Breaking News

Opinion

Unity, and careful messaging, will be key to Dem resurgence

Columns

Here’s an easy lesson for rising political hopefuls to draw from Francesca Hong’s failed bid to be Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee: Don’t demonize Thanksgiving. Hong, a chef, state legislator and democratic socialist, was the clear front-runner in the Democratic primary race until a social media comment she posted six years ago, now deleted, turned up, in the way that old tweets often do to embarrass political candidates. You didn’t have to be a right-winger to slap your forehead, shake your head and condemn cheap shots at a holiday long cherished by countless ...

Is the Iran War worth it?

Letters to the editor

K.L. Johnson Jersey Shore I don’t understand why Trump administration officials, and Republicans in general, cannot explain the consequences of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. The current talking point seems to be “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” which fails utterly as an explanation of why. The reason is simple. If the current Iranian regime achieves a nuclear weapon, they will use it — believing that their god has ordered them to destroy both Israel and the United States, and also believing that they will be supernaturally protected from any reprisal. The only ...

United States adversaries pose threats

Letters to the editor

Donald Moskowitz Londonderry, NH The Heritage Foundation Study of March 4, 2026 exposes military threats from four countries. China poses the biggest threat to our national security. It has more naval vessels than the United States. China continues to claim sovereignty over the South China Sea and threaten Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan. It desires to control the Far East sea lanes, which could impact world trade. Russia’s nuclear arsenal, including non-strategic nuclear weapons, is second to the U.S. Its invasion of Ukraine creates an ongoing threat to Europe. Russia ...

Woman with back pain inquires about strengthening devices

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 77-year-old woman with degenerative disc disease. I had an L4 microdiscectomy surgery in 2020, but I still have chronic pain in my lower back. Although I do core strengthening exercises with physical therapy (which helps), I’m still in daily pain. I’ve been seeing advertisements for multifidus muscle-strengthening devices, such as NeuroMD and ReliveX. What’s your opinion on this type of exercise device? — C.K. ANSWER: I think that better non-pharmacologic therapies are needed for back pain, and the theory of electrical stimulation to strengthen the back ...

Dear Annie: Dispirited Da Vinci

Columns

Dear Annie: I recently turned 27 and feel as if life is just passing me by. I try so many different things to find career opportunities and to meet other people but nothing leads to anything, and I am always stuck back at square one. It seems like nobody ever gives me a chance (social and economic). Is there a way to move on in life without sacrificing your identity? Right now, I’m terribly alone. Outside of a few family members, I have no social life, no love life and no career opportunities. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could just have one of those pillars. I’m stuck in a small ...

No masculine or feminine ideals needed — just human ones

Columns

Men in the U.S. are stuck — stuck in dissatisfaction, stuck in judgement and stuck in a culture that increasingly tells them that they aren’t strong enough, attractive enough or mean enough to matter. In a perhaps related development, American sailors appear to be trying to escape the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East for almost nine months, by the only means available to them: jumping off it into the ocean. “There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, ...