Illinois

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, from Illinois, speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations on Capitol Hill in Washington

Sen. Tammy Duckworth calls for a ‘real, cold-hard facts look’ at US’ failed 20-year war in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

“The key thing is that I want it to be completely nonpartisan, not bipartisan, but nonpartisan,” Illinois Democratic Sen. Duckworth explained to The World’s host Marco Werman. “I served on the Benghazi Commission, for example. That was bipartisan, but it was highly political.”

Advocates gather outside the county building in McHenry County, Woodstock, Illinois, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.

ICE contracts at local, regional level spark contentious debate

Immigration
People stand in voting booth casting ballots

As 2020 US presidential election nears, voter systems are still vulnerable

The Mississippi River near New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Mississippi: Pushed to the brink

Environment
Amma embraces a devotee surrounded by others in orange and white robes

A small, Catholic, Midwestern farming town embraces an Indian ‘hugging saint’

Lifestyle & Belief
A high school graduation in Northern California

A new generation of ‘un-DACAmented’ high school graduates fights hurdles to higher ed

Immigration

Undocumented immigrant teens are increasingly graduating from high school without legal protections such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Despite the uncertainty, these students are turning to their networks and one another to push ahead and pursue higher education.

A voter carries a 'blue wave' poster at a rally

The US midterms ‘blue wave’ has mixed results for the environment

Politics

The 2018 US midterm elections ushered in a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives — along with new Democratic governors — who pledge to act on climate change. It also ushered out some climate-denying Republicans. Yet overall, the elections had mixed results for the environment.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles on display at the company’s headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An EPA penalty of $15 million for selling emissions defeat devices was decreased by $3 million under the Trump administration in December 2017.

Environmental prosecutions under Trump projected to be the lowest in two decades

Global Politics

Despite promises to “promote clean air and water,” environmental prosecutions and penalties have drastically decreased during Trump’s first year.

gerrymandering

The political lines that divide us

Conflict

Can states change a system controlled by the people in power meant to keep them in power?

A 1923 Ku Klux Klan parade in Albany is pictured

In the shadow of a racist past, Portland still struggles to be welcoming to all its residents

Conflict

A murder on a Portland light rail train brought back a lot of memories of painful times in the city’s history.