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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, ...

The endless horizon: Why generations of landlocked Appalachians keep coming back to Erie

Columns

Long before the furthest-left corner of the Commonwealth began welcoming millions of sunbathers, Presque Isle State Park served as a critical shield for a young nation. During the War of 1812, the peninsula’s natural, 5.8-square-mile harbor provided the perfect sanctuary. Master mariner Daniel Dobbins recognized that a shallow sandbar across the bay’s entrance would protect American shipbuilders from deep-draft British warships. Under the cover of Presque Isle’s dense forests, Commander Oliver Hazard Perry constructed a formidable naval squadron. In September 1813, Perry sailed ...

Acute grief reaction occurs in sibling who lost their sister

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: My sister died about a month ago. We were very close, and I was with her when she died of a brief but serious illness. The day after, I felt completely unbalanced. I had brain fog and nausea, which comes and goes, as well as extreme exhaustion and tinnitus. I saw my general physician and asked for a full blood test, which came back normal. She said that all signs pointed to grief and stress from a traumatic event. I then went to my doctor of otology, who did a full ear exam and concurred with my physician. I’ve had many people who’ve passed away in my life, ...