I remember the knot in my stomach when I had to tell one of my best workers at Miramar Group that we might not be able to keep offering affordable health coverage. He’s been with me for years — reliable, hardworking, with two kids. The look on his face said everything: Without decent health insurance, his family is one accident away from ...Read more

Seven out of the nine universities that the Trump administration invited to offer feedback on the so-called Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education have politely declined to sign on. At its core, the compact offers preferential treatment in exchange for institutional support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda. This ...Read more

In 1883, Emma Lazarus, a young Jewish woman who cared for detained immigrants in New York, wrote a poem she titled “The New Colossus” to raise money for the pedestal to support the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France.

To many Americans, the last few lines are the most meaningful and familiar.

“Give me your tired, your ...Read more

The drumbeat to release the Epstein files just got a lot louder. Emails from disgraced financier and sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein released by House Democrats Wednesday say President Donald Trump “knew about the girls” and “spent hours” with a victim at Epstein’s house. Those allegations, whether true or not, must be addressed — ...Read more

This is how winning political coalitions unravel. An unforeseen development roils one of the major political parties.

For the Democratic Party, that development was Donald Trump in 2016. For the Republican Party, that development is growing antisemitism on the right, especially among younger voters.

The smoldering tensions flared into open ...Read more

There’s no room in the budget to cut, we’re told.

All education dollars are for the children, we’re told.

So why did Chicago Public Schools bankroll a teacher’s $4,700 trip to a Hawaiian luxury resort, a suburban spa retreat for elementary school staff and limo (not Uber) services to and from Chicago airports?

Many folks can’t even ...Read more

We are being ruled by the "Epstein class," and voters deserve to know the details of that particular scandal, and to be able to expect better of their leaders in the larger sense.

That's the message we'll be hearing a lot in the coming weeks and months now that Democrats have successfully moved forward their effort to release the full ...Read more

This week, Canada officially lost its measles elimination status, which it held for nearly 30 years — a shameful consequence of falling childhood vaccination rates.

In normal times, Canada’s misfortune might serve as yet another wake-up call for public health leaders in the U.S., which is precariously close to losing its own measles-free ...Read more

Last week, a massive commercial vessel was hijacked 620 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. Formally flagged to Malta, the Hellas Aphrodite is a Greek-owned tanker that was carrying gasoline from India to South Africa — a transit through dangerous waters off Africa’s eastern coast.

Fortunately, a European Union mission focused on ...Read more

Democrats' caterwauling this week after a few of their senators caved to end the government shutdown couldn't completely drown out another noise: the sound of President Donald Trump pinballing dumb "policy" ideas as he flails to respond to voters' unhappiness that his promised Golden Age is proving golden only for him, his family and his donors....Read more

As Hurricane Melissa cements itself as the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin—fueled by unseasonably warm ocean temperatures 2.5 °F above average—we must grapple with what this means for our future.

In a recent report, scientists found that seven of the nine planetary boundaries essential for sustaining life on Earth are ...Read more

Dick Durbin has seen his share of epic political battles as Illinois’ senior lawmaker in Washington. So he surely isn’t surprised at the slings and arrows coming his way from fellow Democrats after being one of eight Democratic senators to vote to reopen the government on terms most in his party say constitute capitulation to the detested ...Read more

America likes to tell itself stories about freedom, democracy, and shared prosperity. But beneath those stories, a quiet tragedy has unfolded over the last fifty years — enacted not with swords or bombs, but with legislation, court rulings, and corporate strategy.

It is a tragedy of labor hollowed out, the middle class squeezed, and ...Read more

Generative AI could save hundreds of thousands of lives, make health care affordable for every American, and let clinicians spend more time with their patients. But this won’t happen unless our nation embraces the opportunities this technology makes possible.

The need for swift and bold action has never been greater. With average medical ...Read more

Last month, Tether, the world’s largest dollar-backed stablecoin, claimed it had reached 500 million users. That figure, while hard to verify, reflects a growing reality: in countries like Argentina, Nigeria, and Turkey, people are turning to digital dollars not to speculate, but to survive. Inflation eats away at savings, banks are unreliable...Read more

As the latest and longest government shutdown enters its denouement, Congress will be left to tally the costs and repair the damage. One thing to be thankful for: The filibuster, the procedural oddity that has constrained Senate majorities for decades, remains intact — for now.

As Republican frustration mounted last week, the procedure ...Read more

Congress appears poised to effectively ban the sale of intoxicating synthetic hemp products such as delta-8 that have proliferated in gas stations, convenience stores and many other retail outlets in recent years.

This is bad news for Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the Black Caucus in Springfield, who have shamefully treated this ...Read more

There is no company in the U.S. that has become more closely associated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids than Home Depot Inc.

In and around the retailer’s parking lots, masked and armed ICE agents chase and tackle and detain the day laborers who gather there to look for work.

Store employees who are upset by witnessing the grim...Read more

If there is one area where Americans still agree, it’s that free speech matters. Amid recent political protests, ongoing concerns about speech suppression, and the latest campus controversies, the First Amendment is (still) immensely popular.

In our latest national survey, 81 percent of Americans claimed freedom of speech should be protected ...Read more