A Look at the Syrian Conflict
During the second presidential debate earlier this month, both candidates made references to the ongoing conflict in Syria, particularly in the city of Aleppo. The war in Syria began as an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad five years ago, and has since split Syria into many parts, killed more than 400,000 people, and displaced millions […]
The Largest Protected Area on Earth
There is a cluster of uninhabited islands and coral reefs located in the Pacific Ocean that collectively make up the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. This land and the waters that surround it currently encompasses around 140,000 square miles. Last month, President Obama announced that he has signed legislation to expand its boundaries to the north […]
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Twitter’s War on Terrorism We live in a country that takes the freedom of expression and national security very seriously. That can make it can be hard to know where to draw a line between the two. Twitter, which has been responsible for providing a pivotal role in social movements such as Arab Spring, have […]
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Officer Acquittal in Freddie Gray Case Last year, btw brought you news of the death of Freddie Gray. Gray died while in the custody of Baltimore, Maryland police. News of his death sparked outrage and protests that came in the wake of the police shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. Last month, officer Edward Nero went […]
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British MP Killed Over Brexit Back in April, btw brought you news of a possible “Brexit”. Last month, the British parliament suffered a personal casualty. Jo Cox, a member of the left-leaning Labour Party, who was particularly vocal about the United Kingdom remaining as part of the European Union (EU) was killed. Her attacker reportedly […]
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U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Fights for Equal Pay In March, five members of the women’s soccer team playing for the United States in the upcoming summer Olympic Games filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In it, they accused the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) of wage discrimination, for spending $31 million on the […]
The Fierce Urgency of Now: Obama In Cuba
It’s been more than a year since btw brought you news of President Obama’s announcement of the U.S. foreign policy shift regarding our neighbor, Cuba. Last month, the president and his family made a three-day visit that marked the first time an American president has set foot on the island in nearly 90 years. (The […]
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Obama Plans Trip to Cuba At the end of 2014, btw brought you news of President Obama’s announcement of a foreign policy shift regarding Cuba. Next month, he will make a trip there to meet with President Raul Castro to continue talks. This is significant because Obama will be the first U.S. president to visit Cuba […]
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Shooting in San Bernardino On December 2, married couple Syed Rizwan Frook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and injured 21 others in San Bernardino, California, an area not far from Los Angeles. The target of the attack was Frook’s place of employment—the San Bernardino Department of Public Health—where around 80 co-workers were engaged in a […]
Obama Rejects Keystone Pipeline (Again)
Last year, btw wanted to know your thoughts about the Keystone XL Pipeline. Earlier this month, President Obama formally rejected the permit that would allow its completion. Let’s take a closer look about what has happened and what it means. Pipeline Timeline It begins with TransCanada, the company that wants to build a 1,179-mile pipeline […]