Julie Marks

The Syrian civil war, which has devastated the entire country of Syria and its neighbors, is a complex conflict that involves several nations, rebel groups and terrorist organizations. What started as a nonviolent protest in 2011 quickly escalated into full-blown warfare. Since ...read more

The Gaza Strip, the 140-square mile stretch of land located along the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Israel, has endured decades of protest, military operations and violence as Israel and the Palestinian Authority have both asserted the right to control the area. It is ...read more

On May 2, 2011, U.S. Special Forces raided an al-Qaeda compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed the world’s most wanted terrorist: Osama bin Laden. The entire operation, which lasted only 40 minutes from start to finish, was the culmination of years of calculated planning ...read more

When American colonists won independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, the French, who participated in the war themselves, were both close allies and key participants.  Several years after the revolt in America, French reformers faced political, social and ...read more

The stock market crash of 1929—considered the worst economic event in world history—began on Thursday, October 24, 1929, with skittish investors trading a record 12.9 million shares.  On October 28, dubbed “Black Monday,” the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 13 ...read more