The EPA plans to reduce the scope of an old federal law that regulates waterway pollutants. The agency’s proposal reveals how far-reaching the rules are and how they affect multiple stakeholders.

Women have faced displacement, hunger, and violence amid Sudan’s civil war. After the fall of El Fasher in Darfur, they must hold their families together even as their world falls apart.

Republican state lawmakers from Indiana have rejected pressure from the White House to conduct a midcycle redrawing of their congressional maps. One state senator describes why his conservative values led him to oppose the effort.

They evoke Hallmark movies and simpler times. But in rural locations, general stores are a lifeline to the community, providing access to groceries and serving as a social hub. In Vermont, towns are fighting to keep theirs alive.

Our reviewers’ picks this month include a collection of powerful short stories by Salman Rushdie and a humorous, touching novel by Craig Thomas. Among nonfiction titles, a memoir by comedian Roy Wood Jr. broadens the idea of a “father figure,” and a history of money unfolds the colorful origins of currency.