Historian Richard Evens
Credit: Torsten Silz

Richard Evans established himself as arguably the pre-eminent historian of 20th-century Germany with his astonishing trilogy on the rise and fall of the Third Reich. Beginning after the cataclysm of the First World War with The Coming of the Third Reich; continuing with the Nazi regime’s first six years in power; and concluding with Nazism’s military aggression, genocide, and eventual defeat, Evans’ books explore Germany from the perspective of both its leaders and its citizens, including perpetrators, victims, and everyone in between.

Credit: Priceonomics

During a brief meeting with sheriffs where President Trump was apparently introduced to the complex subject of civil asset forfeiture, he offered to destroy the career of the Texas State Senator seeking to reform the system.  Whether this was an actual threat or a poor and misguided attempt at humor, its aim was unmistakably to chill reform efforts.   It appeared Trump did not know anything about civil asset forfeiture prior to the meeting, and after he got a one-sided lesson from the law enforcement community, he predictably gave it his full-throated endorsement.

We at the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that has spent decades critiquing this practice and crafting common sense reforms, would encourage the President to spend some more time learning about the civil asset forfeiture system and the compelling reasons why that system needs reform.  He would quickly learn that this is one of the diminishingly few policy areas where both sides of the political aisle can find common ground.  Instead, he […]

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A group of happy Republicans who are stripping away customer protections, and eliminating regulations

Congress is rolling back Obama-era rules governing pollution from coal mines, oil-drilling emissions, and more.

Solar farm at the Indianapolis Airport
Credit: Daron Cummings/AP

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA — Indiana’s energy utilities want state lawmakers to pass a law that critics say would muscle out smaller companies from the emerging solar energy market.

Solar power provides only about 1 percent of the country’s energy, but it is growing rapidly, with U.S. Energy Department figures showing solar industry employment grew 125 percent since 2010.

Much of the growth has come from homeowners or businesses taking advantage of its bill-lowering potential. That could eventually eat away at the business of the big utilities — in Indiana Duke Energy, Vectren and Indiana Michigan Power — which have a powerful voice and donate handsomely to political campaigns.

Indiana legislators started debate Thursday on a proposed law that in five years would eliminate much of the financial benefit Indiana homeowners, businesses, schools and even some churches reap harvesting the sun’s rays.

Republican state Sen. Brandt Hershman’s bill would overhaul a practice called “net metering,” which allows solar panel owners to feed excess energy into the power grid in […]

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President Donald Trump waves to people from a balcony Credit: Getty

It’s 2021, and President Donald Trump will shortly be sworn in for his second term. The 45th president has visibly aged over the past four years. He rests heavily on his daughter Ivanka’s arm during his infrequent public appearances.

Fortunately for him, he did not need to campaign hard for reelection. His has been a popular presidency: Big tax cuts, big spending, and big deficits have worked their familiar expansive magic. Wages have grown strongly in the Trump years, especially for men without a college degree, even if rising inflation is beginning to bite into the gains. The president’s supporters credit his restrictive immigration policies and his TrumpWorks infrastructure program.