The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse started Monday. What’s going on trial isn’t just the teenager accused of killing two men during a chaotic night in Kenosha, it’s also the idea of the self-appointed authority to take up arms — essentially, vigilantism.

Most of what we hear about Washington these days is how dysfunctional it is, and the reputation is well earned. We are in an era when political power and absolutist ideology have become far more important to prominent politicians than actually passing legislation that might prove helpful to the American people.

Gen Z is getting the vote. About 8 million of us will have turned 18 between 2020 and the 2022 midterm elections, and we need to get our act together now.

With everyone from President Joe Biden to Gov. Gavin Newsom focused on fixing supply chain disruptions that have clogged the ports, created product shortages and raised prices, California business groups are offering their, um, solution: roll back state labor protections and slash environmental protections.

The challenge in polarized political times is to keep your eye on democratic institutions and their proper authority. That’s the reason to applaud the nine House Republicans who voted last week to hold Steve Bannon, the sometime Donald Trump counselor, in contempt for defying a Congressional subpoena.

Under pressure of successive self-imposed deadlines, with a befuddled country looking on, Democrats in Congress continue to wrestle with a supposedly transformative spending plan and the means to pay for it. On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced yet another version of what this might involve. The eventual outcome is still anybody’s guess.

In 1947, more than 4 million Americans owned $3.4 billion in saving deposits held not by a bank or credit union, but by the United States Postal Service.

Days after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters intent on overturning Trump’s election loss, freshman Rep. Cori Bush of St. Louis introduced her first piece of legislation, which called for the expulsion from Congress of any member shown to have colluded with that effort.

For anyone who still needs it, most Republican House members last week provided more evidence that the GOP — once the “law-and-order” party — is now the party that coddles criminals. By overwhelmingly voting against holding Donald Trump crony Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for his refusal to testify in the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, this shameful roster (including all six of Missouri’s GOP House members) is once again running interference for a lawless ex-president who tried to overthrow a valid election.

The White House announced Wednesday that it is ready to roll out COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 if the Food and Drug Administration approves Pfizer’s application for emergency use in early November.

A federally appointed team of engineering experts is investigating what caused the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside to collapse in June, killing 98 people. While understanding the science behind the tragedy is critical, the collapse also exposed dangerous gaps in how condominiums in Florida are managed and maintained. That’s why a new report from a task force from a section of the Florida Bar is such a solid starting point as the Legislature looks to prevent another catastrophe.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and this year’s commemoration comes at a time when researchers are reporting tragic increases in rates of domestic violence — a “pandemic within a pandemic” — across the country.

Federal aviation officials say more airline passengers than ever are showing up at airports with guns. Combined with the general uptick in belligerent behavior by passengers, this is an issue with the potential for real mayhem. Those who get weapons confiscated at security already face penalties, but it’s time to talk about making them steeper.

On Oct. 26, 2001, Congress passed the U.S. PATRIOT Act. As a member of the U.S. Senate at the time, I cast the lone vote against it.

Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of man-made chemicals that break down slowly in the environment, can accumulate in the human body and have been linked to all manner of negative health effects from cancer to high cholesterol.

Another year, another damning report for American medicine. In August, the Commonwealth Fund ranked U.S. health care dead last among 11 of the world’s wealthiest nations (for the seventh time in seven reports since 2004).

The results from the latest nationwide tests of student proficiency are grim. Downright depressing. For the first time in the 50-year history of these tests, the scores of 13-year-olds fell in both reading and math. Scores for 9-year-olds showed no improvement compared with 2012.

The Biden administration announced two important steps that should bolster the nation’s recovery from the pandemic. On Tuesday, the White House said it would lift travel restrictions at the borders with Canada and Mexico, reestablishing some ties after months of lockdowns spurred by COVID-19. And Wednesday, the administration unveiled a brokered agreement with major ports, retailers and shippers to operate around the clock, a move that should ease the backlog in consumer goods. They are more reminders that America must confront a global pandemic on a global front.