FiveThirtyEight’s top politics stories this week

[FiveThirtyEight]( Popular in Politics Thursday, May, 09, 2024 [1. Why Noem blaming shooting her dog on the realities of rural life doesn’t add up]( [Why Noem blaming shooting her dog on the realities of rural life doesn’t add up]( For most of my life, I've owned an endless parade of dogs and cats. At various times, I've had aquariums full of fish, two rabbits, a guinea pig, and at least a dozen hamsters. For about a decade, my family had a rescue cockatiel named Alfred. I grew up in rural Arkansas, and between extended family, friends and neighbors, I encountered many more critters: horses, cows, pigs, pet goats, chickens kept for eggs, a donkey who brayed too long into the night and two ostriches who regularly escaped their corral. [Read more]( [2. The far right claims there's a 'uniparty' in Washington. Reality suggests otherwise.]( [The far right claims there's a 'uniparty' in Washington. Reality suggests otherwise.]( Conservative populists in the Republican Party might have you believe that there aren't two major parties in the United States, but one conglomeration of politicians in Washington who are ignoring the desires of the American people. In its latest attacks against members of its own party, this faction has embraced a term that disparagingly links supposedly apostate Republicans to Democrats across the aisle: "[uniparty]( Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene [used this descriptor]( last week to justify her [calls for the GOP to remove]( Republican Speaker Mike Johnson from office. Greene said that Johnson, [arguably the most conservative speaker]( in modern times, had overseen "a complete and total surrender to" Democrats in the House. Without a change, she continued, "we are a Uniparty that is hell-bent on remaining on the path of self-inflicted destruction." [Read more]( [3. How Trump's trial is (not) changing the polls]( [How Trump's trial is (not) changing the polls]( Welcome to Pollapalooza, our occasional polling column. [Read more]( [4. 5 primaries to watch in Indiana]( [5 primaries to watch in Indiana]( There are two major parties in the U.S., but sometimes it feels like there are more. [Within each party are factions]( that often have competing goals and tactics — and as [has been evident]( in the [House of Representatives]( this congress, the size of these factions matters almost as much as the actual partisan breakdown. [Read more]( [5. Young people disapprove of Biden’s Israel policy. It may not mean much for November.]( [Young people disapprove of Biden’s Israel policy. It may not mean much for November.]( On Tuesday night, hundreds of New York Police Department officers entered [Columbia University]( and the [City College of New York]( to remove protestors who had set up encampments and taken over administrative buildings in opposition to Israel's conduct in its conflict against Hamas, U.S. military support for Israel and colleges' investments in companies tied to Israel — just one in a [series of clashes on college campuses]( across the country that have captured the attention of the media and the public. [Read more]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe](