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An opinion column in The Wall Street Journal came under fire over the weekend for asking educator and incoming first lady Jill Biden — who holds two master's degrees and a doctorate in education — to stop using the title "Dr." In the op-ed published Friday evening, writer and former editor of The American Scholar magazine Joseph Epstein urged Biden to drop the title, a message that public figures and women in academia panned on Twitter as misogynistic both in substance and tone. (Treisman, 12/13)

The Wall Street Journal is facing lots of criticism after it published an op-ed that called on soon-to-be first lady Dr. Jill Biden to drop the “Dr.” from her title when she moves into the White House. Joseph Epstein, a former Northwestern University professor, claims in the piece that “‘Dr. Jill Biden’ sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic.” He also opens the piece by speaking directly to President-elect Joe Biden’s wife: “Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo.” Epstein cites an unnamed “wise man” who supposedly said “no one should call himself Dr. unless he has delivered a child” and then goes on to ask Biden to “think about it.” (Politi, 12/13)

Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the “Dr.” before your name? “Dr. Jill Biden ” sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic. Your degree is, I believe, an Ed.D., a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware through a dissertation with the unpromising title “Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students’ Needs.” A wise man once said that no one should call himself “Dr.” unless he has delivered a child. Think about it, Dr. Jill, and forthwith drop the doc. (Joseph Epstein, 12/11)

Patrick Kennedy, the former congressman and mental health care advocate, has launched a public push to serve as the incoming Biden administration’s “drug czar.” He’s the highest-profile candidate to join the early jockeying for the post, and already enjoys backing from prominent figures including a former drug czar, former surgeon general, and the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. (Facher, 12/14)

Philanthropist Bill Gates warned Sunday that the failure of President Trump to formally recognize his defeat to President-elect Joe Biden and begin a White House transition process is "complicating" efforts to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine to the general public. Gates told CNN's "State of the Union" that a lack of communication between the Trump and Biden teams risked a slower distribution process for the vaccine, which is set to become available for some vaccinations this week. (Bowden, 12/13)