care workforce.
Volcano Watch — New Hawaii citizen science tool: Is Tephra Falling?
During Kīlauea summit lava fountaining episode 41, residents and visitors shared their observations of tephra falling via email, phone calls, and on social media. A new online tool, “Is Tephra Falling?” will allow people to share their observations in a more systematic way.
SBA Shuts Doors On Small Business Loans To Green Card Holders In Latest Anti-Immigration Move
The policy, which goes into effect March 1, requires 100% of direct and indirect owners of loan applicants to be U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals residing stateside or within U.S. territories.
Trump administration bars non-citizens from agency's small-business loans
The rule change goes into effect on March 1.
Small Business Administration shuts out non-U.S. citizens from its main lending program
Millions Of Legal Immigrants Are About to Lose Access To Government Loans for Small Businesses
The Small Business Administration is cutting off lending to any business with any amount of non-citizen ownership, excluding more than 5 million business owners from federal loans.
Vanderbilt Health acquires Tennova’s Clarksville hospital and related physician clinics from Community Health Systems
Leaders with Vanderbilt Health announced today completion of the acquisition of Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville Hospital and freestanding emergency room Tennova ER-Sango, along with the hospital’s related businesses, including physician clinics and outpatient services, from Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS). Vanderbilt Health has held a 20% minority interest in these operations since 2021. Under Vanderbilt Health’s ownership, the 270-bed hospital will be named Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital (VCH) while the freestanding Sango ER will be named Vanderbilt Emergency Sango. Also joining the Vanderbilt Health system through the acquisition are physician practice locations in Clarksville, Dover, Pleasant View and Tiny Town offering, depending on location, orthopaedics, primary care, wound care, digestive health, urology and surgical services. Acquisition of the hospital and its related physician practices expands Vanderbilt Health’s ability to serve patients across the region, supporting its ability to provide high-quality care in more convenient, community settings that are also more cost-effective. “We are thrilled to welcome Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital into our health system. Providing exceptional care close to home is invaluable, and we are eager to serve the citizens of Clarksville and Montgomery County by expanding the hospital’s programs and services,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Vanderbilt Health and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. This acquisition marks Vanderbilt Health’s fourth regional hospital expansion, further strengthening its presence across Middle Tennessee beyond its already extensive inpatient and ambulatory services in Nashville. VCH joins Vanderbilt Health’s network of regional medical centers that now include Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital in Lebanon, Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital in Coffee County, and Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital in Shelbyville. With a strong record of growth and investment in people, programs and services for its regional hospitals, residents of Clarksville, Montgomery County and the surrounding region can expect that Vanderbilt Health will bring a host of adult and pediatric services to the area. Initial plans for VCH over the upcoming year include increased staffing for the hospital’s emergency services, including the addition of pediatric emergency medicine specialists with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, along with increased surgical specialty offerings. Longer term, physicians and staff will be recruited to bring a broader array of adult and pediatric specialty services to the community. “I am delighted to welcome the physicians, nurses and staff of Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital into the Vanderbilt Health family and look forward to working closely with the hospital’s medical staff and members of the local health care community to ensure we excel at meeting their needs as caregivers as we pursue the goal of improving the health and wellbeing of the patients we serve,” said Jane Freedman, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for Vanderbilt Health. Currently, VCH employs approximately 1,100 staff and more than 30 physicians. Through this acquisition Vanderbilt Health has committed to hire substantially all current employees who are in good standing. Services already established by Vanderbilt Health at VCH include an OB-GYN hospitalist program, an array of oncology services provided by a multidisciplinary team with Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and neonatal care in the hospital’s Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit provided by specialists with Monroe Carell. VCH has been designated as an Accredited Chest Pain Center and a Wound Care Center of Distinction and has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission. More information about Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital is available at: vanderbilthealth.com/hospital/vanderbilt-clarksville-hospital
Help scientists document Midwest light pollution by looking at Orion
More people participating in the citizen science project Globe At Night could help fill gaps in what astronomers know about the extent of skyglow.
State Department announces no citizen initiatives made 2026 ballot; pot campaign says that's premature
Smart & Safe Florida says enough signatures were submitted and verified in county offices before a Sunday deadline.
Who's hosting 'SNL' tonight? How to watch Jan. 31 show
See the host and musical guest for the Jan. 31 "SNL" episode.
US government shuts down partially over homeland security funding
Democratic senators refuse to vote for bill authorizing continued DHS spending after killings of two US citizens
Judge blocks additional citizenship provisions in latest setback to Trump's election executive order
A federal judge has blocked certain federal agencies from requesting citizenship status when distributing voter registration forms
Burkina Faso junta announces ban on all political parties
The multiparty system had been "promoting division among citizens", the country's interior minister said.
Turmoil at homeless program is a sign of harsh fiscal times
It is shameful that our nation is unable to support health care for all of its citizens in a meaningful way.
