Fewer than a quarter of Americans (23%) currently rate the country’s economic conditions as excellent or good, while 36% say they are poor and about four-in-ten (41%) view conditions as “only fair.” While positive ratings of the economy have slowly climbed since the summer of 2022, there has been a slight drop since the start of the year – when 28% rated economic conditions as excellent or good. This change has been largely driven by Democrats and Democratic leaners: In January of this year, 44% of Democrats rated the economy positively, compared with 37% now. Still, ratings among Democrats remain higher…
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Inflation and the affordability of health care top the public’s list of the biggest problems facing the country, with 62% of Americans describing inflation as a very big problem and 60% saying this about health care costs. Narrower majorities say that partisan cooperation (57%), drug addiction (55%) and gun violence (53%) are very big problems in the country today. And roughly half say that violent crime (51%), the federal budget deficit (49%), the state of moral values (48%) and the quality of public K-12 schools (46%) are each very big problems. Illegal immigration, climate change and racism each rate lower…
Humans arrived in Australia at least 65,000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence. These pioneers were part of an early wave of people travelling eastwards from Africa, through Eurasia, and ultimately into Australia and New Guinea. But this was only one of many waves of migration in the story of the human colonisation of the globe. These waves were probably driven by climate change and the ability of groups to adapt to a wide range of environments. In new research published in Nature Communications, we have found evidence that a large wave of migration reached the island of Timor not…
The United Kingdom is proud to be a close partner of African states and their peoples. We are committed to working together through long term, reliable, cooperation, based on common objectives. At the regional level, the African Union is an essential partner in our shared efforts to advance peace and prosperity. We recognise the important role played by African Union-led peace support operations, such as in Somalia, and for the importance of predictable and sustainable funding. As many have said today, resolution 2719 was a significant step forward; it is now important that the UN and AU work together to…
On May 22-23, 2024, the United States and Germany met in Berlin for the biannual Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) on science and technology cooperation to chart the future course of the partnership between our scientific communities, grounded in our shared values. State Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Sabine Döring opened the discussions. Director General for European and International Cooperation from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Armin Reinartz co-chaired the discussion with Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Oceans, and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Rahima Kandahari. During the JCM, the United States and…
Of all the monkey species around the world, one stands out with its large, bizarre nose. In male proboscis monkeys, their bulbous noses will often hang past their mouths. But why evolve such a strange feature? Are they a visual sign of health and status to potential female mates, and to other males? Or did they evolve to help the monkeys make honks and other loud sounds? In our new study, published in Scientific Reports, we have deepened our understanding of these enlarged nasal structures by investigating what lies beneath: the structures in the skull. Our findings help to explain…
While federal politics often seems “top down”, some issues are pushed onto the national agenda from lower levels. We’re seeing this with the increasing concern to protect kids from the harmful effects of social media. This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sympathised with calls for limits on children’s access to social media, while last week’s budget allocated funds for a trial of age verification, originally recommended by the eSafety Commissioner. The government in November also brought forward by a year the scheduled review of the Online Safety Act. But on the whole, the federal government has been lagging behind the…
Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris speaks to the media on May 22, 2024, when he said his country would recognise a Palestinian state. | Photo Credit: AP Israel will reprimand the ambassadors of Ireland, Norway and Spain on Thursday over their governments’ plan to recognise a Palestinian state next week, an Israeli official said.The envoys have been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, where they will be shown a previously unpublished video of Hamas taking female captives during its October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, the official said.Israel has also recalled its own ambassadors in…
BOSTON – A federal court in Vermont has concluded that the First Amendment does not protect a Milton, Vermont, excavation contractor and its officials from using social media to retaliate against employees. The decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont is the latest action in ongoing litigation between the Department of Labor and Bevins & Son Inc. and represents one of the first federal court decisions in the country to outline the relationship between the First Amendment and the anti-retaliation provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In May 2023, the department announced a settlement with Bevins to recover $25,000…
Norway has said it will bar almost all Russian tourists from entering the country in response to the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The Nordic NATO member, which shares a land border with Russia, initially imposed visa restrictions on its neighbor in 2022 and will tighten access even further from May 29, the country’s justice ministry said Thursday. “The decision to tighten the entry rules are in line with the Norwegian approach of standing by allies and partners in the reactions against Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” Minister of Justice and Public Security Emilie Enger Mehl said in a…