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Democrats select South Carolina for first presidential nominating contest in '28

The decision most likely cements a Democratic primary calendar that moves away from Iowa and New Hampshire in favor of more racially diverse states

Jul 24 • 1:45 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Democrats to finalize their 2028 presidential nominating calendar, led by more diverse states

Democrats are expected to recommend the states that will hold the first presidential nominating contests in 2028, likely cementing a calendar that moves away from Iowa and New Hampshire in favor of more racially diverse states

Jul 24 • 12:06 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

Democratic Voters Keep Defying the Party Establishment

The House Democratic campaign arm has stepped up its interventions in high-profile contested primaries. But this week, it suffered its third primary defeat in two months.

Jul 23 • 5:57 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Amish Shah wins Democratic congressional primary in Arizona, a blow to the party establishment

Shah won the Democratic primary Wednesday in a hotly contested congressional district in Arizona, delivering another defeat to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which backed a rival, as more voters reject the preferences of party leaders in Washington.

Jul 23 • 2:20 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

'DWTS' pro Val Chmerkovskiy calls out 'Next Pro' contestant’s 'arrogance'

Jul 23 • 1:56 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

Sabrina Ionescu denies report that she turned down WNBA 3-point contest: 'I can't decline an offer I never got officially invited to'

Jul 23 • 11:14 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

MAGA candidates keep losing in Arizona. Andy Biggs is out to break the trend

The fronrunner for the GOP nomination for governor hopes he fares better than MAGA-aligned Blake Masters and Kari Lake did in their recent statewide contests.

Jul 21 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Byron Donalds wants 3 gubernatorial debates with David Jolly

It's not even August yet, but the GOP front-runner is ready for the Fall contest.

