SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " Old " 17,457 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
LA28 outlines terms for its second Olympics ticket drop
Despite backlash over high prices and fees, LA28 says it sold more than 4 million tickets in its first ticket drop. The next sale will open in August.
SCIENCE-MONKEYS/
Macaques hold food while an infant sits between them at the Rock in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, July 27, 2019.
SCIENCE-MONKEYS/
Macaques hold food while an infant sits between them at the Rock in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, July 27, 2019.
BillingPlatform Honored as Gold Stevie® Award Winner in 2026 American Business Awards®
/PRNewswire/ -- BillingPlatform, the leader in enterprise monetization, today announced it was named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the Subscription...
Mysterious Golden Orb at The Bottom of The Ocean Finally Identified
We've been waiting nearly three years for this.
Olivia Dean review — a masterclass in old-school entertainment
By the time the London star closed the opening night of her first major tour with the megahit Man I Need, not a soul in Glasgow’s OVO Hydro arena wasn’t in love with her
'I wasn't told to give up non-veg food,' says Mumtaz on marrying a Hindu: 'We never differentiated between religions'
Veteran actor Mumtaz, who began working in films as a child artist in 1952, had a challenging start before rising to stardom. In her early years, she .
Here's How the iPhone Ultra Compares to Other Apple Devices
With dummy models of Apple's rumored foldable iPhone now circulating, YouTube channel Max Tech's Vadim Yuryev has shared images and video of the book-style form factor compared to existing Apple devices, giving us a better idea of what to expect when it launches later this year. The foldable iPhone's inner display is said to have a 4:3 aspect ratio like an iPad, and it will have an iPad mini-sized OLED display when it's opened up.
Tottenham hold talks with leading contender Sebastian Kehl over co-sporting director role
Spurs are searching for a replacement for Fabio Paratici, who left the club in February to take up a position at Serie A side Fiorentina.
Scientists trace latest interstellar comet's home to a cold, isolated corner of the Milky Way
A new study suggests that the comet that rambled past us from another star last year likely originated in a cold, isolated corner of the galaxy that had yet to gel into its own solar system.
Entertainment briefs | ‘Dance Visions’ at Cal Poly Humboldt
“The Year to Save the Earth,” a multimedia experience mixing powerful songs and projected images, will be featured May 1 at 7 p.m. at the Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 24 Fellowship Way off Jacoby Creek Road in Bayside. “The Y…
Former Adult Entertainment Venue in South Philly Sold for $2.3 Million, Will Be Repurposed
Show & Tel has closed and been sold. The new owner plans to repurpose the property as storage facility and office space.
Scientists trace latest interstellar comet’s home to a cold, isolated corner of the Milky Way
A new study suggests that the comet that rambled past us from another star last year likely originated in a cold, isolated corner of the galaxy that had yet to gel into its own solar system.
Meet Carter Faith, the breakout country star who’s not afraid to speak up
With witty and heart-breaking songs, Carter Faith is already playing sold-out rooms — and turning down a spot on the Kid Rock tour — even without radio airplay
Titans' NFL Draft: What will they do with pick 4?
The Tennessee Titans hold the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft. What will they do with it? Here are best and worst case scenarios.
Ben Roberts-Smith planned to leave Australia and researched buying wellness business in Spain, court documents show
Partner of soldier accused of war crimes says the couple discussed possibility of moving overseas to ‘create some normalcy in our lives’
Patriots' Mike Vrabel to seek counseling, will not be with team for Day 3 of the NFL Draft, per report
Pictures of Vrabel holding hands with NFL reporter Dianna Russini were published earlier this month
Midnight Mania: GSP Doesn’t Believe In Cardio?!?
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
UNR opens three museums for Spring into Science, with fossils, robots and solar viewing
KRXI2 NBC Reno covers news, sports, weather and traffic for the Reno, Nevada area including Sparks, Carson City, Virginia City, Silver City, Stagecoach, Silver Springs, Sun Valley, Cold Springs, Spanish Springs and Fenley, Nevada and Truckee and Tahoe City, California.
Weekly Entertainment Report: Live music and lively arts, April 23-26 » Nashua Ink Link
Live music and lively arts abound. Go out and get some.
USA TODAY Sports/AVCA Super 25 boys volleyball rankings, Week 7
Mira Costa holds strong atop the USA TODAY Sports/AVCA boys volleyball Super 25 rankings for Week 7.
289-million-year-old mummified reptile reveals how breathing began on land
A remarkably preserved, mummified reptile from 289 million years ago is rewriting what we know about how animals first breathed on land. This tiny creature, Captorhinus aguti, reveals the earliest known version of the rib-powered breathing system used by modern reptiles, birds, and mammals — a crucial innovation that helped vertebrates thrive outside water.
