Blog

Politics Podcast: What Happens When Local News Disappears

Politics Podcast: What Happens When Local News Disappears

FiveThirtyEight   More: Apple Podcasts | ESPN App | RSS Local news is disappearing in towns across the country. From 2008 to 2019, the percentage of people who said they got their news from local papers every day fell by more than half. In the same time period, the number of newsroom jobs plummeted. The way Americans get their news has changed and that can have lasting social and political impacts. Elaine Godfrey, a staff writer at The Atlantic, joins…

Read More Read More

The Fight Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Is Coming To Kids Next

The Fight Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Is Coming To Kids Next

It took a small town chiropractor named Charles Brown to help vaccinate millions of kids for decades to come — all because he didn’t want to vaccinate his own. It was 1979 in Houston, Mississippi, and Brown needed to enroll his 6-year-old son in school. But state law required the boy to be vaccinated against certain diseases, and Brown didn’t want to vaccinate his son. At the time, Mississippi had two exceptions to this law: medical exemption, for kids who…

Read More Read More

Biden Announces Vaccine Donation to the African Union

Biden Announces Vaccine Donation to the African Union

President Biden announced the donation of 17 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union, a month after President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya publicly pleaded for more equitable vaccine distribution around the world. Powered by WPeMatico

News Roundup: Youngkin crowd pledges allegiance to insurrection; Trump as deadbeat

News Roundup: Youngkin crowd pledges allegiance to insurrection; Trump as deadbeat

In the news today: Glenn Youngkin rally organizers caused quite a stir when they proudly brought in a flag waved by protesters at the violent January 6 insurrection for the crowd to pledge allegiance to. A bit too on the nose, maybe? On the other end of the insurrection, Trump strategist and Trump-pardoned grifter Steve Bannon remains defiant in the face of subpoenas issued by members of Congress he helped Trump supporters attack. As for Trump himself, even his previous C-list…

Read More Read More

This state is taking big steps to recognize gender-affirming treatments as essential health care

This state is taking big steps to recognize gender-affirming treatments as essential health care

As Daily Kos continues to cover, Republicans are narrowly focused on discriminating against and excluding trans folks. Transphobia is alive and well at all levels of power in the government, but we’ve seen a particular focus on anti-trans bills move up in state legislators. We’ve seen Republicans from traditionally red and blue states support bills that would strip trans folks—and especially trans youth—of the chance to play sports, receive gender-affirming medical care, and even update identification documents.   With all of…

Read More Read More

Green card installation represents hundreds of thousands of TPS families in need of permanent relief

Green card installation represents hundreds of thousands of TPS families in need of permanent relief

Affected individuals and groups continue to demand the Biden administration and Democrats fulfill their promise to deliver legalization, on Wednesday installing hundreds of enlarged green cards in front of the U.S. Capitol. The 400 placards, which read in part “United States of America Permanent Resident,” symbolized 400,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and families who need permanent relief. Among the speakers was Sitar Llama, who said he was representing nearly 15,000 Nepalis TPS holders “whose lives are on the line.” “I was not able to see my kids grow up. My…

Read More Read More