Jul 20 • 3:12 PM EDT • Politics • floridapolitics.com

Shaky political "science": breakdown of the peer review process

[This article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in December 2025, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting (RCV). Many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first four articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report; the second one analyzed a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report; a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research; and a fourth article that analyzed seven studies sponsored by New America’s political reform program that deployed flawed methodology based on “simulated” elections instead of real-world elections, which when combined with some basic misunderstandings of RCV, produced odd and misleading results]. In this fifth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we examine two flawed studies on the impact of RCV on voter turnout authored by San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel. McDaniel’s research in these two papers stands out for its puzzling methodology, inadequate and cherry-picked data, and faulty analyses that not only misunderstands ranked choice voting but reflects a basic misunderstanding of politics in general. The first of the McDaniel studies actually passed through a peer review process and then was subsequently published by the Journal of Urban Affairs, despite its obvious errors. It is perplexing that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the errors and send it back to McDaniel for a rewrite or outright rejection. This calls into question the credibility of the peer review process itself. The peer review process is supposed to represent the intellectual pinnacle of the profession – a way for academics to certify the quality of each other’s work, and to act as a check against sloppy research. In the case of the McDaniel study, the peer review process failed. Yet his flawed study has been cited dozens of times by other political scientists in their own flawed works — an unvirtuous circle of academic research. Here is the first Jason McDaniel study that we analyzed: “Writing the Rules to Rank the Candidates: Examining the Impact of Instant-Runoff Voting on Racial Group Turnout in San Francisco Mayoral Elections,” by Jason McDaniel, 2016, Journal of Urban Affairs. This study covered San Francisco’s use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in mayoral elections, purporting to show that RCV reduces voter turnout overall, increases voter errors, and has a negative impact on “marginal populations,” i.e. racial minorities, mainly as the result of the alleged complexity of RCV asking voters to rank candidates and having to be familiar with multiple candidates and related dynamics. McDaniel reached these conclusions by examining five San Francisco mayoral elections taking place in odd years (i.e. where there are no federal or state races on the ballot) from 1995 to 2011, comparing three earlier non-RCV races (in 1995, 1999 and 2003) with the later two RCV races (in 2007 and 2011). Only two RCV races were studied, and as McDaniel acknowledged, only the contest in 2011 was “competitive” (that contest in 2007 was the first mayoral election using RCV, and incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom won easily in the first round of counting, earning 74% of first choices and far ahead of the second place candidate who had just 6.3% of first choices). Yet even the allegedly competitive contest in 2011was won by an incumbent with a landslide margin of nearly 20 points. No other elections were studied by McDaniel, even though San Francisco elects 17 other offices besides mayor with RCV, including the 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors (the name for the city council) in even years, and six other citywide offices in odd years. Previous academic research has found that competitive elections can stimulate greater voter involvement and higher turnout. For unexplained reasons, this study ignored at least 34 other RCV races between the years 2004 to 2011, many of which were very competitive and had high voter turnout. Instead, McDaniel’s analysis based its conclusions on data from only a single, marginally-competitive mayor’s race using RCV. These 2007 and 2011 mayoral elections were the only two RCV elections that McDaniel used as the sole basis for his small data set to determine the impact of RCV on voter turnout. Despite having no meaningful data to inform his study, McDaniel nonetheless concluded that RCV lowered turnout when compared to the previous three mayoral non-RCV elections using two-round runoffs. Then, using the same inadequate database of San Francisco elections, McDaniel also found that “Instant-runoff voting is associated with a significant decline in Black voter turnout and White voter turnout…On average, Black voter turnout decreases by 18 points and White voter turnout decreases by 16 points …” But how could he credibly arrive at that conclusion when his study was based on voter turnout in two RCV contests that were not even remotely competitive? Beyond that, McDaniel tacitly admits that the key determining factor driving Black voter turnout was not RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable Black candidate. McDaniel wrote, “Black voter turnout was about 17 percentage points higher for the two elections that featured an African American candidate compared to the three elections that did not” — but one of those three elections did not use RCV. The same dynamic was present for White voter turnout, in which higher turnout was not correlated with RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable White candidate. Beyond that, McDaniel’s voter turnout results, whether correlated with the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections, showed no clear patterns. In his Figure 1, he shows low Asian voter turnout in the non-RCV elections in 1999 and 2003 when there was no viable Asian candidate running, but in the 2007 mayoral election using RCV, there is still no viable Asian candidate, yet Asian turnout increases dramatically. For Latinos, voter turnout is virtually the same in 1999 (no viable Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2003 (leading Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2007 (no viable Latino candidate, RCV elections) and 2011 (leading Latino candidate, RCV elections). Meanwhile White voter turnout increased dramatically from a low in the 2007 mayoral election, in which the leading candidate was a white incumbent, to the 2011 election in which there were no leading white candidates that finished any higher than sixth place with 5.6% of the vote. Clearly other factors were determining voter turnout than either the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections. Despite these inconsistent findings, McDaniel boldly marches forth to render conclusions about the impact of RCV on different groups of racial voters, even though his conclusions are not remotely supported by his data. This looks like the worst kind of “data cherry picking” to cover up a puzzling conclusion based on a poor data set involving only two RCV elections, neither of which were remotely competitive. McDaniel’s cherry picking didn’t stop there. In calculating voter turnout for the three non-RCV mayoral elections in 1995, 1999 and 2003, he failed to mention that in each of these years there was a two-round runoff election, with a first round election in November in which no candidate garnered a winning majority of the vote, followed by the decisive runoff in December. So there were two non-RCV elections in each election year. But McDaniel only decided to include one of the two elections in his data set, apparently the December runoff in each year (which had higher turnout in two out of the three mayor’s races, and lower turnout in the third). So he ignored the November 1995 election, the November 1999 election when turnout was only 45 percent, and the November 2003 election when turnout was only 45.7 percent. This is flawed methodology based on blatant cherry picking, since McDaniel simply omitted three elections worth of data that did not fit within his frame. His study should never have made it through a peer review process, and it is an embarrassment to political science that not only was it approved for publication, but it has been uncritically cited by dozens of other political scientists. Share A “study” without wider context or credible data Lacking a data set that included even a single competitive RCV mayoral race, McDaniel declared that RCV lowered voter turnout in 2011, when turnout was 42.5 percent. But he also ignored -- or did not realize -- that voter turnout in mayoral elections during 2011 had sharply declined in all big cities, including far more steeply in nearby Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, San Francisco’s election in 2011 had the second highest turnout of any mayoral election in the nation’s 22 largest cities from 2008-2011. Was 2011 just a particularly low turnout year all across the country, perhaps because the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the housing market collapse in 