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Immigration News Today: Trump Pauses Visa Appointments Worldwide

Immigration News Today: Trump Pauses Visa Appointments Worldwide

American dollars positioned around each other.

$40 Trillion National Debt & Future of Failed Supply-Side Economics

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Independents Could Decide the Nov. 3 Election Amid Rising Discontent

This wide angle shot shows a fully operational modern data center hallway, lined with rows of fully operational server racks behind glass panels. The highly polished reflective floor mirrors the glowing indicator lights and overhead ceiling lights, creating a sleek, futuristic industrial tech environment focused on enterprise cloud computing and digital data storage.

The Killer Robots Have Arrived

Podcast: Separating news from noise

Podcast: Separating news from noise
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumJan 30, 2023
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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How much news is too much? Or not enough? News Over Noise, the new podcast from Penn State's News Literacy Initiative explores that question and offers guidance on how to consume news that enhances your participation in our democracy without becoming overwhelmed by all the noise on social media and the 24/7 news cycle.

News Over Noise co-hosts Matt Jordan and Leah Dajches join Democracy Works to discuss how the news impacts our mental health, the future of media literacy education, and more. Jordan is a professor of media studies and Dajches is a post-doctoral researcher, both in the Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State.

Listen.


Latest news

People wearing vests with "ICE" and "Police" on the back.
Community

When Immigrants’ Rights Are Threatened, Democracy Is Too

Hasan Piker
Media & Technology

While the world is on fire, the media are still obsessed with Israel

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Media & Technology

Political Chatbots Should Not Be Allowed To Set the Pace

Two Yellow Speech Bubbles Overlapping Common Ground on Blue Background Front View.
Bridging & Common Ground

Building Trust, One Conversation at a Time

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A woman timing another women in the military as she does push ups.

A female Marine completes an abdominal plank as part of her physical fitness test in 2022.

Lance Cpl. Elijah Hurtado/U.S. Marine Corps

Hegseth Made the Fitness Test Harder for Women in Combat Roles. Most Female Marines Are Passing.

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Quantico, Virginia, last September, he delivered a blunt message: Things were changing fast in the newly renamed Department of War.

“No more division, distraction, or gender delusions,” he said. “We are done with that shit.”

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How Composting Connected Two Women Across Six Decades

An 82-year-old and 24-year-old bonded over composting—and discovered shared roots, values, and a friendship that broke every generational stereotype.e

Cavan Images/Getty Images

How Composting Connected Two Women Across Six Decades

Every day, we cross paths with people whose lives seem completely different from our own. We exchange polite greetings with neighbors, chat briefly with acquaintances, and pass strangers without ever learning their stories. Yet beneath the surface, we often share more than we realize. Sometimes, all it takes is one conversation. Jean and Bella, 82 and 24 respectively, discovered this through their interest in composting.

Bella regularly attended a Sunday morning "Cookies and Conversation" intergenerational discussion group at Hebrew SeniorLife, where Jean lives in Brookline, MA. The two had spoken before, but only in passing. Like many people meeting someone from a different generation, Bella wasn't always sure how to bridge the gap.

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people filling out their ballots at voting booths and submitting their vote.

Independent voters may hand Democrats control of Congress this fall — but as history shows, they'll get nothing in return. Here's how to change that.

Pressmaster/Getty Images

Swinging Outcomes Is Not Enough

The midterms are six weeks away, and polls predict that independent voters, who broke for Donald Trump in 2024, are planning on voting for Democrats by wide margins. Among Latinos, the numbers are staggering, to the point that the Republican gerrymanders in Florida and Texas may actually result in Democratic victories.

If the Democrats take control of Congress, it will be because of independents. And what do independents get in return?

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Nigeria and United States flags together realtions textile cloth fabric texture

Nigeria and United States flags together

Getty Images

Democracy in Nigeria Has Taught Me What It Offers

The Fulcrum is committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists.

We asked Idris Mohammed, a Fall Fulcrum Fellow, to share what democracy means to him and his view of its current health.

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