FEMA’s looming budget deficit calls for resources and new thinking

As communities along the Gulf Coast begin the cleanup from Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall Monday as a weakened Category 1 storm, they should find comfort in knowing that help is coming. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is well schooled in disaster recovery and has been on the ground since spring, when some of those same areas suffered flooding in uncommonly heavy rains.

How Congress can quickly make Ozempic, Wegovy affordable

Awhopping one in eight U.S. adults have taken GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and related conditions. Their popularity and efficacy have sparked a prescription-writing frenzy in recent years, leaving both medications on the Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage list since May 2023.

Reef rescue: Go vegan for the ocean

The ocean is a beautiful backdrop for many of our memories. But are we destroying our summertime sanctuary with our food choices? Coral reefs are home to more than 25% of marine life. They also play a critical role in protecting coastlines, absorbing 97% of wave, storm and flood energy. Going vegan is the most powerful thing anyone can do to save these aquatic treasures, so for Coral Reef Awareness Week (July 15–21), let’s ditch meat, eggs and dairy.

It’s time to end the two-cultures era between science and the humanities

The melody of human progress up to the present has played on two grand instruments: science and the humanities. But for the last few hundred years, these instruments have been treated as separate entities, one concerned with the physical world and validated by objective empirical testing, the other, largely, with subjective selfhood and human meaning.

The president’s promises: Biden presses on with his campaign

On Friday, a bit over a week after his poor debate performance against Donald Trump, President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos for a conversation widely seen as meant to reassure allies and the American electorate that he’s up to the job.

Joe Biden revealed

This likely Democratic nominee to be president was just suffering from a cold, they said, despite no sneezes, no coughs, no runny nose, just a raspy voice whose words often made no sense. In this 90-minute national TV appearance watched by 51 million Americans, Trump said it would be a democratic achievement to turn laws on abortion over to states responding to citizen majorities.

Joe Biden, in the goodest bunker ever

When I saw the Michael Shear story in The New York Times on Thursday, recounting how President Joe Biden had stumbled talking to Black radio hosts days after his debate debacle, telling one he was proud to have been “the first Black woman to serve with a Black president,” I knew it spelled trouble.

For an ethical and enjoyable wildlife experience, embrace the space

The opportunity to see fascinating species thriving in their natural environments draws many of us to national parks, waterways and wildlife refuges every year. Almost as alluring is the appeal of getting the perfect picture that captures an animal’s beauty, ingenuity or charisma. But our Instagram aspirations must not be achieved at animals’ expense. Experts agree that the best way to protect and respect wildlife is to put our binoculars and zoom lenses to good use by giving these animals plenty of room to roam. We’re visiting their home, after all —and we must respect them and their space.

Does America need a president?

As the belief that Joe Biden is fully equipped to be president dissolves like mist on a Delaware morning, some of his defenders have fallen back on the idea that the American presidency is not really a man but a team.

With or without Chevron, clearer laws are essential

Among the many rulings the Supreme Court handed down this term, a decision on so-called Chevron deference could prove especially consequential. The question at issue was whether the courts or government agencies should determine the meaning of ambiguous laws. The new ruling unsettles a 40-year-old understanding by shifting some of the power over these choices away from the executive branch. Many regulatory actions may now face a torrent of litigation.

Court supremacy: The Supreme Court appoints itself ultimate expert on governing

In an ideologically-split 6-3 ruling Friday, the Supreme Court overruled what’s known as Chevron deference, a longtime legal principle that held that when administrative statutes are not explicit, federal agencies have latitude to interpret them, particularly when it comes to regulations. It’s not a widely-known principle but has undergirded the functioning of government for more than 40 years.

President Biden: Teach them how to say goodbye

Immediately after Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, I urged Israel to think about how to respond by asking itself one question: What does your worst enemy want you to do? Then do the opposite. Iran and Hamas wanted Israel to rush headlong into Gaza — without any plan or Palestinian partner for the morning after — and unfortunately, Israel did just that.

US chip dreams will fade without more immigrants

Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass the Chips and Science Act — but their persistent failure to unite behind common-sense, bipartisan reforms to bring more skilled immigrants to the U.S. puts this notable achievement in jeopardy.

There’s no reason to resign ourselves to Biden

Though Joe Biden’s debate performance last week was among the most painful things I’ve ever witnessed, it at least seemed to offer clarity. Suddenly, even many people who love this president realized that his campaign has become untenable.