Conditions in Egypt continue to unravel, with at least 45 people across the country dead in related violence since Friday, according to health-ministry officials. President Hosni Mubarak's desperate attempt to hold on to power by firing his cabinet — but not himself — didn't cut it with the thousands of protesters who have flooded the streets of Cairo and other cities demanding an end to his 30-year rule. Poverty, government corruption and human rights abuses are among the conditions demonstrators want to see ended.
President Obama voiced support for the protesters' goals yesterday, but Mubarak is a longtime ally of the U.S. Given that Egypt is home to the Suez Canal, a key transit point for oil and fuel shipments between the Persian Gulf and the Western Hemisphere, how far will the U.S. be willing to go to support the Egyptian people's desire for change?
For the latest developments, check out CNN.com's page on the Egypt unrest.
Our sister site Foreign Policy also has a slide show of images from the protests.
Sheryl Huggins Salomon is senior editor-at-large of The Root and a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based editorial consultant. Follow her on Twitter.