Columns

Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher waves to the stage during the 27th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor celebrating Maher on June 29, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP)

Clarence Page: Beware the charm of our rising chatbots

By Clarence Page

October 19, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Besides the existential risks of artificial intelligence, consider how AI chatbots insinuate themselves in the...

The new Cragin Park Fieldhouse stands Oct. 15, 2026, in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Is the minimalist fieldhouse in Chicago’s Cragin Park architecture or just a building?

By Edward Keegan

October 19, 2026 at 8:09 a.m.

The Cragin Park Fieldhouse expresses a clear architectural character with its exposed steel structure. I...

A young woman reacts as she looks at her damaged home after Russia's night missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 14, 2026. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Trump’s abhorrent Russian diesel deal defies US laws and won’t lower gas prices

By Elizabeth Shackelford

October 16, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Donald Trump has illegally undone sanctions efforts against Russia. For all of this, Americans won’t...

A woman looks at a destroyed building on April 20, 2026, in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, during a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. (Ryan Murphy/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: Déjà vu in Lebanon

By Daniel DePetris

April 21, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

It appears that the White House wants to see the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon...

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth provides updates on the war in Iran at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on April 16, 2026. (Pete Marovich/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: Donald Trump, the pope and the gospel of ‘Pulp Fiction’

By Clarence Page

April 20, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Even right-wing strategist Steve Bannon has opined that the defense secretary needs to dial down...

The ground floor at Yollocalli Arts Reach, a youth-oriented after-school arts initiative in a decommissioned firehouse, shows the original concrete floor April 16, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Youth arts initiative creatively renovates old Little Village firehouse

By Edward Keegan

April 19, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The project preserves the character of the Little Village building while allowing Yollocalli Arts Reach's...

Special education teacher Tyesa Walton stands inside Chloe’s Closet in Dunbar Vocatiobal Career Academy in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Walton started Chloe’s Closet to provide prom dresses and other clothing for students who need them in honor of her late daughter. (Sylvia Barragan)

Heidi Stevens: Ahead of prom season, a teacher’s grief blossoms into a boutique that helps students make memories

By Heidi Stevens

April 17, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Tyesa Walton started Chloe's Closet to help her students at Dunbar Vocational Career Academy access...

Peter Magyar, the Hungarian opposition leader, during a rally for his party in Keszthely, Hungary, on March 29, 2026. For years, Magyar was a loyal ally of Viktor Orban, the far-right Hungarian leader. Then he changed sides and defeated his former boss in a landslide victory. (Akos Stiller/The New York Times)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Hungary’s lessons for democracy under fire

By Elizabeth Shackelford

April 17, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

In conditions short of absolute authoritarianism, as long as elections are still happening, ousting a...

Vice President JD Vance arrives for a meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks about Iran on April 11, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Daniel DePetris: The global ripple effects of the United States’ diplomacy with Iran

By Daniel DePetris

April 14, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

U.S. negotiations with Iran are not occurring in a vacuum. Other U.S. adversaries are evaluating...

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth takes questions during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on April 8, 2026. (Mandel Ngan/Getty-AFP)

Clarence Page: Pete Hegseth’s holy war

By Clarence Page

April 13, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Some are comparing the war in Iran to Vietnam, and watching Pete Hegseth reminds me...

Kevin Johnson, left, of Working Family Solidarity, speaks outside the Chicago Housing Authority offices on April 7, 2026, to announce that they are filing an Open Meetings Act lawsuit against the CHA. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

David Greising: Mayor Brandon Johnson pins his hopes on Open Meetings Act to oust CHA chief

By David Greising

April 10, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Open Meetings Act is Mayor Brandon Johnson's key tool in his effort to nullify...

President Donald Trump pretends to aim a sniper gun while speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Heidi Stevens: As Trump threatens to end a civilization, it’s clear we never should’ve gotten to this point

By Heidi Stevens

April 8, 2026 at 4:37 p.m.

The president of the United States shouldn’t conduct foreign policy via a racist, profanity-laden Easter...

Edgar Reyes, from the taqueria Tacombi, places an order in a delivery robot nearby on West Randolph Street on Feb. 6, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: What’s the fuss over delivery robots?

By Laura Washington

April 8, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Chicago's delivery robots join services like Uber and Lyft in helping us through mundane tasks...

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