Less than one percent of the nation’s population lives in nursing homes. But, residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities account for 40 percent of Covid-19 deaths nationally.

As protests and riots spread like wildfire across the nation (last month) in response to the death of George Floyd and other Black people at the hands of white police officers, I couldn’t help but recall an old African Proverb:

“I’ve occasionally encountered mass hysteria in other countries,” Nicholas Kristof writes at the New York Times. “In rural Indonesia, I once reported on a mob that was beheading people believed to be sorcerers, then carrying their heads on pikes. But I never imagined that the United States c…

Now that West Virginia is reopening, people are taking to the roads for summer activities, and the Public Service Commission’s Transportation Enforcement Officers are patrolling the highways to ensure your safety. They are always on the lookout for commercial motor vehicles that pose a hazar…

Leave it to the Rev. Matthew J. Watts to see the blessing in a crisis. Federal leaders have sent millions to all 50 states, telling state leaders to use the money to combat coronavirus.

This July is the 134th year of the Statue of Liberty. Homeless immigrants from all over the world saw the Lady of the Harbor as a welcoming symbol of a land of “milk and honey” and a better way of life as they fled oppression and poverty elsewhere.

Americans hope they will never be bullied by a police officer. A man or woman with a badge and a gun can be an intimidating figure. If a cop pulls you over and bullies you, what can you do? Americans are at the mercy of bad cops. Who hasn’t been afraid of a police officer at one time or another?

We are certain that, at the end of the day, the executive order President Trump signed June 16 to encourage changes in policing, including new restrictions on chokeholds, will not pass the test of time since it does not even meet the moment. It conveniently ignores centuries of racial injust…

City council members in municipalities across southern West Virginia who passed nondiscrimination ordinances to extend civil rights protections to members of the LGBTQ community can rest comfortably and walk more confidently knowing that they were on the right side of history as confirmed ea…

NBC News reports that U.S. president Donald Trump is “furious” over “underwhelming”” attendance at his June 20 campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Only 6,200 of 19,000 seats ended up cradling Trump supporters’ butts. An optimistically pre-arranged overflow area went unused.

At a time when huge spending bills marked “coronavirus relief” are easily passing Congress with little scrutiny, poorly run states are asking unscrupulous members of Congress to slip in taxpayer bailouts to rescue them from years of their own fiscal mismanagement.

In these unprecedented times, people need certainty in the information that they receive so they can make the best decisions possible. To that end, we want to share some things our office has learned as we strive to maintain the rule of law, your constitutional freedoms and confidence in the…

One laudable side effect of the COVID-19 panic is a nationwide effort to promote “vote by mail” as a universal alternative to standing in line at polling places. One reason that effort is laudable is that it would likely decrease vote fraud.

In times of emergency, misperceptions can prove deadly. That's certainly the case today, amid widespread belief that COVID-19 mainly threatens older Americans.

You may have seen blue and silver pinwheels in the yards of homes and businesses around town this month and wondered why. Since 1983, April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Pinwheels are a symbol introduced by Prevent Child Abuse America as a reminder of the happ…

By Natalie Tennant

It has been hard for a long time to say anything about politics that helps anyone with anything. If you say something to one side or the other, no one who might believe you needs to hear it; and no one who might need to hear it will believe you. Three-plus years of our politics has immunized…

It's 2020, and while most minds might be on the upcoming elections, there's another way you can have your voice heard and make a difference in government: Take the census.

As of early March, there were fewer than 200 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States. Nonetheless Congress passed, and U.S. president Donald Trump signed, an $8.3 billion “emergency funding” bill theoretically related to containing the disease.

On learning Russia had staged a massive disinformation campaign in the 2016 presidential election, schools across the country began adding digital literacy classes to their course offerings.

As you have seen in the news, COVID-19, otherwise known as Coronavirus, has arrived in the United States.

We’re not sure what Gov. Jim Justice does not understand about “words matter,” but certainly, they do, as the governor’s own words (recently) prove.

Wondering what’s going on in Charleston? Join the club! But seriously, several major issues are currently moving. Here’s a quick recap.

Back in 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump promised that Mexico would pay for his proposed border wall. Turns out Mexico wasn’t interested, so Trump eventually resorted to declaring fake emergencies and illegally misappropriating money from the military budget.

It was a contentious week at the Capitol. Below is a recap of several controversial votes, including how I voted and why.

On Jan. 15, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. According to the US Constitution, that makes the ERA part of "the supreme law of the land."

It’s halftime at the West Virginia legislature. Like this year’s Super Bowl, we got off to a slow start, but I expect an exciting second half.

The adage that “history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce” could use some updating. There’s no reason it can’t be farce the whole time. (A week late last month) ended with a Hoppy Kercheval column lamenting that the Democrats have moved too far to the left. …

It should come as no surprise that many AARP members in the Mountain State and nationally tell us they can’t afford the medications they need, and are forced to make difficult choices as a result. In a recent survey of voters age 50 and older, four out of 10 people responded that they did no…

In December, I had the opportunity to speak to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works on an important issue facing our country, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This disease is discussed scarcely and understood even less, so you may have not heard of it.

After a slow start, business is picking up in Charleston. Here’s a quick recap of two controversial bills which are on the move and several lesser-known bills which should make a positive impact on our community.

I was surprised and disappointed to read that the Fayette County Commission has adopted a resolution that designates Fayette County as a Second Amendment Sanctuary....

As we enter a new year, the running battle between the world’s governments and the world-changing technology known as “cryptocurrency” continues. As 2019 drew to an end, Swiss president Ueli Maurer asserted that Facebook’s digital currency (not a real cryptocurrency), Libra, has failed “beca…

When I was appointed to the West Virginia Board of Education, I knew there was work to be done to ensure that West Virginia's children received the best education possible.

On Jan. 14, Elizabeth Warren released a “Plan to Cancel Student Debt on Day One of My Presidency.” Warren would use the U.S. Department of Education’s “broad legal authority” to cancel up to $50,000 of debt on behalf of up to 42 million borrowers.