Opinion

Of all the wrong-headed responses to the current crisis in the Middle East, demanding that the only Palestinian American in Congress be censured for criticizing Israel is among the most cynical.Inevitably, the war between Israel and Hamas has unmasked deep rifts among Democrats — between outspoken supporters of Israel and its steps to crush Hamas, and those who call for a cease-fire in Gaza and an end to Israel’s trampling of Palestinian rights. Opinion Columnist Robin Abcarian But Republican efforts to expel or censure Democratic Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her outspoken pro-Palestinian views is nothing more than a cynical attempt to grab the spotlight and exploit Democratic divisions for political purposes.Yes, it’s true that Tlaib has used the word “g...

U.S. gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton says she is “staying very positive” as she goes through the “long and slow process” of recovering from a rare form pneumonia that kept her in intensive care for more than two weeks.“I’m beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement,” Retton posted Monday on Instagram. “I am overwhelmed with all the love and support from the world as I fight. I am forever grateful to you all.”It was the first time the public has heard directly from Retton since learning of her health scare earlier this month.On Oct. 10, McKenna Kelley, the second-oldest of Retton’s four adult daughters, announced on Instagram that her mother was in the ICU “fighting for her life” and “not able to breathe on her own.” Kelley also revealed at that time that her mother di...

General Motors reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers to end a 6-week-old strike with similar terms to the deal signed earlier by Ford Motor Co., according to people familiar with the matter.The deal includes a 25% hourly pay raise plus cost-of-living allowances over the more-than-four-year contract, according to the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. GM’s tentative agreement has similar economic terms to Ford’s but it is unclear if there are differences in retiree benefits, which has been a sticking point, according to the person.The agreement still needs to be approved by GM’s union members.GM’s shares jumped 3.9% on the news before paring gains in pre-market trading. The were up 1.1% as of 9:29 a.m. Eastern time.The UAW expanded its walkout at GM on Sat...

Thousands of people waving the black, green, red and white Palestinian flag and chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” gathered at Pershing Square on Saturday afternoon to protest Israel’s escalating air and ground war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.The event began with a series of speakers who decried the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Israeli bombing attacks since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched their bloody incursion into Israel, and called for an end to what they termed an Israeli occupation of the densely populated enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.The crowd then began marching slowly down the middle of 6th Street, attracting hundreds more people who had arrived to show their support by joining the event led by groups t...

A gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, killing 18 people in the deadliest mass shooting in state history. In a statement Friday, Gov. Janet Mills called the victims “our family, friends, colleagues and neighbors,” and said she knew some of the victims personally. One — Joshua Seal, whom Mills called a friend — had provided American Sign Language interpretation during the governor’s COVID-19 briefings. “It is often said that our state is ‘one big, small town’ because Maine is such a close-knit community,” Mills said. “Tonight, I ask Maine people to join me in reading their stories, learning who they were, celebrating them as beloved people and mourning them as irreplaceable.” Here’s what we know so far about the victims: Tricia Asselin, 53 Tricia A...

Two United Airlines flight attendants claim in a lawsuit that they were passed over for the plum assignment of working on charter flights for the Dodgers because the players prefer a “certain look” of “white, young, thin women who are predominately blond and blue-eyed.”In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Dawn Todd and Darby Quezada alleged harassment and/or discrimination based on race, national origin, religion and age in regard to the staffing of United’s charter flights for the Dodgers and their treatment by coworkers on those flights. Todd, 50, is Black, and Quezada, 44, is of Mexican, Black and Jewish descent.The Dodgers are not named as defendants in the lawsuit. A team spokesperson told The Times that the Dodgers do not comment on any pending litigatio...

In less than 15 months, Congress will count and certify the votes from the electoral college. It is truly frightening that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), from the far right of the Republican Party, might have a prominent role in the process.If Republicans keep control of the House in the November 2024 elections, it seems likely they will keep Johnson as speaker given their bitter divisions and difficulty in selecting someone for the position after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster. Johnson was the primary proponent in the House of a way to overturn the 2020 election and keep Donald Trump in the presidency. He can be expected to do the same in 2024 if Trump is the Republican nominee and loses to President Biden.Johnson, a lawyer, led the House Republicans in promoting a baseless legal theory tha...

A Palestinian laborer awoke at 4 a.m. He stepped past his wife and sleeping children and joined thousands of other men hurrying on foot through the streets of Gaza to an Israeli border checkpoint. They moved like a desperate parade — carrying lunch bags and borrowed tools — into the glare of searchlights, guard dogs and barricades.Adnan Masri was herded through a barbed wire maze on that morning in 1997. An Israeli soldier called him over and patted him down. Masri cleared the checkpoint and hopped a ride north to construction sites near Tel Aviv where another indignity awaited: Palestinians had been replaced on many jobs by immigrants from other countries. The laborer cursed and pleaded. But with tears in his eyes, Masri, trailing other angry men who shared his fate, surrendered himself a...

WASHINGTON —  Rep. Mike Johnson, a relatively inexperienced Louisiana Republican who fought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, ending weeks of leaderless chaos that followed the Oct. 3 ouster of Bakersfield Rep. Kevin McCarthy.Johnson’s ascension to the speaker’s chair cements a fiercely pro-Trump, hard-line faction as the face of the national GOP. The speaker of the House is second in line, after the vice president, to fill any presidential vacancy.The vote was 220-209, with House Republicans voting unanimously for Johnson and all Democrats present backing Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. The outcome thrusts Johnson, a 51-year-old former conservative talk radio host now in his fourth...