ArcaMax

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says one of the "narcoterrorists" recently killed by U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean was a "fisherman" who had "no ties to the drug trade." That man's death, one of at least 32 ordered by President Donald Trump, therefore qualified as "murder," Petro declared on Saturday.

That much would be ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Try not to look too surprised when I say this, but President Donald Trump is hung up on race.

And the condition is not limited to just one person. The old proverb dictates that "the fish rots from the head." So it is that -- when it comes to race -- Vice President JD Vance, Trump's advisers, Cabinet officials, MAGA supporters and...Read more

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a quick study in the art of laying it on thick, announced that he was teaming up with Israel's Knesset speaker to invite parliamentary leaders from around the world to jointly nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize -- and for nothing less than inaugurating "a new golden age."

Though refraining from that level of ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- President Donald Trump is part politician and part magician. A master illusionist, Trump doesn't merely live in his own reality. He creates a whole new reality and then forces the rest of us to live in it with him.

Like a used car salesman who sells you a lemon by convincing you it's a Lamborghini, Trump doesn't portray things ...Read more

After pleading guilty to bank fraud and filing a false income tax return in 2015, Selim Zherka was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, plus fines, restitution and forfeiture. Although he completed his sentence in May 2020, he is still subject to an additional penalty: He is not allowed to exercise ...Read more

About a week after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was released, offering insights about the direction our country is headed. After the troubling political violence we have witnessed recently, it is not shocking that a majority of those surveyed believe we ...Read more

Just after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a New York Times/Siena poll found that Americans believe polarization is the second most serious challenge facing the nation. (The economy came in first.) As recently as one year ago, fewer than 1% of registered voters cited polarization as a national problem; this year, 13% said it was the most ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Have you watched the news today? Oh boy.

The Trump administration's invasion of Chicago. Attacks on houses of worship. The government shutdown. The murder of Charlie Kirk. The division of a nation that was supposed to be "indivisible." All this and more weighs on the hearts and minds of many Americans.

I need a break. So today, ...Read more

In the stock room at Division Vapor in Portland, Oregon, a sign affixed to a metal rack holding various nicotine solutions reminds employees to "Censor Before (You) Stock!" The sign alludes to state regulations that require merchants to obscure allegedly child-enticing images and words before displaying vaping products to their adult customers...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Two years? It feels more like 20.

Another person who feels that way is Maha Shbeir, who worked as a doctor at Nasser hospital in Gaza. She recently told a reporter for the Associated Press that she feels as if over the last two years she has seen two decades' worth of pain, tragedy, suffering and hunger.

"I've seen cases of ...Read more

Shortly after I wrote my recent column about Ohio State University football players baptizing students at an "Invitation to Jesus" event in Columbus, a friend emailed me with a link to a story from the "CBS Mornings" series "The State of Spirituality" featuring reporting from award-winning journalist Lisa Ling. This particular story, by Ling ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Republicans are pushing two conflicting narratives at once, and the double talk has them flummoxed and tongue-tied.

The first narrative is that Democrats are weak, ineffective, out of touch and totally irrelevant to the politics of today. As President Donald Trump might put it, "they choke like dogs."

The second narrative is ...Read more

FBI Director Kash Patel portrays James Comey's indictment as a response to "the Russiagate hoax." Yet on their face, the charges against Comey have nothing to do with the investigation that earned the former FBI director a prominent spot on President Donald Trump's enemies list.

The Justice Department reportedly is contemplating charges ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- Americans have talked a lot lately about the ugly phenomenon of political violence. As well we should; people should not feel unsafe because of what they believe.

Nevertheless, now we need to pivot and confront something we don't want to talk about because it can be even uglier: religious violence. People also should not feel ...Read more

There are few things the old me liked more than a meaty discussion about the American Founding. The history was interesting for its own sake but also essential guidance for the present and future. Or so I believed for decades.

The other day, a podcast in my feed addressed these matters and I had to turn it off. Reflections on the Founders no ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- When I heard that a sniper had opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas, I was disheartened and concerned. But I wasn't the least bit surprised.

The agency has been drawing a lot of attention to itself over the last several months as its agents desperately try to fulfill an arbitrary and absurdly ...Read more

"When 97% of the stories are bad," President Donald Trump declared on Friday, "it's no longer free speech." When TV networks "take a great story" and "make it bad," he added, "I think that's really illegal."

Trump was wrong on both points. And in groping toward a justification for the regulatory threats that preceded Jimmy Kimmel's expulsion ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- President Donald Trump is notorious for falling to pieces over small things. But oddly, his petty rants sometimes touch on big topics.

The trouble is that the noise caused by the small often drowns out the substance of the big. This presidency is all about distraction. The president who can't stand a slight is an expert at ...Read more

With the 2025 college football season underway, the Ohio State Buckeyes are hoping to defend their national title and once again forge their way through the playoffs. Their path to the title of beating four ranked teams was epic last year, especially after a disappointing loss to Michigan. Their victories over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and ...Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The first rule of communications strategy goes like this: If you don't define yourself, your enemies, adversaries and competitors will gladly do it for you, and often in unflattering terms.

That's true with businesses, causes and nonprofit organizations. It's especially true in politics, where another version of the same idea ...Read more