Syndicated columns

“You Americans do not rear children, you incite them; you give them food and shelter and applause.” – Randall Jarrell, “Pictures from an Institution‚” a 1954 novel.

Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, is by no means a perfect candidate.

There’s no question: Ted Turner was an icon who fundamentally reshaped how Americans consume news.

Hey, do you all remember “Sleepy Joe” Biden, the president whose age and cognitive decline Donald Trump and his plague of MAGA lemmings routinely mocked?

There is a moment toward the end of the “Devil Wears Prada 2” when the icy, imperious fashion editor Miranda Priestly, played by the incomparable Meryl Streep, suddenly softens and delight dances behind her eyes. Speaking to Andy Sachs, the film’s heroine, she muses about the diabolical reputation she’s earned and the time with her children she’s missed. But then she says, with relish: “Boy, I love working. I really do. Don’t you?”

Listen up, nonrich Americans. I’m growing tired of your annoying complaints about high gas prices.

One lesson of the Democratic Senate primary in Maine is that no one should underestimate the white-hot fury of the party’s voters.

In just more than 20 months, an American president has survived three assassination attempts – most recently on April 25, when a gunman reached the terrace level of the Washington Hilton while Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and most of the Cabinet were inside.

Walk into any gas station in America today and you may find kratom stacked beside the energy drinks – marketed as a natural supplement. But pharmacologically it’s closer to an opioid. California banned it outright this year. Connecticut just classified it as a Schedule I substance. New York moved to regulate it. And still, most kids have no idea what it actually is – because “natural” has become a marketing gimmick, meant to convey “healthy” benefits and downplay serious health risks.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is weighing yet another presidential run in 2028, according to a conversation she had with the Rev. Al Sharpton in April.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump posted an image of himself with bombs exploding all around and a message for Iran: “They better get smart soon! … No more Mr. Nice Guy!”

So a group of scientists got together and decided to give cocaine to a bunch of salmon. It sounds like the kind of fantastic idea a person comes up with while using cocaine, then talks about it for 13 consecutive hours to someone who is also doing cocaine and eagerly nodding in agreement while repeating, “It makes. So. Much. Sense.”

The House Ethics Committee wants to try to create a culture of disclosure and transparency in Washington, a place where secrecy, fear and power have long been the order of the day. A week after two representatives, California’s Eric Swalwell and Texas’ Tony Gonzales, resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct, Congress is taking a small, necessary and long overdue step to try to break the cycle of abuse and the silence that feeds it. The committee is being proactive and strongly encouraging “anyone who may have experienced sexual misconduct by a House Member or staffer, or who has knowledge of such conduct,” to get in contact.