As a conservative watching the Democratic debates, one of the most astonishing aspects of the multicandidate assault on Joe Biden was that the case against him seems to be based in large measure on his role in two generations of Democratic victories. His “crimes” consist partly in playing crucial roles in the political successes of […]

Fifty years ago this summer we had Woodstock. This summer? We had Love Island. Woodstock was the culmination of the 1967 ‘Summer of Love’ mass youth movement that saw all the beautiful people, from Hyde Park to Haight-Ashbury, turning on, tuning in and dropping out. Hasn’t the Summer of Love Island seemed spookily similar? From […]

Ava Duvernay’s “When They See Us” is a docudrama about the 1989 Central Park jogger case in which five innocent teenage boys were wrongfully convicted of a brutal assault. In the film, the scenes depicting four of the young men being badgered into giving false confessions are hard to watch. Yet they do not depict […]

‘Green jersey time” is an old maxim among the Irish in Brussels going back to our joining of the then-EEC in January 1973. The call for EU unity across Irish parties and sectors harks back to the old primary school history books and the treachery of Diarmaid Mac Murchada, the ousted King of Leinster who […]

There is nothing worse in a difficult relationship than sitting at home waiting for the phone call. You are powerless, entirely dependent on the decision of your partner and unable to properly focus on other things. And then, when they do ring, your paralysing focus moves to what they do next. And whether they will […]

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good evening. It happens to the best of us — technical difficulties. We’re sorry we didn’t make it into your inbox last night, but we’re back for more tonight. Here’s the latest. 1. It’s Democratic debate night part two: Can Joe Biden up his game? […]

Good morning. We’re covering the latest twist in the Jeffrey Epstein story, a highly charged rape case in India and pink seesaws at the U.S.-Mexico border. Breaking The U.S placed sanctions on Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, seeming to cut off a clear avenue for new talks with Iran. The latest in the Epstein […]

To the Editor: Re “Leading Liberals Fend Off Attacks on Big Promises” (front page, July 31): Amid the customary gnashing of teeth about which Democratic candidate might be most capable of knocking off the incumbent, let us all take just a moment to bask in a set of presidential debates that so far have featured […]

In poll after poll of American voters, health care consistently ranks among the top issues of concern. High costs, a tangle of insurance plans, and the devastating price of prescription drugs have all come to frustrate both Democrats and Republicans. Ultimately, it all comes down to cost. People can’t afford their medications. Families go bankrupt […]

“You have to leave the country,” Sharon Stone told Kathy Griffin, in the wake of the controversy surrounding the infamous 2017 photograph of her holding a Donald Trump mask covered with ketchup, “for eight years.” Ms. Griffin thought about it. And said, “You first.” Ms. Griffin, one of the most successful comedians in the country, […]