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Reporting on tragedy requires empathy, moral integrity

Our View

Whenever our community experiences a tragedy, we are faced with extraordinarily difficult ethical decisions. As journalists, our responsibility is to inform the public about events that shape our community, even when those events involve profound loss. We do this work because an informed public is essential to a functioning community, and residents rely on local news to understand the events that impact their lives and the lives of their neighbors. Without accurate reporting, rumor and speculation fill the void, often causing more harm than the truth. Tragedies, by their nature, ...

What’s the plan?

Letters to the editor

Willow Eby Fischer Northumberland What is the difference between Vietnam and Iran? Trump had a plan for getting out of Vietnam. Dark humor, but it points to a very real and tragic reality. People died, our soldiers died, children died. Mothers, fathers, people died. Now people are dying again. Little girls at their school, our soldiers, the same list of people are dying again. Yes, there have been a few very evil men killed also. Do you know who is not dying? The same people who are not concerned with the price of gas and food. The same people with golden healthcare plans. Trump, ...

Using a vagus nerve stimulation device for rheumatoid arthritis

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I want to know what you think about vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), both the surgically implanted type as well as the external noninvasive device for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other indications. What kind of doctor does this? Just reading about it gives me hope that less drugs are being used to treat these conditions. — L.L. ANSWER: VNS uses electrical impulses to trigger some of the many actions of the vagus nerve. VNS is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for some types of drug-resistant epilepsy, headache disorders, and drug-resistant depression. For ...

Keep artificial intelligence out of American classrooms

Columns

Norway is, by almost any metric, a profoundly successful nation. It’s rich, democratic and relatively corruption-free. It’s not a socialist country, but fans of a robust welfare state and high taxes see much to admire in the very progressive Norwegian model. It also benefits from having the biggest and arguably best-run sovereign wealth fund in the world. And yet, Norway nearly ruined its children. In 2016, flush with cash and progressive values, Norway gave every child in the country, starting at the age of 5, their own iPad or similar digital device. A decade later, young ...

Laughing off accountability

Columns

Dear Annie: My brother-in-law is constantly making offensive and over-the-top jokes. Whenever I call him out, he tells me I’m “too sensitive.” To me, that’s the same as saying, “I don’t care about your feelings and I’m going to blame this conflict entirely on you!” I always point this out, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. This is gaslighting of the worst kind. How can I respond in the future to make him take some actual accountability? — Oversensitive Dear Oversensitive: Your brother-in-law’s trick is to shift the spotlight from his joke to your reaction. ...

Thompson vs Planned Parenthood

Letters to the editor

Maggie Waggoner Lewisburg Congressman Glenn Thompson sent another misleading e-mail to his constituents on April 10, attacking Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). His newsletter states that PPFA “received more taxpayer dollars than ever before, and continues to prioritize abortion over true health care services.” First, abortion care is part of full health care. Furthermore, the 2024-2025 PPFA Annual Report states: “Though Planned Parenthood Federation of America did everything we could to prevent it, in July 2025, the Trump administration and Congress forced ...