Japan’s main opposition party agreed to merge with a new group created by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, setting her up as the main challenger to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he dissolved parliament ahead of an October 22 election. The Democratic Party, one of Japan’s top political forces for the past two decades, decided on Thursday to run its candidates ...

When you think of pollution from coal-fired power plants, you may envision dark soot puffing out of tall smokestacks, peppering the air and making it harder for people to breathe. But since technology has eliminated much of this airborne pollution, what’s worse for the environment now is coal ash, a sludge that pours from US power plants at the rate ...

With the release of their new “framework” for tax reform, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have once again succeeded in avoiding an actual plan. At best, it’s the start of a process that might conceivably lead somewhere. The framework has some commendable principles—calling for simpler, lower taxes for businesses and the middle class; a broader tax base with fewer ...