Politics
What is a ārevisionistā state, and what are they trying to revise?
What is a ārevisionistā state, and what are they trying to revise? A meeting of top diplomats from China, Iran and Russia ā three so-called revisionist powers. Photo by Getty Images Once upon a time, ārevisionist powerā was a term reserved for nations trying to overturn the postwar liberal order ā the usual suspects being […]
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Trumpās use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions likely to reach the Supreme Court
Trumpās use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions likely to reach the Supreme Court Prisoners stand in a cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26, 2025. AP Photo/Alex Brandon A federal […]
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As āright to dieā gains more acceptance, a scholar of Catholicism explains the position of the Catholic Church
As āright to dieā gains more acceptance, a scholar of Catholicism explains the position of the Catholic Church In recent years, euthanasia and assisted death rates have risen worldwide. Cavan Images / Raffi Maghdessian via Getty images An individualās āright to dieā is becoming more accepted across the globe. Polls show that most Americans support […]
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Who gets to brand Puerto Rico: Its tourism agency or its biggest star?
Who gets to brand Puerto Rico: Its tourism agency or its biggest star? The Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny is one of the biggest stars of the music world. After becoming Spotifyās most-streamed artist for three years in a row ā the first and only artist ever to do so ā he sold out all […]
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US swing toward autocracy doesnāt have to be permanent ā but swinging back to democracy requires vigilance, stamina and elections
US swing toward autocracy doesnāt have to be permanent ā but swinging back to democracy requires vigilance, stamina and elections The United States is no longer a democracy. At least, thatās the verdict of one nonprofit, the Center for Systemic Peace, which measures regime qualities of countries worldwide based on the competitiveness and integrity of […]
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Ukraine will need major rebuilding when war ends ā hereās why the US isnāt likely to invest in its recovery with a new Marshall Plan
Ukraine will need major rebuilding when war ends ā hereās why the US isnāt likely to invest in its recovery with a new Marshall Plan Europe after World War II? No, it's the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in 2023, after a year of Russian bombardment. AP Photo, File President Donald Trump wants Ukraine to repay […]
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Trumpās desire to āun-uniteā Russia and China is unlikely to work ā in fact, it could well backfire
Trumpās desire to āun-uniteā Russia and China is unlikely to work ā in fact, it could well backfire Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Getty Images Is the U.S. angling for a repeat of the Sino-Russian split? In an Oct. 31, 2024, interview with right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, President Donald Trump argued […]
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Trump is not a king ā but that doesnāt stop him from reveling in his jobās most ceremonial and exciting parts
Trump is not a king ā but that doesnāt stop him from reveling in his jobās most ceremonial and exciting parts President Donald Trump speaks with Elon Musk next to a Tesla Model S on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Heads of state are the symbolic […]
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National monuments have grown and shrunk under US presidents for over a century thanks to one law: The Antiquities Act
National monuments have grown and shrunk under US presidents for over a century thanks to one law: The Antiquities Act Over 730,000 people visit Colorado National Monument each year. It was established in 1911 under the Antiquities Act. Gordon Leggett, CC BY-SA Americaās public lands, from its majestic national parks to its vast national forests, […]
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Myanmarās civil war: How shifting US-Russia ties could tip balance and hand China a greater role
Myanmarās civil war: How shifting US-Russia ties could tip balance and hand China a greater role Myanmar's civil war involves a range of different ethnic groups fighting the military. Thierry Falise/LightRocket via Getty Images While the United States talked military assistance and minerals with Ukraine, Russia did the same with one of its few remaining […]
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Mae Reeves used showstopping hats to fuel voter engagement and Black entrepreneurship
Mae Reeves used showstopping hats to fuel voter engagement and Black entrepreneurship Mae Reeves and her husband, Joel, pose with her hats at Mae's Millinery in Philadelphia, circa 1953. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture/Gift from Mae Reeves and her children Donna Limerick and William Mincey Jr. Lula āMaeā […]
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From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools
From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools President Donald Trump re-renamed Denali as Mount McKinley in 2025. Tim Rains/National Park Service, CC BY Place names are more than just labels on a map. They influence how people learn about the world around them and […]
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From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francisā appreciation for the power of history and books
From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francisā appreciation for the power of history and books Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Nov. 10, 2024. AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia In January 2025, while doing research at the Vatican archives, I heard Pope Francisā Sunday prayers in St. Peterās Square. […]
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First year of Georgiaās āforeign agentā law shows how autocracies are replicating Russian model ā and speeding up the time frame
