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A study out before Halloween shows how terrified Americans are of Trumpcare.

This Halloween, what's really getting Americans' skin to crawl?

Clowns, climate change, and nuclear war are all drumming up fears in the hearts of Americans — but apparently not as much as the prospect of losing health insurance.

Halloween masks of Donald Trump. Photo by Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images.


An annual survey by Chapman University found that many respondents considered "Trumpcare" to be some truly spooky legislation.

According to the study, which gauged how fearful respondents were on 80 different topics — ranging from crime and the environment, to personal anxieties and technology — Trumpcare was the second most-feared item on the list, behind only "corrupt government officials."

Out of the 1,207 adults polled across the U.S., 55.3% of Americans reported being either "afraid" or "very afraid" of the GOP's attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

That's more than double the percentage of those who reported being fearful of sharks, public speaking, and even death itself.

Graphic courtesy of Chapman University.

Obamacare also made an appearance in the survey, although it's much further down the list. The current law of the land (which has helped provide health insurance to roughly 20 million people) still sends a chill down the spines of 33.9% of Americans. That figure marks a significant drop from last year — before Trump took office — when Obamacare was the 10th most feared item. Now, it's #29.

"The 2017 list of fears clearly reflects political unrest and uncertainty in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president," the university noted, pointing to increased anxieties shared by many Americans on health care, nuclear war with North Korea, and the consequences of climate change.

What's so scary about Trumpcare?

The survey didn't ask respondents about why, exactly, any specific item gave them goosebumps. But it's not too surprising Trumpcare gives Americans the heebie-jeebies.

A jack-o-lantern carved into the face of Trump. Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images.

There've been multiple (failed) versions of health care legislation drafted by Senate Republicans — all vaguely falling under the term "Trumpcare" — with each one involving massive cuts to Medicaid and overhauling many of the protective provisions guaranteed through the Affordable Care Act. Every bill proposed would have resulted in tens of millions of Americans losing their health care coverage one way or another, CBO estimates found.

Frustrated with a flailing Congress, however, Trump is determined to dismantle the Affordable Care Act on his own. Earlier this month, the White House announced it was scrapping subsidies for health care companies that help provide insurance to low-income Americans. Without the federal government's help, premiums will likely spike, hitting poorer Americans hardest. The Trump administration is also hellbent on ensuring Obamacare enrollment drops, slashing budgets for advertising that notifies people in need of health care when they can sign up for Obamacare exchanges. Now that's spooky.

Clowns and sharks may fuel nightmares, but losing health care is what is really keeping Americans up at night.

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

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It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


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Pop Culture

Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

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Ring doorbell video captures what it's like to be the default parent.

Kids, man. I'm not sure of the scientific way audacity is distributed, but kids have a lot of it and somehow make it cute. That audacity overload is especially interesting when you're the default parent—you know, the parent kids go to for literally everything as if there's not another fully capable adult in the house. Chances are if your children haven't sought you out while you were taking a shower so you could open up a pack of fruit snacks, then you're not the default parental unit.

One parent captured exactly what it's like to be the default parent and shared it to TikTok, where the video has over 4 million views. Toniann Marchese went on a quick grocery run and *gasp* did not inform her children. Don't you fret, they're modern kids who know how to use modern means to get much-needed answers when mom is nowhere to be found. They went outside and rang the doorbell.

Back when we were children, this would've done nothing but make the dogs bark, but for Marchese's kids, who are 3 and 6 years old, it's as good as a phone call.

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Pop Culture

'American Idol' contestant has perfect response to Katy Perry's 'mom-shaming' joke

The 25-year-old used the moment to stand up for moms everywhere.

@sarabethliebe/TikTok

"Keep loving your babies."

You might recall us singing the praises of Sara Beth, the exuberant young mom with major vocal chops dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”

During Sara Beth’s initial audition for the show, judge Katy Perry made a joke that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.

Before Sara Beth even began to sing, the 25-year-old revealed that she had three children, which prompted Katy Perry to dramatically stand up from her seat and feign shock. When Sara Beth, all smiles, said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Perry retorted, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

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YouTube creator Steve Mould shows us what echo looks like through an acoustic camera.

It’s bizarre to think about seeing sound, but nowadays we can do just that. If you haven’t seen an acoustic camera before, that’s because they’re mainly used for industrial purposes, but they’ve been available commercially from gfai tech since 2001.

YouTuber Steve Mould, who has a science channel with over 2.1 million subscribers, took the complicated concept of the acoustic camera and made it easy to understand in his latest video, “Acoustic cameras can SEE sound.”

In the video, Mould explains how an acoustic camera is much like your smartphone's video recorder. But it also creates visual representations of sound emanating from where it’s generated within the video.

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