Lafayette

Why a nuclear-arms pact can save Europe

On Sunday, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, asked President Trump to drop his recent call for the United States to leave a nuclear arms treaty that Mr. Gorbachev himself negotiated with President Ronald Reagan in 1987. The pact, which is called the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, has helped keep a relative peace in Europe for more than three decades. It also reflects a growing sentiment among Russians that they can find a home within Europe rather than remain divided over issues such as nuclear threats, the Ukraine conflict, and spy scandals.

Will increasingly indoorsy Canadians answer the call of the wild?

A recent weekend at Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, 45 minutes north of Toronto, is a picture of autumnal bliss. “I think it becomes more of a hassle to get outside,” says Daniel Kouto, who lives in Toronto.

A new candidate class: schoolteachers running for office

When public school teachers in West Virginia heard last winter that their health insurance premiums would skyrocket, Brianne Solomon wasn’t sure anything could be done about it. The ensuing walkout by nearly 20,000 West Virginia teachers – the first of seven states to see strikes this year – won a 5 percent pay raise and a one-year freeze on healthcare hikes. Solomon has been teaching art and music for 15 years, but today she’s also one of more than 1,400 educators the National Education Association (NEA) says is running for seats in state legislatures this November.

How Syrian refugees strain – and strengthen – Jordan

Down to one janitor, four administrators, and a handful of teachers for more than 1,000 students, administrator Manal al Adwan says she is fighting “an uphill battle” each day to keep Al Hussein Secondary School running. It now also copes with 500 more – refugees from Syria – and Al Hussein has been forced onto a two-shift system, rotating Jordanian and Syrian students in and out in half-days to relieve the overcrowded classrooms. With only one day off a week to set their syllabus, grade papers, and invent ways to educate Syrian children who have been out of school for years, teachers are exhausted.