The CIA calls it the “strategic commodity” of the Middle East. But it’s not referring to oil or natural gas. What the American spy agency has in mind is far more prosaic: drinking water. Don’t underestimate it, though, because if military hostilities continue to escalate, water could become the geopolitical commodity that decides the war...Read more

There was a time in Florida when diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) were considered to be good things. When it was OK to celebrate the state’s vibrant array of cultures. When parents and teachers raised children to believe that their futures mattered; when leaders transcended ideology to make communities stronger and better-prepared to ...Read more

The racist, antisemitic and sexist texts revealed Wednesday in a group chat primarily for Miami conservative college students — and tied to leaders in the Miami-Dade Republican Party — are beyond sickening.

Prolific use of the N-word. Descriptions of violent deaths imagined for Black people, including crucifying, beheading and dissecting ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — When Kathy Magnuson was young, she signed her Social Security card with pride, if not precision, by her maiden name: “Kathy A. Brown.”

She got married in 1963 and signed her new card more formally, “Kathleen A. Magnuson.” A later replacement card got the full treatment, “Kathleen Ann Magnuson.” These name variations ...Read more

Petty partisan squabbles and election-year gamesmanship at home should take a rest while the nation is engaged in major combat overseas.

A war is not the time for Americans to be battling with each other.

Even as Congress takes up the very serious matter of whether a president has the authority to make war without its OK, distracting fights ...Read more

The decline of missile stockpiles, which spurred the Department of Defense’s arm-twisting in January for Lockheed Martin Corp. and RTX Corp. to boost production, is worsening by the day.

Modern warfare is all about missiles, interceptors, stealth aircraft and drones. Thanks to companies like Lockheed, RTX, Northrop Grumman Corp. and other ...Read more

Can anyone reading this editorial right now explain, clearly and succinctly, why the U.S. is currently engaged in an open-ended military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran?

If you said yes, congratulations — you’re doing better than the Trump administration. President Donald Trump and his advisers have offered nothing but ...Read more

"I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."

— Donald Trump, in his victory speech Nov. 6, 2024

It's bad enough that President Donald Trump has broken that oft-repeated pledge and unilaterally started a war, without engaging either Congress or the American public. And that, by his war of choice against Iran, he has in the most ...Read more

As war rages across the Middle East, every mariner’s eye is on the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow waterway, which connects the confines of the Persian Gulf with the open waters of the Indian Ocean, is effectively shut down.

Normally, about 20% to 25% of the world’s oil and gas flow south from the Gulf and on to markets around the world. As ...Read more

As a teen in a small Illinois town, America’s bicentennial in 1976 fascinated me. The official logo marking the 200 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was omnipresent — on posters in my high school, on clothing and in advertisements. The culmination of the event took many forms in July 1976: fire hydrants repainted in “...Read more

Should university presidents publicly weigh in on the most pressing societal issues of our times? In some academic circles, especially at public universities, it is now common for presidents to adopt a policy of neutrality. For presidents of faith-based universities, taking a position of neutrality can be problematic since the religious order ...Read more

After months of fretting, California Democratic leaders are now truly freaking out about too many of their own running for governor, potentially allowing two MAGA Republicans to advance to the general election.

Someone find me the world's smallest violin.

It's the latest mess created by a party that has held supermajorities in the state ...Read more

It was bad enough that Donald Trump hasn’t been able to explain clearly why he yet again felt he had to attack Iran, and why now. His national security advisor and secretary of state, Marco Rubio, then inadvertently made everything worse by implying that the president wasn’t so much leading — in the spirit of America First and Peace ...Read more

It was beyond disconcerting to hear the Iranian foreign minister on Sunday sounding like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy circa 2022. But that’s the comparison that instantly sprang to mind when Abbas Araghchi told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week”: “What the United States is doing is an act of aggression. What we are ...Read more

The United States and Israel ramped up attacks on Iran on Wednesday, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stating more American assets were headed to the region and the Jewish state taking increasing aim at Iran’s infrastructure, according to news accounts. CBS reported that Iran’s power grid was completely shut down.

Iran’s scattershot ...Read more

The early political signals emerging from Texas may offer a revealing preview of the national mood heading into the 2026 midterm elections. While one state rarely defines the entire political landscape, Texas often serves as an important barometer for the broader tensions shaping American politics today: polarization, ideological intensity and ...Read more

“Even before taking office, I made clear that Iran would not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon on my watch.”

Former President Barack Obama said that in 2015. A little over a decade later, it’s apparent that they gave him little heed.

When U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner ...Read more

Killing the tyrant doesn’t assure the tyranny will end.

Regime change efforts by the United States in this century confirm that when despots are toppled, it is likely one form of oppression will be replaced by another.

Instead of peace and democracy, externally driven nation-building most often ends in chaos. One set of bad guys goes, and ...Read more

There is something about manufacturing jobs, and the manufacturing industry, that makes people sentimental. When they think of a factory worker, they think of him (it’s usually a he) as having great benefits, job stability and the ability to support his family. Donald Trump was elected president partly because of his promise, which he is ...Read more