Politics
Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants – but the 18th-century law has been invoked only during times of war
Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants – but the 18th-century law has been invoked only during times of war Prison guards transfer alleged Venezuelan gang members to a detention center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 16, 2025. El Salvador presidential press office via AP As President Donald Trump often promised […]
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Trump administration seeks to starve libraries and museums of funding by shuttering this little-known agency
Trump administration seeks to starve libraries and museums of funding by shuttering this little-known agency ExplorationWorks, a children's museum in Helena, Mont., received $151,946 in 2024 from the IMLS to expand its early childhood programs. Lisa Wareham On March 14, 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order that called for the dismantling of seven […]
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The Gaza ceasefire is dead − Israeli domestic politics killed it
The Gaza ceasefire is dead − Israeli domestic politics killed it Buildings and a ceasefire left in ruins after airstrikes on March 18, 2025. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images The ceasefire in Gaza appears to be over. And while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to blame Hamas for the resumption of fighting that […]
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Social movements constrained Trump in his first term – more than people realize
Social movements constrained Trump in his first term – more than people realize Donald Trump’s first term as president saw some of the largest mass protests seen in the U.S. in over 50 years, from the 2017 Women’s March to the 2020 protests after George Floyd’s murder. Things feel different this time around. Critics seem […]
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Revoking EPA’s endangerment finding – the keystone of US climate policies – won’t be simple and could have unintended consequences
Revoking EPA’s endangerment finding – the keystone of US climate policies – won’t be simple and could have unintended consequences Several U.S. climate regulations aim to reduce burning of fossil fuels, a driver of climate change. Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Most of the United States’ major climate regulations are underpinned […]
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Remembering China’s Empress Dowager Ling, a Buddhist who paved the way for future female rulers
Remembering China’s Empress Dowager Ling, a Buddhist who paved the way for future female rulers In sixth-century China, a woman known to history as Empress Dowager Ling ruled over an empire called the Northern Wei. Historians do not know her birth name or in what year she was born, but they do know that she […]
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How power imbalance, misread signs and strategic blunders clouded Hamas’ judgment over Gaza ceasefire
How power imbalance, misread signs and strategic blunders clouded Hamas’ judgment over Gaza ceasefire In late February 2025, senior Hamas leader and ex-chairman of its politburo, Mousa Abu Marzouk, said he would not have supported Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel had he known how destructive Israel’s response would have been. That remarkably frank […]
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Fires, wars and bureaucracy: The tumultuous journey to establish the US National Archives
Fires, wars and bureaucracy: The tumultuous journey to establish the US National Archives The 1952 procession to deliver the Declaration of Independence and Constitution from the Library of Congress to the National Archives included military guards and a tank. National Archives Some of the United States’ most important historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence, […]
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Donald Trump’s nonstop news-making can be exhausting, making it harder for people to scrutinize his presidential actions
Donald Trump’s nonstop news-making can be exhausting, making it harder for people to scrutinize his presidential actions President Donald Trump calls on reporters during a news conference at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Like many other news organizations, The Associated Press maintains a “live updates” page, which posts the latest […]
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A brief history of Medicaid and America’s long struggle to establish a health care safety net
A brief history of Medicaid and America’s long struggle to establish a health care safety net President Lyndon B. Johnson, left, next to former President Harry S. Truman, signs into law the measure creating Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. AP Photo The Medicaid system has emerged as an early target of the Trump administration’s campaign […]
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Avoiding your neighbor because of how they voted? Democracy needs you to talk to them instead
Avoiding your neighbor because of how they voted? Democracy needs you to talk to them instead As Americans' social worlds grow further apart, stereotypes intensify – driving an even deeper wedge between red and blue America. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus Are you angry about politics right now? Seething? You’re not alone. According to the […]
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Arrested and stripped of degree: Twin moves to bar Istanbul mayor from ballot suggests Turkey’s Erdogan is really worried this time
Arrested and stripped of degree: Twin moves to bar Istanbul mayor from ballot suggests Turkey’s Erdogan is really worried this time Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu speaks to the press on Oct. 30, 2024. Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu had expected to become Turkey’s opposition presidential nominee on March 23, 2025; instead, he […]
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An artist traces her choices under Putin’s Russia – from resistance to retreat to exile – one mural at a time
An artist traces her choices under Putin’s Russia – from resistance to retreat to exile – one mural at a time 'Atlases,' Victoria Lomasko's mural at Miami University Used by permission of Victoria Lomasko Victoria Lomasko, a graphic artist and muralist, has spent her career documenting how authoritarianism took hold in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. What […]
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You’ve likely heard the Serenity Prayer − but not its backstory
You’ve likely heard the Serenity Prayer − but not its backstory It may be timeless wisdom, but the prayer itself isn't ancient. Roy Morsch/The Image Bank via Getty Images I’m not sure when I first encountered the Serenity Prayer, or when it first occurred to me to ask who wrote it. For much of my […]
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Why was it hard for the GOP – which controls Congress – to pass its spending bill?
