SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " partisan " 1,058 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
For Texan Voters, College Football Is as Partisan as Everything Else
In a new poll from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, we learn that members of the electorate butt heads even when it comes to which team’s fans they most despise.
North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards is formally censured over harassment allegations
The censure vote drew bipartisan support, and followed an investigation by the House Ethics Committee into allegations of sexual harassment against two young female staff members.
The 21 seats Mike Johnson says will decide the House majority
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, is eyeing 21 seats that will determine the House majority in the November midterm elections, including Colorado’s Congressional District 8. Johnson pointed to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report’s 21 toss-up seats, before rattling off a list of the races he is watching particularly closely. “Those 21 or so seats that are […]
House Votes to Avert Government Shutdown Before Midterm Elections
Lawmakers sent the legislation to President Trump in an overwhelming vote, reflecting bipartisan enthusiasm around punting a messy spending fight until after the midterms.
NM delegation urges House Oversight Committee to avoid partisan politics in DEA fentanyl probe
The House Oversight Committee has opened a new investigation into DEA fentanyl policies after whistleblowers said agents let hundreds of thousands of pills stay on the streets.
Flock Safety cameras face bipartisan scrutiny over privacy and misuse
The issue drew renewed attention after the arrest of a Kentucky police officer accused of misusing the cameras to track his ex-girlfriend more than 2,000 times
NH's Business: Ongoing housing developments in New Hampshire
Fred Kocher sits down with Elissa Margolin with Saint Anselm College and Sarah Marchant with NH Community Loan Fund to talk about on how a bipartisan housing act could influence the housing market in NH.
Gov. Abbott blocks funding in Texas for Flock cameras as bipartisan fury brews
The automated license plate readers aren’t popular with the public. Politicians are catching on.
Americans search for a nonpartisan politics
The two-party divide in the U.S. appears to be deepening. But the surge in independent candidates this year points to a deep desire for common ground and compromise in civic life.
Party politics loom large in non-partisan Tallahassee Commission race
Tallahassee candidates PJ Perez and Tom Derzypolski are clashing over their past party affiliations ahead of the runoff.
Michigan's Tri-Share childcare cost-sharing program becomes permanent
Michigan's Tri-Share program is a first in the nation childcare cost-sharing program that lawmakers recently made permanent with bipartisan support.
IAM Delegates Talk Bipartisan Politics in Missouri
Thursday, union leadership from IAM headquarters visited the Ozark region of the state and spoke with Missouri State Council delegates. They discussed bipartisan labor politics on a local, state and national level.
Elon Musk won't face election bribery charges in Wisconsin
The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission in July referred two complaints to the Brown County district attorney’s office for possible charges.
Newsom urges California families to sign up for Trump Accounts in rare bipartisan moment
Gov. Gavin Newsom is encouraging families to take advantage of a program bearing the name of one of his biggest political rivals: President Donald Trump.
Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker dies at 94
Known for her bipartisanship, the three-term U.S. senator supported the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion rights and a ban on assault weapons.
El-Sayed distances himself from Hasan Piker after controversial remarks about Jewish Americans
Abdul El-Sayed distances himself from Hasan Piker after the Twitch streamer's comments about Jewish Americans sparked a bipartisan backlash.
Kean Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Fund Mental Health Support for First Responders
(August 24, 2026) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) introduced the Lifeline for First Responders Act with Representatives Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Gabe Evans (CO-08), and Sharice Davids (KS-03). The bipartisan bill would create the first federal grant program dedicated to mental health care for firefighters, paramedics, and dispatchers, addressing a gap in support that EMS workers have faced for years.
Dan Osborn staffers infiltrated rival political party, tried to dissolve it
Two paid staffers of Dan Osborn’s 2024 campaign joined an effort to dissolve a rival political party last year, according to records obtained by the Flatwater Free Press. The records reveal the lengths Osborn’s allies have gone to clear the field for the nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate as he attempts to unseat Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.
Nancy Kassebaum swung open the door for Kansas women in politics
Kassebaum’s legacy is one of moderation, bipartisanship and paving the way for Kansas women to ascend to high office in Kansas. Kassebaum died Aug. 21, 2026, at the age of 94.
Kiros exudes why Colorado’s political times are a-changin’ at annual Denver Dems gala
Among Colorado’s few remaining bipartisan rituals are county and state party dinners. I was particularly intrigued by last week’s Denver Democratic Party’s 2026 Annual Gala, a “New Deal for a New Era.” Their glossy program featured an artist’s Technicolor rendering of Denver’s Red Rocks amphitheater. My always more far astute spouse suggested our world-renowned concert […]
Data centers spark bipartisan political battle in midterm races
NetChoice director of policy Patrick Hedger discusses the growing bipartisan pushback against data center expansions in key midterm races on 'Fox Report.'
