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Keeping Rhode Islanders covered requires a smart investment in our health and economy
Our state must expand and make permanent state-funded subsidies while finding strategies to keep Rhode Islanders insured, writes Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island president.
Trump says he is canceling DNI hearings as he vents frustration at legislative maneuvering over surveillance law
President Trump says he is canceling a planned hearing Wednesday for his nominee to serve as Director of National Intelligence, venting frustration at legislative maneuvering over a US surveillance authority.
Roper St. Francis facility latest health venture in growing Dorchester/Berkeley counties
WCIV ABC News 4, Charleston, South Carolina provides coverage of local and national news, sports, weather and community events in the region, including North Charleston, Mt Pleasant, Summerville, Hanahan, Goose Creek, Rantowles, Cottageville, St George, Moncks Corner, Jacksonboro, Ravenel, Cottageville, Walterboro, Sullivans Island, Dewees Island and Folly Beach.
NFL, NFLPA, NBPA tell Congress they back college sports bill
The NFL, NFLPA and NBPA on Tuesday sent statements to Congress supporting the Protect College Sports Act and lauding specific provisions it includes while also encouraging further "negotiations" during the legislative process.
NFLPA, NBAPA tells Congress it backs college sports bill
The NFL, NFLPA and NBPA on Tuesday sent statements to Congress supporting the Protect College Sports Act and lauding specific provisions it includes while also encouraging further "negotiations" during the legislative process.
'Freedom is not finished': Legislative Black Caucus celebrates Juneteenth
As caucus leaders celebrate the Juneteenth holiday, they say the fight for freedom and equality is ongoing.
Tired of Local Politics Threatening Your Favorite Bike Lane?
Calbike is rallying behind new legislation that will protect bicycle infrastructure from being removed for purely local political reasons.
Tybee Island Marine Science Center debuts new interactive exhibits
The Tybee Island Marine Science Center has many new exhibits.
Rhode Island health insurers seek double-digit hikes
'Unsustainable’ increases reflect higher cost of prescription drugs and fewer people on the state health exchange.
Cruz and Cantwell refuse to bend to SEC and Big Ten concerns in revised college athletics legislation
The revised Protect College Sports Act enters markup with media pooling rights intact, despite pushback from the SEC and Big Ten conferences.
Rhode Island health leaders recommend avoiding contact with Watchaug Pond in Charlestown
NBC 10 WJAR is the news, sports and weather leader for Providence, Rhode Island and surrounding communities, including Cranston, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Warwick, Newport, Bristol and Narragansett, Rhode Island and Attleboro, North Attleborough, Swansea, Fall River, Taunton and New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Business seeks help finding 2 accused of stealing inflatable from Providence yard
NBC 10 WJAR is the news, sports and weather leader for Providence, Rhode Island and surrounding communities, including Cranston, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Warwick, Newport, Bristol and Narragansett, Rhode Island and Attleboro, North Attleborough, Swansea, Fall River, Taunton and New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Q&A: Term-limited Sioux Falls mayor reflects on Republican fractures, conflict with legislators
TenHaken became emotional Monday while reflecting on positive relationships with city leaders and his staff’s accomplishments.
48 Arizona Legislative Candidates Earn Crucial Small Business Endorsement
NFIB Arizona PAC endorses 48 pro-small business candidates running for the state legislature
Q&A: What does science say about plants as medicine?
Plants have always played an integral role in traditional medicine and healing practices. In this Q&A, Kent Vrana, Elliot S. Vesell Professor of Pharmacology and director of the Center for Cannabis and Natural Product Pharmaceutics at Penn State College of Medicine, discussed the relationship is between plant science and human health and the growing role of plant-derived solutions in medicine.
Class action lawsuit claims radiology vendor Nano-X Imaging misled investors
The Israel-based manufacturer allegedly made “misleading statements” regarding its business operations and prospects, attorneys charge in the complaint, filed June 12.
RI Health Insurers Pushing for Rate Increases as High as 35%
The spiraling cost of health insurance is hitting record highs. And Rhode Island businesses are about to get clobbered again due to the rate increases…
Lee, Niou face off ahead of Senate District 27 Democratic primary
Both Grace Lee and Yuh-Line Niou are progressives who favor taxing the rich, but oppose the city's plan for the district’s planned jail site as a replacement for Rikers Island.
Lee, Niou face off ahead of Senate District 27 Democratic primary
Both Grace Lee and Yuh-Line Niou are progressives who favor taxing the rich, but oppose the city's plan for the district’s planned jail site as a replacement for Rikers Island.
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt pushes federal fix for college sports amid NIL chaos
Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt is among lawmakers pushing federal legislation aimed at creating uniform rules for college athletics as lawsuits make it harder for the NCAA to enforce basic regulations.
Rahm Emanuel and Kevin McCarthy discuss politics at Long Island Association luncheon
Rahm Emanuel and Kevin McCarthy spoke on national politics at the Long Island Association luncheon moderated by Stacey Sikes
“Love Island USA” is bringing Casa Amor to movie theaters
Peacock's popular dating competition will soon offer one of its most drama-packed episodes, Casa Amor, in 28 theaters.
'Love Island USA' executive producer James Barker dies at 40 while shooting season 8 in Fiji
'Love Island USA' executive producer James Barker died at 40 after 'suffering a medical emergency' while filming season 8 of the reality show in Fiji.
'Melted in a pot somewhere': Vikings used Islamic silver coins to make their early pennies, study finds
The silver in a Viking Age hoard found in Denmark was from melted-down coins from the faraway Islamic world, a new study finds.
