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Trump’s second term quite murky

Every time I get asked by a TV anchor what I think about the drama of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, my favorite “historical” headline from the Onion comes to mind: “World’s Largest Metaphor Hits Ice-Berg.” And every time I do, I hear from defenders of the Trump administration complaining about the disproportionate media coverage of what should be a very minor story in the grand sweep of things. They have a point. President Trump has done some good work rehabbing Washington, D.C., where I live. But the Reflecting Pool has bedeviled him. Algae keep returning to the ...

Hegseth’s vaccine policy has backfired

An influenza outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas has sickened almost 160 people in the past few weeks and might have even killed one person going through basic training. If it wasn’t already clear why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision to eliminate the military’s universal flu vaccine mandate was an exceptionally bad idea, it should be now. Hegseth announced the policy change in April, and since then, fewer than half of Air Force trainees have opted to get the shot. The vaccine does not provide perfect protection, but it reduces infections, lessens the severity ...

On COVID-19, China is responsible

Kudos to the Trump administration and Sen. Rand Paul for persevering in holding Dr. Anthony Fauci’s feet to the fire. Fauci allegedly covered up the origins of COVID-19 as 1.1 million Americans died from the virus. But what about the biggest culprit, China? For seven weeks or more, starting in the winter of 2019, Chinese officials violated their international commitments and ethical obligation to prevent a domestic epidemic from becoming a global pandemic. They muzzled and even jailed Chinese doctors and journalists, allowed international flights to carry infected passengers to ...

Texas may require Bible stories in schools

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas would make Bible stories required reading for more than 5 million public school students under a proposal that has reignited debate over widening efforts in the U.S. to put more religion in classrooms. A final vote by the Republican-controlled Texas State Board of ...

Clayton-Thomas, lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears, dies

NEW YORK (AP) — David Clayton-Thomas, the lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears, whose husky, high-strung tenor on “Spinning Wheel,” “And When I Die” and other hits helped make the so-called brass rock band among the most popular acts of the late 1960s, has died at age 84. Spokesperson Eric Alper said that Clayton-Thomas died “peacefully” Wednesday at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Alper did not cite a specific cause. Clayton-Thomas was a onetime street fighter and petty thief from Canada who briefly became a rock superstar, the front man of a nine-member group that ...

Daily Briefing

Nation New York Weinstein’s rape charge dropped NEW YORK — New York prosecutors have dropped a rape charge against Harvey Weinstein instead of trying the former movie mogul for a fourth time in the state. The decision was announced Thursday after his accuser said she could not endure testifying again. Weinstein already stands convicted of another sexual felony in New York and others in California. Florida ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ center has closed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced the closure of the temporary immigration center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” ...