Editorial: Recording law enforcement officers is not a crime
An official with the Department of Homeland Security recently suggested that following or recording federal law enforcement officers “sure sounds like obstruction of justice.” The statement was given to Reason magazine in response to a direct question, was confirmed in writing and followed by a warning that DHS will prosecute...
Editorial: Stability matters for Pittsburgh police leadership
Pittsburgh needs stability at the top of its police bureau. The question is how to get it. For much of the past several years, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has operated under a cloud of uncertainty concerning its chiefs. Scott Schubert retired after a three-decade career with the department. A...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 12
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 12....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 12
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 12....
Ruth Johnston: Assisted outpatient treatment is a gift
It’s the season for thank-you notes, as we contemplate gifts given and received. Allegheny County just gave a wonderful gift this year to me and families like mine. In 2026, the county is going to opt into the newest provision of the Mental Health Procedures Act: We’re going to try...
Colin McNickle: Follow this blueprint, Mayor O’Connor
New Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor must hit the ground running by spearheading five action items that represent the first steps to improve the city’s financial, economic and business climate situation to promote private-sector growth and healthy finances, says the research director of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. “In order...
Carl P. Leubsdorf: Trump’s action in Venezuela — gunboat diplomacy on steroids
Like his domestic policy that seeks to roll back the civil rights revolution and other 21st-century advances, President Donald Trump’s imperialist foreign policy is invoking the kind of unilateral approach that marked an earlier era. That’s the bottom line on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and his threats...
Russell Jeung: Deaths of Asian immigrants in ICE custody reveal a community under threat
More than 30 people died while being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2025, marking it as the deadliest year for those held in custody by the agency in two decades. At least five of the detainees who died were Asian nationals: Chaofeng Ge, Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, Tien Xuan...
Sheldon Jacobson: Football teams that squander great start are the exception, not the rule
The NFL playoff picture has been set. Fourteen teams are preparing to battle for a spot in Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara on Feb. 8. Then there are 18 teams that will have an early off-season, each hoping that this year could have been different. One tipped pass, one...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Remember Jan. 6 — the unvarnished truth
When the Class of 1942 graduated from Braddock High School, each student was given a handful of calling cards that included the student’s name and the words “Remember Pearl Harbor” printed across the bottom. These high school graduates were living in a scary time on high alert. That motto about...
S.E. Cupp: Trump’s ‘America First’ is now just imperialism
In early 2025, before Donald Trump was even sworn into office, he sent a plane with his name in giant letters on it to Nuuk, Greenland, where his son, Don Jr., and other MAGA allies preened for cameras and stomped around the mineral-rich Danish territory that Trump had been casually...
Rep. Mandy Steele: Listen to teachers — restrict cellphones in schools
In a 2024 poll conducted by the National Education Association, 90% of teachers said students should be required to put their phones away during instructional time, while 75% believe phones should be off-limits for the entire school day. Teachers cited several concerns, including impacts on student learning, mental health, safety...
Philip Martell: The significance of Greenland
In American life, Greenland feels distant, an icy expanse far removed from daily routines in Pennsylvania or elsewhere in the continental United States. But in national security terms, Greenland is anything but remote. It sits on the front line of America’s homeland defense, and how the United States approaches Greenland...
Letter to the editor: Why the turnpike toll hike?
A 4% Pennsylvania Turnpike rate increase as of Jan. 1. How is it that the Ohio Turnpike can charge only about $0.09 per mile and New York about $0.045 per mile with E-ZPass while Pennsylvania charges about $0.18 per mile with E-ZPass? Pennsylvania is about $0.35 per mile without E-ZPass...
Letter to the editor: Those who use the most electricity should pay more
Pennsylvania residents are being told that rising electricity costs are partly driven by the massive power demands of data centers and other high-volume users. If that is true, then the way electricity is priced needs to change. Under the current flat per-kilowatt-hour rate, households and small businesses that conserve energy...
Editorial: What does Pennsylvania’s 2026 governor’s race tell us?
If you want a measure of where 2026 will take Pennsylvania politically, this week has been a great yardstick. Gov. Josh Shapiro formally launched his reelection bid with events on opposite ends of the state, beginning in the Pittsburgh region and closing in Philadelphia. At the same time, Republicans learned...
Letter to the editor: Resolutions for 2026
As a terminally diagnosed ALS patient unlikely to see the end of 2026, I offer the following New Year’s resolutions from the wisdom and experience of my 64 years of life. First, lose weight. Whatever is weighing you down — envy, jealousy, grudges, past hurts, guilt — lose it! Shed...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 5
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Jan. 5....
Letter to the editor: The kick that deserves a name — the Amen Play
Not since the Immaculate Reception has a single play in a Steelers game earned the right to be named. Start with the odds. Chris Boswell misses an extra point roughly once in 100 tries. Tyler Loop — a rookie, but highly accurate — misses only about one in 10 field-goal...
Letter to the editor: We Are Penn State — or not!
Penn State’s closing of seven commonwealth campuses because of declining enrollments is its own fault. However, it fails to acknowledge its camouflaged complicity in that decline. University Park is the gatekeeper for all campuses. It favors student placement at University Park to increase revenue to support its own growth. Since...
Letter to the editor: Pa. needs open primaries
Welcome to 2026. The midterms are here, and the political establishment is already wringing its hands about youth turnout. We’ll hear the same old story: Young voters are “apathetic.” But the system insists this is a motivation issue, when it is clearly a design flaw. In Pennsylvania, 91% of state...
Letter to the editor: Why are we celebrating fascism?
In 2016, JD Vance called Donald Trump “America’s Hitler.” Apparently he decided to join the party as Hitler’s version of Joseph Goebbels. That would make Steven Miller a carbon copy of Hermann Goring. We now know Pete Hegseth fills the shoes that Wilhelm Keitel walked in 1930s Germany. Kristi Noem...
Letter to the editor: Thoughts on the Steelers
I’ve been a Steelers fan since 1969. Steelers fans need to quit crying. Officiating has sucked all year. Only D.K. Metcalf is responsible for his stupidity. Aaron Rodgers needs to start accepting he is part of the poor offense. Mike Tomlin and staff are average. We lost to Cleveland because...
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 5
Editorial cartoons for the week of Jan. 5....
Andreas Kluth: Trump is tying his legacy to whatever happens in Venezuela
Possibly, just possibly, Donald Trump just scored a foreign-policy success that could define his legacy. By striking Venezuela and whisking away Nicolás Maduro (along with Maduro’s wife), the president removed a patently illegitimate dictator and, in theory, opened the door for a wretched nation to return to democracy and stability....
