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A mother’s loss and the questions she can’t bear to face

Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I’m returning to work after a two-month absence. What was supposed to be maternity leave turned into a nightmare - my son was stillborn and I suffered a number of serious complications from a very difficult delivery. I needed the time away from work to...

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Home visiting programs are preschool in its earliest form

Caleb Cantres-Maldonado was all of 6 weeks old and just stirring from a nap when his mother propped him up and pointed him in the direction of a picture book. “Look what I have! See the book?” said Milenka St. Clair, a family support worker who visits Caleb’s Manassas home once a week. “It’s a drum! What else do you...

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CDC says 20 percent of U.S. children have mental health disorders

Up to one in five American youngsters - about 7 million to 12 million, by one estimate - experience a mental health disorder each year, according to a new report billed as the first comprehensive look at the mental health status of children in the country.     

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Obama gets personal about race and manhood in Morehouse College speech

President Obama on Sunday summoned the graduates of historically black Morehouse College to “transform the way we think about manhood,” urging the young men to avoid the temptation to make excuses and to take responsibility for their families and their communities.     

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Dan Pfeiffer blasts IRS, says legal questions ‘irrelevant’

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday that the question of whether any laws were broken as part of the IRS scandal is “irrelevant” to the fact that the agency’s actions were wrong and unjustifiable.     

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Syrian army, fighting alongside Hezbollah guerrillas, launch assault on rebel stronghold

Syrian government forces, backed by militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah, are reported to have made significant advances into the rebel stronghold of Qusair near the Lebanese border. The army launched a sustained assault on the small but strategic town Sunday morning, bombarding it with airstrikes and...

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Book review: ‘Minotaur,’ by Benjamin Tammuz

When this tale of obsessive love was originally published in English in 1981, Graham Greene called it “the best novel of the year.” The author, Benjamin Tammuz, lived in Israel, where he was a sculptor, diplomat and literary editor of the Ha’aretz newspaper before his death in 1989. Now, Europa Editions, the...

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Prince George’s selects Albert Lewis as Teacher of the Year

Albert Lewis sounded like a basketball coach cheering on his team before the big game. “We are!” Lewis shouted. “All in!” the youngsters yelled back in unison. “We are!” he said.     

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Luke Bryan masters the two sides of his country-music persona at WMZQ Fest

Even six weeks after the fact, it’s hard to forget the time Luke Bryan broke down in tears on national television. His name had just been announced for the coveted Entertainer of the Year prize, beating out the bigger names (Taylor Swift, etc.) at last month’s Academy of Country Music Awards - and no one was more...

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TV highlights: ‘Rules of Engagement,’ ‘Mike & Molly,’ ‘Hawaii Five-0’ finales

SERIES PREMIERE: Author Tionna Smalls works with young women to help them find meaningful relationships on a new daily talk show, the excellently titled “Girl, Get Your Mind Right” (MTV at 6 p.m.). FINALE WATCH: “Rules of Engagement” (CBS at 8:30) Status: Canceled. After all these years, CBS’s most puzzling yet...

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Prince George’s police have a witness in Laurel double homicide, but she is unable to talk

Jasmine Gilbert - or “Jazzy,” as relatives affectionately call her - cannot walk, cannot talk and is fed through a tube. Born with cerebral palsy, she was initially given three months to live, according to her grandparents. She’s 26 now, having defied seemingly insurmountable odds.     

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Food for thought: Would you eat an insect?

The latest weapon in the fight against hunger, global warming and pollution might be flying by you right now. Edible insects are being promoted as a low-fat, high-protein food for people, pets and feed animals (or livestock). The United Nations, an international organization that helps countries work together, says...

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Sunday Show roundup: Pfeiffer defends Obama as GOP criticism continues

Amid a trio of controversies that has put the White House on defense, Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to the President Obama, appeared on all five Sunday news shows, defending the administration against attacks from Republicans.     

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Can Obama bridge the divide between the two Americas?

John Edwards was right. There are two Americas. In one America, the events of the past 10 days have exposed the true colors of President Obama and his administration. From edited talking points about the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, to the secret seizure of phone records of Associated Press...

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In Iran, opponents use age to attack Rafsanjani campaign

TEHRAN - In a political order where elderly men have long been considered the most fit leaders, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s age - 78 - is the latest reason his detractors say he should not be allowed to run for president of Iran.     

