With Election Day now less than five weeks away, we peer into our crystal ball — which is foggier than a summer morning in San Francisco — and answer questions.

Let's get right to it. Will Republicans take control of Congress?

I have absolutely no clue.

So what good are you?

That's something my bosses have been asking for years.

...Read more

Minnesotans know what it's like to deal with a disaster. We've been through tornadoes, historic floods and withering droughts.

So our hearts go out to Floridians in their time of need. The concern is even more significant because of Minnesotans' strong ties to the Sunshine State. Naples, perched on Florida's southwest coast, is a favorite of ...Read more

Once again, political mudslinging and false campaign ads threaten to take center stage in the final weeks before Election Day in November. This is nothing new, but thanks to television networks, streaming services and the internet, these ads are now more influential than ever. But the first attack ads to hit the screen predated these mediums by ...Read more

U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz has, rightfully, hammered his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, for a lack of transparency about his health following a serious stroke. To his credit, Oz released his medical records, after a Post-Gazette editorial urged both candidates to do so. Fetterman has not.

But the celebrity doctor also has ...Read more

ROME — Since World War II, 30 prime ministers have presided over the 67 governments that have marked Italy’s uniquely unstable political life. On Sept. 25, Italians elected Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, into power. Meloni will be the first woman to lead the country, but she will also be the nation’s only...Read more

A week ago, I worried that the anti-regime demonstrations in Iran might falter if the mostly young protesters didn’t get some help from grown-ups — like the trade unions, say, or the so-called moderate elements within the theocratic state. I reckoned it would take the participation of groups of that stature to rattle Ali Khamenei, the ...Read more

Note to those in the clean energy business: Joe Biden is working overtime to send you a kiss in the mail.

Biden and Co. has been making inroads since June toward using the Defense Production Act to boost production of solar, electric grid, heat pump and other technologies. On Monday that plan got some juice.

The Energy Department is releasing...Read more

September was a rocky month for Vladimir Putin, the Russian strongman used to getting his way after more than two decades at the top of Russia’s political hierarchy.

First came a tactical embarrassment of monumental proportions, when Russian forces lost more than 1,000 square miles of territory south of Kharkiv, Ukraine, in a manner of days �...Read more

As attested by Vladimir Putin’s carefully calibrated photo ops such as the infamous image of the Russian leader shirtless atop a horse, he knows the value of spectacle.

One such spectacle took place last week in the Kremlin, as the despot held a pompous ceremony to supposedly formalize the annexation of the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, ...Read more

Sigmund Freud may have artfully defined psychological projection as when an individual attributes his unacceptable urges to another, but it is Donald Trump’s minions who’ve proven to be masters of the practice in the real world.

Over the weekend, at a Michigan rally headlined by Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declared, “Democrats want...Read more

What a difference six months make. Earlier this year, it was generally conceded that Republicans would sweep to victories in the midterm elections, giving them control of the House and Senate.

Yet as of Friday, Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight election forecast gives Democrats more than a 2-to-1 probability of maintaining control of the Senate. ...Read more

Here's the central riddle of U.S. politics since the Great Depression:

Social Democratic policies crafted in the 1930s succeeded in creating a long era of widespread prosperity, then suddenly lost its credibility in the mid-1970s. It was replaced by the neoliberalism of Ronald Reagan, which failed to help anyone but the rich, yet still governs ...Read more

Round up for charity?

In the last year or so, I’ve come across these words more and more often, frequently from cashiers or on payment keypads at stores. Would I like to give a little bit of money to cancer research or literacy efforts or the local animal shelter? My answer is forceful, and it’s the same every time.

No.

It’s not because...Read more

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy's new “Commitment to America,” intends to reassure voters of the GOP's intentions if they win the majority in Congress in the midterm election. Instead, it reveals a party of commitment-phobes.

The unveiling of the document, with McCarthy surrounded by a contingent of GOP members and candidates in ...Read more

The terrible devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian on Florida’s southwest coast — among the most powerful hurricanes to hit Florida in a century — has been wrenching to watch even from afar: so many lives lost, homes shattered and livelihoods swept away by the storm surge, winds of up to 150 miles per hour and flooding rains. The single ...Read more

Over the last year and a half, young people and educators have witnessed a growing campaign to silence voices in our nation’s schools. Districts across the country are banning books with unprecedented frequency, directly undermining students’ freedom to learn. This movement has gained momentum from local and national advocacy groups, many ...Read more