How a pivot to hair accessories led to business success
Jenny Lennick's colourful hair clips are sold across the US and around the world.
Base Mac Mini Sold Out From Apple Online Store
Apple appears to be sold out of the base Mac mini, and the machine is listed as “Currently Unavailable” from the Apple Online Store. The base Mac mini is the model with an M4 chip, 256GB of storage, and 16GB RAM. M4 Mac mini models with upgraded storage are still in stock, as are Mac mini models that are equipped with the M4 Pro chip. Configurations with 24GB RAM are also still available, but some models that use 32GB RAM or higher are out of stock.
Egyptian mummy has part of the 'Iliad' in its abdomen, archaeologists discover
A papyrus that contains part of Homer's "Iliad" has been discovered inside the abdomen of a mummy in Egypt. Other mummies at the cemetery had gold tongues.
Senate committee rejects plan to cut key NH business tax
Citing concerns about lost revenue, the panel instead backed lifting the filing threshold for the Business Enterprise Tax.
College basketball transfer portal 2026-27 winners and losers: Duke, Florida lead free agency victors
The good, the bad and the ugly from the first wave of college basketball's free agency period
White House tells court it’s preserving presidential records even though DOJ said law is unconstitutional
White House staff are still following the “preservation” mandates of the Presidential Records Act, the Justice Department told a federal court as it pushes back on a new lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s disavowal of a Watergate-era documents law.
Where Warriors' financial situation stands entering pivotal 2026 NBA offseason
The Golden State Warriors are entering a pivotal 2026 NBA offseason with some financial challenges, such as potentially going under the luxury tax.
Scientists discovered a mysterious ‘golden orb’ two miles beneath the surface of the ocean. Now they’ve worked out what it is
Sorry, but it’s not an extraterrestrial egg...
Longtime Georgia Democrat US Rep. David Scott dies at 80
US Democratic Rep. David Scott, who represented Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, has died at 80 years old.
Frailty threatens the health and well-being of older adults, but it’s not inevitable
Frailty is not inevitable as people get older. Try these simple steps to prevent or reverse frailty and to improve health and boost society.
Galaxy Z Fold 7 is now available ‘Re-Newed,’ but it currently costs more than a new one
Samsung is expanding its “Re-Newed” program of refurbished Galaxy devices to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip...
WATCH: Chaos erupts as leftists interrupt conservative group's UCLA event featuring DHS lawyer
Protesters booed and disrupted DHS General Counsel James Percival during a Federalist Society event at UCLA Law, holding profane signs and chanting.
New clues for using common fungus to promote crop growth and health
Trichoderma species — a common fungus found in soils — have varying abilities to promote tomato plant growth and differentially affect the abundance of certain soil bacteria, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State.
Entertainment Listing: April 22
Wednesday April 22 Hangar 9 • Carbondale Carbondale Idol, 7 p.m. Open Deck Night, 10 p.m. PK’s • Carbondale Trivia, 8 p.m. Little Nashville • Marion Advertisement Bingo, 6 p.m. Thursday April 23 Hangar 9 • Carbondale Gnarly: A Girlypop dance party, 9 p.m. PK’s • Carbondale Cold Front and RGB Lighthouse, 9 p.m....
AEG Presents and Goldenvoice Spotlight Careers in Live Entertainment at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / April 22, 2026 / More than 100 local high school students gained a behind-the-scenes look at careers in live entertainment when AEG Presents and Goldenvoice hosted a career exposure day at the Coachella Valley Music ...
Color-Changing Bees: Citizen Science Photographs Help Researchers Explore Bee Coloration In Response To Humidity
"Whether the colour change happens to benefit the bee in any way is still an open question that we’d love to explore," lead author Madeleine Ostwald told IFLScience.
Iowa Senate blocks confirmation of Larry Johnson as director of Health and Human Services
Iowa Senate Democrats voted against confirming Gov. Kim Reynolds' pick to lead the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, citing transparency concerns.
Royals announce plans for new stadium just south of downtown Kansas City
The Royals have played at Kauffman Stadium, the fifth-oldest ballpark in MLB, since 1973.
Mar 2026 USA Sales: Pokémon-Powered Switch 2 Finally Beats 5-Year-Old PS5
A wild Pokopia appears
Detroit Lions get super aggressive in Peter Schrager’s mock draft
Breaking down Peter Schrager’s bold 2026 NFL mock draft for the Detroit Lions.
