The opportunity to see fascinating species thriving in their natural environments draws many of us to national parks, waterways and wildlife refuges every year. Almost as alluring is the appeal of getting the perfect picture that captures an animal’s beauty, ingenuity or charisma. But our Instagram aspirations must not be achieved at animals�...Read more

Cannabis prohibition remains central to America’s failed war on drugs — upwards of half a million people were arrested for a cannabis offense in the U.S. in 2018, accounting for more than 43 % of all drug arrests.

But times are changing: Cannabis reform is one of the most successful social movements in recent memory. Today, 24 states and ...Read more

Even before Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Pyongyang for his first trip to North Korea in nearly a quarter century, foreign policy observers were pontificating about what Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might have up their sleeves. Was the Putin-Kim summit an inflection point in the world order? Did the signing of the ...Read more

Last month, 13 young Hawaiian plaintiffs were set to take the state’s Department of Transportation to trial for failing to make real headway on reducing planet-warming pollution. Instead, on the eve of their court date, the youths inked a groundbreaking settlement with Hawaii’s governor and ushered in a new phase of climate litigation.

The ...Read more

Before announcing the outcome of Monday’s Supreme Court decision in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Justice Amy Coney Barrett joked that it wasn’t the case the multitude had packed the courtroom to hear. And with the presidential immunity decision being handed down minutes later, the case of Corner Post...Read more

Last week, a series of developments related to abortion underscored the maddening state of access in the U.S.—and the urgent need for President Joe Biden to update the way he talks about the issue before November’s presidential election, when reproductive rights are again on the ballot. The president’s platform calls for “restoring ...Read more

Among the many rulings the Supreme Court handed down this term, a decision on so-called Chevron deference could prove especially consequential. The question at issue was whether the courts or government agencies should determine the meaning of ambiguous laws. The new ruling unsettles a 40-year-old understanding by shifting some of the power over...Read more

America has a king after all.

Make no mistake: That’s the ugly result of Monday morning’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Donald Trump is entitled to “absolute immunity” from criminal charges for using the powers of his office to try to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.

The nature of presidential power “...Read more

Dear Sen. McConnell,

Are you happy now?

Or are you and Liz Cheney making plans to head for the border with hopes that the Canadians will accept political refugees?

On Sunday on the Truth Social platform, Trump promoted posts calling for “televised military tribunals” for you and Liz and a lot of others.

“Elizabeth Lynne Cheney is ...Read more

What has changed since the presidential debate last Thursday? A lot and very little. We are mostly where we were two years ago. An old president, past his prime, who supports democracy and the rule of law, is running against an old criminal, sexual abuser and serial fraudster who leads an authoritarian movement with fascist accents. The only ...Read more

The Biden campaign is in utter disarray after last Thursday’s televised debacle. But the spin machine hurls forward at warp speed.

Joe Biden’s feeble debate performance last week pulled back the curtain on the administration’s efforts to gaslight voters about the president’s advanced age and declining mental acuity. Don’t believe your...Read more

Yes, there are bigger issues to deal with in the days after the not-so-great debate, but I’m left with one nagging question that I cannot seem to shake:

What exactly is a “Black job?”

Social media has been struggling with the same question since former President Donald Trump coined the phrase during his showdown with the man he is ...Read more

If I were a relative or close confidant of President Joe Biden, I'm pretty sure I'd give him a hug, thank him for his service, and tell him to seriously consider walking away.

I'd tell him that after a life of service, he can pass the torch with pride, with dignity, and with grace.

Someone probably should have done this months ago, out of love...Read more

Hey, cheer up: The news is not all bad.

The federal government acknowledged for the first time last week that gun violence is an urgent public health crisis.

You already knew that, of course. We all knew it. But thanks to the gun lobby's stranglehold on our political class, it's been nearly impossible to focus the federal government's ...Read more

When Barbara Boxer arrived in the U.S. Senate, her image as a fiery liberal from Marin County — land of crystals, hot tubs and aging hippies — preceded her.

It was not a good thing.

"The word was that I was this very militant feminist and the guys were frightened to death," Boxer recalled.

The colleague who smoothed her path — "She's ...Read more

This Supreme Court term has not been good for democracy, to put it mildly.

Despite a few bright spots — like the decision overturning a lower court injunction barring the White House from communicating with social media companies about disinformation — voting rights and efforts to curb big money and dark money in politics have been ...Read more

In 2022, the White House set ambitious goals to tackle the opioid crisis through the National Drug Control Strategy proposal. Collaborating with federal, state and tribal governments, as well as local communities and health professionals, the strategy focused on two things: harm reduction efforts and racial equity in drug policy.

Harm reduction...Read more

In a sweeping decision that constitutionalizes the modern reality of the imperial presidency, the US Supreme Court has established near-total criminal immunity for Donald Trump’s official acts while he was president. It’s an outcome that would have astonished the nation’s founders, who feared precisely that if the chief executive amassed ...Read more

Walgreens is in trouble. And that means trouble for Chicago.

The Deerfield-based pharmacy giant, having lost about three-quarters of its market value since the beginning of 2022, is embarking on a major turnaround plan, which will entail the closure of hundreds of stores nationwide if not well over 1,000. Fully a quarter of Walgreens’ roughly...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court ended its term Monday with a highly anticipated decision that provides American presidents with a modicum of immunity from criminal charges. The case was ostensibly about Donald Trump, but in fact the ruling sets guidelines intended to ensure the nation — regardless of which man, woman or party holds the Oval Office — ...Read more