Breaking News

Opinion

Dear Annie: Bugged by being brushed off

Columns

Dear Annie: I have been married to my husband for a little over 50 years, and lately I find myself wondering whether I am becoming too sensitive or whether something in our marriage has changed. More and more, I feel as though my feelings, needs and wishes are being overlooked. If I speak up about something that bothers me, especially if it goes against what my husband thinks, he often acts as though I am overreacting or making a big deal out of nothing. After so many years together, it hurts to feel as though my opinions can be brushed aside so easily. A small incident recently ...

Many vapes and e‑cigarettes are now banned in Pennsylvania

Columns

Many popular nicotine vapes are now banned in Pennsylvania, with only six companies approved to sell their products in the state after a legal ban went into effect on Oct. 19, 2026. I am a health law professor at Villanova University outside Philadelphia. Here’s how Pennsylvania’s new law works and what to expect as enforcement begins – especially in Philadelphia, where proximity to states with different laws might pose some challenges. Banned products The products in question include e-cigarettes, vapes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems, commonly known as ...

Young nursing student gets sick constantly and has gray hairs

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: My 22-year-old daughter gets sick often. She’s a nursing student and in the hospitals often for her clinicals, but she always tries to wash her hands often and takes a multivitamin. Are there any supplements she can take or anything she can do to boost her immunity? She also has about 10 gray hairs. I didn’t start going gray until I was in my 30s. My husband started getting grays at age 20. Could it be genetic or stress-related that this is happening at 22 already? — L.R. ANSWER: Congratulations to your daughter! Nurses remain the most trusted medical ...

Ramaswamy has made a very poor trade

Columns

What you put first, you will keep. After all, most of us wouldn’t mind a bit more money, but when you think about it, you already know where you can get it. You can always steal from the offering plate, push over a panhandling woman, scam a desperate friend. There’s a bit of a trick, though. To get the money, you must put it first. You must put it before your honor, before your empathy, before your friendship. There are ways to get famous, to gain power or become rich. The real question isn’t whether you want those things, but what you are willing to do to get them. “What ...

Constant burning pain plagues the leg of a 71-year-old woman

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 71-year-old female who’s in fairly good health. I only take a statin for high cholesterol and have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. In April, I began experiencing a burning pain that circles my upper left leg. The pain is constant and never wavers. I had blood tests and a hip X-ray done, which didn’t show a reason for the pain. A neurologist suggested an ultrasound with an injection of antibiotics into the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. Do you agree that this might stop the pain, or might it do more harm? I can live with the pain but would rather ...

It is Ukraine today, will it be Taiwan or South Korea tomorrow?

Columns

As President Donald Trump turns his back on Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it begs the question: Is Taiwan vs. China or South Korea vs. North Korea next? Dictator bullies seem to attract the admiration of one another. They could also regrettably gain Trump’s tacit support. Trump’s highly questionable claim that we have been in a war against Iran pales in comparison to wars (cold and hot) that we had with the U.S.S.R. (Russia) and North Korea. We won the former and tied the latter. Russia is not our friend, and is not to be trusted. The Cold War against the ...