Featured Commentary category, Page 4

We are living in a time of high and growing suspicion toward “the Establishment,” be it political, financial, cultural, media — and especially health. Much of this is well-founded. For years, Americans have been told to “trust the science” and not believe our own eyes. The disconnect between experts and...

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Many people think of bruises or broken bones, but there’s another weapon of abuse that leaves scars you can’t see on the outside: financial abuse. Experts estimate that more than 10 million adults experience domestic violence, and almost 100% also experience financial abuse. Sadly,...

With the federal government officially shut down, small business owners are once again facing a period of uncertainty and concern. While large corporations often have the resources to withstand disruptions like these, small businesses — the backbone of our local economy — feel the effects almost immediately. Shutdowns have consequences...

On Aug. 5, 1997, President Bill Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress, led by Speaker Newt Gingrich, enacted the Balanced Budget Act. This bipartisan agreement aimed to balance the federal budget by 2002. Most of the credit goes to Gingrich because Clinton had vetoed previous Republican proposals for reducing the debt....

Whether the Roberts Supreme Court will continue to push American jurisprudence to the right — bending the law toward their preferred policy outcomes rather than precedent or originalist intent — is no longer a matter for debate. The question is how brazenly and how quickly it will press forward in...

The Supreme Court’s recent refusal to grant a stay of a lower court decision telling South Carolina it has to allow a transgender girl to use the boys’ bathroom in a public school emphasizes the importance of issues the court will be reviewing when its new term starts Oct. 6....

During this time of fear and division in the United States, it is heartening to see an example of courage and unity, especially as it pertains to one of our most contentious issues: immigration. President Trump seized on fears related to immigration in the 2024 presidential campaign to help win...

As an emergency physician and current state legislator, I’ve spent my career serving Pennsylvanians and supporting them in a lifelong journey to live healthy, fulfilling lives. We know that eating nutritious foods and exercising regularly is important. Practicing good hygiene — brushing your teeth, washing your hands, and keeping clean...

The burgeoning data center boom in Pennsylvania is reminiscent of the early days of the fracking boom. No attention was given to the impacts fracking would have on public health or the environment. Unlike New York and Maryland, no studies were done to guide policy decisions about how, or even...

Pennsylvania families already face some of the steepest health care costs in the nation, with premiums and deductibles eating up bigger chunks of household budgets every year. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has warned that premiums are expected to rise by nearly one-fifth in the year ahead, putting even greater pressure...

Mental health is often discussed in whispers; we all must confront the growing reality that many of our young people are struggling. A recent survey of Pennsylvania youth found that 41.5% of students reported feeling sad or depressed most days in the past year. Students of all ages are struggling...

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Pirates’ last game in Three Rivers Stadium — Oct. 1, 2000. It would also be the last time the fans would see Pirate great Willie Stargell. The ballpark and Stargell were intertwined, and their time together represented some of the most remarkable years...

Two years ago, when Act 1 of 2023 was passed unanimously, Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to require insurers to cover supplemental breast cancer screenings such as MRIs and ultrasounds, as well as BRCA-related genetic testing and counseling for high-risk individuals — all at no cost. The...

Freedom of speech has always demanded courage, and courage is the one virtue universities cannot delegate. When free speech becomes fatal speech — as it did recently with the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus — Americans demand — and deserve — a change. I believe our nation’s...

Artificial intelligence is changing nearly everything about the way we live, work and — before long — govern. We see the headlines about breakthroughs in generative models and predictive engines, but what we don’t see as easily is the physical backbone powering all of this: data centers. Every AI application...

During a recent military parade in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin was caught on a hot mic saying to Xi Jinping, his Communist Chinese counterpart, “Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and (you can) even achieve immortality.” Xi responded:...

This month I began teaching a new undergraduate course on Dissent and Democracy in the World. I started developing the course over a year ago, convinced that the subject is not only essential to well-­functioning communities, but also not well understood or appreciated in American society today. When the class...

President Donald Trump’s promise to ratchet immigration levels back is colliding headlong with his other goal: a thriving economy that brings manufacturing and foreign investment back to the U.S. He can’t have it both ways, but he doesn’t seem to understand that. Perhaps that’s why his administration keeps dangling —...

President Donald Trump is right. The Smithsonian is “out of control.” And it should be a concern to all Americans, whether you agree with Trump on other issues or not. It is the heritage of us all that is under assault. The Smithsonian’s 19 museums and galleries in the Washington...

On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Trump administration is rewriting history by wielding the tools of censorship and erasure. At the National Park Service site honoring Charles Pickney, who wrote a draft of the Declaration of Independence, for example, references...

If we lose our fundamental universal right to access to information, and if independent journalists lose the ability to report the facts, then our rights and democracies may vanish entirely. Access to information is a fundamental human right empowering us all to make informed decisions, participate in democratic processes and...

This summer, the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council banned a local news outlet from engaging with any of his 40 elected representatives. Councillor Mick Barton of Reform UK also instructed council officials to stop sending press releases and event invitations to journalists at Nottinghamshire Live. Why? Because these journalists had...

Governments around the world are chasing the AI dream, pinning their hopes on these technologies to drive economic prosperity. And yet, they are not investing in the foundational resource that underpins all our 21st century economies — independent, verifiable information. Well-functioning economies rely on widely accessible, verified and trustworthy information....

Even before the first touchdown is scored in the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Dublin, where the Steelers host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the Pittsburgh region already has won big. With deep cultural ties, Southwestern Pennsylvania and Ireland have long shared a spirit of resilience and complementary economic...

The assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk by a rogue gunman led to renewed calls on both sides of the aisle to quell gun violence. As a Harvard graduate who has a severe mental illness and a felony arrest record, I believe my academic qualifications and lived experience are well-suited...