Opinions
How elections forecasters became political 'prophets'
Before there was a FiveThirtyEight model, or a New York Times election night needle, or 13 keys revealing “how presidential elections really work,” there was an economist named Louis Bean. Bean achieved a sort of political fame for a book he wrote in 1948 that suggested, contrary to conventional wisdom,… Read
For U.S. adversaries, Election Day won't mean the end to efforts to influence Americans
Soon, the ballots will be cast, the polls will close and a campaign marked by assassination attempts, animosity and anxiety will come to an end. But for U.S. adversaries, the work to meddle with American democracy may be entering its most critical phase. Despite all the attention on efforts to… Read
Trump has long blasted China's trade practices. His 'God Bless the USA' Bibles were printed there
Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices — China. Global trade records reviewed by The Associated Press show a printing company in China’s eastern… Read
Some online conspiracy-spreaders don’t even believe the lies they’re spewing
There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories, and their reasons for doing so. But there’s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don’t believe their own content. They are… Read
Companies keep selling harmful products – but history shows consumers can win in the end
In 2023, 42 U.S. state attorneys general sued Meta to remove Instagram features that Meta’s own studies had shown – and independent research had confirmed – are harmful to teenage girls. The same year, a report from the nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise found gun manufacturers were targeting the youth market… Read
Trump's already harsh rhetoric on migrants is turning darker as Election Day nears
Donald Trump’s campaign billed the event at a Michigan manufacturing plant as an address by the Republican presidential candidate on the local economy. Residents of the battleground state, aides noted in advance, were being hit hard by inflation. But with rolls of insulated building materials as a backdrop and workers… Read
Countdown to Middle East war? Region can step back from brink
With Israel poised to attack Iran, having already blindsided friends and foes alike with its blitz against Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, all the talk is of an inexorable slide towards a new, pan-Middle Eastern war. Yet brakes remain to halt a regional fall into a wider conflagration that would lock Israel… Read
Being bullied in high school can make teens less optimistic about the future
The effects of bullying on teens’ mental health are well-documented. But could bullying also shape their future aspirations? Our latest research reveals that teens who are bullied in ninth grade become more pessimistic about their educational and career prospects beyond high school. Specifically, being bullied increases teens’ risk for depression,… Read
Why trying to protect freedom may work better than campaigning to protect democracy
When Joe Biden was the Democrats’ candidate for president in 2020 and again this year, he staked his candidacy on being the person who would save democracy from the threat Donald Trump posed. But Kamala Harris has shifted away from that message and toward the idea of protecting and advancing… Read
Mark Rutte's NATO mission: Rally West, reassure East, help Ukraine
NATO's next boss, Mark Rutte, will need all the coalition-building skills he honed as Dutch prime minister to hold the Western alliance together amid war in Ukraine, fears over Moscow's next move and political uncertainty in Washington. Rutte took over on Tuesday as secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization… Read
