Breaking News

Columns/Opinion

Developments in floodplains proving costly

BY HARRIET FESTING In early June, Diane Mueller fled her flooded home near St. Louis, for the second time in two years. She hopes it won’t happen again. When she saw the water bubbling up through grates in the floor, it was time to go. She and her husband got the pets into the truck and headed for dry land. Now they sit on the floor of an unfurnished rental house, contemplating next steps. Floods have always been a fact of life in our great river valleys, but the problem is getting worse, thanks to a climate that brings much heavier rains. And flooding is exacerbated by ...

Stonewall still playing out 50 years later

Leonard Pitts is on vacation. his column will resume on July 8. In late June of 1969, the New York Police Department raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar in Manhattan where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people would congregate. On the night of the raid, patrons fought back and days of riots ensued. Although resistance to the policing of queer lives started long before Stonewall, the riots are widely considered the catalyst for the modern day LGBTQ rights movement. As we commemorate their 50th anniversary, the struggle against state violence and for queer liberation ...

Congress must protect Title X health care program

BY JESSICA McCOLLEY As a maternal-child physician, I provide care to some of our state’s most vulnerable populations. Large portions of this area’s people live on the lower end of the income scale, and many do not have health insurance. These populations live in a rural part of the state where medical options are limited and sometimes unavailable. These are characteristics of communities that can be found throughout West Virginia and the country. They are often forgotten about when we talk about health care access. Low-income people living in rural America continue to struggle ...

Can Biden hold off the left in 2020 race?

Joe Biden is old. He hugs people. He thinks China is and isn’t a challenge for America. He is for and against taxpayers financing abortion. He was once against busing for desegregation of blacks and whites. Anita Hill says he did not give her a fair chance to destroy Clarence Thomas. He hasn’t shown much oomph as a candidate for president. He came out with an upside-down climate change plan. The polls like him. The polls may quit liking him, of course, and commentators discuss that as much as his character or policy ideas. They all agree he has name recognition working for him ...

Shanahan’s short and sad career

It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Patrick Shanahan. The acting U.S. secretary of defense said Tuesday he’s leaving government because of “a painful and deeply personal family situation” from a decade ago he had hoped to keep private. Now the details have become public, and the FBI’s lingering questions are the ostensible reason Shanahan has withdrawn from consideration to replace James Mattis, who resigned as the Pentagon’s chief in December. At the same time, as difficult as it is for Shanahan, the change may be for the best — for him, his family and the ...

Headline all gun violence just like this

It’s unknown what exactly was in the man’s mind as he approached the Earle Cabell Federal Building in downtown Dallas on Monday, but his intent was easy to read. Clad in tactical gear and carrying an assault-style rifle and at least five 30-round magazines, the man — whom police identified as Brian Isaack Clyde — started shooting as he neared the entrance, then cut and ran when security officers returned fire. He collapsed, mortally wounded, in a parking lot across the street. Police have yet to offer a motive, but social media posts before the attack offer some ...