Why was it hard for the GOP – which controls Congress – to pass its spending bill? U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was one of 10 Democrats who voted to break the filibuster on the GOP funding bill. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Facing a threat of imminent government shutdown, nine Democrats joined GOP Senate colleagues […]
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What happens when leaders have loyalists in charge of men with guns: Lessons for the US from Nicaragua, Syria and other authoritarian countries
What happens when leaders have loyalists in charge of men with guns: Lessons for the US from Nicaragua, Syria and other authoritarian countries Syrian army special forces in 2005, wearing pictures of their president, Bashar Assad, his father, Hafez, and brother, Basil, on their uniform, stand guard at a Lebanese military air base. Patrick Baz/AFP […]
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Trump’s DOGE campaign accelerates 50-year trend of government privatization
Trump’s DOGE campaign accelerates 50-year trend of government privatization Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has aggressively moved to shrink the federal government. His administration has frozen federal grants, issued executive orders aligned with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, and, most prominently, created what he calls the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. DOGE […]
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The sun is setting on government transparency in Florida – and secrecy creep is affecting the rest of the US, too
The sun is setting on government transparency in Florida – and secrecy creep is affecting the rest of the US, too Exemptions to Florida’s open records law now exceed high rises in Miami. DEA / V. GIANNELLA /via Getty Images Florida, the “Sunshine State,” once known as a beacon of government transparency, is growing ever […]
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The psychology behind anti-trans legislation: How cognitive biases shape thoughts and policy
The psychology behind anti-trans legislation: How cognitive biases shape thoughts and policy Protesters fill the Iowa state Capitol to denounce a bill that will strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall A state law signed Feb. 28, 2025, removes gender identity as a protected status from the […]
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The parallels between Kash Patel and William J. Burns, a scandal-mongering 1920s FBI director — an FBI historian explains
The parallels between Kash Patel and William J. Burns, a scandal-mongering 1920s FBI director — an FBI historian explains FBI Director Kash Patel speaks at his confirmation hearing on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images After winning the 2024 election, President Donald Trump said on Nov. 30 that his new FBI director would […]
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The dark parallels between 1920s America and today’s political climate
The dark parallels between 1920s America and today’s political climate In the 1920s, some Americans' concern for a U.S. in decline led to a rise in various discriminatory policies and movements that hurt vulnerable minorities. iStock/Getty Images Plus As promised, the second Trump administration has quickly rolled out a slew of policies and executive orders […]
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Saudi Arabia’s role as Ukraine war mediator advances Gulf nation’s diplomatic rehabilitation − and boosts its chances of a seat at the table should Iran-US talks resume
Saudi Arabia’s role as Ukraine war mediator advances Gulf nation’s diplomatic rehabilitation − and boosts its chances of a seat at the table should Iran-US talks resume Saudi Arabia is 2,000 miles from Ukraine and even more politically distant, so at first glance it might seem like it has nothing to do with the ongoing war […]
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Is the US heading for a government shutdown? 5 essential reads to occupy the mind while we wait to find out
Is the US heading for a government shutdown? 5 essential reads to occupy the mind while we wait to find out Hello, shutdown, my old friend … Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Brinkmanship, a political scramble to keep the lights on in Washington and finger-pointing over who is to the blame – we’ve […]
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How Trump’s foreign aid and diplomatic cuts will make it harder for the US to wield soft power to maintain its friendships and win new ones
How Trump’s foreign aid and diplomatic cuts will make it harder for the US to wield soft power to maintain its friendships and win new ones Soft power is lower-risk and lower-cost than hard power strategies. A Mokhtari/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images The Trump administration has proposed shuttering USAID and cutting some of the State […]
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How the color of St. Patrick’s Day went from blue to green
How the color of St. Patrick’s Day went from blue to green Since 1962, the Chicago River has been dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. Scott Olson/Getty Images St. Patrick’s Day usually conjures images of partying, Catholicism, Irish nationalism and, perhaps most famously, the color green: green clothes, green shamrocks, green beer and green rivers. […]
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How Jesse Jackson embodied Southern politics − and changed American elections
How Jesse Jackson embodied Southern politics − and changed American elections Holding hands with other prominent Black leaders, the Rev. Jesse Jackson crossed the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 9, 2025, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” Like several survivors of that violent day in 1965, when police brutally attacked […]
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George Washington, a real estate investor and successful entrepreneur, knew the difference between running a business and running the government
George Washington, a real estate investor and successful entrepreneur, knew the difference between running a business and running the government President George Washington delivers his first inaugural address in April 1789 in New York City. Painting by T.H. Matteson, engraving by H.S. Sadd, via Library of Congress During his three presidential campaigns, Donald Trump promised […]
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Can the Trump administration legally deport Palestinian rights advocate Mahmoud Khalil? 3 things to know about green card holders’ rights
Can the Trump administration legally deport Palestinian rights advocate Mahmoud Khalil? 3 things to know about green card holders’ rights Mahmoud Khalil, center, a permanent resident facing deportation, speaks at a press conference organized by Palestinian rights protesters at Columbia University in New York City on June 1, 2024. Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images Secretary […]
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Arrest of ex-president Duterte will shake up dynastic politics in the Philippines – and hand initiative to rival Marcos family
Arrest of ex-president Duterte will shake up dynastic politics in the Philippines – and hand initiative to rival Marcos family A supporter holds a portrait of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at a campaign rally in Hong Kong Southorn Stadium on March 9, 2025. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images The ex-president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, could […]
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Are Ukrainians ready for ceasefire and concessions? Here’s what the polls say
Are Ukrainians ready for ceasefire and concessions? Here’s what the polls say After three years of conflict, a majority of Ukrainians report being war-weary. Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP via Getty Images. A U.S.-Ukraine accord on a ceasefire proposal has put the notion of a negotiated end to the three-year war on the agenda, and in the hands […]
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