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DNC's Proposed RCV Ban Sparks Debate Over 2028 Presidential Primaries

Defense Secretary Hegseth Testifies Before Senate Appropriations Committee

Can We Fire Hegseth Yet?

Close-up hands of unrecognizable man holding and using smartphone standing on city street, browsing internet, checking social media, using mobile application.

ALS Doesn't Wait. Our Health Care System Still Does.

Six Undeclared Wars Reveal Fatal Costs and Failed Oversight

Six Undeclared Wars Reveal Fatal Costs and Failed Oversight

Missouri Drew a Gerrymander. Now Its Secretary of State Says Voters Can’t Say No.

Missouri Drew a Gerrymander. Now Its Secretary of State Says Voters Can’t Say No.

Just four money-in-politics reforms remain in Democracy Madness

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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMay 11, 2020
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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The two top-seeded proposals for reforming the campaign finance system cruised to victory over the weekend, setting up some pretty predictable match-ups in our Money in Politics "regional" Final Four.

Repealing the Supreme Court's 2013 Citizens United decision (No. 1) blew away the idea of giving taxpayers vouchers for donating to political candidates (No. 9). Similarly, the No. 2 seed, requiring public disclosures to shed light on so-called dark money donations, mopped the floor with the 10th seed, curbing campaign donations by lobbyists.

There was one tiny upset: Proposals for stopping the "revolving door" between public service and the money-making world (No. 5) slid past the idea of making more influence-peddlers register as lobbyists (No. 4).

Voting is open through Tuesday so you can set up the final in this region.

Click the Vote Now button to make your two selections. (You can click the matchups, then each label, for more about the proposals.)




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Rural hospital labor and delivery closures are creating maternity care deserts—and costing communities physicians, jobs, families, and economic investment.

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No Doctor, No Delivery, No Future

Today, less than half of rural hospitals in the U.S. still offer labor and delivery services, and since 2020, 139 of them have stopped delivering babies altogether. That's usually treated as public health statistic. It's also an economic one. Each closure doesn't just push expectant mothers into longer drives to the hospital, it pushes out physicians, jobs, young families, and the investment that follows them. So, what happens to a town after it loses its only labor and delivery unit?

The answer, it turns out, is a lot more than a longer drive to the hospital. More than a third of U.S. counties, 35.1 percent by the most recent national count, are now what researchers call maternity care deserts: places with no hospital or birth center offering obstetric care and no obstetric clinicians at all. Since the end of 2020, 139 rural hospitals have stopped delivering babies, and today less than half of rural hospitals nationwide still offer labor and delivery services.

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A New Standard for Ethical Immigration Reporting
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A New Standard for Ethical Immigration Reporting

Seven months ago, I attended the first day of my Reporting on Race class at USC. Taught by journalist and immigration reporting expert Jean Guerrero, the course offered growth I hadn’t yet imagined, showing me how much I could evolve as a journalist in just one semester.

For the next five months, I researched and reported on an immigration story of my choosing. I wrote about how educators in Los Angeles protect and advocate for students and communities living in fear of ICE deportations. These educators organized community street patrols to keep their neighborhoods safe. Finding sources and producing the final draft took months, but it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my journalism studies so far.

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This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

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