#public-opinion

#public-opinion

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

The increase in the US is all the more pronounced given the gradual decline in capital punishment that had been the prevailing wind in the US for most of the past two decades. It stands starkly discordant with the trend in public opinion. Gallup, which has been taking the pulse of the American public's views on the death penalty since 1937, found that this year 52% supported it for people convicted of murder a 50-year low. Most Americans under 55 now oppose the practice.

So just think, the whole world out there in the third quarter, the United Kingdom grew .1. The European Union group, .4, and Japan fell .6%, fell .6%. Donald Trump's economy grew, the United States of America, the biggest economy in the world, 4.3%. What that means is that Americans overall all of us are going to earn 4.3% more money. We're making a raise. It's a simple way to do it.

According to a number of polls, the majority of Ukrainians do not want to accept a peace plan that involves territorial concessions and does not provide security guarantees. A study by the New Europe Center, a Ukrainian non-profit, found that almost 65% of the population believes that Ukraine should not enter into negotiations with Russia without security guarantees, and more than 86% is convinced that freezing the front line would only delay another Russian aggression.

The justices of the US supreme court even its conservatives have traditionally valued their institution's own standing. John Roberts, the current US chief justice, has always been praised even by liberals as a staunch advocate of the court's image as a neutral arbiter. For decades, Americans believed the court soared above the fray of partisan contestation. No more. In Donald Trump's second term, the supreme court's conservative supermajority has seized the opportunity to empower the nation's chief executive.

With two days until Congress's scheduled holiday recess, lawmakers will likely leave Washington without extending Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies. The enhanced subsidies for ACA marketplace plans will expire at the end of the year. Millions of Americans can expect a spike in their premiums, and some may see the price of their plans double or triple in the new year.

Many Europeans mistakenly think most migrants are in their country illegally, according to a poll that found overwhelming opposition to any increase in migration and strong support for a significant reduction in numbers, including deportation. Pluralities or majorities of between 44% and 60% of respondents polled in a survey by YouGov in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain said they thought there many or somewhat more migrants were staying illegally than legally.

Trump also claimed he was crushing inflation, and inflation is stopped. While inflation declined from an annual rate of 3% in January to 2.9% in August, it has remained ahead of the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Politico's poll also had more telling numbers about specific instances where Americans are having to forego vital services: 27 %, said they have skipped a medical check-up because of costs within the last two years, and 23 % said they have skipped a prescription dose for the same reason.

By the numbers: Two-thirds of Americans - including majorities of independents and many Republicans - support preserving the 14th Amendment's guarantee of citizenship to those born in the U.S., the survey found. Roughly 8 in 10 Black Protestants favor keeping birthright citizenship, and solid majorities of Hispanic Catholics and Hispanic Protestants support it as well. Even among Trump's most supportive religious constituency - white evangelical Protestants - 53% say the Constitution's guarantee should stand.

Reality check: Trump has frequently claimed prices are trending lower, but prices for many goods and services have risen since he returned to the White House. The Consumer Price Index and the core measure that strips out food and energy costs rose 3% in the 12 months through September, the latest data available due to a lapse in reporting amid the government shutdown. Utility prices fell in September, but were up nearly 12% over the past year.

Some 2,204 registered voters in the United States were asked how they viewed a host of political figures as part of a Harvard-Harris poll conducted between December 2-4. The highest rated figures, according to the poll, were Kennedy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D). For RFK Jr., 43% of those polled viewed him favorably, while just 40% viewed him unfavorably for a gap of 3% toward favorable.

Younger people will tell you that it's embarrassing and old-fashioned - but the Miss France contest still has a prime-time Saturday night TV slot and attracts millions of viewers every year. Representatives for different regions have already been chosen and on Saturday night the new Miss France will be elected - with the contest a prime-time TV event that draws in millions of viewers. The TV show is expected to draw in around 7 million viewers and the Miss France final regularly makes it into the most-viewed TV lists.

"worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt to pay off,"

A majority of people in Germany don't think Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition government will last until the next election in 2029. According to a survey published by Bild newspaper and conducted by INSA, 54% of respondents said they thought the coalition government, comprised of Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), would collapse before the end of its legislative term. Of those polled, 29% said they believed the coalition government would last, while 11% of respondents provided no answer.