The Columbian

FILE - In this March 9, 2020 file photo, Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, attends Ashraf Ghani's inauguration ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to a statement released Thursday, July 2, 2020, by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Khalilzad told Pakistani officials that Afghanistan's Taliban and Kabul's political leaders were close to starting negotiations to decide the face of a post-war Afghanistan, a crucial next step in a U.S. deal signed with the Taliban in February.

U.S. envoy forges ahead with troubled Taliban peace deal

July 4, 2020, 2:18pm Nation & World

Washington’s envoy to Afghanistan on Saturday emphasized the economic benefits of the peace deal with the Taliban, forging ahead with an agreement that has run into new political obstacles in the U.S. and the region. Read story

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee removes his mask as he begins a news conference Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn.

Governors stress ‘personal responsibility’ over virus orders

July 4, 2020, 2:09pm Nation & World

Earlier this week, as Tennessee registered what then was its highest single-day coronavirus case increase, Gov. Bill Lee held a news conference and issued a stern response. Read story

FILE - In this June 12, 2020, file photo Vice President Mike Pence, waves as he arrives to speak after a tour at Oberg Industries plant in Sarver, Pa. As the public face of the administration's coronavirus response. Vice President Mike Pence has been trying to convince Americans that the country is winning even as cases spike in large parts of the country. For public health experts, that sense of optimism is detached from reality.

‘People aren’t stupid’: Pence’s virus spin tests credibility

July 4, 2020, 2:08pm Nation & World

Vice President Mike Pence has long played the straight man to Donald Trump, translating the president's bombast into more measured, calming language. Read story

Peruvian migrant Jose Collantes grieves as he cries on the coffin that contains the remains of his wife Silvia Cano, who died due to COVID-19 complications, according to Collantes, at a Catholic cemetery in Santiago, Chile, Friday, July 3, 2020.

English pubs reopen but little normal elsewhere in the world

July 4, 2020, 2:05pm Nation & World

Pubs and movie theaters across England reopened Saturday as part of Britain’s biggest step toward post-outbreak normal, while South Africa signaled anything but — reporting another record daily high in confirmed coronavirus cases. Read story

Brittani Scott watches her son, Cooper Scott, 2, play with bubbles while waiting to see a display of fireworks at Nathan Benderson Park, on Friday, July 3, 2020, in Sarasota, Florida.

Much of U.S. scales back on holiday, but Trump is going big

July 4, 2020, 1:48pm Politics

As coronavirus cases spike, public health officials are pleading with Americans to avoid large crowds and hold more muted Independence Day celebrations, but subdued is not President Donald Trump's style, and he was going big with a “special evening” that could bring tens of thousands to the National Mall. Read story