Columns

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses supporters during a victory rally after winning a fourth term in the presidential runoff in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Oct. 25, 2026. (Natacha Pisarenko/AP)

Daniel DePetris: What Donald Trump should do now that his Brazilian ally has been defeated

By Daniel DePetris

November 3, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Flávio Bolsonaro's own self-imposed exile comes at a tricky time for relations between the United...

Former President Barack Obama speaks Oct. 28, 2026, in Morrow, Georgia, where he repeated the Cheesecake Factory Oval Office comparison. (Brynn Anderson/AP)

Clarence Page: Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory joke explains the state of MAGA

By Clarence Page

November 2, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Oval Office belongs to all of us, which is one reason why Barack Obama’s...

Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin departs July 22, 2026, at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., after a mock graduation event to commemorate Durbin’s long advocacy for the Dream Act, a path to citizenship for undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

John T. Shaw: Sen. Dick Durbin is not giving up on immigration reform

By John T. Shaw

November 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Sen. Dick Durbin has a strategy on immigration reform that draws from others' earlier struggles...

A woman holds a child as she walks past burning tires during a protest in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 19, 2025. The capital is close to falling to armed gangs. (Patrice Noel/ZUMA Press)

Daniel DePetris: The strife in Ecuador, Mexico and Haiti is easy to miss in our frenetic news cycle

By Daniel DePetris

July 8, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Conflicts in Ecuador, Mexico and Haiti stem from corruption, a lack of state authority and...

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) pumps his fist in the air and chants "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!" while celebrating the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with fellow Republicans in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on July 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The House passed the sweeping tax and spending bill after winning over fiscal hawks and moderate Republicans. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Clarence Page: Old ‘welfare queen’ legends haunt Donald Trump’s budget plan

By Clarence Page

July 6, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The fact remains that Republicans are only slightly offsetting significant tax cuts for the rich...

A man holds a flag that reads "Shame" outside the Library of Congress on May 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: On long list of things being cut, art may seem inconsequential. It’s not

By Heidi Stevens

July 4, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

If the first six months of this administration have taught us anything, it’s that we...

President Donald Trump alights from Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on June 17, 2025. (Al Drago/Getty)

Steve Chapman: Congress and the Supreme Court approve Donald Trump’s drive for absolute power

By Steve Chapman

July 2, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The question is not whether Congress or the Supreme Court has the power to stop...

President Donald Trump puts on a "USA" hat as he arrives on Air Force One in Amsterdam, traveling to a NATO summit on June 24, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Daniel DePetris: What lessons are foreign leaders taking from Donald Trump’s Iran bombing?

By Daniel DePetris

July 1, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The decision to bomb Iran may prompt Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping to change their...

Wesleyan University President Michael Roth in his office on Sept. 18, 2019, in Middletown, Connecticut. (Kassi Jackson/Hartford Courant)

John T. Shaw: Wesleyan University’s president stands up for higher education as it’s under assault

By John T. Shaw

June 30, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The president of Wesleyan University has taken the more honorable route against President Donald Trump's...

Driver Alex Bowman races down Balbo Drive during the NASCAR Chicago Street Race in Grant Park on July 7, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: NASCAR has embraced the Chicago backdrop, but will it return?

By Edward Keegan

June 29, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The NASCAR Chicago Street Race is an exceptionally well-conceived and packaged mirror of the city.

Zohran Mamdani supporters cheer election results as his victory is announced at a Democratic Socialists of America watch party at Brooklyn Masonic Hall in Brooklyn, June 24, 2025. (Victor J. Blue/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: New York’s mayoral race could be a testing ground for a Democratic comeback

By Clarence Page

June 29, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Among the many postmortem conclusions in Democratic ranks is the sense that it's time for...

Sometimes some of us need our hurrying to be interrupted by several seconds of kindness, writes Heidi Stevens. (Darren Baker/Dreamstime)

Heidi Stevens: On the hunt for small, kind things — and finding them in some unexpected places

By Heidi Stevens

June 27, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

A few seconds of kindness can remind us that we share this world with other...

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference next to Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. Trump and Rubio each said the Iranian program had been dealt a significant blow. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Choosing war over diplomacy makes for more dangerous times ahead

By Elizabeth Shackelford

June 27, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Donald Trump has proved no peacemaker. America’s entry into the Iran conflict has undermined the...

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