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Veterans Are Defending the Constitution against a New Enemy: The Secretary of War

Veterans Are Defending the Constitution against a New Enemy: The Secretary of War

​Performer Bad Bunny on stage.

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Sparks National Controversy As Trump Announces Boycott

Trump’s Plan to Gather Data on Every Voter Will Cripple Democracy

Trump’s Plan to Gather Data on Every Voter Will Cripple Democracy

The Insurrection Act, Revisited: Power That Waits in the Margins

The Insurrection Act, Revisited: Power That Waits in the Margins

Alex Pretti’s Death Is a Code Blue for the U.S.

Alex Pretti’s Death Is a Code Blue for the U.S.

Podcast: Let's rebuild local news

Podcast: Let's rebuild local news
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumApr 12, 2023
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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In much of the country, local news has collapsed, threatening civic pride and a sense of community for countless towns and cities. This dramatic change has also deepened America's divides. As this episode's guest, journalist and public policy researcher Anna Brugmann explains, "the internet disrupted the local journalism model". Newspaper advertising revenue fell 80% since 2000. Thousands of local and regional publications closed. Most surviving newsrooms faced drastic cutbacks.

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President Trump Should Put America’s AI Interests First
Media & Technology

President Trump Should Put America’s AI Interests First

Wisconsin Bill Would Allow DACA Recipients to Apply for Professional Licenses
Governance & Legislation

Wisconsin Bill Would Allow DACA Recipients to Apply for Professional Licenses

Trump’s Energy Promise Collapses as Electricity Bills Keep Rising
Governance & Legislation

Trump’s Energy Promise Collapses as Electricity Bills Keep Rising

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Overreach Abroad, Silence at Home
low light photography of armchairs in front of desk
Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash

Overreach Abroad, Silence at Home

In March 2024, the Department of Justice secured a hard-won conviction against Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, for trafficking tons of cocaine into the United States. After years of investigation and months of trial preparation, he was formally sentenced on June 26, 2024. Yet on December 1, 2025 — with a single stroke of a pen, and after receiving a flattering letter from prison — President Trump erased the conviction entirely, issuing a full pardon (Congress.gov).

Defending the pardon, the president dismissed the Hernández prosecution as a politically motivated case pursued by the previous administration. But the evidence presented in court — including years of trafficking and tons of cocaine — was not political. It was factual, documented, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If the president’s goal is truly to rid the country of drugs, the Hernández pardon is impossible to reconcile with that mission. It was not only a contradiction — it was a betrayal of the justice system itself.

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Ending the Cycle of Violence After Oct. 7

People visit the Nova festival memorial site on January 23, 2025 in Reim, Israel.

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Ending the Cycle of Violence After Oct. 7

The United States and Israel maintain a "special relationship" founded on shared security interests, democratic values, and deep-rooted cultural ties. As a major non-NATO ally, Israel receives significant annual U.S. security assistance—roughly $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing and $500 million for missile defense—to maintain its technological edge.

BINYAMINA, NORTHERN ISRAEL — The Oct. 7 attack altered life across Israel, leaving few untouched by loss. In its aftermath, grief has often turned into anger, deepening divisions that have existed for generations. But amid the devastation, some Israelis and Palestinians are choosing a different response — one rooted not in vengeance, but in peace.

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America’s Operating System Needs an Update

Congress 202

J. Scott Applewhite/Getty Images

America’s Operating System Needs an Update

As July 4, 2026, approaches, our country’s upcoming Semiquincentennial is less and less of an anniversary party than a stress test. The United States is a 21st-century superpower attempting to navigate a digitized, polarized world with an operating system that hasn’t been meaningfully updated since the mid-20th century.

From my seat on the Ladue School Board in St. Louis County, Missouri, I see the alternative to our national dysfunction daily. I am privileged to witness that effective governance requires—and incentivizes—compromise.

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Meet the Faces of Democracy: Cisco Aguilar

Cisco Aguilar

Photo provided

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Cisco Aguilar

Editor’s note: More than 10,000 officials across the country run U.S. elections. This interview is part of a series highlighting the election heroes who are the faces of democracy.

Francisco “Cisco” Aguilar, a Democrat, assumed office as Nevada’s first Latino secretary of state in 2023. He also previously served for eight years on the Nevada Athletic Commission after being appointed by Gov. Jim Gibbons and Brian Sandoval. Originally from Arizona, Aguilar moved to Nevada in 2004.

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