Post-Roe Ruling, Abortion Loopholes Take Hold

by Lizzy Hermosilla ‘23 Seventeen states, along with D.C., have laws in place to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. However, these guarantees are countered by the 13 states that have banned all abortion, and 11 of those states have no exceptions for rape or incest. The divide among states over legal abortion have created a proxy war in … Read More

The Recently Split Congress Portends a Massive Gridlock

by Sydney Wiser ‘23 The 118th Congressional session was supposed to begin on January 3 for the first time with the changes from the 2022 midterms. The Republicans flipped the House securing a slim 222-person majority. Democrats retained control of the Senate. Due to shifts in Congressional majorities, this session saw a change in House leadership. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is … Read More

A Year in War: Russia and Ukraine’s Historic Conflict in Three Phases

by Cliff Vacin ‘25 What was once predicted to last less than a month, the war between Russia and Ukraine will have its one-year anniversary next month. As the war moves into its second year, the risk is that Americans will continue to turn their attention away as the conflict continues into 2023. Phase 1: Russia Invades; Evidence of War … Read More

Montgomery County Takes Steps To Combat Gun Violence

by Alex Braun ‘23 After a series of gun-related incidents within MCPS, both the school system and county government have taken actions aiming to increase safety in public places. The actions of the county government mirror actions being taken at the national level. President Joe Biden has been vocal recently about wanting to enact a ban on assault rifles and … Read More

China Abandons Zero-COVID Policy after Nationwide Protests

by Payton Seppala ‘23 Recent protests in China over strict Covid-19 policies have garnered a response from the Chinese government, who have pulled back restrictions and opened up more of the country. The public can now quarantine in their homes rather than state facilities, don’t need to show tests everywhere they go, and lockdowns will be targeted in more specific … Read More

After months of Protests and Violence, Iran’s Morality Police Abolished

by Cliff Vacin ‘25 Since September, media coverage, protests, and government resistance have spiked amidst calls for women’s rights in Iran. As a result, many protests have ended in the arrest of civilians and the deaths of hundreds. However, there have been a good amount of results throughout the bad. Iran is scrapping its long-used “Morality Police” and talking about … Read More

Russo-Ukrainian War 2022 Timeline

by Cliff Vacin ‘25 Nearing the one-year anniversary of the war going on between Russia and Ukraine, this war has been the kickoff of tension between the 2 countries. This war has been going on for 8 years, starting in February 2014 after the overthrow of the pro-Russia Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych. This event has affected many Russian and Ukrainian … Read More

‘Tripledemic’ Continues into Holidays

by Tatiana Rodriguez ‘23 Since the Covid-19 Pandemic began to subside, many Americans stopped masking and taking other precautions towards Covid-19. The more Americans that are unmasking, the more are getting sick. Covid-19 is not the only threat; the flu and respiratory system virus (RSV) continue to spread and worsen.  Even with this increase in virus threats, the triple threat … Read More

Midterm Aftermath Murky as Democrats Keep Senate, Lose House

by Matt Kauffman ‘23 The projected “Red Wave” of Republican winners in the 2022 midterm elections fell short of previous predictions, with GOP candidates underperforming in both chambers of Congress as Democrats maintained slim control of the Senate with a 51 to 49 margin after Raphael Warnock’s runoff victory in Georgia, and the Republicans gained a slight majority in the … Read More

Genetic Genealogy Solves Crimes

by Anna Haas ‘23 Though most people know genealogy as the study of families and lineages, the term genetic genealogy is less common. Genetic genealogy is the combination of DNA analysis and traditional genealogy research to discover leads in crime cases. Genetic genealogy is most often used to help solve cold cases through the examination of nearly half a million … Read More