'Melted in a pot somewhere': Vikings used Islamic silver coins to make their early pennies, study finds
The silver in a Viking Age hoard found in Denmark was from melted-down coins from the faraway Islamic world, a new study finds.
Katie Thurston Delays Biopsy, New Treatment for Stage 4 Breast Cancer for 'Mental Health Reasons’: ‘I Need a Break’
Katie Thurston has been open about her fear of needles and the emotional toll of her stage 4 breast cancer journey. The ‘Bachelorette’ alum said she’s now pushing back a biopsy and new treatment to prioritize her mental health.
Rhode Island health insurers request double-digit premium hikes for 2027
Some Rhode Islanders could pay significantly more for health insurance next year.
Business Monday: New small business network offers support for aspiring entrepreneurs on the Big Island
The new network seeks to cultivate local businesses grounded in cultural values and shared prosperity through mentorship, funding and resources.
Left NYC for New England: Happier living in Providence, Rhode Island
I grew up in San Diego and always wanted to move to the East Coast. I thought NYC was my dream home, but now, I'm happier living in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island is about to see a massive political reshuffling
Rhode Island is facing the prospect of sweeping change across all three branches of government. But it won't change the partisan balance.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Oklahoma’s state primary
Oklahoma voters will select nominees for federal and state offices including U.S. senator and representative, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and both houses of the state Legislature in a state primary on Tuesday
How morals influence food, health decisions
Olin’s Sydney Scott researches why consumers act the way they do in the grocery aisle – and the doctor’s office.
Weird Science: Historian uses carbon dating to show N.C.'s most enduring mystery isn't so mysterious
For nearly a century, American school children have been taught the same haunting mystery. In 1587, a group of English colonists landed on Roanoke Island. Then, they vanished, leaving behind only one cryptic clue carved into a wooden gatepost: the word "Croatoan."In this edition of Weird Science, Public Radio East's Annette Weston spoke with a Buxton native who is using science to dispel what he said is the myth behind the truth.
Weird Science: Historian uses carbon dating to show N.C.'s most enduring mystery isn't so mysterious
For nearly a century, American school children have been taught the same haunting mystery. In 1587, a group of English colonists landed on Roanoke Island. Then, they vanished, leaving behind only one cryptic clue carved into a wooden gatepost: the word "Croatoan."In this edition of Weird Science, Public Radio East's Annette Weston spoke with a Buxton native who is using science to dispel what he said is the myth behind the truth.
Is This the End of Political Islam?
For decades, Islamic governance held allure in the Middle East. Now some scholars say the Islamist wave has passed.
One California politician’s unexpected crusade against ultra-processed food
Jesse Gabriel "has passed more food policy in three years than most legislators enact in their entire careers," says one supporter.
Weightlifter Dodds added to Jersey team for Glasgow 2026
Dodds is the first weightlifter to represent the island at a Commonwealth Games since 1962.
Politics, Pubs, Parades, and the Parish: Joan Quigley, Part II
Former Assemblywoman Joan Quigley reflects on her legislative accomplishments, including helping pass New Jersey’s DNA evidence law.
Pumice Rafts Encroach on Admiralty Islands
Buoyant volcanic rock fragments from an underwater eruption drifted across the Bismarck Sea and choked island coasts.
Iran vs. New Zealand 2026 livestream: How to watch World Cup for free
Live stream all the action from the 2026 FIFA World Cup without spending anything.
This is a 'sad statement' about where we are in politics in America right now: Speaker Mike Johnson
House Speaker Mike Johnson discusses Congress's busy legislative agenda, including a new reconciliation package, the Save America Act, and the need to reauthorize FISA, on 'Sunday Night in America.'
South Carolina's Oldest Mall Is A Century-Old Hub Of Shops, Boutiques, And Entertainment
Explore Columbia’s historic Arcade Building, South Carolina’s oldest indoor mall, with unique shops, art galleries, restaurants and Main Street attractions.
One year after her death, lawmakers reflect on former House Speaker Melissa Hortman's legacy at the Legislature
Lawmakers across the political spectrum say what best defines Hortman's legacy in St. Paul is that she consistently put people above politics.
Washington Journalists Offer Insight on 2026 Political Landscape
At the Federal Legislative and Political Forum Sunday, leading political observers talked about the elections, redistricting and the importance of year-round advocacy.
25 best whodunit movies in movie history, according to fans
Click here to view this image from islandernews.com.
Georgia's vote-counting method will soon be banned. Lawmakers will try to find a fix this week
Legislators passed a law two years ago barring the use of the QR code printed on ballots that the state relies on to tally votes beyond July 1 of this year, but no replacement method was ever implemented.
Chairman Anthony Rodriguez Introduces Legislation to Strengthen Oversight, Accountability, and Long-Term Success of Miami-Dade Mental Health Center
Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez announced legislation that will be considered by the Miami-Dade County Commission on June 16 to establish enhanced oversight, transparency, and accountability measures for the new Miami-Dade County Mental Health Center. While emphasizing his support for expanding mental health services, Chairman Rodriguez said the County must ensure that this significant
Curacao can shock Germany on World Cup debut, says Advocaat
Curacao coach Dick Advocaat believes the tiny Caribbean island can "steal some points" from four-time winners Germany on their tournament debut on Sunday."I think we will have to steal some points, but in a legitimate way.
Curaçao embraces historic World Cup debut against Germany
Curaçao is preparing for its historic World Cup debut against four-time champion Germany with a sense of excitement and pride. On Sunday, the island nation of 150,000 people will become the smallest country ever to compete at the World Cup. Coach Dick Advocaat has done his best to keep his players focused and relaxed as they navigate this unprecedented experience.
