Sam Sturgis

It was one of the dark hours in U.S. history. Two hundred years ago this summer, British soldiers overwhelmed American battalions, took the nation’s capital and burned the White House.

The White House on Thursday announced President Barack Obama’s proposal to end the National Security Agency’s controversial bulk collection of information about Americans’ cellphone usage, confirming that under the president’s plan cellphone companies would be required to provide so-called metadata only on specific numbers when ordered by a court.

Advocates for Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower pressed for the return of his U.S. passport and his freedom to seek political asylum.

U.S. lawmakers who represent districts from the Gulf Coast north to New Jersey and New York pleaded with the Senate on Thursday to protect coastal homeowners from a spike in flood insurance rates.

CIA Director John Brennan has acknowledged in a letter that the Computer Crimes and Abuse Act applies to his agency.

Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, spent decades in the bush of Central Africa outfitted in dusty army fatigues and an army beret. Since becoming president in 2011, however, the rebel leader-turned politician is rarely seen without his black cowboy hat. It signals his ascent to statesmanship. But more importantly, it’s a cherished gift from an old friend – George W. Bush.

The Obama administration slapped visa restrictions on 20 senior Ukrainian officials Wednesday to punish “the full chain of command” behind the bloody crackdown on a protest camp in Kiev, where at least 25 people died in street violence this week.

The Obama administration faces a crucial diplomatic test in Central Africa, where its strategic ally Uganda is drawing criticism for its military presence in South Sudan and its official hostility toward gays and lesbians.

In a chamber at standing-room-only capacity, with photographs of young victims flashing from TV screens aligning the committee walls, a House of Representatives panel held a hearing Monday to raise awareness about human trafficking. Of immediate concern among the legislators is this Sunday’s Super Bowl, an event that is thought to heighten the demand for forced prostitution.

Delegates from around the world have arrived in Switzerland for the beginning of a conference designed to bring an end to the violence that has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Syria. Yet what exactly their role will be at the talks was unclear.

A month has passed since ethnically targeted killings and an alleged coup broke out in South Sudan’s capital city of Juba, triggering an escalating humanitarian crisis. Two of the State Department’s top diplomats for Africa appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, and were met by allegations that the Obama Administration turned a blind eye to a crisis bound to happen.