Opinion

Almanac for May 12, 2026

Today is Tuesday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2026. There are 233 days left in the year. Today in history: In 2008, a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province left more than 87,000 people dead or missing. Also on this date: In 1780, the besieged city of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British forces in one of the worst American defeats of the Revolutionary War. In 1846, the pioneers of the Donner Party left Independence, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail, beginning their ill-fated attempt to migrate to California. In 1932, the body of Charles ...

State seeks nominations for 2026 Michigan Christmas tree

Know of an oversized spruce or fir that could grace the state Capitol this Christmas? The state wants to hear about it. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget has once again asked for the public’s help in finding the perfect tree for display in Lansing. Over the past 40 years, trees have come from locations across the state – from backyards to public land near highways and forests, the DTMB states in a news release. More than two dozen have been from the Upper Peninsula, including last year’s 68-foot spruce that was donated by Linda Ried of Sault Ste. ...

Almanac for May 11, 2026

Today is Monday, May 11, the 131st day of 2026. There are 234 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1997, the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeated chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in the final game of a six-game match in New York, winning 3 ½-2 ½ and marking the first time a computer won a match against a reigning world champion. Also on this date: In 1935, the Rural Electrification Administration was created as one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs. In 1946, the first CARE packages, sent by a consortium of American charities to provide relief to ...

Editorial cartoon for May 11, 2026

Election losses spur calls for Britain’s PM to resign

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his job after devastating local election results for his Labour Party spurred dozens of lawmakers to call for his resignation. Starmer plans to use a speech today to argue that he can change tack and revive his government's ...

The Comey indictment and free speech

In 200-plus years of interpreting the free speech clause of the First Amendment, the courts have narrowed and expanded its scope. The Supreme Court employed a particularly narrow approach during much of the last century, through two world wars and then the Red Scare in the 1950s. Thankfully, ...