A Gallup survey released this year found that 71% of Americans oppose building artificial intelligence data centers in their own communities, including nearly half who strongly oppose them. Those surveyed most often pointed to concerns about electricity demand, water consumption, environmental impacts, and higher utility bills. Supporters cited economic growth, tax revenue, and employment opportunities.

Nationally, the Urban Institute projects that the legislation will reduce federal SNAP spending by $186 billion over the next decade and affect all 22.3 million families receiving SNAP benefits. Of those, 5.3 million families are expected to lose at least $25 a month, with an average monthly reduction of $146.

The losses have alarmed anti-hunger advocates because SNAP is often the doorway to other nutrition programs. When children lose food assistance, many families face additional obstacles obtaining free school meals, WIC benefits, and other support designed to keep hunger from disrupting a child’s health and education.

The estimated cost of President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom has surged to $600 million, with internal records showing taxpayers could be responsible for roughly half the price

A coalition of Democratic senators are asking a federal appeals court to overturn a decision they say threatens the foundation of the modern federal workforce, warning that millions of government employees could lose long-standing protections against politically motivated firings.

Across the country, families continue to face rising costs that touch nearly every aspect of daily life. The increases are showing up at gas stations, in grocery stores, on utility bills, and in household budgets already stretched by years of inflation and economic uncertainty.

The Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in April and 3.8% over the previous 12 months, marking one of the strongest inflation readings in more than a year.

In August 2024, driven by hunger and desperation, Shelly went to Walmart to buy food. She paid for what she could but hid the rest in her bag. A Walmart employee caught her, called the police, and Shelly was arrested, charged with a misdemeanor, and booked into jail. Unable to pay $800 in cash bail, she faced the possibility of indefinite incarceration.

A Gallup survey conducted April 1–15 found that 31% of Americans identify the high cost of living and inflation as the most important financial problem facing their families, making it the most frequently cited concern by a wide margin.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is warning that the White House’s national AI framework moves aggressively to boost industry growth but leaves unanswered who will benefit from the wealth and opportunity the technology is expected to generate.

After billions of dollars in pledges poured into Black communities following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, Black-led nonprofits now say they are being pushed to remove race from their mission, language, and identity or risk losing funding, according to a new report detailing a sharp reversal across philanthropy.

According to a newly released fact sheet from the National Women's Law Center, women working full time, year round were typically paid 81 cents for every dollar paid to men in 2024, a decline from prior years that left women earning a median of $13,570 less annually.

Among the hardest hit by these shifts are Black women, whose unemployment rates have surged sharply.