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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) lights a candle during a vigil for the victims of the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, in Grand Army Plaza on August 5th, 2019, in Brooklyn. Lawmakers and local advocates called on Congress to enact gun control legislation and encouraged citizens to vote for politicians who would support those measures.

News in Brief

This Congress Has Made More Progress on Early Gun Bills Than Any Other in the Last 10 Years

In the wake of a week of racist, terroristic mass shootings, here's a look at the status of the new firearms bills introduced at the beginning of the year.

Francie Diep

Social Justice

Trump’s Controversial Tweets Are Nothing New for Baltimore

President Donald Trump's use of the the word "infest" in tweets to an African-American congressman to describe a majority-black city is part of a larger pattern.

Paige Glotzer

Nancy Pelosi greets Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration ceremony in 2017.

Ideas

Nancy Pelosi May Not Deserve Blame for Democrats Not Impeaching Donald Trump

Impeachment may well be the right course, but the speaker might not have the votes for a resolution to pass in the House.

Seth Masket

A bus transporting immigrants leaves a temporary facility at a U.S. Border Patrol Station in Clint, Texas, on June 21st, 2019. Lawyers who toured the facility said they witnessed inhumane conditions.

News in Brief

Will Congress Approve New Humanitarian Standards for Immigrant Detention Facilities?

The House voted to pass legislation to ensure that migrants have access to water, food, and medical services. But the bill will likely face opposition in the Senate.

Isabela Dias

Though climate studies broadly show that global warming is happening and human-driven, scientists are still working to zero in on exact forecasts for the future.

Republican Leaders Aim to Make Conservation Conservative Again

A new Republican caucus will tackle conservation and climate change. Is the GOP changing its tune or merely paying lip service to environmental issues?

Maxine Speier

Economics

The President Didn’t Always Have Power Over Trade Deals

Until the 1930s, it was Congress that set the terms of U.S. trade negotiations with other countries and raised and lowered tariffs as it saw fit, while the president did little but sign his name.

William Hauk