Every week or so, scientists issue another warning that the H5N1 bird flu is inching closer to exploding into a pandemic. Despite having contended with a pandemic that broke out less than five years ago, the U.S. has no solid plan to handle a new one — nor have our leaders done anything to incorporate the lessons learned from the government’...Read more

The American experiment can be summed up in one big idea: don’t put too much power in one place. That is why the federal government has three branches — executive, legislative and judicial.

Unfortunately, the modern presidency undermines that separation of powers and concentrates as much power as possible in itself. The best thing ...Read more

The online schadenfreude that has followed the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has been callous and crude — to put it mildly, a sad commentary on the state of civility. But it’s nothing compared to what we might see in the event of a presidential assassination. And that possibility, unfortunately, is very real.

Donald Trump ...Read more

As the nation braces for Donald Trump’s second presidential term, advocates across the land are asking President Joe Biden to shield us from the looming threats to women’s safety and reproductive rights. This can be done with just 24 words: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any ...Read more

The holidays are upon us, and more than ever the burgeoning influencer economy is having an impact on what consumers buy. Few reliable statistics can be found concerning the influencer profession, but several studies suggest the industry is dominated by women in their homes selling products related to the personal brand each has cultivated. ...Read more

South Korea, one of Washington’s closest allies in East Asia, is no stranger to scandal and political intrigue. But the last two weeks of political infighting in Seoul has made the previous 40 years look like a snooze-fest by comparison.

The latest saga started Dec. 3, when South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol inexplicably declared martial ...Read more

The polling data tell us that the election was mostly about the economy. Now that we’re through election season, more attention will surely be devoted to what research shows is the best way of stimulating both economic growth and economic mobility: education.

No one should be happy with what we’re getting for the $800 billion a year we ...Read more

Donald Trump loves to sue people for defamation to scare them out of making negative statements about him. In a settlement made public Saturday, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit by Trump, arguing that he was defamed when anchor George Stephanopoulos said the president-elect had been found liable in court for raping writer E...Read more

The river was swift and unrelenting, its currents carrying victim after victim downstream. Local villagers responded by stringing nets across the water to prevent further drownings. Yet, despite their efforts, the death toll continued to rise.

Eventually, a newcomer to the village asked a simple yet critical question: “Why are people falling ...Read more

Every American in the armed forces, and any veteran who has served, hopes and prays for peace and stability under the recently reelected, incoming commander in chief. Political leanings are no factor here. We salute and serve because that’s who we are — even as our oaths may soon be tested as the next frontline in the war for America’s ...Read more

If you’re seeing and hearing drones or other such flying things flashing in the sky, it’s absolutely certain that you are not imagining it and you are not alone. However, what remains troublingly uncertain is what is actually going on and it’s a question that government has done a lousy job answering.

The future head of that government, ...Read more

Hanukkah begins on Christmas this year, marking a rare coincidence of the Jewish and Christian holidays, which occur according to different calendars. The alignment invites reflection on how two traditions can inspire each other.

The Orthodox Jewish community I grew up in rejected Christmas lights as signs of unwanted assimilation. We lighted ...Read more

It's been a month since reports began coming in about waves of mysterious drones appearing in the night skies over the East Coast.

Eyewitnesses have posted more than 5,000 videos and other accounts of such sightings. Most are centered on the New Jersey area, but unusual drone activity has popped up in Ohio, California and elsewhere.

Is this ...Read more

Southern California air quality regulators are reneging on their promise to enact long-delayed rules to curb health-damaging and planet-warming pollution from the ports of L.A. and Long Beach by the end of this year.

In doing nothing once again, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has failed to do its only job, cowering in the face ...Read more

It was a cold, breezy October evening in 2015 when a foul odor swept through neighborhoods in the north San Fernando Valley. The smell — reminiscent of rotten eggs — invaded homes, forcing residents to seal windows and doors in vain. Soon many fell ill with headaches, rashes, nosebleeds and nausea. Those symptoms were only the beginning of a...Read more

A few years ago, I heard about a family who had surprised their children with what they thought was the “perfect” Christmas present: a tiny calico kitten named Freya, complete with a big red bow tied loosely around her neck. The kids were delighted and spent hours caring for their new family member. But by New Year’s Day, they had lost ...Read more

It’s time to stop treating the trafficking of deadly drugs as a non-violent crime.

President Joe Biden’s mass clemency spree last week included Lawrence, Massachusetts, woman Luz Perez DeMartinez, who was sentenced five years ago to 11 years in federal prison for participating in a large-scale fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. DeMartinez ...Read more

Kaream Akton Moore probably knew that the plastic bag that a stranger paid him $30 to deliver, one August day in 2023, contained drugs. He probably didn’t care. Moore, 42, had been caught in the cruel grip of addiction for nearly three decades at that point; he was homeless and destitute, living behind a Merritt Island apartment complex and ...Read more

It’s hard to imagine the holidays without “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The 1965 broadcast has become a staple of the season for many generations.

But this beloved TV special almost didn’t make it to air. CBS executives thought the 25-minute program was too slow, too serious and too different from the upbeat spectacles they imagined ...Read more

Defeated Democrats are looking for new ways forward, and one of their most articulate leaders is Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut. They should be “an aggressively economically populist party that builds a wide tent,” he says, “asking working class voters to come inside even if they don’t align with us on every social and cultural issue.�...Read more