When I have trouble growing something, I ask my grandma.

All caring guardians want the same thing for our dogs: a long, healthy, happy life. But even with excellent care, certain breeds are more likely to have you trekking to the vet’s office than to the dog park. While all “purebred” dogs are predisposed to genetic conditions that cause discomfort and disability, one group stands out from the rest.

The newly established 988 national hotline, a 911-style emergency call system for people contemplating suicide or other mental health crises, has hit a pretty major acceptance snag. The system is barely a month old, yet there’s already a movement afoot to boycott it.

Between March 2020 and March 2022, there were 11,400 self-reported hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country.

California teenagers should have the right to protect their health by receiving approved vaccines without parental consent or knowledge. But in many cases, they do not. State law allows minors ages 12 and older to consent to various reproductive and preventive health treatments, including abortions, vaccines for HPV and other sexually transmitted diseases and mental healthcare. But they are not allowed to consent to virtually all other vaccines, including for COVID-19, putting them at personal risk and adding another barrier to community disease prevention.

“We know TikTok is bad for us, but it’s better than the real world.”

As schools reopen around the country, they could take a page out of the “greatest generation’s” lesson plan — and help save the world.

In the Orwellian universe in which we now marinate, that uncomfortable reality in which rumors seamlessly transform into facts, and disinformation invades our bloodstream like a mutant virus, I wonder what the proper balance is while cowering under the bed and wearing a helmet, face mask and noise-cancelling headphones.

A Colombian family hoping to visit Disney World right now might have to wait more than two years to get their visas. The same goes for a Nigerian investor looking to close a funding round in Silicon Valley. Around the world, delays in visa processing are preventing scores of foreigners from coming to the U.S. — hurting the economy, sapping investment and undermining America’s image. Fixing the problem demands a more forceful and creative response than the U.S. government has mustered thus far.

There was a time, not that long ago, when it wouldn’t have been major news for a top Republican to say the party should respect law enforcement and cooperate with a congressional investigation. In that sense, the buzz over former Vice President Mike Pence’s defense this week of the FBI, and his suggestion he might be willing to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol, illustrates just how radical and lawless too many other Republicans have become in the Trump era.

Democrats who want to spend more money than a reasonable government budget will allow often talk about “improving tax compliance” and the “tax gap,” suggesting that there really is enough money to pay for lots of new spending if only the tax code was enforced more aggressively.

One year ago, Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in part because the U.S. had hoped for the best after withdrawing its forces from the country, without adequately preparing for the worst. In dealing with the Taliban today, President Joe Biden’s administration can afford no such illusions.

One of the most important features of the Inflation Reduction Act — which makes massive investments in renewable energy to curb climate change, drives down prescription drug costs and more — is what it is not: an irresponsible spending spree pushing up the federal deficit.

The past three months have seen mass shootings of schoolchildren in Uvalde, Texas, and July Fourth celebrants in Highland Park, Illinois. Cries for greater gun control to stop such avoidable, premature deaths grow after each event. President Joe Biden recently signed a gun control measure into law, but overall, little substantive change has occurred and is unlikely to occur anytime soon.

When attempting to make sense of the news, comparing different countries can inform how we think about political problems and possible solutions.