WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe civil liberties like the right to vote are under threat, according to a new AP-NORC poll, while also continuing to agree that the rights expressed in the nation’s founding documents are still core to American identity.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that most Americans across demographics believe the right to vote, the right to free speech and freedom of religion are integral to the country. But they were more divided on the importance of the right to bear arms, and few — about one-third or less — saw those rights as safe from threats.

The survey, which was conducted April 16-20 — before the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that winnowed a section of the Voting Rights Act — highlights an enduring consensus among Americans that personal freedoms are vital to the country’s national identity. But it also reveals deep anxieties about the nation’s trajectory on the cusp of a summer filled with celebrations of the country’s semi-quincentennial birthday.

“Our idea of rights has been very consistent in this country until the last few years,” said Louise Rochon, 85, of Connecticut. “Now, they’re all under threat. Every single last one of them.”

Americans see rights as vital, but threatened

About 9 in 10 Americans say the right to vote is “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity, the poll found. About the same proportion of Americans consider freedom of speech to be highly important to the country’s identity. Meanwhile, about 8 in 10 Americans consider freedom of religion to be core to the national identity, while about 6 in 10 Americans consider the right to keep or bear arms as highly important to the nation’s identity.

But many in the country see those same principles as imperiled today. About two-thirds of Americans view the right to vote as under some threat, with about one-third saying voting rights are under “major threat” while about 3 in 10 said they faced a “minor threat.” Only about one-third of Americans said voting rights faced “no threat at all.”

Additionally, nearly half of Americans say freedom of speech is under major threat, followed by about 3 in 10 who said the same about gun rights and religious freedom.

The country is going “down the drain,” said Tracy Gonzales, an independent from San Antonio, Texas. Americans of all stripes, she said, have “thrown religion to the side at the moment” and allowed for other civil liberties to be eroded amid fierce debates over immigration and the economy.

“Given everything going on with our president, you really don’t have time to think of anything else,” said Gonzales, 37, of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns. “There are so many other crimes that are being committed and people that actually need help, and you’re focused on the ones that are trying to get it together.”

Vast majority of Black Americans see threat to voting rights

The poll’s results also surfaced complicated opinions about democracy and identity among Black Americans. Those are likely rooted, at least in part, in the country’s history of denying voting rights and full citizenship to people of African descent for centuries.

Black Americans are less likely than white Americans to say the right to vote is “extremely” or “very important” to American identity, with about three-quarters agreeing with the sentiment compared to about 9 in 10 white Americans.

But about 4 in 10 Black Americans say that the right to vote is facing a “major” threat in the country today, higher than any other racial group.

“You cannot feel like you are a total and full part of the American experiment unless you have the right to vote,” said Antonio Williams, a school administrator in Dallas, Texas, who is Black. “And African Americans didn’t fully get to enjoy the right to vote until about 60 years ago, and I feel like it’s under threat right now.”

Younger adults see the right to vote as less important

Independents and younger adults are less likely than Americans overall to say voting and freedom of speech are central to American identity.

“My age group has grown up a lot more with social media as part of their existence in life and the microcosms that that creates in politics,” said Julian Goodwin-Ferris, 28, a professional dancer from New Jersey.

“I think we feel more like our voice doesn’t matter as much because it feels like we’ve grown up with our rights sort of being more ignored,” said Goodwin-Ferris.

Democrats and Republicans are divided on magnitude of threat

Americans at times diverged along partisan lines in their view of the threats to rights, with Democrats seeing a greater threat to freedom of speech, while Republicans were more worried about the right to keep and bear arms.

While Democrats and Republicans are similarly likely to say freedom of speech is at least “very important” to the nation’s identity, about 6 in 10 Democrats say freedom of speech is facing a “major threat” compared to about 4 in 10 independents and roughly one-third of Republicans.

Similarly, while most Americans believe the right to bear arms is at least “very” important to the nation’s identity, about 8 in 10 Republicans agree with that sentiment, compared to only about 4 in 10 Democrats. About half of independents shared that view. And about 4 in 10 Republicans found that the right to bear firearms was under threat, an increase from October 2025 not reflected among either Democrats or independents.

“We have the Bill of Rights for a reason,” said Nuri Simmons, a warehouse worker in New York and a registered Democrat. Simmons, 31, said that threats to different rights “bleed into each other” and that while he was most concerned about threats to voting rights today, he understood that others may feel differently.

