The Arab Spring was the biggest story in the Middle East in 2011. Unfortunately, it's still difficult to report on its aftermath in many of the nations most impacted by the pan-Arabic protest...

Traveling through my beloved former hometown of Minneapolis recently, I was appalled to pick up the Star Tribune and find an Opinion Exchange section cover article about missing conservatives in...

The problem with Mitt Romney's latest boneheaded statement -- "I'm not concerned about the very poor" -- isn't the ammunition it gives political opponents eager to yank the...

I was disappointed in many aspects of Jack Schneider's Feb. 1 commentary ("No magic solution for schools"), which described Teach For America as aspiring to eliminate the achievement...

Lawmakers' desire to limit how often a municipality can come at its residents for tax increases is understandable, maybe even commendable, but the latest effort to do that goes a little too far....

Right-to-Work battle lingers Indianapolis Star editorial page:Is the fiery debate over "right to work" finally over? Probably not. The discussion now shifts from the Statehouse to...

Is there a particular reason the Super Bowl has to be on a Sunday, rather than, say, a Saturday, when you don't have to go to work the next day? It could still be a "Super" Saturday...

Two of the top news stories this week have revolved around reproductive rights, though both raise far more troubling issues than a woman's right to contraception or abortion.The more compelling...

Aurora Jewell, Mandi Moshay and Kirsten Dees hold up signs following a press conference by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray outside at a Planned Parenthood Clinic on Feb.3 in Seattle,...

With respect to my UW colleague, Wayne Au misreads the evidence on charter-school research [';The false promise of charter schools,'; Opinion, Jan. 31]. Au is correct that charter-school...

Regarding the mother who protested the viewing of pornography on the library computers in the public areas of the library, I support you. [';Mother challenges viewing of Internet porn at...

Washington state is ready to offer marriage equality for LGBT and straight couples — in both name and in practice [';Lawmakers — step up for same-sex marriage,'; Opinion, Jan....

Although I agree with the sentiments expressed in Jon Talton’s piece criticizing Steve Jobs for not building Apple’s iPad in the U.S., the fact is, Jobs would have been fired if he did...

Welcome to The Seattle Times' online letters to the editor, a sampling of readers' opinions. Join the conversation by commenting on these letters or send your own letter of up to 200...

Republicans are still getting accustomed to Mitt Romney as their nominee, writes Michael Gerson. Now Republicans are left to ponder the Romney-Obama...

Take the hoopla over iPads in the classroom with a grain of salt, writes David Sirota. There's no guarantee that a hyper-technologized education system is synonymous with genuine...

There are many areas, including human rights, where China and the United States are grappling with common problems, writes Norm Page. In those common areas, we can build a common language that does...

If you're an American down on your luck, Mitt Romney has a message for you: He doesn't feel your pain. Earlier this week, Romney told a startled CNN interviewer, "I'm not...

The Democrats' Affordable Care Act of 2010 — aka 'Obamacare' — could hasten America's journey toward a more orderly immigration program, writes Froma...

(Al Hartmann | Tribune file photo) U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, said the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act served a purpose in removing clear environmental threats, but now are being applied to...

The lawyer for a Fountain Green man accused of running a huge Ponzi scheme said Friday his client operated a legitimate business that was destroyed by zealous federal...

(Al Hartmann | Tribune File Photo) Think of coins as an investment, and hold onto them as your own central bank. However, if you decide to cash them, research is the...

(Charles Rex Arbogast | The Associated Press) An auto worker assembles parts on the 2013 Dodge Dart at the Chrysler Plant in Belvidere, Ill., Thursday. Sergio Marchionne, chairman and CEO Chrysler...

http://bit.ly/z3TIjp Internal Revenue Service » Serves up details on the two key federal tax education credits, The American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit,...

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Pete and T. Kay Farley are trying to sell their Salt Lake City, Utah condo, but their project is not "FHA approved." That means that basically, no...