Data centers spark bipartisan political battle in midterm races
NetChoice director of policy Patrick Hedger discusses the growing bipartisan pushback against data center expansions in key midterm races on 'Fox Report.'
This week in politics: What tipped the scales in close East Bay race?
KTVU political analyst Nolan Higdon joined us on "Mornings on 2" to break down Aisha Wahab’s special election victory in the East Bay and the rising bipartisan debate over license plate surveillance cameras.
This week in politics: Special election and flock cameras debate
KTVU political analyst Nolan Higdon joined us on "Mornings on 2" to break down Aisha Wahab’s special election victory in the East Bay and the rising bipartisan debate over license plate surveillance cameras.
Bipartisan bill would fund firefighter, EMS mental health programs
The proposal would provide $7.5 million annually for suicide prevention, peer support, counseling and other mental health resources
Bipartisan bill would fund firefighter, EMS mental health programs
The proposal would provide $7.5 million annually for suicide prevention, peer support, counseling and other mental health resources
Bipartisan Energy Politics | Reading and Podcast Picks
Reading and Podcast Picks is a collection of what we’ve been reading and listening to over the last week or so about energy topics. In addition to these R&P Picks, paid subscribers receive access to the full archives, Grid Roundups, and select episodes of the Energy Capital Podcast. Please subscribe today. Texans, legislators debate transmission lines at hearing | Texas Tribune “Republican legislators, Democratic statewide candidates, landowners from rural Texas and environmentalists” alike joined together Wednesday to protest the buildout of 765-kV lines across the state. At the protest and nine-hour hearing that followed, lawmakers heard a variety of recommendations, including from local officials arguing for more local control of data center proposals and more time to reform the process behind approving transmission lines across Texas. Though discussed in separate hearings, landowners and protesters said the issues are connected… Regulators have already been working through a new way to decide how much of the cost of building new transmission lines needs to be paid for by individuals and how much needs to be paid for by companies such as data centers. Experts said they believe the new system will lower the burden on residential consumers relative to the industrial groups. Data-Center Backlash Leads to New Land Rush in Texas Oil Patch | The Wall Street Journal While the data center protests rage, investors converge on the Permian Basin to build data centers powered by cheap natural gas. “A lot of places you see all over the country they’re worried about water, they’re worried about power, they’re worried about transmission, and the Permian has all of those things in spades,” said EagleRock Chief Executive Greg Pipkin Jr. Dallas-Fort Worth Dethrones Virginia as the World’s Top Data Center Market | Dallas Innovates Two reports show growth in North Texas data centers despite political concerns about the industry. Boasting five highly ranked data center markets, Texas is experiencing an explosion of data center activity. Long anchored by the DFW market, “the state is growing at a pace that could soon bring total installed capacity in line with — and potentially beyond — that of Virginia,” the Cushman & Wakefield report said. A new report from commercial real estate services provider JLL takes a slightly different view, anointing Texas the top data center market in North America. Texas eclipsed longtime frontrunner Virginia based on the level of existing and under-construction data center inventory in the state as measured by gigawatt capacity. A gigawatt equals 1 billion watts.
Kansas political trailblazer Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker dies at 94
Kassebaum was known as a moderate with an appreciation for bipartisanship on domesic and international affairs during 18 years in Washington, D.C.
Kansas political trailblazer Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker dies at 94
A champion of bipartisanship and common sense, former U.S. Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, dies.
How the bipartisan data center backlash could reshape politics nationwide
Bipartisan backlash to data centers is spreading nationwide. How could the panicked political response carry lasting consequences? Plus, Democratic socialist Angie Nixon’s upset in the Florida Demo…
Analysis | Are Flock cameras the next bipartisan political issue?
Lawmakers and 2026 candidates on both sides of the aisle are questioning whether Flock cameras have proliferated too quickly.
Cook Political Report moves Texas, Iowa Senate races to toss-ups
The nonpartisan election analysis website moved the Iowa and Texas Senate races from "lean Republican" to "toss up" on Thursday
Cook Political Report moves Texas, Iowa Senate races to toss-ups
The nonpartisan election analysis website moved the Iowa and Texas Senate races from "lean Republican" to "toss up" on Thursday
Cook Political Report shifts Senate races in Texas, Iowa leftward to ‘Toss Up’
The nonpartisan publication moved its ratings in four contests to the left.
Cook Political Report moves Iowa, Texas governor’s races in Democrats favor
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted its ratings Thursday for both the Texas and Iowa gubernatorial races, giving Democrats a higher chance at claiming the seat. Cook Political Report Sena…
Governors Promote 'Dignity in Politics'
The new director of the National Governors Association is emphasizing bipartisanship and civility at a time of growing division.