“Like when people try to bring some gun control into it, I think some people look at that as an attack on their rights. I guess that all depends on your politics,” he said.

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The AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Brooklyn Beckham’s controversial ad has sparked plenty of debate online, with viewers quickly spotting telling details in the short video.

When it first came out, many people agreed that the eldest son of David and Victoria had taken a very public dig at his parents in the new World Cup advert for food delivery service DoorDash.

The 27-year-old was seen smirking in the advert as he said: ‘You’re probably wondering why I’m watching the FIFA World Cup 2026 from home… It’s a long story.’

Brooklyn — who has been estranged from his family for more than a year –then throws his football tickets onto a table, which shows a stack of unopened letters, a camera, and a silver watch.

The words: ‘It’s complicated. More soon.’ then appear on screen.

Fans were quick to notice ‘clues’ visible on the tabletop alongside the tickets, speculating they were not-so-subtly coded references to the ongoing feud between Brooklyn and his family.

A silver men’s watch was thought by some to be the Patek Philippe Nautilus watch gifted to him by his father, which has been much discussed in recent months as Brooklyn is still often seen wearing the £220,000 timepiece despite the rift.

Beneath the watch, a stack of unopened letters can be seen on the table, which is pretty conspicuous timing given that Harper Beckham – Brooklyn’s younger sister – was seen outside the LA house owned by Brooklyn and his wife last Friday, trying to hand-deliver him a letter.

The couple’s representatives immediately issued a statement, saying the pair were in New York at the time so not home to answer the door: ‘That photographers were in place as the letter was hand delivered says it all – this was choreographed for the cameras.’

The Beckham family camp immediately responded, with a source stating that: ‘[It] is incredibly sad that this horrible accusation is being leveled at an innocent young girl who just desperately misses her brother.’

Fans weren’t done there when it came to picking apart the ad, with viewers pointing out that the snow globe on the table at the beginning of the ad would be a remarkable coincidence, given Victoria’s huge snow globe collection was made public in her Netflix documentary series Victoria Beckham.

One Instagram commenter simply wrote, ‘tasteless,’ while another posted, ‘This is so, so bad. Watch that his father gave him on top of all those unopened letters—it sends a public message.’

Brooklyn has not been seen with his family at events over the past year, including the premiere of Victoria’s Netflix documentary, David’s knighting ceremony, and, most recently, the Hollywood Walk of Fame event, which was also attended by Tom Cruise.

Ahead of David’s ceremony, the footballer shut down a question in Variety about his family life.

He told the publication: ‘To be honest, I’m sorry to stop you there, but that’s a private matter. That’s the one thing that I don’t want to talk about.’

Although he further reflected: ‘Every day there’s a mountain to climb. I’ve got a life where I’m very busy with what I do.

‘I’ve got four grown kids, the businesses, the club in Miami, but I always want to achieve more. I’ve been like that from a very young age; I was like that as a player and I’ll always be like that. I’ll continue to strive for more.’

In January, Brooklyn made clear that he had no interest in making amends with his family.

‘I do not want to reconcile with my family. I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life,’ he said in a lengthy diatribe against them.

MORE: Brooklyn Beckham’s scathing advert leaves his family ‘stunned and heartbroken’

MORE: David Beckham’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star branded a ‘mockery’ by critics

MORE: Brooklyn Beckham skipping dad David’s Hollywood ceremony despite being ‘20 minutes away’

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The front of the premises was smashed into with a stolen telehandler

A cash machine has been stolen from a supermarket in a ram raid. Cambridgeshire Police were called to Asda in Ness Road, Burwell just before 5am today (Wednesday, June 17).

Officers received reports that a stolen telehandler, along with two other vehicles, were used to remove a cash machine from the front of the premises.

Detective Inspector Jim Donington said: “We understand incidents like this are concerning for local residents, particularly given this is the second ram raid in the county in two days.

“Dedicated patrols are in place and we are actively investigating both incidents. We would urge anyone who sees suspicious behaviour, or who knows of vehicles that may have been stolen or are being used in unusual circumstances, to report this to us. Information from the public is vital in helping us prevent further offences and identify those responsible.”

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Officers are appealing for information, dashcam, doorbell or CCTV footage that could assist police. Anyone with information should call police on 101 and quote incident 51 of June 17.

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