'A good deal is one in which everyone walks away happy or everyone walks away mad'

Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

An Israeli soldier stands atop a tank after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hamas.
An Israeli soldier stands atop a tank after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hamas on Jan. 15, 2025
(Image credit:  Amir Levy/Getty Images)

'Israel never defined its goals'

Graeme Wood at The Atlantic

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'Thought UnitedHealthcare couldn't get more awful? They've gone villain mode.'

Arwa Mahdawi at The Guardian

Lawmakers have "made it clear to their corporate overlords that their No. 1 priority is ensuring the safety of their donor base," says Arwa Mahdawi. But insurers "seem to have gone into full-on villain mode; just when you think you can't hear anything worse about the insurance industry, a new horror story comes out." This is a "reminder of just how frustrated everyone — from doctors to patients — is with the profit-driven health insurance industry."

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'Trump's tariffs may not do what he thinks'

Matthew C. Klein at Politico

President-elect Donald Trump "needs to think harder about the tools he wants to use," says Matthew C. Klein. Several "policies Trump and his advisers have floated — primarily universal tariffs — risk making things worse, or, at best, will do nothing to revive American manufacturing or improve the lives of its workers." Prosperity is "not zero-sum, and just because we inflict pain on trading partners doesn't mean we'll benefit. More likely, punitive measures will backfire."

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Abigail Anthony at the National Review

The United Kingdom "has justice all backwards," says Abigail Anthony. Recent "outrage about the 'grooming gangs,' more accurately dubbed 'child-prostitution rings,' has brought attention to the stunning lack of prosecution." People "cared more about preserving the optics of multiculturalism than penalizing the pimps or aiding the young victims who have been mentally, physically, and emotionally abused." But "equally infuriating is the suspiciously low jail time that is given in the rare cases that sentencing actually occurs."

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Justin Klawans, The Week US

Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.