Senate Races in Texas, Iowa Are Now Toss-Ups, Cook Report Says
Two key US Senate races now look like toss-ups instead of leaning in favor of Republicans, according to a new analysis from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
Iowa Senate race a 'toss-up,' governor race 'leans Democrat'
Election analysts at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved Iowa's U.S. Senate race into the "toss-up" category, and governor to "lean Democrat."
Texas, Iowa Senate races shift to toss ups: Cook Political Report
The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report shifted its ratings for both the Texas and Iowa Senate races to “toss ups” on Thursday as Republicans grapple with a scandal-ridden candid…
Texas and Iowa Senate Races Move to Toss Up; Races for Governor Also Move in Democrats’ Direction
The battle for the Senate is about to intensify ahead of the traditional Labor Day starting gun. Republicans still retain a structural advantage given the partisan challenges of the map, and Democrats still need almost every key race to break their way. But as we recently wrote, in a wave election akin to 2006, even states that President Donald Trump won by double digits could move within Democrats’ reach.
Florida school board races see less partisan politics this year
Experts said they're seeing a shift away from culture war issues and more of a focus on universal concerns in education.
Kelly Purvis: A path to nonpartisan politics
A paid political endorsement letter from Dawn Richards In sharp contrast to Coronado’s longstanding tradition of nonpartisanship, our city government has recently experienced an increase in partisan politics. This shift […]
Advocates seek permanent halt to Big Bend border security project
Following bipartisan criticism, the Trump administration has paused a border security project inside Big Bend National Park in West Texas.
High Health Care Costs, Unreasonable Hospital Prices Top Voter Concerns in New National Poll as Midterm Elections Inch Closer
Key findings include overwhelming concern about health care costs; strong opposition to Medicaid cuts; strong bipartisan concern with hospital prices; and deep skepticism about the Administration’s arguments on coverage losses. WASHINGTON, D.C. – A national poll released by Families USA shows that high health care costs, including unreasonably high hospital prices, are top of mind […]
Business groups again endorse Republicans for Ohio Supreme Court, but say it's not partisan
Leaders of Ohio's main business organizations insist their endorsements of the Republican candidates for Ohio Supreme Court is not just a political decision.
Bipartisan bill would double payments for survivors of fallen service members
Gratuity payments for families of fallen service members have not increased in 20 years
Congress wants to depoliticize disaster aid. Politics may stand in the way.
A bipartisan push to stymie partisan discrimination in disaster assistance could be complicated by election-year politicking.
Trump-inspired political cynicism continues to transform NC conservatives
Today, longstanding American political traditions in elections and lawmaking like respect for one’s adversary, self-discipline and sacrifice, abiding by established rules and roles, and commitments to open debate, widespread voter participation and honorable, nonpartisan public service are fast becoming passé. Instead, accumulating and maintaining power at all costs now trumps all other priorities.
Rep. Salinas introduces bill for first responder mental health grants
Oregon U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas introduced the bipartisan Lifeline for First Responders Act to fund federal grants for firefighter, EMS and dispatcher mental health services via the Transportation Reauthorization Bill.
Rep. Zach Nunn touts bipartisan approach, results in Soapbox speech
Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn highlighted his bipartisan approach to lawmaking, military credentials and legislative results in his Soapbox speech.
Oregon congresswoman proposes program to support first responder mental health
Salinas’ bipartisan proposal is similar to a 2017 law that provided funding for mental health programs for law enforcement.
Concerns growing over mental health and food supply aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
Concerns over mental health and supply shortages aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have led to bipartisan calls for an investigation, as military officials defend the ship's conditions.
Concerns growing over mental health and food supply aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
Concerns over mental health and supply shortages aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have led to bipartisan calls for an investigation, as military officials defend the ship's conditions.
Concerns growing over mental health and food supply aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
Concerns over mental health and supply shortages aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have led to bipartisan calls for an investigation, as military officials defend the ship's conditions.
We proved bipartisan health care reform works in North Carolina. Let’s bring it nationwide
“North Carolina proved that pragmatism can beat partisanship,” write Mandy Cohen and Kody Kinsley.
A guide to Northwestern’s political scene, voting in the 2026 midterm election
Northwestern students have an abundance of ways to become politically involved this school year, with student groups and November midterm elections. Students across the aisle can find communities on campus, from the NU College Democrats to the NU College Republicans. NU Political Union, a nonpartisan student forum, and BridgeNU, an organization that aims to encourage...
Bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers critical over new border wall Big Bend region construction
Construction is underway in the Big Bend region of Texas amid public concern and after months of rumors.
Survey: Healthcare costs potent political issue in Georgia, but more for Democrats than Republicans
As Georgia approaches its gubernatorial election, candidates Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson offer opposing solutions to rising healthcare costs amid a University of Georgia survey showing widespread bipartisan concern over affordability and price transparency.
Don’t paint judicial candidates with a partisan brush
The Canons of Judicial Conduct prevent judicial candidates from commenting on party affiliation or political issues.
