Howard L. Petterson

Monday marks one year since thousands of right-wing protesters draped in the colors of the Brazilian flag stormed into Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices with a violent fury and the goal of overturning an election. Saturday marked three years since thousands of Americans did just about the same thing.They were two shocking attacks on the Western Hemisphere’s two largest democracies, both broadcast around the world and both prompted by presidents who had questioned their legitimate election losses. Each posed an extraordinary test of the country’s democracy, and each raised the question of how a deeply polarized society would…

Bleary-eyed from 16 hours on a Greyhound bus, he strolled into the stadium running on fumes. He’d barely slept in two days. The ride he was supposed to hitch from Charlotte to Indianapolis canceled at the last minute, and for a few nervy hours, Antonio Barnes started to have his doubts. The trip he’d waited 40 years for looked like it wasn’t going to happen.But as he moved through the concourse at Lucas Oil Stadium an hour before the Colts faced the Raiders, it started to sink in. His pace quickened. His eyes widened. His voice picked up.“I got chills…

A brand-new rocket lifted off early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral, Fla., sending a robotic spacecraft toward the surface of the moon.The launch was flawless, and the spacecraft, built by Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, separated 50 minutes into the flight; its systems powered on successfully. However, a few hours later, Astrobotic reported a problem that prevented the spacecraft, known as Peregrine, from keeping itself in a steady orientation pointed at the sun.“The team is responding in real time as the situation unfolds and will be providing updates as data is obtained and analyzed,” Astrobotic posted on the social media service…

U.S. Steel is an iconic example of the lost manufacturing muscle that President Biden says his economic policies will bring back to the United States.But last month, the storied-but-diminished company announced plans to be acquired by a Japanese competitor. That development has put Mr. Biden in an awkward bind as he tries to balance attempts to revitalize the nation’s industrial sector with his efforts to rebuild international alliances.Mr. Biden’s administration has expressed some discomfort with the deal and is reviewing the proposed $14.1 billion takeover bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The company is offering a hefty premium for U.S. Steel,…

An emergency landing on Friday of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jet in Portland, Ore., led the Federal Aviation Administration to order some U.S. airlines to stop using some Max 9 planes until they are inspected. The order will affect about 171 planes owned by Alaska, United and other airlines. The episode also raised troubling new questions about the safety of a workhorse aircraft design dogged by years of problems and multiple deadly crashes.No one was seriously injured in Friday’s incident. The jetliner returned to the airport in Portland shortly after the plane’s fuselage broke open in midair,…

When Wayne Rooney was told his time as Birmingham City manager was up after just 15 games, he was shocked.Having signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, the former England striker was under the impression he had joined a long-term project. Rooney had enjoyed an open dialogue with the club hierarchy — including chief executive Garry Cook and director of football Craig Gardner — and there had been no indication their faith in him was waning.Birmingham won just two of Rooney’s 15 games but even after his most recent defeat, at Leeds United on New Year’s Day, he had spoken bullishly of being…

This time of year, everyone asks what you like least about your life, but they phrase it as, “What’s your New Year’s resolution?”My biggest regret of 2023 was my relationship to my smartphone, or my “tech appendage” as I’ve named it in my iPhone settings. My Apple Screen Time reports regularly clocked in at more than five hours a day.That’s only an hour more than the average American, but I still found it staggering to think that I spent the equivalent of January, February and half of March looking at that tiny screen (April too, if we only count waking…