Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Texas official fights back, cites successful identification of illegal votes

While conceding big problems with their database of possibly illegal voters, Texas officials are asserting their highly polarizing inquiry has so far yielded 80 people who should not have been on the rolls.

Keith Ingram, who runs the elections office for the Texas secretary of state, testified Wednesday that 43 people on his list of suspect voters have since asked to cancel their registrations because they are not American citizens. Another 37 said they should be dropped from the registration roster but did not volunteer a reason.

At the same time, Ingram revealed his agency's original list of 95,000 suspect voters included as many 20,000 who had proved their citizenship to the Department of Public Safety, which issues driver licenses and state ID cards in Texas.


That report last month prompted Republican Secretary of State David Whitley to announce (without detailing his methodology) that as many as 58,000 votes had been cast by non-citizens statewide in the previous two decades – a declaration that prompted President Trump to declare Texas "the tip of the iceberg" of massive voter fraud nationwide.

Ingram will continue testifying Friday at the federal courthouse in San Antonio, were Judge Fred Biery is hearing a class action lawsuit seeking to stop the investigation of voter fraud, and potential purging of the rolls, in the most populous Republican red state – and one that's inexorably becoming more Democratic blue thanks to urbanization and the steady increase in the Latino population.

The next key witness is supposed to be Betsy Schonhoff, who ran the citizenship-verification effort at the secretary of state's office before resigning without giving a reason two weeks ago. But she has not reported to the courthouse as a subpoena required.

Read More

Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Since the development of American mass media culture in the mid-20th century, numerous examples of entertainment media have tried to improve attitudes towards those who have traditionally held little power.

Getty Images, skynesher

Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Entertainment has been used for decades to improve attitudes toward other groups, both in the U.S. and abroad. One can think of movies like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, helping change attitudes toward Black Americans, or TV shows like Rosanne, helping humanize the White working class. Efforts internationally show that media can sometimes improve attitudes toward two groups concurrently.

Substantial research shows that Americans now hold overly negative views of those across the political spectrum. Let's now learn from decades of experience using entertainment to improve attitudes of those in other groups—but also from counter-examples that have reinforced stereotypes and whose techniques should generally be avoided—in order to improve attitudes toward fellow Americans across politics. This entertainment can allow Americans across the political spectrum to have more accurate views of each other while realizing that successful cross-ideological friendships and collaborations are possible.

Keep ReadingShow less
Close-up of military man holding hands with his therapist during counseling at mental health center.

PTSD Awareness Day is not only a time to advocate for veterans' mental health but also an opportunity for all Americans to reflect on the emotional responses triggered by political division.

Getty Images, Drazen Zigic

National PTSD Awareness Day: A Call to Action for Veterans and Civil Discourse

Each year on June 27, National PTSD Awareness Day shines a light on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), encouraging those affected to seek support. This observance was officially recognized by the U.S. Senate in 2010, following an initiative by Senator Kent Conrad to honor a North Dakota National Guard member who tragically took his own life after serving two tours in Iraq.

PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing traumatic events such as combat, assault, accidents, or natural disasters. Its symptoms—ranging from flashbacks and anxiety to mood swings and avoidance behaviors—can be deeply disruptive. PTSD Awareness Day is part of PTSD Awareness Month, which spans the entire month of June, promoting education, treatment options, and community support for those affected.

Keep ReadingShow less
International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues
woman in brown sweater covering her face with her hand
Photo by Dev Asangbam on Unsplash

International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues

Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at the University of Washington, said moving to Seattle with hopes of studying computer science quickly became overwhelming.

"The hardest part for adjusting to life in the U.S. as an international undergrad was also my first year living overseas alone without my parents around me," said Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at UW. "Trying to manage your time, your money, and your energy, all while being so lonely, the first year felt like living in a nightmare."

Keep ReadingShow less