Columns

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...

Saturday Night Live Host Shane Gillis during the monologue on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (Will Heath/NBC/TNS)

Heidi Stevens: Shane Gillis ‘SNL’ opener misses the mark — and the moment

By Heidi Stevens

October 16, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

The most disappointing thing about Shane Gillis’ shopworn, hackneyed, tone-deaf, retrograde, unfunny “Saturday Night Live”...

Former Indiana U,S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, who was co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, in his office at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington on Nov. 24, 2006. (Pete Souza/baiduhai)

John T. Shaw: We need Congress to ponder the long term with a new future-focused group

By John T. Shaw

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

Half a century ago, many lawmakers viewed their responsibilities differently and created a forum to...

Jerry Coyne, an emeritus professor at the University of Chicago, feeds migratory ducks on Botany Pond on the campus in Hyde Park, March 30, 2020.

Column: Would Honey the duck come back this spring? The man who loves her waited and hoped.

By Mary Schmich

March 26, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Through the dismal months of this pandemic winter, Jerry Coyne sometimes wondered whether his beloved...

President Joe Biden during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on March 25, 2021.

Column: Biden oblivious to irony over autocracy at his own news conference

By John Kass

March 28, 2021 at 10:49 a.m.

So what did we learn from President Joe Biden's long-delayed first news conference on Thursday?...

President Joe Biden smiles during the first news conference of his presidency in the East Room of the White House on March 25, 2021, in Washington.

Column: Biden refuses to play into the Fox News narrative, and it’s making me and Sean Hannity FURIOUS!

By Rex W. Huppke

March 26, 2021 at 9:43 a.m.

As a loyal Fox News viewer, I am disgusted by President Joe Biden's stubborn and...

Honey, above, and Dorothy, wait for food thrown by Jerry Coyne, an emeritus professor at the University of Chicago, at Botany Pond on the U of C campus, March 24, 2021.

Honey, I’m home

By Contributed Content

March 25, 2021 at 5:44 p.m.

Jerry Coyne, an emeritus professor at the University of Chicago, feeds Honey and other migratory...

Jean-Paul Coffy, left, and Yakini Ajanaku-Coffy perform their nightly front porch concert for neighbors and friends, July 2, 2020 in Kenwood.

Column: Kenwood couple who held 105 days of front porch concerts hosting reunion. ‘We have each other, and we matter.’

By Heidi Stevens

March 25, 2021 at 4:57 p.m.

It started with some pots and pans. Kenwood resident Ricky Jackson, aka the father of...

A visitor pays his respects at the Pulse Interim Memorial on the fourth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre, June 12, 2020, in Orlando, Florida.

Column: As we process Boulder and Atlanta, remember the Pulse nightclub massacre. Sometimes we get it wrong.

By Eric Zorn

March 25, 2021 at 2:03 p.m.

After a mass shooting, the head and the heart demand answers. Why? What horrible thoughts...

The Ward family poses for a photograph on their front porch on March 24, 2021.

Column: ‘I lost 65 pounds. … I had to learn how to get the muscles working in my fingers.’ COVID-19 victim also survived 9/11 and cancer.

By Heidi Stevens

March 25, 2021 at 1:39 p.m.

Chris Ward was diagnosed with COVID-19 the day before Thanksgiving. He had a headache, a...

A street sits empty as rain falls in the 5th Ward in Evanston on March 23, 2021. The previous day, Evanston aldermen approved the first expenditures in the city's municipal reparations program designed to compensate Black residents for codified discrimination.

Column: Evanston’s reparations plan is more symbol than substance

By Dahleen Glanton

March 25, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Beyond the sprawling Northwestern University campus in Evanston stands a vibrant African American community. The...

Column: What lessons for us from the Greeks, on Greek Independence Day?

By John Kass

March 25, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Today is the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence. The stories go that...

Column: COVID-19 vaccinations are everyone’s chance to do something good. And get sculpted abs!

By Rex W. Huppke

March 25, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

I have received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and so far I feel...

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