Explainer

February 16, 2015

5 Things You Should Know About Washington’s Birthday

Today in the United States is the federal holiday known as Washington’s Birthday (not “Presidents Day—see item #1). In honor of George Washington’s birthday, here are 5 things you should know about the day set aside for our America’s founding father. Continue Reading...

February 16, 2015

Explainer: 21 Egyptian Christians Beheaded in Libya

What just happened in Libya? Islamic State (IS) released a video on Sunday that appeared to show the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. The footage showing the deaths of the Egyptian martyrs appeared on the Twitter feed of a website that supports IS. Continue Reading...

February 04, 2015

Explainer: President Obama’s FY2016 Budget

What is the President’s budget? Technically, it’s only a budget request—a proposal telling Congress how much money the President believes should be spent on the various Cabinet-level federal functions, like agriculture, defense, education, etc. Continue Reading...

January 12, 2015

Explainer: The Boko Haram Massacre in Nigeria

What’s going on in Nigeria? During an attack that started January 3 and continued through this past weekend, the African Islamic militant group Boko Haram opened fire on 16 northern Nigerian villages. Continue Reading...

January 09, 2015

Explainer: President Obama’s Proposal for Free Tuition at Community College

Yesterday, in a short, videotaped preview of his upcoming State of the Union address, President Obama unveiled a new proposal: Make two years of community college free for all students who meet certain eligibility standards. Continue Reading...

January 07, 2015

Explainer: The Charlie Hebdo Terror Attack in Paris

What just happened in Paris? Today at 11:30 a.m. local time in Paris (5:30 a.m. ET), two gunmen wearing black hoods and carrying Kalashnikovs killed twelve people, including two police officers, and seriously wounded four others in an apparent terrorist attack on the offices of a French satirical news magazine that had published cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Continue Reading...

December 22, 2014

Explainer: Christmas 2014 by the Numbers

As the most widely observed cultural holiday in the world, Christmas is a time of produces many things — joy, happiness, gratitude, reverence. And numbers. Lots of peculiar, often large, numbers. Continue Reading...

December 18, 2014

Explainer: What Just Happened With Cuba?

What just happened with Cuba? Yesterday, President Obama announced that, “the United States of America is changing its relationship with the people of Cuba.” He instructed Secretary Kerry to immediately begin discussions with Cuba to reestablish diplomatic relations that have been severed since 1961. Continue Reading...

December 04, 2014

Explainer: What You Should Know About the Eric Garner Case

A New York grand jury refused to indict a police officer in the death of a 43-year-old man that was caught on video. Here are some details about the controversial case: What was the incident that caused Garner’s death? Continue Reading...

December 01, 2014

Explainer: Human Trafficking and Global Efforts to Abolish Slavery

Tomorrow is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, a commemoration of the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949). Continue Reading...

< Previous 1 … 13 14 15 16 17 Next >