Washington, D.C.

Two US soldiers are shown looking out at the Washington Monument with the US Capitol Building off in the distance.

After long silence, Mattis denounces Trump and military response to crisis

Protest

After long refusing to explicitly criticize a sitting president, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused President Donald Trump on Wednesday of trying to divide America and roundly denounced a militarization of the US response to civil unrest.

What’s the economic impact of a government shutdown?

a gap in the border wall between the US and Mexico

How ‘The Wall’ could kill a Texas city

Jayden Lookinghorse, riding his horse, stands on top of a hill on the Cheyenne River Reservation South Dakota.

Out of spotlight, tribes keep fighting Dakota pipeline

A protest by "If Not Now" outside the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, DC, March 2017.

As Israel turns 70, many young American Jews turn away

Global Politics
Saudi rapper

How a rapper’s radio interview revealed a Saudi soft power campaign

Culture

A Saudi rapper’s interview with The Takeaway led journalists to uncover a soft power campaign.

H.R. McMaster

An Obama-era national security adviser argues for diversity as Trump appoints McMaster

Global Politics

The president reportedly interviewed four candidates. They were all white men.

Washington, D.C., woman becomes queen of Ghana village

In an effort to foster economic ties, a village in Ghana is making an American woman its queen mother. They hope she’ll help the village redevelop.

The US Capitol building is shown under construction in 1860. President Abraham Lincoln directed that work continue through the Civil War.

Washington was once quite literally a ‘cesspool’

Books

The history of Washington features plenty of mudslinging, fighting and division, and that’s without even going inside Congress. Here’s how the capital developed from the small, dirty, disorganized town it was in the 19th century into today’s capital — and how that history still shapes the city.

El Salvador_deportation

Families that are deported after crossing the border say they return home feeling hopeless and desperate

Conflict

This year, an increasing number of Central American attempted to enter the US illegally. Now, as many are deported back home, there are concerns that due process was not served while they were held in detention facilities in the United States.