Columns

This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia's Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during what authorities described as a strike at the airport on Oct. 10, 2026. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)

Daniel DePetris: Resumption of war between the Houthis and Saudis is bad timing for Donald Trump

By Daniel DePetris

October 12, 2026 at 1:14 p.m.

The attacks in Saudi Arabia come when Donald Trump is in a standoff over the...

Attorneys for Christa Pike hold a news conference after a judge ruled the Tennessee Department of Corrections must preserve all evidence related to the failed execution of Pike, on Oct. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee. (George Walker IV/AP)

Clarence Page: A botched execution shakes our death penalty presumptions

By Clarence Page

October 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The botched execution of Christa Pike offers a gross illustration of the cruelty that capital...

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

David Greising: The race for Chicago school board president is about ideas — and character

By David Greising

October 10, 2026 at 10:01 a.m.

It will take savvy strategic thinking, backed by the character needed for leadership, to make...

Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah is hit by two Chinese coast guard water canon blasts on May 4, 2024, causing injuries to multiple crew members as they tried to enter the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Ezra Acayan/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: A belligerent China is bringing out East Asia’s resolve

By Daniel DePetris

April 2, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

The forthcoming summit among the U.S., the Philippines and Japan is really about one thing...

Poll watchers observe while central count election judges process primary election mail-in ballots on March 24, 2024, at the Chicago Board of Elections. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: What does the slow count for state’s attorney’s race mean for November?

By Laura Washington

April 1, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

The slow vote counting in the Cook County state's attorney's race affects the perception of...

Jo Padilla speaks with a proxy outside a residential building while attempting to enumerate residents for the U.S. Census Bureau in Chicago's Ravenswood neighborhood on Sept. 24, 2020. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Clarence Page: Census forms are changing again — because we are

By Clarence Page

March 31, 2024 at 5:05 a.m.

The new categories for ethnicity and other descriptives on census forms can seem silly or...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at a City Hall news conference on March 20, 2024, a day after his Bring Chicago Home referendum was rejected by voters. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

David Greising: How can the mayor advance progressive plans after Bring Chicago Home defeat?

By David Greising

March 29, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Bring Chicago Home would address human needs of homelessness, and the bond issue would go...

Youth take cover after hearing gunshots at a public school that serves as a shelter for people displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 22, 2024. (Odelyn Joseph/AP)

Clarence Page: Haiti’s tragic history just keeps repeating itself

By Clarence Page

March 27, 2024 at 5:13 p.m.

The miseries currently afflicting Haiti are a familiar sight to columnist Clarence Page, who visited...

Palestinians gather to collect food aid in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza strip, on Feb. 26, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (AFP via Getty Images)

Daniel DePetris: Don’t count on the United Nations to stop bloodshed in Gaza

By Daniel DePetris

March 26, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

The war between Israel and Hamas will continue for the foreseeable future, regardless of how...

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis speaks at his election night party at the Westside Baptist Ministers Conference Center on March 19, 2024, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: Danny Davis’ age didn’t scuttle his bid. What about Biden and Trump?

By Laura Washington

September 10, 2025 at 4:12 p.m.

Rep. Danny Davis and his seniors may stand with President Joe Biden, but they can’t...

Michael Regan, the EPA administrator, speaks during an EPA event to unveil new standards to reduce vehicle emissions in Washington, March 20, 2024. The Biden administration on Wednesday issued one of the most significant climate regulations in the nation’s history, a rule designed to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States are all-electric or hybrids by 2032. (Pete Kiehart/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: Is it an electric car or a Bidenmobile? Greening of transportation gets political.

By Clarence Page

March 24, 2024 at 5:05 a.m.

Surveys show many Republicans drive electric vehicles, but that's not stopping the political right from...

A former student of Jefferson County Public Schools, dressed in cap and gown, sits while other graduates walk behind during a makeup graduation ceremony at Eastern High School on May 28, 2021, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Heidi Stevens: This college season is ‘the craziest ever,’ experts say. But do kids want to talk about it? (Hint: Nope)

By Heidi Stevens

June 7, 2024 at 11:50 a.m.

The kids who were in eighth grade when COVID-19 locked us down are graduating high...

Soldiers patrol the road near the international airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 13, 2024. (Odelyn Joseph/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Haiti can’t right itself without restoring security — and a working government

By Elizabeth Shackelford

March 22, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Haiti's history of foreign intervention makes it critical that some credible Haitian authority be in...

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