Gamers sue Nintendo over tariff refunds, saying consumers should get the money back
Two gamers have filed a class action lawsuit against Nintendo, alleging that the company will be unjustly enriching itself with any refund it secures from the U.S. government over widespread tariffs last year that, among other things, hiked the prices of Nintendo hardware and accessories. “Unless restrained by this Court, Nintendo stands to recover the same tariff payments twice—once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff refunds, including interest paid by the government on those funds,” the suit states. Nintendo sued the U.S. government to secure a tariff refund in March, after the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs a month prior, saying they were illegally implemented by President Donald Trump.. The gamers who have sued, California-based Gregory Hoffert and Washington-based Prashant Sharan, both say they purchased Nintendo goods that had increased in price due to tariffs, according to the complaint. They filed their suit in the Western District court of Nintendo of America’s home state of Washington and are seeking class action status to represent all people in the U.S. who purchased price-hiked Nintendo goods between February 1, 2025 and February 24, 2026. They allege that Nintendo’s recovery of any tariff refunds would constitute unjust enrichment and violate Washington state consumer protection law. Similar class action lawsuits pressing companies to pass on tariff refunds have been previously filed against FedEx, UPS and eyeglass importer EssilorLuxottica. The tariffs were announced in early April, and by mid-month, Nintendo had announced $5 price increases for controllers for the then-forthcoming Switch 2. In August, it raised the price of the original Switch. In their suit, the gamers cite comments from Nintendo executives connecting the tariffs to price increases. In May 2025, a month after the tariffs were imposed, Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa told investors “Our basic policy is that for any country or region, if tariffs are imposed, we recognize them as a part of the cost and incorporate them into the price.” Nintendo’s March lawsuit, along with tariff-recovery suits from hundreds of other companies was immediately put on hold pending the implementation of a refund system. The U.S. government announced the beginning of the refund process earlier this week. Companies could receive as much as $160 billion, per CNBC. In March 2026, after Nintendo filed its lawsuit to recover the cost of the tariffs, I asked the company if they planned to pass their refund on to customers who’d paid increased prices. The company’s response acknowledged the existence of the lawsuit but avoided answering that question: “We can confirm that we filed a request. We have nothing else to share on this topic.” Even a promise to consumers may not have spared Nintendo this week’s lawsuit. FedEx previously promised to pass its tariff refunds on to consumers. They’ve been sued over them anyway.
US Army announces new Combat Field Test to enhance Soldier readiness
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army today announced the implementation of the new Combat Field Test (CFT), a major update to its physical readiness program desig...
Parents warn RCSD budget could weaken student mental health services
Parents told RCSD leaders budget cuts could harm vulnerable students, even as officials said some positions have been restored.
29-year-old spent $1,000 to launch a wedding camcorder business—it brought in $1.7 million in sales in less than a year
Anne Marie Carroll started Wedding Weekender with one camcorder in May 2025. Within 10 days of launching she had 50 orders and over $36,000 in sales.
McLeod Health Holds Ribbon Cutting for New Pharmacy
McLeod Health held a ribbon cutting and open house on April 20, 2026, for its new McLeod Choice Pharmacy. The pharmacy officially opens
N.C. A&T Real Estate Foundation, Cone Health Hold Ribbon Cutting for The Resurgent
The North Carolina A&T Real Estate Foundation, in partnership with Cone Health, celebrated the ribbon cutting of The Resurgent.
From Ideas to Solutions: NAVAIR Invites Small Businesses into the Fold
The NAVAIR Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (SBIR/SBTT) group Wednesday finished up NAVAIR panel presentations at this year’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition 2026 at the National Harbor, Maryland.
Business News: Timothée Chalamet Joins Urban Jürgensen As Minority Partner And Creative Advisor
This marks the first time the Golden Globe-winning American-French actor and producer has taken on a partnership with a company.
Romanian President Holds Talks to Save Government From Collapse
Romanian President Nicusor Dan is holding talks with coalition parties to salvage the country’s teetering pro-European government, with the nation’s investment grade and billions of euros in European Union funding potentially hinging on the outcome.
My grandmother sold homemade tamales. Today’s rules wouldn’t allow that.
Home chefs should be able to build a business in Colorado.
AEG Presents and Goldenvoice Spotlight Careers in Live Entertainment at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
More than 100 local high school students gained a behind-the-scenes look at careers in live entertainment when AEG Presents and Goldenvoice hosted a career exposure day at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, CA on April 15, 2026.
Worst-run state? In Britain, Steve Hilton was inspired by California
Steve Hilton's sudden rise in California politics comes a decade and a half after he pitched the U.K. Conservative Party with a very different idea: Britain could learn a lot from the Golden State.
Virginia congressional map vote could embolden Florida Republicans to push for boundary changes, says Jeffries
House Democratic leader says result should serve as a warning to Ron DeSantis after latest blow to Donald Trump’s redistricting battle
Senate hopeful Graham Platner calls to investigate Trump and impeach two Supreme Court justices
The underdog Maine candidate, who has risen in polls, told NBC News he wants to carry on the legacy of Bernie Sanders and push Democrats to be more aggressive.