445 birds euthanized after bird flu found at Providence business
Cases of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza were confirmed in some birds at Antonelli Poultry in Providence, according to the Rhode Island departments of Health and Environment Management.
This week in politics: How Schuylkill County’s legislators voted
Both the PA House of Representatives and Senate were in session this week — the House passed 22 bills and the Senate passed 23. The U.S. House and Senate were also in session — the House passed 24 bills and the Senate passed 12. Let’s take …
‘Legislated out of business’: TN dispensaries face ‘difficult decisions’ ahead of new statewide THCA ban
Some Middle Tennessee hemp retailers may not be able to continue operating after June 30, as a new prohibition on THCA products takes effect.
Emboldened Senate Democrats block even bipartisan bills in hardball approach to counter Trump
The decision by Senate Democrats to let a key surveillance authority lapse comes as they’re increasingly emboldened in their legislative fights against President Donald Trump
A year after the Hortmans were killed, legislators are still looking over their shoulders
Minnesota politicians are balancing grief, security and purpose as they adapt to life after the June 14 attacks.
In Retrospect: Poland, Russia, Europe
In April I spent a few days with Zryw, a Polish non-profit organization that recruits young people to enter politics and public life. Their aim is to build a new generation of civic leaders in Poland. I’ve followed their evolution from the beginning; my son is one of the founders. (“Zryw” means “impulse” or “burst of speed” in Polish). Julie Chmielewska, one of Zryw’s leaders, interviewed me at the event. Here is the conversation, lightly edited for grammar and context: Julia Chmielewska: Assuming that culture shapes institutions, could we conclude that some cultures are more prone to authoritarianism? Anne Applebaum: I don’t think so. Every culture, every nation, and every country has the potential for change. When we look at history, we can see that nations do change. Poland has changed, for example, from the 1980s to today. There’s a completely different mentality here than the one I encountered when I first visited, in 1988. The current generation sees the world through a different frame. So no, I don’t believe that certain nations are doomed to authoritarianism, or to anything. Of course, there are political and cultural traditions, but they can always be challenged. JC: So do you think there’s something intrinsic in human nature that pushes people to democracy, freedom? AA: I think there is something in human nature, a deep instinct, that pushes people towards freedom, yes. People who live in authoritarian countries – and I’ve heard this from them over and over again – sooner or later find themselves angered by a feeling of helplessness. They can see the unfairness of crooked courts, irrational political decisions. They naturally dislike the fact that somebody has all the power while they have none. In those circumstances, people who have no political background at all sometimes are politicized just by that frustration. I’m thinking of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, for example, who was a Belarusian housewife, until the circumstances of her husband’s arrest forced her to become a politician. I met a woman who is a Uyghur from China, and who had come to live in Turkey. After several of her family members were arrested, she too was propelled into a political role. These kinds of experiences make people interested in democracy or political reform, even if they thought they didn’t care. I also think that the opposite is true: some people instinctively prefer homogeneity, order, hierarchy. They don’t like the confrontation of opinions or the noise of debate, and they lean towards a single leader or a unified regime. I think that most of modern history is shaped by the clash between those two different sides of human nature. JC: Which force do you find more powerful today? AA: I think they both have a lot of power and there’s no way of predicting who wins. Even in countries that seem very shut off or stuck in an authoritarian system can change. We’ve seen that happen. And vice versa, I think democracies can also begin to fail and slide into authoritarianism. So it’s very important not to be complacent in either direction. JC: I want to go into your history and your experiences. You’ve lived in Russia during a time of incredible change in the late 80s, and then you came back to do research in post-Soviet Russia. AA: I was a student in Russia just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I then traveled and worked there extensively in the 1990s, and I met people who really were full of hope. They hoped that Russia could become a democracy, or at least a place that guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of the press. These weren’t ideas that came from Washington. Although now the narrative in the Kremlin is different, I met many people who were working towards exactly that kind of transformation. A friend of mine ran a series of seminars – once a year, and then later several times a year, in cities all over Russia – designed to get people to discuss politics in new ways. She invited young politicians and journalists, as well as foreigners. I went to many of them, in Moscow as well as Volgograd and Novosibirsk. Over two decades, hundreds of people came to these seminars, and all of them wanted Russia to be different. I remain convinced that many Russians still want Russia to be different. It’s just that the old system, in the form of Putin, a representative of that system, returned. The KGB reimposed their power. And this wasn’t because of something to do with culture, this was to do with money and politics, and who was in charge. JC: You’ve partially answered my question... I wanted to ask whether that excitement of the 1990s was an exception from the Russian historical norm which has been rather authoritarian? AA: Of course, if you look at the history of Russia since the 18th century, there have always been liberal groups, reformers and revolutionaries. There were the Decembrists, in the early 19th century, and the rural populists later on, who tried to organize the peasantry. A significant group of liberal Russians appeared at the turn of the 20th century, people like the father of the writer Vladimir Nabokov, who was a Russian politician before the revolution. These groups were small in number, but sometimes had a broader significance. The Russian dissident movement in the 1950s and 1960s actually invented the modern human rights movement. It was their idea to hold the leaders of the Soviet Union accountable for the language they used, to remind them of the treaties they had signed and the promised they had made. They created the Helsinki group, for example, that held Soviet leadership to the language of the Helsinki Treaty, which formally ended the Second World War and which contained guarantees of human rights, at least on paper. That idea spread to Eastern Europe, and similar tactics were used here in Poland. (Benjamin Nathans recently wrote a great book about the Soviet dissidents, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause) JC: But seemingly, even if they do ever get power, they could never hold on to it. AA: We don’t know, because they have never really had power. But in any case, we also don’t know what will happen in the future. There is no