Breaking News

Editorials

Ohio, W.Va. reputations for work slip

WalletHub recently produced its “Hardest-Working States in America (2026)” report. Readers in West Virginia and Appalachian Ohio are likely thinking “Finally! A report in which our region will not be dead last.” About that … Both the Buckeye and the Mountain states fall in the bottom 10, which WalletHub labels “least hardworking.” West Virginia is 42nd, Ohio is 47th — those residents will be pleased to note that ranks above Michigan, which did, indeed, come in dead last. This study looked at direct work factors, including metrics such as average workweek hours, ...

Don’t fear Flock cameras

We have met the enemy — and it is watching us. There’s a growing backlash against Flock cameras, the automated license plate readers that have become ubiquitous across the country. The cameras take images of license plates, which are then stored in a searchable database that police departments can query in the course of investigations. Opponents of the cameras consider them an instrument of Big Brother, who’s not only watching, but constantly recording and tracking. Vandals have disabled and stolen the cameras and shot them. There’s a movement to get jurisdictions to ...

Colleges undermine case for evolution

Most higher education institutions don’t adhere to the theory of evolution. Sure, they say they believe in it, but look at their actions. In recent weeks, the career of former Cambridge University professor Jason Arday unraveled. He wasn’t a household name, but he was an academic superstar with a fairy-tale origin story. He claimed his autism and other developmental delays kept him from speaking until he was 11. He said he couldn’t read until 18. Yet at 37, he became the youngest black professor in the school’s storied history. Further, he claimed to have once run 30 marathons ...

Old nuclear order dead; what next?

The world is sleepwalking into a new nuclear arms race. As arms-control treaties hashed out over decades lapse, countries that formerly rejected possessing nuclear weapons are starting to reconsider. The Doomsday Clock is set at 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to the symbolic hour of the apocalypse. The United States and Russia, which control 86% of the world’s nuclear arsenal, are without an arms-limitation treaty for the first time since 1972. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 and extended under President Joe ...

Who is Natalie Harp? Americans need to know

It’s summertime, and the living is uneasy, particularly in Washington newsrooms and bureaus. At this time of year, historically, serious news can be harder to find than the newspeople available to cover it. The result is what journalists call “the silly season,” when you can never guess what pseudo-story will get elevated to the headlines. Searching for silly news in seriously serious Washington can be easier than you might think, and of late it is becoming difficult to draw the line between the consequential and the absurd. Consider the kerfuffle raised around a remark by ...

Ohio schools have new way to tackle chronic absenteeism

“Every minute counts,” Heather Dodd, director of pupil services for Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools, told WKYC-TV at the start of the school year. “If your child’s late to school, those minutes count. If they have a doctor’s appointment, those minutes count. They all count towards chronic absenteeism.” Surprised? Ohio law changed this year, and parents will have to be aware that not only are schools keeping a much closer eye on chronic absenteeism (and doing a better job communicating with parents on the matter), but they are also tracking it in hours — not just days. ...