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...

Kanye West, also known as Ye, in New York on Sept. 12, 2022. Elon Musk, Twitter's chief executive, said on Dec. 1, 2022, that West would be suspended from Twitter after the rapper and fashion designer tweeted an image of a swastika inside the Star of David.

Clarence Page: Can Kanye West, aka Ye, save himself from his enablers — including the GOP?

By Clarence Page

December 2, 2022 at 6:32 p.m.

I thought I had stepped into an alternative universe. Who would have guessed that, in...

The "beautiful, very full, round, happy, fake tree" given to Amanda Ullah of Chicago, with gifts for her daughter underneath.

Column: A stranger gave her his Christmas tree when she lost her job. It’s been her guiding light ever since.

By Heidi Stevens

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

CHICAGO — It was the second week of December, and Amanda Ullah was counting the...

This image released by Merriam-Webster shows a screen of the word "gaslighting" and its definition from Merriam-Webster.com.

Clarence Page: Time to turn off the gas in political ‘gaslighting’

By Clarence Page

November 29, 2022 at 5:27 p.m.

It's not hard to understand why Merriam-Webster, the dictionary giant, chose "gaslighting" as their "word...

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, receives a bivalent COVID-19 booster Nov. 22, 2022, from pharmacist Atenea Gazdziak in Chicago, after encouraging people to get vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19 variants.

Clarence Page: ‘Tripledemic’? As if the pandemic isn’t enough.

By Clarence Page

November 27, 2022 at 5:00 a.m.

Have you ever been so sick you couldn't get into bed? Yes, you read me...

Molly Pinta, a Buffalo Grove teen known for spearheading Buffalo Grove's inaugural Pride parade this summer, was named a 2020 Human Rights Campaign Foundation youth ambassador, on Feb. 3, 2020.

Column: After Club Q shooting, a holiday card campaign for LGBTQ people shunned by their families inspires loving action

By Heidi Stevens

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

The day after a gunman opened fire inside Club Q in Colorado Springs, killing five...

Debbie Bigler, 66, from left, Colleen Minisce, 61, and Janis Kramer, 75, all members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, prepare to march in the Veterans Day parade in Milwaukee on Nov. 5, 2022. Kramer, right, has been a Dancing Granny for about 19 years. Bigler and Minisce are among a crop of newer members who are helping the Grannies rebuild.

Clarence Page: Despite today’s bad news, good people offer good reasons to give thanks

By Clarence Page

November 22, 2022 at 5:07 p.m.

In a world boiling over with bad news, you can find it increasingly hard to...

Dave Chappelle onstage during the 36th annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland on Oct. 30, 2021.

Clarence Page: Sometimes offensive comedy is just lazy laughs

By Clarence Page

November 18, 2022 at 6:56 p.m.

When Dave Chappelle was announced as the host of this past weekend's "Satuday Night Live,"...

Anne Lamott at a book signing at Barnes and Noble in New York in 1997.

Column: ‘I hate to be a downer but now what?’ Anne Lamott on recovering our faith in humanity

By Heidi Stevens

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

When I told people I would be interviewing Anne Lamott as part of the tour...

Filmmaker Michael Moore speaks at a rally for then-presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 25, 2020.

Clarence Page: Michael Moore got the last laugh this Election Day

By Clarence Page

November 15, 2022 at 5:15 p.m.

When filmmaker-activist Michael Moore, a Democrat, went against the conventional wisdom that was expecting a...

People march in protest through downtown Chicago on June 25, 2022, following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Clarence Page: A new generation offers new hope for abortion rights

By Clarence Page

November 11, 2022 at 5:42 p.m.

Elections send messages. When the voters failed to come up with the "red wave" for...

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