reason to assume that Russia will forever be condemned to totalitarianism. Even during the first fifteen years of Putin’s regime there was some form of democratic politics. Only when the full-scale war began did he bring everything to an end: he shut down all remaining independent organizations and killed his most important opponent, Alexi Navalny. But does that mean he is popular, that he enjoys legitimacy? Even now, we don’t really know what Russians think about him, or about the war. There is no way of doing real polling in Russia because nobody will answer an independent pollster over the phone. JC: Do you think that the flock of young people, especially young men, who fled Russia after the start of the war represent a continuation of liberal movements that refuse to partake in the authoritarian state, or do you think they are moving for the sake of self-preservation – “I don’t want to go to the army, so I leave”? AA: I’m sure it’s both. I actually know many people who left Russia for political reasons either in the very last years before the war, or else just after the war began. JC: And do you see a change in the young generation versus the old one that have fled? AA: It’s hard for me to say because the people who I know were mostly already politicized. I do know some younger people who left, but most of them were already either active in the opposition, or working as journalists. Many of them very self-consciously think of themselves as maintaining Russian culture abroad, just as in the 20th century the Soviet dissidents or the anti-communist White Russians once thought of themselves as people who maintained the true Russian culture, outside of Bolshevik Russia. JC: Let’s move on to Poland. One of your first experiences with Poland was reporting on Margaret Thatcher’s first state visit, in the autumn of 1988. You followed her around the farmers’ market. AA: She was making a symbolic gesture. She wanted to welcome free markets, but the only one she could really visit was the farmers’ market at Hala Mirowska. JC: And I want to talk about this area because today you can look out of any window in that district, Mirów, and see rows and rows of skyscrapers. How does it feel to see a country built from the ground in such a short time, both politically and economically? AA: You know, when you’re living in a period of dramatic change, it’s always hard to know whether the change is positive or negative. The transformation in Poland created winners and losers, as well as new classes of people, new political movements of different kinds. At the time, it sometimes just felt like turbulence. Now, we can look back at the 1990s and early 2000s in Poland and see in retrospect that the country was headed in towards prosperity and European integration. In around 2009 or 2010, I remember speaking to a woman who worked cleaning government offices, and who asked me if her daughter should study in Amsterdam or in London. This seemed to me to be a real transformation, and it happened very fast: within a few years, Poles stopped feeling like second-class Europeans, and a generation of younger Poles appeared who had no qualms about crossing borders. JC: We again live in turbulent times. Do you think we’re heading towards positive outcomes? AA: I can’t make predictions, because everything that happens tomorrow depends on what people do today. Also, history doesn’t have a trajectory. It doesn’t move in a particular direction. You only think it does afterwards. As I said, you can look afterwards at Poland in the 1990s and you could say this was a period of great progress. But not everybody at the time saw that. Sometimes people are very wrong about a given country’s trajectory. I remember people writing about Ukraine in the 1990s, about how dangerous it was that Ukraine was independent, that this was going to be an anti-semitic state, that Ukrainian nationalism was going to come back... and although you can say many bad things about Ukraine, the country made many bad choices, actually it became a pretty tolerant state which now has a Jewish president and until recently a Muslim defense minister. JC: In the 1990s Poland’s and Ukraine’s GDP were roughly similar. Ukraine was even a bit richer. So the starting point was similar for both of these countries, but they’ve turned out very, very differently. Even if we stop in 2014. Why do you think Ukraine “chose East”? Was it external influence? AA: No, I think Ukraine was in a different position. First of all, central and eastern Ukraine had been part of the Soviet Union since the 1920s, and had therefore experienced a longer period of occupation, repression, Sovietization and even Russification. Ukraine did not have, as Poland did, an alternative elite: a large cadre of economists and politicians, who already had some experience in opposition politics and in independent thinking. In Poland, the transformative finance minister, Leszek Balcerowicz, had already thought about how an economy might be decentralized before he took office. We can argue about how successful he was, but at least he was prepared to try something new. In Ukraine, people weren’t prepared. For one, there hadn’t been much space even for an illegal opposition in the previous couple of decades. Ukraine was also in many ways still emerging from colonial occupation. For the previous couple of centuries, many of the most capable Ukrainians had moved to Russia, and the first generation of leaders in independent Ukraine tended to be former Soviet apparatchiks. They didn’t immediately seek to become closer to western Europe. Instead, they looked for some kind of economic and political “third way” and an accomodation with Russia. Ukraine became stuck in this position, half-in, half-out and became pretty profoundly corrupt. JC: The Polish alternative elite had a vision of where they wanted the country to go. I think the general perception now is that this vision ends with the next election, right? Is this a natural process of gaining power? AA: Their vision, and it was shared by the time by politicians who now call themselves both left and right, was that Poland should join the EU and NATO, as fast as possible. My husband (Radek Sikorski) was in the very first government that said it wanted to join NATO. At the time this was taken very badly in Washington: the demand for NATO membership absolutely came from Poland, not from the US. But even then, in the early 1990s, many Poles already understood that the Russian sphere of influence would grow once again, that it was important to become part of the transatlantic alliance and an integrated Europe as fast as possible: NATO, the EU, the Council of Europe, all of the trading and security alliances. That consensus lasted through several different governments and over many years, even governments containing former communists. For twenty years, right, left and center disagreed about many things, but they all agreed on the direction that the country should go. In retrospect, that consensus created the basis for prosperity in Poland. JC: And regarding the Polish-Ukrainian relations. We know that antagonisms, e.g. the myth of Wołyń [a massacre of Poles that took place in what is now Western Ukraine, in 1943] are increasingly used in Polish political discourse today. In Ukraine, nationalist historians make heroes out of UPA, the Ukrainian revolutionary army, which is held responsible for this tragedy. Where do you see a start for burying the hatchet? Is the reconciliation of our nations possible? AA: