President Donald Trump responds to a question about Ukraine and the whistleblower report at the White House, October 2, 2019. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Both make the president’s conduct look foolish, but only one makes it look impeachable. According to the media, Bill Taylor, the acting chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, delivered the coup

Representative Elijah Cummings on Capitol Hill, October 10, 2012 (Jose Luis Magana/Reuters) If only out of narrow self-interest, the party ought to appreciate that even a respectable losing margin among them could be a game-changer for it. Representative Elijah Cummings was born before Brown v. Board of Education, an era of de jure segregation in

Mayor Pete Buttigieg looks out to the audience during a campaign stop in Dover, N.H., July 12, 2019. (Brian Snyder/Reuters) With over three months to go until the all-important Iowa caucuses, Mayor Pete’s anti-Warren pivot has given his campaign new life. It’s usually against best practices to telegraph a punch, but Pete Buttigieg knew what

Vice President Mike Pence (Carlos Barria/Reuters) Vice President Mike Pence had strong words for both the NBA and the Chinese government during a major policy speech on Thursday, accusing the sports league of behaving like a “wholly owned subsidiary of the authoritarian regime” in its response to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. “Lately, China

An incandescent bulb (Lisi Niesner/Reuters) Don’t take pride in inefficient appliances. The other day, one of the obnoxious little incandescent light bulbs in my bathroom went out. Every time I run out of the damn things, I have to take an old one to the store with me to find a match or spend 20

A Turkish solider in the town of Tal Abyad, Syria, October 23, 2019 (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters) The State Department confirmed Wednesday that more than 100 ISIS prisoners have escaped since Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria following the Trump administration’s withdrawal of about 1,000 U.S. troops from the region. Ambassador James Jeffrey, the chief diplomat in charge

Massachusetts State House in Boston (Pixabay) A sincere proposal to criminalize a word was formally considered at the highest level of a state’s government. On Tuesday, Massachusetts legislators considered a bill that would criminalize certain uses of the word “bitch” — making it punishable by up to six months in jail or a fine up

NBA commissioner Adam Silver (Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports) In today’s Wall Street Journal, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver declares in an interview that he “respectfully disagrees” with those who believe the NBA should disengage with China. “My personal belief is that isolationism doesn’t make sense in this highly interconnected world. We have no choice but to

(Unsplash) Life is pretty good—right? It’s the middle of the night, and your kids are asleep. Your spouse is sleeping beside you. You should be asleep, too, but you’re tossing and turning because you’re worried. It started with something so silly; you read the other day that the Seattle school district is “planning to infuse

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel speaks at a press conference outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., February 15, 2018 (Thom Baur/Reuters) The Florida Senate Rules Committee on Monday recommended removing the Broward County sheriff accused of mishandling the February, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Sheriff

A tornado in North Dallas, Texas, October 20, 2019. (Philip Ellis/Social media via Reuters) A tornado tore through Dallas not too far from where I live last night. I slept through it. A Home Depot got leveled, and there was a fair amount of damage to houses and other structures, but as of this writing

Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses attendees at the “Bernie’s Back” rally at Queensbridge Park in Queens, N.Y., October 19, 2019. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters) The Sanders circus comes to Queens. Who says Joe Biden supporters aren’t fired up and ready to fight? Twenty-five thousand eight hundred and seventy-two of them showed up in Queens Saturday to bring a

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during the Democratic presidential candidates debate in Westerville, Ohio, October 15, 2019. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) released a far-reaching plan on Monday outlining her education-policy proposals. Titled “A Great Public School Education for Every Student,” the plan calls for banning for-profit charter schools and using the IRS to

Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney during a cabinet meeting at the White House, June 21, 2018. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney announced Thursday that the upcoming G-7 summit will be hosted at President Trump’s resort in Miami, the Trump National Doral Golf Club, from June 10–12 of

City Hall in San Francisco, Calif. (Kate Munsch/Reuters) The city of San Francisco has added 22 states with laws limiting abortion access to a blacklist that prevents city employees from traveling to those states on the city’s dime or dealing with businesses based in them. The ban will take effect on January 1, 2020. “We

The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning takes part in drills in the western Pacific, April 2018. (Stringer/Reuters) America and its allies must cooperate to counter the military-commercial threat. China is working to end U.S. military predominance in Asia, and likely beyond. This forces U.S. officials to rethink how military security relates to trade and investment. U.S.

