Five years ago I wrote a review of “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism,” a compelling history by Edward Baptist. Now some of his conclusions have been challenged.

“A More or Less Perfect Union” is a three-part series, produced by Free to Choose Network, that will air on various PBS stations across the nation starting this month.

Elections depend on trust — on the idea that the declared winners and losers were the real winners and losers.

We’re gobsmacked that anyone — much less the Longview ISD school board — would think that it's acceptable that Superintendent James Wilcox should be the district’s lead negotiator with those applying to run seven schools when one of the four groups that have applied was created by Wilcox himself.

Oh, what a beautiful person Barbara Richardson McClellan is.

In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial and in light of the scathing attacks on both Trump and potential Democratic candidates as the 2020 election approaches, the celebration of Presidents Day is a good time to rise above the current political recriminations and ranco…

I hope I'm at the right meeting. My name is Ruben, and I'm a "dittohead." In fact, I have been addicted to a certain radio talk show for nearly 30 years.

We are in the middle of Black History Month and have been hearing the usual names of Fredrick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Booker T. Washington and the likes. Often, if we research out own communities and family trees, we can find equally impressive examples of those stepping up to impr…

Having just celebrated my 100th birthday, I enjoy memories of when I was 11 years old during the Depression and I built the flat-bottomed jon boat.

A look at what we liked, and didn't like, in the past week's news.

Conversations get lively at news-journal.com, where commenters are encouraged to weigh in on stories via Facebook. Here’s a sampling of some recent comments:

In these times of extreme political divides, there are still people willing to reach across the aisle to work together to send us urgent warnings to protect ourselves from scams.

Texas’s strong job growth and business environment are great for our economy but there is a downside. A new study finds that households earning more than $75,000 per year accounted for more than three-quarters of growth in renters.

We’re all brothers and sisters

The echoes of the chaos in reporting the results in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Democratic caucus got national attention — including in Texas.

On Friday, in a vindictive and retributive move to punish witnesses who testified against him in the House impeachment proceedings, President Donald Trump fired Lt. Col. Alexander Viindman, director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council, and Ambassador Gordon S…

What if you passed a law and nobody cared?

Stop the caller ID abuse

Forgetting the golden rule

President Donald Trump declared in his State of the Union address that “our economy is the best it has ever been.”

Circle the wagons. Protect the blue wall. Keep the code of silence.

The day my Mother and Father met, he was arguing with some high school friends about whether a slice of lemon would corrode the coating on a porcelain sink.

As a little girl, my daughter was part of a generation that grew up with video recordings. She had a handful of movies that she watched over and over. One of them was “The Princess Bride,” which came out in 1987.

I have been teaching economics since 1967 — 40 years of it at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. During that interval, economic reality has not changed. Just as Galileo’s law about the independent influence of gravity on falling objects has not changed, neither have the fundamenta…

A sizable herd of people in business suits gathered in a government hearing room last week to talk about tax law.

After watching highlights of President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening I have reached the conclusion that such speeches are not appropriate viewing for small children.

President Donald Trump and some of his allies in the Senate are kicking off the post-impeachment era with vengeance on their minds. In a speech on Thursday, Trump condemned “leakers and liars” and declared that “this should never, ever happen to another president, ever.” On Capitol Hill, Sen…

A long time ago in a toy box far, far away ...

As I stepped into this new decade alone, I paused and looked back, acutely aware of Byron’s absence and wishing he was still here to go forward with me. We navigated the previous four decades together. It’s hard to go it alone without the love of your life.

Before he was Maverick or Jim Rockford, actor James Garner was a gas station attendant.

Conversations get lively at news-journal.com, where commenters are encouraged to weigh in on stories via Facebook. Here’s a sampling of some recent comments:

The upside of increasing school choice and the opportunity for Texas to play a bigger role in Democratic presidential politics were among the topics being discussed this week by Texas editors.

Though many questions remain about the new coronavirus that started in China, health officials in the U.S. say the risk to most Americans remains low. In fact, some are suggesting we should be more concerned about a familiar virus certain to kill thousands of Texans and tens of thousands of …

Regarding "Questions on quilt codes" (letters, Sunday):

For every $1 invested in early learning and child care, taxpayers get back $13 later due to fewer later grade repetitions, fewer later interactions with the criminal justice system and more.

It is so unsafe for a person with a disability to cross a street because of drivers not paying attention to the road.

President Trump, I was thankful to be able to attend the State of the Union address Tuesday night, where I hoped to hear you mention your policies at our southern border in a human-focused way. But while you covered a number of topics, I did not hear about the human suffering we are witnessi…