Employers across a range of industries have stepped up hiring. The economy gained 243,000 jobs in January, the most since last April. The hiring spree helped lower the unemployment rate for a fifth...

What we said: "The Susan G. Komen foundation has made a highly regrettable - and transparently political - decision to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood. ... Komen should reverse its...

A small experimental plane piloted by the CEO and chairman of Micron Technology Inc. crashed after take-off Friday at the Boise airport, killing the head of the Idaho memory chipmaker who was...

49ers will go forward with their plan for a new stadium in Santa Clara. Barring a major setback - such as construction delays, or a legal ruling against changes from the deal Santa Clara voters...

Michael Lavery was charged with one count of presenting a false tax refund claim to the U.S. government and one count of structuring a currency transaction to avoid reporting rules, the Justice...

New York o A drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest in three years propelled the Dow Jones industrial average Friday to its highest close since before the 2008 financial crisis. The Nasdaq...

"UCSF scientists take bitter view of sugar in food" (Feb. 2): War on sugar is not a solution to America's health problems. Sugar comes in many different forms (honey, fruit juice,...

FILE - In this file screen shot provided by Volkswagen of America, a child actor portraying Darth Vader, uses the Force on a 2012 Volkswagen Passat, in a 2011 Super Bowl ad. Volkswagen charmed...

1. UCSF scientists declare war on sugar in food 2. Peyton Manning as 49er makes sense, but not enough 3. Morford: Please do not eat this 4. North Bay girl died of 'date rape' drug...

Facebook's base of daily users shot up 11.6 percent in the last quarter of 2010 -- but that growth rate dropped by nearly half at the end of 2011, to 5.7 percent. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma,...

It says something about the brazen attitude of American politicians that Congress enacted a measure to create a program that was impossible to implement - and named it the CLASS Act. CLASS stands for...

VentureCapital.org and the Wayne Brown Institute, a Salt Lake City-based group that helps entrepreneurs find venture capital funding. The event will run from 9 a.m. to noon at the Zermatt...

France can't seem to decide how quickly it will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan after a rogue Afghan soldier opened fire on unarmed French soldiers, killing four and wounding 15. Over the...

M assachusetts now stands at a crossroads regarding its agricultural policy. Two competing bills are pending before the Legislature that would address whether the state will permit some of the worst...

T he story is grisly: a husband and wife murdering their three young daughters, ages 19, 17 and 13, by drowning them along with their stepmother. The couple was assisted by their 21-year-old son. All...

P resident Barack Obama, obsessed with raising taxes on "millionaires and billionaires," ignores the facts of history. He told ABC’s Diane Sawyer last week that our country now has...

T he turmoil that continues to roil the Middle East could eventually determine whether Turkey falls to extreme Islamist rule. The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been described...

(Left) Chris and Jim Jackson of Wayzata cheer on walkers in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk for the cure of breast cancer on Friday at the Parade Ice Garden. Chris Jackson is a 3 year survivor. The...

WASHINGTON — Two of the top news stories this past week have revolved around reproductive rights, though both raise far more troubling issues than a woman's right to contraception or...

Obama in America and Cameron in Britain have spoken of how their Christian faith influences their approach to shaping society. The US presidential campaign is also skirting church-state issues. How...

right in 2008 and, as they gather for precinct caucuses on Tuesday night, we expect they will get it right again. As was the case four years ago, we believe former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is...

The US Supreme Court will put the middle issue to rest. The answers to the first and last can come from me. After all, I headed Heritage's health work for 30 years. And make no mistake: Heritage and...

But there are countries where opposing parties actually work together. As shown in the below video, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott are such good pals that...

Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal speaks at Planned Parenthood Action Fund's Playing Politics With Women's Health: The 2012 Election And Why It Matters on Jan. 27, 2012 in New York City. The Susan...

Placards from a Planned Parenthood Rally in New York City in Feb. 2011. The Susan G. Komen Foundation's decision to remove funding from Planned Parenthood has set of a storm of...