Breaking News

Opinion

One ballot measure extends California’s taxing power. Another limits it. Stay tuned.

Columns

Californians will face two competing tax measures this November. The first is the Billionaire Tax Act, a onetime, 5% levy on the accumulated net worth of the state’s richest residents. Lesser known is the Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act, which would draw constitutional lines around what Sacramento can and cannot tax, prohibiting new levies on retirement accounts, personal savings and individually owned assets and banning retroactive taxation. Everyone with even just a little bit of money set aside — not just the California billionaires targeted by the wealth tax — ...

At the age of 57, heart attacks are no longer considered ‘rare’

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m always saddened when a young person dies of an old person’s calling. I read about an actor dying of a heart attack at age 57. Apparently, he was athletic and in otherwise good health. Why do healthy young people suffer from unexpected heart attacks? — A.C.G. ANSWER: A heart attack is very rare under the age of 30 — in the order of about 2 men per 100,000 per year. But this number continues to increase throughout lifetime. (Women also get heart disease but at a lower rate than men do at any given age. Roughly speaking, a woman’s risk for a heart attack is ...

Support stockings should be removed before tucking in for bed

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m 70 years old, and my whole family is prone to edema, varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis due to venous insufficiency. I’ve been wearing support pantyhose for 45 years whenever I get dressed, and I recently increased the compression. While I’m sitting, I elevate my legs. I am otherwise healthy and not overweight, and I have no cardiac issues, just the edema. Usually I’m OK except when I’m traveling (especially in airplanes) or when I’m dining in restaurants as I must avoid salt intake, so it’s easier to stay home. My question is whether it’s OK to ...

Shutting down federal bee labs threatens bees, beekeepers and the US food system

Columns

America’s bees and beekeepers are losing a valuable ally just when they need its help most. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to soon close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research station in Maryland that is home to the nation’s premier bee research and disease diagnosis hub, the Beltsville Bee Research Lab. The closure comes at a critical moment for bees. In winter 2025, many beekeepers lost over half their operations as pesticide-resistant varroa mites spread, bringing deadly viruses. The losses have led to low honey production, ...

Dear Annie: Love at full volume

Columns

Dear Annie: My husband and I both work from home and each have our own offices. The problem is our walls are thin and his voice is LOUD. It travels through walls and doors and can even be heard by colleagues I’m speaking with when we both have meetings at the same time. It honestly sounds like he’s screaming in there. I’ve resorted to noise canceling headphones while doing focus work, but even then I can sometimes hear him. I love him dearly, but I feel like I’m co-working in a sports bar. Is there any hope? — Drowned Out Dear Drowned Out: There are ways to solve your ...

Why Democrats need an ‘Operation Kibble’

Columns

There’s an ancient, almost surely apocryphal, story about a dog food company executive convening a big sales meeting. A very short version has the exec running through all of the company’s advantages: the best sales team, the best advertising, the best packaging, etc. He then irately asks, “So why aren’t we selling more dog food?” After a long silence, a small voice from the back ventures a guess. “Maybe the dogs don’t like it.” The story is a cliche, but a useful one, in business and politics. For instance, the pre-launch internal name for “Netflix” was ...