March 18 2025

Young Americans Lose Faith in Government, Gallup Poll Reveals

Mood of America: Democratic Party Sinks to Historic Low as Voters Demand Fight

NASA Astronauts Return Home After Nine Months in Orbit

Drones Set to Ease Sherpas’ Load on Mount Everest

Gaza Ceasefire Collapses as Israel Launches Widespread Strikes

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1. Young Americans Lose Faith in Government, Gallup Poll Reveals

Young Americans’ confidence in the apparatus of government has dropped dramatically to one of the lowest levels in any prosperous country, a Financial Times analysis of Gallup data shows. The Gallup polls, conducted by surveying 70,000 people globally over the course of 2023 and 2024, found that less than a third of under-30s in the US trust the government. The proportion of US young people who said they lack freedom to choose what to do with their lives also hit a record high at 31 per cent in 2024 — a level worse than all other rich economies, bar Greece and Italy. “[For younger people in the US] the future seems kind of bleak,” said Julie Ray, managing editor at Gallup.

Source: FT

2. Mood of America: Democratic Party Sinks to Historic Low as Voters Demand Fight

The Democratic Party has reached an all-time low in popularity in the latest national NBC News poll, as it searches for a path forward after a painful loss to President Donald Trump — and as the party’s voters spoil for a fight between their leaders in Washington and Trump. Just over a quarter of registered voters (27%) say they have positive views of the party, which is the party’s lowest positive rating in NBC News polling dating back to 1990. Just 7% say those views are “very” positive. “With these numbers, the Democratic Party is not in need of a rebrand. It needs to be rebooted,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates. And now, in a reversal from Trump’s first term, self-identified Democratic voters say they want their party to hold the line on their positions even if it leads to gridlock, rather than focus on finding areas of compromise with the president. Back in April 2017, 59% of Democrats said they wanted congressional Democrats to make compromises with Trump to gain consensus on legislation, with 33% saying they should stick to their positions even if that means not being able to get things done in Washington. Now, that sentiment has completely flipped. Almost two-thirds of Democrats, 65%, say they want congressional Democrats to stick to their positions even if that risks sacrificing bipartisan progress, and just 32% want them to make legislative compromises with Trump.

More registered voters say the U.S. is heading in the right direction (44%) than at any point since early 2004, though a majority (54%) still say the country is on the wrong track. Trump's job approval rating in the new NBC News poll (47%) matches his all-time highs in NBC News polling throughout his political career (37% "strongly approve," 10% "somewhat approve").
Source: NBC News, Axios

3. NASA Astronauts Return Home After Nine Months in Orbit

When the NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station in June, they expected to stay for maybe a few weeks. Instead, they’ve been up there for nine months. At 1:05 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, they began their voyage home. Ms. Williams, Mr. Wilmore and two other astronauts boarded a SpaceX capsule late on Monday night, then undocked two hours later for a journey back to Earth that will last 17 hours. Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore went to space to test Starliner, a Boeing spacecraft that was to provide NASA with a second American option to get astronauts to and from orbit. After the spacecraft experienced problems with its propulsion system, NASA sent it back to Earth in September with no crew aboard. Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore then became full crew members of the space station, conducting science experiments and performing upkeep. The station has been continuously occupied by astronauts for almost 25 years.
Source: NYT

4. Drones Set to Ease Sherpas’ Load on Mount Everest

Help may at last be on the way for the Nepali Sherpas who carry heavy loads for foreign climbers through treacherous sections of the world’s tallest peak. When the main climbing season begins next month on Mount Everest, expedition companies will test drones that can ferry loads as heavy as 35 pounds in the high altitudes, bring back ladders used to set the climbing routes, and remove waste that is typically left behind. Goods that would normally take seven hours to be transported by foot from Everest’s base camp to Camp I can be airlifted within 15 minutes. By lightening the Sherpas’ burdens, drone operators hope that the chances of fatal accidents…can now be reduced. “Sherpas bear enormous risks. The drone makes their task safer, faster and more efficient,” said Tshering Sherpa, whose organization, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, is responsible for fixing the route through the deadly Khumbu Icefall, southwest of Everest’s summit.
Source: NYT

5. Gaza Ceasefire Collapses as Israel Launches Widespread Strikes

Israeli forces launched large aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning, in the first major strikes on the territory since Israel’s cease-fire with Hamas began roughly two months ago. Gaza’s health ministry said more than 400 people had been killed in the attacks, which raised the prospect of a return to all-out war. The attacks followed weeks of fruitless negotiations aimed at extending the fragile cease-fire, which began in mid-January and paused 15 months of devastating fighting in the territory. By midday Tuesday, it remained unclear whether the strikes were a brief attempt to force Hamas to compromise in the talks or the beginning of a new phase in the conflict.
Source: NYT

March 18, 1925: “Tri‑State Tornado” hits, the deadliest in U.S. history

The Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925, remains the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, carving a devastating 219-mile path across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. With estimated wind speeds exceeding 300 mph and rated retrospectively as an F5 (the highest possible rating on the original Fujita Scale, equivalent to today's EF5), this massive tornado reached a width of up to a mile as it maintained continuous ground contact for over three hours. It killed 695 people, injured thousands more, and completely destroyed several towns in its path, including Murphysboro, Illinois and portions of West Frankfort and Gorham. The tornado's unprecedented longevity and the lack of adequate warning systems contributed to its catastrophic impact, which ultimately led to significant improvements in tornado forecasting and warning systems throughout the United States.

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Sources

1. https://www.ft.com/content/44a7927b-66d7-4321-8425-08ed162a3994 (FT)
2. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/democratic-party-hits-new-polling-low-voters-want-fight-trump-harder-rcna196161 (NBC News)
3. https://www.axios.com/2025/03/16/trump-high-dems-low-new-poll (Axios)
4. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/17/science/nasa-astronauts-return-spacex/now-boarding-a-nasa-mission-to-bring-astronauts-home?smid=url-share (NYT)
5. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/world/asia/mount-everest-drones.html (NYT)
6. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/17/world/israel-gaza-airstrikes/israel-gaza-airstrikes?smid=url-share (NYT)