Ricketts Supports the Protect College Sports Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) joined the Protect College Sports Act. This legislation would end the disorder facing college athletics by establishing nationwide standards for name, image, and likeness (NIL), transfers, eligibility, and enforcement. “The Protect College Sports Act is a good step forward for athletics,” said Senator Ricketts. “This bipartisan bill addresses issues that were […]
In a partisan age, a Democratic governor goes outside her brand for a running mate
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), facing a tough reelection fight, chooses former mayor John Giles, a lifelong Republican who recently became an independent.
Former OMB, State Budget Leader Lauren Larson Joining the Bipartisan Policy Center as Executive Vice President for Economic and Health Policy
Washington, DC — Today, the Bipartisan Policy Center announced that Lauren Larson will join the organization as executive vice president of economic and health policy on August 25. Larson brings deep expertise in fiscal and health policymaking at the state and federal levels. She will run the economic policy and health programs and lead the … Continued
Cook Political Report shifts Max Miller seat to toss-up
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted Rep. Max Miller’s (R-Ohio) seat from “Likely Republican” to “Toss Up” on Monday, underscoring the growing political fallout from allegations of domesti…
As Francesca Hong surged, Democratic rivals held their fire: From the Politics Desk
Plus, new bipartisan odd couple in the Senate.
Oregon lawmakers condemn reported attack against Sen. Janeen Sollman
Sen. Janeen Sollman was reportedly verbally and physically accosted by a man on Aug. 8, prompting bipartisan condemnation of political violence.
NIL bill advocates see goal line in sight after recess
After 16 wild hours that ended with a bipartisan college sports bill being punted in the middle of the night, President Donald Trump’s involvement was not enough to trigger votes on legislation he would like to add to his midterms and legacy sales pitches. As senators and senior aides bickered and postured all day and […]
The Jackpod: The politics of us against them
On Point news analyst Jack Beatty on how “affective polarization” and partisan hatred has come to define American political culture.
College sports bill holding up Senate’s path to August recess
Senate Republicans say getting consent to move forward on the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan bill to set rules for compensating and recruiting college athletes, is holding up a broader de…
Senate passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill negotiated by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham
The bipartisan legislation, which passed the Senate 86-11, would penalize countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports seeking to deprive Putin of revenues fueling the war.
Colorado’s new limits on sports betting deposits — and credit card ban
The new rules are part of the bipartisan Senate Bill 26-131 passed in May by the Colorado General Assembly amid growing concerns over rising addiction.
Church protesters could face tougher penalties under rare bipartisan crackdown
A bipartisan House bill would impose civil fines up to $10,000 for protests that disrupt worship within 100 feet of a house of worship entrance.
Supporters of a bipartisan bill say America’s biotechnology future depends on measurement science
I think the success will be that there are uniform standards that could be used by AI, by international scientists," said Congresswoman April McClain Delaney.
Rural Health Transformation Program Reporting
August 5, 2026 Mehmet Oz, AdministratorCenters for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDepartment of Health and Human ServicesAttention: CMS-10949P.O. Box 8010Baltimore, MD 21244-8010 RE: Rural Health Transformation Program Reporting Dear Administrator Oz: The Bipartisan Policy Center appreciates the opportunity to comment on CMS’s proposed Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) reporting requirements (file code CMS-10949). The work the … Continued
US Stand Up for Science movement expands to Europe
A grassroots movement by scientists in the US pushing back against threats to academic freedom is setting up a Swiss outpost to take the movement global. Stand Up for Science started in February 2025 to protest against politically-motivated grant cancellations by the Trump administration. Since then, it has organised numerous rallies by scientists and turned into a broader campaigning organisation, supporting “pro-science” political candidates and attempting to impeach Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the health and human services secretary the group accuses of advancing “quack” science. Now, Stand Up for Science is establishing a Swiss office to take some of its campaigning beyond the US, and its leader is urging European academics to organise similar pro-science groups in case they face similar threats in Europe. There will likely be “spillover” to Europe from what the Trump administration is attempting in the US, said Colette Delawalla, chief executive of Stand Up for Science, who last month returned from a tour of Europe. “Are we going to see a Trump-style scientific [. . .] take over in the same way?” she asked.Delawalla, who is doing a PhD in clinical psychology, said she was driven to help found the organisation after the Trump administration started cancelling health research grants in politically taboo topics, such as transgender people, diversity and HIV, in early 2025. Since then, the administration has introduced several other measures that infringe academic and institutional autonomy.It threatened to cut Harvard University’s federal funding unless the university accepted a “critical mass” of new faculty and students to create “viewpoint diversity.” And this year, it proposed explosive new rules that would allow political appointees at research funders to screen grants to make sure they “advance the president's policy priorities.”US scientists have been