Another small step was taken last week on the steep and winding ascent back to constitutional norms. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the nation’s second-most important court, did its judicial duty by reprimanding Congress for abandoning constitutional propriety. The court declared unconstitutional the unprecedented independence that Congress conferred on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This …

  Only two years ago, 55 percent of Scots voted to remain in the United Kingdom, which was then part of the European Union. Since then, the U.K. has decided it does not want to be part of the EU, so Scottish nationalists now want another vote. If their fellow Scots agree, they should get it. Just not yet. Scotland …

  Following the 2008 global recession, five major emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa joined hands to form the BRICS group in 2011. The bloc held a crucial meeting in Goa recently. Its top highlight was the pledge taken by the members to fast-track establishment of a new ratings agency as the existing ones — Moody’s, Standard …