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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

LA Police Chief Did Not Ask for Federal Help

LA Police Chief Did Not Ask for Federal Help

In defending his decision to deploy the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, President Donald Trump has distorted comments made by Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. 

Q&A on Federalizing the National Guard in Los Angeles

Q&A on Federalizing the National Guard in Los Angeles

The disagreement between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over Trump deploying state National Guard troops to Los Angeles is now being debated in court. We’ll explain how the situation developed and answer some common questions.

Online Posts Make Baseless Claim Linking Protesters to Craigslist Ad

Online Posts Make Baseless Claim Linking Protesters to Craigslist Ad

Q: Is there an ad in Craigslist to hire people to riot in L.A.?

A: No, there has been no such ad on Craigslist. Some social media posts cited a Craigslist ad to falsely claim it showed that people protesting the immigration raids in Los Angeles were being paid for their actions. But a pair of podcasters told the Associated Press they placed the ad as a prank for their show, and it had nothing to do with the protests.

Trump Now Citing Murder Stats He Used to Dismiss as ‘Fake News’

Trump Now Citing Murder Stats He Used to Dismiss as ‘Fake News’

President Donald Trump recently boasted that the nation’s murder rate has “plummeted by 28%” since he took office. Data supplied by local police departments do show the nation’s murder rate is dropping, as it has been for several years. Notably, Trump now seems comfortable with crime data that he criticized repeatedly during the campaign as “fake news.”

Viral Graphic Makes False, Questionable Claims About House Reconciliation Bill

Viral Graphic Makes False, Questionable Claims About House Reconciliation Bill

A viral graphic warns that if the House-passed reconciliation bill becomes law, “we won’t have another election.” But there is no evidence to support that or some of the graphic’s underlying claims about “what’s coming” if the Senate also approves the legislation without any changes. For other claims, it’s unclear what they are based on.

Walz and Johnson Make Misleading Claims About Bill’s Impact on SNAP

Walz and Johnson Make Misleading Claims About Bill’s Impact on SNAP

Republican and Democratic leaders have either downplayed or overstated the estimated impact of the House reconciliation bill on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that due to work requirements in the bill, 3.2 million people would lose all of their SNAP benefits, which provide financial help to low-income people for groceries. 

Assessing Medicaid Coverage Losses Under House Reconciliation Bill

Assessing Medicaid Coverage Losses Under House Reconciliation Bill

Republicans say that able-bodied adults who don’t work would lose Medicaid coverage under the House tax-cuts-and-spending bill, while Democrats say the legislation would hurt vulnerable groups. The bill’s main target is those able-bodied adults, but other groups would lose coverage due to paperwork burdens and other provisions in the bill, health policy experts say.

Q&A on New COVID-19 Vaccine Policies

Q&A on New COVID-19 Vaccine Policies

In the past two weeks, U.S. public health authorities have skirted normal procedures and announced two major policy changes that will likely reduce access to COVID-19 vaccines and restrict use to higher-risk populations. Here, we explain what we know — and don’t — about these new COVID-19 vaccine policies.