1. Has the United States done enough to prevent a 2008-style financial crisis?
2. Is the U.S. using sanctions too aggressively?
3. Will President Trump’s comments about Hurricane Maria negatively affect Rick Scott’s Senate hopes in Florida?
4. Could President Obama’s return to the campaign trail block the “blue wave”?
5. Is it time for American to end the war in Afghanistan?
6. Who will be the next mayor of Chicago?
7. Is the FDA’s assault on vaping misguided?
8. Why has Google avoided some of the same public scorn as Facebook and Twitter?
9. Will Feinstein’s late attack derail Kavanaugh’s confirmation?
10. Was the Manafort deal a big win for Mueller?
1. Are Israeli settlements the greatest obstacle to peace with the Palestinians?
2. How can Europe’s center-right parties fend off populist challenges?
3. Will Venezuela’s ills be corrected with violence or votes?
4. Could a global tariff war trigger a 2008-like global economic meltdown?
5. Will Abiy’s reforms fix Ethiopia’s political and economic ills?
6. Would it be in the interest of Middle Eastern governments to form closer ties to China?
7. Are the BJP’s policies costing India influence abroad?
8. Should Guatemala continue its anti-corruption campaign?
9. Has the Myanmar military co-opted Aung San Suu Kyi?
10. Will Steve Bannon be an effective organizer of Europe’s far-right populists?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of September 10-16, 2018.
Note: We would like to get the top six placings from the UK Season Opener as the tab sheet shows several ties on tabroom. If you have the top six placings, please send them to [email protected] so we can do some National Points Race calculations!
1. Is another Chinese Revolution brewing?
2. Does the West still have a deterrent to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe?
3. Will there soon be a spike in global oil prices?
4. Should the EU be aiding autocrats to deal with the migrant crisis?
5. How will the stabbing of Jair Bolsonaro impact the Brazilian presidential election?
6. Is the new NAFTA deal better or worse than the previous one?
7. Should Japan be concerned about the state of its relationship with the United States?
8. Will bad economic news force South Africa to change course on its proposed land reforms?
9. Has the UN’s effort to regulate global arms traffic failed?
10. Should Serbians receive autonomy within Kosovo?
1. Are colleges doing enough to help students mental health conditions?
2. Will Nike’s embrace of Colin Kaepernick prove beneficial to its bottom line?
3. Who will win the Florida gubernatorial election?
4. Will recent wage growth in the U.S. economy continue?
5. Did Trump overreact to the New York Times “insider” op-ed?
6. What fixes should be made to Supreme Court confirmation hearings?
7. To what extent is Roe v. Wade “settled law”?
8. Will Trump do a cabinet shakeup if the GOP loses its control of Congress in the midterm elections?
9. Is there a place for foreign interventionism in the Democratic Party’s foreign policy agenda?
10. What role should Africa play in U.S. foreign policy?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of September 3-9, 2018.
1. Does the federal government need to regulate airline prices?
2. Should federal employees get a pay raise in 2019?
3. Why is the state of the economy not bolstering President Trump’s approval ratings?
4. How might the proposed Title IX reforms affect future sexual assault investigations on college campuses?
5. What reforms need to be made to the National Flood Insurance Program?
6. Can John Cox win the California gubernatorial election?
7. Should Congress have a role in NAFTA renegotiations?
8. How should Democrats use President Obama in the 2018 midterms?
9. Was John McCain’s funeral too politicized?
10. If Ted Cruz loses in Texas, would it be the sign of a midterm aberration or a sign that Texas is gradually turning blue over the long-term?
1. Have Lebanon’s political problems wrecked its economy?
2. Are global cryptocurrencies useless?
3. Can Russia end the war in Afghanistan?
4. Should Japan invest in a robust missile defense system?
5. Will it take a severe economic recession to change China’s political status quo?
6. How can the EU to carve out an economic policy that is more independent from the United States?
7. Should the international community levy sanctions against Uganda over its treatment of political dissidents?
8. Have the rise of Islamist parties in North Africa benefitted the region?
9. Should Syria’s Kurds make a deal with Assad?
10. How will the Argentina and Turkish currency crises affect emerging markets?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of August 27-September 2, 2018.
