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How Will Trump and Biden’s Tax Plans Affect Americans?

In U.S. presidential elections, the candidates’ respective tax plans continue to be a pivotal issue. For many, the direction of tax policy and the portion of American society that is targeted are key barometers for whether the country is moving in the right direction politically and economically, with Democratic administrations typically associated with higher taxation and Republicans typically associated with lower taxation.

The Most Credible Reporters for Election News

With less than two weeks left before the election, Americans are inundated with thousands of news articles that have every conceivable angle on this election season. Which stories are worth reading with our limited time?

The Factual’s Most Credible Sources for Election News

With the U.S. presidential election less than three weeks away, the need for credible news remains high as voters head to the polls. Given the contentiousness of the competition and questions swirling about what will happen after November 3, having clear, consistent, and reliable information about what’s going on now and in the election’s aftermath will be essential.

The Covid Comeback: What’s Different This Time?

Florida recently ordered a return to normal, with restaurants and bars reopening to 100% capacity. Such policies would lead one to believe that the worst is over. But in other parts of the world, and indeed in parts of the U.S., Covid-19 is very much on the rise, sparking fears of a “second” or even “third wave.” Can we expect the same in the U.S.? Is reopening a prelude to new rounds of shutdowns? Are lockdowns inevitable or are there other strategies that can avert such a resurgence of cases?

The Supreme Court Upheaval: Analysis Across the Political Spectrum

With Senators like Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) announcing their support for President Trump’s efforts to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court, the stage is set for the rapid approval of a Supreme Court justice before the presidential election in November. The process has added yet more fuel to partisan rifts in the country, generating accusations of hypocrisy and reckless partisanship while raising important questions: Who are President Trump’s likely nominees? Is this nomination process unprecedented? How might a conservatively-skewed court influence key issues like abortion rights and healthcare?

Is Climate Change Responsible for This Season’s Wildfires?

The recent HBO miniseries Chernobyl captured a key moment in which human protagonists are confronted by the scale of a disaster. During this unprecedented man-made incident in 1986, nuclear scientists at a damaged nuclear reactor struggled to assess the danger from radiation, especially because the geiger counters on hand — devices meant to measure levels of radiation — didn’t go high enough to measure the amount of radiation leaking into the environment. The radiation essentially exceeded what the scientists had tools on hand to measure.

Are the Police Systemically Racist?

From Jacob Blake, to George Floyd, to Breonna Taylor, 2020 has seen immense pressure to re-examine how the police interact with society. The oft-cited statistic that Black individuals are several times more likely to be shot during police interactions has come under intense scrutiny as a result. While the generalized viewpoint on the left is that this is evidence of systemic racism, skeptics on the right counter that this is a result of Black people being responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime, not systemic racism in the police. At the same time, there’s an increasing number of voices on the right that acknowledge the existence of systemic racism in policing, marking a shift in attitudes since the killing of Michael Brown and the national emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014.

Deciphering the News About the U.S. Postal Service

Though you may have experienced shortages or delays in mail recently, you’ve probably also seen more articles about the mail than you know what to do with. From Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s recent hearings, to long-running worries about USPS funding, to delayed delivery of mailed goods, to worries about the upcoming election, there’s been no shortage of coverage about one of the country’s most beloved and undercounted government agencies. In the latest round of sparring, the House Oversight Committee announced on Monday its intention to subpoena DeJoy for withholding documents about the recent delay in mail delivery, his selection process, and his communications with President Trump.

What Happens When a Democrat and a Republican Go on a 20,000 Mile Road Trip?

What happens when a conservative and a liberal decide to jump in an old Volvo and drive nearly 20,000 miles through 44 states across the U.S.? That’s the question at the heart of a new book, Union: A Democrat, a Republican, and a Search for Common Ground, by Jordan Blashek and Christopher Haugh.

Continue reading “What Happens When a Democrat and a Republican Go on a 20,000 Mile Road Trip?”

Was the Media Biased in its Coverage of Covid-19 Outbreaks in Red and Blue States?

A new Gallup/Knight Foundation poll shows that 73% of Americans think that bias in media coverage is a major problem. Indeed, a Bloomberg Opinion piece in early July lamented that California just wasn’t being criticized in the media the same way that Republican-run states such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona were. Though such a sentiment closely follows American’s expectations of the media, data suggests it isn’t actually true — at least not when it comes to media’s coverage of Covid-19 across different states.