Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Vote Smarter 2020: Key vote-by-mail deadlines you need to know

Vote Smarter 2020: Key vote-by-mail deadlines you need to know
Newsy


Newsy's Vote Smarter 2020 series aims to answer your questions about the most unusual election in modern history. From early voting to counting ballots to staying safe at the polls, get all the information you need to successfully cast your ballot this year.


This video is being made available on The Fulcrum through our partnership with Newsy — "delivering news with the why."

Read More

US Capitol
Free Agents Limited/Getty Images

Trump’s agenda will face hurdles in Congress, despite the Republican ‘trifecta’ of winning the House, Senate and White House

Beginning in January 2025, Republicans in Washington will achieve what’s commonly known as a governing “trifecta”: control over the executive branch via the president, combined with majorities for their party in both the House and the Senate.

You might think that a trifecta, which is also referred to as “unified government” by political scientists, is a clear recipe for legislative success. In theory, when political parties have unified control over the House, the Senate and the presidency, there should be less conflict between them. Because these politicians are part of the same political party and have the same broad goals, it seems like they should be able to get their agenda approved, and the opposing minority party can do little to stop them.

But not all trifectas are created equal, and not all are dominant.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump at a podium
Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images

Was Trump elected due to sexism, misogyny and racism?

As should be expected, the Democratic Party and its supporters are casting blame for the results of the 2024 presidential election. Many are looking inside the party and its ideology, policies, candidates and messaging, as they should. But some are trying to blame sexism (even misogyny) and racism for the failure of a woman of color to win the election.

As Americans, we should all disavow sexism, misogyny and racism, while acknowledging that these views still exist in some human hearts. But blaming the content of American hearts broadly is wrong, further divides us and is counterproductive to the goal of building a majority in the future.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kamala Harris embraces Beyonce

Beyoncé Knowles hugs Vice President Kamala Harris during a in October. Celebrity endorsements did little to help Harris reach young male voters.

Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

How Democrats let a rising generation of supporters slip away

Far-right streamer Nick Fuentes, who usually welcomes publicity, received the type he probably didn’t want after Donald Trump’s election victory.

The 26-year old white supremacist and antisemite, who has been banned from multiple social media sites for violating hate speech policies, posted on X: “Your body, my choice. Forever.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Black woman playing the flute
sdominick/Getty Images

A world designed for men hits a wrong note

Recently, a flute maker sent me a new instrument he had developed. As a professional flute soloist with over 20 flutes in my collection, I was excited to try it. But when it arrived, my fingers barely covered the holes. They were large, and set so far apart that the required hand stretch caused pain. When I expressed my disappointment, the maker casually replied, “Oh! I’ll send you a woman’s model.” I was taken aback. Why would I need a woman’s flute?

Like my string-playing peers who frown at the terms “ladies’ violin” and “ladies’ cello” to describe 7/8th size instruments, I was turned off by the idea that as a woman I would need something different from the standard. But for hundreds of years it has mostly been men who have tinkered with instruments, trying to improve their sound, comfort and musicality using their own bodies as the metric. History’s famous instrument makers like Stradivarius, Guarneri, Hotteterre, Steinway and Boehm were all men designing primarily for men.

Keep ReadingShow less