State Department
Why Is Trump's White House Paying for Drinks at Mar-a-Lago With Taxpayer Dollars?
There's a unique push and pull in the current administration: Donald Trump's administration pays a bill for an event and his club reaps the revenue.
Rare Italian Goats Helped Afghanistan How?
At a Senate hearing last week, lawmakers questioned whether a Pentagon business task force had accomplished anything worthwhile.
Afghanistan Waste Exhibit A
A Senate subcommittee is looking at waste by a Pentagon task force. It would do well to review the reasons why a major hydroelectric power plant sits unfinished.
Free Home Theaters for the U.S. Government
Four U.S. Embassies got upgraded screening rooms last year, paid for by the lobbying arm of the big studios. The industry and the government say there were no strings attached.
Leaked Private Emails Reveal Former Hillary Clinton Aide's Top Secret Spy Network
Emails disclosed by a hacker show a close family friend was funneling intelligence about the crisis in Libya directly to the Secretary of State’s private account starting before the Benghazi attack.
This Isn't the First Time: Hillary Clinton’s Top Five Clashes Over Secrecy
The latest flap over her private emails as secretary of state is far from the first time she’s been accused of lacking transparency.
When Culture’s Soft Power Confronts Hard Limits
Music- and art-based outreach programs have been successful in combating extremism in cities like Minneapolis, but they're facing a roadblock. Stringent visa standards from the State Department are blocking many foreign artists from entering the country, and harming communities that need these programs the most.
On the Destinations of Species
It's almost always easier to cross international borders if you're something other than human.
All the Things Hillary Clinton's Book Doesn't Say About Iraq
In Hard Choices, the former secretary of state ignores or glosses over key aspects of her record on Iraq—including State Department responsibility for the country’s security assistance.
Alien Baby: Is Your Zygote American Enough?
The complicated relationship between citizenship and genetics.
Why Is the U.S. Arming Those in Syria It Legally Defines as Terrorists
The designation could also make it harder for Syrian refugees to come to the U.S., even if they haven’t actually taken up arms against the regime.
Obama Administration Helped Kill Transparency Push on Military Aid
Last year a bipartisan effort to force more transparency about military aid failed after objections from the Pentagon. Will the same thing happen this year?
The Problem With U.S. Regional Immigration
The problem with viewing immigrants as baby factories that are up for bid and welcoming the foreign born as a solution to population issues.