Journalist brutally beaten in Russian province

July 23, 2023

It’s impossible to believe it was just a coincidence that a prominent Russian investigative reporter somehow came upon assailants that left her brutally beaten in Chechnya the day she and her attorney arrived there to attend the trial of a mother of two local activists who have challenged Chechen authorities. The terrifying incident began when a vehicle carrying journalist Elena Milashina and her lawyer Alexander Nemov was blocked by several cars just outside the airport there, The Associated Press reported earlier this month. They were attacked by a dozen unidentified masked ...

Congress, not president, legislates and allocates

July 16, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court in recent weeks put an abrupt stop to President Joe Biden’s promise to write off many student loans that Americans have borrowed but not yet paid back. Americans are in stark disagreement about whether or not writing off loans at taxpayers’ expense is the correct approach. Like many political issues today, this has divided America. Likewise, it has divided my friends and co-workers. I’ve heard some people offer impassioned arguments in favor of student loan forgiveness. They say they’ve seen first-hand how student loans have weighed heavily on many ...

Help save environment and a few bucks, too

July 9, 2023

My husband and I stood for quite awhile outside the gorilla enclosure at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park during our visit there last month. We were fascinated by members of the gorilla troop’s interactions with one another. Six-year-old Leslie, the youngest, was especially entertaining as she scrambled through the large green and rocky setting, swatting at another young female, Joanne, with a tree branch and hiding in a hammock to further taunt her. As Leslie darted throughout the enclosure, she also whipped a blanket that a safari park volunteer said belonged to the youngster’s ...

‘Caving in’ was among our best decisions ever

July 2, 2023

It was 14 years ago when my husband and I planned a weekend trip to New York City, and my parents eagerly agreed to keep our sons while we were gone. We drove the kids to western Pennsylvania to drop them off at the home where I grew up. At the time, my dad’s beagle had recently ...

Revisiting dangers of spread of ‘fake news’

June 18, 2023

“Fake news” remains the battle cry against mainstream media, particularly, I suspect, by those who either aren’t daily consumers of news or by readers or sources who don’t particularly like unflattering news reports. Such reactions aren’t new. I remember them occurring decades ago when I was still a cub reporter. But the term “fake news” is relatively new, coined and made popular by former President Donald Trump. Also new, relatively speaking, is the way in which actual fake news stories — the kind that aren’t reported by reputable news sources, that is — spread ...

Prince’s lawsuit questions media’s methods

June 11, 2023

I often have conversations with well-meaning callers offering news tips they believe could lead to a good investigative story about someone they think is doing something, well, shady. Sometimes I might agree. But sharing a story with the public requires so much more than just a news tip or a hunch. It requires independent verification and conversations (or honest attempts at conversations) with all parties involved. What “tipsters” often don’t understand is journalists, unlike law enforcement, do not have subpoena power. We can request information from private people or ...