Newsletter Archive

The battle to reclaim the city of Mosul from the Islamic State terror group is testing Iraqi leadership and U.S. vision. About 30,000 Iraqi troops and 4,000 Kurdish peshmerga fighters on Monday began advancing on Iraq’s second-largest city from the east, quickly clearing villages in surrounding areas. But concern remains over whether the Iraqi Security Forces, the peshmerga and other IS opponents will continue their cooperation, especially on how to govern Mosul once it’s liberated.  Iraqi and Kurdish forces say they have retaken a dozen villages outside Mosul.

How will the next U.S. president handle foreign affairs? Republican candidate Donald Trump has pledged to “make America great again,” in part by building up the American military and promoting peace through strength. Democrat Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, says she would use “all the tools of power,” from diplomacy to development. Check out the candidates’ positions on NATO, Russia, China, Iran and the Islamic State.

In case you missed it… Saying someone is ‘inside the beltway’ is not a compliment in American politics. It’s actually code for ‘you are part of the problem.’ Where did the phrase come from? VOA breaks it all down in this explainer.

Tired of the flame-throwing exchanges that pass for U.S. political discourse? Just in time for Wednesday’s debate, a group of Virginia eighth-graders offers a lesson in civil discourse. In Stephanie Leichty’s civics class in rural Skipwith, students learn how to disagree without being disagreeable. They discuss potentially polarizing issues, such as whether teachers should be armed, yet they listen to each other. Very classy.

Though the United States promotes women’s advancement and empowerment around the world, its voters haven’t yet chosen a woman to occupy the White House’s Oval Office. Gender bias is one of the obstacles, academics contend. But that barrier might fall with the Nov. 8 election.

Graduates of Harvard Business School, already armed with an impressive pedigree, can get an additional assist if they live in New York. There, the business school this year launched the Startup Studio, an incubator for recent grads to refine ideas and build support for fledgling companies. The catch: Participants already must have lined up at least $500,000 in financing for their entrepreneurial efforts.