Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories

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

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.


Read More

The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Could Reshape Local Government Across Texas

A landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act could reshape Latino and Black political representation in Texas. Guillermo Ramos and other leaders warn the decision may weaken protections against discriminatory election systems in school boards and city councils.

The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Could Reshape Local Government Across Texas

Guillermo Ramos remembers seeing few elected leaders who looked like him while he was growing up in the 1980s in Farmers Branch, a fast-growing affluent suburb northwest of Dallas.

Over the years, Latino representation continued to lag, he said. In 2015, after he had become a lawyer, he decided to do something about it.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Paradox of Young Voters: Disillusioned and Divided
person in blue denim jeans and white sneakers standing on gray concrete floor
Photo by Phil Scroggs on Unsplash

The Paradox of Young Voters: Disillusioned and Divided

In 2024, young Americans were expected to be the stabilizing force in U.S. politics. But instead, they emerged as one of its most paradoxical constituencies: increasingly disillusioned, economically anxious, and sharply divided. Millennials and Gen Z are rapidly becoming the demographic center of political power: by 2028, they may account for nearly half of the electorate. Yet, according to the Spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, only 19% of young Americans trust the federal government to do the right thing most or all of the time. Just 13% believe the country is headed in the right direction. The question arises: will this generation accelerate democratic fragmentation, or help rebuild a more resilient civic culture?

This growing pessimism is not confined to one party. Young Americans rate both major political parties poorly, displaying chronically low approval of national leadership, and increasingly question whether democratic institutions are responsive to their needs. The result is not apathy–it is polarization.

Keep ReadingShow less
stethoscope and us dollar bills on blue-colored background.

As debate over universal health care intensifies in the United States, rising medical costs, insurance complexity, and international comparisons are fueling renewed calls for a transparent, accountable system that guarantees basic care for all Americans.

Getty Images, aaaaimages

The United States May Be the Best Place to Build Universal Health Care

The debate over health insurance in the United States has returned to the forefront as the Affordable Care Act faces political pressure, insurance premiums continue to climb, and physicians experience increasing restrictions from insurance companies. A recent poll shows that roughly 62 to 68 percent of Americans believe the government has a responsibility to ensure health care coverage for all. Yet after more than a century of debate, the federal government has taken only small steps toward universal coverage. Today, the United States spends a relatively high amount per person on health care, but Americans die younger and are less healthy than residents in other high-income countries.

Having experienced different health care systems firsthand, I am deeply aware of how universal health care can impact life. Surprisingly, I have also realized that the United States may actually have one of the systems best suited to making it work.

Keep ReadingShow less
A café owner hangs an “Open” sign on the front door at the start of the business day. Concept of entrepreneurship and readiness.
Getty Images, Willie B. Thomas

Cassidy’s Latest Chance To Boost The Small Businesses He Has Long Championed

When election season rolls around, voters are accustomed to hearing politicians proclaim their support for small businesses–institutions that routinely top Gallup’s list of America’s most trusted by a country mile.

It’s easy to talk the talk during campaign season. It’s much harder to do the work when the cameras are off, and the spotlight fades.

Keep ReadingShow less