The United States and the European Union have responded with immediate and appropriate outrage to the apparent hijacking of a plane by the authoritarian government of Belarus so that a dissident, activist journalist on board could be arrested. What’s particularly welcome is that the tough words have been accompanied by actions.

An innovative lottery program in Ohio looks like it might have succeeded in raising vaccination rates. If the result holds, it means a triumph for behavioral economics. And that will open up the possibility of using lotteries to lure people into doing all sorts of things.

Police reform remains top of mind for many in the U.S., and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is proposing a commonsense way forward.

One of Joe Biden’s first messages to the world after the 2020 election was that America would lead “not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.” Yes, the American example is a powerful tool of influence. But how is that example viewed across the globe?

A group of Michigan Republican lawmakers is floating the idea of registering “fact checkers” with the state. The bill they’ve introduced flies in the face of the First Amendment, and they should ditch this dangerous and dumb idea.

On May 18, three days before Friday’s cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was announced, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, head of military operations for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), gave his first public assessment of the war. In an interview on Channel 11, Israel’s Public Television, he unsurprisingly awarded the military high marks for its battlefield accomplishments. But he was cautious about declaring victory.

Between our two families, we are raising 11 children.

As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes as a direct threat, other known public health risks need to come back into focus.

You can’t blame the messenger for not being clear if the message is a mishmash. And last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered such a messed-up message about unmasking that its director still has not been able to clean it up. As a result, many of us are more confused than ever about masks, and we have a right to be angry about that.

The phrases “we are closed” and “nobody wants to work anymore” were trending briefly Thursday as the Twitterverse grappled with the paradoxical news that job openings had set a record in March — more than 8 million positions unfilled — even as unemployment and underemployment remained far higher than they were before the pandemic. The news about openings came a few days after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of new jobs filled in April was far lower than analysts were expecting.

For a long time, pork barrel legislation and corruption have been close companions. Politicians had ways of bringing federally funded projects to their districts, and special interests that stood to profit from those outlays sought to influence the politicians. Members of Congress could insert earmarks to direct spending as they saw fit, and some of them used that power to enrich themselves — not always within the bounds of what was legal.

Here come the psychedelics. A striking new study published in Nature Medicine argues that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy represents “a potential breakthrough treatment” for post-traumatic stress disorder. Other studies are in the works considering the potential therapeutic applications of psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms), LSD and cannabinoids. These follow well-received books on different forms of psychedelic use by such mainstream figures as food writer Michael Pollan, novelist Ayelet Waldman and columnist Ezra Klein.

Unrelenting airstrikes from Israeli fighter jets on Gaza, and barrages of Hamas rockets onto Israeli cities, have moved into a second week. On the Palestinian side, the death toll topped 200, including 59 children, as of Sunday evening. At least eight Israelis have been killed in the violence. As has been the case with previous wars between Hamas and Israel, civilians endure the brunt of the conflict.

When much of the world is still desperate for COVID-19 vaccinations, a handful of wealthy places are beginning to have the opposite problem. Hong Kong is one. Despite a free and easily accessible program open to all adults since April, only just over 10% of the population of 7.5 million has had both injections, with low rates even among the oldest. Hesitancy is so high that only half of residents say they intend to get vaccinated.

Across the nation this spring, thousands of aspiring physicians are receiving acceptance letters to medical schools. I remember the arrival of mine nearly two decades ago, especially as there was only one, (a relief after being wait-listed elsewhere). Unfortunately, this spring will also witness a greater number of applicants to American medical schools — many of them extraordinarily talented — rejected from every institution to which they apply.

On May 12, 113 days into his presidency, Joe Biden finally sat down with leaders of the House and Senate — Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy. It’s surprising and disappointing that this took so long to happen. Here’s hoping many more such meetings follow.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s latest stunt — serving the Chinese Communist Party and other defendants in a lawsuit blaming China for the COVID-19 pandemic — is a sideshow, but it’s a dangerous one.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been rightly ridiculed for his shifting positions on whether Donald Trump bears responsibility for the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol by crazed Trump supporters.

On New Year’s Eve of 1879, Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” premiered, featuring lovable corsairs relegated to the eponymous Cornish seaside resort. It marked quite an image makeover from the beginning of the century, when — in 1801 and again in 1815 — the U.S. fought two naval wars in the Mediterranean against piracy, known as the Barbary wars.

When facing a vicious infection, there is nothing as effective as a vaccine to protect yourself. We know this from both historic public health victories, like the battle against polio, as well as modern ones, like the Hib and pneumococcal vaccines that have saved 1.45 million children’s lives since 2000.