at times stunned by the volume of announcements, and the country’s researchers were relatively unprepared. “We sit in front of the fire hose every day,” said Delawalla. For this reason, European scientists need to prepare now for similar assaults. “If you've got a little bit of extra time to start thinking through, and making those preparations and building community and solidarity,” then European researchers will “start five steps ahead of where we were.” She plans to return to Paris in September to share experiences with concerned French academics. Is Le Pen the same?During her European tour, Delawalla said that French academics were beginning to worry about a National Rally (RN) victory in presidential elections next year. She said there were “chilling similarities” between Trump and Marine Le Pen, the RN’s likely candidate. However, so far, the RN hasn’t proposed anything nearly as radical as the Trump administration has carried out. Its current manifesto is all but silent on university and research policy. Le Pen’s 2022 manifesto bemoaned a lack of French R&D spending, including in fundamental research, and promised to modernise labs and strip away grant bureaucracy. The party’s 2024 European election manifesto explicitly supported the Erasmus+ student exchange programme, scientific exchange and joint European technology projects. However, a Le Pen victory next year could see France drastically cut its contribution to the EU, which would hit the budget for science and innovation. Meanwhile, more restrictive immigration policies could hit university recruitment of faculty and students. Climate science denial?As heatwaves and wildfires have ravaged France, the RN has sought to distance itself from previous comments casting doubt on climate science.In the UK, the radical-right party Reform UK, now second in the polls, denied climate research in a draft of its 2024 election manifesto, but its leader, Nigel Farage, then appeared to quietly U-turn and said he was “not arguing the science.” By contrast, Trump has repeatedly and explicitly denied climate change science, in 2025 calling it “the greatest con job.” Like the RN, Reform UK has been light on research and university policy. However, it did say in its 2024 manifesto that universities should suffer “heavy financial penalties” for allowing “political bias or cancel culture” on campus, building on laws brought in by a previous Conservative government. Ahead of September state elections in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, the poll-leading Alternative for Germany has proposed abolishing gender studies and postcolonial studies, and promised money for “critical” climate research and studies of Islam. Starts with rhetoricEven if European radical right parties aren’t currently planning the draconian policy measures of the Trump administration, Delawalla said that academics should not be complacent, and fight even small funding restrictions or anti-science talk from the start. “It starts off with sowing distrust about institutions,” she said. “It starts off with these small things, and then all of a sudden it's there.” There are other, more established science and university advocacy groups in the US aside from Stand Up for Science. But the group stands out because of Delawalla’s refusal to attempt to appear politically bipartisan or conciliatory. “I firmly believe that the US is experiencing fascism,” she said. “We’re not trying to win over the super Maga people,” she said, “and we never have been.” The lesson of the US is that even if universities or other institutions capitulate to government demands, this doesn’t save them from cuts and restrictions. “It doesn’t matter what people do,” she said. Global “pseudoscience”Another aim of Stand Up for Science’s push into Europe is to better coordinate a campaign to protect people in poorer countries from what the group describes as “pseudoscientific exploitation,” trials outside the US used to build a case against things like vaccines. Earlier this year, the group sent an investigator to Guinea-Bissau to investigate a controversial, Danish-run Hepatitis B vaccine project funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The study would have withheld a proven vaccine from newborns, Stand Up for Science argued in a briefing it presented to Congress, risking their health. Significantly, the research group based in Guinea-Bissau, known as Bandim, focuses on the “non-specific effects” of vaccines: impacts on health beyond preventing the target disease. Related articlesEuropean researchers sound the alarm that Trump rule changes will hit cooperationData corner: which fields of health science is the US curbing? The US ‘golden age’ science strategy: what Europeans need to know The suspicion is that the study was funded as part of an attempt to shop around for results that could help build a case against vaccines in the US, said Delawalla. “This is just code for vaccines cause autism,” she said.Bandim has put out a rebuttal of Stand Up for Science’s criticisms, arguing its work has uncovered a number of vaccine side effects, both positive and negative, which need to be taken into account in public health. However, Congressional Democrats took up the Stand Up for Science cause, and in February, Guinea-Bissau said it had permanently halted the study. WatchdogBut for Delawalla, this is not the end of the fight. Kennedy has made a number of health claims that scientists think lack evidence, such as the idea that seed oils cause inflammation, for example. Delawalla worries that more studies could be launched in poorer countries to fish around for evidence to support this agenda. Stand Up for Science is talking to African science organisations to create a kind of “watchdog” to scrutinise any further trials. “Outsourcing the investigation to some of the most vulnerable children in the world who are desperate [. . .] is fundamentally wrong,” she said.
GOP Leadership pushing Edwards to drop re-election bid over ethics report
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee on Monday released a 20-page report on the investigation, recommending that the chamber censure Edwards.
