Politics
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Mark Z. Barabak: He tried to keep Trump from a second term. But six months in, 'I'm very impressed.'
DENVER — Roger Hutson was never a huge fan of Donald Trump.
In 2016, he supported Marco Rubio for president, helping raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for his Republican primary bid.
In 2024, Hutson worked with "No Labels," a group of Democrats, Republicans and independents, to forge a bipartisan ticket with the express purpose of ...Read more

Allison Schrager: Megabills didn't break the economy before and won't now
Opinions of the One Big Beautiful Bill tend toward the extreme. One of its main authors calls it “the greatest piece of Republican legislation in a generation,” while one of its most authoritative critics says it makes him ashamed to be an American. So allow me to offer what counts as a radical view: The bill is neither as terrible as its ...Read more

Gustavo Arellano: 'La migra, la migra': Inside Huntington Park's long deportation summer
LOS ANGELES — Huntington Park High School Principal Carlos Garibaldi was preparing to host a graduation on his campus when frantic colleagues radioed him: Immigration is coming.
A fleet of trucks and vans was speeding up Miles Avenue in front of the school's main building.
School staffers followed the emergency plan that Garibaldi had ...Read more

Commentary: Donald Trump wants to deport migrants to South Sudan. What awaits them isn't pretty
When I saw the news a few weeks ago that President Donald Trump’s administration was trying to deport eight men to South Sudan, I was shocked. I had worked and lived in South Sudan as a diplomat and know the country well. It is on the brink of yet another civil war, and its government has a horrific human rights record. America’s own travel ...Read more

Column: Why there isn't a best chef in the world
In victory, top chefs are much like the classiest of professional tennis players: self-deprecatory, admiring of their rivals, grateful to their teachers. A few weeks ago, just after his restaurant Maido was proclaimed No. 1 among the 50 Best Restaurants in the World at a ceremony in Turin, Italy, Mitsuharu Tsumura told me, “There is ...Read more

Noah Feldman: No, the government can't just take away your citizenship
In a memo last month listing its law enforcement priorities, President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice prioritized stripping citizenship from naturalized citizens who pose threats to the U.S., including national security dangers, terrorism, gang affiliations and fraud. Given the administration’s aggressive — and sometimes lawless — ...Read more

Editorial: Orlando should fight back against rainbow-crosswalk ban
Welcome to 2025, where a memorial to a searing tragedy is deemed to be a political message, and improvements proven to make intersections safer are banned in the name of safety.
That’s the message behind the Trump administration’s evidence-bare attack on art painted on the asphalt of intersections. It’s a blow that hits particularly hard ...Read more

Editorial: In Jeffrey Epstein matter, powerful men slither away
We’ve said little about Jeffrey Epstein, the serial sex offender who wormed his way into the upper echelons of elite America in no small part by trafficking underage teenage girls to powerful men. The affair is sordid, the conspiracy theories legion and much of the media coverage both exhausting and troublingly salacious.
But on Monday, the ...Read more

Jenice Armstrong: This mom wants out of Philly after ICE deported her husband to Belize
Earlier this year, I wrote about Jesreel Chimilio, a father of two from Philadelphia who was seized outside his home by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and whisked away for deportation.
His wife, Charlene Maddox Chimilio, came running out after him with their 9-month-old son, Zechariah, on her hip, but it was too late.
Neither ...Read more

Commentary: On learning to be inclusive
I was born in 1957. The word “colored” is on my birth certificate. The civil rights movement educated me around race identity, and I now identify as Black or of African descent.
When I was growing up, there were only two pronouns to describe oneself: she and he. As for gender, you checked a box, male or female. Same for bathrooms—it was ...Read more

Commentary: Why are high school boys drawn to the manosphere?
This boy was lying to me. I could tell from the way he swiveled in his chair, fluffing up and then patting down his shaggy hair. I could tell from the rehearsed sentences he fed me, his voice bored and monotone. “I’m a white man,” he stated. “I have a lot of advantages in the world.”
Normally, I would have felt pleased that he ...Read more

Commentary: Against the present -- The future of feminism is now
Democracy in America is being driven into the shadows. Anyone in doubt need only pause to reflect on the events of June, when the military parade of the autocrat-in-chief in D.C. coincided with a manhunt for an assassin of lawmakers in Minnesota. Lawmakers who had stood up for reproductive freedom, as well as other progressive issues.
Let us ...Read more

Editorial: SCOTUS -- Trump likely to 'succeed' in restructuring case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump to move forward with shrinking the federal workforce. The move is notable as much for the outcome as for the dynamics involved.
The case stemmed from an executive order the president issued early in February directing administration officials to formulate plans for “large-scale�...Read more

Editorial: Is a Middle East turning point around the corner?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at the White House in a de facto Middle East summit on Monday. The two represent collectively the sole superpower in that turbulent region.
Israel sports nuclear weapons and a congressionally guaranteed “qualitative” military edge over its hostile neighbors. The ...Read more

Tom Philp: California thins its forests, then burns the wood. Is there a better idea?
In California’s never-ending effort to thin its forests to prevent devastating wildfires, crews are removing millions of tons of small trees and brush every year.
And then most of it goes up in smoke. It is burned, in controlled and intentionally lit fires, before the next fire season.
The search for a better solution has been elusive. One ...Read more

Hal Brands: Trump is opening a new chapter in US foreign policy
Nearly six months into Donald Trump’s presidency, a Trump Doctrine is coming into view. Contrary to the fears of his critics, and the hopes of some admirers, Trump is no isolationist. And contrary to those who claim Trump is simply a marvel of ac hoc-ery and inconsistency, there is a distinctive pattern to the policies he has pursued.
This ...Read more

Commentary: It's not just hot out -- It's dangerous
I love sitting outside in the sun. There’s something grounding and peaceful about soaking up the warmth. But my 16-year-old dog, Jessa, doesn’t agree. After just a few minutes on the porch, she starts panting, shifting uncomfortably and giving me that unmistakable look: “I need to go inside.”
Once we’re back in the air conditioning, ...Read more

Mary Ellen Klas: Want students to thrive? Lock up their phones
There are few things most American politicians seem to agree upon, but banning mobile phones in classrooms seems to be one of them. Based on the experiences of some schools that have required students to prioritize learning over TikTok scrolling, there’s also a welcome side benefit: less conflict and more “hellos.”
When school starts this...Read more

Commentary: Why not hold gun manufacturers accountable for mass shootings?
At least 18 were shot, four fatally, in Chicago's River North neighborhood after a drive-by shooting last week. Four families will prepare expenses for funeral services and seek mental health support in the wake of their loss. Or they may be so paralyzed by this event that they lose all functionality. The 14 who survived the shooting will fall ...Read more

POINT: Until we raise the minimum wage, tip!
Our nation’s paltry federal minimum wage of just $7.25 hourly is rightly criticized as far too little to sustain a worker, let alone a family, in 2025.
That’s bad enough, but did you know that there’s an even lower floor for workers who receive tips on the job? That’s right. The federal minimum wage for tipped workers is just $2.13 an ...Read more