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Can the nearly $1 trillion‑a‑year US military really be depleting key weapons in Iran?

Columns

The fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced on April 7, 2026, after 40 days of war came at an opportune time for the United States. Several reports indicate it is running out of weapons amid the conflict. As a scholar focused on U.S. military deployments, these reports are concerning and somewhat surprising. After all, the United States spends more money on its military — nearly US$1 trillion annually — than the next nine highest-spending countries combined. How can the U.S. military be depleting its weapons against a largely isolated country that spends less than 1% of what the ...

Dear Annie: Husband’s dream hobby has become a nightmare

Columns

Dear Annie: My husband recently bought an old classic car, the kind he has dreamed about since he was 17. He made the purchase after seeing one roaring down Main Street with the top down. It is shiny, loud, impractical and, according to him, “an investment.” According to me, it is a very expensive midlife crisis with chrome bumpers. He found it online after months of searching and drove three hours to see it “just to look.” Naturally, he came home with a bill of sale, a grin on his face and a car that now sits in our garage under a special cover like it is the crown jewels. ...

The invisible forces that keep the doors open

Columns

We’re not southern enough to be yes, ma’am or no, sir, but I try to nudge manners into my kids’ daily interactions with strangers. Today, I nudged him when I saw two women cross the parking lot and asked him to open the restaurant door. One of the women was older and one much younger, maybe a grandmother and granddaughter. The younger one smiled at him and said thank you as she walked through. The older one didn’t acknowledge him at all. At the table, my mom called it entitlement, but that didn’t feel right. It’s more that some people grow accustomed to moving through the ...

Which party will recover first from its current self-harm?

Columns

Tuesday saw the usual first-week-of-June gaggle of state primary elections. It’s a feature of the American federal system that states choose when to hold primary and local elections. Back in the 1850s, as historian Roy Franklin Nichols notes, there was an election in all but one or two of the 24 months in the two-year congressional election cycle. From the results, in those pre-polling days, politicos and pundits drew conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of the Democratic and Republican political parties and their various candidates. Congress in 1872 set a single date ...

America’s story is resilience. Martina McBride has been singing it for years.

Columns

When artists canceled their performances for President Donald Trump’s June 25 Great American State Fair, one stood out for me: Martina McBride. The first time I saw Martina live in concert was at the Taste of Cincinnati festival in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Memorial Day Weekend in 1994. Her iconic song “Independence Day” had just been released as a single. It’s a song we would have no doubt heard if she stayed in the lineup for the D.C. event. Like other artists who withdrew, Martina felt misled regarding the political nature of the event. Artists now say what was originally ...

Daily productive cough causes patient to wonder about COPD

Columns

DEAR DR ROACH: I decided to practice using an inhalation spirometer, partly because I have a daily productive cough (small amounts three to four times a day). I smoked a pack of filtered cigarettes a day from ages 17-29. I smoke marijuana now. My scoliosis is quite complex and has taken over 4 inches off my height. But at age 75, I volunteer as a stable hand for 6-8 hours a week, and they say that I’m the hardest working volunteer! I’m lean and fit. I do three inhalation tests in a row, and it’s always 2,400 mL. Do I have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and ...