The Entertainment District Focus Group examining long term future of Berglund Center complex
Its called the Entertainment District Focus Group, a mostly citizen group asked to weigh in on a possible casino at the Berglund Center - just for starters. The Entertainment District Focus Group is centered around the Berglund Center Complex, as the city looks to generate more revenue. Is there sup
Investment and Statecraft: The International Politics of Sovereign Wealth Funds - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
In 1953, Kuwait established the world’s first sovereign wealth fund to invest the country’s oil revenues and generate returns that would reduce its reliance on a single resource. Since then, over 100 separate funds have been created to preserve national wealth and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. Today, they manage over $10 trillion in global assets. In this discussion with GJIA, political economist Kathryn Lavelle explains the increasingly novel dynamics that surround fund behavior and what the world can come to expect from their growing presence in international financial markets. GJIA: When it comes to the roles sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) play in global markets and politics, what would you say makes them unique? Kathryn Lavelle: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) operate on behalf of governments as investors. That in itself is a strange relationship. Within them, a core contest takes place between the state’s interests (or sovereign) part of the dynamic, and the money interests (or wealth) part of it, and these two aspects are frequently in contradiction, serving fundamentally different goals. SWFs are also quite fascinating because when you talk to the people who manage these funds, they have an interest in convincing you that the decisions are made almost exclusively on a financial basis—they really will go to great lengths to differentiate their government owners and those who make the management decisions. At the same time, these people ultimately answer to someone in power. Therefore, for most SWFs, it remains deeply unclear who is actually making the investment decisions and for what purposes. Of course, it is not always clear how other vehicles, such as hedge funds and private equity make the decisions they do, but I think what a lot of people find particularly disconcerting about SWFs is that they seem to act on behalf of people who have a different identity from their own. People who could be trying to manipulate politics and markets in a way that would have a long-term effect on their own populations. Regular investors come and go at will, and they only share an interest in profit as far as most of us understand. However, SWFs have that extra “sovereign” part right behind them that obscures their true interest. GJIA: These funds can be found in countries all across the globe, in both authoritarian states and democracies. Would you say SWFs differ in their goals and structures between regime-type? KL: It is not necessarily regime type that makes the goals and structures of SWFs different. It has to do with their economies. Let’s look at a country like China. There’s going to be a debate about exactly how to characterize the regime, but it is a country with many different kinds of sovereign wealth funds, and a particularly opaque state connection to each. At one time, some of the state-owned Chinese oil companies created specialized investment vehicles listed outside Chinese markets that excluded parts of the firms that were more associated with human rights violations. At the same time, the China Investment Corporation (CIC)—China’s largest SWF—draws a lot of concern, not necessarily because of its investment activities, but because of the dynamics of global politics. So, I wouldn’t really tie differences to regime types themselves in a wholesale way, but rather to how such funds are perceived and how they are structured. Saudi Arabia’s SWF is getting all kinds of attention for its involvement in Hollywood, and this takes me right back to when I was a student in the 1980s, when people were concerned about Japanese investment entities buying assets in Hollywood. They aren’t quite the same in financial terms, but it’s the same kind of concern about foreign investment that drives people to be suspicious, and the whole idea that “foreigners are influencing Hollywood.” This holds true across industries, and it reflects where politics are in places like the United States right now. One metric we can try to look at is transparency, where all the funds will tell you, “we are transparent.” The problem you’ll keep running into with this approach is how you value things. When trying to do comparative studies of equity markets, you’ll find that every country doesn’t use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles like we do in the United States. A fund may appear opaque politically and not want people to show what they’re invested in or what their intent with that investment is, but they could also just not be able to report it because of the way it was purchased, or the kinds of shares they purchased. There are some assets out there that really are difficult to put a monetary value on. GJIA: To what extent do domestic politics shape SWF behavior in both the investing “home” country and the recipient “host” country? KL: This depends on the type of fund present and also on the extent to which voters’ political views are able to influence the fund. For example, in a democratic home state like Norway, the SWF doesn’t invest in nuclear weapons or tobacco because of social concerns, but there is a continuing debate over whether it should invest in oil, even though that’s where most of the money comes from. The degree to which Norway will continue to make those investments, and whether they contradict the government’s overall climate goals, is an open question in Norwegian politics. Because of the way the fund’s governance is structured, it may not be easy to resolve. On the other hand, some people consider pension funds, like the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) in Ohio, to be quasi-SWF. They have a very strict separation between the people who make up the management division and the fund owners. No teacher or professor would want to invest in things that may harm the future of their students. At the same time, a fund manager might see an opportunity in a diversified multinational corporation that offers a good return, despite it deriving part of its revenue from e-cigarettes. These contests are very apparent. Domestic politics can work in host countries too. A good example is Singapore’s SWF, Temasek, investing in Thailand’s telecommunications sector. If you study political economy, you already know that countries everywhere are uncomfortable with foreign ownership of their telecom