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By Kalina Gibson

As climate disasters grow in frequency and intensity, from devastating wildfires to relentless hurricanes to record-breaking heat waves, the Trump administration has once again taken a step that threatens to deepen the climate crisis: formally announcing the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. In the midst of an escalating climate crisis that’s upending livelihoods and lives, this decision raises urgent questions about the future of national and global progress. Namely, what does it mean for the international climate effort to combat climate change when the world’s largest historical emitter steps away from the table? And what are the implications for Americans already grappling with the mounting costs of a warming planet?

Since its adoption in 2015, the Paris Agreement has represented a historic act of global solidarity and a framework for collective accountability in addressing the climate crisis. Nearly 200 nations committed to curbing greenhouse gas emissions, bending the global emissions curve, and striving to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. While progress has been uneven and insufficient, the agreement underscores the power of collective action. At the same time, it fosters transparency and accountability, enabling nations to measure their ambition and progress against one another. -- READ MORE

By Greta Bedekovics & Sydney Bryant

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would require all Americans to prove their citizenship status by presenting documentation—in person—when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information. Specifically, the legislation would require the vast majority of Americans to rely on a passport or birth certificate to prove their citizenship. While this may sound easy for many Americans, the reality is that more than 140 million American citizens do not possess a passport and as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name do not have a birth certificate matching their legal name.

Because documentation would need to be presented in person, the legislation would, in practice, prevent Americans from being able to register to vote by mail end voter registration drives nationwide and eliminate online voter registration overnight—a service 42 states rely on. Americans would need to appear in person, with original documentation, to even simply update their voter registration information for a change of address or change in party affiliation. These impacts alone would set voter registration sophistication and technology back by decades and would be unworkable for millions of Americans, including more than 60 million people who live in rural areas. ​-- READ MORE

By David Madland & Aurelia Glass

Most voters without a college degree supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election, reversing historical patterns of working-class voters preferring the Democratic Party, and economic issues were the primary concern for the vast majority of noncollege voters. Whether President-elect Trump will deliver for the working class during his second term remains to be seen.

During his first term in office, Trump took many actions that were anti-worker—including pursing proposals to allow employers to steal tips, undermining registered apprenticeships, and exempting certain workers from the minimum wage—yet the media has given a great deal of attention to a few positive signs that President-elect Trump might focus on improving economic conditions for the working class in his second term, such as his decisions to invite Teamster’s President Sean O’Brien to speak at the Republican National Convention and nominate Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a supporter of the PRO Act, as U.S. secretary of labor.

Proper evaluation should ignore the speculation and media circus that surrounds President-elect Trump and instead focus on policy actions and measures of economic well-being. Here are six key things to look at when judging whether Trump delivers for the working class. ​ -- READ MORE

By Paige ShoemakerDeMio & Tania Otero Martinez

The U.S. Department of Education helps ensure all students have access to a quality education by providing critical resources to more than 50 million children attending public and private schools across the country. As the only Cabinet agency designated to oversee the majority of elementary through postsecondary education, the Department of Education has played a leading role in narrowing funding gaps in states and districts, enforcing civil rights laws in U.S. schools, administering federal financial aid to make college more affordable, and advancing research to enhance teaching and learning. Notably, when the Department of Education was first established in 1979, only 31 percent of adults age 25 and over in the United States had completed some postsecondary education, compared with 62 percent in 2022.

Despite these clear benefits, the Trump administration has repeatedly called to dismantle or abolish the department. Eliminating the Department of Education would only further widen academic achievement gaps and harm the country’s most vulnerable communities by denying students and families access to crucial resources—ultimately leading the United States to a less educated citizenry and fewer skilled workers supporting the economy. ​-- READ MORE

By Alan Yu, Allison McManus & Laura Kilbury

Since his first day in office, President Donald Trump and a cohort of unelected billionaires and political appointees have set their sights on dismantling U.S. foreign aid. In an egregious move on Monday, Elon Musk declared that Trump agreed to “shut down” the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) overseeing the transition. USAID employees received notice that the agency’s Washington, D.C., headquarters had been abruptly shuttered by the end of the day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that he would act as administrator of the agency, with Peter Marocco, who allegedly participated in the January 6 insurrection, serving as deputy administrator. Musk’s DOGE team has already placed senior USAID officials on leave, suspended security personnel who refused to allow access to classified materials, and gained access to sensitive government data.

The forced takeover comes after two weeks of attacks on foreign aid. On January 20, President Trump signed an executive order freezing nearly all U.S. foreign assistance for 90 days, claiming a need to reassess taxpayer dollars spent abroad. -- READ MORE

By Kate Kelly

Former President Joe Biden formally recognized the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ERA—reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This is the most substantive advancement of women’s rights in this country since the 19th amendment, which gave women the constitutional right to vote in 1920. The United States now joins the 85 percent of countries in the world that have a gender provision in their federal constitutions. The import and potential impact of the new 28th Amendment cannot be overstated.

Not only did the president recognize the amendment’s ratification, but he did so with the support of hundreds of thousands of Americans. In addition to the 38 states that ratified the ERA as the 28th amendment, more than 200,000 Americans signed a petition this week calling for this specific act to solidify constitutional equality. Data for Progress polling from December showed 61 percent of voters would support President Biden publishing the Equal Rights Amendment and adopting it as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. -- READ MORE