Editorial voices from elsewhere
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States as compiled by the Associated Press:
You don’t suppose, do you, that Pope Francis could heal the rift that splits Washington, D.C.?
It’s welcome news, of course, that the Holy Father has accepted an invitation to address Congress on Sept. 24. It’s probably safe to say that he’s the world’s most popular individual just about now.
It would take a miracle worker to bring Republicans and Democrats to the point of working together for the national good. We’re being facetious, of course. This is truly a historic event. The invitation to have the pope speak is unprecedented, and his address will no doubt be a momentous occasion.
His arrival will be the sort of capital-E Event that leads bitter political opponents to set aside their differences for a time.
Of course, the pope will not heal the bitter divide in American politics. But in some measure, and perhaps a very large one, he will remind us that we are all creatures of God, and thus brothers and sisters on this planet.
The savage crimes committed by Islamic State militants now include the reported immolation of a captured Jordanian pilot. It’s another grim reminder that the world must focus its attention on stopping this horrific group from spreading further terror in the Middle East.
The actions of ISIS fighters, while happening far from American shores, can’t be shrugged off with the wish that the movement will simply go away or eventually collapse. The bombings against ISIS strongholds must continue. The United States properly has committed itself to lead this campaign but does need continued crucial support from Arab states.
The murder of pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh, for the moment, seems to have united almost all factions in the Middle East against ISIS and its butchery. Jordan’s King Abdullah II blasted ISIS, saying “this terrorist organization is not only fighting us, but also fighting Islam and its pure values.”
That could become a rallying cry for more people in Middle Eastern countries to rise up and oppose ISIS.
Still, it’s extremely difficult to predict the actions of a foe whose moral compass is completely out of sync with humanity and civil society.
First the good news: Bans on smoking in public places are working. A federal study found that the share of American nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke fell by more than half over a decade, to 25 percent in 2012 from 53 percent in 2000.
Now the bad news: This means that 1 in 4 U.S. nonsmokers still are exposed to tobacco toxins. Health experts estimate that secondhand smoke kills 41,000 people from lung cancer and heart disease every year. And it is blamed for the deaths of 400 babies a year from sudden infant death syndrome.
The findings make an even stronger case for relatives and friends to intervene when parents smoke around their children or during pregnancy. Children ages 3 to 11 had the highest exposure, with about 40 percent of them at risk, according to the analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …
And children who are black or poor have the highest exposure levels: 43 percent of nonsmokers living in poverty were exposed, compared with 21 percent of those not poor. Seventy percent of black children were exposed, compared with 40 percent of white children and 30 percent Latino children.
The overall reduction in exposure testifies to the beneficial effect of smoking bans enacted in recent decades by more than 700 cities and 26 states. But far more needs to be done to eliminate the risks faced by poor and black children still breathing secondhand smoke at home.