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Protesters gather at the Wisconsin State Capitol, holding signs.

Trump's Water Policies Put America's Drinking Water at Risk

Bruce Springsteen In Concert, facing his audience.

Springsteen’s October D.C. Festival Pushes Music Into Democracy Fight

6 US Cities that Show America What Independent Leadership Looks Like

6 US Cities that Show America What Independent Leadership Looks Like

America at 250: A Country in Distress

America at 250: A Country in Distress

Happy teacher asking girl with hand raised sitting in classroom at elementary school

When It Comes to Our Children’s Education, Trump Gets An ‘F’

Claim: Coronavirus relief package includes nearly $2 billion for new FBI headquarters. Fact check: True

FBI headquarters
File:Fbi headquarters.jpg - Wikipedia
Joe Snell, Medill School
By Joe Snell, Medill SchoolJul 30, 2020
Joe Snell, Medill School
Joe Snell, Medill School is a contributor for The Fulcrum, a nonpartisan publication dedicated to strengthening democracy by fostering informed civic engagement and elevating diverse perspectives.
See More Writings by author

A GOP-proposed, roughly $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill includes nearly $2 billion for a new FBI headquarters.

The new headquarters has been in the works for over a decade. Proponents of the funding say that the FBI has been helpful in fighting increased crime due to Covid-19 and cyber breaches against new vaccines. But opponents say the funding is not directly related to Covid-19 and that the Trump administration has something to gain by keeping the headquarters in downtown Washington, near a Trump hotel, rather than it's proposed move to a suburb of Maryland or Virginia.

And many Senate Republicans have uncharacteristically parted with the Trump administration to rebuke the request.

"I would hope that all non-Covid related measures are out no matter what bills they were in at the start," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Tuesday.

President Trump had previously blocked efforts to move the FBI to the suburbs, and critics believe he is concerned a rival hotel could be developed at the agency's current site.

The GOP and Democrats are still far apart on a new coronavirus relief package after Senate Republicans unveiled their proposal on Monday. Senate leaders have not given firm deadlines for negotiations.

Congress has already passed more than $2.5 trillion to combat the pandemic.


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Private Prisons and ICE Exploit Loopholes, Harm Communities

Delaney Hall Detention Facility, Newark, New Jersey.

(Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Private Prisons and ICE Exploit Loopholes, Harm Communities

While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terrorizes Black and brown communities with racial profiling, kidnappings, inhumane treatment, fatal abuse, and killings, private prison investors are asking how ICE can detain more people to increase their profits. Private prison corporations have long profited from immigration enforcement, but they are expecting a financial windfall under the current administration. These corporations are politically and financially situated to rapidly increase detention capacity and cash in on the president’s goal of deporting one million people per year. Stopping these corporations from lining politicians’ campaign coffers is a necessary first step in ensuring that our government is accountable to the people it serves, rather than the corporations it contracts with.

ICE and private prison corporations have long had a symbiotic relationship. Ninety percent of ICE's detainees were already being held in facilities owned or operated by private prison corporations before President Trump began his second term. CoreCivic and GEO Group, two of the largest private prison corporations that lead the multi-billion dollar industry, have been contracting with immigration enforcement for decades. By 2023, ICE contracts accounted for 43 percent of CoreCivic’s revenue and 30 percent of GEO Group’s revenue. The majority of each corporation’s lobbyists have held government positions, and GEO Group’s board of directors “has extensive links with ICE.” The relationship between private prisons and ICE is the embodiment of the “'revolving door’ between the federal government and the private sector.”

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What the World Cup Teaches Us About Democracy

Charles De Ketelaere #17 of Belgium scores his team’s first goal past Unai Simon #23 of Spain during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final match between Spain and Belgium at Los Angeles Stadium on July 10, 2026, in Inglewood, California.

(Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

What the World Cup Teaches Us About Democracy

As live sporting events go, nothing comes close to the World Cup. I was in the stands when South Africa, my birth country, hosted the event in 2010 after decades of exclusion from global athletics. In June of this year, I had a full-circle moment when South Africa played in the knockout rounds for the first time, and I stood with my two American sons, arms around them, singing South Africa's anthem — the only national anthem that weaves multiple languages into a single, unifying song. Later in the week, I was in the stands again, cheering Spain's win over Austria, a country to which my only connections are a brief holiday…and the fact that my mother's family fled from there during the Inquisition.

The magic of the World Cup is that everyone in the stands wears the flags and shirts of countries that are “theirs” in some way. For some, it’s where they were born; for others, where they live or where their ancestors hailed from. For some, it is simply a country they have adopted for the afternoon. It is impossible to know how deep a person’s connection runs simply by looking at them. And next to a person waving one team’s colors is a stranger, family member, or close friend supporting the opposing team—or wearing the jersey of a team that isn’t playing that day at all.

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America's New and Dangerous Gilded Age

A NASA logo is displayed at the entrance to the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building on May 30, 2026, in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

America's New and Dangerous Gilded Age

As part of a collaboration between The Fulcrum's NextGen initiative and Made By Us, The Fulcrum is publishing Letters to America, a series created through the Youth250 project that invites Gen Z to reflect on the nation’s past, present, and future as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary.

On June 4, 1876, on the eve of our Nation’s centennial, the Transcontinental Express completed its inaugural voyage across America’s newly constructed coast-to-coast railroad, traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific in just 83 hours. This milestone marked the end of the Railroad Race and the beginning of the Gilded Age, epitomized by its rail barons and drastic wealth disparity.

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Community leaders condemn anti-immigrant posters in Kenosha as investigation remains open

President Darryl Morin of Forward Latino speaks at a press conference about anti-immigration posters found around Kenosha, WI, on June 3, 2026.

Angeles Ponpa

Community leaders condemn anti-immigrant posters in Kenosha as investigation remains open

KENOSHA, Wis. —Community leaders, faith leaders and civil rights advocates gathered this month to condemn anti-immigrant posters that appeared across Kenosha, as police continue investigating who is responsible.

The posters, which depicted a green alien inside of a firearm target alongside the acronym “MAGA,” were first reported in early June after residents discovered them posted on telephone poles throughout the city, according to Racine County Eye. WISN 12 reported the Kenosha Police Department opened an investigation after receiving reports of the signs.

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