The Beauty Of Settled Science
Commenters convinced me I made a subtle mis-step in my framing of Psychology Research Is Mostly Fine. My framing emphasized that social priming studies had failed to replicate, but that many other subfields of psychology hadn’t. This naturally led commenters to point to failed replications in other subfields. Although none of these were as bad as social priming, few or none were entirely problem-free. Instead of emphasizing the difference between social priming and other subfields, I should have emphasized the difference between settled science and novel research. Here are some of my favorite psychology findings: The brain is sculpted by reinforcement learning, and a key driver of this learning is a prediction-error-based algorithm located in the nucleus accumbens and implemented through dopamine. Psychedelic drugs exert their effects through 5-HT2A receptors, pointing to a role for these receptors in some sort of construct like the balance between priors and new evidence. Certain cognitive functions are localized to certain brain areas (for example, impulse control to the frontal lobes; linguistic structure to Broca’s area, linguistic meaning to Wernicke’s area. But injure one of these areas, or render a certain function useless (eg a blind person having no more use for their visual cortex), and these mappings can gradually shift - suggesting that neurons are general-purpose compute whose specialization is a contingent fact about convenience and efficiency rather than a necessity. Most personality traits and general capabilities are about 50% genetic and 50% random, with little role for family environment or childhood history, with a few notable exceptions like partisan preference. Recent research complicates this story, but the further you go from this basic picture, the gnarlier the chains of indirect causation you require. Neurons fire together in “brain waves”, whose exact frequency corresponds with the character of consciousness; These divide neurons into natural subpopulations and linked graphs. The gamma rhythm corresponds surprisingly well to items in conscious awareness. GABA receptors seem to be involved in something like relaxation. By hitting different GABA receptors in different ways, you can modulate the exact type of relaxation you produce. Hitting GABA-A directly is too powerful and can cause dangerous levels of sedation, but allosteric modulation of GABA is an incredibly fruitful strategy that underlies drugs from benzos to barbituates to alcohol. If you know your GABA-A subunits, you can target specific subtypes of relaxation; for example, Ambien hits GABA-A1 and induces sleep. Memory divides somewhat fuzzily into bins of immediate-sensory, short-term, and long-term, with separate retrieval and storage functions, and separate systems for declarative vs. procedural learning. These can be harmed selectively, usually by hippocampal injury, so that some patients can remember their life stories but not form new long-term memories, or learn new skills like bike-riding but not new facts. The exact substrate of memory is unclear but seems to involve new synaptic connections between neurons in at least some way. The ability of modern psychology and psychiatry to treat mental illness is real but limited. SSRIs work for half or slightly fewer than half of patients; antipsychotics work with extreme side effects; benzodiazpines work but produce addiction and tolerance in many (not all) people. Most supplements are stuck in Poor Quality Study Replication Crisis Hell, but melatonin and l-theanine stand out as especially promising. Psychotherapy works with moderate effect size, but (with a few exceptions) seems to be more about the relationship with the provider than the details of the therapy itself. Mental hospitalization can sometimes defuse immediate crises but work less well than mental hospitals would like, with some studies showing overall negative effects. Schizophrenia is mostly genetic, but risk also increases with prenatal infection (especially rubella) and obstetric complications; there is suggestive evidence for roles of social stress and drug use (with psychedelics and marijuana making things worse, and nicotine if anything making things better). Bipolar and schizophrenia are so closely linked on a pathophysiological level that it seems like they might be the same disease; on the clinical level, they do seem to follow two separate courses/prognoses but can sometimes surprise clinicians by eg someone who seemed condemned to permanent schizophrenia unexpectedly recovering. The brain’s native reinforcement learning algorithms cash out in the phenomena of classical and operant conditioning; different reinforcement schedules reinforce at different levels, which can be exploited by bad actors to make especially compelling products (eg slot machines). None of these are immune to doubt. A few are speculative; one or two are genuinely unorthodox. But they’re all a step above one p = 0.049 paper that might not replicate. If they get overturned, they’ll be overturned by the same sort of genuine scientific shift that replaced Ptolemy with Copernicus or Lamarck with Darwin, not some sort of sordid discovery about someone entering random numbers into a spreadsheet. In 2008, Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote about The Beauty Of Settled Science: If you only care about scientific issues that are controversial, you will end up with a head stuffed full of garbage. The media thinks that only the cutting edge of science is worth reporting on. How often do you see headlines like “General Relativity still governing planetary orbits” or “Phlogiston theory remains false”? So, by the time anything is solid science, it is no longer a breaking headline. “Newsworthy” science is often based on the thinnest of evidence and wrong half the time—if it were not on the uttermost fringes of the scientific frontier, it would not be breaking news. Scientific controversies are problems so difficult that even people who’ve spent years mastering the field can still fool themselves. That’s what makes for the heated arguments that attract all the media attention. Worse, if you aren’t in the field and part of the game, controversies aren’t even fun. Don’t be embarrassed to read elementary science textbooks, either. If you want to pretend to be sophisticated, go find a play to sneer