Nolan Finley: Dems’ choice: Replace Biden or lose
Democrats with presidential ambitions should be calculating how much longer they can defer to President Joe Biden.
Editorial: Students who endured two school shootings are a testament to America’s failure
A sobering footnote to Monday’s mass shooting at Michigan State University is not about the three dead victims but rather some of the survivors — including a college student who, 10 years ago, was among the children who lived through the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut that took the lives of her 20 classmates.
Commentary: Biden is ending COVID emergency declarations. But the health care worker crisis continues
The Biden administration recently announced that it will end the COVID-associated national and public health emergencies on May 11. That means stopping payments for COVID-19 tests and vaccines for some Americans depending on their insurance status, other people losing benefits such as Medicaid, and some hospitals receiving less funding — placing higher burdens on our already depleted health care workforce.
Editorial: Yes, Republicans have threatened Social Security. And they’re still doing it
It seems the hecklers at last week’s State of the Union speech owe President Joe Biden an apology. After some congressional Republicans tried to shout him down for saying some in the GOP want to cut Social Security and Medicare, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., stepped up to add his voice to the chorus alleging that Biden was lying — then promptly reiterated his call for a universal “sunset” on all federal programs every five years, which would apply to Social Security and Medicare. Oops.
Bill Dudley: Will the Fed go longer or higher? Maybe both
How will the US Federal Reserve wage its battle with inflation — by keeping interest rates elevated for longer, or by taking them even higher? Investors are fixated on this question, which has vast implications for bonds, stocks and the entire economy.
VIEWPOINT 1: ‘Only in America,’ not ‘Once Upon a Time’
I love America because only in America can a poor “guy off the boat” speaking with a thick Croatian accent rise to become one of the most successful businessmen and recognizable TV personalities today, “Shark Tank’s” Robert Herjavec.
Rescuers rejoice as more quake survivors emerge from rubble
ISKENDERUN, Turkey — Six relatives huddled in a small air pocket, day after day. A desperate teenager grew so thirsty that he drank his own urine. Two frightened sisters were comforted by a pop song as they waited for rescuers to free them.
Editorial: Letting abusers have guns is the inevitable outcome of unbridled ‘originalism’
A federal appeals court ruling last week that people under restraining orders for domestic violence cannot be prohibited from having guns was utterly divorced from reality even if it also was utterly predictable. The U.S. Supreme Court, in setting a standard on gun laws that relies on the trendy right-wing legal theory of constitutional originalism, all but guaranteed that lower courts would begin dismantling reasonable modern laws based on 18th century legal and societal standards. The appeals court’s dangerous ruling is merely the logical result of the high court’s obsession with dragging America’s laws back to a largely imagined past.
VIEWPOINT 2: This Valentine’s Day, show some love for America
Although the last few years have been difficult for most Americans, there still is much to love about the country President Abraham Lincoln called “the last best hope of earth” and President Ronald Reagan labeled “the shining city on a hill.”
Editorial: Refugees want jobs, and the economy wants workers
With a total of 517,000 new jobs created last month and total employment estimates revised up, the country now has the lowest unemployment rate in more than half a century.
VIEWPOINT 2: Holly paved the way to Beatlemania
For many people, the most notable date in February is Valentine’s Day. But for those familiar with the history of rock music, two others stand out: Feb. 3, 1959 — “the day the music died,” as Don McLean described it in his 1971 hit “American Pie” — and Feb. 9, 1964, when the Beatles made their first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Lisa Jarvis: Free COVID care will be gone soon. Should you worry?
On May 11, the COVID-19 public health emergency officially comes to a close in the U.S., and with it comes an end to largely free access to all related healthcare. House Republicans might want to declare it over this instant, but a cushion is needed — and this one might not even be enough — to ensure everyone from insurers to drug companies to each of us knows what the unwinding means.
Commentary: When will US workers get paid leave? Try 2035
Most wealthy countries provide workers with paid time off when they become parents, fall ill or need to care for loved ones. It’s one of the great no-brainers of public policy: It benefits newborns, families and the entire economy.
VIEWPOINT 1: The month the music lived on
Although February is the shortest calendar month of the year, it has served as one of the most significant months for momentous musical events — both happy and sad.
Carl P. Leubsdorf: 2024 might not be your grandfather’s presidential race
In touting her own presidential qualifications, Nikki Haley sounded a familiar theme that is likely to be heard a lot in the 2024 presidential race. It’s a potential problem for both current front-runners.
Nicholas Goldberg: Business is the most trusted institution? Are you kidding me?
You’d think that people would have learned their lesson after years of financial industry gimmickry, corporate tax avoidance and mistreatment of workers.
Commentary: Our children can handle mass shootings. And that’s a shame
For anyone worried about how children handle mass shootings like the one in Monterey Park, I have an answer: Probably better than American children of any previous generation.
Doyle McManus: Biden’s documents misstep helps Trump politically — and legally too
When classified documents turned up in President Joe Biden’s former office, his Delaware home and the garage housing his Corvette, the political impact was predictable. Republicans gleefully accused Biden of the same offense that prompted the FBI to raid former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate last August.
John M. Crisp: Don’t feel guilty about taxing the wealthy
As our nation bumps up hard against a national debt north of $31 trillion, let’s start with the obvious: Our expenditures are greater than our revenue. And while this isn’t the crisis that Republicans imagine when a Democrat is in the White House, common sense suggests that bringing expenditures and revenue into closer alignment would be a good thing.
US should make Iranian nuclear deal a priority as agreement within reach
International efforts aimed at reviving the Iranian nuclear deal were largely stalled in 2022, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks on Tuesday that the United States no longer considers reaching an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program a priority paint a gloomier picture for the prospects of the multilateral agreement.