“One day, a woman wrote to me on Signal, asking me not to respond. She lived alone, she messaged, and planned to die that weekend. Before she did, she wanted at least one person to understand: Trump had unraveled the government, and with it, her life.” @hannahnatanson.bsky.social essay:

On DOGE’s watch, federal spending did not go down at all. It went up. But is still led to cuts that closed offices, canceled programs and deprived people of food, medicine and other aid. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...

As the Trump administrations halts five wind farms off the East Coast (www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/c...), this @pewresearch.org chart comes to mind: Republicans in the US have become much less favorable toward wind (and solar) power in recent years: www.pewresearch.org/science/2025...

More than 8 in 10 Americans say news organizations in the US are at least somewhat influenced by corporate and political interests. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

92% of Americans say it's at least somewhat important that the media in the US can report the news without censorship. Fewer Americans (79%) say that's actually the case, though. www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/...

“If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient,” Alfonsi wrote.

"Researchers and activists increasingly fear that under the Trump administration, the U.S. government is abdicating its historic role as a clearinghouse for reliable information." (via @washingtonpost.com)

In the US, redistricting is generally done by state legislatures. That's not how it works in most other democracies with single-member districts, where it's generally done by commissions or national election agencies. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

NEW: This year's redistricting arms race made us at @pewresearch.org wonder: How many other countries do redistricting the way we do it here in the US? The answer: one other country. It's the Federated States of Micronesia (population 100,000). www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

How common is the view that White people face discrimination in the US today? 38% of Americans say that's the case. That includes a 55% majority of Republicans and 21% of Democrats. www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

Some stats about marijuana as Trump moves to reclassify the drug: –87% of Americans say marijuana should be legal either for medical or recreational use –79% live in a county with at least one medical or recreational dispensary –54% live in a state where recreational use is legal

It's been 40 years since "Back to the Future" came out. If you could choose, would you prefer to live in the past, present or future? About three times as many Americans choose the past than the future (45% vs. 14%).

"Many able-bodied passengers request wheelchairs for 'the VIP experience'—an escort down the jetway that lets them skip the lines and gives them first crack at overhead space. Once they realize at the end of the flight that they have to wait for assistance to disembark, the healing begins."

"In a world where news and information tend to fly by, a lot of Americans seem to be well tuned into Trump’s second term." Knowledge survey from American Communities Project shows broad awareness of key Trump policy actions across community types. www.americancommunities.org/what-do-amer...

Chart: Executive orders in the first year of a presidential term, 1937-present www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Chart: Executive orders, by presidential term In less than a year, Trump has issued more executive orders than any other recent president did over the course of a full four-year term. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

NEW: With his declaration yesterday that fentanyl is a "weapon of mass destruction," Trump has now issued 221 executive orders so far in his second term – exceeding the number he issued in his entire first term (220).

I always feel lucky to work alongside the graphic designers at @pewresearch.org. This year-end roundup highlights some of their coolest data visualizations of the year and the design choices that went into them:

One of @pewresearch.org's "striking findings" from 2025 is relevant again as measles cases rise: Republican support for requiring public school kids to get the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine has fallen sharply: 52% support it today, down from 79% in 2019. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Thousands of federal employees and contractors might take issue with this @washingtonpost.com headline: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The annual @pewresearch.org list of striking research findings from the past year is out. #1 on the list: After more than 50 years of rapid growth, the immigrant population in the United States is now in decline. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

NEW from @pewresearch.org: Most popular chatbots among US teens www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...

MY LATEST: Many religions are heavily concentrated in a few countries.

"On average, young adults remain much less religious than older Americans. Today’s young adults also are less religious than young people were a decade ago. And there is no indication that young men are converting to Christianity in large numbers." www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

NEW: "Some media reports have suggested there may be a religious revival taking place among young adults, especially young men, in the U.S. ... But our recent polls show no clear evidence that this kind of nationwide religious resurgence is underway." www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

Our new study takes a close look at religion among young adults. It shows that young adults in the U.S. today 1) Are less religious than older people 2) Are less religious than young people were a decade ago 3) Have not become more religious in recent years pewrsr.ch/4pKHIC7

44% of Democrats say they feel angry toward the federal government – the highest percentage on record. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

"Democrats’ trust in the government has never been lower: Just 9% now say they trust the federal government just about always or most of the time." www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

The Data Doesn’t Lie: How ProPublica Reports the Truth in an Era of False Claims, by @propublica.org Editor-in-chief @sengelberg.bsky.social

Just 17% of Americans trust the federal government in the latest @pewresearch.org polling. "While trust in government has been low for decades, the current measure is one of the lowest in the nearly seven decades since the question was first asked." www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...

