Breaking News

Opinion

Free speech isn’t just for laughs

Columns

Following reports that Bill Maher will receive the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to believe it. “This is fake news,” she told CNN. “Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.” Ah, guess again. On Thursday, the center confirmed that Maher was the pick. (This reversal was first reported by Politico.) The annual award, presented by the Kennedy Center, will be given on June 28, right before the performing arts center closes for a two-year renovation. In the spirit of the honor, Maher thanked “the Mark ...

Floater in man’s eye signifies a posterior vitreous detachment

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a 73-year-old man who had worn glasses since the age of 12 until a successful laser surgery from 22 years ago, which resulted in near 20/20 vision. My vision has changed little since the surgery. My eye health has always been very good, if not excellent, but after a recent two-hour airplane flight, I noticed a small “blob” in my right eye. Every time I moved my eye, it moved with my direction of vision. There were also brief flashes of light that occurred sporadically for about 24 hours. They haven’t returned. I underwent an urgent eye exam, which showed ...

Stop hiding voter data

Letters to the editor

Caroline Machiraju Camp Hill Pa.’s Secretary of State Al Schmidt refuses to give its voter export to the Department of Justice, which wants to validate that only citizens are voting, by cross-checking social security numbers. Why? That’s a question that Rep. Brad Roae asked Schmidt during the budget hearings. Schmidt gave a nonsensical reply, stating DOS wants to “protect” personal information. Roae aptly responded “With all due respect, Mr. Secretary, the federal government already has everybody’s social security numbers — they’re the ones that give them out.” It ...

War or health care

Letters to the editor

David Whiteman Centre Hall President Trump says he launched a war to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and attacking the United States. Many experts—including our own intelligence analysts — question whether that threat was ever imminent. The threat to Americans’ health, however, is real. Health care is increasingly hard to afford, driven in part by last year’s budget bill and the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for people who buy their own insurance. Republicans argued that adequately funding health care was not worth increasing the budget ...

There are no real Republicans left in America today

Letters to the editor

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross In the past, Republicans took not only a principled stance but a responsible stance on the federal budget. For example, the Constitution says that human services programs must be largely decided and funded on the state level. So, when even the worst of Republican presidents like Richard Nixon decided to end federal efforts in some of these areas, his party shifted certain health, education, and welfare funding back to the states in the form of “block grants.” That way, the states could decide similar local programming there more flexibly on ...

Dear Annie: Drawing boundaries without hurting family ties

Columns

Dear Annie: I’ve been married to my husband for six years, and for the most part we have a happy, peaceful life together. The one area where things feel complicated is with my in-laws. My husband is very close to his parents, which is something I truly admire about him. They raised a kind, thoughtful son, and I know family means a lot to them. The challenge is that sometimes it feels like there’s no clear boundary between their household and ours. For example, his mother will often call him several times a day to check in, and she sometimes asks detailed questions about things ...