Opinion

Almanac for Sept. 22, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 22, the 265th day of 2026. There are 100 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved people in Confederate states should be freed as of Jan. 1, 1863, if the states did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union. Also on this date: In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Capt. Nathan Hale, 21, was hanged as a spy by the British in New York. In 1957, Haitian women were allowed to vote for the first time, 153 years after Haiti became an independent country; ...

CNN, MS NOW, Politico file suit over denied White House access

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Monday sued President Donald Trump’s administration days after they were barred from White House grounds, calling the selective ban — based on the content of their coverage — illegal and a “blatant violation” of the First Amendment. ...

Injury a reminder of people’s resilience to disabilities

On the Sunday evening of Labor Day weekend, after a delightful dinner with close friends, I tripped over one of those ubiquitous electric rent-a-scooters. I went down hard, landing on my knee and arm, though luckily not hitting my head. At home that night, I couldn’t even bend my left elbow ...

Trump attacking freedom of the press, disregarding law

Twice during President Trump’s first term, his administration tried to prevent a journalist whose work it did not like from reporting at the White House. Twice, judges rejected the moves as unconstitutional and restored the journalists’ access. Now the administration is attempting the same move, barring journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House because they had written what the president called “purposefully negative stories.” The new ban is alarming for two reasons: It continues both Mr. Trump’s attempt to prevent the free flow of information in American ...

Editorial cartoon for Sept. 22, 2026

More threats to the freedom of speech

The freedom of speech and of the press is not a gift bestowed by a president, Congress or a federal agency. It is a natural right of all persons. The First Amendment does not create that right; it prohibits the government from infringing upon it. The ability to think, speak, write, criticize, ...