With the World Cup draw happening in DC today, only 3% of US adults say "America's sport" is soccer. 53% say it's the other football. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

"Most Immigrants Arrested in City Crackdowns Have No Criminal Record," via @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/interactive/... Chart shows large increase in ICE arrests nationally since Trump's return. The blue segment shows ICE arrests of people with no prior conviction or pending charges.

The variability over the past five years (and within Trump and Biden's respective terms) is interesting here, since it suggests that sentiments are picking up at least something beyond ossified partisanship

In a new @gallup.com survey, 33% of Americans say it's a good time to find a quality job. That's the lowest percentage since the final days of Trump's first term, during the pandemic. news.gallup.com/poll/699311/...

New today from @gallup.com: "Americans' economic confidence has fallen to its lowest level in over a year, accompanied by a historic drop in planned holiday spending."

Just 15% of US adults under 30 now say they follow the news all or most of the time, down from 27% in 2016. Attention to news has fallen in every age group. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

The news is relentless these days, and yet – or maybe because of that – Americans are following it less closely than they used to. NEW from @pewresearch.org: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Social trust tends to be higher in high-income countries than in middle-income ones. In a new @pewresearch.org global survey, 83% of adults in Sweden say most people can be trusted; 84% of adults in Turkey say most people *cannot* be trusted. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Trump's approval rating has slipped among Latinos who voted for him, from 93% shortly after his inauguration to 81% in September. It's also slipped among Latinos who didn't vote at all last year (from 42% in February to 27% in September). www.pewresearch.org/race-and-eth...

% of Latinos in the US who worry a lot/some that they or someone close to them could be deported 42% in March 47% in June 52% in October www.pewresearch.org/race-and-eth...

NEW: Support from Latinos helped Donald Trump reclaim the White House. But today, 68% of Latinos say the situation of Hispanics is worse than it was a year ago. It's the first time in @pewresearch.org polls that a majority of Latinos have expressed that view. www.pewresearch.org/race-and-eth...

Best time to have Thanksgiving dinner Americans are closely divided between the early afternoon (12-3 pm) and the late afternoon (3-6 pm). 1% prefer to have "dinner" in the morning. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

If you're a reporter writing about Thanksgiving and looking for data, @pewresearch.org has data. 91% of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. That includes large majorities of immigrants, too, including people who have immigrated to the US in the last decade. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

In a reversal from 2023, Republicans are now more likely than Democrats to use X. (This chart helpfully displays this change in the form of an actual X.) www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...

Donald Trump has run for president three times and each time polls underestimated his support. In a new video, Courtney Kennedy, head methodologist at @pewresearch.org, explains why that happened and what pollsters are trying to do about it.

A chart you can spend some time with: The demographic and partisan profile of social media users in the US, from YouTube to Truth Social www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...

YouTube's reach in the US is astounding. It's used by: 62% of kids under 2 (as reported by parents) 84% of kids 2-4 (as reported by parents) 89% of kids 5-12 (as reported by parents) 90% of teens 13-17 95% of adults 18-29 92% of adults 30-49 85% of adults 50-64 64% of adults 65+

NEW: YouTube remains king of the social media platforms in @pewresearch.org polling, with 84% of US adults saying they use it. TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp and Reddit are notable gainers in recent years. Five times more adults use X than Bluesky (21% vs. 4%). www.pewresearch.org/internet/202...

"Democrats are much less religious than Republicans" is an axiom of American politics, but there's more going on beneath the surface. Among Democrats, religiousness varies greatly by race and ethnicity, as this chart shows. New from @pewresearch.org: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

Few Americans say the CDC's new guidelines have influenced their decision about whether to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine. 44% have heard "nothing at all" about the new guidelines, while most of the rest say the guidelines have had no influence on them. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...