A grounded Icelandair Boeing 737 MAX aircraft parked in a Boeing employee parking lot at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash., July 1, 2019. (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters) A Boeing pilot who tested the 737 Max jet in flight simulators in 2016 admitted in a series of text messages that he lied to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding

Matt Lauer (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters) NBC News has confirmed that they will not commission an outside investigation into the alleged sexual misconduct of former Today Show host Matt Lauer. “There is no additional investigation being launched,” NBC spokeswoman Hilary Smith told the Hollywood Reporter on Friday. “We are very confident in the report that was conducted.”

Vice President Mike Pence walks outside in Munich, Germany, February 16, 2019. (Michael Dalder/Reuters) Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the U.S. will withdraw existing Turkish sanctions and will not impose any additional ones after Turkey agreed to a five-day ceasefire with Kurdish forces in Syria. Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 22, 2016. (Albert Gea/Reuters) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday defended the company’s policy of allowing political campaigns to run advertisements containing misleading or false information on their platform. “People worry, and I worry deeply, too, about an erosion of truth,” Zuckerberg

President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) Economists and commodities traders question whether China will increase agricultural purchases to $50 billion as part of a yet-to-be-finalized deal. On Friday, after two days of negotiations in Washington, President Trump announced a ceasefire

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference in New York, September 14, 2018. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a measure Wednesday freeing New York from its obligation to observe presidential pardons when it comes to prosecuting crimes committed in the state. The measure scraps the “double-jeopardy loophole” that bars states from

U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland poses in Brussels, Belgium, June 4, 2019. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters) Former White House foreign-policy adviser Fiona Hill told House impeachment investigators on Monday that U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland was a potential “security risk” because he came so unprepared to the job, according to the New

Sen. Elizabeth Warren responds to a question during a forum held by the Giffords group and March For Our Lives in Las Vegas, Nev., October 2, 2019. (Steve Marcus/Reuters) Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., mass.) deleted from her Twitter and YouTube accounts a now-infamous video announcing the results of her DNA test on Wednesday, one year

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James answers questions at the Lakers media day at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, Calif., September 27, 2019. (Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports) If these things really do matter to you, you should also start prioritizing them even when they may be inconvenient. So, LeBron James claimed that

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at the New Hampshire Democratic Party state convention in Manchester, September 7, 2019. (Gretchen Ertl/Reuters) Elizabeth Warren wants the social-media giant to certify the truth and falsity of the political ads it runs. She should think the issue through more carefully. I’m not convinced that Elizabeth Warren is thinking clearly when

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith (Fox News/via YouTube) Fox News Channel’s chief anchor, Shepard Smith, announced on air Friday that he would be resigning from his post after 23 years with the network. “This is my last newscast here,” said Smith. “Recently, I asked the company to allow me to leave Fox News. After requesting

Hunter Biden (left) and then–Vice President Joe Biden walk down Pennsylvania Avenue following the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., January 20, 2009. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) Hunter Biden announced Sunday that he will step down from the board of a Chinese private equity firm amid allegations of a conflict of interest involving his father,

San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer speaks at the San Diego County Republican Party’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner in 2015. (Gage Skidmore) Faulconer has succeeded by delivering competent governance without the divisive bombast. Whether others can do the same may be key to the state party’s future. From Ted Cruz’s sneering at “New York values” to the

(Pixabay) A Fort Worth, Texas police officer resigned Monday morning after fatally shooting a 28-year old black woman through the window of her mother’s home this past weekend. Police chief Ed Kraus said in a press conference that he had intended to fire Aaron Dean, the officer who shot Atatiana Jefferson early Saturday morning, but