Politics
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Editorial: Chicago had the fewest summertime homicides in 60 years. Good but far from good enough
The number of homicides in Chicago was lower in June, July and August than in any year since 1965. As we mark the bittersweet end of summer over the holiday weekend, this is undeniably good news.
The Chicago Police Department recorded 122 homicides in those three months, down from 129 in the same period last year and a still-staggering 271 in ...Read more
Gustavo Arellano: Nithya Raman is the comeback kid of LA politics
On the night of the June primary, standing before cheering supporters at a downtown brewery, Nithya Raman was in a familiar position: Outspent by rivals. Mocked by online haters. Her political career left for dead.
In early returns for Los Angeles mayor, Raman was in third place behind incumbent Karen Bass and reality TV villain Spencer Pratt. ...Read more
Editorial: Let our children roam
Parenting is a relatively novel term for what humans have done since the dawn of humanity — keep their progeny alive. These days, it comes with a long list of confusing rules that often conflict with each other.
Let kids have independence, experts say. Put them on their bikes, strap on a helmet and send them out into the neighborhood. Or to ...Read more
LZ Granderson: Who would want the US to be run like a business?
When pushing for the United States to be run more like a business, please keep in mind that framework naturally conflates the populace with labor and public servants with bosses. As it is, roughly half the country sees a workplace future of "struggling" or "suffering," according to Gallup's "State of the Global Workplace" report. Yet this week, ...Read more
Parmy Olson: Don't be seduced by the language of AI
The attacks on Hugging Face ran from May to late July, yet the details of what actually happened when OpenAI’s artificial-intelligence agents deceived their human overseers and breached the online repository of AI models and datasets are still trickling out.
That’s understandable. The attack was incredibly complex, involving more than 1,200...Read more
Nolan Finley: What Democratic Socialists really want
Michigan's mid-term election ballot is littered with socialists.
Candidates who in the past would be relegated to the fringes of the ballot under labels such as Workers of the World Party, Working Class Party and Let's All Just Have a Big Party are now carrying major office banners for the Democratic Party.
These political misfits have found ...Read more
Robin Abcarian: Women can thank Gloria Steinem for so much we take for granted now
I once wrote that Gloria Steinem, the great feminist thinker and activist who died Wednesday at 92, was like an indispensable computer program running in the background of every American woman's life.
"You don't always remember that she's there," I wrote, "but without her, your life would be constrained in ways you can hardly imagine."
Think ...Read more
Editorial: Democratic leader saves wrath for moderates, not socialists
To determine a political party’s priorities, see what makes it upset.
The rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is one of the biggest ongoing stories in politics. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is a member of the DSA. In recent months, Democrats connected to the DSA have won primaries in Michigan, Colorado, New York and ...Read more
Editorial: GOP uses 'socialism' to distract and deceive
The Florida election is awash in ludicrous Republican accusations of socialism.
Plans for a hurricane insurance fund are socialist. Ranked-choice voting is socialist. New residents are suspected of being “radicals.” David Jolly, the ex-GOP congressman running for governor as a moderate Democrat, is a Trojan horse, hiding his true socialist ...Read more
Editorial: Pennsylvania measles deaths are the cost of poor public health leadership
The two recent measles-related deaths in Lancaster County, including that of a newborn, were the first in Pennsylvania in 35 years. Sadly, as vaccination rates decline across the commonwealth and the country, they will likely not be the last.
The deaths occurred amid a major measles outbreak in Lancaster that has sickened nearly 400 people. ...Read more
Andreas Kluth: Tactical nukes are a gateway drug to Armageddon
The U.S. is quietly — and largely with a view to a potential war against China — tweaking its nuclear strategy, contemplating a bigger role for so-called tactical nukes. To the uninitiated, the shift may seem arcane. To those in the know, the stakes are nothing less than the risk of atomic Armageddon.
Obscure or not, the topic is so ...Read more
Editorial: Jim Clyburn is right about impeachment
Rep. Jim Clyburn has delivered a timely warning to Democrats who believe winning control of the House in November should immediately trigger a third impeachment of President Donald Trump: The American people need relief, not another partisan spectacle.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the South Carolina Democrat did not categorically ...Read more
Allison Schrager: Joyful spending is America's guilty pleasure
Americans like to spend money, and they’re good at it. But they also feel kind of bad about it.
According to a survey from Ally Bank, three-quarters of Americans feel guilty when they spend money on something that brings them joy rather than putting it toward a long-term financial goal. I can confirm this feeling, especially after seeing my ...Read more
Commentary: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower were models of statesmanship
I’ve long been intrigued by the presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower and believe they each offer important and illuminating examples of the kind of statesmanship the United States urgently needs.
Roosevelt was a liberal Democrat and Eisenhower a conservative Republican. Their families, educations, personalities, ...Read more
Commentary: Millions face court alone. California can change that
You’re sued over a debt you don’t recognize. Or you’re facing eviction from the apartment where you raised your kids. The other side has a lawyer. You don’t.
For millions of Californians each year, this is how our civil justice system works.
In Los Angeles debt-collection cases, for example, just 2% of people being sued are represented...Read more
Commentary: Let's heed the wisdom of Wendell Berry
On Aug. 31, the great writer Wendell Berry died “suddenly and peacefully” at his home in Port Royal, Kentucky, where he had lived with his beloved wife, Tanya Berry, for more than six decades.
He was the author of more than 50 books of essays, poetry and fiction, all of which championed an agrarian economy built on a sense of place and a ...Read more
Commentary: Corporations with big pay disparities have been silent as ICE detains their workers
In the split second before the immigration agent tackled him, Target employee Jonathan Aguilar Garcia darted through the entrance to his suburban Minneapolis store. He wrongly assumed he’d be safe in his own workplace.
The agent pinned Aguilar Garcia to the floor with a knee on his neck before shoving him and another employee into an unmarked...Read more
Commentary: To stop Trump's pillaging, 'vote the ocean' this fall
President Donald Trump’s administration and his fearfully compliant congressional majority treat our public seas like a treasure chest to be looted. On election day this November, that record should weigh on the minds of voters who care about the economy and our blue world.
Trump’s personal hatred of offshore wind power (since Scotland ...Read more
Commentary: Sacramento's micromanaging of a single lane in the Hollywood Hills
How much does it cost to write your own law in California? About $500,000.
That’s what Forest Lawn and Mt. Sinai cemeteries have spent on lobbyists since 2025 to kill one road safety project, on one street, in Los Angeles. This week, in the final hours of the legislative session, Sacramento gave them their money’s worth.
Here’s what the ...Read more
Noah Feldman: The Supreme Court's ballroom decision is about more than the ballroom
In a genuinely surprising decision, the Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s congressionally unauthorized ballroom construction project. Over a dissent by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was joined by the court’s three liberals, the court’s five conservatives said that the National Trust for Historic ...Read more

















































