U.S. and Russia Reach Deal to Destroy Syria's Chemical Arms  —  GENEVA — The United States and Russia reached a sweeping agreement on Saturday that called for Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons to be removed or destroyed by the middle of 2014 and indefinitely stalled the prospect of American airstrikes.

The Arguments of the Great Recession Are Over.  Hooray.  —  Five years after the financial crisis, the general expert consensus is that the Obama administration did a good but not great response job.  The financial rescue measures saved the banking system from wreaking deep, widespread destruction …

Lifelines for Poor Children  —  What's missing in the current debate over economic inequality is enough serious discussion about investing in effective early childhood development from birth to age 5.  This is not a big government boondoggle policy that would require a huge redistribution of wealth.

Obama to mark anniversary of US financial crisis  —  President Obama will speak Monday from the White House Rose Garden to mark the five-year anniversary of the financial crisis and highlight his administration's response to it.  —  Although the nation's housing market began teetering as early as 2006 …

Mann and Ornstein: “Brighter future for politics and policy requires a different Republican Party”  —  The Republicans have become a party beholden to zealots — with little respect for science, facts or compromise  —  From the perspective of November 7, the day after the election, change looked promising.

Bill Maher: U.S. looking like Zimmerman  —  Liberal comedian Bill Maher said Friday the U.S. is looking “more like George Zimmerman” with regards to military force and criticized arguments over intervention in Syria.  —  “Forget the Syria debate, we need a debate on why we're always debating whether to bomb someone.

Gay Man In Russia Apparently Raped By Vigilantes On Video  —  A video depicting a man being raped with a bottle has surfaced on social media, in what appears to be the latest assault on Russia's beleaguered homosexual community.  —  The series of short clips, making the rounds …

John Boehner Has A Little Problem With His FEC Disclosures  —  Way back in 2009 I had a look at John Boehner's FEC disclosures for his Freedom Project PAC and wondered then whether anyone would take notice of how popular he was with corporate PAC donors.  It's taken four long years …

How to Make School Better for Boys  —  Start by acknowledging that boys are languishing while girls are succeeding.  —  I recently appeared on MSNBC's The Cycle to discuss the new edition of my book The War Against Boys.  The four hosts were having none of it.  A war on boys?

Julia Gillard writes on power, purpose and Labor's future  —  Exclusive: Australia's former prime minister breaks her silence, writing exclusively for Guardian Australia on her legacy, her hopes for a new Labor leader... and the pain of losing power  —  During the election campaign …

American Ineffectualism  —  For generations, eminent New York Times wordsmiths have swooned over foreign strongmen, from Walter Duranty's Pulitzer-winning paeans to the Stalinist utopia to Thomas L. Friedman's more recent effusions to the “enlightened” Chinese Politburo.