Politics
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Editorial: The free press & the NYPD -- The Daily News and others exposed the cop overtime scandal
Donald Trump complaining about critical coverage says that “we have to straighten out the press. Our press is very corrupt” as though the government will be correcting the press. He has it exactly backward, as it is the free press that corrects and straightens out corrupt government.
Look no further than the reporting of Daily News ...Read more
Commentary: Universities have a free speech problem, but they won't admit it
In Alcoholics Anonymous, the first step toward recovery is to acknowledge that you have a problem. You can’t get better until you admit that you’re not well.
But our universities won’t do that.
Look no further than the recent report from the Foundation for Individual Rights of Expression, or FIRE. Surveying more than 6,000 faculty ...Read more
POINT: The top five moments of 2024
For those on the right side of the political aisle, 2024 was a mixed bag. On the one hand, we had to trudge through the final year of Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency while fighting tooth and nail to prevent the administration from inflicting further economic carnage.
On the other hand, we also were given an enormous gift at the beginning ...Read more
Commentary: A revolutionary spirit of love -- Remembering Nikki Giovanni
Earlier this month, we lost a voice that rang for decades with the clarity of truth and the warmth of eternal joy. Nikki Giovanni, the acclaimed poet, professor and icon of the Black Arts movement, passed away at the age of 81.
The news struck me with the force of personal loss — not just because we lost a literary giant but because Giovanni...Read more
Editorial: Trump's picks for spy agencies deserve extra scrutiny
As he assembles his team for a second term, President-elect Donald Trump is entitled to some latitude, even for his more unconventional picks. Yet not all executive-branch positions are created equal. Senate Republicans should be willing to draw a line when it comes to national security.
Of particular concern are the nation’s intelligence ...Read more
COUNTERPOINT: Five signs our country isn't lost
On the one hand, there’s no sugarcoating how progressives feel at the close of 2024: rough.
Donald Trump won back the White House with a campaign that was openly bigoted and fascist. And from President Joe Biden’s backing of Israel’s ghastly war in Gaza to his ill-fated decision to seek re-election, progressives aren’t celebrating his ...Read more
Commentary: Should AI be used to resurrect extinct species like the Neanderthal?
As science continues its evolution, discoveries and technologies can act like a master key that opens doors that lead to novel advancements. Artificial intelligence is one such key, making innovations possible by solving complex problems, automating tasks and enabling research that would have been impossible, or very time-consuming, without it. ...Read more
Editorial: Illinois faces a moment of truth on electronic monitoring of criminal defendants
Cook County’s system of electronically monitoring criminal defendants awaiting trial is the largest such system in the country, according to the county sheriff’s office. More than 3,500 people accused of crimes, including over 100 facing murder or attempted murder charges, aren’t behind bars and instead are confined to their homes or given...Read more
Commentary: How women can resist autocracy in America
The Republican president-elect was found guilty of sexual misconduct, has faced a dozen or more allegations of sexual assault and harassment and ran a very publicly misogynist campaign.
The Democratic Party ran a campaign that targeted young women with the promise of protecting women’s reproductive rights but ultimately lost the election. ...Read more
David Fickling: Here's the best climate news you missed this year
Those who follow the energy transition seem perpetually pitched between elation and despair. For every fragment of positive news — surging Chinese EV sales; record-low prices for solar panels and batteries — there is a dollop of misery, be it a botched climate conference, or still-resilient investment in oil and gas.
And yet some of the ...Read more
Commentary: Weight-loss drugs are great, but real food still matters
Groundbreaking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have understandably generated a lot of excitement, bringing hope to the hundreds of millions of people grappling with obesity. When combined with a healthier diet and exercise, these drugs, which suppress appetite, deliver an average 10% reduction in body weight that can be sustained for ...Read more
Editorial: Trump should reform financial watchdogs. Here's how
News that President-elect Donald Trump’s team wants to hack away at the forbidding tangle of U.S. bank regulation is welcome in the abstract. In practice, though, much will depend on the details. The goal should be simplifying financial oversight more broadly — not just defanging a tough watchdog.
No doubt, the current system is unwieldy. ...Read more
Jenice Armstrong: An auto body shop owner created a space where female customers would feel comfortable. Then one came in and shot her
Working in the auto body repair business, Vanessa "Hollywood" Rivera saw how uncomfortable some female customers can feel dealing with mechanics. So when the mother of two decided to start her own shop, Rivera went to great lengths to create a space that was welcoming to women.
She arranged for the sign outside Hollywood Collision in the 100 ...Read more
Erin Lowry: Making new friends costs money. It's worth it
Loneliness and social isolation are often discussed as afflictions of the aging process. Adult children move away, spouses and friends begin to die, and suddenly older people can find themselves spending an inordinate amount of time alone.
The sense of isolation can have severe consequences for well-being. Studies have found that social ...Read more
Clive Crook: Domino theory of norms spells doom for US politics
The habits of liberal democracy are self-sustaining only up to a point. The norms of orderly government have to be practiced to retain wide support. Once questioned, they’re at risk of breaking. For the past few years, the U.S. has been finding out just how fragile these norms can be.
The latest source of revelation was the reaction to the ...Read more
Lisa Jarvis: IVF can be an ordeal. Finally, science has a better way
Anyone who has undergone IVF will tell you that the process can be daunting. It involves weeks of mood-altering, bloat-inducing hormone injections to retrieve eggs so they can be fertilized in a lab before being implanted. That’s followed by weeks of holding your breath to find out if all the discomfort, anxiety and many thousands of dollars ...Read more
Commentary: Why we need to embolden women and girls to keep running for leadership
“Why has there never been a woman president?” my 8-year-old daughter, Lotus, asked me in 2008 when Barack Obama became our first Black president. It was such a thought-provoking question it inspired me to write a whole book of interviews to explore the answers. Sixteen years later, Lotus said sadly, “I’m still asking the same question at...Read more
Commentary: Separating science and the humanities is hurting us
Remember the story about the elephant seen from different perspectives? Here’s a twist.
A biologist with a telescope peered at the animal and said, I see a hairy grayness horizon to horizon.
A toenail fungus specialist examined its feet, and prescribed antibiotics.
A climate change specialist didn’t see the elephant because he was fixated...Read more
Editorial: Federal anti-hazing law would help save lives
Jolayne Houtz and Hector Martinez lost their 19-year-old son in 2019. And like many parents who have had that experience, they vowed to keep his memory alive. The Bellevue couple used the enormous personal tragedy of their son's death to help thousands of others.
Samuel Martinez died after being hazed as a Washington State University freshman ...Read more
Editorial: IRS cuts make Uncle Sam lose money -- Reducing the enforcement budget is bad policy
No one loves the Internal Revenue Service, but we need the much-maligned agency having enough resources to make sure that everyone pays their fair share of taxes to support Uncle Sam and Republicans should not slash that funding.
For a brief moment, the IRS had the full breadth of resources it needed to investigate wealthy tax cheats, courtesy ...Read more