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Osha Vaccination

Investigations Committee Releases COVID Vaccine Adverse Effects Report, Research Debated across Party Lines

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The Ku Klux Klan Returns to Power

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

May 5 primary ballot issues affect Ohioans' daily lives

Independents and Republicans May Hold the Power in Los Angeles – If They Actually Vote

Independents and Republicans May Hold the Power in Los Angeles – If They Actually Vote

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Saving Medicare Republicans Are Privatizing Medicare

Eight members of Congress cited for doing the legislative branch proud

Rep. Donna Shalala, winner of a Congressional Management Foundation awared

Rep. Donna Shalala was one of two lawmakers recognized by the Congressional Management Foundation for fostering a healthy workplace environment.

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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumOct 06, 2020
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Four lawmakers from each party were honored Tuesday for being good members of Congress. But they were cited for behavior that has nothing to do with their ideologies, legislative skill or rhetorical flair. Instead, they were singled out for running decent modern workplaces and taking care of their constituents.

The awards were the third annual set handed out by the Congressional Management Foundation, one of the most prominent nonprofits advocating the view that a more smoothly operating legislative branch is one of the main cures for democracy's ills.

The winners were culled from a roster of 26 finalistsunveiled in the spring that was notable for the disproportionate share of women (seven) and first-term lawmakers (nine). In the end, three women were honored, two of them Democratic newcomers to the House: Donna Shalala of Miami, who was Health and Human Services secretary in the Clinton administration, and Chrissy Houlahan of suburban Philadelphia, a former Air Force captain.

"Americans usually only hear about Congress when something goes wrong," noted the group's CEO, Brad Fitch, and it's important to "shine a light on Congress when it does something right."

Shalala and GOP Rep. Adrian Smith of Nebraska were cited for fostering a healthy workplace environment. Houlahan and GOP Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas got awards for running a transparent and accountable office.

For constituent service, the awardees were Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. Singled out for their innovative and modernized operations were Republican Rep. Kay Granger of Texas and Democratic Rep. Mark Takano of California.


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From Colombia to Connecticut: The urgent need to end FGM in the Americas

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Bryna Subherwal, Equality Now

From Colombia to Connecticut: The urgent need to end FGM in the Americas

Across the Americas, hundreds of thousands of women and girls are living with or have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). These affected populations are citizens and residents of countries where protections are incomplete, entirely focused on criminalisation, inconsistently enforced, or entirely absent.

FGM is not a “foreign” issue. It is a human rights violation unfolding within national borders, one that all governments in the Americas have the legal and moral responsibility to address.

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The nation has reached a divide in the road—a moment when Americans must decide whether to accept a slow weakening of the Republic or insist on the principles that have held it together for more than two centuries

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A Republic Under Strain—And a Choice Ahead

Americans feel something shifting beneath their feet — quieter than crisis but unmistakably a strain. Many live with a steady sense of uncertainty, conflict, and the emotional weight of issues that seem impossible to escape. They feel unheard, unsafe, or unsure whether the Republic they trust is fading. Friends, relatives, and former colleagues say they’ve tried to look away just to cope, hoping the turmoil will pass. And they ask the same thing: if the framers made the people the primary control on government, how will they help set the Republic back on a steadier path?

Understanding the strain Americans are experiencing is essential, but so is recognizing the choice we still have. Madison’s warning offers the answer the framers left us: when trust erodes and power concentrates, the Constitution turns back to the people—not as a slogan, but as a structural reality.

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METULA — In the historic border town of Metula, the stillness of a fragile ceasefire is often punctured by the sounds of war drifting across the Lebanese border. After U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel in early March in what it described as retaliation. Israel answered with a wave of airstrikes across Lebanon, and within days, Israeli forces had re‑entered southern Lebanon.

Founded more than 130 years ago, Israel’s northernmost community is famously surrounded on three sides by Lebanon. The town looks directly onto the remains of Lebanese Shiite villages that Hezbollah has used as launch sites throughout its campaign. Since October 8, 2023, enduring repeated barrages of anti‑tank missiles and explosive drones, leaving homes in ruins and most families displaced. Hezbollah began its attacks that day, calling it a “war of support” for Hamas following the October 7 assault in southern Israel.

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Senate Committee advances bill banning AI companions for children

Sen. Josh Hawley addresses the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary during a debate over the AI chatbot regulation bill he introduced in October, known as the GUARD Act. April 30, 2026.

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Senate Committee advances bill banning AI companions for children

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan bill that would ban minors from using AI companions, require all chatbots to verify a user’s age, and allow AI companies to be prosecuted for harming children was unanimously advanced to the Senate floor Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. introduced “the Guidelines for User Age-verification and Responsible Dialogue Act,” (GUARD Act) in October as the Senate’s response to the rise in cases of children being groomed and driven to commit suicide by chatbots designed to replicate human interactions known as AI companions.

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