TribLive stories, Page 1316

What’s most astonishing about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is how astonished everyone professes to be, while conceding delaying the inevitable would not have prevented it. Failure is often an orphan; this one lays claim to plenty of fathers. Bill Clinton regrets not assassinating Osama Bin Laden after the 1998...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-49) held on to beat Toledo (Tigers), 5-4. SS Cole Tucker (.232) went 1 for 3 and hit his sixth home run, a solo shot in the seventh. 3B Hunter Owen (.234) went 1 for 4 with a homer, his 14th. CF Jared Oliva (.234) went 2 for...

People tend to overestimate or underestimate risk. The pandemic brings this into stark relief. Picture someone wearing an N95 mask while walking their dog through a deserted park. Contrast that with someone entering a crowded bar maskless in an area with high coronavirus transmission rates. Risk is a function of...

It was a fair question, albeit a brutally honest one. When coach Wade Davis met with what was left of the Monessen football team for the first time in mid-January, this was the first question he fielded: “Coach, are you going to be here for one year and leave?” After...

The stage is set for the start of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s 123rd football season Friday as all 13 local schools will see Week Zero action. That’s a far cry from last season when the start was delayed two weeks because of the covid-19 pandemic. The season was reduced to seven...

The rapid collapse of the Afghan government has lessons to teach us, if we will listen. Many of these are lessons we could have learned from the Vietnam War, but we did not. In both Vietnam and Afghanistan, the enemy was very real. The Viet Minh began as a nationalist...

Only one major Pennsylvania health care employer, Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, has required employees to get vaccinated against covid-19. But mandates are under consideration at others. “We haven’t gotten to the mandate yet. We think about it and we assess where we’re at, but we haven’t made that decision yet,” said...

Penn State football’s roster has youth at several positions. The Nittany Lions have several players who can contribute this season despite their relative lack of playing time at the collegiate level. Let’s take a look at five young players in particular who could contribute at a high level this season...

A university professor told his class that the greatest threats to democracy were ignorance and apathy. When he asked his students to explain the difference, one responded, not knowing it was the correct answer, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” In the 2020 presidential election, voters took a step...

On paper, Penn State is expected to field one of its most inexperienced defensive lines in recent memory. The Nittany Lions must replace a pair of first-team All-Big Ten ends (Shaka Toney, Odafe Oweh). Stout tackle Antonio Shelton, a 2020 starter, is now with the Florida Gators. PJ Mustipher, a...

Pennsylvania’s public school educators and support professionals are looking forward to returning to school to welcome a new class of eager students to their classrooms. As we do so, we are at a crossroads. We look ahead with enthusiasm but recognize that, in order to make this school year successful...

President Biden has a lot of blood on his hands . His misguided decision to announce, and then implement, the immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, while leaving behind billions of dollars in weapons and equipment for the Taliban to use, is insane. Regardless of what the Taliban says, I...

Academic achievements The following students from the area were recognized for their academic achievement during the spring 2021 semester by being named to the dean’s, president’s or provost’s list at the college or university they attend: • Hiram College: Kieran Schmidt • Knox College: Rand Al Baka, Teeba Al Baka...

I am concerned that our three commissioners have shown no effort to gather public input around American Rescue Plan funds. Westmoreland County leadership has failed to provide both a community engagement plan and a spending plan, both of which are required by the law. The $105 million coming to Westmoreland...

There was hope going into the 2020 season that Mohawk would be able to capitalize on the modest, two-game winning streak that ended the 2019 campaign. But that hope soon came unraveled as the covid pandemic struck and injury problems, especially on the line, emerged. “Last year was brutal as...

Ellwood City is getting tired of the goose eggs. The football program suffered its third consecutive winless season in 2020. The Wolverines have dropped 27 consecutive games and have not posted a victory since defeating Brentwood on Oct. 26, 2018. Third-year coach Joe Lamenza, however, feels two of the problems...

The Birdie Last season: 65-12 (84.4%) While flying through football camps across the Alle-Kiski Valley the last few weeks, The Birdie heard some of his favorite sounds. OK, not his No. 1 favorite sound. That would be the rumble of a pizza delivery driver’s truck pulling into his driveway. Not...

The Birdie Last season: 72-23 (75.8%) A new football season has the Birdie smiling ear to ear, although you can’t quite see his smile because he still is wearing his mask. Good boy, Birdie. Pulling up a soap box, old yellow is in the mood to preach this preseason and...

Publicize your club meetings, community events and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Trylife Center seeks volunteers for day and night positions TryLife Center, a pregnancy and family resource center in Lower Burrell, is...

Is there anything more quintessentially summer than a county fair? It’s the kind of event that brings all of those snapshot memories of summertime fun into focus. Cotton candy. Blue ribbons. Funnel cake. Carnival rides. Midway games. The Westmoreland Fair runs through Aug. 28. For the next week, dads will...

Pat Buchanan’s comparison of Jan. 6 to 9/11 (“Why the left can’t let go of Jan. 6,” July 27, TribLIVE) is a good example of turning the facts upside down. Jan. 6 was not “just a protest, a riot, a shameful disgrace.” Most sources say it was an act of...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 44-49) blanked Toledo (Tigers), 5-0. RHP Max Kranick (2-3, 4.97) threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks, fanning three. LHP Sam Howard, rehabbing an oblique injury, threw two perfect innings of relief with two strikeouts. RHP Tyler Bashlor (2.92) pitched a perfect ninth. RF Jared...

Golf WPIAL Boys Friday’s results Class 2A Section 2 Derry 229, Ligonier Valley 239 Medalists: Hunter Jurica (D), 39; Logan Smith (LV), 42 Nonsection North Allegheny 203, Blackhawk 222 Butler 211, Kiski Area 227 Medalists: Tyler Figlioli (B), 43; Campbell Curry, Jason Buczak (KA), 42 Armstrong 214, Knoch 223 Medalists:...

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is reinstating a mask mandate for all state employees and contracted staff working under his jurisdiction regardless of their vaccination status, starting on Monday. State employees were notified on Friday about this change in policy that comes as cases of covid-19 infections are on the rise....