Why bipartisan transportation bill is vital

Transportation infrastructure matters. It matters to our economy, our communities, our health and our safety. Our nation’s surface...

Our View: Jan. 6 panel must follow 9/11 Commission

Congress is now being held hostage by the domestic extremism that led to the sacking of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6: The House of Representatives...

My mom taught me resiliency. I have to pass it on.

My high school teammates waved and headed to waiting cars after tennis practice. I craned my neck, looking for my mom’s metallic-blue Ford. In...

Policing: Misdemeanors shouldn't lead to death

As activists across the nation call for meaningful police reform and elected officials create task forces to “reimagine public safety,” law...

Biden's American Rescue Plan boosts working families

Tucked into President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan are two provisions that, if made permanent, could bring more adults and...

After Trump sabotage, Biden must restore LGBTQ rights

The House just passed the Equality Act for the second time in two years. But this time, it’s different. With a Democratic majority in the Senate,...

COVID immunity: Catch up to science and open up society

One of my patients, age 45, doesn’t remember having had COVID but he has the antibodies to prove it, and the amounts are quite high. He is happy...

Reporter's trial for doing her job is chilling

I'm USA TODAY editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll, and this is The Backstory, insights into our biggest stories of the week. If you'd like to get The...

A new VA wait-time scandal is brewing

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation, delay or rescheduling of almost 20 million medical appointments for veterans.  Part of that is...

Trump ban ruling is distraction from Facebook oversight crisis

The Facebook Oversight Board’s verdict on whether to reinstate Donald Trump’s account is expected soon. Everyone is weighing in, from Bill...

On politics, 'personal truths' don't trump facts

I read a gripping story in the New York Times the other day that contained the following passage: “The story highlights the tensions between a...

Miguel Cardona: Abramos las puertas para nuestros estudiantes

La pandemia de COVID-19 es el desafío más grande y complejo nuestro sistema educativo ha enfrentado. Ha sido extraordinario ver cómo las escuelas,...

Our View: No one should miss shot against COVID-19

For Trump and GOP, still open season on Asian Americans like me

“China virus.” Those words were once again uttered by the twice-impeached, former president of the United States last weekend in Orlando and, as...

COVID variants will win if we ease up on restrictions

It took just over a year for COVID-19 to kill half a million Americans.  By now, it should be a cautionary tale — health professionals laid out...

Rodney King beating: 30 years later, our fight isn't over

When I first saw the tape of Rodney King being beaten in the middle of the street on March 3, 1991, I was not horrified or surprised.  I was...

'Weeping Time:' Remembering America's slave trade

Kwesi DeGraft-Hanson knows what slavery smelled like. He was 14 years old and on a trip with friends to Cape Coast Castle, located along the shore...

Pork barrel spending is back, hopefully minus corruption

In 2006, longtime congressional staffer Scott Lilly and I wrote an article about unethical  behavior by then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert. No, not...

Working from home has left us stressed, lonely

Telework was already the fastest growing type of “commuting” before the arrival of COVID-19, and it became the only commuting method for nearly...

Seeing hope in a youth football team that defies expectations

Getting vaccinated, despite my autoimmune disease

As someone whose immune system confounds me, I thought I’d wait longer to take the COVID-19 vaccine. For years, I avoided flu shots due to my...

What does the NFL have to do with COVID in school?

Randi Weingarten, head of the nation’s largest teachers’ union, spoke to “Meet the Press’” Chuck Todd last week about getting teachers back...

Why is Nigeria trapped in a cycle of student kidnappings?

Shortly after midnight last Friday, gunmen burst into the dormitory of a girls boarding school in Northwest Nigeria and rekindled a nightmare that,...

Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign

There is no place for sexual harassment or abuse of power in any American workplace — be it in business or politics. This is a basic and simple...

No CPAC apology for a high-five to white supremacists

It’s been said that you should never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity. Applying this maxim to the Conservative Political...

Interior needs Native Deb Haaland's understanding

In 2018, Congresswoman Deb Haaland, D-N.M., and I became the first two Native American women ever elected to Congress. Mere months later we stood...

If your allergies are worse, blame climate change

“Why are my allergies lasting longer than they used to?” The first time a patient asked this, I researched potential reasons. The second time, I...

Zoom University: Stop the surveillance

I knew something was off when I had to ask myself, “Why can’t I register for class without disclosing my passport details and medical history to...

Opioid settlements: 5 best ways to use the money

The global consulting firm McKinsey agreed last month to pay $573 million to 47 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories to...

Don't let states disenfranchise minority voters

A new bill in the Arizona state legislature would require voters using mail-in ballots to have them notarized. “The early voter shall make and...

Sec. Cardona: Here's my plan to get kids back in class

The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest and most complex challenge our education system has experienced. It has been extraordinary to see schools,...

Supreme Court rethinks qualified immunity

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court provided the most recent signal that it’s rethinking the doctrine of qualified immunity — a rule the Court...

There's no GOP civil war. Trump won it 5 years ago.

There is no “Civil War” brewing within the Republican Party. Sure, there are a few, and I mean a few, folks who happen to still be in the...

End the filibuster to make progress on race and more

Once again, we have a Democratic president trying to urgently solve a crisis in America. Once again, Americans are demanding action on racial...

Get vaccinated even if life isn't normal overnight

I have been seeing a lot of posts on social media these days disparaging the utility of the COVID-19 vaccines. They attempt to poke holes in the...

Donald Trump's CPAC speech: Parody or threat?

Donald Trump emerged from his luxurious Palm Beach exile to wallow in the warmth of devotees at the Conservative Political Action Conference 170...