College Where Charlie Kirk Was Killed Cancels Speech
Utah Valley University was thrilled that Sharon McMahon, a best-selling author, would speak at its graduation. And then her old posts resurfaced.
CDC won’t publish report showing covid shots cut likelihood of hospital visits
The report, which had cleared the agency’s scientific-review process, had been delayed. It now won’t be published at all, people familiar with the decision told The Post.
Australian Gas Exporter Santos Streamlines Business to Cut Costs
Santos Ltd. is restructuring the company’s oil and gas business in order to cut costs, according to an internal notice seen by Bloomberg, after a string of stymied takeover bids in recent years that have raised pressure to increase shareholder returns.
Ilia Topuria goes off on 'dumb as f***' Arman Tsarukyan
Top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan has made as many headlines for his antics outside of the cage as in it. The 29-year-old has stuck a fan on his walkout to the octagon, head butted an opponent during face-offs, engaged in a post-fight brawl at RAF 6, got thrown off an airplane and ...
Inside the AI coding startup Elon Musk is betting $60 billion on
The 4-year-old startup just propelled SpaceX in the AI coding race.
Assessing Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) Valuation After New Impossible Foods Partnership
Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) is in focus after announcing a multiyear partnership with Impossible Foods. The deal introduces branded plant-based offerings, a dedicated Impossible Grille concession and expanded in-arena promotion across Knicks and Rangers home events. See our latest analysis for Madison Square Garden Entertainment. The stock is trading at $61.42 after a 9.37% 1 month share price return and 13.03% year to date share price return. The 1 year total shareholder...
Scientists Finally Crack Decades-Old Mystery of “Breathing” Lasers
A new model reveals that two very different laser pulse behaviors are fundamentally connected.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey power 76ers past cold-shooting Celtics to tie series at 1-1
Tuesday was Philadelphia's turn to catch fire from 3 as Boston struggled at home.
REPORT: Marquette & Missouri Are Playing In Chicago
The Golden Eagles and the Tigers will meet for the first time since the 2009 NCAA tournament.
DNA reveals a hidden pitviper species in China
A vivid green pitviper hiding in Sichuan’s misty mountains has been revealed as a completely new species. Scientists had overlooked it for decades, assuming it was a common snake—until DNA analysis proved otherwise. Named after Laozi, it features striking differences between males and females, including bold stripes and eye colors. The discovery highlights just how many unknown species may still be lurking in well-studied regions.
Morrisey holds ceremonial signing for Small Business Growth Act
CHARLESTON – Gov. Patrick Morrisey held a ceremonial signing Tuesday for a bill – the first to pass the West Virginia Legislature during the recent session – that focuses on benefiting existing small businesses in the state. Morrisey held a ceremonial bill signing Tuesday afternoon for Senate Bill 1, creating the West Virginia First Small […]
SpaceX strikes $60 billion deal for right to buy coding startup Cursor
SpaceX announced a partnership with coding startup Cursor that will give Elon Musk's a major foothold in the AI coding race.
How Al Gore Politicized Climate Science
An Inconvenient Truth turns 20 next month. In the 2006 documentary, former vice president Al Gore argued that human-driven climate change was an urgent, civilization-threatening crisis. The film became a cultural phenomenon, winning two Academy Awards and making climate change one of the defining political issues of our time. I am sure that there will be many retrospectives seeking to relitigate the scientific claims in the film. But the far more important anniversary story is not about the accuracy of any of Gore’s individual claims but rather about what the film helped to unleash in the scientific community: bringing partisan politics into the institutions of science. Gore did not simply make a film about climate change: He implored the scientific community to join him in overt climate advocacy. The fuel that Gore added to the fire of pathological politicization of the climate science community is the most important legacy of An Inconvenient Truth. Almost three years after the film’s release, Gore took the stage at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)—the country’s largest and most prominent scientific organization—and delivered something much closer to a revival sermon than a scientific lecture. Gore told the assembled scientists that they could no longer “in good conscience accept this division between the work you do and the civilization in which you live.” His directive was clear:
Analysis: Fans have turned on Rosenior
It marked radical new low point in a bleak run of five consecutive league defeats without a goal for Chelsea - their worst such sequence in more than a century and one that few supporters have witnessed in their lifetime. Given the club's success over the past 25 years, it is perhaps understandable that patience is thin for a head coach appointed just three months ago from Chelsea's partner club, Strasbourg. There were early signs that the night might not unfold as Rosenior had hoped.
FBI probes missing or dead scientists, including four from the L.A. area
President Trump told reporters last week that he had been briefed on the missing and dead scientists, which he described as “pretty serious stuff.”
