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We must never forget Sept. 11

I was sitting in my home office not far from the Pentagon when it happened. The TV behind me had the sound lowered but I suddenly became aware of a major development. I reached for the remote and cranked up the audio. A plane had struck one of the twin towers in New York. TV anchors initially speculated it must have been a small plane that had run off course, but soon a much larger plane struck the building and then a second one hit the other tower. It quickly became clear America was under attack. I saw smoke rising from the Pentagon and went up on the roof to get a better look. My ...

Why liberty requires virtue as well

A farmer can’t make his plants grow, but he can create the conditions that lead to their flourishing. A society can’t make its citizens virtuous, but it can nurture the institutions that lead to virtuous citizens. Great thinkers in Western civilization have long noted the importance of virtue. In Politics, Aristotle declared, “The best life, both for individuals and states, is the life of virtue, when virtue has external goods enough for the performance of good actions.” “Virtue then is a settled disposition of the mind determining the choice of actions and emotions, ...

Ticker: Meta launches personal AI agent, Muse

Meta is launching a personal artificial intelligence agent, Muse, for people 18 and over. The parent company of Instagram and Facebook said the agent can help with day-to-day tasks like schedules, shopping and long-term goals. Meta is stressing the safety and privacy features of the agent. It launched Tuesday and is only available in the U.S. Oil prices keep rising and weigh on Wall Street U.S. stocks fell in their return to trading from a three-day weekend after the latest fighting in the war with Iran pushed oil prices higher. The S&P 500 sank 0.6% Tuesday. The Dow Jones ...

Daily Briefing

Nation Menendez brothers get parole hearing in 2027 Erik and Lyle Menendez will face a parole board again in March 2027 after getting an early parole suitability hearing. They were initially eligible for a hearing in August 2028. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison for fatally ...

Discounted mail ballots surge in 2 states

The number of ballots rejected for late postmarks has soared in the vote-by-mail states of Washington and Oregon, according to newly released data highlighting concerns about recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations ahead of this fall’s pivotal midterm election. The struggling agency has been consolidating its operations with an emphasis on regional hubs in an effort to save billions of dollars. Some U.S. senators and election officials for months have been warning that the changes could delay the application of postmarks to ballots — even if they’re mailed on or before ...

Cyclospora outbreak followed years of fewer inspections

A nationwide outbreak of cyclospora tied to contaminated lettuce has heightened safety concerns about imported food, while underscoring a longer-term trend: U.S. regulators are conducting fewer international inspections to catch contaminated produce before it lands on American plates. Food and Drug Administration inspections of foreign food sites — including the Mexican farm linked to the ongoing outbreak — are down nearly 35% since 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to agency records reviewed by The Associated Press. The pandemic kicked off a wave of ...