For prestigious universities and even many private secondary schools, philanthropic donations have a long tradition.

They are typically driven by gratitude for what the institution contributed to one's life and, not infrequently, are meant as a soft bribe for allowing children or other family members to gain admission. But what happens when educational institutions use donor drives to help themselves avoid "value pricing" their various degrees? The question matters for a simple reason: Should a major in sociology or gender studies cost the same as one in semiconductor engineering?

We don't think so.

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It's no secret that Congress sometimes does things – including creating laws – that make little sense and that are contrary to the public interest. One of the most egregious of those laws has just taken effect. The subject – labeling of foods that have been "genetically modified," or "bioengineered" — is somewhat obscure, but the measure, in the form of a Department of Agriculture regulation that was mandated by the law — affects every American consumer.

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When President Joe Biden nominated Obama-era Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to return to his old post, he made what is widely seen as a safe, if uninspired, choice.

Califf is a distinguished cardiologist and clinical trial specialist, but the day-to-day regulatory decision-making happens at the organizational levels below the commissioner. The FDA, a huge and critically important but dysfunctional organization, now needs a bold, clear-thinking reformer, but Califf, the ultimate insider, has the ideal resume to keep it on the wrong path.

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Earlier this week, President Biden outlined new steps to confront the growing spread of Covid-19 from the new, more infectious Omicron variant, which, in only a few weeks, has soared from virtually nonexistent to 73 percent of all new cases. Unfortunately, Biden's plan failed to include what could be the most important action of all: an all-out effort to make safe and effective anti-viral Covid-19 pills available—two of which have now received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA—to every American at the earliest sign of infection.

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Gene editing, which allows precise edits to the genome, has been widely used for a variety of applications in laboratories worldwide since its discovery a decade ago. It has tremendous potential: Researchers hope to use it to alter human genes to eliminate diseases; improve the characteristics of plants; resist pathogens; and more. The two scientists who discovered the iconic gene editing technology, the CRISPR-Cas9 system, were awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

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