at. If you just want to have fun, remember that simplicity is at the core of scientific beauty [...] A steady diet of science news is bad for you: You are what you eat, and if you eat only science reporting on fluid situations, without a solid textbook now and then, your brain will turn to liquid. Psychology isn’t centrally the new paper in Annals Of Recently-Breaking News saying that an n=5 study showing that large portion sizes increase support for terrorism. Psychology is centrally ideas like brain waves, GABA receptors, reinforcement learning, twin studies, and connectionism. People who think differently are worrying too much about BREAKING NEWS!!!, and should stop. The key distinction isn’t “recent research in social psychology” vs. “recent research in cognitive/bio/behavioral psychology”, as my essay last week unfortunately implied. It’s recent research in general vs. the deposit of settled science, battle-tested hypotheses, and carefully-earmarked speculation. And part of the reason social priming in particular was such a disaster was that it defied that heuristic, building itself up over hundreds of studies until it approached or even entered the pantheon of settled science - before collapsing (5-HTTLPR was also sort of like this). This isn’t a claim that settled science is always right - Freud was “settled science” for a long time - just that there’s an intuitive distinction between the level of credence you should have in the existence of power posing vs. the existence of Broca’s Area. (I compounded this error by calling the last post “Psychology Research Is Mostly Fine”, which suggested I was talking about the new research rather than the settled science. I actually meant to distinguish between research-psychology-the-field vs. clinical-psychology-aka-therapy, but this framing unintentionally pushed against the point I wanted to make) Some commenters on the previous article understood this point, but challenged its weight. It’s very cool, they said, to know how many neurons are in which brain lobe, but the main way that Psychology affected their lives was through bad clickbait studies used to buttress dumb policies; some p = 0.049 study says that exposure to microaggressions makes minorities’ brains shrivel into raisins, and now their company has to implement punitive DEI or be sued for hazardous work conditions. I won’t dispute this as an accurate description of how the sausage gets made, but it’s worth examining the trains of thought that connect this observation to a campaign against psychology in general: The dumb woke psychology was wrong and bad, and I don’t have good heuristics for distinguishing dumb woke psychology from other psychology, so I’m going to assume it’s all wrong and bad. The dumb woke psychology was wrong and bad; it seems useful to punish/discredit psychology as a whole to assist my campaign against it, so for propaganda purposes I will try to discredit psychology as a whole. To people in the first camp, my response is: come on, your heuristics aren’t that bad. “Microaggressions makes minorities’ brains shrivel up like raisins” is in the woke category; “the hippocampal theta rhythm seems to be associated with both memory and pathfinding, suggesting an unexpected yet surprisingly compelling relationship between the two” is in the not-woke category, don’t play dumb here. To people in the second camp, my response is: deliberately exaggerated propaganda campaigns are bad and this is a confession, not an excuse. Inability to view science through anything but a political lens was what got us into this problem; doubling down on it is a temporary solution but a recipe for permanent disaster. If you pronounce entire fields of science to be acceptable collateral damage in your campaign against bad political actors, you will alienate not just scientists but patients, clinicians, and general lovers of truth. Instead, you can say the thing you mean - that woke partisans shouldn’t try to occupy and exploit the otherwise-noble science of psychology for their own political gain - and wage the same campaign with a halo rather than a comic-book-villain goatee. From the font of oracular wisdom that is Weird Sun Twitter: [ Vessel Of Spirit@VesselOfSpirit i love you all conditionally but i love the good part of you unconditionally. even if it becomes a very small part 2:11 AM · Jan 22, 2015 1 Reply · 5 Reposts · 29 Likes ](https://x.com/VesselOfSpirit/status/558084551772471298) This is how I feel about psychology1, too, but with a touch more optimism. The good part of psychology is enormous, a hoard of endless treasures. You just have to look past the headlines! 1 To play devil’s advocate - should one always be so magnamious? Astrology? Phrenology? These seem different in that their entire orientation was flawed from the start; they didn’t simply fail to find the correct constellation-personality connections, the whole project of searching for connections between constellations and personality was doomed from the start. More difficult might be asking the same question about education research, which is notoriously bad. I don’t know enough about education research to know if there’s some settled science of correct and enlightening results lurking in the background beyond the day-to-day froth of poorly-conducted and politically-motivated studies. I think if it’s 90% bad, 10% good, it’s correct to call it bad as a compact way of communicating a useful truth; I think psychology is better than that, but admit it’s a tough judgment call.
FDA's Draft MDUFA VI Commitment Letter: What It Means for AI and Digital Health
On July 7, FDA posted its draft commitment letter for the sixth MDUFA reauthorization (MDUFA VI). The letter outlines how the FDA will fund and operate its device review program for fiscal years 2028 through 2032. Under MDUFA, industry actors pay user fees and, in return, FDA commits to measurable review performance goals, such as … Continued
Ethics panel finds GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards violated House sexual harassment rules and recommends censure
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee said Monday it has found “substantial evidence” that GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards repeatedly made unwanted advances toward two of his female staffers and is recommending that the full House vote to punish him on the floor.
