Opinion

When the Wall Street Journal reported in a front-page lead story that the Department of Energy had concluded the COVID-19 pandemic resulted from a leak from China’s Wuhan laboratory, you might have argued it was old news. The FBI had already, it turns out, come to the same conclusion and with a higher degree of confidence (moderate) than the Energy Department (low).

Dear Annie: I have been married for almost 20 years. My husband used to be very jealous and controlling, but we have navigated through that, and he has gotten over these issues. However, his sarcasm is cutting me to the bone. He is very rude to everyone in public -- waiters, clerks, cashiers, etc. He embarrasses me so badly. He isn’t rude to his family, but he is with my children and grandchildren.

“This bill is simple in its purpose.” So stated Republican Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, who served as a Marine helicopter pilot in Vietnam, when he introduced the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act on March 25, 2003.

It would have been shocking had Fox News lied about the 2020 election being stolen from Donald Trump because the management and stars believed that nonsense. It would have been shocking had Fox known the truth but passed on lies in the belief that only Trump could save the country.

The 2024 presidential race gets more exciting each day. Now 37-year-old entrepreneur businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has entered the race as the newest Republican candidate.

Dear Annie: I am so upset. A long-distance relative is visiting my parents. For some reason, he has taken a shine to me, but he is cruel to my sibling. He constantly makes derogatory comments about him, saying he’s big and making multiple comments about his size or weight. Sometimes it is obtuse, asking him, “Where are you going, to get more food?” and similar comments that other people seem to miss.

President Joe Biden’s dramatic train trip through a war zone to stand with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev inspired most of the world, but not everyone. Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin hacks, who ardently wish not to join the thousands of Russians thrown into jail for opposing the former KGB agent’s corrupt autocracy, did not applaud Biden’s trip. Neither did America’s MAGA set, led by Putin fanboy Tucker Carlson and others who are either looney or have lost their way. But most Americans saw Biden’s unprotected trip through an area vulnerable to Russian missile attacks at any moment as a brave, historic move, one intended to physically demonstrate our solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who are suffering mass death and horrific hardship in order to resist subjugation by a brutal Russian regime.

Today is the 61st day of 2023 and the 72nd day of winter. T ODAY’S HISTORY: In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

Dear Readers: In a recent column, I was critical of the sudden popularity of using diabetes drugs to lose weight. I was responding to news reports that a growing number of people are using them for casual weight loss to drop a few pounds. But too many readers felt that I was not current on the latest scientific studies in this area for the clinically obese. I am grateful for the many letters I received on this topic and want to share a few of them with you: Dear Annie: I feel compelled to respond to your recent dialog with an individual writing about their friend who is successfully losing weight with the aid of GLP-1 receptor medications like Ozempic and Wegovy.

Dear People of the Great State of Oklahoma, Hello! I am a third-grade student in Northern Virginia. Our class is learning about the United States, and I will be teaching our school about the state of Oklahoma. In the month of May, I will create a display for our State Fair that I hope will make you proud.