Gallup: “Only one in six Americans say they feel financially fulfilled, meaning their personal finances allow them to live the life they want.”

Gallup: “One in three Americans say they lack agency in their lives, feeling like their lives are mostly dictated by circumstances beyond their control. This sentiment is expressed most commonly by younger and lower-income Americans.”

Derek Thompson: “Why has the number of births declined everywhere, all at once?”

Wall Street Journal: “For decades, the swath from the Dakotas to Ohio steadily lost population to other parts of the country, as manufacturing jobs disappeared and the growth of the service economy pulled people to the South.”

“Now signs are emerging that the out-migration is slowing, and, in some places, even starting to reverse.”

“It may be too early to call a Midwest Renaissance, but for the first time in years, the numbers are pointing in an upbeat direction.”

Faith Hill: “Journalists and political commentators keep speculating and debating: Will the young men who moved rightward crawl back in the other direction?”

“That may depend, it turns out, on whether you’re talking about young men—or even younger men. The spring 2026 Yale Youth Poll, released last month, found that a majority of respondents—and roughly 70 percent of the young adults—disapproved of Trump. Even with men under 30, the president lost ground compared with Yale’s fall 2025 poll.”

“But the data also revealed a dividing line: Among 23-to-29-year-old men, support for Democrats increased by 14 percentage points. Among 18-to-22-year-old men, it fell by a percentage point—even while their approval of Trump declined somewhat.”

A new Pew Research survey finds 59% of Americans say the country’s best years are behind us, while 40% say its best years are ahead.

New York Times: “With a new generation of candidates who were active on X, Reddit and YouTube years before announcing political careers, it’s unsurprising that so many are seeing their past statements come back to haunt them…”

“Opposition researchers have never had more content to draw from. Yet they say that voters also seem more willing than ever to forgive past unsavory viewpoints and social media misdeeds — spurred in part by President Trump, who has proved that voters can overlook outrageous statements.”

“Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress are unpopular, according to the latest Economist/YouGov poll, with far more Americans having unfavorable views of each party than have favorable views.”

“31% of Americans have a very or somewhat favorable view of Republicans in Congress, while 59% have an unfavorable view — a net favorability of -28. 34% have a favorable view of Democrats in Congress and 55% have an unfavorable view, a net favorability of -21.”

“President Donald Trump’s years-long campaign to undermine faith in U.S. elections has ​gained broad traction with the American public, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, potentially creating fertile ground for misinformation heading into November’s midterm elections.”

“Some 46% of respondents said they agreed with the statement that there are large numbers of fraudulent ballots cast by non-citizens in U.S. elections, with 82% of Republicans agreeing compared with 18% of Democrats and 38% of independents.”

Pew Research: “People in higher-income countries are generally more likely to say their nation’s political system needs only minor or no changes, according to recent Pew Research Center surveys. Conversely, people in middle-income countries are more likely to say their political system needs major changes or complete reform.”

“The United States, however, is a notable exception to this pattern. Despite having the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of any of our surveyed countries, 77% of Americans say the nation’s political system needs major changes or complete reform.”

“The rise of violent rhetoric and threats against politicians has led federal election campaigns and committees to spend more than five times the amount on security measures in the 2023-2024 election cycle than during the 2015-2016 election cycle,” The Independent reports.

“Roughly $41 million was spent on personal, event-related or cyber security for federal candidates in the latest general election.”

New York Times: “Once upon a time, the unwritten rules of American politics imposed a strict decorum on the way politicians talked.”

“Lately, you may have noticed, the rules have changed. One particular four-letter word that would have shocked a 1960 audience is suddenly being tossed about with abandon.”

“President Trump has long been known for breaking norms with his crude language — and used a variant of the word in a startling Easter Sunday message to Iran just this week. But it turns out that Democratic politicians are now far more likely than Republicans to spice up their public statements with the particular swear word, according to a New York Times analysis of social media posts made by governors and members of Congress since 2020.”

Charlie Warzel: “The world witnessed the best and worst of humanity in a single week.”

YouGov did a deep dive into the Cooperative Election Study and found:

• Over the past 20 years, the Democrats’ advantage in party affiliation among the general public has been steadily shrinking.
• Over the same period, the share of the public that identifies or leans toward the Republican Party has stayed relatively stable.
• The share who say they have no political affiliation has roughly doubled from 10% to 20% during this time.

A new Fox News poll finds 64% of Americans are dissatisfied with how things are going in the U.S. 

Axios: “Most Americans are too busy for social media, too normal for politics, too rational to tweet. They work, raise kids, coach Little League, go to a house of worship, mow their neighbor’s lawn — and never post a word about any of it.”

“This isn’t a small minority. It’s a monstrous, if silent, majority. Most Americans are patriotic, hardworking, neighbor-helping, America-loving, money-giving people who don’t pop off on social media or plot for power.”

“The hidden truth: Most people agree on most things, most of the time. And the data validates this, time and time again.”