Effective August 12: Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Harms Caused by Addictive Sports Betting
DENVER, CO – Bipartisan legislation to prevent harms caused by addictive sports betting practices will go into effect on August 12. SB26-1 31 , spon sored by Senator Matt Ball, D-Denver, addresses problems arising from the growing online sports betting industry by implement
Maryland Democrats considering partisan redistricting for 2028 election
Maryland lawmakers are kicking off a special session to consider a first step in a partisan redistricting initiative that could help Democrats pick up an additional U.S. House seat by 2028.
The Fauci-Paul battle shows real cracks in public health. One group has answers.
a nonpartisan commission — which includes a former Kentucky governor — is pushing for better relationships between elected and public health officials.
Maryland lawmakers to consider steps toward partisan redistricting for 2028
Maryland lawmakers are set to kick off a special session to consider a first step in a partisan redistricting initiative that could help Democrats pick up an additional U.S. House seat by 2028.
Senate aims to block White House from gaining new power over science funding
A bipartisan spending bill unveiled Sunday by Senate Republican leaders would prevent the White House from asserting greater control over hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants.
Govs. Kevin Stitt and Wes Moore say civility can win general elections but primaries promote partisanship
Stitt and Moore both said social media contributes to negativity and polarization in politics and urged more in-person connections.
Larry Hogan: The Constitution is not a tool for partisan politics
Guest commentary: Former Gov. Larry Hogan criticizes Maryland’s special session focused on redistricting — “You do not protect voting rights by weakening constitutional limits on partisan mapmaking.”
Federal Policy Priorities To Strengthen Rural Health and Maximize Rural Health Transformation Program Investments
Executive Summary Rural health care in the United States is at an inflection point. The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), enacted as part of H.R. 1, is a $50 billion, five-year investment designed to help states improve access, quality, and outcomes by transforming rural health care delivery. This investment takes place alongside an estimated $137 … Continued
Big Ten, SEC conferences endorse Senate college sports bill
Two major college sports conferences, the Big Ten and SEC, said they would support a bipartisan bill to regulate college sports, even though it’s unlikely the bill will move before
Liberty University lends support to Protect College Sports Act
Liberty University has joined more than 290 colleges in endorsing the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan federal bill dedicated to providing further clarity on issues related to name, image, and likeness in college athletics. The show of support came...
Politics Unusual: Staten Island Borough President Fossella, Assemblyman Simone
In this episode of Politics Unusual, FOX 5 NY's political reporter Morgan McKay speaks with Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella about the city's new pied-à-terre tax, as well as his push for nonpartisan primary elections. Also, a conversation with State Assemblyman Tony Simone about regulations concerning ICE.
The myth of the innovation tradeoff: Our chemical safety law protects health without stifling progress
The Toxic Substances Control Act is the primary safety law protecting Americans from harmful chemicals in everyday products. Bipartisan updates in 2016 strengthened the law by giving EPA the authority and responsibility to evaluate new chemicals more effectively, and to protect vulnerable populations, including children, pregnant women and those who work at or live by
NGA, Dignity.Us Launch Center for Dignity in Politics to Strengthen Democratic Leadership and Promote Civil Discourse
New bipartisan center will equip governors with tools to foster respect, reduce political polarization and strengthen democratic culture OKLAHOMA CITY – The National Governors Association (NGA) today announced the launch of the Center for Dignity in Politics, an initiative that will equip governors with the tools, training and resources to strengthen democratic culture, reduce political polarization and […]
Lancaster County Partnership for Public Health to take a more active role in public health education
As Lancaster County faces its largest measles outbreak in recent history and other public health challenges, a nonpartisan, volunteer group of health experts and community leaders plans to take a
Senate Panel Advances Science of Reading, Dyslexia Bills with Bipartisan Support
Two bills passed out of the Senate HELP Committee Thursday, advancing the federal government’s oversight of literacy instruction and intervention.
Senate Panel Advances Science of Reading, Dyslexia Bills with Bipartisan Support
A bill that would require states to only use the science of reading in classrooms in order to qualify for a multi-million dollar funding grant passed with bipartisan support from a committee of federa...
Hiltzik: Trump replaces science with stupidity
Partisan political filters and the search for "DEI" have resulted in billions of dollars in canceled scientific research grants
Senate Introduces Bill To Shield Insurers Covering Cannabis Businesses
Two Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would provide a safe harbor for insurance companies that cover legal cannabis businesses.
You think U.S. politics have never been worse? It has, says this Utah professor and podcaster.
Rabic partisanship and fake news are not new ideas in America, a Utah Valley University professor argues. He explains why in his new book.