Sara Albrecht: When the government loses in court, but keeps charging anyway
At ports across the United States, something unusual is happening. Thousands of American businesses are now waiting for refunds on tariffs the courts have already ruled unlawful. At the same time, many of those same companies are being asked to pay a new round of tariffs — based on a...
Carrie Sampson: District school boards have become political hotbeds for book bans and more — here’s what they actually do
Election races for local school boards have become hotly contested in many states as they have become forums for debates over gender-identity discussions, immigrant students and even prayer at school events. Liberal candidates largely swept school board elections April 7 in politically contentious districts in Wisconsin, Missouri, Alaska and Oklahoma,...
Panini A. Chowdhury: Pittsburgh can’t subsidize its way to housing affordability
Housing affordability has become the promise of the moment. Every political and social campaign invokes it. Every local, state and federal government budget claim to advance it. But there is a harder question beneath the surface, one that rarely makes it into speeches: What if some of what we do...
Destenie Nock: This summer, your air conditioner is going to compete with a data center
Western Pennsylvania is on the verge of its biggest infrastructure wave since steel. Data center developers have announced billions of dollars in investments in Springdale, Homer City, Shippingport and Upper Burrell. At full build-out, the facilities planned for just three of those sites would consume enough electricity to power nearly...
Kate Harper and Conor Lamb: Our energy future is ‘Made in Pa.’
Pennsylvanians are rightly proud of our rich legacy as one of the nation’s top energy producers. After all, we rank second in the United States for both natural gas production and nuclear energy production. With energy demand reaching record levels, electricity prices climbing at alarming rates, and foreign fuel markets...
Ted Kopas: A sheriff gone rogue — only commissioners sign contracts
Immigration enforcement is a debated topic throughout our nation — and, now, in our own backyard. At issue here is a recent “agreement” between the Westmoreland County’s Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The problem is the sheriff has no legal authority to act on such an...
Michael Peregrine: We shouldn’t allow the marvels of space exploration to become passe
NASA’s Artemis II mission represents America’s audacious return to human space flight. Bold and breathtaking in scope, it reflects well on the capabilities of our space technology. The only problem is it’s unclear if anyone is truly paying attention. Artemis was the first crewed lunar space voyage since 1972 and...
David M. Drucker: High gas prices will haunt the GOP even if the war ends soon
There’s still more political fallout for the GOP courtesy of the Iran war: Even if the conflict ends soon, voters could be grappling with pain at the gas pump deep into midterm election season, as Republicans struggle to defend razor-thin majorities in Congress. The influence American presidents have on oil...
Peter St. Onge and E.J. Antoni: Social Security nears the cliff. Will Americans be thrown over?
The long-promised bankruptcy of Social Security is coming into view, with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warning checks could be automatically cut by 20% in just six years. Will we spend our golden years driving delivery for the golden arches? The CBO is warning that, under current law, Social Security...
Allison Schrager: New York City can’t afford both big pensions and free buses
Cities such as New York and Chicago are in deep financial trouble. Broadly speaking, they have two options: Make the difficult but appropriate choice to raise taxes and reduce the scale of government, or continue to live in a state of denial, increasing their pension obligations while also promising their...
Abby McCloskey: I love data, but K-12 standardized tests have lost the plot
Student test scores aren’t looking good, and schools aren’t being held accountable for poor results. That’s not even considering whether the right things are being tested. I learned this the hard way. My family is zoned for a high-performing public elementary school in Texas — one where students consistently score...
Gavin Mitsdarfer: Student teachers should be paid for their work
I knew from an early age that someday I would be a teacher. Throughout my childhood, teachers were always there for me, giving me the safe spaces I needed. When I faced bullying as a young high school student and the loss of my father after my first year of...
Cal Thomas: Pope Leo’s flawed war doctrine
Pope Leo XIV used part of his Palm Sunday message to castigate the United States for attempting to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power and threatening the world with mass destruction. In doing so, the “American Pope” confused the real enemy in the war. Addressing thousands in St. Peter’s...
