“I believe Rahm Emanuel referred to the Chicago Teachers Union as a socialist conspiracy,” Johnson said Wednesday. “Did I get the words? But little did he know there was no conspiracy. We were just doing it.”

Doing socialism, in other words. Johnson made these remarks at an event promoting American Federation of Teachers President Randi...Read more

There are moments in a nation’s cultural life that feel, at first, like passing storms—brief, noisy, and soon forgotten. But every so often, what begins as a squall reveals itself as a warning: a sign that something far bigger is at stake.

The initial cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel by Disney, along with the coordinated blackout from network ...Read more

When the federal government’s electric-vehicle tax credits expired on Sept. 30, Hyundai made its move. The Korean automaker knocked as much as $10,000 off the price of its EVs in the U.S., more than making up for the taxpayer-funded $7,500 credit the GOP canceled years ahead of schedule in its “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

So, were ...Read more

Remember when snack choices fueled the most contentious debates around Super Bowl halftime? Cheetos versus Doritos. Hot wings versus garlic knots. And who the hell brought carrot sticks?!

Now Turning Point USA, the far-right organization founded by slain MAGA activist Charlie Kirk, has presented its followers with more tough choices: Who should...Read more

As oceans rise, glaciers melt and some parts of the world flood while others bake in drought, good news about climate change is scarce. Thus, a report last week from Ember Energy Research is worth noting.

Ember is an energy think tank registered in England and Wales. It makes no secret of its aim “to accelerate the clean energy transition ...Read more

More than two years after they were seized by Hamas militants in the brutal Oct. 7 attacks, the 20 remaining living Israeli hostages have finally been released. U.S. pressure made the breakthrough possible. It will be just as vital to reaching a longer-lasting peace.

After several days of talks last week, negotiators in Egypt cemented an ...Read more

I have ALS, an incurable and fatal disease. There’s a good chance I will die within a few years.

But my spirit feels optimistic. My game is in the middle innings — lots of time left.

Baseball is an apt metaphor because ALS is “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” The legendary New York Yankee died from it. Despite his condition, he told his fans, ...Read more

One May morning in 1961, 21-year-old Manuel Alvarado strapped on his huaraches, stuffed three changes of clothes and a thin blanket into a nylon tote bag and bid his parents farewell. He was leaving their rancho of La Cañada, Zacatecas for el Norte.

The United States had been kind and cruel to his farming family. His uncles had regaled him ...Read more

I’ll admit something personal: I’ve talked to an AI therapist. It was remarkably useful, meeting me in tough moments whenever with words that actually helped me take a step back, breathe, and process. That mix of good and bad is what makes artificial intelligence so fascinating and so important to get right.

The truth is, not all AI therapy...Read more

In recent years, American workers have been going through an unprecedented experiment in how we work. During the COVID pandemic and social distancing, U.S. businesses embraced the latest online technologies to vastly expand remote work. That, in turn, ushered in the slow creep of artificial intelligence applications into every crack and seam of ...Read more

While the Trump administration has effectively declared war on wind and solar energy — blocking all permitting of projects on federal lands and pushing through a rollback of federal subsidies and tax credits — other nations are embracing renewable energy as a strategy for building economic and political strength.

China remains the world’...Read more

Based on oral arguments last week, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority seems likely to hold that the First Amendment protects so-called conversion therapy for gay and transgender minors when it is conducted entirely through conversation. If so, it would be the first time the court has ever held that talk therapy is fully protected speech...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sen. Alex Padilla apparently dreams of becoming California’s next governor. He’s thinking hard about entering the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. And Katie Porter may have just opened the starting gate for him.

Porter has been regarded as the early front-runner. But she tripped and stumbled badly during a ...Read more

Here’s a shocker: Democrats and Republicans don’t see eye-to-eye on the economy.

But focusing on the partisan divide obscures the bigger picture: Majorities in both parties think the economy is not good. This is bad news for Republicans, the party in power and also the party historically more trusted with the economy. And it’s bad news ...Read more

Boston University has a term for those who make it to 100 years old without showing any outward sign of dementia or any other clinically demonstrable disease: “escapers.”

It’s a reference to how, as one inevitably approaches the limit of the natural human lifespan, morbidity is something to be “escaped.”

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, ...Read more

Americans think the First Amendment protects their speech. It doesn’t — at least not at work for most of us. Just ask the executives, teachers, lawyers and even a Secret Service agent disciplined after posting about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. A single Facebook update or tweet — whether mocking, angry or ...Read more

In the Gilded Age of the millionaire, wealth signified ownership. The titans of old built railroads, monopolized oil, and bought their indulgences in yachts, mansions, and eventually, sports teams. A franchise was the crown jewel: a visible, glamorous token of success.

But that era is over. Today’s billionaires, those who tower, not with ...Read more

On Sept. 22, a group of more than 200 prominent individuals, including 10 Nobel Prize winners, published an open letter calling for urgent action to enact binding international safeguards against dangerous uses of artificial intelligence, or AI.

“AI holds immense potential to advance human wellbeing, yet its current trajectory presents ...Read more

It’s harvest time in the Midwest and farmers are bringing in bumper crops of soybeans, corn and wheat. They should be elated.

But their best customers are shopping elsewhere as a result of a global trade war ignited by President Donald Trump. Punishing tariffs have created what some are calling “Farmaggedon.”

China, once a top ...Read more