Supporters of the Lebanese Communist party take a selfie, as they march during a demonstration to mark International Labor Day or May Day, in Beirut, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Despite the tense situation and ongoing clashes on Lebanon’s border with Israel over the past seven months, hundreds of protesters marched through Beirut’s streets to mark International Workers’ Day. (Hussein Malla / AP Photo) Demonstrators attend a May Day rally in Madrid, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Bernat Armangue / AP Photo) Members of National People’s Power, a political alliance, carry placards at a Labour Day rally ..read more

By  Susan Estrich Creators Syndicate The helicopters were whirring in the sky last night over the UCLA campus as violent clashes broke out on the ground between pro- and anti-Palestinian demonstrators at the on-campus encampment that UCLA had tolerated for far longer than it should have. A university's first responsibility is to educate, and that means creating a safe and secure environment, which UCLA plainly failed to do. Classes were canceled today, a clear sign of failure. There is no excuse for the violence. Period. Stop. As the Jewish Federation Los Angeles was quick to point out ..read more

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Susan Walsh / AP Photo) By  Christopher Rugaber The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday emphasized that inflation has remained stubbornly high in recent months and said it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has “greater confidence” that price increases are slowing sustainably to its 2% target. The Fed issued its decision in a statement after its latest meeting, at which it kept its key rate at a two-decade ..read more

Presidential hopeful H. Ross Perot speaks at a rally in Austin, Texas, in this 1992. Perot, the Texas billionaire who twice ran for president, died July 9, 2019. He was 89. (AP Photo) By  Barry C. Burden The Conversation Once again, the U.S. is entering a presidential campaign with some voters expressing curiosity about independent and minor-party candidates. None of those candidates has a real shot at victory in November, but they might influence the race and politics beyond the election. There was a time about a century ago when minor-party and independent candidates were a promi ..read more

By  Susan Estrich Creators Syndicate Justice Samuel Alito thinks presidents are kings and must be protected against those who would disrupt their peaceful retirement. What planet is he living on? In his questioning on Thursday in the Trump immunity case, he made perfectly clear whose side he was on. "If an incumbent who loses a very close, hotly contested election knows that a real possibility after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement, but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent, will t ..read more

Demonstrators advocating for transgender rights and healthcare stand outside of the Ohio Statehouse on Jan. 24, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. Republican states are filing a barrage of legal challenges against the Biden administration's newly expanded campus sexual assault rules, saying they overstep the president's authority and undermine the Title IX anti-discrimination law. (Patrick Orsagos / AP Photo) By  Collin Binkley The Associated Press Another six Republican states are piling on to challenge the Biden administration's newly expanded campus sexual assault rules, saying they overs ..read more

Last fall, teachers and other backers of Support Our Schools wheel out boxes of voter-signed petitions seeking to repeal the Opportunity Scholarships Act on the 2024 ballot. The vote would be cancelled if a new Opportunity Scholarship Act is passed by the 2024 Legislature, a move some have called “underhanded.” (Aaron Sanderford / Nebraska Examiner) Parents in North Omaha listen to the pitch from Keep Kids First, which advocates for protecting Nebraska’s new Opportunity Scholarships Act. (Aaron Sanderford / Nebraska Examiner) By  Aaron Sanderford Nebraska Examiner LINCOLN — The sta ..read more

Help not wanted sign. (Shutterstock) By  Zach Wendling Nebraska Examiner LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen on Tuesday set his sights on eliminating any state government positions that have remained vacant for more than 90 days, estimating millions of dollars in savings. Pillen outlined the new plan in an executive order, slating the elimination of nearly 1,000 positions that have been vacant for months, if not years, while preserving certain “critical” positions. In total, the positions could save the state $39.4 million, according to the Governor’s Office. “I promised to run state governm ..read more

Contemporary artwork. Female head made from women's faces of different nationalities and skin color. (Shutterstock) By  Satang Nabaneh The Conversation The Gambia’s ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) since 2015 is under threat. Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalised female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults. This potential reversal has thrust the country into the global spotlight as the latest example of the backlash against gender equality. The Gambia’s criminalisation of FGM was not the first in west Africa but it came as a surprise. The p ..read more

A horsewoman cleans the royal stables, in Versailles. (Aurelien Morissard / AP Photo) More than 340 years after the royal stables were built under the reign of France’s Sun King, riders and horses continue to train and perform in front of the Versailles Palace. The site will soon keep on with the tradition by hosting the equestrian sports during the Paris Olympics. Commissioned by King Louis XIV, the stables have been built from 1679 to 1682 opposite to the palace’s main entrance. (Aurelien Morissard / AP Photo) The gallery of Coaches in the Great Stables, in Versailles, Thursday, April 25 ..read more