An Israel-Hamas agreement that avoids war but puts off tougher questions means replaying the last decade’s nasty cycle of conflict. But every crisis worsens Gaza’s humanitarian and governability situation, towards the point of no returnhttps://t.co/PZlmdCTyMs
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) August 30, 2018
“In the US-China trade war, the US and China will definitely each lose. But there could be some marginal winners.” https://t.co/bK8fY7a7kz
— Brookings FP (@BrookingsFP) August 30, 2018
As Australia welcomes Scott Morrison as its sixth prime minister since 2010, observers might be forgiven for thinking that the country has developed a certain political bloodlust, writes Tom Switzer. But does it? https://t.co/XpDPCq8Mod via @CFR_Asia
— CFR (@CFR_org) August 30, 2018
1. Will cover up allegations force Pope Francis to vacate the papacy?
2. Would a renegotiated NAFTA hurt the Mexican economy?
3. Has the international community forgotten the Rohingya?
4. What steps does the Iranian government need to take to bolster the nation’s economic performance?
5. Can Scott Morrison bolster the Liberal Party’s fortunes in the next Australian general election?
6. How should Costa Rica’s government handle the recent migrant influx from Nicaragua?
7. What can global populism achieve?
8. Are Western sanctions against Russia working?
9. Should Israel increase defense spending?
10. Can the EU be a powerful global force in enforcing online privacy?
1. Should the Department of Education loosen regulations on for-profit colleges?
2. Has Texas recovered from Hurricane Harvey?
3. Should the Social Security payroll tax cap be eliminated?
4. What position should the U.S. take regarding China’s crackdown on its Muslim Uyghur community?
5. Should more localities pursue soda taxes?
6. How many Democratic votes will Kavanaugh win during his confirmation?
7. Will the Mollie Tibbetts case reframe the American immigration debate?
8. How will new superdelegate rules affect the 2020 Democratic presidential primary?
9. Would it be a mistake for President Trump to fire Jeff Sessions?
10. How aggressively should Democrats seek Trump’s impeachment?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of August 20-26, 2018.
Today’s socialism is just getting started. It took Lincoln a decade — plus a civil war, and the decision of black slaves to defy their masters, rushing to join advancing Union armies — to come to the position that free labor meant immediate abolition. https://t.co/gZtPadUvXN
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) August 24, 2018
Republicans and Democrats agree: They can’t agree on basic facts https://t.co/N8uEmakDcH
— Pew Research Fact Tank (@FactTank) August 23, 2018
The suspect in the slaying of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts lived for years rent-free on land partially owned by a Republican fundraiser who works for immigration hardliners including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. https://t.co/G4vgw1856q
— AP Central U.S. (@APCentralRegion) August 24, 2018
1. Should social media become regulated like a public utility?
2. Was Trump justified in revoking John Brennan’s security clearance?
3. Does the U.S. need a trade “reset” with China?
4. Can Gary Johnson capture New Mexico’s Senate seat?
5. Should conserving oil be an American economic imperative?
6. Where should cities invest to best fight crime?
7. Were media denunciations of Trump’s attacks on the press necessary?
8. If Democrats win the House in 2018, what would be their first priority?
9. Does the U.S. need a “space force”?
10. Will Omarosa’s revelations do significant damage to the Trump administration?
1. How can Venezuela get hyperinflation under control?
2. What will be Kofi Annan’s legacy?
3. Should Kosovo be partitioned?
4. What would be the geopolitical consequences of a Turkish expulsion from NATO?
5. Does Saudi Arabia have a capital flight problem?
6. Is the international community doing enough to stop the illegal trade in antiquities?
7. Why are Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings falling?
8. Should Cambodia form a closer relationship with China?
9. What might peace in Afghanistan look like?
10. Do the world’s welfare states need an update?
Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd (pronounced “prepped”). Prepd is building debate technology that helps extempers and congressional debaters research, practice, and compete. Visit www.prepd.in to learn more.
Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of August 13-19, 2018.
Some Republican senators are panning President Donald Trump’s move to yank former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance, warning about the precedent it will set https://t.co/oCP3S9l3IH
— POLITICO (@politico) August 15, 2018
Drug overdoses killed about 72,000 Americans last year, a record number. The death toll is higher than the peak yearly death totals from HIV, car crashes or gun deaths. https://t.co/ofarrsnt7K
— NYT National News (@NYTNational) August 16, 2018
Here’s a deeper look at the trends in the United States economy. https://t.co/HAOH054PMP by @MarkTCSM
— CS Monitor (@csmonitor) August 16, 2018