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Politics-The Conversation
When abortion and surrogacy law collide, contracts can’t answer the hardest questions
A custody battle over a newborn with a heart condition raised a question courts have rarely faced: Can anyone be forced to end a pregnancy?
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The oil market that sets today’s gas prices was invented in western Pennsylvania
A historian traces how Oil City brokers, then John D. Rockefeller, then futures exchanges decided what the world pays for crude – and why no one entit...
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Why the assault weapons debate is a culture debate
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear two assault weapons cases caps a multi-decade dispute over restricting assault weapons that extends far beyond le...
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What the law says about armed officers at polling places
What does the law say about armed officials at the polls? That’s one of four questions that a legal scholar answers as Trump administration threats ha...
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Meet the ‘independent voters’ who will likely decide which party triumphs in the 2026 midterm elections
Republicans and Democrats need to make inroads with independent voters. But the themes that motivate the party faithful may not sit well with independ...
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These state supreme court races could decide abortion access and trans rights
Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan have open seats on their state supreme court, and these hotly contested races will influence how those courts rule i...
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Armed poll watchers: New Jersey’s 1981 racist voter intimidation campaign is a cautionary tale ahead of 2026 midterms
An armed voter suppression campaign in New Jersey in 1981 finds echoes today in the Trump administration’s persistent efforts to suppress the vote and...
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This year’s primary elections showcase some of the problems with US electoral system
Primary winners represent the views of a small group of people who turn out inconsistently and often do not even represent the the views of the partie...
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Why older lawmakers may wait too long to step aside
Many older incumbents are on the ballot for the 2026 midterms, adding to America’s debate over the wisdom of aging politicians delaying their retireme...
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2026 midterms could be the end of Pennsylvania’s split legislature, with effects on affordability, election reform, marijuana and more
Pennsylvania has a split legislature, and both chambers are up for grabs in the 2026 midterms.
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We’ve tracked $80M of spending on almost 170 AI-generated political ads this year – it’s weird
Almost 170 ads and $80 million in spending and only 31% with a disclaimer: Here’s what researchers found when they tracked AI in this year’s campaign ...
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White nationalism’s appeal runs deeper than partisan politics
Nearly 1 in 7 white men under 30 in the US support white nationalism, and partisanship alone doesn’t explain who’s drawn to it.
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Christa Pike survived a lethal injection attempt – the latest person to endure a failed execution
The constitutional prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment has shaped legal discourse around failed executions, but courts have not stopped states...
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Dan Rather has followed the news wherever he goes, in a career that highlights 75 years of evolving journalism
Dan Rather anchored the ‘CBS Evening News’ for over 20 years, starting on March 9, 1981. But he always seemed more in his element as a reporter, and n...
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The trouble with Flock cameras is the surveillance system’s architecture, not just some of its users
The architecture of automated license plate readers turns local cameras into a far-reaching surveillance network that can be accessed by agencies that...
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Up-and-down progress of voting rights in America has been shaped by these 10 key moments
The history of voting and elections in America doesn’t follow a steady path toward progress or retreat. It is marked by intense struggles, monumental ...
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Can development happen without displacement? Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood is a test case
A decade of research on Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood finds that major riverfront investment did not push out longtime residents.
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As AI political deepfakes go viral, lawmakers struggle to keep up – 2 states’ laws show limits of what they can do
Most states require warnings on AI-generated political ads, but studies show these disclosures do little to alter people’s willingness to share the co...
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Ron DeSantis’ 2 terms in office fundamentally altered Florida’s political landscape, cementing conservative policies through strategic control of stat...
After eight years in office, Gov. Ron DeSantis leaves Florida much more conservative than he found it.
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1 in 2 Florida residents live in HOAs – how these private governments are reshaping the American Dream
HOA policies don’t always reflect the wishes of the homeowners whose interests they are meant to represent – and they aren’t legally required to.
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Pennsylvania’s skill games are officially gambling – so should they be at every gas station?
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court says skill games are gambling. As lawmakers rush to tax them, a CMU scholar says the debate skips a more fundamental ques...
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Originalism: What it is, what it isn’t and why it’s the most democratic option for the Supreme Court
A majority of Supreme Court justices follow originalism, the mode of constitutional interpretation championed by late Justice Antonin Scalia. A former...
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Why fuel prices may go higher still
Seven months into the US conflict with Iran, with no clear end in sight, the global oil market has now largely exhausted the safety measures that exis...
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Trump wants an AI Force like Space Force, but that could make AI’s risks harder to manage
An AI Force would likely push China to create its own. That arms race could turn a technology already slipping out of human control into a weapon.
