Columns

Far-right activist Jake Lang stands on the back of a truck displaying anti-Muslim messages during a demonstration outside the annual Palestine Fest at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Oct. 4, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Steve Chapman: Republicans are fanning baseless fears about American Muslims

By Steve Chapman

October 8, 2026 at 10:10 a.m.

You might expect that as the memory of the 9/11 attacks and the global war...

Chicago school board president candidates Jessica Biggs, from left, Hilario Dominguez and Victor Henderson participate in a forum at the Copernicus Center in Chicago on Sept. 29, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: Brutal school board elections are the name of the Chicago game

By Laura Washington

October 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

This Chicago school board will decide how much taxes we will all pay and how...

Supporters of presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro for the Partido Liberal react during general election day on October 4, 2026, in Brasilia, Brazil. According to official results, Bolsonaro has 47.06% of the votes, and incumbent president of Brazil and presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva has 45.13%, with 99% of the voting counted. Bolsonaro and Lula will face off in a runoff on Oct. 25, 2026, after neither reached 50% of the votes to be elected president. (Ton Molina/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: Brazil’s elections appear to be another win for Donald Trump

By Daniel DePetris

October 6, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Over the last year and a half, right-wing candidates have won seven presidential elections in...

Kamala Harris, former vice president of the United States and 2024 presidential candidate, reacts to the cheering crowd during the National Action Network (NAN) Convention in New York, April 10, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/AP)

Laura Washington: Kamala Harris’ unforgivable transgression

By Laura Washington

April 22, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Kamala Harris was imperfect, as all presidential contenders are, but she was also set up...

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...

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