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Museum chief rejects White House criticism

The director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History pushed back Tuesday against a recent White House report that branded the institution’s leadership as radical activists who cannot be trusted. The testimony from Anthea M. Hartig came as President Donald Trump has engaged in a broad national effort to reshape the stories of America told by cultural institutions controlled or influenced by the federal government and, in particular, to purge diversity, equity and inclusion elements from those narratives. Many historians are alarmed by the revisionism. “As we ...

US actions harm HIV efforts in dozens of countries

The Trump administration’s disruptions to a global AIDS relief program have forced organizations to close clinics, lay off staff and cut services, seriously impeding efforts to prevent and treat the disease in dozens of countries, a new report released Tuesday shows. The President’s ...

Who owns a state fair that doesn’t exist?

It is important to defend what belongs to you. Trademarks, copyrights, patents. They all do the same thing. They put a fence around intellectual property and warn against infringement. Do not use this logo. Do not reproduce this content. Do not create your own version of this invention. The ability to do any of that requires permission. It’s why Disney will zealously guard its characters. If you use Xerox as a generic verb referring to photocopiers, don’t be surprised if a trademark attorney appears out of thin air. Bayer could explain the importance. Aspirin used to be its ...

The new normal is really abnormal

There’s poison in the air outside my house, a bitter smoke of ashes and hot freeway, and it is keeping us all inside. Yesterday morning, the kids’ summer camp announced that the planned trip to the pool had been canceled. They would do activities indoors all day. “How high can it get?” one of the boys asked, and I admitted I didn’t know. We had gone through a stretch of bad air a few years earlier — also due to invading smoke from Canadian wildfires — and I remembered feeling worried back then, seeing numbers in the 180s. The air quality index for the town today ...

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 ...