Opinion

Families should learn the signs of drowning

For World Drowning Prevention Day on Saturday, a trauma expert in Wisconsin warns that drowning can be fast, silent and difficult to recognize when seconds count to react in time. World Drowning Prevention Day, observed annually on July 25, serves as a reminder that many drowning deaths are preventable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings occur in the United States each year, an average of 11 deaths per day. An additional 8,000 near-drownings are treated in emergency departments annually. “The biggest thing we ...

War or peace and America’s leaders

“We are doomed and our leaders are insane.” So wrote journalist Matt Taibbi recently. Taibbi didn’t respond to our request for an interview, but he raises issues that deserve debate. So my new video is based on his column. “Not one of our presidents ...” Taibbi writes, “can ...

Almanac for July 24, 2026

Today is Friday, July 24, the 205th day of 2026. There are 160 days left in the year. Today in History: In 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts — two of whom were the first humans to set foot on the moon — splashed down safely in the Pacific. Also on this date: In 1567, Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate her throne to her 1-year-old son, James. In 1847, Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. In 1866, Tennessee became the first state to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War. In 1915, the SS Eastland, a ...

Absentee ballots, early voting sites offer options for primary

At a time when voting by mail has been increasingly challenged — President Donald Trump has repeatedly leveled unfounded claims of fraud against absentee ballots, including in his prime-time speech a week ago in which he called them “inherently corrupt” — state election officials this week said more Michigan voters are opting to use this method this summer. With two weeks left before the Aug. 4 primary election, 572,553 Michigan voters had already cast their ballot, according to data publicly available on the relaunched Michigan Voting Dashboard, mi.gov/votingdashboard. Voter ...

Almanac for June 23, 2026

Today is Thursday, July 23, the 204th day of 2026. There are 161 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: In 1967, deadly rioting erupted in Detroit as an early morning police raid on an unlicensed bar resulted in a confrontation with local residents that led to five days of violence and resulted in 43 deaths. Also on this date: In 1903, the Ford Motor Company sold its first car, a Model A, for $850. In 1958, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II named the first four women to peerage in the House of Lords. In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, 7-year-old Myca Dinh ...

Editorial cartoon for July 23, 2026