Featured Commentary

There are life-and-death consequences for millions of households as a result of the ongoing government shutdown. Every fall, millions of families wait for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to begin aid distribution so they can manage their energy bills. This year, that wait is stretching into winter. Because...

Can America truly thrive while its cities are under siege — not only from political neglect like Electoral College and recent gerrymandering attempts, but from a spreading narrative of fear? This isn’t merely a partisan issue. It’s an economic, social and existential one. Our urban centers are the beating heart...

In communities across Pennsylvania, local officials are deciding how to spend over $2 billion from the state’s opioid settlement agreements. For many, the task is proving promising yet challenging — and raises questions about how to best navigate complex local needs. Pennsylvania will receive the money over 18 years from...

This fall, after a years-long antitrust battle, a federal judge rejected the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request that he force Google to break apart its integrated search tools. Many high-profile commentators called the decision a disappointment, but I saw it as a major win for small businesses. Let me explain....

“Write something sensible.” I’m finishing this column on the first anniversary of my mother’s passing, and I can still hear her cajoling me to cater to her down-to-earth tastes. Her funny bone was unpretentious. She could laugh at pratfalls on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” or a tyke’s witticisms on “Kids...

When Nancy Pelosi first ran for Congress, she was one of 14 candidates, the front-runner and a target. At the time, Pelosi was little known to San Francisco voters. But she was already a fixture in national politics. She was a major Democratic fundraiser who helped lure the party’s 1984...

“If I am not for myself, then who will be there for me? And if I am for myself only, who am I? And if not now, when?” These words from the famous Rabbi Hillel the Elder guided Jewish life at the time of King Herod. Now, they represent a...

A new college basketball season is beginning. For every team, their 30-plus schedule of games is certain to produce some surprises. Yet every fan hopes their team will have what it takes to make some noise in March. Rankings are certainly informative. But is there a more reliable way to...

There are a few people in the world who are instantly recognizable with just one name: Madonna, Beyonce and Rihanna come to mind, as do fellow performers Cher, Elvis, Prince, Bono and Sting. The same is true for Malala. I have known about this brave young woman from the moment...

The president’s chief of staff was talking with aides outside his president’s waiting motorcade when he spotted me — and immediately began walking purposefully toward me for what figured to be one of those tough, and probably angry, confrontations. Reporters know we can expect that when what we have written...

Canceling regulations to enter Pennsylvania in the Regional Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI) is now under consideration in commonwealth budget negotiations. Participation in RGGI is the most important thing Pennsylvania can do right now to combat climate change. Gov. Josh Shipiro and Pennsylvania House Democratic leaders should refuse to support...

Pennsylvania recently surpassed stalwarts like Nevada and New Jersey to become the national leader in online gaming. But now, Keystone State lawmakers are proposing a tax increase that could reverse that growth and drive the industry underground into the black market. With tax rates of 36% for sports betting and...

“He did WHAT to the East Wing?” If someone called me up at work and said “I knocked down half of your house and will be installing a pool in your backyard as well as a gazebo at no charge to you,” I would be apoplectic. The idea a stranger...

My father had a simple ritual. At 6 a.m., he would read the New York Post and Daily News cover to cover. At 6 p.m., he tuned into the evening news — an hour of straightforward reporting, not commentary. He formed his own opinions, and then he moved on. The...

Born into unimaginable luxury and showered with honors, the man formerly known as His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York will henceforth be addressed as plain old Mr. Mountbatten Windsor. It’s a stunning fall. The second, apparently favorite, son of Queen Elizabeth II has not only lost his many...

Americans are reading less, sleeping less and partying less. We have fewer marriages, fewer children and fewer friends than we used to. Our children are doing worse in school. These are complicated phenomena on some level, but on another level it’s pretty simple: Smartphones, social media and the internet are...

Winston Churchill, the towering British statesman who served as prime minister during World War II, was once asked by an American student how to become a successful leader. Churchill’s advice: “Study history, study history. In history lie all the secrets of statecraft.” Frank Gavin, a professor at the Johns Hopkins...

Five decades after the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the wake of the Arab oil embargo, the United States is facing a new threat to its economic, energy and national security that calls for similarly decisive action: the weaponization of mineral supply chains by China. The time has...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced plans to expand the national stockpile of minerals such as lithium and rare earths needed in the production of renewable energy technologies and military weapons. This is nothing new; the U.S. government has stockpiled minerals for decades. What is new is that the government...

Having brokered what appears to be a groundbreaking ceasefire leading to a longer-term Middle East peace settlement, supporters of President Donald Trump, and the president himself, are lobbying the Nobel committee to bestow a 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Trump. Whether next year’s committee honors him may depend less on...

Politics isn’t working for most Americans. Our government can’t keep the lights on. The cost of living continues to rise. Our nation is reeling from recent acts of political violence. Seventy percent of voters say the U.S. is in a political crisis, and 64% say our political system is too...

The school year is well underway here in Pittsburgh, and students are learning new things every day. But one thing remains the same: the rising cost of electricity here and all across Pennsylvania. This could leave some school districts facing tough decisions on how to prioritize expenses and looking for...

If there’s one takeaway from Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, it’s that the unrepentant child trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner in crime, should never, ever be considered for the pardon or commutation that President Trump has hinted at. This is not to downplay the importance of the moving story Giuffre...

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is spreading in the state’s deer herd. There are now potentially too few hunters to control a deer herd that is always looking to expand naturally, and with this expansion goes the disease. Who will help keep the spread in check? CWD is a contagious, always-fatal...

In recent years, summer in the U.S. has been blighted by wildfires. And as megafires grow, so does air pollution. Just this summer, we experienced air quality alerts in Western Pennsylvania because of the wildfires in Canada. Seeing our beautiful forests ravaged by wildfires is devastating and then there’s the...