Politics

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads a prayer over the coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades, who were killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone strike. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader) Before our national attention span flits heedlessly toward impeachment, the Iowa caucuses and Megxit, it’s worth pausing to remember that … Read more

Efforts to shore up FEMA disaster aid advanced Tuesday in the Senate, setting up a showdown with the Republican-led House where leaders have insisted supplemental aid be paid for with comparable spending cuts elsewhere. On a 61-38 vote, the Senate advanced a $5.1 billion aid package for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, … Read more

With tear gas wafting through downtown Athens, firebombs bursting along police lines and anti-American demonstrators sending paving stones through shop windows, President Clinton saluted U.S.-Greek ties Friday and prodded Greece to seek reconciliation with Turkey. The disorders, fueled by residual anger over this spring’s U.S.-led bombing of Yugoslavia, were the worst in the Greek capital … Read more

Native Americans in Arizona could swing the election. Activists are pushing them to vote On a recent sweltering Saturday in Phoenix, about 40 Native American leaders and community organizers gathered in an art gallery, where a backdrop had been decorated with posters proclaiming “Native Americans for Harris-Walz.” Mark Kelly, Arizona’s Democratic senator, quickly assessed the … Read more

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have been frequent visitors to Nevada, one of the relatively few states that will decide the presidential election. (Charlie Neibergall, Sam Morris / Associated Press) Today we discuss cliff-hangers, the Founding Fathers and legerdemain. Let’s get to it. Who’s going to win the presidential race? I haven’t a clue. So … Read more

This Horsey cartoon from 2003 is a reminder of the bad old days of airport security. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) Confession time: I used to have a surly, defiant attitude from the time I arrived at an airport until I headed for a taxi at my destination — not as boldly obstreperous as … Read more

Scott Baugh came to the California Assembly two years ago, a runaway train on a wrong-way track. He was indicted on felony campaign wrongdoing charges a few weeks after taking office. Some colleagues shunned him. His career barely rolling, Baugh seemed headed downhill fast. But a funny thing happened on the way to political oblivion. … Read more

Old letters written by an Oxford friend of Democratic presidential front-runner Bill Clinton say the future governor of Arkansas sought a deferment in 1969 because he had received an induction notice, and not because he was simply anticipating the draft. Faced with disclosure of the letters, the Clinton campaign acknowledged late Saturday that Clinton received … Read more

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks alongside Gov. Roy Cooper, right, after a briefing Saturday on the damage from Hurricane Helene in Charlotte, N.C. (Chris Carlson / Associated Press) Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris pledged ongoing federal support and praised strangers helping strangers as she visited North Carolina on Saturday in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, … Read more

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s top education official, wants to buy Bibles that contain the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution — fitting the description of those endorsed by former President Trump. (Daniel Shular / Associated Press) Oklahoma’s top education official is seeking to purchase 55,000 Bibles for public schools and specifying that each copy contain the … Read more