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Why is Trump playing the Communist card?

Trump has run out of cards to play in the midterm elections, which is why he’s now talking about the “communist menace.” He can’t talk about the economy, because prices continue to rise faster than wages, which means most Americans are getting poorer. He can’t talk about foreign policy, because his war in Iran has been a debacle, his tariffs are an utter failure and he obviously hasn’t settled the war in Ukraine on “Day 1.” He can’t talk about immigration, because his raids and mass deportations have become so unpopular. So, facing the midterm elections, what’s ...

Dear Annie: When social media likes define self-worth

Dear Annie: My 14-year-old daughter spends far too much time on social media, and I am beginning to see it affect her mood, confidence and sleep. She checks her phone the moment she wakes up and often stays online long after she is supposed to be asleep. If a friend posts a picture without her, she becomes upset. If one of her own posts does not get enough likes, she worries that people are mad at her or no longer think she is popular. Recently, I took her phone away for the weekend after discovering she had been awake past midnight scrolling through videos. She cried and told me I ...

Itchy skin tags appear after switching a medication’s dosage

DEAR DR. ROACH: About four months ago, my doctor switched me from a combination of 5 mg of amlodipine and 100 mg of Losartan daily (which I’d been taking for several years) to 10 mg of amlodipine only. Things went just fine until very recently, when I started developing some annoying skin problems. I’ve noticed wart-like growths and itchy, small white things that look like skin tags. They bleed when I scratch them, and my whole torso and neck are itchy. I don’t tolerate antihistamines, so I’m using hydrocortisone cream, which is helpful. Would switching back to my old dosage of ...

Dear Annie: My friend’s joy highlights my own pain

Dear Annie: I am embarrassed to admit this, but I am jealous of my best friend. “Claire” and I have been close for more than 20 years. We met in college, stood in each other’s weddings and raised our children alongside one another. She has always been the person I could tell anything to. Over the past year, though, everything in her life seems to have fallen into place. Her husband received a big promotion, they bought a beautiful new house and her daughter was accepted into her first-choice college. Meanwhile, my husband was laid off, we are worried about money and my son is ...

Explaining peptides and the ways that they’re currently used

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m curious about peptides. I read that they’re incredible health cures and effective at lowering weight and high cholesterol. People say that major pharmaceutical companies are suppressing them because they offer better cures at cheaper prices. Is there any credibility to these claims, and should I take them, mainly by self-injection? — S.W. ANSWER: A peptide is a string of amino acids. Long peptides are called proteins, and they play many diverse roles in most of the structures in the human body, as well as the enzymes that our bodies use for ...

America’s multicultural miracle

The welcoming reception that so many European soccer fans have received as they have crossed the nation in pursuit of World Cup games has struck many as a happy surprise of the summer of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “The World Cup is at our shores, and all these people are doing us a great service,” comedian Bill Maher posted. “They are reminding Americans that this place is kind of awesome.” “They are seeing an America they never imagined,” The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan noted with something like awe. “They expected a dark and ...