Politics
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Editorial: COP28 needs less talk and more action
In 2015, the world’s governments declared a collective ambition: to limit the rise in global temperatures to just 1.5 degrees Celsius. Since then, two things have become clear. First, the costs of exceeding that threshold are greater than believed eight years ago. Second, the goal looks increasingly difficult to reach. Even if governments ...Read more

Editorial: University presidents proved spectacularly inept on Capitol Hill. Resignations should follow
On Tuesday, Elise Stefanik, the U.S. representative for New York’s 21st Congressional District, posed the same question to the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, proxies all for America’s liberal intellectual elite.
The repeated question for Claudine Gay of Harvard...Read more

Michael Hiltzik: A bogus new attack on COVID vaccines from Texas' least credible politician
In recent times, whenever a government lawsuit swears at common sense, at the facts and at the public interest, it has been a safe bet that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has his fingerprints on it.
Sure enough, here comes Paxton with a lawsuit charging Pfizer Inc. with systematically misrepresenting the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine and ...Read more

Commentary: Why are we doing so little to counter China's military buildup?
Our National Defense Strategy identifies China as the primary challenge to the United States. To confront this threat successfully, our military needs more warships, aircraft and munitions. Now.
But the Biden administration’s spending does not match its defense strategy. The president’s Emergency Supplemental Request made this clear by ...Read more

POINT: Voters fear current methods of regulating AI are insufficient
Artificial intelligence is developing faster than many of us can imagine and is now becoming an integral part of everyday life. So far, businesses are the primary catalysts for this deployment. Studies show that in one year of introducing a new type of AI, one-third of respondents reported their organizations were using the technology in some ...Read more

Robin Abcarian: Is one $6 billion settlement enough of a reckoning for the family that brought us the opiod crisis?
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the complex bankruptcy case of Purdue Pharma, whose owners, the Sackler family, have become synonymous with the carnage wreaked on American families by the profligate and dishonest marketing and distribution of OxyContin and other opioids.
In exchange for giving up ownership of Purdue and paying ...Read more

Commentary: With Ozempic and other weight loss drugs, obesity is now more treatable than ever
From the first snacks on Thanksgiving morning through the New Year’s Eve spreads until the last leftovers of Super Bowl Sunday, gaining weight is a nagging concern for everybody during the holiday season. Obesity has become a major scourge in America, but new medications are now available, and although many questions remain, these drugs may ...Read more

COUNTERPOINT: Evidence is lacking that algorithmic pricing is leading to AI collusion
With new technology comes new possibilities. A side effect is where these possibilities fit into existing law. Dynamic, or algorithmic, pricing is a strategy where artificial intelligence uses data collected about market conditions to determine pricing in real time.
Algorithmic pricing has been a concern for antitrust regulators for years, even...Read more

Commentary: Does Israel's treatment of Palestinians rise to the level of apartheid?
In September, Tamir Pardo, who headed the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from 2011 to 2016, said that Israel is imposing apartheid on the Palestinians.
In August, the former northern commander of the Israeli army described the situation in the West Bank as one of “total apartheid.” ...Read more

Commentary: The holiday season finds us divided and isolated. This modest gesture might help
We are living in an age of placeless possibility: a time when we can instantly get in touch with another person no matter where they are on the planet through any number of media. We can catch up with friends and family, network, and even date virtually. We can connect with hundreds simultaneously Zooming in from far-flung locations.
Based on ...Read more

Commentary: Republicans, don't fear DEI. Diversity offices like mine could only wish to be that influential
Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on college campuses, known as DEI, continue to be a popular punching bag for conservatives. In a recent congressional hearing, Republican lawmakers alleged that DEI offices are behind the rise in campus antisemitism. This year, both Florida and Texas banned DEI programs in public higher education in ...Read more

Editorial: Community must again endure mass shooting tragedy
Las Vegans grieve one more time following a senseless multiple shooting. Will this insanity ever stop?
Six years after a devastated community endured the Oct. 1 rampage on the Strip, a gunman on Wednesday opened fire at UNLV in Beam Hall, home to the business school. There were reports of shots fired at the Student Union. Three people were ...Read more

Editorial: Kevin McCarthy quits Congress. It's poetic justice for the Trump apologist
It’s not surprising that dozens of members of the U.S. House of Representatives are choosing to leave the dysfunctional chamber rather than seek another term. The politics are toxic. The rhetoric is ugly. And it seems that members aren’t interested in doing much besides fighting the culture wars — and one another.
But we don’t believe ...Read more

George Skelton: Hardscrabble trailblazer Toni Atkins would be an intriguing candidate for California governor
State Senate leader Toni Atkins is thinking seriously about running for governor of California. And hopefully she'll enter the race.
Not that she necessarily should be elected. Maybe. Maybe not. It's way too early in the election process to decide who should succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will be termed out at the end of 2026.
But it's not too...Read more

Michael Hiltzik: The GOP is back to attacking Obamacare, and making less sense than ever
Here's a pair of handy rules of thumb to know we're heading into a major election cycle: (1) Republican candidates start talking about the need to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and (2) none of them bothers to say how that will make American health care better.
Sure enough, in just the last couple of weeks, Donald Trump has said he's "...Read more

Noah Feldman: Supreme Court may push Sackler opioid case to Congress
Bankruptcy law is all about fresh starts. But just how much of a fresh start does the Sackler family deserve — without having to declare bankruptcy themselves?
The family’s former company, Purdue Pharma, has become synonymous with the U.S. opioid epidemic and filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Plaintiffs harmed by that epidemic came to an ...Read more

Editorial: Booting George Santos doesn't fix the GOP's Donald Trump-size problem with the truth
It’s almost astonishing: Even with a slim Republican majority, the House of Representatives actually voted to expel New York GOP Congressman George Santos, after a searing Ethics Committee report last month laid out the damning case against him.
Santos allegedly stole money from donors for gambling junkets, high-end spa treatments and online ...Read more

Editorial: Venezuela's unneighborly vote: Takeover threat against tiny Guyana an act of aggression
Sunday’s Venezuelan plebiscite to annex disputed territory from neighboring Guyana, with the government of dictator Nicolas Maduro claiming the highest turnout in the history and a 95% approval, is a dangerous development that could camouflage a possible Venezuelan invasion as an act of popular will.
Pre-internet, we would have had to make a ...Read more

Jackie Calmes: Will 'free agent' Kevin McCarthy finally do the right thing?
Days after making history as the first House speaker to be booted from the job, Rep. Kevin McCarthy said he mischievously told fellow Republicans, "I am a free agent now, aren't I?"
If so, he's squandered it so far, with alleged kidney punches and vague electoral threats aimed at his House enemies. If only he'd use his free agency to burn his ...Read more

Bobby Ghosh: New dietary guidelines for Americans? Nobody cares
News that the U.S. government’s next set of dietary guidelines for 2025-30 may include warnings against ultra-processed foods should be greeted with ultra-cautious optimism. The committee that revises the guidelines every five years, appointed by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, has too many ...Read more