As college football bowl season begins, a concussion warning

In July, a Journal of the American Medical Association report that the brains of 110 of 111 deceased NFL players showed evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — an incurable condition that leads to dementia, mental instability and depression — made national headlines. But what should have gotten more attention was the finding that the brains of 48 of 53 deceased college football players showed CTE. There are more than 750 colleges with football programs versus 30 NFL teams.

How long will Congress remain a bystander regarding war?

The first use of nuclear weapons occurred Aug. 6, 1945. The second occurred three days later. That there has not been a third is testimony to the skill and sobriety of 12 presidents and many other people, here and abroad. Today, however, North Korea’s nuclear bellicosity coincides with the incontinent tweeting, rhetorical taunts and other evidence of the frivolity and instability of the 13th president of the nuclear era. His almost daily descents from the previous day’s unprecedentedly bad behavior are prompting urgent thinking about the constitutional allocation of war responsibilities, and especially about authority to use U.S. nuclear weapons.

The rest of the world is moving on with global trade

“America First does not mean America alone,” Trump administration officials have said in response to President Donald Trump’s policies. But it sure seems that way regarding global trade, and that posture will have a negative economic and geopolitical impact on the United States.

How Congress and special interest money fueled the opioid epidemic

The drug epidemic of the 1980s and ’90s was horrific. It led to draconian laws that helped break already vulnerable families, killed thousands of people, devastated communities and created an image of zombie-like addicts and unrepentant pushers that made it harder for Americans not directly affected by the scourge to empathize with those suffering.

President Trump’s tweets on Puerto Rico were beyond the pale

When it comes to President Donald Trump fulfilling his role as leader of the federal government, nothing he has said has been as awful as his Thursday remarks on Twitter that the United States might soon stop helping Puerto Rico — a part of our nation since 1898 — recover from Hurricane Maria.