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Almanac for May 14, 2026

Local columns

Today is Thursday, May 14, the 134th day of 2026. There are 231 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition, organized to explore the Louisiana Territory as well as the Pacific Northwest, began its journey near present-day Hartford, Illinois. Also on this date: In 1607, Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, was established by members of the Virginia Company. In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner successfully inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps against smallpox by using cowpox matter. (Smallpox would be ...

GOP resistance to Iran war grows in Senate as Murkowski flips

Local columns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Wednesday again blocked Democratic legislation that would halt President Donald Trump's war with Iran, but the number of GOP senators voting against the war grew. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the war for the first time since ...

When the Pope isn't right

Local columns

It must be the highlight for any Roman Catholic to meet the head of his church. So it must have been last week for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a practicing Catholic. Rubio was on more than a spiritual journey. His mission was to persuade Pope Leo XIV of the rightness, even the ...

Almanac for May 13, 2026

Local columns

Today is Wednesday, May 13, the 133rd day of 2026. There are 232 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1846, the United States Congress formally declared war against Mexico, following battles along the disputed U.S.-Mexico border in the preceding weeks; the Mexican-American War would continue for nearly two years until the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February 1848. Also on this date: In 1940, in his first speech to the House of Commons as British prime minister, Winston Churchill said, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." In 1973, ...

Hegseth gets bipartisan grilling on Iran war

Local columns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced tough questions Tuesday from Republican and Democratic lawmakers about the Trump administration's end game for the Iran war, the conflict's rising $29 billion cost and its impact on diminishing U.S. weapons stockpiles. While the ...

Iran thinks Trump is bluffing, can outlast him

Editorial

Days late and tons of enriched uranium short, Iran’s regime rejected the U.S. peace offer on Sunday and replied with unserious demands. On Monday President Trump called Iran’s counteroffer a “piece of garbage” that leaves the cease-fire “on massive life support—where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.’” Call it a standoff. Before Iran’s response Mr. Trump had said, “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts.” He had also said, “We may go back to Project Freedom,” the U.S. effort to guide commercial ...