Outside the Beltway

A night of carnage and depravity in the United Kingdom.

As usual, an attempt to explain congressional behavior brings us back to the issue of our basic institutions. The way we elect congress matters.

By the barest of margins, the House passed its bill repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, but the future of that bill is highly uncertain.

When a prominent political scientist committed suicide yesterday, I was deeply struck by how much he was like not only me but most of the people in my professional circle.

An apparent terror attack outside Parliament in London.

Not surprisingly, the Trump Administration has revoked guidelines to public schools that required accommodation of transgender students.

Two Republican Senators are introducing legislation that would result in drastic reductions in the number of people allowed into the country legally.

With a relatively smooth announcement, Donald Trump has named a solid and qualified conservative who will likely be confirmed to the nation’s highest court.

Another television icon has passed away.

The mystery of what happened aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 may remain at the bottom of the Indian Ocean forever.

A potentially controversial commutation from President Obama today.

Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on Middle East peace was largely correct, but his words are pointless given the fact that neither Israel nor the Palestinians seem serious about peacefully resolving their differences.

One of the last survivors of Israel’s founding generation has passed away.

A late night attack at a shopping mall, and a suspect still at large have raised tensions in Seattle.

A night of terror mars Bastille Day celebrations in France.

The wave of Ramadan attacks continues, including a strike near the second holiest site in Islam.

A third major terrorist attack inside of a week.

A massive attack hits Istanbul’s airport.

For Donald Trump at least, the start of the General Election campaign is the perfect time to dredge up decades old conspiracy theories.

No trial for Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood Robert Dear, at least not for now.

The rise of Trump and Sanders has resurrected a debate as old as Western civilization.

Paul Ryan takes himself out of contention as a potential Republican nominee.

A series of bomb attacks across Brussels has left at least 26 dead, and dozens more injured.

Nancy Reagan was a crucial part what made Ronald Reagan the man he was, and today she passed away at the age of 94.

It seems increasingly apparent that the only way to stop Donald Trump now is by trying to force a contested convention. It also seems clear that such a plan probably wouldn’t succeed.

The U.S. is poised to send troops to the front lines of yet another war we have no reason to be involved in.

Chris Cillizza thinks “Rush Limbaugh totally gets Donald Trump.” I disagree.

We’re in another Presidential election cycle so it must be time to speculate about Michael Bloomberg again.

A pseudonymous government relations professional examines “The Radicalization of Luke Skywalker: A Jedi’s Path to Jihad.”

No, there really haven’t been 355 ‘mass shootings’ since January 1st. Not unless you’re relying on completely unreliable data.

The news that the late football legend Frank Gifford suffered from the same chronic brain disease that has been diagnosed in many N.F.L. players in recent years, and the upcoming release of a new film on the issue, seems certain to increase pressure to protect players at all levels of football.

Democrat John Bel Edwards scored an easy victory over Senator David Vitter last night in Louisiana, and Vitter announced that he’d be leaving the Senate after his term is up.

French officials have confirmed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man believed to be the plotter of last Friday’s attacks in Paris, was killed in a police raid early Wednesday morning. This doesn’t mean authorities in France or elsewhere in Europe are any less concerned about future attacks, though.

In the wake of the attacks in Paris, some people have argued that American solidarity with France, in contrast to seeming disregard for tragedy elsewhere, is something we should feel bad about. That argument is ridiculous.

France launched its first attacks against ISIS even as the investigation into Friday’s attacks continues, but it’s not clear that the retaliation really accomplished anything.

The news that at least some of the men who were involved in the terrorist attacks in Paris were among the refugees who have arrived in Europe since the summer is likely to complicate an already complicated situation.

This was not only predictable but predicted.

France’s President blames ISIS, vows response, as death toll from Paris terror attacks stands at at least 127.

Reports of at least up to sixty dead, a hostage situation, and attacks at multiple locations in Paris.

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide, making California the fifth state to legalize the practice and possibly giving real political momentum to the Right To Die movement.