2008-2010? McDaniel ignored this factor and did not search for alternative explanations beyond his flawed thesis. Furthermore, while McDaniel suggested that RCV leads to more “overvotes” – which is an invalidated ballot in which a voter, in either a non-RCV or RCV race, makes a mistake and selects two candidates for a single choice – he failed to address that in the June 2012 US Senate primary contest, which used the typical “one-choice” plurality method and did not use RCV, there was more than five times as many overvotes in San Francisco and Oakland than in the RCV mayoral elections in those cities. Additionally, turnout had been significantly higher and more representative in RCV elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors races -- that McDaniel didn’t even bother to study -- as compared to previous “delayed two-round runoffs” for those offices, often higher by as much as 40% in the RCV races. Perhaps the most surprising irony was that an earlier study co-authored by McDaniel (Overvoting and the Equality of Voice under Instant-Runoff Voting in San Francisco by Francis Neely and Jason McDaniel, 2015, California Journal of Politics and Policy) found that overvotes are often more common in lower-income precincts, but that the pattern of overvoting is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. Wrote Neely and McDaniel: “[Overvote] errors appear to be a function of complexity in general and not IRV per se…. the pattern of overvoting is similar in both IRV and non-IRV contests…Even among votes cast in a top-of-the-ticket race like U.S. Senate, overvoting occurs in an uneven fashion” (IRV, or ‘instant runoff voting,’ is another name for ranked choice voting in single-winner contests). So McDaniel not only contradicted his own conclusion in his earlier study with Neely, but the earlier study had been an important corrective for one of the most frequently made mistakes made by anti-RCV political scientists – a continual failure to provide crucial context by pairing a comparative analysis of real world RCV elections with an analysis of real world plurality or other electoral methods. Unfortunately McDaniel’s earlier study does not get cited much by other researchers, and McDaniel did not even cite it in his own flawed study analyzed above. Incredibly, McDaniel cherrypicked McDaniel, even as his flawed study has been cited dozens of times. Despite being a textbook example of poor political “science,” featuring both inadequate as well as cherrypicked data, the shelf life of McDaniel’s study has been extended endlessly by other political scientists and media outlets who have cited it uncritically. Equally troubling, the Journal of Urban Affairs put this paper through its peer review process and published it despite its numerous flaws. McDaniel gets it wrong, Part II Not content with producing one shoddy, confused paper, McDaniel produced another one a few years later, here is the link: Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout in Mayoral Elections: An Analysis of Ranked-Choice Voting by Jason McDaniel. San Francisco State Univ. (McDaniel, 2019). In this paper, McDaniel extended his previous flawed research focused on San Francisco, about voter turnout and voter impact, to multiple RCV cities through the 2018 elections. In his data set he included San Francisco, Minneapolis, St Paul, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and Santa Fe. He then compared their turnout in mayoral elections to non-RCV cities, and to mayoral elections in those cities held before first RCV usage, and concluded “a significant decrease in voter turnout of approximately 3–5 percentage points in RCV cities after the implementation of RCV.” But he replicated many of the same mistakes as his first study presented above. While in this study McDaniel attempted to distinguish between various factors, such as odd year vs. even year elections, competitive races vs. noncompetitive, contests with open seats and other factors, the analysis is superficial and inadequate. He attempts to incorporate so many often-conflicting variables that his conclusions are once again unsupported by the actual data, and ultimately unconvincing (this second study never underwent a peer review process). For example, McDaniel declared that for RCV cities “in elections that are more competitive than average (margin of victory less than 20%), there is no significant RCV effect on voter turnout.” Yet McDaniel is a professor in a city, San Francisco, in which the 2018 special election using RCV to fill a mayoral vacancy was exceedingly close, decided by a margin of only one percentage point, and resulted in the second highest turnout in San Francisco history for a mayoral election. Illustrating the complexity involved in assessing the critical factors in turnout, that special election was held on the same election day as federal and state offices, which tends to boost turnout. Yet more voters participated in that RCV mayoral election than voted on the same day in the non-RCV primary for governor in which former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom was running. Even more puzzling, in this study McDaniel inaccurately cited his own previous study from 2015 with Neely. McDaniel wrote, “Neely and McDaniel (2015) examine individual ballot image files within a natural experiment, and find higher rates of ballot errors in RCV elections compared to non-RCV elections” (emphasis added). However, we quoted from that 2015 study several paragraphs above, and in actual fact Neely and McDaniel actually concluded the opposite -- that the pattern of overvoting – which is the most common form of ballot error – is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. McDaniel also ignored the fact that in Bay Area RCV elections held in even years – at the same time as federal and state elections, when turnout is highest -- the “undervote” (that is, the dropoff in ballots cast for governor or mayor) has declined, which contradicts his thesis that the act of ranking ballots in RCV elections is too complex and presents a barrier for certain demographics of voters. To his credit, McDaniel actually acknowledged another contradiction in his own paper, which found a negative RCV turnout effect in some odd-year elections but not others, admitting that “may present a challenge to the theory that increased complexity [from RCV] will have a marginal negative effect on voter turnout.” But he tried to wallpaper over that contradiction by blaming it on an unlikely source -- bad election administration. McDaniels wrote, “This would suggest that the negative impact of RCV on voter participation may be alleviated by high quality election administration,” without presenting any data or even anecdotes to support such an unfounded theory. While competent election administration of any election, whether RCV or non-RCV, is crucially important, there is no credible research that supports the far-fetched notion that the quality of election administration has much of an impact on voter turnout in US elections, whether using RCV or otherwise. Upgrade to a $5 subscription The unvirtuous circle of academic research It is puzzling how McDaniel’s first study could have survived the peer review process for the Journal of Urban Affairs. The mistakes in McDaniel’s first study above should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of ranked choice voting as well as elections in general, and elections in San Francisco specifically. It undermines faith in the credibility of the peer review process to think that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the egregious errors and reject McDaniel’s sloppy research and paper. And it remains a black mark on political science that this thoroughly discredited study has been cited dozens of times by other researchers. Indeed, in our research paper it became apparent that many political scientists cite each other’s flawed research to pad their list of citations and to legitimize their own flawed research, creating an unvirtuous circle of political science. More broadly, McDaniel’s voter turnout studies, like other studies evaluating RCV’s impact on turnout, lacked a recognition that no credible opinion or research can claim that RCV increases voter turnout merely because so many voters are excited to vote for their favorite candidates instead of “lesser evil” candidates without worrying about spoilers. Instead, with respect to turnout, the advantage of RCV has always been that, in most places where it has been used, it has eliminated a pre-November primary or post-November runoff, which usually saw about half the turnout of the November general election. This is especially true during even years when there are state and federal elections on the ballot which substantially drive turnout more than local contests. Any study that does not adequately account for this non-November primary/runoff vs November general election dynamic, or odd year vs even year election factors, is simply not credible. Both of McDaniel’s studies largely failed on those grounds. Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to a $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS…your digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe

