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June 20, 2014
Omar Sarwari, a 12-year-old Afghan boy, flew to the U.S. along with 48 other students to perform music in three American cities. He couldn’t wait to do three things: play his clarinet, eat pizza and...
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January 16, 2014
Washington writer Deborah Kalb publishes a website with daily historical factoids as well as interviews with authors. Many thanks to Deborah for posting an interview with me on January 15. She asked...
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December 6, 2013
On February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison—a free man after twenty-seven years. Tall and thin, he carried his head high as he always had. But something was different. His good friend...
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November 12, 2013
On November 8, I spoke to 130 middle schoolers from the Washington, DC area at the Fall Model UN Conference on child soldiers. I spoke about the difficulties faced by tens of thousands of child...
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November 3, 2013
Ida, our youngest daughter, lives in Congo where she works for Human Rights Watch. This October my husband and I traveled to Congo to visit her and to do some reporting.
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August 11, 2013
Veteran journalist Paul Salopek has embarked on a seven-year journey around the world. He may be a modern day explorer but he's also an old-fashioned trekker. Paul will cover 21,000 miles BY FOOT!
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May 22, 2013
My cousin Mary, the musical one who lives on Vashon Island off the coast of Seattle, sent me an email this week. She wanted me to know she’d found a good home (a senior care center) for the grand...
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May 21, 2013
In New York City, when I was growing up, we moved from one apartment to another. We changed schools. President Kennedy was shot. My best friend’s father died. Things didn’t stay the same. But, in...
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March 10, 2013
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Harriet Tubman, a fearless conductor on the Underground Railroad. She is greatly admired for her bravery in guiding slaves to freedom and for her...
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February 15, 2013
Afghanistan’s parliament now has 68 women members, and one of them, Fawzia Koofi, is running for president.