The 2026 midterm election is taking place amid deep public dissatisfaction with the state of the nation and near-record low approval ratings of President Donald Trump. Democratic candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives have an edge nationally among registered voters – and their supporters report higher levels of engagement.

Just 21% of Americans say national economic conditions are excellent or good, down from 28% at the start of the year. The price of gas and energy has become an especially prominent issue: 74% of U.S. adults are very concerned about this, up from 60% in July and 43% in January, before the military conflict in Iran.

Influencers are an important part of how Americans understand their own health and lifestyle. Our analysis of more than half a million social media posts from wellness influencers finds that their content largely focuses on healthy living, while discussion of medical topics is far less common. And more than one-third of posts promote a product or service.

Hundreds of thousands of people in France have taken to the streets in protest in recent weeks, citing underfunded schools and other concerns amid a growing national debt crisis. In a spring survey, 85% of French adults described the country’s economic situation as bad. Negative views of the economy are more widespread in France than in any of the other 17 high-income countries we surveyed.