U.S.

What Obamacare Subsidies Are For

The Supreme Court has upheld federal subsidies for health care under the Affordable Care Act, a decision that affects millions of Americans in 34 states.

• Olga Khazan
• March 4, 2015

Why More Americans Accept Gay Marriage Than Ever

Jo Becker offers perspective on surging acceptance—and continued obstacles—in the fight for marriage equality.

• Tanya Basu
• March 3, 2015

Chronicle of a Death Surveilled

The police shooting of a man on Los Angeles' Skid Row Sunday was apparently captured by at least four cameras. Will that make the case different?

• David A. Graham
• March 3, 2015

Segregating Workplaces by Religion

Many employers use dress codes to keep visibly religious employees out of sight. Now, the Supreme Court has a chance to end the practice.

• Dawinder S. Sidhu
• March 3, 2015

Talking With Dan Richard About High-Speed Rail

The chairman of California's costly and controversial infrastructure project explains why (in his view) it actually will get built—and whether its champion, 77-year-old Governor Jerry Brown, is likely to be able to take a ride.

• James Fallows
• March 2, 2015

Shoveling a Path Out of Prison

If states want to dig themselves out from the difficulties of mass incarceration, they can begin by creating employment programs for newly released inmates.

• Bruce Western and Linda Forman Naval
• March 1, 2015

A Security Shutdown Averted—for Now

With the department poised to shut down at midnight Friday, Congress passes a one-week extension of funding.

• Russell Berman and David A. Graham
• February 27, 2015

The Limits of Talking About Privilege to Teenagers

Getting private-school kids outside of their bubbles is more valuable than introducing them to the elite academic subculture a few years early.

• Conor Friedersdorf
• February 27, 2015

America Is Still a Labrador Nation

The quintessential family dog is the country's most popular breed for the 24th straight year, but the bulldog is giving chase.

• Adam Chandler
• February 26, 2015

A Llama Drama

A low-speed camelid chase proves to be a better and more wholesome Internet distraction than a high-speed car chase.

• David A. Graham
• February 26, 2015

Police Officers React to the Bad Behavior of Cops in Miami Gardens

Correspondence from readers in blue

• Conor Friedersdorf
• February 26, 2015

Can Bipartisanship End Mass Incarceration?

A major shift in criminal justice is coming, but will it be enough?

• Matt Ford
• February 25, 2015

Locked Up for Being Poor

How private debt collectors contribute to a cycle of jail, unemployment, and poverty

• Jessica Pishko
• February 25, 2015

The American Sniper Guilty Verdict

Eddie Ray Routh, a former Marine, will face life in prison for the shooting deaths of Chris Kyle and one other.

• Adam Chandler
• February 25, 2015

Rape in the American Prison

In 2003, Congress passed legislation to eliminate sexual assaults against inmates. One young man’s story shows how elusive that goal remains.

• Maurice Chammah
• February 25, 2015

Where You Can Legally Light a Joint in the Nation's Capital

Despite opposition from Congress, the District of Columbia will let residents smoke pot in their homes, but not on the street.

• Russell Berman
• February 25, 2015

Behind 'the Disappeared' of Chicago’s Homan Square

A criminologist dissects the so-called black site, where military interrogation techniques are allegedly substituted for questioning.

• Tanya Basu
• February 24, 2015

Rapists Go Free While Rape Kits Go Untested

Houston announced Monday that testing 6,700 old kits produced hundreds of matches, but there are hundreds of thousands of kits still waiting around the nation.

• David A. Graham
• February 24, 2015

Alaska Becomes the First Red State to Go Green

On Tuesday, the Last Frontier became the third state to end marijuana prohibition.

• Adam Chandler
• February 24, 2015

Asking America's Police Officers to Explain Abusive Cops

Revisiting the story of a man arrested at his job for "trespassing"—and the cops who paid no price for wrongly detaining him dozens of times.

• Conor Friedersdorf
• February 24, 2015