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Hantavirus cruise: A 'Ship of Fools'

National Columnists

On April 1, 114 guests and 61 crew members, unaware of the presence of a killer virus among them, boarded the MV Hondius. That ship has earned the moniker "Ship of Fools." Because of the top brass's reckless disregard of infection control principles, the ship's passengers and thousands of people around the world have been exposed to the rare Andes strain of the hantavirus, a disease found in rat urine and feces, and which has a 40% mortality rate. Among the passengers who boarded that day was a 70-year-old birdwatcher who had spent his final days ashore traipsing through an ...

Pass the Major Richard Star Act

National Columnists

Major kudos to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. During his testimony before Senate Armed Forces Committee, Hegseth was asked by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal if he will support the Major Richard Star Act. Hegseth affirmed his support. The act was first introduced in 2023 but has not moved forward because of Republican opposition. Now, with the Defense secretary on record in support of this legislation, its prospect for passage dramatically improves. And indeed, it should be passed. Veterans who are injured and disabled in the course of military service, but manage ...

How about initiative for fiscal fitness?

National Columnists

The new consumer prices report showing a 3.8% price rise in April confirms what Americans have been complaining about for months: Inflation is continuing to squeeze family budgets. It's indisputable that oil and fertilizer supply disruptions in the Middle East are driving up prices here at home. But that's only part of the inflation story. Consumer prices overall are up nearly 30% since COVID-19 derailed the U.S. economy six years ago. That's the worst stretch of inflation since the bad old 1970s under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, when inflation hit ...

Tell women truth about motherhood

National Columnists

America loves to celebrate mothers while doing little to inspire young women to become them. The biggest news this Mother's Day is how few new moms there are. The U.S. fertility rate hit another record low, according to CDC data released last month. There were 53.1 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age. That was a 1% drop from 2024 and a 23% decline since 2007. There is much debate about why this is happening, especially since it's a worldwide phenomenon. While there are lots of factors at play, consider this question. What is the good life? For millennia, the ...

What is status of national debt?

National Columnists

The U.S. national debt just crossed a once-unthinkable threshold on the way toward breaking the record set in the wake of World War II: It now exceeds 100% of America's gross domestic product. As of March 31, our publicly held debt was $31.27 trillion, while America's GDP in 2025 was $31.22 trillion. This puts the ratio at 100.2%, compared with 99.5% when the last fiscal year ended Sept. 30. That 100.2% figure will likely climb, because the federal government is running historically large annual deficits of nearly 6% of GDP, which add to the debt. The final tally will depend on Iran ...