A brilliant conservative judge with a prestigious resume, Neil Gorsuch is a proponent of traditional values, a strict reading of the US Constitution and protections for the role of religion in American society.　The elegant, silver-haired 49-year-old became the youngest justice confirmed to the US Supreme Court in a quarter-century. 　Little known until recently, the Colorado native with an Ivy League education survived an unusually rugged obstacle course between his nomination by President Donald

World News April 9, 2017

Major advertisers have begun canceling spots on America’s most-watched cable news show following reports of sexual harassment involving the star Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.　US insurer Allstate and French pharmaceutical maker Sanofi became the latest to exit Tuesday, following the lead of a handful of auto brands dropping ads for Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” a favorite among conservatives.　Allstate spokesman Justin Herndon said, “Inclusivity and support for women are important Allstate values. W

World News April 5, 2017

Tesla on Monday became the second-largest US car maker in terms of market capitalization, displacing Ford, whose sales lagged amid concerns about the ability of the US market to keep growing.　Many major automakers reported US sales declines in March compared to a year ago, but Tesla over the weekend said it saw a huge jump in vehicles delivered to consumers in the first three months of the year. 　That was enough to send the electric car maker’s stock soaring Monday, even as investors punished ma

World News April 4, 2017

Both cheap and abundant, coal is perhaps the least sexy of commodities — unless you live in a coal-producing state like Wyoming or West Virginia, where the industry is a big employer. From a global perspective, it would be practically impossible to live without coal, which generates about 40 percent of the world’s heat and power. 　By now, the drawbacks to coal are well-known. Burning the fuel emits about twice the amount of carbon dioxide as natural gas and 28 percent more pollutants than heatin

Viewpoints March 31, 2017

Not content to reach for Mars and dethrone fossil fuels, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk on Tuesday is turning his focus to delving into people‘s minds.　In a message fired off Tuesday on Twitter, Musk appeared to confirm he is creating a startup called Neuralink devoted to enabling brains to interface directly with computers, accessing processing power and perhaps even downloading memories for storage.　“Long Neuralink piece coming out on (blog platform) @waitbutwhy in about a week. Difficult to dedi

World News March 29, 2017

Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner will appear before a Senate panel investigating Russian interference in the US election, the White House said Monday.　Kushner, 36, was Trump’s main intermediary with foreign governments during the 2016 election campaign and now plays that role in the White House.　He arranged meetings between Trump and leaders from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.　Jared Kushner (left), senior adviser to the president,

World News March 28, 2017

In the aftermath of the Belgian terrorist attack a year ago, the world learned of the Brussels district of Molenbeek. After Wednesday‘s attack in the heart of London, we may hear more about Birmingham.　　The London attacker, identified by UK police as a 52-year-old career petty criminal named Khalid Masood (but apparently born Adrian Russell Ajao), rented a Hyundai in Birmingham, where he apparently resided, and then used it to mow down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. The Birmingham connection

Viewpoints March 27, 2017

Russian rulers have long been content to accept fear and awe in lieu of respect and admiration, and by that standard, Putin shone in 2016. This year that is proving a tougher gig to keep up, as he prepares for what might be his last presidential election in 2018.　　Last year, Putin’s boldness, combined with a bit of luck, paid off: The victories in Syria, the successful destabilization of Ukraine, the swelling support for populists in Western nations. Even the Russian economy provided some hopefu

Viewpoints March 27, 2017