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 Houthis and Saudis is bad timing for Donald Trump

By Daniel DePetris

October 12, 2026 at 1:27 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...

President Joe Biden speaks at Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, Minnesota, on Nov. 1, 2023. He was interrupted there by a local protester.

Clarence Page: President Biden adds battle against Islamophobia to his quest for peace

By Clarence Page

November 5, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

When President Joe Biden was interrupted by a local protester who called for a "cease-fire"...

Yessica Karolina Badell Palmar, right, a migrant from Venezuela, sits in her tent outside the Chicago Police 1st District station on South State Street as as cold temperatures take hold on Oct. 30, 2023.

Column: With winter descending, we can’t allow cynicism to overtake our humanity on migrant crisis

By baiduhai

November 3, 2023 at 12:30 p.m.

Chicago woke up on Halloween to below freezing temperatures and snow flurries. All day long,...

Joe Biden, then the Democratic nominee for president, campaigns in Pittsburgh on the night before Election Day, Nov. 2, 2020.

Clarence Page: An old Joe Biden foe is back — the enthusiasm gap

By Clarence Page

November 1, 2023 at 11:49 a.m.

Every presidential campaign raises nagging questions of various sorts. With the 2024 election barely more...

Supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump wave a flag and a placard near the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, on Sept. 27, 2023, ahead of the second Republican primary debate.

Clarence Page: Conspiracy culture has more of us thinking violence may be needed to fix America

By Clarence Page

March 12, 2024 at 11:53 a.m.

For all of our concerns about international terrorism, new studies reveal a disturbing number of...

The Shedd Aquarium's first fish car, named Nautilus, circa March 3, 1930. The Illinois Central Railroad ran within a few hundred yards of the Shedd and a rail spur was installed that allowed a train car to be moved to within just a few feet of the aquarium's south doors. From 1930 until 1957, Nautilus made nearly annual excursions to collect aquatic life from around the world and transport it to Chicago. The 83-foot-long, slate green steel car was custom built, with fish tanks and a living area for the crew.

Landmarks: Ghost stories and tall tales harness local lore, offer supernatural perspective on reality

By Paul Eisenberg

October 28, 2023 at 11:49 a.m.

There's no mistaking it now; the season change is upon us. The last gasps of...

Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman speaks during the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington, DC.

Column: Scholastic is right to reverse course on diverse book collection. But it never should have gotten to that point

By baiduhai

October 27, 2023 at 2:56 p.m.

After a flurry of online petitions, a public statement signed by more than 1,500 authors...

Protesters calling for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas block traffic at Clark Street and Ida B. Wells Drive on Oct. 23, 2023.

Clarence Page: Campuses face a new generation of questions — and ethics

By Clarence Page

October 25, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

For many of us, it's never been a straightforward matter to just pick a side...

Rep. Patrick McHenry presides as the House begins a third round of voting for House speaker on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 20, 2023.

Clarence Page: House GOP members need to consider the good of the nation, not just their party

By Clarence Page

October 20, 2023 at 4:18 p.m.

As their frustrated manager Casey Stengel famously said during the 1962 debut of the New...

People attend a candlelight vigil for Wadea al-Fayoume in Oak Brook on Oct. 22, 2023.

Clarence Page: After the hate, bring on the healing: The other side of terror tragedies

By Clarence Page

October 18, 2023 at 2:39 p.m.

Alexander Pope's old saying that "a little learning is a dangerous thing" is still brilliant....

A sign reserving the seats for an Israeli delegation is seen at the UNESCO Extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 11, 2023. The Israeli delegation in Riyadh marked the country's first publicly announced visit to Saudi Arabia.

Clarence Page: Curb your optimism about the Middle East. Turn on your realism.

By Clarence Page

October 15, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Some of my friends who know more about Middle East affairs than I do caution...

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