Short Reads

About half of U.S. adults say the country's mission in Afghanistan has mostly failed in achieving its goals, while about a third say it has mostly succeeded.

Newsroom employees are more than twice as likely as other U.S. workers to be college graduates. But they tend to make less money than college-educated workers in other industries.

Around six-in-ten U.S. adults say the nation’s economic system unfairly favors powerful interests, though partisans are divided. Partisan differences extend to beliefs about why people are rich or poor.

Americans’ views of Russia have declined in the past year, as have Russians’ views of the United States. See six charts on public opinion about the relationship between the two nations.

Six-in-ten Americans say it is the federal government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. The share of Americans saying health care coverage is a government responsibility remains at its highest level in a decade.

Just three-in-ten American Catholics now say the pontiff is doing a good or excellent job of addressing the sex abuse scandal.

Turnout in this year's primaries for Congress and most state governorships surged compared with the last midterms in 2014, particularly among Democrats. Nearly a fifth (19.6%) of registered voters – about 37 million – cast ballots in primary elections for the U.S. House of Representatives – a 56% increase over the 23.7 million who voted in 2014's House primaries. Turnout that year was 13.7% of registered voters.

Women account for 28% of the 67 judges Trump has appointed to the federal courts since taking office, well below the share appointed by Barack Obama but higher than the share appointed by any other Republican president. Seven of the 67 judges (10%) are racial or ethnic minorities.

U.S. suburbs are evenly divided politically, but some have a clear Democratic or Republican tilt. Poverty has increased more sharply in the suburbs than in urban or rural counties.

Many U.S. Christians – as well as the religiously unaffiliated – hold “New Age” beliefs, which include belief in reincarnation and astrology.