One of the most troubling aspects to the Kremlin’s meddling with the American presidential campaign has been that, since Donald Trump took office, Washington has not lifted a finger to punish Russia for its actions.That may change soon, now that the Senate has voted 98-2 to impose a new round of sanctions on America’s bellicose nemesis to the east. Those sanctions would hit the Russian economy’s mining, metals, shipping and railways sectors. They also would penalize Russians who carry out cybera

June 25, 2017

In their summit this week, President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are expected to renegotiate a landmark free-trade agreement the two countries struck 10 years ago, known as KORUS. Trump has called it a “disaster,” a “job-killing” deal and “a horrible deal made by Hillary.” He even claimed it “destroyed 100,000 jobs.”He’s wrong on pretty much all those counts. Although KORUS can still be improved, it has largely benefited both sides. Trump shouldn’t “terminate it,” as he’s

June 25, 2017

The latest big news out of the Middle East is that Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has ousted the crown prince and installed his 31-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman, in that position. While the world waits to see more of the reaction from Saudis and others in the region, a few quick thoughts come to my mind. First, the news feels stunning because of its significance; if MbS (as the new crown prince is known) becomes king, he will be the first monarch who is not a son of King Abd

June 25, 2017

There is a bubbling controversy about how to teach “manmade global warming” in the classroom. Is it a scientific certainty about which there can be no dispute? Or is it a theory about which people with differing viewpoints can have a legitimate debate?Let’s check in and see how the Associated Press reports on the issue: “The struggle over what American students learn about global warming is heating up as conservative lawmakers, climate change doubters and others attempt to push rejected or debun

June 25, 2017

Americans in rural areas and small towns see the world a lot differently from those living in and around cities, according to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll that the newspaper has been reporting on this week.A lot of the biggest differences in the poll have to do with values, or at least perceptions thereof: About 4 in 10 rural residents say their values are “very different” from those of people in cities and suburbs, while only 2 in 10 urban residents return the favor. But ther

June 23, 2017

Five feet isn’t a whole lot of space, but Russia apparently thinks it’s just enough to send the US a message. On Monday, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet sidled up alongside a US Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane flying over the Baltic Sea, coming within 1.5 meters of the American aircraft. The Russian jet lingered for a few minutes, then veered away.On Wednesday, the Kremlin said a NATO F-16 fighter jet flew up to a Russian plane carrying Kremlin Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, again over the Ba

June 23, 2017

The tragic death of 22-year-old American US student Otto Warmbier from unexplained injuries suffered during 17 months of detention in North Korea, shows the true face of that country’s government. A North Korean kangaroo court sentenced Warmbier to 15 years forced labor after he was caught moving a political banner from his hotel.　While Warmbier should have never been sent to trial in the first place, most expected that after a period of being isolated and interrogated, he would be returned home

June 22, 2017

Once a dominant force in her country’s politics, British Prime Minister Theresa May looks increasingly like a lame duck leader, while French President Emmanuel Macron just swept the legislative elections in his country. Comparing the two leaders’ styles goes a long way to showing why one is up and the other down, especially their response to two dramatic events that threatened to upend their political career: the Whirlpool factory strike for Emmanuel Macron, and the tragic Grenfell Tower fire fo

June 22, 2017

Apple Inc. has long proved adept at negotiating China’s notoriously challenging market, responding to fickle consumer tastes and unpredictable regulation far more adeptly than its competitors. But a recent decision to start taking a 30 percent commission on “tips” paid to artists and entertainers online threatens to undermine that savvy reputation -- and quite possibly Apple’s long-term prospects in China.Apple has been taking a cut from developers since it opened the App Store, of course. But t

June 22, 2017

A Denver dad says smartphones turned his two youngest sons into zombies. So he turned himself into a crusader.Timothy Farnum, an anesthesiologist, wants Colorado to be the first state to ban smartphone sales to children younger than 13, and he already has plenty of parents on board. The behavior of his boys, ages 10 and 11, underwent striking changes when they got phones.They became withdrawn, distracted, disinterested in playing outdoors. When he tried to take the phones away, Farnum told CNN,

June 22, 2017

The deal struck last week between Greece and its eurozone creditors is business as usual -- and that’s not a good thing. This protracted game of “extend and pretend” serves nobody’s long-term interests: not those of the Greek government, the International Monetary Fund or, most of all, the people of Greece.　Eurozone finance ministers have unlocked a payment of 8.5 billion euros ($9.5 billion), the newest installment of a rescue plan worth 86 billion euros. This will let Athens make debt repaymen

June 22, 2017

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who came to power in a military coup d’etat, appears to be digging himself deeper into a hole of unpopularity among the Egyptian people. He is desperate to find money to fix a deepening fiscal mess, brought about in part by his own policies.Sissi overthrew elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, locking him up. After having himself promoted to field marshal, Sissi was then elected president in 2014 in a staged 96 perce

June 22, 2017

Former FBI Director James B. Comey’s open testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, broadcast live on national television, reflected well on our democracy. An estimated 19.5 million people watched our government at work.On the same day, Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer told an audience of lawyers, law professors and students that he was not ready to allow the public to watch Supreme Court proceedings -- because, he said, cameras might change the nature of oral

June 21, 2017