Jul 20 • 9:29 AM EDT • Science • democracysos.substack.com

In Maine Senate Race, Jackson Sprints Ahead of Pack, as Bellows Drops Out

Troy Jackson, a progressive, solidified his edge over his rivals in an abbreviated nominating contest to replace Graham Platner. Shenna Bellows, another candidate, bowed out.

Jul 19 • 11:36 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

A new AI benchmark: Betting on the World Cup.

Can AI predict the future? A World Cup betting contest reveals which models make the smartest wagers.

Jul 19 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com

Business Pitch Challenge expands to Bismarck

If you’ve ever wanted to start your own business but don’t know how, there is a new contest that might help. The Bismarck Mandan Chamber wants to set up entrepreneurs for success.

Jul 17 • 8:04 PM EDT • Business • kfyrtv.com

Andy Burnham is declared leader of UK's Labour Party, pledges to restore hope

The former mayor of Greater Manchester was the only contender in the center-left party's leadership contest to replace departing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was forced out by a rebellion within his party.

Jul 17 • 2:41 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Burnham Says He’ll Be a Pro-Business PM in London Speech

Andy Burnham said he’ll be a pro-business prime minister, in his first speech since formally winning an uncontested race to lead the governing Labour Party.

Jul 17 • 7:37 AM EDT • Business • bloomberg.com

In heated Minnesota Senate primary, barrage of political ads is omen of more to come this fall

In a closely contested battle for DFLers in the U.S. Senate primary, candidates and their backers are spending big on advertising. They’re bringing their case to every available screen they can find.

Jul 17 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • mprnews.org

George Santos responds to body-shamers after ‘Special Forces’ cast photo drops: ‘Omg internet yes I’m fat’

George Santos called out body-shamers who ripped apart his and other ‘Special Forces’ contestants’ cast photos.

Jul 16 • 3:57 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

Conor McGregor Says Max Holloway Fight Should Be No Contest

UFC superstar Conor McGregor says that the result of his fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329 should be overturned to a No Contest.McGregor was stopped just 69 seconds into the main event of UFC 329 when his knee gave out on him, and referee Mike Beltran stepped in and called an end to the […] The post Conor McGregor Says Max Holloway Fight Should Be No Contest appeared first on HEAVY.

Jul 16 • 1:52 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Delaware County business owner throws out ceremonial first pitch ahead of All-Star Game

Shana Pistilli, the owner and founder of the Rubato School of Music, won the 2026 MLB and Mastercard Small Business Contest on Friday.

Jul 14 • 10:50 PM EDT • Business • 6abc.com

Hand recounts underway in three primaries

Hand recounts are underway at Board of Election offices for three undecided primary contests for state legislative seats.

Jul 13 • 7:00 PM EDT • Politics • ny1.com

Milwaukee Bucks Make Tyler Herro Announcement After Trade

Tyler Herro was traded (via the Miami Heat) to the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month.The former Kentucky star had spent all seven seasons of his career with the Heat.He is coming off a year where he had averages of 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest while shooting 48.0% from the field and […] The post Milwaukee Bucks Make Tyler Herro Announcement After Trade appeared first on HEAVY.

Jul 12 • 6:49 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

The winning tune: Music school awarded $10K prize

PHILADELPHIA -- Before delivering her final pitch to judges and attendees at the MLB All-Star Small Business Luncheon at Citizens Bank Park, Shana Pistilli, founder and executive director of the Rubato School of Music and winner of the 2026 MLB & Mastercard Small Business Contest, wanted to talk about one

Jul 12 • 1:07 PM EDT • Business • mlb.com

A 23-year-old from New Orleans is on the latest season of 'Project Runway'

Season 22 started Wednesday with the shows biggest number of contestants yet.

