Outside the Beltway

A significant advance for LGBT rights in the world’s most populous democracy.

Thankfully, they chose not to help.

A top Vatican official is alleging that Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI were both aware of previously unknown allegations of sexual abuse and chose to allow them to be covered up rather than bringing them to light.

The economy grew at an exceptionally strong pace according to the first estimate of GDP growth, but several caveats remain.

A thoughtful liberal argues the Justice has “altered and destroyed his legacy” by allowing Donald Trump to appoint his successor.

Frank Carlucci, who served as President Reagan’s last Secretary of Defense, has died at 87.

The United States is apparently looking to Libya as a guide for upcoming talks with North Korea. The DPRK most likely sees the fate of that nation and its leader as a warning.

Cuba has a new President and he isn’t named Castro, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to see significant change in the near future.

Since taking office, President Trump has made an average of 5.5 false claims per day.

A key step in the Colombian peace process.

More provocative action from North Korea, and another reminder that there are no easy answers to the problems represented by the Kim regime.

At least thirteen dead in an apparent terrorist attack in Spain.

Is there anyone in the Trump Administration or family who hasn’t held undisclosed meetings with Russians?

By a narrow margin, Turks voted for some significant changes.

Concepts, basic applications, and even a bibliography! Merry Festivus, everyone.

The incoming president’s business interests are a yuuuge problem.

Despite being much more conveniently located for viewers in the United States, viewership for the just-concluded Olympics were the lowest they’ve been in sixteen years.

A true, albeit largely anonymous, hero of humanity has passed away.

Concerns about the Zika Virus are leading some doctors to call for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be moved or postponed.

A decision from Mexico’s Supreme Court has opened the door to legalization of marijuana south of the border, but it’s likely to proceed much slower than in the United States or Canada.

Pope Francis’s new encyclical isn’t exactly being received positively by American conservatives, because they seem to be missing the point.

Thanks largely to a series of court decisions, same-sex marriage is effectively legal in all of Mexico.

This is perhaps the silliest idea ever.

Several of the top representatives of soccer’s governing body have been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in New York.

Some thoughts on a column by Roger Noriega on the Obama administration and Latin America,

A knowledgeable observer has a dim forecast.

Quietly, oil prices have been falling for months now. That’s potentially a very big deal.

After success in Scotland, it may be time to consider allowing at least some teenagers to vote.

School.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari took responsibility for the 7-1 loss to Germany.

There’s little evidence for the conservative contention that the President has damaged America’s position in the world.

More problems for the planned 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

There may be no resolution to what has become the most expensive search in history.

In a new interview, Edward Snowden explains his motives for absconding from the country with NSA secrets.

The Economist reports that “The coffee insurgency” is winning.

No previously published works have entered the US Public Domain since 1978. And none are scheduled to enter until 1923. So what are we missing?