So here’s a strange thing: For more than a decade after they both gained independence, Poland and Ukraine participated in a number of projects that were designed to solve exactly these kinds of Polish-Ukrainian differences. Books were published that were jointly written by Polish and Ukrainian historians, monuments were built. These projects were successful: If you’d asked me this question in 2010, I would have said that there are no real historical issues between Poland and Ukraine, that the two countries had mostly reconciled. For a number of reasons, this began to shift. In Poland, children and grandchildren of victims of the Wołyń massacre felt their tragedy hadn’t been fully recognized. In Ukraine, nationalist groups wanted the UPA partisans who had fought against the Soviet Union recognized for their heroism, despite the fact that some in this broad and not well-defined group were also linked to Wołyń. In both eastern Poland and western Ukraine, the memory of the ethnic cleansing that took place there in the late 1940s - Poles were moved West, Ukrainians East - to accomodate new borders has left feelings of displacement and bitterness. The wave of Ukrainian immigration, which started before the war, may have provoked some of this. But don’t underestimate the role played by Russia, which has always wanted to create discord between Poland and Ukraine, and pumps out propaganda to that effect in both countries. Vandalism on both sides of the border, damage done to cemeteries and monuments, is sometimes carried out by provacateurs working for Russia, just to create bad feelings. The Polish-Ukrainian conflict also hides a different reality: although there are real grievances and bad memories, the truth is that the biggest tragedies both nations experienced in the twentieth century were inflicted by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. That should unite these two countries, not divide them. JC: This week (19.04.2026 – Ed.) in Hungary we saw that using historical narratives to create grievance has no longer worked. Are you optimistic about the direction after Orban’s loss? AA: The Hungarian election was really important because it shows that people can actually resist powerful, dominant propaganda. The ruling party Fidesz controlled all of the TV, 90% of the newspapers, the constitutional court, the bureaucracy... and yet people had the nerve to vote against it and resist it. It’s also an important election because Hungary created a huge network of well-funded think tanks and foundations that were funding other far right groups and projects. So that loss is going to have a knock-on effect in other places too, maybe even in Poland. JC: What you’ve said about resisting propaganda reminds me of one of the interviews you did about talking to Russians in the post-Soviet era who claimed that people knew that the system was lying. Why do people choose to believe in these regimes anyway? AA: Because it’s useful. Stephen Kotkin, an American historian, once described how people would learn how to “speak Bolshevik”: It was just a language that you needed to use in order to get by in society. If you didn’t talk the way the regime wanted you to talk, then you might have problems, or lose your job, or your kids would not get into university. It was a way of getting along. Communist Poland was similar, at least in the early years. When I was writing a book about the Sovietization of Eastern Europe after World War II, I met a lot of people who wanted to talk a lot about the war, when many of them had done really heroic things. But almost nobody wanted to talk about the decade afterwards, between 1945 and 1956. This was when you had the short period of terror, violence and Polish Stalinism. To stay safe, people felt the need to just go along with what others were saying, or stay out of politics, or use communist jargon without necessarily believing it. I don’t judge them for it, and I wouldn’t describe all of those people as collaborators. It’s easy to feel moral certainty in retrospect, because we know that communism ended. But if you were living in 1949, it might not have been clear to you that communism was going to end. In very repressive societies, maybe about 10% of people who are really evil – collaborators, torturers. Maybe 10% of people are really brave and who find ways to resist. And then around 80% of people have kids, they have parents, they have to have jobs and they’ve had to get through it somehow. Strange though it may sound, I’ve found that the work I did on that book is now very useful in explaining some of what’s going on in the United States today. There are plenty of members of the Republican Party in Congress who know perfectly well that Donald Trump says many things that aren’t true. But they avoid criticizing him because it’s inconvenient, because they would get in trouble, because someone would attack them on the internet. So actually you don’t even need mass terror to get people to conform. JC: Is Gen Z reinventing agency? AA: We’ll see. In any generation you can find groups of people who want agency. If you live in a society that’s unfair, for example where a tiny number of people have captured most of the wealth, then at a certain point people rebel. This is always easier for younger people, who have you have less to lose. The question now is how the internet will affect the relationships between citizens and the state, and how it will change organizations. The “Twitter revolutions” people spoke about as early as 2008-9, mass protests organized online, have often proved to be very superficial. Although you can easily join something just by clicking, the work of creating a real movement requires physical participation. Successful mass movements of the past, for example the Civil Rights movement in the United States, were built by people who had spent many years together. They had participated in non-violent workshops together. They practiced and prepared. Just using the you can get everybody to show up at a certain moment, but then when the protest is broken up, nothing happens. It’s also true that the repressive regimes have more recently learned how to use the internet to undermine leaders and movements. Most of all, they now understand how to make people cynical. The form of propaganda that most modern authoritarians use - and I think the Russians really pioneered this - deploys sneering cynicism. Instead of praising the rulers, the regime propagandists mock the opposition movement leadership for being supposedly corrupt or sexually degenerate, with the goal of undermining any kind of idealism. JC: MAGA grew on the internet? AA: MAGA is a real grassroots movement. They had symbols, red hats, they showed up at rallies. But you’re right that the cynicism, the sarcasm and the distrust that the movement embodies came originally from the internet, and this is different. Fifty years ago, most European political parties had a social base in real organizations, in trade unions for Social Democrats, in church groups for Christian Democrats. As people stopped going to church and as the trade unions became smaller, the social base of these parties disappeared. Now people who wouldn’t have known one another in the past meet on the internet and create new movements, many of which don’t last. JC: Is history ending? Going in stale circles? AA: History never ends. In truth, human beings want contradictory things at the same time: order and freedom, stability and change. These things are never resolved, and when