Jul 12 • 7:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • nola.com

Alaska Senate race pits Sullivan vs. Sullivan. Is it a plot?

In Alaska, Dan Sullivan is facing Dan Sullivan in one of the country's most competitive contests. Is it a plot to boost the Democratic challenger, Mary Peltola, or mere coincidence? It sure smells fishy.

Jul 12 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • latimes.com

🚨 Official: World Cup semi-finals confirmed

The quarter-finals are over! After intense battles, the nations that will contest the World Cup semi-finals have finally been decided. Spain return to a World Cup semi-final after 16 years, and they ...

Jul 12 • 12:06 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

UK police release man arrested over killing of former politician Ann Widdecombe

LONDON (AP) — British police on Saturday released a 26-year-old man they arrested as a suspect in the killing of Ann Widdecombe, a former British member of Parliament and reality TV contestant.

Jul 11 • 3:33 AM EDT • Politics • wral.com

Graham Platner drops Maine Senate bid, clearing way for Democrats to pick new nominee

Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner said Wednesday he was ending his campaign, clearing the way for Democrats to select a new candidate to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the most important contests of November’s midterm elections.

Jul 8 • 8:15 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Shohei Ohtani hits 300th career home run

While Tuesday’s contest against the Colorado Rockies produced a more disappointing outcome compared to Monday’s walk-off, Shohei Ohtani started off the game with a historic blast. Ohtani smacked a leadoff home run against Michael Lorenzen on Tuesday, which was not only his 25th leadoff home run as a Dodger, but the 300th home run of […]

Jul 8 • 8:05 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Ocasio-Cortez Endorses Abdul El-Sayed in Crucial Michigan Senate Race

The endorsement is the first in a contested Senate primary by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez this year, in a state that Democrats believe they must hold this fall to win a Senate majority.

Jul 2 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Identity Politics: The Good, The Bad, And The… Hotly Contested

Should our government ignore our identities or focus on them? In this episode of Crash Course Political Theory, we’ll explore the role identity plays in politics and government, from affirmative action to white backlash, and ask, “What is fair?”

Jul 1 • 5:13 PM EDT • Politics • thirteen.org

Colorado’s Diana DeGette concedes defeat to Democratic socialist Melat Kiros

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette — the dean of Colorado’s congressional delegation — conceded defeat in the race for the 1st Congressional District a day after losing to Democrat rival Melat Kiros in their party’s primary contest. “I want to congratulate Melat Kiros for her victory last night, and I want to wish her all the […]

Jul 1 • 3:33 PM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

America 250 road trip: A new mom discovers the oldest secret in sports

What makes a sport American? Fans leave clues at a Florida pickleball party, a Charleston crawfish-eating contest and Vince Lombardi's grave.

Jul 1 • 7:00 AM EDT • Sports • africa.espn.com

America 250 road trip: A new mom discovers the oldest secret in sports

What makes a sport American? Fans leave clues at a Florida pickleball party, a Charleston crawfish-eating contest and Vince Lombardi's grave.

Jul 1 • 7:00 AM EDT • Sports • espn.com

America 250 road trip: A new mom discovers the oldest secret in sports

What makes a sport American? Fans leave clues at a Florida pickleball party, a Charleston crawfish-eating contest and Vince Lombardi's grave.

Jul 1 • 6:59 AM EDT • Sports • abc11.com

Colorado voters pick state Senate primary winners

Colorado voters on Tuesday night picked winners in the Republican and Democratic primaries in an election that will shape the contests in the general election later this year. The eventual winners will join the Colorado General Assembly in January 2026. Here are the results in key districts. Senate District 3 Colorado voters appear to be […]

Jun 30 • 9:41 PM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

Not politics as usual. Democratic primaries linked to age, ideals and outside money

In Aurora, voters are deciding Democratic candidates for three county races in two counties, Democratic candidates in two hotly contested state House districts and a Republican nominee in a south-Aurora state Senate district.

Jun 30 • 8:43 AM EDT • Politics • sentinelcolorado.com

AI is rewriting the political competitive landscape

Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a central infrastructure layer in political campaigns, reshaping how elections are financed, contested and influenced, The New York Times reports. Campaigns and affiliated political groups are increasingly investing in AI-driven tools for voter targeting, message optimization and large-scale content generation, turning modern elections into capital-intensive, technology-enabled competition. This shift is […]

Jun 29 • 3:31 PM EDT • Politics • businessreport.com

Contest announce: Put your horse race sponsor in the trailer

Create a sponsor for the Hippodrome races and have it featured in the trailer for the DLC

Jun 29 • 12:01 PM EDT • Technology • anno-union.com

Winning Before Kickoff: The science behind success at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

The World Cup is usually remembered for what happens after the whistle: the impossible assist, the heroic save, the deflection that turns a nation’s hope into heartbreak. But in 2026, some of the most important contests may be decided before kickoff, in training rooms, recovery suites, flight schedules, hydration plans, and cooling protocols. Science cannot eliminate soccer’s glorious unpredictability, but it can help teams survive it.

