SPRINGFIELD, Va.—On a wind-whipped 36-degree Saturday, young people turned out in droves for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign rally in northern Virginia. Dozens of 20-somethings wearing nametags designating them as “Bernie volunteers” helped check in 6,000 attendees at the St. James Sports, Wellness, and Entertainment Complex. With two hours to go before their candidate arrived, attendees chatted excitedly, heads and blue-and-white Bernie signs bobbing along to the music playing over the loudspeaker. They cheered as each new group of people trickled in from outside.

WASHINGTON—In the most crowded Democratic presidential primary in decades, candidates need money and lots of it. As multiple contenders try to dip into the well of traditional political donations, others are relying on newer approaches or their own wallets.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-described democratic socialist, is fueling his campaign with a swarm of small donations. He declined taking money from corporate political action committees (PACs), fossil fuel companies, and private, big-dollar fundraisers.

WASHINGTON—She is a liberal psychoanalyst. He is a conservative political journalist. Since getting married in 1980, New Yorkers Jeanne Safer and Richard Brookhiser learned character counts more than politics.

“The most essential thing in a person is not whom they vote for, but do they show up when you need them?” Safer said. When she was in the hospital for a month for cancer treatment, “several people who agree with me perfectly didn’t show up,” she said. But her husband was there every day.

WASHINGTON—When President Donald Trump moved to reduce the size of Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah, locals breathed a sigh of relief. The Obama administration’s designation of the area as a national monument in 2016 brought an influx of visitors the region didn’t have the infrastructure to handle.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently remarked that “nobody likes” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., but a sizable chunk of Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa apparently felt differently. Unofficial caucus results as of Wednesday showed Sanders won the popular vote and barely trailed former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the delegate race.

WASHINGTON—The White House unveiled its Middle East peace plan this week, and the proposal is redefining more boundaries than simply those between Palestine and Israel. In a rare display of bipartisanship, pro-Israel politicians from both parties expressed optimism about the plan. And even more surprising, according to experts, Arab countries are showing signs of support for a U.S.-brokered peace plan that protects Israel.

WASHINGTON—In a city known for its political activism, the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump began Tuesday afternoon in a puzzlingly quiet way.

Neither protesters nor supporters of the president turned out in great force. A small crowd of anti-Trump demonstrators, barely visible from the U.S. Capitol steps, gathered on a nearby lawn.