There are many explanations for the rise in killings in U.S. cities, including the pandemic and the choices made in response to it. In Philadelphia, the causes, the human costs — and the suffering — are particularly stark.

In Hobbs, New Mexico, the high school closed and football was cancelled, while just across the state line in Texas, students seemed to be living nearly normal lives. Here’s how pandemic school closures exact their emotional toll on young people.

Has a desire to keep the coronavirus out of schools put children’s long-term well-being at stake?

Discount chains are thriving — while fostering violence and neglect in poor communities.

The case against Boeing.

How order collapsed in an American city.

How Jerry Falwell Jr. transformed Liberty University, one of the religious right’s most powerful institutions, into a wildly lucrative online empire.

Three years ago, the Republican-led House was close to reaching a compromise on immigration. This is the story of what went wrong.

How Vivitrol, a little-known anti-addiction drug, became the mandatory treatment for opioid abuse in drug courts across the United States.

Baltimore-area renters complain about a property owner they say is neglectful and litigious. Few know their landlord is the president’s son-in-law.

Rise of the wonk.

“Poor white Americans’ current crisis shouldn’t have caught the rest of the country as off guard as it has.”

Philanthropist and private equity mogul David Rubenstein is lauded for his patriotic donations, including half the cost of repairing the Washington Monument. He also helped save a controversial tax break billionaires love.

The formative years of the Republican star.

“The problem with Christie isn’t merely that he is a bully. It’s that his political career is built on a rotten foundation.”

Doug Band gets close to, then falls out with, Bill and Hillary.

What makes Rick Perry run?