Jun 29 • 12:00 AM EDT • Science • acsh.org

Lagos school emerges winner of 10th Edition of Tolaram Science Challenge

By Efe Onodjae Iwerekun Community Senior High School, Ibeju-Lekki, has emerged the winner of the 10th edition of Tolaram Science Challenge (TSC), marking their third consecutive win. The school triumphed over Magbon-Alade Senior Grammar School in a keenly contested grand finale of the competition. The Tolaram Science Challenge, sponsored by Lagos Free Zone, is an annual […]

Jun 28 • 8:02 PM EDT • Science • vanguardngr.com

New York Knicks Champion Mitchell Robinson Makes Heartfelt Post

Mitchell Robinson is coming off his eighth season in the NBA.The 28-year-old has become an extremely valuable player for the New York Knicks in that span.He is coming off a season where he averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest while shooting 72.3% from the field in 60 games.Knicks Champion Robinson Makes […] The post New York Knicks Champion Mitchell Robinson Makes Heartfelt Post appeared first on HEAVY.

Jun 27 • 3:48 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

North Dakota State Fair 2026: Food, Entertainment, Pride of Dakota Festival, Contests, and More

MINOT, ND (KXNET) — There are now three weeks until this year’s North Dakota State Fair kicks off, and the Fair is including America’s 250th birthday. The fair is an official partner of…

Jun 26 • 8:19 AM EDT • Entertainment • kxnet.com

College Sports Communicators Recognize Strelow with Writing Awards

BOONE, N.C. — App State's award-winning strategic communications staff added more honors this spring, as Bret Strelow was recognized for two stories in the Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest that's conducted by the College Sports Communicators organization.

Jun 26 • 6:04 AM EDT • Sports • appstatesports.com

Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Wide Receiver Devin Fitzgerald

As the son of an NFL legend, this physical Arizona standout is already flashing elite route-running and contested-catch skills after a dominant spring debut in South Bend.

Jun 26 • 5:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

North Carolina, Illinois basketball to meet at Bridgestone Arena

Six non-conference, neutral-site contests on tap for downtown Nashville facility in 2026-27 season

Jun 25 • 1:30 PM EDT • Sports • nashvillepost.com

'ANTM' cycle 25 might cast 'an AI contestant,' Tyra Banks rep says (exclusive)

'America's Next Top Model' cycle 25 might include 'an AI contestant,' a representative for Tyra Banks exclusively tells EW after Banks' ice cream brand removed AI-generated models from an ad.

Jun 24 • 4:30 PM EDT • Entertainment • ew.com

John Morgan announces name for new political party

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Jun 24 • 10:08 AM EDT • Politics • tallahassee.com

Mamdani extends influence with clean sweep in N.Y., Trump hedges in South Carolina: The latest primary results

Your complete guide to the most important contests between now and November.

Jun 24 • 4:28 AM EDT • Politics • yahoo.com

Andy Burnham prepares for a UK Labour leadership contest that may be a coronation

Andy Burnham is preparing for a Labour Party leadership contest that could make him Britain's prime minister within weeks.

Jun 23 • 9:14 AM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Polls open as New Yorkers vote in several contested congressional races

Several contests feature open seats, high-profile endorsements and millions of dollars in campaign spending, making this one of the most consequential primary days in recent years.

Jun 23 • 5:30 AM EDT • Politics • abc7ny.com

Mayor Mamdani faces political strength test with Tuesday’s congressional primaries

Mamdani has cast the contests as a referendum on what it means to be a Democrat in New York City and across the country.

Jun 22 • 1:34 PM EDT • Politics • gothamist.com

Mackenzie McMahon Earns "Best of Division III" Honor in College Sports Communicators Creative and Digital Design Contest

She had three entries place in the annual contest.

Jun 22 • 8:29 AM EDT • Sports • athletics.hope.edu

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New York’s state primary

Democratic nomination contests for New York’s seats in the closely divided U.S. House take center stage Tuesday in a state primary

Jun 22 • 7:15 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

Conservatives spent heavily in key Democratic primaries, filings show

An influential conservative nonprofit covertly funded a series of super PACs with names suggesting liberal provenance as the groups injected hundreds of thousands of dollars into key nominating Democratic contests across the country.

Jun 21 • 9:23 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

Fears doctors criticising Israel may be silenced as health watchdog adopts contested antisemitism definition

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to use International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition for ‘regulatory work’

Jun 19 • 11:51 PM EDT • Health • theguardian.com

Double endorsement drama: Trump backs second candidate in red state’s GOP gubernatorial runoff

Trump endorses both Wilson and Evette in South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial runoff, hedging his bets ahead of the high-profile Tuesday contest.

