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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Editorial: How to cut U.S. drug prices without hurting innovation
The price of Wegovy, Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drug, is $1,349 a month in the U.S.; in Germany, it’s $328. The U.S. price for Keytruda, a cancer treatment, is $191,000 a year; in Japan, it’s $44,000. The U.S. pays three times more for branded prescription drugs, on average, than other...
Editorial cartoons for the week of May 19
Editorial cartoons for the week of May 19....
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 19
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of May 19....
Bradford Fitch: How veterans, plane travel, and sausages lead to less partisanship
It’s no secret that partisanship is more intense than at any other time in recent history. And these intense political feelings don’t just play themselves out through gridlock in Congress. The threats of political violence have increased dramatically. Politics seeps into the workplace, resulting in coarse relations with colleagues (and,...
Editorial: Why do some bills get attention in Harrisburg?
Is there nothing that can happen in Harrisburg without division? On Tuesday, we wrote about two bills wending their way through the Legislature. In the Senate, Republicans passed a bill banning transgender athletes in K-12 or collegiate sports within the state. In the House, Democrats passed a bill supporting legalization...
Joseph Sabino Mistick: Pittsburgh picks a mayor
Let’s take a look at what the May 20 race for mayor of Pittsburgh is not about. Some people and groups are seeking to use this election to fight their own battles instead of looking out for what’s best for the people of Pittsburgh. This election is not about Donald...
Colin McNickle: Calculating those NFL Draft economic benefits
“All that glitters is not gold,” goes the aphorism made most famous by William Shakespeare in his “The Merchant of Venice.” And a researcher at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy says we should keep that phrase in mind when it comes to the claimed economic impact Pittsburgh can expect...
Chad Kultgen: What I’ve learned from doing a podcast with my MAGA parents
My family used to be very close. We took vacations together. We never missed a birthday or a Christmas, even though it meant traveling from different states. And we talked on the phone often. But something happened during President Obama’s second term that changed our family drastically. I don’t think...
Commentary: Reducing mental health to buzzwords and online trends may do more harm than good
If you’ve been on Instagram recently, you may have seen Insta stories of giddy teens dumping water — which doesn’t even contain ice — on their friends in the name of #SpeakYourMIND. Influencers give pretty speeches in which they claim “mental health is important!” and give a cheerful thumbs-up of...
Ronald L. Hirsch: Are liberals destroying America’s ideals?
The opening paragraph of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 wrote, “America is now divided between two opposing forces: woke revolutionaries and those who believe in the ideals of the American Revolution.” What a perfect example of fake news. By taking on the mantle of American values and attacking their opponents...
Editorial: Rite Aid closing leaves hole in marketplace
If you have been in a Rite Aid in recent months, the news of store closings was probably not a surprise. Many shelves are barely stocked. Outside of the pharmacy, the stores often have a ghost-town appearance. So when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month and began...
Rep. Dan Frankel: Don’t let corporate cannabis hijack legalization in Pa.
Last week, something unusual happened in Harrisburg. A Senate Republican committee chair brought up the cannabis legalization bill I introduced with Rep. Rick Krajewski — just to vote it down. It was all theater. No legalization bill will become law without a negotiation with HB 1200, the House-passed legislation. So...
S.E. Cupp: Dems still hiding from Biden cover-up
“He totally (expletive)ed us.” It’s rare to hear a political party operative speak this way about one of his own. It’s almost unheard of to hear a well-known campaign adviser like David Plouffe speak this way on the record about the former president of the United States, Joe Biden. Especially...
Letter to the editor: Protecting county’s appeals process
Allegheny County Council is about to vote on a bill (May 21) that would insulate the appeals board from the political process. Under present law, the people who make the frozen base year assessments also administer the appeals process. The part-time appeals boards’ role is limited to only hearing and...
Letter to the editor: Trump’s war on women
President Trump said that he would protect women, whether the women like it or not. However, through his actions, I belieev he has declared a war on women. By demonizing “DEI,” he seems to be seeking to wipe out the gains women have made since the 1960s, gains in equality...
Letter to the editor: Murrysville endorsement process fair
I want to address several recent letters to the editor related to the endorsement process conducted by a local political committee. As a former Murrysville Council member who held office for eight years until I termed out, I feel that I am more than qualified to speak about the endorsement...
Letter to the editor: Don’t believe what others say — seek the truth
I really appreciate the letter “It’s up to us to seek the truth” (May 14, TribLive) in this amusing paper. It is what so many of us folks (Dems) have been saying. Regardless of party, search out the truth for yourselves. Do no follow someone else because they are friends/family....
Letter to the editor: Penn State must close some campuses
The article “As deadline looms for Penn State’s future, former PSNK chancellors share thoughts” (May 5, TribLive) was written as though the drastic reduction of student enrollment at Penn State campuses and other colleges has just suddenly happened. My goodness, it’s been going on for 25-plus years! To see this,...
Lori Falce: The endangerment of the rule of law
You cannot have order without having law. Well, theoretically you could. If everyone just instinctively did the right thing, that would be great. No laws needed! But once you involve people, human nature, emotions and all of the quirky little things that complicate our lives, suddenly laws become pretty important....
Laurels & lances: Advocacy & asphalt
Laurel: To taking steps. Bill Russell and Jim Rieker are among the roughly 500,000 people who have survived bladder cancer. The numbers for doing so are good. The five-year survival rate for bladder cancer is about 77%. For cases identified when the disease is still contained only to the bladder,...
Mark Z. Barabak: Is there a middle ground on immigration? This Republican thinks so.
Bob Worsley has solid conservative credentials. He’s anti abortion. A fiscal hawk and lifelong member of the Mormon Church. As an Arizona state senator, he won high marks from the National Rifle Association. These days, however, Worsley is an oddity, an exception, a Republican pushing back against the animating impulses...
Letter to the editor: A reminder that goodness is out there
The other day I left the Hempfield Giant Eagle and was in the lane to turn onto Route 30. A pickup truck pulled up next to me and told me my tailgate was up! As I was wondering where I could go as there was no room to pull off,...
Letter to the editor: Is Gulf of Mexico renaming high on anyone’s priority list?
If one wishes to understand why reasonable people hold Congress in such low regard, look to the foolish and absurd passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of a bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, a litmus test as to the extent to which...
Letter to the editor: Photo of Trump as pope sacrilegious, offensive
Seeing the picture was a gut punch. Several days after the death of Pope Francis, while the Catholic Church was in mourning and preparing to elect a new pope, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated picture of himself dressed in papal garments, wearing a cross and holding up his second finger....
Letter to the editor: AP hit job on Fetterman
The Associated Press article “Sen. John Fetterman raises alarms with outburst at meeting with union officials” (May 7, TribLive) was probably just another smear attempt directed at the Democratic senator. In my opinion, the article is an example of poor journalism. To base the article on two anonymous sources who...


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