Prospects for an agreement that could lead to withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan are “very promising,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Saturday. U.S. emissaries have been talking with leaders of the Taliban organization, which once ruled Afghanistan, for ...
It turns out that hating the United States, Britain and Israel is not just a matter of ideological leanings for some Iranians. It is good business, too. In case you missed it, The Associated Press recently answered a burning (pun intended) question: Where do all those U.S., British and ...
These days, it seems as if there is an “app” for everything. But the fiasco last week with the Iowa Democratic Party’s presidential nominating caucuses is a reminder that the appeal of new technology needs to be tempered by concern over reliability. Iowa’s caucus process is the ...
So ... getting more worried by the day about the coronavirus epidemic center in China? Officials report more than 560 deaths among the approximately 28,000 patients with the disease, which has spread to 25 countries. Indeed, a few cases of panic have been reported. In one case, a man ...
We’ve been round and round on this project at the intersection of Market St. and Pennsylvania Ave. Well, technically, city council made a decision — PennDOT’s option of a roundabout beginning in, last we heard, 2021. But we all know that’s not the final word, as council could now ...
Americans frown on excessive regulations that impose years-long — even decades-long — delays in starting and completing badly needed infrastructure-improvement projects. According to a Jan. 10 Wall Street Journal report, business groups say lengthy mandatory reviews under the National ...
The military used open burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan for years to get rid of all sorts of waste amid warfare. They openly burned everything from chemicals, paint, plastics, rubber and wood to discarded food, medical and human waste, metal and aluminum cans, munitions and other unexploded ...
Clearly, the developed world needs to do more about how we dispose of our trash. Just as obviously, the United States, often cited as the chief villain in that regard, is far from alone. For years, much of the plastic waste disposed of by prosperous countries — even much of that officials ...
This week, many Americans celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., who preached both an unceasing struggle against prejudice and discrimination and use of non-violent methods to win the battle. King’s high-profile leadership cost him his life. Others perished, too, during the ...
At least three times while Bill Clinton was president, he rejected proposals to kill Osama bin Laden. That enabled bin Laden’s al-Qaida network to continue making terrorist attacks leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001 assault on America that killed nearly 3,000 people. Despite knowing bin ...
Public discourse. A phrase that can be attributed to many things being posted on Facebook, Twitter, or any form of social media or otherwise in this day and age. We publish editorials every day on page A4 of the Times Observer. We publish letters to the editor on whatever subjects you ...
A great deal of the consumer protection advice we receive during the holidays amounts to common sense. How could a reasonably intelligent adult fall for some of the schemes, after all? But some consumer protection watchdogs are offering an important reminder: Adults may have nothing to do ...
Four thousand more U.S. troops will be pulled out of Afghanistan, reducing the force there to about 8,600, it was reported last week. That number is inadequate to do more than protect key U.S. positions and personnel. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw more forces from ...
Little by little, the bright, appealing shell that is Obamacare is being stripped away to reveal a thoroughly rotten core. More of it was being exposed this week. Former President Barack Obama’s administration went to great pains to shield the truth about Obamacare from the American ...
Commercial aircraft production is a high-stakes business in more ways than one. Federal regulators should stick to their position of emphasizing one of those stakes — lives. Boeing Co.’s 737 Max jetliners have been grounded throughout the world since March when two of the craft crashed ...
It is a virtually foregone conclusion that the House of Representatives — Democrats in it, that is — will vote to impeach President Donald Trump. When that happens, it will go down as the most transparently political impeachment in history. Not a single Republican in the House is ...
After many weeks in which the U.S. House of Representatives has seemed preoccupied with Democrat lawmakers’ vendetta against President Donald Trump, action on a new trade agreement may finally be on the horizon. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Tuesday announced her caucus has ...
We don’t get it. Really. Apparently, according to The Associated Press, there is some sort of stigma attached to those who attend two-year colleges. As the AP reported, a Perrysburg, Ohio, college president decided to do something about the stigma. Steve Robinson, of Owens Community ...
The most effective education on world trouble spots requires going there. So, just before Thanksgiving, a group of members of Congress went to Afghanistan. There, they talked with both U.S. forces and officials and Afghans, including that nation’s president, Ashraf Ghani. Making the trip ...
Too often, we prosperous, free Americans take our many blessings for granted. Nearly all of us enjoy the material wealth that is the envy of billions of people in other lands. We are free to do nearly anything our hearts desire, as long as our actions do not harm others. Our nation itself ...