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A case for nuclear power

A few years ago, nuclear power looked doomed. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won applause bragging about closing a nuclear plant “14 years ahead of schedule.” “Why would they applaud?” asks former nuclear engineer Ray Rothrock in my new video. “They shut down New York’s finest source of clean energy.” Rothrock has met with presidents, trying to persuade them to embrace nuclear power, but “nothing was ever addressed.” Until now. President Donald Trump ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to speed up licensing of new plants. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, ...

When policy becomes personal

On Tuesday, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato went public with some personal news: her pregnancy. The first female to lead the county will also be the first to give birth in office. Her pregnancy brings personal relevance to a policy proposal she introduced in May. “I want to make Allegheny County the best place to raise a family possible, and paid parental leave is a critical piece of that effort. A lack of paid leave keeps workers on the sidelines, slows the economy and holds us back as a region,” Innamorato said in a May 13 statement. But the executive doesn’t ...

We need honesty, not judgement

As the tragedy of Nolan Wells’ death continues to dominate the news, there are so many unanswered questions. Perhaps the most significant one is what his grieving parents shared in a recent interview with “Good Morning America’s” Michael Strahan. Why did their 18-year-old son separate from his friends during their July 4 trip to Horn Island, a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast? Nolan’s father, Elmore Wonsley, told Strahan, “We always taught him that if you go with a group, you stay with a group. If you go with five, you come back with five. Do not separate from ...

Sham deal with Iran is undone

An early period of World War II was known as “the phony war.” What we may be witnessing now in the U.S.-Iran war is the end of a “phony peace.” The nearly five-month-long conflict has featured a couple of sham ceasefires, each marked by supposed Iranian pledges to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that came to nothing. With the Iranians firing on shipping in the Strait again, Trump has declared the so-called memorandum of understanding signed about a month ago to be a dead letter. After lifting sanctions on Iranian oil and ending the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Trump has ...

Becoming resentful of role as family’s unpaid manager

Dear Annie: My younger sister has always been the “fun one” in our family. She breezes in late with a bottle of wine and a funny story, and somehow everyone forgives her before she has even taken off her coat. She forgets birthdays, cancels plans at the last minute and borrows money she never seems to pay back. My parents still smile and say, “That’s just how she is.” I, on the other hand, have become the family’s unpaid manager. I am the one who takes my mother to her doctor’s appointments, makes sure my father’s prescriptions are filled, hosts Thanksgiving and ...

Word recall difficulty causes concern in 70-year-old female

Dear Dr. Roach: I’m a healthy 70-year-old female who still works full-time and plays tennis regularly. I’m 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weigh 140 pounds. My concern is my memory, especially my speech. English is my second language, but I’ve been in the United States for over 40 years. Words often disappear from me when I need them and come back later when the subject is closed. When I shared my concern with my friend, I was told that nicotine patches are helpful for memory loss, even though I’m no longer a smoker. I quit smoking 15 years ago after decades of smoking. What’s your ...