LISTEN: Supreme Court seems skeptical of limiting FCC's power to fine companies
Telecommunications giants Verizon and AT&T appealed to the Supreme Court after the Federal Communications Commission found they sold customers’ location data without proper safeguards and slapped the companies with hefty penalties totaling over $100 million.
Poll workers told to leave Shasta training for opposing politics talk
Two Shasta County poll workers say they were dismissed from a training session after questioning elections chief Clint Curtis.
More naps, higher risk? Research links daytime sleep to health warnings in aging adults
Excessive daytime napping may signal health decline in older adults and is linked to higher mortality risk, a Mass General Brigham study suggests.
Mining investors jittery about politics in Peru as vote count drags on, analysts say
Investors in Peru's copper and gold mines are worried about the country's presidential vote count that has been slowed by allegations of irregularities, yet analysts expect the sector to weather the election with limited direct impact.
Warsh vows to keep monetary policy independent of politics
STORY: :: Fed chief nominee Warsh vows to keep monetary policy independent of politics:: Washington, D.C. / April 21, 2026:: Kevin Warsh, Federal Reserve chief nominee“Monetary policy independence is essential. Monetary policymakers must act in the nation's interest. Their decision is the product of rigor, deliberation and unclouded decision-making. And as Senator Warren said, I do not believe that independence of monetary policy is threatened when elected officials state their views on rates. Fed independence is up to the Fed." // :: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Democrat on Senate Banking Committee“So, independence takes courage. Let's check out your independence and your courage. We'll start easy. Mr. Warsh, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?”WARSH: “Um, we try to keep politics, if I’m confirmed, out of the Federal Reserve.”WARREN: “I’m just asking you a factual question. I need to know. I need to measure your independence and your courage.”WARSH: “Senator, I believe that this body certified that election many years ago.”WARREN: “That’s not the question I’m asking. I’m asking did Donald Trump lose in 2020?”WARSH: “And I’m suggesting to you in 2020…”WARREN: “I’m suggesting you can’t answer that.”WARSH: “… the Fed had a huge inflation problem, and you certified the election…[crosstalk]… let’s keep the politics out of monetary policy.” //WARREN: "Just one little place where you disagree with Donald Trump.”WARSH: “Well, I do have a disagreement actually, Senator, with the president. I think even this morning, he said that he thought I was out of central casting. I think central casting, I'd look older, grayer, maybe show up here with a cigar of sorts.”WARREN: “Quite adorable. But, you know, we need a Fed chair who is independent. That's the only way we preserve the independence of the Federal Reserve. If you can't answer these questions, you don't have the courage and you don't have the independence.”In a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee that quickly hinted at major changes to come at a Warsh-led Fed, the 56-year-old lawyer and financier blamed the central bank for an inflation surge in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to hurt U.S. households.Warsh's hearing quickly turned contentious. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Warsh on his independence and "courage", saying President Donald Trump had made clear Warsh would be his "sock puppet".
Beyond DTC: Finding the Best Business Model for Your Brand with Molly Sims and Randy Goldberg
The best brands aren’t choosing between online and in person retail—they’re doing both, intentionally. Bombas co-founder Randy Goldberg and YSE Beauty founder Molly Sims break down how to expand your model without diluting your brand.
Vampire Crawlers sees Poncle strike gold again with latest Xbox Game Pass hit
Vampire Crawlers launches into Game Pass today, and after struggling to put down the pixelated dungeon crawler, I'm happy to say it's an big win for Poncle.
Is the ride over for Warriors? Golden State's offseason looks like an off-ramp
'Coyote vs. Acme' & Other Ketchup Movies To Be Sold By V10
Ketchup has entered into a distribution partnership with V10 for the latter to sell the pay-1 window and downstream rights to Ketchup's movies.
Napping may be warning sign of health issues in older adults, study finds
For older adults, naps may be a warning sign of underlying conditions or declining health, according to a new study.
The Pitt and Medicaid - National Health Law Program
“Hopefully we’ll be back on Medicaid by then.” “How’d you lose it?” “They sent a redetermination letter to our old apartment. It didn’t get forwarded.” “And you haven’t been able to get it back since?” “I’ve been trying for months. To get re-enrolled, you need tax returns, pay stubs… I cut hair. My income fluctuates.” – The Pitt, Season 2, […]
Top sportscaster Joe Buck finalizing deal to host ‘ESPN Jeopardy!’
