Opinion

Stop the hysteria over Flock cameras

Columns October 10, 2026

In the bad old crime days of New York City, I spent a Christmas Eve waiting outside an emergency room. Our foursome had been violently robbed in a subway station, and I was eager for the doctor’s report on one member who’d suffered a concussion fighting off a mugger. Because someone got hurt, city detectives took the case seriously. They interviewed us and urged a trip to transit authority headquarters to look at mugshots. We did. Desperate to nail the two attackers, I gazed over page after page of faces. If this happened today, subway and street cameras would have identified ...

Dear Annie: Still haunted by high school

Columns October 10, 2026

Dear Annie: This might seem a little weird for a 78-year-old man, but this really bothers me. When I was in elementary and high school, I wasn’t liked by many of my fellow students. I was shy, a bit awkward and the target of bullying. I never fit in, and I thought high school would never end. Things were better in college. I graduated and went on to stand out in my profession, receiving honors and positive attention from my peers. It was the opposite of my high school experience. I’ve only attended one high school class reunion, and that evening was the longest three hours of ...

Sexual assault survivors’ stories may shift over time – a psychologist explains why it doesn’t mean they’re lying

Columns October 10, 2026

If a person’s story changes in the weeks following an alleged sexual assault, are they not telling the truth? It’s a criticism I’ve seen on social media and heard in the public conversation surrounding the lawsuit filed in September 2026 by a plaintiff known as Jane Doe, a former student at Cornell University, accusing seven male students of rape. Initially, Doe discussed events with a friend but reportedly didn’t identify them as assault. It wasn’t until weeks later, when her experience was labeled as a gang rape by others, that she came forward to ...

Kovels Antiques: Hugo Lonitz is a lesser known majolica manufacturer, but still important

Columns October 10, 2026

Majolica collectors are familiar with many names, like George Jones, Sarreguemines, and, of course, famous ceramics factories like Copeland, Minton, and Wedgwood. Hugo Lonitz may be lesser known, but still important. While most of the best-known manufacturers of the richly glazed ...

Senators should answer to voters, not factions

Columns October 9, 2026

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said something out loud this weekend that many in Washington have long understood: Sen. Chuck Schumer, he argued, lives in fear of the far-left wing of his party. Thune pointed to Democrats blocking debate on military funding and a defense authorization bill, as well as resistance around the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He also recalled the backlash Schumer faced after voting to reopen the government during an earlier shutdown fight. In Thune’s telling, Schumer learned the price of defying his party’s loudest faction and has deferred to it ...

How to distinguish whether an irregular heartbeat is normal

Columns October 9, 2026

DEAR DR. ROACH: You recently used the term “abnormal irregular heartbeat.” I’ve had an irregular heartbeat for decades without seemingly ill effects. My doctors haven’t put any restrictions on my vigorous cycling or any other activities that I do at 84 years old. Does this mean that I have normal irregular heartbeats? Is there an implied difference by your use of “abnormal?” — S.B. ANSWER: The answer is more complicated than it might seem. A perfectly regular heartbeat is, perhaps counterintuitively, not normal. The heart should respond to subtle changes in chest pressure ...