In late September, Michigan’s Republican attorney general nominee Matt DePerno erroneously compared the emergency contraceptive Plan B to fentanyl at a conference in Texas, suggesting his state should “ban the pill.” DePerno is not the first politician to propose limiting contraceptive access following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, in which Justice Clarence Thomas made it clear that the constitutional right to contraception could be in jeopardy.

Ask any reporter or public watchdog dealing with federal agencies and they will tell you the Freedom of Information Act is an invaluable tool to ensure government transparency and accountability. They can also share stories of dealing with mind-numbing bureaucracy and yearslong waits.

There has to come a tipping point when sports organizations — or, really, any entity in which men hold power over women — recognize the need for safeguards to protect women from abuse and exploitation. Perhaps just as important is that women’s and girls’ voices be heard when they complain, and that their allegations are thoroughly investigated instead of consistently giving the abusers the benefit of the doubt.

As attested by Vladimir Putin’s carefully calibrated photo ops such as the infamous image of the Russian leader shirtless atop a horse, he knows the value of spectacle.

The terrible devastation wrought by Hurricane Ian on Florida’s southwest coast — among the most powerful hurricanes to hit Florida in a century — has been wrenching to watch even from afar: so many lives lost, homes shattered and livelihoods swept away by the storm surge, winds of up to 150 miles per hour and flooding rains. The single comfort has been seeing Floridians rise to the challenge working around the clock, united and determined to make things better for their neighbors.

Some editorial writers are keen to describe the looming midterms as “the inflation election.” Then again, their average readers are millionaires by household net worth. They skew 62 percent male and in their 40s. The last time I checked, the great thing about America is that it’s a democracy. It includes non-millionaires. It includes women. It includes young people. It may still be news to some people, but Generation Z is increasingly influencing the outcome of elections.

How encouraging that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has discovered the importance of setting aside partisan rancor to help suffering Americans in times of crisis. DeSantis’ willingness to shelve his usual attacks on the Biden administration to politely request emergency federal aid in the wake of Hurricane Ian is an inspiring example of constructive bipartisanship — as is Biden’s announcement that the government will bear a big part of the expense.

Democrats want to talk abortion, abortion, abortion, hoping intently that voters don’t notice the economy, the economy, the economy. But amid a steady torrent of bad economic news, the party faithful may be engaging in a mission of futility.

As the nation grapples with the very real problem of border enforcement, Sen. Josh Hawley, as usual, offers not viable solutions but a self-serving stunt. The Missouri Republican has filed legislation that would give state and local officials the authority to patrol the border and enforce federal immigration law.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s efforts to cool down the economy are causing progressive criticism to heat up. He has been accused of wanting a “brutal” recession, trying to “throw millions of Americans out of work” and using “dangerous” rhetoric. And those are the comments of just one senator, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

As if to boost the brand of the League of Unrepentant Evildoers, Infowars founder Alex Jones has tried to join the likes of Purdue Pharma, Johnson &Johnson and the National Rifle Association in declaring bankruptcy as a way to evade multimillion-dollar court judgments against him. Jones is in the middle of multiple lawsuits over his assertions that small children massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, along with their grieving parents, were merely actors in an elaborate hoax.

Angel Rice’s second job is unpaid, and the hours stink. They start at 6 a.m. when she checks her phone for messages that have come in overnight from women who are struggling to support a family member locked up in a California state prison.

Amid the stir caused by President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debts, far too little attention has been paid to another far-reaching reform: the administration’s change to a lending program known as income-driven repayment (or IDR). If widely applied, Biden’s proposal would provide additional relief to millions of borrowers — and make the U.S. student loan system even costlier and more dysfunctional than it already is.

A colleague noted recently how we, the people, collectively, seem to think in more black and white terms, disallowing nuance and complexity. Is this true? Have we lost the capacity to see shades of gray? Especially in politics?

A new study might finally get the attention of industrial leaders and others who have shrugged off the threat of human-caused climate change.

NASA this week successfully did what it normally tries to avoid, and destroyed one of its own spacecraft — by ramming it into an asteroid.