sectors because a foreign entity could monitor or manipulate our communications with each other. In the case of Temasek, there was significant pushback from Thai citizens surrounding the deal, which went on to influence national political sentiment toward Singapore as a whole, underscoring the risks some SWFs may face with their investment choices. In this case, fund behavior led to the dissolution of the entire Thai government in 2006 and a subsequent coup d’état. GJIA: To address some of this unease, the Santiago Principles were established in 2009 to ostensibly promote trust and transparency. From your perspective, have these mechanisms actually changed fund behavior? KL: In international relations theory, we always like to have a clear set of norms and best practices—the orientation we want the proverbial ship to be going in. In that regard, the Santiago Principles at least got the discussion going about which direction SWFs should take at a time when people were very skittish about the growing size of these funds. Nobody wanted them to be out there and potentially destabilizing economies, so talks about disclosure, conditions for withdrawal, and the independence of managers were helpful when initiated. The biggest stumbling block was that there wasn’t exactly a good way to measure compliance with the Principles, let alone how to hold funds to them. If you read the Principles, they’re overall quite vague. In general, a fund doesn’t want to reveal how and why they make certain investment decisions because that information is proprietary—a fund makes money off of how and why it makes decisions—so how do you reconcile that with loosely-defined ideas of openness? Some decisions might have a political purpose. The bottom line is that trying to figure out and assign a score to compliance is not easy, and it is therefore the reason why the Santiago Principles never really got off the ground to the point where they could truly direct fund behavior. GJIA: Many emerging markets are looking to build their own SWFs from mineral and oil revenues. Historically, have funds shaped development trajectories in these countries? KL: I think the big story in international emerging markets investment is that the investment is increasingly no longer unidirectional. In the past multinational corporations of primarily Western background were the main form of foreign direct investment in a country. That has changed dramatically, to the point where you have companies from so-called “developing countries” taking over companies in the United States. Therefore, the landscape of international investment has changed, and I think SWFs are certainly a possibility to be the next step in the game. Historically, you didn’t need an entire financial vehicle to reinvest commodity revenues in your country, but as emerging markets get more financially sophisticated, their capacity to operate such funds has increased. SWFs would allow treasuries to move from relying on holding foreign exchange assets like cash or government bonds to having broader financial markets and targeted growth areas, while easing pressure on welfare expenditures. GJIA: With their increasing financial weight, do you see the presence of SWFs being a factor in the political choices leaders will have to make with regard to domestic and foreign policy? KL: It will depend on just how big the funds get. One of the reasons people are already apprehensive is because of their scale, and if certain SWFs in certain countries achieve a large-enough size, the presence will absolutely be cause for concern. The other factor political leaders will have to consider are their objectives. It’s not always clear how to define a SWF, or even where its activity is concentrated, but it is certainly a worry from the perspective of national security of opaque external investment. More than that, I think one of the most interesting questions going forward is whether the United States, the home to the world’s largest financial markets, will develop its own fund, for which the Trump administration announced a plan. There have also been several proposals in Congress. Were it to come into being, it would have tremendous weight. At the same time, one of the hallmarks of U.S. capitalism is a lack of government ownership of shares, so it would not be clear how such a fund would be received in domestic politics, or which direction it would take. Given how politically fragmented the country is, a Democratic administration would likely be concerned about different sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, and want investment there, rather than a Republican administration, which might prefer defense industries. No investment vehicle could thrive under conditions of such instability. Moreover, it remains unclear where the money to fund a theoretical U.S. SWF would come from. It would be a fundamentally different entity depending on whether it is financed with debt, economic surplus, commodities, or the sale of state companies, as in the case of Singapore. If it is debt, or government borrowing of some form, then the fund would have to outperform whatever the cost of that debt is, which is not an easy thing to do. I think our political leaders have enough on their plate. Our system has worked well keeping political and investment functions generally separate. We have seen different forms of business rise and fall, and even the perception of different countries, all of which funds are tied to. Unless a major SWF either starts—like in the case of the United States—or collapses—an issue that concerns the Saudis, I don’t see any political tsunamis on the horizon. . . . Kathryn Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between domestic and international and political institutions with a particular emphasis on political economy and multilateralism. Dr. Lavelle’s first book, The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets, explored the political circumstances that surround large issues of stock in the developing world. After being granted tenure at Case Western, she was awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship and named the William A. Steiger fellow, a designation given to the most promising political scientist in her class of fellows. While in Washington during 2006-2007, she worked on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services on issues related to domestic and international monetary policy. Dr. Lavelle holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University; an M.A. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia; and a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University. She is a permanent member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Interview conducted by Sid Mehrotra. Image Credit: Jason Leung, Unsplash Content Licenses, via Unsplash
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