Jun 19 • 5:35 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com

These Award-Winning Science Photos Capture the Beauty—and Weirdness—of Research

From fluorescent mosquitoes to scientists swimming alongside whale sharks, Nature's annual photo contest offers a rare look at science in action.

Jun 19 • 9:30 AM EDT • Science • gizmodo.com

Illusionists charm “America's Got Talent” judges — minus Simon Cowell — with dangerous act and Spice Girls T-shirt

Cowell tells one of the contestants that he looks like "that actor," by which he means Jonah Hill.

Jun 16 • 10:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com

Collins defeats Dooley for GOP U.S. Senate nomination in Georgia

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins will face U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November after winning the Republican runoff in Georgia's Senate contest.

Jun 16 • 9:24 PM EDT • Politics • ajc.com

Live results: Alabama midterm primary runoffs

Alabama voters will return to the polls Tuesday to finalize nominees for an open U.S. Senate seat and a handful of other contests in which no candidate received a majority of votes in the May 19 primary.

Jun 16 • 3:15 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

KU Health System Pharmacy Technicians Hold Rally to Demand Every Union Election Vote Be Counted

KU Health System has not yet agreed that all timely postmarked ballots in closely contested union elections be counted. KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Pharmacy Technicians at The University of Kansas (KU) Health System held a rally to demand that every timely cast ballot be counted in their union election and to call attention to the

Jun 16 • 10:54 AM EDT • Health • goiam.org

Inside the White House’s Newest AI Clash With Anthropic | WSJ Politics Newsletter for June 16

Plus, President Trump spent his 80th birthday finalizing the Iran agreement as he watched the UFC contest

Jun 16 • 7:18 AM EDT • Politics • wsj.com

Colorado Attorney General Democratic primary: Meet the candidates

One of the most closely watched contests on the June primary ballot is the four‑way Democratic race for Colorado attorney general. With Attorney General Phil Weiser term‑limited and running for governor, attention has shifted to the candidates vying to replace him and the qualifications they bring to the state’s top legal office. Running for attorney […]

Jun 15 • 1:28 PM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

King Street store windows go patriotic for contest celebrating America’s 250th anniversary

The King Street Business Improvement District held a competition inviting local businesses to create a window display celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.

Jun 12 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • postandcourier.com

South African pundits stunned silent after team’s performance against Mexico

The World Cup did not get off to a hot start for South Africa on Thursday. The 2010 World Cup host faced off against one of this year’s host nations, Mexico, to kick off the 2026 World Cup, and it was never a contest. From the jump, the Mexican team looked dominant, scoring in the…

Jun 11 • 9:32 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

House Dems Ilhan Omar and Sarah McBride mock Republican Nancy Mace over gubernatorial primary drubbing

Reps. Ilhan Omar and Sarah McBride mocked Rep. Nancy Mace after she placed fifth in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary contest.

Jun 11 • 12:32 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com

6 Stunning Images That Show the Beauty and Impact of Science

BMC Health System's inaugural science imagery contest showcased the many ways team members bring science to life.

Jun 11 • 11:48 AM EDT • Science • healthcity.bmc.org

Benedictine Sports Information recognized by NAIA-SIDA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Benedictine College Sports Information Office was recognized this week with four awards announced the NAIA Sports Information Directors Association (NAIA-SIDA). The honors come from the 2026 NAIA-SIDA Publications & Media Contest.

Jun 11 • 8:54 AM EDT • Sports • ravenathletics.com

Parade politics: Collins and Wu-backed challenger Gayle mount-up for summer contest

The contest for First Suffolk Senate got more interesting last week when Mayor Wu back a challenger to Sen. Nick Collins.

Jun 11 • 8:07 AM EDT • Politics • dotnews.com

Independents are rising in Idaho political contests

For years, I have believed that the future of moderate to right of center politics in Idaho is what I call fusion politics. | Opinion

Jun 10 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • idahostatesman.com

The Battle for the Senate Could Come Down to Hopes and Fears in Maine

Graham Platner’s primary victory in Maine sets up a high-stakes contest between an insurgent progressive with political baggage and a battle-tested but vulnerable Republican senator.

Jun 10 • 5:02 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com

Graham Platner shrugs off scandals to win Maine Democratic Senate primary

Platner, whose campaign was hit by series of negative headlines, to face Susan Collins in key midterm contest

Jun 9 • 9:27 PM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com

GOP primary for U.S. House seat and Democratic governors race among Nevada's key contests

Nevadans are choosing their party nominees Tuesday for two closely watched congressional seats and the governor’s race, among others, as the state grapples with an affordable housing shortage, exploding energy demand from data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.

