The Oxford English Dictionary named “toxic” as the word of the year for 2018 because of its increased usage in the context of the environment, politics and in connection with the #MeToo movement. Americans are torn on whether the word should have received the honor, but agree that politicians and the media have contributed to a toxic culture.
With the holiday season upon us, most Americans still consider their faith an important part of their life, even if they don’t attend services regularly.
This holiday season, Americans think a little more religion would go a long way.
With beloved holiday songs and shows now coming under fire for supposedly inappropriate messages, many are wondering whether free speech is officially dead.
Uber is restarting its testing of driverless cars, eight months after one of their self-driving vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian, but Americans aren’t any readier to embrace the technology.
Researchers worldwide are investigating a rise in food allergies, especially among children. Here in the United States, roughly one-in-five Americans say they have been impacted by the potentially fatal problem, most often as the result of nut allergies.
California has adopted a law that allows doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs if they determine a patient has six months or less to live, and Americans continue to favor such voluntary euthanasia laws. Many would even consider it for themselves or a loved one.
Americans are getting a slower start on their holiday shopping this year than in years past, which may have contributed to the reported lower-than-usual Black Friday sales for stores.
A Chinese scientist claims to have created the world’s first gene-edited twins, altering their genes to theoretically be resistant to HIV infection. Naturally, the news has sparked a moral debate about cloning and genetic modification. Few Americans would want to clone a loved one themselves and think the whole process overall needs government regulation.
Despite the frenzy over Black Friday deals, most Americans are staying home.
The American Academy of Pediatrics this week announced a new policy statement strongly against spanking children, citing studies that find it is both ineffective as a punishment and potentially harmful in the long term. But adults don’t agree, and very few would go as far as to consider it child abuse.
Despite the positive turn in the economy and job market over the last two years, faith in our children’s future has waned.
President Trump has long been calling for more use of the death penalty, and as prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty for accused Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers, more Americans agree with the president’s call to action, though they’d like to see it carried out more quickly.
Following the most recent mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Americans still worry the media’s coverage of such violence inspires copycats.
Canada last year became the 10th country to allow residents to choose a gender option other than male or female on their passports, but most Americans agree with the Trump administration’s current consideration of limiting the definition of gender strictly to biology and oppose a third gender option on legal documents in this country.
Many Americans continue to feel the impact of bullying but now are more convinced that schools rather than parents need to do something about it.
Sears joins a growing list of retail giants to file for bankruptcy, as Americans continue to gravitate to online shopping outlets such as Amazon. Still, most Americans like Sears and have purchased an item from the department store at some point in their lives.
Flu season didn’t hit too many Americans last winter, but nonetheless, most still plan to get a flu shot this year.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and more than a quarter of Americans have lost someone to the disease.
Americans agree that social media sites need to do a better job of separating fact from opinion in their feeds but have very little confidence that they'll do it fairly.