a society swings too far in one direction, people always push it the other way. But each time that happens, the result is different. Certainly it is true that we are now in a period when old philosophers and ideas from the 1930s are undergoing a revival. Carl Schmitt, who was a philosopher who was very influential on the Nazis, is back as an influence on both the far left and the far right, once again inspiring people to think that all politics has to be existential, that all politics is about defining and defeating enemies. In the US, some are also bringing back dominionism, the idea that we need a Christian and not a secular state. It’s also true that we are living through a more fundamental shift. The old left-right divide, which was mostly about the size of the state, is much less important now. Instead, we are arguing about more fundamental things: what are our rights, what protects our freedom. Or how much power do we want to give small elites, versus how much power to give ordinary people. In America a small group of very wealthy people now control information, because they control the social media platforms and AI, which means they determine what people will read and learn. Finding a way to preserve preserve zones of autonomy and independent thinking, this is going to be the main task for the next generation. JC: What is the one book that a person interested in Central Europe should read? AA: You could read my book “Iron Curtain: the Crushing of Eastern Europe” which tells the story of how the Soviet Union imposed its culture on the region. Or read Tim Snyder’s history of the region, “The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999.” And everyone should read “The Captive Mind” by Czesław Miłosz, which describes exactly the phenomenon we were talking about: why do people collaborate? I joined Scott Galloway and the brilliant Fiona Hill in a discussion about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the future of global power, and what these conflicts reveal about America's role in the world. Scott told us that this was the 400th edition of his podcast, which is quite a number: My friend Francesco Chiamulera runs a brilliant series of literary events, Una Colline di Libri, A Hill of Books, in the Prosecco Hills, a region of vineyards and elegant hill towns in the Veneto, north of Venice. We did an event in Vittorio Veneto and also drove and biked around the countryside. Buy Autocracy Inc Buy Iron Curtain Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
How Iran's 'Stolen Revolution' failed to live up to its promise
Many supporters of Iran's revolution believed some form of democracy should govern the country. But over the decades, the Islamic Republic's radical religious rulers have launched brutal crackdowns on social justice and political freedom. Compass Points moderator Nick Schifrin discusses how the 1979 revolution failed to live up to its promise with Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin.
Legislative primaries could determine whether business issues take top priority
Voters will decide 23 legislative primaries on June 30. Many pit candidates focused on economic issues with those focused on social issues.
Advocates push for more funding to implement Daniel’s Law
So far, the bill hasn’t passed in the state Legislature.
Cuba opens more sectors to private business
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Friday announced greater freedoms for small businesses across the country, as the communist government takes steps to liberalize the island's economy in the face o...
Tiffany accepts donation from business owner he’s helping to purchase national forest land
Last July, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany authored legislation that will allow a Forest County concrete supplier to purchase 14 acres of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
William Floyd High School Science Students Win Second Consecutive LI Water Quality Challenge
For the second consecutive year, a team of William Floyd High School science students under the direction of Christopher Orlando were selected as winners in the Long Island Regional Planning Council’s (LIRPC) annual Long Island Water Quality Challenge. The team received a $2,500 grant to implement its proposal at the school, and earned WFHS the recognition of being the first school to earn back-to-back victories in the competition!
Behavioral Health Screening Legislation Advances
The House Health Policy Committee advanced legislation addressing preadmission screening assessments for behavioral health patients, as other healthcare bills advanced in the legislature during the week of June 8.
Pro-economic growth policy back in business following primaries, some say
Some in the Republican party are feeling positive about returns from the June 2 primary when it comes to legislative races. Results could indicate a shift in policy and legislative leadership.
Council revises school buffer zone bill after mayoral veto
Mayor Zohran Mamdani vetoed the original legislation in April.
Faith, political leaders celebrate religious freedom after Indiana LG's Islam comments
Prominent Republican leaders joined Democrats, religious leaders and devout Hoosiers at the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday to condemn faith-based discrimination — a response to anti-Islam comments Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith made last month, including calling the religion a "demonic death cult."
Texas Republicans press for local control over spread of AI data centers on first day of convention in Houston
The proposed language by the party’s Legislative Priorities Committee appears to have strong support from rural delegates, but it potentially stands at odds with the priorities of Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders.
McMahon weighing options on local laws passed by county legislature
He made those comments following a public hearing on Thursday, as lawmakers discussed imposing term limits on the county executive's office.
Kushner’s Island Dream Gets Caught Up in Albanian Politics
Protests against his luxury developments have morphed into an anti-establishment movement.
US Small Business Administration approves Economic Injury Disaster Loan after snowstorm
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee announced the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration for the state.
Rhode Island Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest to no longer retire
Rhode Island Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest will not be retiring.
From funding to government contracts: Hilton Head free business seminar series launches June 16
Money Talks is a free six-part business seminar series for entrepreneurs, June 16–Aug. 25 on Hilton Head Island. Sessions cover financing, legal, taxes, fraud.
Trump's push for $350 billion 'arsenal of freedom' hits GOP skepticism
Trump calls on Republicans to pass a third reconciliation bill with $350 billion in defense spending and voter ID legislation, but GOP skepticism grows.
Florida Chamber rolls out first wave of legislative endorsements
The pro-business group largely backed incumbent Republicans alongside a handful of Democrats.
‘Bad policy and even worse politics’: DeSantis spurns potential White House AI preemption
The Trump administration’s longstanding opposition to state AI laws ultimately killed legislation in Florida, and now Gov. Ron DeSantis fears policies in other states could fall by the wayside.
