The Republic
Domestic affairs, federal policy, and jurisprudence
The Shot Heard Round the World: What Actually Happened at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775
The military engagements at Lexington Green and Concord's North Bridge on April 19, 1775, started the American Revolution. The tactical details matter.
Five Dead on King Street: The Boston Massacre and the Propaganda That Built a Revolution
Five men died on King Street on March 5, 1770. The propaganda campaign that followed turned a street brawl into a revolution.
The General Court and the Governor: How the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governs Itself
How the General Court, the Governor's Council, and the town meeting make Massachusetts governance unlike any other state in the Union.
The Constitution That Governs Them All: Why the Massachusetts Constitution Is the Oldest Functioning Written Charter on Earth
Written by John Adams in 1780, the Massachusetts Constitution predates the United States Constitution and still governs the Commonwealth today.
The Battle That Was Fought on the Wrong Hill: Bunker Hill and the Birth of American Military Identity
The deadliest battle of the Revolution was fought on Breed's Hill, not Bunker Hill. The tactical errors and strategic consequences reshaped both armies forever.
The Presses That Built a Republic: A History of American Journalism in Massachusetts
From Publick Occurrences in 1690 to the Spotlight investigation, Massachusetts has been the birthplace of American journalism and press freedom.
Eight Architecture and Preservation Groups File Federal Suit to Block Kennedy Center Reconstruction
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, and six allied organizations demand congressional authorization and compliance with federal preservation law before the administration's planned two-year closure begins in July.
Supreme Court Broadens Qualified Immunity Shield for Police in 6–3 Ruling, Reversing Second Circuit
In Zorn v. Linton, the justices summarily reversed an appeals court that had allowed a protester's excessive-force lawsuit to proceed, deepening the doctrinal protection that governs when law enforcement officers may be held personally liable under the Constitution.
Federal Government Opens Twin Civil Rights Investigations Into Harvard Over Admissions and Antisemitism
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights launched two new probes Monday examining whether the nation's oldest university continues to employ race-based admissions preferences and whether it has permitted antisemitism to persist on campus, deepening the most consequential standoff between Washington and American higher education in a generation.
Secretary of State Rubio Takes the Stand in Historic Trial of Former Congressman Accused of Secret Venezuela Lobbying
The nation's chief diplomat is expected to testify Tuesday in the criminal trial of his longtime friend and former housemate David Rivera — the first time in more than forty years a sitting Cabinet secretary has appeared as a witness in a federal criminal proceeding.
President Orders Five-Day Pause on Iranian Energy Strikes, Citing Diplomatic Progress Tehran Flatly Denies
As the war with Iran enters its twenty-fifth day, the President pulled back from an ultimatum to destroy Iranian power plants, claiming productive negotiations that Iranian officials dismissed as fabrication designed to calm financial markets.
Pentagon Shutters Correspondents' Corridor, Banishes Press Corps From Building Three Days After Federal Court Struck Down Access Restrictions
The Defense Department's immediate closure of the decades-old press workspace and imposition of escort requirements for all journalists in the building deepens a constitutional confrontation over wartime transparency.
Two Pilots Dead, Dozens Injured in LaGuardia Runway Collision; DHS Shutdown Delayed Federal Investigators Reaching the Scene
The NTSB is leading a sweeping probe into the fatal collision between an Air Canada Express jet and a Port Authority fire truck on Runway 4, even as the partial government shutdown forced its own specialists to wait hours in TSA security lines en route to the crash site.
Senate Confirms Mullin as Homeland Security Secretary; Swearing-In Set for White House
The Oklahoma Republican won confirmation on a 54-45 vote Monday evening and will be sworn in by President Trump this afternoon, inheriting a department in the grip of a six-week shutdown that has left 100,000 federal employees working without pay.
The Ground War Question: Pentagon Weighs Deployment of American Troops Inside Iran
As thousands of additional forces flow into the Persian Gulf, NBC News reports the President is considering options that include using ground forces to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a threshold that would redefine the scope of the conflict.