“Monday Night Football” play-by-play man Joe Buck has done everything there is to do in sports, or so it seems. The almost 57-year-old — his birthday is Saturday, April 25 — has provided coverage of six Super Bowls, 24 World…
Shaky political science: using "simulated" elections over real-world elections
[Dear DSOS readers – 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 early December, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting. We found that 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 three articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report, the second one analyzing 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, and a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research]. In this fourth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we shine a spotlight on seven studies that were web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group (the ERRG is an ad hoc committee headed by New America’s Political Reform Program and joined by the American Enterprise Institute, the Unite America Institute and Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law). This research consortium has been led by Lee Drutman, senior fellow with New America’s Political Reform Program. These seven studies are simply not credible from any objective standard about how political “science” is supposed to illuminate our understanding of either ranked choice voting or politics in general. The feature that six of these seven studies have in common is that they all used surveys – artificial, simulated elections -- to attempt to say something cogent or interesting about ranked choice voting (RCV) elections. None of them used real world data from actual RCV elections – either the 1000+ elections in the US or the many thousands of elections from places like Australia, Ireland and elsewhere where RCV has been used for 100 years. While a few of these studies conclude with some mixed positives about RCV, our analysis here is content neutral. The idea that, with a political reform like RCV, you can ask respondents in a mock, artificial election to vote with that method, with only the barest of explanation about how RCV works or its likely impacts (i.e. no spoiler candidates, majority winners, voters liberated to pick their favorite candidates, coalition-building), and then ask them their thoughts/reactions about voting in that system, with fake candidates and no real campaigning, no real exposure to an actual election or actual candidates, rests on some very puzzling assumptions. The findings of these seven studies actually are contradicted by the findings from many other studies based on real-world RCV elections. These New America studies also failed to list the real-world RCV studies in their own citations, instead including those studies that reinforced their conclusions. The seven studies featured in this article were chosen because they form a cohesive cohort which precisely illustrates one of the main points of our research paper, namely that using surveys, i.e. artificial elections, or mathematical/theoretical models, instead of real-world data, is in fact “shaky political science.” Below are summaries of our analysis of five of the seven New America studies. You can read our complete analysis of all seven studies at our paper, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting.” Choosing to “Vote As Usual” by Andre Blais, Carolina Plescia, and Semra Sevi. New America. (Blais et al., 2021). This study, web-hosted and funded by New America’s Political Reform Program and its Electoral Reform Research Group, used two surveys in which respondents completed ballots for simulated elections using plurality, approval, RCV and point (Score) voting. In both cases the authors provided the respondents with only minimal explanation of each method. For example, the entire explanation for RCV was “For this vote, rank the candidates from your first to your last choice (you do not need to rank them all). This is called the ranked vote.” That’s it. The study did not provide any context or explanation to survey respondents about why she/he might want to rank multiple candidates. Participants were not even told that ballots would be tabulated using an “instant” runoff, not to mention any description of RCVs ability to eliminate the spoiler effect or liberate voters to rank their favorite candidates without fear of helping the “greater evil” candidate to win. That’s like taking an iPhone back in time to 1970 and asking someone if they like it better than their rotary phone without explaining how it works. Their first survey targeted states that held 2020 Super Tuesday Democratic primaries and used the real candidates’ names in the survey; the second survey used fictitious candidates. In other words, they surveyed respondents who had only ever participated in plurality elections, had no history or background with using RCV or any of the other methods, had no clue about its likely impacts, and did not communicate how the alternative methods would be counted, and then asked them: “How satisfied are you with using each system?” Predictably, the winner was plurality elections, the system used for president, Congress, gubernatorial and state legislative elections – in other words, the method they have been using, year after year, all their voting lives. With so little explanation of RCV and its impacts, this study is simply not credible in discovering anything useful about real-world RCV elections. It merely shows that a basic voter education campaign is needed when adopting a new election system. Additionally, the result contradicts many other post-election surveys following real RCV elections, asking opinions from voters who had just participated in a RCV election, that showed a great deal of satisfaction with RCV (see details on that in Studies 22-25 in our paper, as well as the four studies cited in the review for Study 28). Share Other studies on “satisfaction” and “understanding” make similar mistakes, in terms of basing their surveys on inadequate explanation to respondents and lack of education about context. How could any survey ever hope to measure accurately, in essence simulate a real-world election, without actual campaigning candidates, the media writing about those candidates, organizations endorsing candidates and voters being inundated with crucial information? More than anything, what these “studies” based on surveys