Using AI for medical advice; pelvic floor exercises; the hidden dangers of burning incense; plus other stories with Vanderbilt Health sources
Colin Walsh, MD,Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, was on WTVF News Channel 5‘s “Morningline” show in an interview about whether or not it is safe to use AI for medical advice. Time magazine reporter Stacey Colino interviewed Elisabeth Sebesta, MD, Assistant Professor of Urology, for a story about pelvic floor exercises for issues including menopause, erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence in men. “Each Breath,” published by the American Lung Association, quoted Brian Christman, MD, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, for a story about the hidden dangers of burning incense. William Schaffner, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, was quoted by several news outlets about public health issues, including: Healthline (low vaccination rates lead to more cases of measles, whooping cough and other preventable diseases); ABC News (U.S. measles cases surpass 2,000 for second year in a row); and CIDRAP News (high-dose flu shots cut rates of hospitalization in older adults). Sarah Rohde, MD, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, was quoted in a People magazine story on patient Makalii Andrade, a surfer from Kauai Island who suffered a serious neck injury in 2022 and recently underwent surgery at Vanderbilt Health to begin the final phase of his recovery. James Crowe, MD, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, for a piece in Nature about antibodies against a strain of Ebola. SFGATE reporter Gillian Mohney interviewed Xue Zhong, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, for a story about a study of a blood test looking at Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. Matthew Franklin Mart, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, was quoted in a Healio story about how inflammation and illness severity is linked to less cognitive resilience after a person has been an ICU patient. The “How We Really Feel” podcast host Sula Windgassen, PhD, interviewed Lindsey C. McKernan, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Urology, for an episode focusing on pelvic and bladder health. The podcast is also available on YouTube and the podcast website. In addition, podcaster Monica Sanford interviewed cardiologist Mark Glazer, MD, for her podcast “The Monica Sanford Show”; the two-part interview is here and here.
Chip Roy fields proposal to block pay and power for longtime lawmakers
Rep. Chip Roy proposes ending pay and power for House and Senate lawmakers who serve 12 or more years in their respective legislative chambers.
Scientists Explored an Island Cave and Found 1 Million-Year-Old Remnants of a Lost World
A New Zealand cave revealed million-year-old fossils of ancient birds and frogs, showing extinctions began long before humans arrived.
Social Security is Facing a Political Crisis
On Tuesday the Social Security Trustees released their latest report on the system’s finances. The numbers didn’t change much: Unless something is done, the Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, Social Security’s official name, will be unable to pay full benefits starting in either 2032 or 2034, depending on some technical issues. That’s not far away: If the Trustees are right, the prospect of a Social Security crisis will loom over the next presidential administration. It’s important to understand, however, the nature of the looming crisis. It won’t be an economic crisis. It won’t even be a serious fiscal crisis. Whatever you may have heard, Social Security isn’t in danger of going bankrupt. What we’re facing, instead, is potential political crisis. Congress and the White House could easily take action to sustain America’s retirement system. But given the current state of our politics, there’s no guarantee that they will. There is a widespread misunderstanding of how Social Security works. While Social Security was designed to look like a pension fund, it isn’t. A pension fund pays benefits out of a stock of assets it has accumulated over time. In contrast, Social Security operates as a government transfer program, like food stamps or Medicaid. Now, unlike food stamps — but like the highway trust fund — Social Security is on paper supported by a dedicated tax, the payroll tax, that is assigned to that program. But I say “on paper” because from an economic point of view assigning the payroll tax to Social Security is just an accounting convention. What matters for the U.S. economy is the overall balance between government spending and government revenue, not the difference between one type of spending and one source of revenue. So there’s no inherent economic significance to the fact that by 2034 payroll tax receipts will be insufficient to cover promised benefits. There is, however, a legislative issue. As long as the Social Security Administration can pay benefits out of payroll taxes and its cash reserve, there’s no need for Congress to vote each year to authorize benefits — they just keep going out until further notice. However, once those resources become insufficient, benefits will fall —by 17 percent according to the Trustees — unless Congress passes new legislation that “tops up” Social Security’s finances. Yet the current administration and Republican party are such extremists that there is a real risk that Social Security will be held hostage on behalf of their goals. If this should come to pass, the hostage-takers will claim that shoring up Social Security is unaffordable. Right on cue, Mike Johnson, the Trump-sycophant Speaker of the House, declared on Monday that “entitlement programs” like Social Security “have to be adjusted and fixed,” and that Republicans will introduce a plan to that effect next year. But this is a ploy, because while the cost of maintaining Social Security benefits at their promised level isn’t trivial, it is in fact affordable. According to the Trustees’ report, the actuarial balance of OASDI up through 2050 — the amount of additional funds it would need to keep paying full benefits for the next 25 years — is 1.06 percent of GDP. To put that number in perspective, the Trump administration proposes increasing military spending next year by $420 billion, equivalent to about 1.4 percent of GDP – without any discussion of whether that’s affordable Yet how did we get to the point where Social Security will need to be topped up? The main answer is that we have an aging population, with a growing ratio of retirees collecting benefits to workers paying into the system: Trump’s anti-immigration policies are making this problem worse. According to the Trustees’ report, lower immigration will deepen Social Security’s financial hole because many immigrants are working-age adults who will pay into the system for decades before they collect benefits. In fact, this problem may be much bigger than the report acknowledges: The report’s baseline assumption is that we’ll have net immigration of almost 1.2 million people a year, and even the pessimistic case assumes 750,000 a year. Meanwhile actual net immigration has already been cut far below that — and may now be negative. Moreover, Social Security is being financially damaged by growing income inequality in America. Payroll taxes are levied only on wages up to $184,500, and they don’t touch capital income. With the distribution of income increasingly shifting from labor to capital, as well as becoming more unequal among wage-earners, revenue from the Social Security payroll tax has been falling as a share of national income. From 1990 to 2024, it fell from 5.02 percent of gross domestic income to 4.46 percent. Which brings me to the question that, these days, we ask about everything: How might Social Security be affected by the advent of AI? A short answer: If, as many of us fear, AI accelerates rising income inequality, it will further reduce the payroll tax receipts that currently pay for Social Security and further endanger its finances. On the other hand, if AI, as its advocates promise, leads to faster economic growth, it will increase the potential tax base that could and should be used to support Social Security and other social insurance programs. But to take advantage of that larger base, we’ll have to get serious about taxing wealth and capital income. Is Social Security in trouble? Yes, but only because of the way its financing is currently structured — a structure that no longer works well because our society and economy have become so unequal. Moreover, Trump’s immigration policies are further endangering its already deteriorating financial condition. So don’t believe Republicans’ gaslighting that it will be necessary to cut Social Security benefits. All that is necessary to preserve Social Security is political will to raise taxes on the wealthy and a sensible immigration policy. MUSICAL CODA Actually 67 under current law.
