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Amid complaints of a rigged system, one woman's effort to end gerrymandering

The post that changed Katie Fahey’s life came to her a couple of days after the 2016 presidential election. 

Why ‘the Kavanaugh effect’ on midterms is so unpredictable

When big political news occurs close to an impending election, Washington is usually awash in arguments about how it might affect the upcoming vote. As you might have guessed, this brings us to the Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Brett Kava­naugh. During recent weeks of struggle there have been lots of predictions about how it will swing the upcoming midterm elections one way or another.

Russia wrestles with a US-style school massacre in Crimea

Despite Russia’s already rather tough gun regulations, there are also calls to crack down harder. At the end of the day, and as is often the case in the US, there seems to be no clear explanation for why Vladislav Roslyakov, an 18-year-old student at Kerch Polytechnic College, came to school on Wednesday with two backpacks stuffed with explosives and a legally acquired shotgun-like hunting rifle, and proceeded to slaughter his fellow students and teachers.

Afghans choose ballots over bombs

Millions of people in Afghanistan will cast ballots this Saturday in an election whose outcome matters less than what it says about the Afghan people’s desire for peace and democracy. The Taliban claim credit for killing one well-known candidate and are threatening to prevent voting in the more than 40 voting districts they control. Another militant group, Islamic State in Afghanistan, also threatens to disrupt voting with indiscriminate attacks.

Meanwhile in ... Afghanistan, fans are rejoicing over what’s being called the 'fairy tale' success story of the country’s cricket team

Afghanistan, fans are rejoicing over what’s being called the “fairy tale” success story of the country’s cricket team. In the United Arab Emirates last month, at the 2018 Asia Cup cricket tournament, Afghanistan became the talk of the tournament by trouncing Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and then tying the powerhouse Indian team. Afghanistan’s cricket team is performing way above expectations against far more established competitors.

At stake in Khashoggi affair: control of the Arab world’s narrative

The disappearance and alleged murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi has done more than strike fear in the hearts of Arab journalists and intellectuals everywhere. The affair’s outcome, they say, holds in its balance the future of access to information across the Middle East. Arab academics and press freedom advocates warn of dire consequences if the United States and the West fail to hold Mr. Khashoggi’s killers accountable.

In Florida's kaleidoscopic politics, a window into America's future

For Hannah Klein and William Joel Bravo, paid canvassers for the liberal NextGen America, that’s half the challenge – getting people to open the door and engage. “I believe that as a woman, it is my moral obligation to vote for anyone but Donald Trump,” says Batlle, a Cuban-American native of Miami who works as a paralegal. President Trump isn’t literally on the ballot Nov. 6, but really, he is.

Russia's once shadowy spies cast into the light. Why now?

For lovers of spy lore, the past few years have brought unprecedented glimpses behind the curtain of international espionage. In part thanks to the unpreparedness of many intelligence agencies to grasp the implications of rapidly advancing information technology and the ubiquity of social media, more than one has seen some of its most precious secrets spilled over newspaper front pages. The latest to suffer this fate is Russia's largest spy agency, the Main Directorate of the Russian General Chief of Staff – still widely known by its traditional acronym, GRU.

Helping Saudis be led by truth, not fear

This bit of wisdom may help explain why someone in Saudi Arabia’s ruling monarchy may have wanted to silence a political critic in exile, Jamal Khashoggi, without understanding the dire consequences abroad. As facts emerge about a probable Saudi hand in Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct. 2, one obvious response is this: What might lessen the fear of dissenting ideas among the rulers in Riyadh? Since 2016, Saudi Arabia’s effective ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has clearly defined himself as a reformist leader, at least in social and religious areas, but also someone who brooks no dissent.

Readers write: ‘Mister Rogers’ thoughts, garden misadventures

The Sept. 24 Mix column “How Canada influenced ‘Mister Rogers’ ” was such a warm and helpful article! It reminded me that we are never truly happy or satisfied until we are living our genuine, authentic, unique selfhood as a child of God. Fred Rogers certainly did this every day of his life, even when the cameras were not rolling. Take our geography quiz.