The coronavirus pandemic has left a vast number of Americans facing the prospect of long-term unemployment. Those who lack post-secondary credentials may take years to find steady, good-paying work, if such opportunities materialize at all.

A long overdue antitrust push is gaining steam. But it’s focusing on large technology companies like Facebook Inc. and Google-parent Alphabet Inc., which present complex problems that classic antitrust approaches won’t always solve.

Polio no longer stalks children in this country, but in the early 1950s, outbreaks caused more than 15,000 cases of paralysis each year. Until smallpox officially was declared eradicated around the globe in 1980, the devastating disease wiped out about 3 of every 10 people who contracted it. Major epidemics of measles once caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year, but between 2000 and 2018, the world witnessed a 73% drop in measles deaths worldwide, the World Health Organization estimates.

One of the most important Cabinet positions President-elect Joe Biden has yet to fill is that of attorney general. Biden must consider myriad factors in making that momentous choice, from diversity in the Cabinet to an appointee’s ability to advocate effectively for criminal justice reform and other high-priority initiatives.

For the past eight years, Dec. 14 has marked one of the most tragic moments in recent American history. On this day in 2012, a disturbed young man walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., with a semiautomatic firearm and killed 26 people, 20 of whom were children.

With a deadline looming, stimulus talks between congressional Democrats and Republicans remain deadlocked over four issues: a liability shield for business, aid for state and local governments, stimulus checks for all Americans and a boost in unemployment compensation for workers who have lost their jobs. From a purely economic perspective, the right solution is easy: all of the above.

It’s way past time that all of us understand how dominant technology companies have expanded in ways that could threaten American commerce as well as American life.

During the summer of 1990, while camping on the Okpilak River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I received a visit from former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. He had read my book, “Midnight Wilderness,” and wanted to meet me. They arrived in a helicopter with Secret Service agents who watched for bears. I took them fishing with my daughters and sister.

Hunter Biden has told the world he’s just learned his “tax affairs” are under investigation by Delaware’s U.S. attorney. The burden is now on his father, President-elect Joe Biden, to ensure the nation that his attorney general and federal prosecutors will follow the evidence wherever it leads.

In the flood of disinformation filling the internet this election season, it was easy to miss another rapidly spreading phenomenon: partisan profit-driven websites putting out propaganda masquerading as local news.

San Francisco is suing Exxon Mobil Corp., and you’ll never guess why: For producing the oil and gas we all use every day.

In April, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires that a jury must be unanimous in convicting a defendant of a serious crime. A lot of Americans — including those who have seen the classic film “12 Angry Men,” in which a lone holdout convinces other jurors to acquit a defendant — probably thought that was already the rule everywhere. But two states, Louisiana and Oregon, had allowed convictions by a non-unanimous jury, as had the territory of Puerto Rico.

The presidential election seemed to mark a revival in American civic engagement. A record two-thirds of the electorate voted. Candidates raised at least $3 billion in small-dollar donations, and historic get-out-the-vote efforts had an impact in Nevada, Georgia and elsewhere.

Political polls have value, but their value is very limited.

Congress now has roughly one week to come to an agreement on a COVID relief package, a subject it has been debating since April. For most of that time, House Democrats insisted on a bill that had no chance of passing the Senate. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, struggled to find consensus on any proposal at all.

The Joe Biden administration has pledged to deploy fiscal stimulus to get the stricken U.S. economy back on its feet, as well as increase government investment to boost long-run growth. This means the Republican opposition in Congress is back to arguing that austerity is the best way to compensate for the economic damage done by the pandemic.

Airbnb’s long-anticipated IPO filing showed impressive resilience despite a pandemic that has battered the travel sector. But there’s something else notable in the documents: The company is holding out 9.2 million shares for a host endowment that it is aiming to grow to upwards of $1 billion. It could be a model for the future of the sharing economy.

American voters may be sharply polarized over many political issues of the day, but they are increasingly unified on one policy: legalizing marijuana.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress both claim they want to pass a new federal stimulus bill before President-elect Joe Biden takes office Jan. 20. The only question is whether lawmakers can find the political will to compromise on a relief package that is desperately needed as coronavirus cases surge nationwide.

By the looks of it, President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will be among the most teacher-friendly in history — and not just because incoming First Lady Jill Biden, who plans to continue teaching, will arguably be the most important voice in the president’s ear. Beyond that, Biden has called for a teacher-oriented Department of Education and is reportedly considering the former head of the biggest teachers’ union, and the current head of the second-biggest, for his cabinet.