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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Lawmakers’ Health Care, Government Shutdown Claims

Lawmakers’ Health Care, Government Shutdown Claims

Democrats and Republicans have sparred over Democratic demands to address health care issues in a government funding bill, with the standoff leading to the first government shutdown since 2019. We’ll provide the facts on two talking points each side is using to blame the other for the shutdown.

Trump, Project 2025 and Climate Change/Fossil Fuels

Trump, Project 2025 and Climate Change/Fossil Fuels

As part of our series on Project 2025, we look at some instances where President Donald Trump and Project 2025 agree on climate change and fossil fuels — beginning with the rollback of climate change policies.

Evidence Behind Comey Indictment Is Unclear

Evidence Behind Comey Indictment Is Unclear

Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 25 for lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. In this story, we cover the few details we know about the indictment and what Comey told Congress.

Trump, Project 2025 and Immigration

Trump, Project 2025 and Immigration

Project 2025 and President Donald Trump are largely in sync on immigration. As part of our series, we examine some of the many actions that Trump has taken that were proposed in the conservative document. 

Few Mass Shooters Have Been Transgender

Few Mass Shooters Have Been Transgender

Q: Have many of the mass shooters been transgender?

A: The number of transgender mass shooters in the U.S. varies depending on how “mass shooting” is defined, but is relatively small. The Gun Violence Archive, which uses a broader definition, lists five mass shootings by transgender or nonbinary people since January 2013. That’s less than 0.1% of the mass shootings it says happened in that period.  

Trump Again Overstates Number of Drug Overdose Deaths in U.S.

Trump Again Overstates Number of Drug Overdose Deaths in U.S.

Reviving an unfounded claim he has made for several years, President Donald Trump on Sept. 5 overstated the number of Americans who died in 2024 of drug overdoses, saying that he believed 300,000 or “350,000 people died last year from drugs.” A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told us the provisional number of drug overdose deaths in 2024 was 79,383, and an expert in addiction medicine told us Trump’s number was “a gross exaggeration.”

COVID Vaccines Are Harder to Get, Despite Claims from HHS, RFK Jr.

COVID Vaccines Are Harder to Get, Despite Claims from HHS, RFK Jr.

Heated exchanges between some senators and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Sept. 4 hearing amplified confusion about the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations for the fall, with Kennedy misleadingly claiming that “anybody” can still get a vaccine. HHS policies have created roadblocks to vaccine access.

Trump on EU and Japan Investments in the U.S.

Trump on EU and Japan Investments in the U.S.

In early August, President Donald Trump claimed that a trade deal he negotiated with the European Union in July came with hundreds of billions of dollars that the U.S. can use for “anything we want.” But that’s not how the terms were described in a joint statement with the EU on Aug. 21.