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Donald Trump’s Epstein Mess Keeps Getting Worse

Donald Trump’s Epstein Mess Keeps Getting Worse

How the Trump Administration Abandoned Plans for a Major Cut in Disability Benefits for Older Workers

How the Trump Administration Abandoned Plans for a Major Cut in Disability Benefits for Older Workers

What Bad Bunny Can Teach Us About Leadership, Belonging, and the Power of Place

What Bad Bunny Can Teach Us About Leadership, Belonging, and the Power of Place

​Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Resigns: The Primary Problem Exposes America’s Broken Election System

Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

Claim: One of Bloomberg's former state directors is a registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia. Fact check: True

Crystal Canney

Crystal Canney ran for Maine state Senate in 2018.

Portland Press Herald/Getty Images
Joe Snell, Medill School
By Joe Snell, Medill SchoolJun 23, 2020
Joe Snell, Medill School
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On June 15, Crystal Canney filed a short form registration statement with the U.S. Department of Justice as a political consultant to render services to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.

Canney is the former Communications Director for Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and in January was Maine's state director for the Michael Bloomberg campaign.

In November, Saudi Arabia's Washington embassy signed a one-year, $1.5M contract with the Des Moines-based Larson Shannahan Slifka Group.

In her filing, Canney describes her services for Saudi Arabia as providing strategic and government affairs advice including public relations and communications services. She will also engage in outreach and engagement with the public and media groups as well as have oversight of other consultants.

Latest news

Person filling out absentee ballot.
Democracy

Why 26 Secretary of State Races in 2026 Could Shape U.S. Election Integrity

The baking isn’t done only by elected officials. It’s done by citizens​
Governance & Legislation

The baking isn’t done only by elected officials. It’s done by citizens​

A gavel and a scale of justice on a table.
Democracy

Congress Dormant, Courts Undermined: Why America’s Checks and Balances Are in Crisis

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Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?
Image generated by IVN staff.

Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?

Politico published a story last week under the headline “Poll: Americans don’t just tolerate gerrymandering — they back it.”

Still, a close review of the data shows the poll does not support that conclusion. The poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly prefer either an independent redistricting process or a voter-approved process — not partisan map-drawing without voter approval. This is the exact opposite of the narrative Politico’s headline and article promoted. The numbers Politico relied on to justify its headline came only from a subset of partisans.

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Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?
Image generated by IVN staff.

Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?

Politico published a story last week under the headline “Poll: Americans don’t just tolerate gerrymandering — they back it.”

Still, a close review of the data shows the poll does not support that conclusion. The poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly prefer either an independent redistricting process or a voter-approved process — not partisan map-drawing without voter approval. This is the exact opposite of the narrative Politico’s headline and article promoted. The numbers Politico relied on to justify its headline came only from a subset of partisans.

Keep ReadingShow less
For the Sake of Democracy, We Need to Rethink How We Assess History in Schools

classroom

Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

For the Sake of Democracy, We Need to Rethink How We Assess History in Schools

“Which of the following is a right guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution?"

  1. Right to public education
  2. Right to health care
  3. Right to trial by a jury
  4. Right to vote

The above question was labeled “medium” by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for the 2022 8th-grade U.S. history assessment.

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People holding microphones and recorders to someone who is speaking.

As the U.S. retires the penny, this essay reflects on lost value—in currency, communication, and truth—highlighting the rising threat of misinformation and the need for real journalism.

Getty Images, Mihajlo Maricic

The End of the Penny — and the Price of Truth in Journalism

232 years ago, the first penny was minted in the United States. And this November, the last pennies rolled off the line, the coin now out of production.

“A penny for your thoughts.” This common idiom, an invitation for another to share what’s on their mind, may go the way of the penny itself, into eventual obsolescence. There are increasingly few who really want to know what’s on anyone else’s mind, unless that mind is in sync with their own.

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