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Trump frames unregulated AI as a way to keep ahead of China – but in fact, it harms US national security
An unregulated sector has risks in itself but will also aid the rapid advancement of AI in China.
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How due process, not the First Amendment, got the White House ban on reporters blocked in court
A judge has sided with the three news organizations President Donald Trump barred from the White House – for now.
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AI tools can help Americans meet their civil legal needs
The US legal system often fails to provide counsel for millions of Americans in civil cases. Generic and law-specific AI models can help address this ...
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ICE arrests at Philadelphia International evoke time when airport police helped military catch AWOL Vietnam War soldiers in 1960s
A local historian combed through a 1967 collection of police incident reports from Philadelphia’s airport police that included detentions of soldiers ...
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How Trump’s crypto winnings undermined the industry’s push for looser regulation
The crypto industry scored a series of wins in 2025, only to see its top legislative goal fail in 2026.
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Election officials are fighting wavering voter trust by making mundane processes visible and recruiting citizens to help
A midterm election is coming. In the face of wavering voter trust – some of it driven by forces outside their control – what can election officials ac...
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2 midterm elections that brought on new eras in US politics
Two 19th-century elections are a reminder that a sizable midterm shift, like the one expected in November, can signal long-lasting changes in American...
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Other presidents have let white-collar criminals dodge financial penalties – but not like Trump
No other U.S. president has come close to wiping away the amount in fines and restitution owed to victims that Trump has.
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No cheery time for election pollsters in run-up to US midterms
There are no guarantees that pollsters’ troubles in recent elections and popular skepticism about their dependability will be alleviated anytime soon....
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When presidents ban journalists from the White House, the First Amendment is not the only constitutional right at stake
When President Trump barred three news organizations from the White House, a lawsuit followed. In it, the news outlets invoked their Fifth and First a...
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How red went from the color of revolution to the color of Republicans in US politics
For American conservatives of the Cold War era, red was the color of communists and the mistrusted American left. Now, it’s the color of the GOP, whil...
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What happened at the end of the Revolutionary War? Here’s how Americans set up a brand-new country once the fighting ended
The United States came out of the Revolutionary War victorious. But building a new nation was very different from fighting a war.
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Pete Hegseth is rebuilding the Army’s ‘brass ceiling’
Half of the officers who have been fired or blocked from promotion are women or Black. A scholar who studies the US military explains why that’s dange...
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Your robotic vacuum is a witness: What home robots mean for evidence, privacy and the law
Laws against surreptitiously recording someone extend to home devices like robot vacuums, but those recordings can still be used against you in court....
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Why Hispanic Americans are losing faith in the American Dream
A public opinion researcher explains why this group’s declining faith goes beyond partisanship and reflects a fundamental question about its sense of ...
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How the American revolt against Flock cameras mirrors the Boston Tea Party of 1773
The bipartisan revolution against automated license plate readers suggests Americans have not entirely lost their rebellious spirit.
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Eight rules to help you understand what campaign finance reporting reveals about influence and support – or doesn’t
Campaign spending is confusing, but there are basic rules to help you understand information about money in elections. They can help you determine wha...
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Trump’s thumbs-up to Irish reunification breaks with precedent, but evokes earlier age of White House support
Trump waded intro controversial territory with his comments in Ireland.
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How ‘portfolio reasoning’ explains Trump’s constant reevaluation of America’s value
Trump has approached governing through the same framework as his former business portfolio, where he casts the US as a flagship holding whose value he...
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Why the Supreme Court blocked Trump and the Postal Service from restricting mail-in voting for the midterms
An election law scholar explains the president’s effort to dramatically limit mail voting ahead of the midterm elections – and why the court decided t...
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How anti-bribery laws apply to Trump’s promise of $5,000 payments if Republicans keep control of Congress
Bribery involves offering money to a particular person, but Trump did not make his $5,000 offer to any single voter or set of voters.
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Security clearances don’t determine whom a president can trust – they reveal risks the president may not know
A report that one of Trump’s aides went a year without routine vetting raises a question a former CIA executive knows well: What is that process for?
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The Pentagon is using polygraphs to hunt leakers, but the tests are more theater than fact
A CIA veteran explains that a polygraph campaign is not likely to eliminate leaks, but it may divert investigative energy from essential security prio...
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Americans agree their democracy is in crisis – yet the solution is as simple as it is elusive
An educated citizenry is the key to making self-government succeed, Founding Father Thomas Jefferson said.
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What we remember when we remember 9/11
Having a vivid, detailed memory of a remarkable event like 9/11 can seem like a demonstration of patriotism and a connection with other Americans.
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