The 'Tartan Army' is coming for Providence
Between 6,000 and 7,000 Scottish soccer fans are expected to descend on Providence, Rhode Island for the World Cup.
Air quality health advisory for ozone issued for Long Island on Thursday
An air quality health advisory has been issued for Nassau and Suffolk counties for Thursday, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Data: Deadly overdose deaths drop for 3rd consecutive year in RI
Deadly drug overdoses statewide have dropped 50% since 2022, according to new data released by the Rhode Island Department of Health.
College sports bill sparks unusual alliances
A push on Capitol Hill to craft legislation to rein in college sports amid skyrocketing costs and roster upheaval has created strange alliances across both the political and athletic spectrums, as was on display Wednesday at a roundtable hearing to rally support for the Senate’s version. The head football coaches at the University of Memphis […]
Cruz sets aggressive timeline on college sports bill - Live Updates
The Senate Commerce chair laid out a plan to get his legislation through the Senate this summer, but House opposition remains.
Hegseth Visits Guantánamo Bay Amid U.S. Tensions With Cuba
The trip comes as the Trump administration pushes for political and economic changes on the island.
Staying heart healthy and low-stress amid NBA Finals
Dr. Shaline Rao, Chief of Cardiology at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island, gives tips on staying healthy while watching the Knicks.
I On Politics
DUTCH KILLS ASSN MEETING JUNE 11: The Dutch Kills Civic Association will hold their final General Meeting of the season on Thursday, June 11 at 7:00 pm at the Growing Up Green school, located at 39-27 28th Street in Long Island City. Officers from the 114th Precinct will give updates about the community. QUEENS HOMEOWNERS
Scientists Found a Continent-Sized Geological Structure Hiding Beneath Antarctica
A team led by a geophysicist in Italy now believes that about 90% of Earth’s fresh water ice may not be on solid ground after all.
Cell Therapy Clinical Trials: Breaking Down the Science
Breakthrough T1D is here to answer all of your questions about islet cell therapies, from the research lab to real-world treatments.
Chairman Griffith Delivers Opening Statement at Subcommittee on Health Hearing to Examine Policies to Increase Health Care Transparency for Patients and Employers
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing committee.
ActBlue C.E.O. to Invoke Fifth Amendment in Testimony to Congress
The head of the Democratic fund-raising behemoth was called to testify on Wednesday about reports that she may have misled Congress about how it vets foreign donations.
Politics almost broke them. Instead, they found power in community.
Mo Turner — queer, Muslim and Black — faced discrimination and censure in the Oklahoma legislature. They have found healing through activism.
Could Bill Pulte be a FISA-shaped problem for the Trump Administration?
By tapping an underqualified ally for one of the most sensitive intelligence jobs on Earth, the president is risking a major legislative miss.
Pritzker opens door to new Bears talks, blames team for stadium stumbles
Gov. JB Pritzker says he’s open to trying to come up with a solution to keep the Bears from leaving Illinois, including a special session of the Legislature.
UHC Medicare Advantage patients set to lose in-network access to Brown Health physicians
Rhode Islanders insured under UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans may once again have to find new doctors amid contract negotiations between the insurer and Brown University Health.
Lawmakers continue to discuss potential Wyoming Business Council reforms
During the second meeting, the committee moved to revive the consensus block grant funding program. Plus, the Legislative Service Office (LSO) was directed to draft a bill based on agency recommendations for reforms and removal of underutilized WBC programs.
There’s more money in politics than ever. Here’s one way Rhode Island can fight back.
The Rhode Island Corporate Power Reset Act would also redefine corporations in a way that prohibits political spending.
ICE funding bill is up for House vote after weeks of Republican delays
The legislation, which the Senate passed Friday, has been held up by disputes over President Donald Trump’s ballroom and the $1.8B payout fund.
Dennis Arfa Inducted by Billy Joel into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame
Induction part of 2-day Billy Joel Symposium Event Stony Brook, NY — Music Executive Dennis Arfa, Billy Joel’s longtime booking agent and chairman of the Music Division at Independent Artist Group, was recently inducted into the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) by LIMEHOF Inductee Billy Joel himself at a special ceremony at their Stony Brook Village location (97 Main Street). The induction was part of the 2-day ‘Billy Joel Symposium’.
Albany County Legislature OKs purchase of 3 more former Saint Rose properties
Legislators voted Monday to spend $5.7 million on the three former college properties.