News in Brief Trump’s Approval Rating Continues to Fall, Even Among His Base His ratings were again lowest among women, those aged 18 to 34, and minorities. Kate Wheeling
News in Brief Anthem Pulls Out of Nevada’s ACA Exchanges Entirely Anthem has announced plans in recent months to withdraw from ACA exchanges in a number of states. Dwyer Gunn
News in Brief Picking a Primary by Mail—How’s That Going to Work? Next spring, expect political reformers to have all eyes on Colorado's unusual new open primary system to see if it causes more harm than good. Seth Masket
News in Brief Viewfinder: Waiting for Rescue on the Mediterranean Sea Migrants wait to be rescued by Italian coast guard in the Mediterranean Sea, 30 nautical miles from the Libyan coast, on August 6th, 2017. Pacific Standard Staff
News in Brief Former Blackwater Guard’s Murder Conviction Overturned The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday afternoon to throw out the first-degree murder conviction of Nicholas Slatten. Morgan Baskin
News in Brief The Pervasiveness of Profanity New research tracks the rise in swear words in books over the decades. Tom Jacobs
News in Brief Is the White House Being Reshaped by the Military? There haven't been this many generals in the executive branch since World War II. Jared Keller
News in Brief What Would Happen If Trump Declared the Opioid Epidemic a National Emergency? National-emergency laws were designed to help America deal with hurricanes. Will they work against addiction? Francie Diep
News in Brief Robert Mueller Enlists a Grand Jury for Russia Investigation The move suggests that Mueller may subpoena witnesses or documents and perhaps pursue indictments. Kate Wheeling
Environment Another Setback for the EPA’s Regulatory Rollbacks EPA Chief Scott Pruitt suggested that his decision to reverse course reflects his willingness to work closely with state regulators. Kate Wheeling