I listen for the candidate who speaks of children — not that Americans should have more of them, but that we should take better care of the ones we have. I listen for the candidate who speaks of children because elections are about the future.

You might vote in November based on a single issue or grievance, but the overriding issue is the ...Read more

As students return to school, it’s crucial to recognize the invisible struggles they may be facing, especially after the summer break. Navigating new academic and social environments can intensify mental health challenges or even trigger new ones.

Providing students with tools and emotional literacy to support one another and address ...Read more

Does it sometimes seem as if social media has turned American popular culture into a perfectionist parody of itself?

Last week, I followed a social-media-spawned debate over whether a home decor trend called "fridgescaping" was worthy of media attention. I guess it must be, because Architectural Digest recently explored what it called "...Read more

I’ve spent most of my medical career treating people who’ve tried to take their own lives or who are at risk of dying by suicide. What I’ve learned from my patients and research conducted in my lab is that the conventional approach to suicide prevention has been absolutely wrong.

We’ve certainly become more open to talking about suicide...Read more

The 2024 presidential campaign is shaping to be a racial reckoning for America.

With Vice President Kamala Harris positioned to shatter the glass ceiling as the first woman and person of color in the Oval Office and Donald Trump's candidacy fanning the flames of racial hatred, the election is laying bare the nation's ongoing struggle with ...Read more

When it comes to disinformation warfare, Russian President Vladimir Putin is, of course, a pro. As a career KGB agent, it’s what he knows and what he does. That point was again underscored by the recent U.S. Department of Justice case alleging a systematic Russian effort to interfere in November’s presidential election.

That did happen in ...Read more

Although President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged “unwavering support” for Ukraine, it has been cautious to a fault in practice. The latest example: supplying the Ukrainians with sophisticated long-range missiles but prohibiting their most effective uses.

Since last year, the West has been sending Ukraine British and French long-...Read more

By any stretch of the imagination, the U.S. is one of the world’s biggest coal producers. Even after declining by about half since 2008, output last year was still about 527 million metric tons, the fourth-biggest total globally. And yet you could keep all of America’s coal boilers and blast furnaces going until Thanksgiving in 2025 with the...Read more

With weeks before Florida voters start casting mail and early ballots in the fall elections, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has pulled an unprecedented move that appears intent to undermine a proposed constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights.

Florida’s Department of State has sent requests to supervisors of elections in four ...Read more

As Greece attempts to recover from the recent destructive wildfires around Athens, Southern Californians facing our own heat wave should take note of the pattern that enabled them. It should be well-known by now: sprawl into the urban-wildland interface where development collides with nature, the corresponding replacement of grass, shrubs and ...Read more

Like clockwork, as we return to school, our classrooms will fall into gender pronoun controversies. The inclusive impulse on Day One is to have everyone in class introduce themselves and share their pronouns, so nobody is singled out. But many don’t think about pronouns. Even for me, as a nonbinary law professor who uses “they,” it’s ...Read more

In Los Angeles and elsewhere across the country, your home’s square footage used to be the ultimate reflection of wealth and status. But with soaring energy costs, skyrocketing insurance premiums and other factors moving buyers toward more modest homes, there’s another measure of prosperity: the number of children you can afford.

Since 2018...Read more

Facing budget shortfalls, an ongoing public safety crisis and a contract negotiation with the Chicago Teachers Union underscoring how in thrall Brandon Johnson is to his political benefactors, Chicago’s mayor should take a page from his New York counterpart.

Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams has had a rocky tenure in office, too, but at least he has...Read more

There was no fanfare, no flackery. Not even a whispered leak of advance self-promotion.

But on Wednesday, in an auditorium at Duke University, a very specific type of news was matter-of-factly made by a very conservative Republican hardliner who once was one of Washington’s biggest newsmakers.

Frankly, Liz Cheney hasn’t been heard from ...Read more

Whatever his many failings and outrages, you have to give Donald Trump credit for picking a sound running mate — someone with experience in government, a mild temperament, a belief in democracy and the backbone to stand up to Trump himself. Unfortunately, that was eight years ago, when Mike Pence joined the Republican ticket.

This year, Trump...Read more

You know what the problem is with California?

Democrats — or so I'm told.

If I write about broken sidewalks in Los Angeles, readers write to say it's the fault of Democrats.

Homelessness, crime on public transit, poverty — in every case, blame the Dems.

Recently, I wrote about the owner of Langer's Deli, who's considering retirement ...Read more

As someone who has covered way too many presidential campaign rallies, I can attest that popular music at political gatherings is a powerful mood enhancer.

I will never forget one of then-President Obama's last campaign rallies of 2012, in a crowded University of Cincinnati gym on election eve. The already pumped-up crowd erupted when they ...Read more

I don’t care if you are an Independent, Republican or Democratic candidate — my brother’s grave is not your campaign trail.

Sgt. Maj. Jerry Patton was a highly decorated Army Special Forces soldier who died in service to our country. He is buried in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, alongside others who gave their lives for our ...Read more

Candidates for president of the United States typically run for office as though they were running for prime minister in a parliamentary democracy where their own party would have a clear majority in parliament. In such systems, which make up the vast majority of democracies in the world, the prime minister has enormous power to set policy.

In ...Read more