First year of Georgiaās āforeign agentā law shows how autocracies are replicating Russian model ā and speeding up the time frame Demonstrators protest the foreign influence law in front of the Georgian Parliament building on May 28, 2024. Nicolo Vincenzo Malvestuto/Getty Images Autocracy is on the move worldwide and becoming more resilient. One of the […]
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What is the rules-based order? How this global system has shifted from āliberalā origins ā and where it could be heading next
What is the rules-based order? How this global system has shifted from āliberalā origins ā and where it could be heading next Global order? Put a pin in it. Getty Images The phrase āinternational rules-based orderā has long been a fixture in global politics. Western leaders often use it to describe a framework of rules, […]
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Washington Postās turnaround on its opinion pages is returning journalism to its partisan roots ā but without the principles
Washington Postās turnaround on its opinion pages is returning journalism to its partisan roots ā but without the principles Owner Jeff Bezos has made big changes to The Washington Post's editorial pages. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Jeff Bezos, the worldās third-richest person and owner of The Washington Post, announced in February 2025 significant changes to the […]
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US isnāt first country to dismantle its foreign aid office ā hereās what happened after the UK killed its version of USAID
US isnāt first country to dismantle its foreign aid office ā hereās what happened after the UK killed its version of USAID The U.S. and U.K. used to be major funders of global immunization programs for children. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File The Trump administrationās dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development is unconstitutional, […]
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Tyrannical leader? Why comparisons between Trump and King George III miss the mark on 18th-century British monarchy
Tyrannical leader? Why comparisons between Trump and King George III miss the mark on 18th-century British monarchy Are there legitimate comparisons between President Donald Trump and King George III? Rebecca Noble/Getty Images; Kean Collection/Getty Images George III, king of Great Britain and its colonies at the time of the American Revolution, has been maligned unfairly. […]
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Trumpās first term polarized teensā views on racism and inequality
Trumpās first term polarized teensā views on racism and inequality Teens who supported President Trump in 2016 became less aware of societal inequalities after the election. AP Photo/Evan Vucci When asked about reactions to Donald Trump being president, a 16-year-old Black girl said, āI feel unsafe and not protected. The United States is supposed to […]
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Trumpās firings of military leaders pose a crucial question to service members of all ranks
Trumpās firings of military leaders pose a crucial question to service members of all ranks President Donald Trump gave no specific reason for firing Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff less than halfway through Brownās four-year term in office. Nor did he give an explanation for similarly […]
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Trumpās executive order to dismantle the Education Department was inspired by the Heritage Foundationās decades-long disapproval of the agency
Trumpās executive order to dismantle the Education Department was inspired by the Heritage Foundationās decades-long disapproval of the agency The Heritage Foundation flag flies over its building on July 30, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 20, 2025, that calls for closing the U.S. Department […]
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Trumpās defiance of a federal court order fuels a constitutional crisis ā a legal scholar unpacks the complicated case
Trumpās defiance of a federal court order fuels a constitutional crisis ā a legal scholar unpacks the complicated case The Supreme Court is seen on March 17, 2025, one day before Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare rebuke of a president. Win McNamee/Getty Images President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act on […]
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Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants ā but the 18th-century law has been invoked only during times of war
Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants ā 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 ā Israeli domestic politics killed it
The Gaza ceasefire is dead ā 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 ā more than people realize
Social movements constrained Trump in his first term ā more than people realize Donald Trumpās first term as president saw some of the largest mass protests seen in the U.S. in over 50 years, from the 2017 Womenās March to the 2020 protests after George Floydās murder. Things feel different this time around. Critics seem […]
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Revoking EPAās endangerment finding ā the keystone of US climate policies ā wonāt be simple and could have unintended consequences
Revoking EPAās endangerment finding ā the keystone of US climate policies ā wonāt 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 Statesā major climate regulations are underpinned […]
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Remembering Chinaās Empress Dowager Ling, a Buddhist who paved the way for future female rulers
Remembering Chinaās 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 Hamasā judgment over Gaza ceasefire
How power imbalance, misread signs and strategic blunders clouded Hamasā 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 Hamasā Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel had he known how destructive Israelās 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 Statesā most important historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence, […]
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