Editorials

Americans are paying a fearsome price for the government’s strict lockdowns of American life and commerce, and now comes evidence that targeted lockdowns aimed at protecting those who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus would be better for public health and the economy.

The aftermath of Wisconsin’s recent in-person election should encourage North Carolina’s lawmakers to act favorably on the State Board of Elections’ requests for major changes in how we hold the November election here.

Every death from the novel coronavirus is its own particular tragedy. So it’s easy to get overwhelmed as the number of confirmed infections in the United States climbs to 1.2 million and the death toll pushes past 70,000 — with some states having not yet reached their peak.

More than a fifth of the 55,000 known COVID-19 deaths in the United States have occurred at nursing homes and other elder-care facilities. Federal and state governments have largely turned a blind eye, often making no effort to test residents or staffs and leaving relatives, surrounding comm…

The Affordable Care Act has cost taxpayers a bundle, and now the Supreme Court says they are on the hook for billions of dollars in additional payments to insurers even though Congress never appropriated the money. The ruling will be even more expensive if it encourages more lawsuit demands …

Gov. Roy Cooper said last week that the state will ease out of lockdown in phases. Government and public health officials will look at several benchmarks on how the state is handling the novel coronavirus before fully reopening the economy.

During this coronavirus emergency, churches, like every other person, business or organization, should comply with public health guidelines.

Public fatigue with stay-at-home orders to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic is inevitable and understandable. Not understandable, nor forgivable, is the president of the United States inciting disrespect for his own government’s guidelines, which are unquestionably essential for the publ…

It’s no secret that Hollywood celebrities and their ideological counterparts in the mainstream media despise President Trump. In the runup to the 2016 election, that contempt spilled over to his supporters. The “basket of deplorables” as Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton labeled them, wer…

Moral Monday protesters once regularly marched on North Carolina’s Legislative Building demanding better teacher pay and Medicaid expansion. Now we have people who plan to protest every Tuesday against the mandatory business closures imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Marc Thiessen’s April 19 column is headlined “Taiwan shows antidote to virus is freedom,” which echoes his summary sentence. But the content of his article tells a very different story.

Columnist Holman Jenkins offered an analogy in the Wall Street Journal that captures the conundrum created by the U.S. response to COVID-19.

There are hints and sometimes direct statements from our leaders that what is even considered normal will dramatically change.

As states across the country approach the back half of stay-at-home orders — and as many report better-than-expected case counts and death totals — there’s new momentum for Americans to return to work.

North Carolinians are eager to get back to work. We’re itching to get back to our lives: Going to concerts and shows; hitting the gym; attending athletic events; watching our kids play sports, dance at proms, graduate. Just doing the normal stuff.

It’s a testament to the optimism of the American people and our enduring sense of hope that we’re already anticipating the days when we can boldly and safely step out from isolation and socialize again. We discuss the restaurant meals we’ll consume, the musical performances we’ll hear, the h…