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October 23, 2024

United States
U.S. Disaster Relief at Home and Abroad

The U.S. government responds to scores of disasters each year in coordination with foreign, state, and local partners, but more frequent and severe storms, fires, and floods are straining resources.

An aerial view of damaged houses in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, after Hurricane Helene.

April 3, 2023

Food and Water Security
Water Stress: A Global Problem That’s Getting Worse

Water scarcity threatens the health and development of communities around the globe. Climate change is intensifying the problem, pushing governments to find more innovative, collaborative ways to add…

New Delhi residents fill containers with drinking water from a municipal tanker in June 2018.

August 15, 2024

Monetary Policy
What Is the U.S. Federal Reserve?

Over the past decade, the Fed kept interest rates low while it deployed trillions of dollars in stimulus and expanded its regulatory oversight. Now, the central bank is back in the spotlight for its …

A stone bald eagle perches on the Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC.

June 24, 2024

Sanctions
What Are Economic Sanctions?

For many policymakers, economic sanctions have become the tool of choice to respond to major geopolitical challenges such as terrorism and conflict.

Protestors hold signs supporting Ukraine and calling for sanctions on Russia

June 12, 2024

Military Operations
Sea Power: The U.S. Navy and Foreign Policy

The U.S. Navy’s dominance of the world’s oceans has made it an indispensable foreign policy tool and a guarantor of global trade, but a mix of challenges is raising difficult questions about its futu…

Ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 sail in formation in the Mediterranean Sea.

May 7, 2024

Public Health Threats and Pandemics
What Is Avian Flu?

A global surge in avian flu outbreaks in birds and some mammals is worrying poultry farmers, scientists, and health experts. The trend is provoking questions about the future of the disease and globa…

A man is kneeling, surrounded by poultry and farm equipment as he examines a bird on the ground.

May 14, 2024

Trade
The Contentious U.S.-China Trade Relationship

Trade between the world’s two biggest economies has ballooned in recent decades, bringing significant benefits but also perils that have led to calls to rethink the relationship.

A Chinese technician wearing a facemask is cast in blue light as he works on a solar panel production line.

December 5, 2022

Pharmaceuticals and Vaccines
A Guide to Global COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts

The swift development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 was an unprecedented scientific achievement. But production challenges, vaccine nationalism, and new variants have all presented hurdles.

Physician Alister Martin receives one of the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., December 16, 2020.Craig F. Walker