Drew DeSilver

From the fervid coverage in the national press, replete with terms like “nuclear option,” “meltdown” and “showdown,” you might think the country is riveted to the clash between Senate Democrats and Republicans over filibuster rules. But with the two sides set to gather tonight in the ceremonial Old Senate Chamber in a last-ditch effort at […]

Every year, Transparency International asks people around the world about their experiences with public corruption — more than 114,000 in 107 countries for their latest “Global Corruption Barometer.” The map below depicts the percentage of people in each of the surveyed countries who reported paying a bribe sometime in the past 12 months to any […]

More than half of Americans say it's very important to be "tough" with China on economic and trade issues -- about as many who say "building a strong relationship" with China is very important.

Banks are going to have to hold more capital as a cushion against losses, under new rules adopted today by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Federal Reserve Board, which developed the rules jointly with the other banking regulators, approved them last week. The new capital rules, intended […]

Every month when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its jobs report, people home in on one particular metric: the unemployment rate. But there are a lot of other interesting and potentially significant data in the report, though interpreting them appropriately can be tricky. Take, for example, the duration of unemployment. There’s little doubt that more […]

As Apple’s iPhone celebrates its sixth(!) birthday today, the pioneering smartphone has carved out a solid market position, and a demographically distinctive user base, within the ever-expanding world of smartphones (which, according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, more than half of Americans now own). The iPhone is, along with Google’s Android, […]

It’s one thing to talk about voting blocs on the Supreme Court — four conservative justices, four moderate-to-liberal ones and Anthony Kennedy in between, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. It’s another to see the actual voting patterns at work.

Three-quarters of Americans believe any legislation allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status also should provide for increased border security.

Today, the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act’s key section, which prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriages and denied same-sex couples who were married under state law a panoply of federal benefits — from favorable tax treatment to the ability to be buried together in veterans’ cemeteries — that are available to […]

Email Sign Up Receive our weekly newsletter featuring new analysis on politics, social trends, religion, the media and more. Sign Up Now The Supreme Court today struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), saying in a 5-4 ruling that the federal government can’t disparage marriages recognized by the states. The Court also declined […]