William Akoto: How Iranian hackers pose a threat to U.S. critical infrastructure
Michigan might be more than 6,000 miles away from the war in Iran, but, virtually speaking, it’s well within striking distance. An Iran-linked group calling itself Handala claimed responsibility for a March 11 cyberattack on Portage, Mich.-based medical device maker Stryker Corp. Handala said the attack was in retaliation for...
Tim Derdenger: Hosting the NFL draft is less about weekend beer sales and more about long‑term brand value
When the NFL Draft arrives in Pittsburgh this month, city officials are sure to tout projected economic impact figures. They will likely point to the $73 million generated by Green Bay, Wis., and the surrounding area in 2025, the $213 million generated by Detroit in 2024 or the $164 million...
Chris Koopman and Kevin Frazier: The problem with pausing data centers
Congress is now being asked to pause data center construction. In March, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez announced a bill to halt the buildout of the infrastructure that makes advanced AI possible. The framing is familiar: the pace is too fast, the risks too great, the window to act...
Chris Cargill: Citizens are fleeing bad policy — here’s the proof
The latest Census migration data tells a clear and consistent story: People are voting with their feet. In King County, Washington’s largest population center and economic hub, domestic migration has been negative for years. Between 2023 and 2024 alone, the county lost 12,501 residents to other parts of the United...
LZ Granderson: Here’s why Trump fired Pam Bondi
In President Donald Trump’s first term, many members of his Cabinet were establishment conservatives with tangible, executive experience who were willing to follow the president far to the right … but had lines in the sand they were unwilling to cross. In this second term, Trump has prioritized surrounding himself...
Daniel Trujillo Esmeral: On pharmacy lawsuit strategy, government must go back to basics
If a government hopes to function, it has to be able to enforce its laws. Our country is no exception, and in fact, the U.S. government is very good at enforcement. So when a big fraud case comes up, it’s absurd to think of Washington scrambling for a way to...
Ross Douthat: Is there a religious revival in America?
In the early 2020s, secularization stopped: After rising for 15 years, the nonreligious share of the American population suddenly stopped growing. Ever since, there’s been a vigorous debate over whether this plateau is a precursor to religious revival or just a leveling off preceding a further fall from faith. The...
Cal Thomas: Debunking the lone wolf ‘myth’
Since the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001, government officials have said their greatest fear is self-radicalized individuals they call “lone wolves.” The March 12 terrorist attack on Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Mich., prompted a Department of Justice news conference Monday which offered new information about the attack and...
Christopher Fiorentino: Closing Pa.’s talent gap starts with affordable higher education
Pennsylvania has 61,000 jobs that require education beyond high school and not enough qualified workers to fill them. By 2032, the gap will grow to 218,000 jobs that lack workers with postsecondary-level credentials, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study. The gap has real-world consequences for our economy and...
Jess Reia: Cameras’ integration with AI is sounding alarms
For decades, cars dictated urban planning in the United States. Few could have predicted that they one day also would double as nodes for surveillance. In thousands of towns and cities across the U.S., automatic license plate readers have been installed at major intersections, bridges and highway off-ramps. These camera-based...
John Poister: Credit Myron Cope for draft coverage spectacle
It is fitting that the NFL will hold its annual draft spectacle in Pittsburgh with ESPN originating three separate draft shows and WTAE-TV providing wall-to-wall coverage leading into the draft. That’s in addition to massive media attention from other TV stations, sports networks, podcasters and a phalanx of print reporters....
Alex Hinton: Trump supporters split on his actions
There is a pall over the Make America Great Again, or MAGA, movement. Donald Trump overpromised. His public support has fallen. Some “America First” die-hards now openly criticize him. Amid war, economic challenges, democratic backsliding, the Epstein files and Americans shot dead in the street by government agents, Trump’s support...
