FEATURED WRITING

The former first lady's soaring speech at the Democratic Convention took righteous swings at Trump, while also delivering a message of hope.

When rogue governments snatch U.S. citizens to use as political pawns, getting them back home isn't so simple.

The helicopter crash death of Iran President Raisi and others is bringing abrupt transformations to Iranian leadership during a difficult moment for the Middle East.

The International Criminal Court issued warrants for leaders of Israel and Hamas for alleged crimes committed “in the situation in the State of Palestine.”

The retaliation strike that had analysts and world leaders wringing their hands in worry that World War III would fire up in the Middle East happened this week.

Those arguing for a forceful response from Israel ignore the dilemmas facing that country, Iran and the U.S. Escalating violence in the Middle East is bad for everybody.

After seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in Gaza by Israeli drone strikes, Benjamin Netanyahu said, “This happens in war," making a mockery of international humanitarian law.

The shadow diplomacy we’re seeing from Richard Grenell and Trump — both unelected, unappointed individuals purporting to represent America abroad — is a direct challenge to America’s democratic experiment, on a global scale.

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped down. The situation there isn't a simple story of “uncivilized” gang members against “noble” democracy activists.

Egypt withdrawing from its historic peace agreement with Israel could cause a domino effect throughout the Middle East.

While other wartime leaders have seen increases in public support, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has seen no such bump.

Concerns about inflation and supply chain issues are more important to the United States.

Years ago, Netanyahu made a major mistake in his approach to Israel’s relationship with the U.S. — and it’s still haunting him now as he goes to war with Hamas.

After Hamas attacked Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia claimed to support the plight of Palestinians. But the regimes are more interested in the U.S. and oil.

Hamas is at war with Israel after attacking with rockets. Now Israel plans to make Gaza and Palestinian civilians pay. Leaders on both sides have failed.

A crisis once driven by nature and a record drought is now recognized to mostly be the result of good old-fashioned war and corruption.

What happens in Sudan echoes throughout the world, not least because global powers have taken an interest in the country's resources.

Uganda's Parliament has passed a bill allowing LGBTQ people to be executed, and the White House says "there might be repercussions" if the law is enacted.

Turkey and Syria death toll is at 20,000 gut the politics of disaster recovery and slow churn of bureaucracy is getting in the way of saving people’s lives.

Given the state of American education today and the way Americans have been taught history, this course’s existence represents progress. The College Board’s announcement Wednesday of a revised curriculum for its new AP African American Studies course, after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rejected the initial curriculum, has partisans aflutter.

How Haiti went from being a groundbreaking country to a failed state is a sordid tale of American exceptionalism threatened by Black progress.

In rejecting the pursuit of power for the sake of power, Ardern pulled the ultimate female power move so many of us dream of .

American enforcement looks weak when compared to the Brazilian government’s quick and full-throated defense of democratic institutions.

Ukraine's president is now contending with the fact that protecting was never high on the Trumpist agenda.

Putin may think he won this round with the U.S., but that doesn't mean we should.

Why don't Republicans care that the man who allegedly attacked Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was undocumented?

Saudi Arabia's decision will likely spike gas prices right before a pivotal midterm election and help fund Russia’s war on Ukraine.

For approximately 6,500 people, Biden pardoning federal marijuana possession convictions will be life-changing.

The displeasure with Truss was quickly recognized and resolved. The American system may be more stable, but its rot is worse.

The GOP’s cruel immigration narrative is a short-term political win for those looking to best Trump by appealing to Republican primary voters.

The constant of an unchanging, steady monarch soothes those who fear and resist the changes of the 21st century. We hear this sense of loss reflected in American political rhetoric today, the yearning for an idealized time when people had grit, understood sacrifice and knew their place in a segregated society. In the refrains of Make America Great Again, we hear the siren call of monarchy.

But getting this child ready at this moment in time involves preparation parents past could never have fathomed. I’m sending my child off into a society where mass shootings are commonplace, where children of his complexion get arrested for being kids, and where his name gets equated with terrorism more than peace. How do you prepare a 5-year-old for all that?

Gorbachev’s legacy emphasizes how far Putin has taken Russia in the exact opposite direction.

One of the worst things you can say about a relationship is “it’s complicated.” At best, it projects a sense of futility about anything changing. At worst, it’s a disregard for your own self-worth. If your partner literally kills and dismembers someone in your protection—and now everyone knows it for a fact—it says a lot (of the wrong things) when your response is still to shrug and say “it’s complicated.”

I went into labor 30 minutes after Donald Trump’s election night speech. I have the worries that any new mother would have about raising a child in the era of Trump, where ugliness is out in the open and civility no longer exists.

My son was born pink. Not mocha, like his daddy. I really wanted to birth a mini version of my husband so that I could project all the love and hugs I feel for the stoic man onto his son.

My husband is black. I’m not. The collective awakening, dam breaking and paradigm shifting happening in America after the killing of George Floyd has hit home for us. We’ve been heartened by the multiracial crowds demonstrating around the country and the world in recent weeks for black lives. As former president Barack Obama said: “You look at the protests and that was a far more representative cross-section of America out on the streets peacefully protesting.”

Life is more clear-cut when you believe in testing. You either make the grade or you don’t, and that’s all that’s needed to keep a meritocracy going. I bought into that theory when I went to Stuyvesant, the elite New York City public high school where entrance is determined entirely by the score you get on one test. Reflecting on the makeup of my graduating class of some 900 teens, the fact there were only a handful of black and Latinx students and a near majority of Asian American students validated the stereotypes many Americans have of who is talented and intelligent. Standardized testing plays into those stereotypes, and that's where those tests fail us.

Democrats who boycotted Netanyahu's speech speech to Congress symbolize a growing rift between Americans and Israeli policy.