In the hours after former president Donald Trump was indicted Tuesday, President Biden dined at a seafood restaurant, stopped by a movie theater to watch the summer blockbuster “Oppenheimer” and took a twilight stroll on the beach. He did not issue a statement on the indictment of his predecessor for allegedly seeking to overturn the last election.

When the Senate passed the annual defense policy bill Thursday on an eye-popping 86-11 vote, it stood as a vivid counterpoint to the partisan rancor that surrounded the House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act.

And to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), it was also further proof of the magic power of cross-party relationships and another example of how they can make Washington work.

Sen. Sherrod Brown is trying to pull off a political magic trick: Winning reelection in a red state while clinching bipartisan deals with some of the very same people dedicated to defeating him.

Take, for example, the long-stalled cannabis banking bill that Brown is trying to shepherd as Senate Banking chair. The Ohio Democrat’s primary Republican partner on it is none other than Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, whose mission as National Republican Senatorial Committee chair is ousting Brown next year.

I love the red, white, and blue bunting that adorns homes in the United States in early July as our nation’s Independence Day approaches. I enjoy the parades with decorated tricycles and high school marching bands. And then there are fireworks! 

But in recent years, I’ve pondered whether Independence Day needs an upgrade. It’s so 1776. Perhaps we need to repurpose this holiday. Perhaps we need a day that helps us imagine a different future. Perhaps it’s time for Interdependence Day.

What if confronting a societal scourge means focusing on its opposite?

That’s the approach taken by Shadi Pourkashef, a Southern California composer, conductor, and piano teacher who also combats school bullying – which affects 2 in 10 children ages 12 to 18, by one account – with kindness.

Arnold Schwarzenegger says it’s a “no-brainer” for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to eventually make a White House bid.

“Every governor from a big state wants to take that shot,” the “Terminator” actor and California’s former Republican governor, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Tuesday.

While human connection alone can’t prevent conflict, an enduring peace is unlikely without it. As Chinese citizens begin to venture abroad again, can what some dub “revenge travel” play a mitigating role and foster compassion?

When a retired IT professional from Chengdu traveled to the United States last week for the first time after years of pandemic-related isolation in China, he worried how U.S. border authorities might scrutinize a Chinese traveler.

To his relief, the American officers greeted him not with suspicion, but with a welcome.

This weekend, the U.S. is observing National Medal of Honor Day. It’s a time to recall and honor the valor and bravery of our servicemen and women who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

While serving in Afghanistan, Sergeant First Class Leroy Arthur Petry steered fellow soldiers away from harm, losing his right hand in the process as he tried to clear out an active grenade that had been thrown in his direction.

Petry went on to receive the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, in 2011 from then-President Barack Obama.

The working relationship between Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is notably different than the one the top House Republican had with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the last Congress — most simply, that they have one at all. 

The last six years have bred an unprecedented level of political divisiveness. Most of us are pining for the good old days when we could have constructive policy discussions with our friends and family. When Congress worked across the aisle, politicians practiced the art of mediating differences, and compromise wasn’t a dirty word.