show is that if you ask voters about something they don’t know very much about, and fail to adequately educate them, their responses will unsurprisingly reflect their confusion. Equally puzzling is that New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group, headed by political scientist Lee Drutman, found this to be a credible enough study that they not only published it but highlighted it in Drutman’s own discussion of research related to ranked choice voting. This pattern was repeated in study after study featured by New America’s Electoral Reform Research Group. For example in Ranked-Choice Voting and Political Expression: Voter Guides Narrow the Gap between Informed and Uninformed Citizens by Cheryl Boudreau, Jonathan Colner, and Scott MacKenzie, the researchers based their analysis on a survey which found that respondents who were asked to vote in a simulated RCV election, with minimal explanation of RCV or how it works, displayed less evidence of being informed about how to use RCV effectively, with the least informed voters ranking fewer candidates. As pointed out under the study above, in a real election voters are informed by a wide variety of methods, including public education by the election administration, by interested political groups, the media, and the candidates themselves who benefit from voters being aware of how to vote in the new system. In Support for Ranked-Choice Voting across Race and Partisanship by Joseph Anthony, David C. Kimball, Jack Santucci and Jamil Scott, the researchers used respondents from different parties and races voting in simulated plurality and RCV elections, who indicated their satisfaction with each voting method. Instead of using real world election results, the authors fell back on the easy, armchair and less reliable academic research methodology of making up mock elections. As with the other studies, little explanation was given of how RCV works or what its implications might be (electing majority winners or eliminating spoilers, for example). Unsurprisingly, this study found that respondents were not very satisfied with RCV. However, when the authors added an explanation that RCV has a tendency to elect more women and people of color, they found that this greater explanation increased the preference for RCV. The more voters were familiar with it, and the more they understood potential positive impacts – surprise! -- the more they were open to switching away from the status quo. Of note, the results from this study are thoroughly contradicted by a number of other studies whose data was obtained from real RCV elections with real voters. Those studies show a great deal of satisfaction with RCV. More “fake election” research An interesting wrinkle on this “research by fake elections” approach, which only served to illustrate how unreliable such “research” can become, was taken in Ranked-Choice Voting, Runoff, and Democracy: Insights from Maine and Other U.S. States by Joseph Cerrone and Cynthia McClintock_,_ also web-hosted and funded by New America’s ERRG. It gets high marks for creativity, but an eye-roll for thinking this could possibly add anything meaningful to our understanding of real world RCV elections. This study tried to determine whether RCV, plurality or two-round runoff elections provided greater voter satisfaction and acceptance of election results. To determine that, the authors conducted a survey asking if voters were satisfied with a fictional newspaper report of an election, with three different versions given to respondents – plurality, runoff and RCV, with variations of Republican/Democrat winners and variations of “come-from-behind” winners,” i.e. candidates not initially in first place but who win the “runoff.” Again, a minimal explanation of RCV or how it works was given, and the survey showed that respondents had the greatest unfamiliarity with RCV than the other methods. The unsurprising result? Respondents were much more satisfied with “come-from-behind” victories in a traditional two-round runoff election than in RCV, even though RCV is also a runoff system but with a single round of counting. Interestingly, the dissatisfaction with RCV disappeared for those who were more familiar with RCV. In fact, among those respondents who were “very familiar” with RCV, they were equally satisfied with RCV, runoff and plurality. Surprise, surprise. Again, what this study revealed, more than anything, is not only the inadequacy of the explanation for RCV given by the authors of this study, but the failure of the research format itself, thinking that such an artificial mock election could somehow simulate what actually happens in the real world in a real RCV election. Those four studies reviewed above are fitting examples of inadequate and shaky political “science.” Other studies reviewed in our paper from the New America/Electoral Reform Research Group cohort which also used mock elections included: Ranked-Choice Voting is an Acquired Taste by Joseph Anthony and David C. Kimball. New America. (Anthony et al., 2021). Ranked-Choice Voting is No Refuge for Extreme Candidates by Melissa Baker. New America. (Baker, 2021). Also included in this New America cohort is Does Ranked-Choice Voting Reduce Racial Polarization? by Yuki Atsusaka and Theodore Landsman, which actually did use real-world election results data but applied an odd and unconventional methodology to the data which relied on shaky assumptions and non-real-world scenarios that were too divorced from reality. To determine levels of “racially polarized voting,” the researchers imagined “ethnic parties,” by which they mean political parties for each ethnic group, which was especially odd since the election data they were using came from nonpartisan RCV races. But then they made an even odder assumption, namely that since race and ethnic characteristics of studied voters were not available, the authors tried to infer that information based on who voters selected and the racial make-up of voters in each district. This amounted to little more than vague and ambiguous guesswork dressed up with a bunch of mathematical equations used to give it a veneer of scientific appearance. Indeed, it seemed to assume racial polarization in order to prove racial polarization. Based on this questionable methodology, the authors concluded that RCV doesn’t reduce racial polarization. But the premise of this study missed an obvious reality: since