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CNN Poll: Obama approval rating unharmed by controversies

Even as his administration has faced intense scrutiny over a trio of controversies, President Obama's approval rating hasn't suffered, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll released Sunday. Fifty-three percent of Americans said they approve of the job the president is doing, while 45 percent said they...

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‘STAR TREK’ BOX OFFICE: ‘Into Darkness’ debut tops billion-dollar ‘Iron Man 3’

CAPTAIN’S LOG, Stardate 19.05.2013: J.J. Abrams’s second tour on the Holodeck did not go as boldly as the studio hoped. In the search for shekels, “Star Trek: Into Darkness” grossed $70.6-million in its domestic debut this weekend, according to studio estimates - short of the $75.2-million that Abrams’s first “Trek”...

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Obama gets personal about race and manhood in Morehouse speech

President Obama on Sunday summoned the graduates of historically black Morehouse College to “transform the way we think about manhood,” urging the young men to avoid the temptation to make excuses and to take responsibility for their families and their communities.     

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McConnell: Obama administration 'made up a tale' on Benghazi

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that the Obama administration "kind of made up a tale" about the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.     

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Is it time to kiss Michelle Rhee goodbye?

Is is time to kiss America's most famous school reformer goodbye? Larry Cuban thinks so -- and below he explains why. Cuban was high school social studies teacher for 14 years, a district superintendent (seven years in Arlington, VA), and professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, where he has taught...

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How foreign voices influence American wars

Poli-Sci Perspective is a weekly Wonkblog feature in which Georgetown University's Dan Hopkins and George Washington University's Danny Hayes and John Sides offer an empirical perspective on the issues dominating Washington. In this edition, Hayes looks at the way foreign leaders can influence America's foreign...

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Bill Gates: 'In rich-world health, innovation is both your friend and your enemy'

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Pakistan army chief meets incoming prime minister in ‘good omen’

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, who heads Pakistan’s powerful army and also holds significant sway over civilian affairs, visited the incoming prime minister on Saturday in what the military described as a show of support for stronger democracy and greater stability as the nation struggles with an economic...

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Here's why hospitals set high prices

"The most expensive hospital in America is not set amid the swaying palm trees of Beverly Hills or the luxury townhouses of New York's Upper East Side," Julie Creswell, Barry Meier and Jo Craven McGinty wrote last week in the New York Times. "It is in a faded blue-collar town 11 miles from Midtown Manhattan."     

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McConnell: It's important to investigate leaks that 'endanger Americans'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Sunday that he fully supports investigating leaks that put American lives at risk. "What I am supportive of is investigating national security leaks that endanger Americans around the world," McConnell said on NBC News's "Meet The Press."     

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McConnell predicts Obamacare will be 'biggest issue' of 2014 election

The Senate's top Republican predicted Sunday morning that President Obama's health care law will be the biggest issue of the 2014 midterm elections. "I don't know what the issues will be next year. If I were predicting what's likely to be the biggest issue in the 2014 election, I think it would be Obamacare," Senate...

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Dan Pfeiffer: Legal questions in IRS scandal 'irrelevant' to 'inexcusable' actions

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday the question of whether any laws were broken in the IRS scandal is "irrelevant" to the fact that the agency's actions were wrong and unjustifiable. "I can't speak to the law here. The law is irrelevant," Pfefiffer said on ABC News's "This Week With George...

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"Saturday Night Live" on the IRS scandal -- with a Dana Milbank appearance! (VIDEO)

If there's a frog in the bucket, someone is having waffles on Sunday. So, so true.     

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Hugging death in Pakistan

SARGODHA, Pakistan -- As I reached the polling station, ready to cast my vote here in my hometown after a 24-hour trip home from the U.S., where I'm in college, my biggest concern was not rigged elections or standing in a long line in scorching heat but simply coming out of the place alive.     

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Obama (Michelle), Colbert, Clinton (Bill), Biden, etc: The best 2013 commencement speeches (so far)

Leave it to Stephen Colbert to find a way to make Thomas Jefferson funny. That's what he did when he was speaking to graduates at the University of Virginia -- but he wasn't the only commencement speaker to get the attention of the crowd this graduation season.     

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