According to the polls, Thursday parliamentary elections in Britain will be close, and may well result in paralyzing political jockeying. The United States will be closely eyeing the vote, looking for signs that its historically stalwart ally isn’t hampered by internal divisions.

This week, a white woman and a black man joined the race for the Republican presidential nomination, adding a multicultural tone to party’s pool of candidates. Traditionally known for its white male leadership, the GOP appears to be strategically targeting America’s rapidly growing class of minority voters.

Six police officers have been charged in the death of Freddie Gray – a ray of hope for Baltimore’s protesters, many of whom claim routine police brutality. The crisis has also raised questions about how to fairly police America’s urban poor.

Days after rioting destroyed the poorest sections of Baltimore, the conversation has turn to the roots of economic despair in America — and finding new, more effective ways to tackle chronic poverty.

With Baltimore still on tenterhooks and sympathetic protests popping up in New York, Boston and Washington, the national conversation turned once again to America’s pained history on race relations – and what unleashed the riots.

A curfew and the National Guard stopped the rioting in Baltimore that left parts of city destroyed and put tensions between police and the black community front and center. A day later, residents, politicians and opinion writers were left to dissect what the spasm of violence, sparked by the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, was really all about.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in cases that could make same-sex marriage the law of the land. The justices will decide whether the Constitution gives gay and lesbian couples the right to marry — or, if individual states can legally define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has found herself under scrutiny again amid questions regarding The Clinton Foundation and foreign donors — and potential conflicts of interest during Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state.The foundation has owned up to making “mistakes,” but the acknowledgement may not be enough to stem her critics.

During President Barack Obama’s announcement that a drone strike in Pakistan killed two hostages — one an American aid worker — he spoke of the “cruel and bitter truth” of war’s deadly mistakes. The killing of an U.S. citizen by his own government has reignited an emotional debate over Obama’s drone policy

From Trayvon Martin in 2012 to Freddie Gray just last Sunday, Americans are being confronted with another chapter in the nation’s long and painful story of race relations. Angst and anger over the deaths of black men by police — some videotaped — is pouring out in editorials, blogs and commentaries. Not all of it is sympathetic, and none of it is pleasant.

President Barack Obama is in Florida visiting the famed Everglades to mark Earth Day. Much of the commentary is focused on climate change. Editors and environmentalists tackled various dangers and solutions to the warming of the planet — except for those who don’t believe in it at all.

The penalty phase of the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev opened today. Editors, columnists and bloggers weighed in on whether or not the jury should sentence him to death or life in prison. Even the mother and father of one of the victims shared their opinion in a published column.

A spike in tensions between the United States and Russia over Ukraine is expected in July, when EU sanctions against Moscow are set to expire. With the United States training Ukrainians to fight Russian separatists, President Barack Obama’s policy towards Russia is up for debate yet again, including whether or not war is in the offing.

After a postal worker flew a gyrocopter onto the grounds of the Capitol to protest American campaign finance laws, worries about security — and the silence of a Florida newspaper — erupted.