D.C.

Young girl holds up hammer as she uses it to break rocks in front of her

US Customs and Border Protection monitors imports to curb products made by forced labor

Human rights

Five years ago, Congress cleared the way for CBP to fight forced labor. Now CBP and advocates are trying to figure out how to do it, starting with sanctions and bans.

A 1795 logbook from the slave ship called the Mary is on display at Georgetown University Library.

A slave ship’s logbook from 1795 reveals harrowing details of the middle passage

History
Under a new carbon offset program that is gaining popularity in Congress, oil and gas companies — and other manufacturers of products involving — fossil fuel would have to pay $40 for every ton of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.

New carbon offset program may have the bipartisan support it needs on Capitol Hill

Politics
President Trump caused headlines after referring to group of Latino immigrants as "animals" on Wednesday. He said he was only referring to members of the gang MS-13.

President Trump’s ‘animals’ comment points to a dark history of using dehumanizing language

Conflict & Justice
On Dec. 19, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a plan for the state’s common retirement fund to completely decarbonize its entire portfolio.

Big money is backing out of fossil fuel industry, moving into greener alternatives

Economics
The World

There’s Probably More Plastic Trash in the Oceans Than We Even Thought

Environment

We knew there was a lot of plastic trash floating on the surface of the world’s oceans. We didn’t know that there was a whole lot more below it.