Never let a crisis go to waste. That could be the official motto for the anti-tobacco industry, which has irresponsibly exploited this summer's sudden outbreak of "vaping-related" lung ailments.

With the aid of sloppy news reporting and biased announcements from federal officials, anti-tobacco advocates have successfully deceived the public ...Read more

Did Brett Kavanaugh, now 54, sexually mistreat young women when he was in high school and college?

Did he then lie under oath last fall during his U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing when he vigorously denied accusations against him and offered innocent explanations for seemingly embarrassing or incriminating entries in his high school ...Read more

In response to the seventh death from severe lung injury associated with vaping, which occurred in Tulare County, California, the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency issued a warning against the use of electronic cigarettes: "The Tulare County Public Health Branch would like to warn all residents that any use of e-cigarettes poses a ...Read more

The Electoral College is under fire. Again.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) recently proposed killing it on the grounds that the presidential selection mechanism leads candidates to focus on just a handful of "swing states" that are most likely to determine the election.

If presidents were picked via a nationwide popular vote, she implies, ...Read more

It's reassuring that President Trump says that he's in "no rush" to respond militarily to last weekend's devastating air attacks on two Saudi Arabian oil facilities -- attacks Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo blamed on Iran. On Sunday the president had tweeted that the United States was "locked and loaded," waiting only for Saudi Arabia to ...Read more

Almost 800 years ago, the Persian poet Sa'adi offered a useful warning:

Do you not see how the cornered cat

Will tear out the eyes of a leopard with its tiny claws?

In today's Middle East, Iran -- besieged by the more powerful United States, its economy in tatters, its military stretched thin -- is playing the role of the cornered cat.

We ...Read more

The House Judiciary Committee brought in President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on Tuesday as part of what it's now calling an impeachment investigation. Indeed, the committee subpoenaed Lewandowski, former White House staff secretary Rob Porter and former White House deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn to discuss ...Read more

Well, President Donald Trump huffed and puffed and now, finally, he's getting on with his efforts to blow California's house down.

Trump, who has a bizarre desire to increase air pollution in the United States, has for months threatened to withdraw California's authority under the Clean Air Act to set its own limits for auto emissions.

And now...Read more

The NCAA knows a thing or two about making a buck.

The governing body of college athletics, which operates as a non-profit organization, reported revenues of $1.1 billion for the 2017 fiscal year. NCAA President Mark Emmert walked away with $2.9 million that year. But not a dime went to the athletes primarily responsible for raking in the dough...Read more

The bidding war that has defined the Democratic presidential race reached its apogee of absurdity earlier this month when Bernie Sanders had to explain that, no, he had no plans to erase voters' credit card bills.

Questioned about his proposal to wipe away $81 billion in personal medical debt in a New Hampshire interview, the Vermont socialist ...Read more

On a Monday evening last November, a dedicated group of shoppers sipped wine and pored over hundreds of unique rings, bracelets and necklaces at a downtown Des Moines eatery. The festive vintage jewelry sale was organized by friends of Shirley Burke who owned the jewelry, but was relinquishing it to raise money to attend a World Parkinson ...Read more

Populism has become a defining feature of public life. It embraces a narrative of victimhood and grievance, pitting "people" against "elites." President Donald Trump's protectionism and hostility toward immigrants are fueled by populist frustration on the political right. On the left, populism appears as resentment of the wealthy, and the ...Read more

"The next debate is do or die for many Democratic hopefuls."

Andrew Yang "is on fire."

Elizabeth Warren is "surging."

"It's a three-way race."

I'm betting you can think of a long list of other things you've heard on television or read in print to explain what is going on in the presidential race. Many of them will need to be revised ...Read more

Given the partisan polarization over the Supreme Court, it's perhaps not surprising that an article in the New York Times reporting on a previously undisclosed allegation about Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh impelled some Democratic presidential candidates to call for his impeachment. But it's disappointing and perhaps dangerous -- less for ...Read more

Once upon a time in Washington, the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service was doled out to U.S. Justice Department lawyers and other federal agents who did yeoman's work in putting away some of the baddest guys out there -- from human traffickers in the D.C. metro area to the chief terrorist who attacked the American consulate in ...Read more

There are two kinds of people in this country today: Those who believe that men who are credibly accused of sexually assaulting or harassing women are perfectly appropriate candidates for the U.S. Supreme Court ... and the infuriated rest of us.

How else to explain reaction to a newly surfaced allegation of sexual misconduct against beer-loving...Read more