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Patricia Lopez
Donald Trump, the then-Republican presidential candidate and now the president-elect, visits the U.S.-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, in February. His appointments to key positions in his new administration show he is moving aggressively on mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2024
Trump's mass deportation plan has its leaders in place
Even before Trump’s victory, Tom Homan, the former acting director for ICE, promised to "run the biggest deportation operation this country's ever seen.”
Tesla CEO Elon Mus joins former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the site of the first assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 5.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2024
The growing shadow of big money in U.S. politics
Changes in federal election law have made it easier for candidates like Donald Trump to trade influence for donations.
Campaign spending in the U.S. has surged, with dark money and Super PACs dominating elections.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2024
Dark money is a cancer on U.S. lawmakers — but it’s curable
Nearly three-fourths of Americans voters say lobbyists and special interests wield too much influence compared to constituents.
U.S. Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, and her just-announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, greet supporters on Tuesday at Temple University in Philadelphia, the first day of their "Battleground State Tour."
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 7, 2024
Harris VP pick is a regular guy — exactly what she needs
Walz is the perfect counterbalance to Harris. He brings deep experience as a governor, House contacts as a former congressman and an everyman back story.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (right), the Republican's vice-presidential nominee, attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 17, 2024
J.D. Vance is red meat for Trump’s MAGA base
It’s a shrewd pick — a nod to Trump’s base. More than any of the other contenders, Vance’s selection shows that Trump wants to lock down the MAGA faithful.
U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at a campaign event in North Carolina on Friday, the day following the president's disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump. Biden has brushed aside calls from some Democrats to step aside.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2024
Replacing Joe Biden is a fantasy Democrats must abandon
Those Democrats calling for a change in candidate need to keep calm and let Biden carry on. He may have had a bad performance, but he's still the man who beat Trump.
A rally in support of Ukraine outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Saturday, the same day the House of Representatives approved a $61 billion aid package supporting Kyiv's war effort.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2024
Ukraine aid shows MAGA hasn’t cowed Johnson
The U.S. House speaker rejected the isolationism that has come to dominate his party, extending a lifeline to Kyiv by approving a long-debated aid package.
The caucus system is increasingly out of step with how modern America lives and picks its presidential candidates and how modern campaigns roll.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024
It’s time to scrap the Iowa caucus
The concept behind the Iowa Caucus was both noble and novel when it debuted in 1972. Now many people think it has no place in modern politics.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?