Jun 9 • 12:51 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

These teens are vying to win Trump’s civics contest. Some have mixed feelings about patriotism and the president

Earlier this year, Ishant Jawali, a 16-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, was scrolling on Instagram when he stumbled upon a little-known way to win money for college: The Trump administration was putting on a national civics contest for America’s 250th birthday.

Jun 9 • 12:31 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

What to watch in Tuesday's primaries as Platner seeks Senate nomination in Maine

Voters across Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota head to the polls Tuesday for another day of primary elections in America, but much of the political world will be focused on Maine's high-stakes U.S. Senate contest.

Jun 9 • 12:24 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Platner seeks the Democratic Senate nomination to set up critical Maine race with Collins

Graham Platner is seeking to make a Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate official in advance of one of the most anticipated contests of the year.

Jun 9 • 12:08 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

The Latest: Maine primary election tests Platner’s support following mounting scandals

Voters across Maine, Nevada, South Carolina and North Dakota head to the polls for another day of primary elections in America, but much of the political world will be focused on Maine’s high-stakes U.S. Senate contest

Jun 9 • 8:48 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

Democratic group launches ad campaign to help flip control of Congress in midterm elections

A Democratic group that previously focused on presidential races is wading into more than a dozen House and Senate contests across the country

Jun 9 • 5:06 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com

Bennet wants to be Colorado’s next governor

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is considered the front-runner in the Colorado Democratic Party primary contest for governor. His major opponent is current Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. The Democratic primary election is June 30. Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters who choose to can vote in this election. Ballots are being mailed out starting Monday. Michael F. Bennet, 61, was born in New Delhi, India, where his father […]

Jun 7 • 9:00 AM EDT • Politics • coloradopolitics.com

Trained in fierce local politics, SF women lead statewide contests

Former supervisors Fiona Ma, Jane Kim, and Malia Cohen and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis are front-runners in their state races.

Jun 6 • 9:00 AM EDT • Politics • sfstandard.com

Student donates $50,000 Google tech package to Seattle high school

Kameirah Johnson, a Lakeside School student and winner of the Doodle for Google contest, will give the $50,000 technology package she won to Rainier Beach High School instead.

Jun 6 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • seattletimes.com

Vanderbilt Health Pets of the Day: Freddy and Cooper

Today’s first Dog of the Day is Freddy, submitted by Beth Piazza of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. “Freddy was adopted on Valentine’s Day of 2024 from the Nashville Humane Association. He is the cuddliest 90-pound lap dog.“ Today’s second Dog of the Day is Cooper, submitted by Brandie Taylor of Medicine. “Cooper is a 14 year old chocolate lab. He loves eating and going to get pup cups!” Freddy and Cooper were featured in the June 9, 2026, edition of MyVUMC News. To see the archived collection of Vanderbilt Health Pets of the Day, go to: https://news.vumc.org/section/voice/pets-vumc/. Pet photos wanted! The Vanderbilt Health Pets of the Day are posted to the Voice section of Vanderbilt Health News and included in regular editions of the MyVUMC News newsletter, which is published twice a week by Vanderbilt Health News and Communications. Now through July 6, we especially want to see photos of your pets enjoying spring and summer. That might be having fun at the lake or beach, hanging out in the backyard, lying on the couch, or in the case of a pet fish, just living the life aquatic (we’re not too strict about what constitutes enjoying spring and summer). If you have a pet picture you would like to send in for consideration, go to the submission form here and follow the guidelines.

Jun 5 • 11:08 AM EDT • Health • news.vumc.org

The Republican lawmakers who tried to modify abortion bans and became political targets

At least four Republican lawmakers across the country have lost reelection bids after anti-abortion groups and key party allies backed their challengers instead. Two others face contested primaries, including one in North Dakota.

Jun 5 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • northdakotamonitor.com

ICON Park’s newest entertainment puts guests inside giant bubbles

Spheres Bubble Show is led by Blaise Ryndes, a four-time Guinness World Record holder and former America’s Got Talent contestant known for his innovative bubble artistry.

Jun 4 • 2:10 PM EDT • Entertainment • clickorlando.com

Morning Skate: Bounceback

Welcome back to another Thursday! The Stanley Cup Final began with an absolute heater of a 5-4 win for the Vegas Golden Knights. It had a little bit of everything; comebacks, players that we generally agree are good looking like they are in hell, questionable goaltending, and the bad guys winning, setting up tonight’s contest […]

Jun 4 • 7:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

New Jersey Democrats pick Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett to face absent GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr.

Bennett’s victory over three other Democrats on Tuesday sets up the state’s premier contest in November, when the party hopes it can flip the onetime Republican stronghold that has proven competitive in recent years.

Jun 3 • 4:27 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

World Business Chicago design contest

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Jun 3 • 8:04 AM EDT • Business • abc7chicago.com