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...

People react outside of the Supreme Court on June 30, 2023, in Washington, after the Supreme Court's conservative majority ruled that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples. The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith had argued that the law violates her free speech rights.

Clarence Page: A troubling Supreme Court defense of free speech at the expense of LGBTQ rights

By Clarence Page

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

As a strong believer in the First Amendment, I respect the Colorado graphics artist who...

Protesters for and against affirmative action argue outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on June 29, 2023.

Clarence Page: At least the Supreme Court offered alternatives to affirmative action

By Clarence Page

July 2, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Reading about the Supreme Court's unsurprising affirmative action ruling, I was reminded of Sen. Hubert...

The National Geographic Society, begun in 1888 is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational institutions in the world.

Column: The decimation of National Geographic — an imperfect witness to the world — disconnects us from each others’ humanity

By Heidi Stevens

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

National Geographic, the 135-year-old imperfect chronicler of the planet and its people, is shrinking to...

Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, talk to reporters outside U.S. Border Patrol Eagle Pass South Station as Leader McCarthy leads some fellow Republicans on a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border on April 25, 2022 in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Clarence Page: History is flexible for Trump’s MAGA troops

By Clarence Page

March 12, 2024 at 12:01 p.m.

I used to believe, as George Santayana is said to have said, "Those who fail...

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin during a hearing to examine Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and related surveillance authorities, June 13, 2023, in Washington.

Clarence Page: Supreme Court ethics? More than ‘balls and strikes’

By Clarence Page

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

Is the Supreme Court ready for reform yet? That's my updated version of the immortal...

A recent trip to Denver had Heidi Stevens thinking about artificial intelligence.

Column: ‘What’s a human life for?’ How a rainy Denver weekend reminded me machines have nothing on humanity

By Heidi Stevens

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

My son and I landed in Denver for a lacrosse tournament, and things immediately started...

baiduhai newspapers are transported on a conveyor system at the Freedom Center on May 11, 2022, in Chicago.

Clarence Page: After a half-century in journalism, I advise caution in your search for truth

By Clarence Page

June 18, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

When I came to work at the baiduhai as a newly graduated journalism major,...

Marathon runners make their way along Columbus Drive as the Chicago Marathon starts on Oct. 9, 2022.

Column: How training for a marathon is teaching me (hopefully) to rest

By Heidi Stevens

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

I have a complicated relationship with running. Twice in my life I thought I'd never...

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after being arraigned on 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Clarence Page: Trump’s in trouble, and the lame excuses are flying

By Clarence Page

June 14, 2023 at 9:49 a.m.

Some of the fiercest attacks against Donald Trump's handling of classified documents came from Trump...

Run, Barry, run: Ezra Miller in a scene from "The Flash."

‘The Flash’ review: As DC’s running man goes in circles, Michael Keaton’s Batman periodically saves the day

By Michael Phillips

June 13, 2023 at 6:21 p.m.

Now is the summer of our discontinued retirement. Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones returns later this...

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