All DC Decoder
- Immigration crisis 101: Why the wave of incoming kids, and what to do?
'Unaccompanied minors' detained at the border total 47,000 since October – up from 13,000 in all of fiscal 2012. They are swamping US ability to cope, so the FEMA director has been called in. But that's just a short-term solution.
- Student loan relief 101: More borrowers won't pay over 10 percent of incomes
A limited program already exists to cap student-loan repayments at 10 percent of a borrower's annual income. Obama moved Monday to expand eligibility to about 5 million more borrowers. Wrong approach, say critics.
- Can bipartisanship sell in Election 2014? These candidates are banking on it.
Several Senate candidates are touting themselves as part of the solution to Washington's polarization. The pitch is a political necessity for Democrats in red states and vice versa.
- Taliban swapped for Bowe Bergdahl: 'Responsible for 911' or 'a pretty good deal'?
We may never know whether exchanging Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five members of the Taliban held at Guantanamo Bay was worth the risk. Here are two very different ways of looking at that.
- Illegal immigration: how 'humanitarian crisis' on border could hurt Obama
Thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing the border are straining the US agencies that handle illegal immigration. That could affect President Obama's election year plans.
- Bowe Bergdahl's story: What have we learned so far?
Bowe Bergdahl is in a US military hospital in Germany for treatment and reintegration after five years as a prisoner of the Taliban. At this point in his story, there’s more speculation than facts.
- D-Day remembered: why Allies finally won Normandy campaign
The Normandy campaign in the weeks after D-Day cost both sides heavily, as seasoned German troops contested every mile. But Allied numbers, air power, and the Soviet march on the Eastern Front proved decisive.
- Bowe Bergdahl deal: Who are Taliban 5 and how dangerous are they?
The five Taliban swapped for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl worked for the Taliban government that had harbored Al Qaeda in Afghanistan – three in senior posts. As for the threats they pose now, assessments are mixed.
- D-Day remembered: How FDR reacted on June 6, 1944
The news flash that the fighting was on produced almost a sense of relief in Washington. At last, the battle for France was fully engaged. 'Our sons ... this day have set upon a mighty endeavor,' FDR told Americans.
- Why Obama's deal to free Bowe Bergdahl riles Democrats, too
Obama's decision to swap POW Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban in US custody is making some congressional Democrats uncomfortable. It's getting to be a disconcertingly familiar feeling.
- Obamacare beset by new 'discrepancies': What are they and how serious?
Some 2 million people who signed up have discrepancies in their data, Obama administration officials say. Most are being resolved, but it is a fresh test for Obamacare.