RCV incentivizes more candidates to run and can result in more diverse fields of candidates, one would expect more racially-polarized voting in voters’ top rankings, not less, because more voters would have someone on that ballot who represents their racial or ethnic identity and more freedom to vote for their real first choice. By encouraging more diverse candidates and eliminating the spoiler effect, RCV facilitates voting for a favorite candidate of your own race and then selecting a second choice with the best likelihood of winning. The real measure is what voters do with their additional rankings – do they consider other candidates and vote “for the best of the rest”? This study didn’t tell us anything useful about that. But readily available data shows this is common in real RCV elections, and candidates act on this knowledge by engaging with voters outside their racial group. So the authors of this study failed to consider or account for what actually happens in real-world elections, and their conclusions are tainted by this failure. New America has contributed a great deal over the past 2.5 decades to our understanding of many policy areas, including politics and political reform (full disclosure: Steven Hill, one of the authors of this article and of the “Shaky Political Science” research paper and series, is a former senior fellow and former director of New America’s political reform program, 2005-2010). So it was especially disappointing that New America funded and published such a large batch of dubious studies about ranked choice voting. The stated praiseworthy goal of its Electoral Reform Research Group was to inspire new academic research about ranked choice voting that would shed light and help the public better understand the impacts of RCV. Instead, the ERRG research did just the opposite. It produced dubious research that created more confusion and misinformation. In so doing, New America’s political reform program contributed to “shaky political science.” Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS, a reader-supported digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
Sources: Barring renewed faith, Steve Kerr not expected to return to Warriors
Many with the Warriors and around the league believe Steve Kerr will be jobless after he meets with Golden State CEO Joe Lacob and GM Mike Dunleavy.
Assessing PENN Entertainment (PENN) Valuation After Recent Share Price Momentum
Event context and recent performance PENN Entertainment (PENN) has been drawing attention after recent share price moves, with the stock closing at US$15.84 and showing positive returns over the past week, month, and past 3 months. Investors are weighing this against its 3 year and 5 year total return record. See our latest analysis for PENN Entertainment. The recent 30 day share price return of 15.87% and 90 day share price return of 15.37% contrast with a 3 year total shareholder return...
This new camera captures what happens in a trillionth of a second
Scientists have unveiled a breakthrough imaging method that can capture the hidden details of events unfolding in trillionths of a second. This new technique doesn’t just track how bright something is—it also reveals subtle structural changes that were previously invisible, all in a single shot. By effectively turning ultrafast phenomena into detailed “movies,” researchers can now watch plasma form, electrons move, and materials transform in real time.
Munson Army Health Center Soldiers Prove Tactical Readiness, Earn German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — Four Soldiers from Munson Army Health Center pushed their physical and mental limits to earn the prestigious German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge April 16.
Salmon contract signing another great step for young defender
Arsenal have announced that 16-year-old centre back Marli Salmon has signed a pre-contract agreement which will mean he signs a first professional contract when he turns 17 in August. Salmon was taken on the tour of Hong Kong and Singapore and impressed the coaching staff, featuring in games against Newcastle and AC Milan. The centre-back made his debut in the Champions League in the 3-0 win over Club Brugge and has also made three appearances in the FA Cup, starting the win over Mansfield.
Britain Politics
Britain's Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, from left, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Emma Reynolds, and Secretary of State for Culture,
Ex-Trump ally MTG slams both sides of the political aisle: 'Nothing ever changes'
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizes both political parties, asserting that regardless of which party holds the power, things do not change.
Old Sears store in Central Austin gets new life as health center for low-income residents
The flagship administrative and medical center for Central Health, the local public hospital district, opens in Hancock Center for limited services starting Friday.
They Built a Legendary Privacy Tool. Now They’re Sworn Enemies
There’s a lot of love all over the world for GrapheneOS, the gold standard of mobile security. There’s very little love between the two guys at the center of its history.
Aspirin can reduce the risk of cancer – and we're starting to understand why
The 4,000-year-old drug, most commonly used to treat pain, prevents certain tumours from forming and spreading across the body – findings that are already changing health policies.
Can peace descend in Oldham's 'toxic' politics?
Candidates are vying to bring an end to a fractured political scene in the Tameside town.
Democrat Jacqueline Coleman announces 2027 run for Kentucky governor: 'people over politics'
By McKenna Horsley Kentucky Lantern reporter Standing in front of the Hall of Governors at the Kentucky Historical Society, Democratic Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman announced her 2027 run for governor Monday morning. The 43-year-old, who is a former teacher, assistant principal and basketball coach, is making public education a cornerstone of her campaign. Coleman...
Goodwill Entertainment Holding's (Catalist:GEH) Soft Earnings Don't Show The Whole Picture
Goodwill Entertainment Holding Limited's ( Catalist:GEH ) recent soft profit numbers didn't appear to worry...
AI Gives 'Problematic' Health Advice Around Half The Time, Study Suggests
The most dangerous advice may sound most convincing.