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National Columnists

Chance meeting had lasting impression

Every career begins with a defining moment, an instant when preparation meets courage and the future quietly changes course. For me, that moment came in 1983, when, at just 21 years old, I brought Richard Pryor to speak before more than 1,500 employees at the U.S. Department of ...

Dow 50,000: Supply-side miracle

When I first arrived in Washington in 1982, the Dow Jones hit a low of 800. You may not believe that, so feel free to look it up. If anyone had predicted that in a little more four decades the Dow would surpass 50,000, they might have been admitted into a mental institution. But U.S. ...

Poor recordkeeping makes fraud easier

Americans want to help people in need, but when government does that, about 500 billion taxpayer dollars get stolen. It's how the system is designed, says the United Council on Welfare Fraud's Andrew McClenahan in this new video. "You're measuring success by the amount of money you ...

Halftime show is NFL’s decision

The Super Bowl is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar, attracting millions of viewers worldwide year after year, and sparking the beginning of the long and difficult football-free season where we must survive on a meager diet of non-contact sports such as basketball and soccer. ...

Feeling insecure? You may be on to something

Groundhog Day's furry forecaster Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of wintry weather. What if we asked Phil to apply his insights to the frigid job market? He might answer the way an alarmed groundhog does, with chattering teeth, and then squeak, "Wheet! Wheet! Cold days are ...

AI companion apps exacerbate teen mental health concerns

Troubling stories about dangerous encounters with chatbots continue to surface in the news, with two recent reports from NPR that focused on teen suicide and mental health worsening due to people seeking "sentient" relationships with artificial intelligence. The teen suicide story ran last ...