Opinion

Almanac for Oct. 8, 2026

Today is Thursday, Oct. 8, the 281st day of 2026. There are 84 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire began; more than 300 people died and more than 17,000 structures were destroyed during the three-day blaze. On the same date, a firestorm went through Peshtigo, Wis., and surrounding areas, killing 1,500 to 2,000 people, the most devastating forest fire in American history. Also on this date: In 1862, Union forces beat back a Confederate offensive in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky's biggest and bloodiest engagement of the Civil War, leading to ...

Almanac for Oct. 7, 2026

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2026. There are 85 days left in the year. Today in history: In 2023, Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Israel's retaliatory offensive and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war killed tens of thousands in Gaza, displaced about 90% of its population and destroyed vast areas until major combat subsided with an October 2025 ceasefire agreement. Also on this date: In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against ...

Editorial cartoon for Oct. 7, 2026

Journalists draw fire for doing their jobs

Being a journalist isn’t a sure path to popularity. But we journalists don’t go into the profession to make new besties. Rather, to paraphrase William Shakespeare, we journalists have always suffered the slings and arrows of outraged people, and we still do. In recent years, however, it seems like individual journalists — not just their newspaper, broadcast or online outlet — are targets of snarky, snide, contemptuous, coarse and sometimes threatening remarks by people and institutions unhappy with how they do their jobs. President Donald Trump tells a Bloomberg News ...

The tsunami of campaign ads

You can’t escape them unless you turn off the TV. One after another with barely enough time for commercials hawking adult diapers and a cure for toe fungus they come. They are repetitious and annoying. One candidate promises to lower gas and grocery prices and criticizes the incumbent for ...

Aide: Trump did not call for attacks on US cities

The White House clarified Donald Trump’s comments at a Monday night rally, explaining that the president was not insinuating that he wanted Iran to attack U.S. cities but instead wants to prevent Tehran from having that capability. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on ...