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DHS watchdog needs scrutiny

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, charged with guarding against abuse at the agency, might have engaged in wrongdoing instead. Now, Congress must probe not only how Secret Service text messages related to the Jan. 6 insurrection went missing but also whether the official responsible for getting to the bottom of this implausible mishap covered it up. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), chairs of the House Oversight Committee and House Homeland Security Committee, respectively, wrote to Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari last week ...

MBS promises a farce

Salma al-Shehab, the mother of two young children, was studying for a PhD at the University of Leeds and took time off to go home to Saudi Arabia for a vacation. Ms. Shehab is a Shiite Muslim, a persecuted minority in the kingdom, and a women’s rights activist who spoke out on social media for the right of women to drive. Her vacation ended in prison. Saudi authorities detained Ms. Shehab in January 2021 and subsequently sentenced her to six years in prison for using social media to “disturb public order and destabilize the security and stability of the state.” On Twitter, she ...

Now hiring across Maui

Help Wanted! The exclamation point on the sign taped to a Kihei restaurant’s front door spoke volumes. With the pandemic winding down, construction booming and tourism climbing toward pre-COVID 19 numbers, many Maui employers are feeling a sense of desperation as they struggle to find qualified workers to fill their ranks. Even when they do hire someone, there is no guarantee the employee will actually show up. Yes, ghosting employers has become a thing on Maui. Whether this portends a shift in workforce attitudes or is merely the tight labor market sorting itself out remains ...

A surprising Biden success

When the House of Representatives passed landmark climate legislation on Friday, President Joe Biden chalked up one of the surprise successes of his presidency. Only last month his ambitious agenda appeared sunk after a conservative Democrat and coal baron, Joe Manchin, refused to back it. His vote is crucial in an evenly divided Senate. However, the climate proposals were largely resurrected in the form of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), co-authored by Mr. Manchin, which Congress approved. The first major U.S. climate law comes not a moment too soon. It is the country’s best and ...

Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act may not reduce inflation — one sign that Senate Democrats’ reconciliation package, now that most of the drama is over, deserves a dispassionate accounting. The deal President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) had been laboring to strike for months finally passed Congress’s upper chamber on Aug. 7. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday, yet the legislation’s fate is finally close to certain. The bill is obviously not Build Back Better — whose child tax credit, universal prekindergarten and broad-based ...

The dawn of Election Day

Imagine how candidates feel waking up Election Day morning. The many months of stumping and putting their time, money and ego on the line have built to this day. They bear a weight of responsibility to all who believed in them, especially those who toiled on the campaign. In not too many hours, they’ll learn if all that sweat and sacrifice pays off. They may rise hopeful, confident or aware their dark horse runs are about to end. In the old days, Election Day would be spent making one final push with sign waving, speech making and a long night hosting an expensive party at campaign ...