'Tis the season to be jolly - but we shouldn't take that sentiment too far.

A few months ago, three towns in Oklahoma turned up on a list of those with the top 10 mortality rates in the U.S. No one was especially surprised.

In Oklahoma, we have a big balancing act to perform when it comes to oil prices.

Influenza is making its presence felt in Oklahoma.

Last week Rep. Johnny Tadlock of Isabel changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, feeling he could better serve his constituency in the majority party. We don’t know exactly how most southeastern Oklahoma Democrats feel about the move, but doubt there is a lot of celebrating, having just elected a person they believed would represent their interests.

A college friend of mine who moved back to Arizona many years ago, Kim Good, asked me why I was bothering to make Christmas candy this year, since I was undergoing a series of unpleasant dental procedures. Basically, I told her, it's just what I do.

U.S. farmers and manufacturers worried about another round of steep tariffs on China can breathe easy - at least, for now.

We’re hard pressed to think of anyone who has had as powerful an impact in Kansas as K-State football coach Bill Snyder, who announced his retirement over the weekend.

With the passing of former President George H.W. Bush, one senses a growing void — something missing, perhaps, from our culture, certainly from our politics.

There's no doubt about it: If the Cherokee Nation hadn't kept pushing for results, the radioactive material might still be languishing in Gore, posing a serious threat to the entire population of this area.

The January 1973 cover of National Lampoon magazine featured a photo of a freaked-out dog, with a human hand holding a gun to its head. The teaser was: "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog."

We have some bad news and some good news.

Ever hear of Mars 1M-No. 1, known to us in the West as Marsnik 1? How about Zond 2 or the Prop M-Rover?

Ever since a left-leaning online website indicated Gov.-Elect Kevin Stitt empathized with parents who oppose mandatory vaccinations, the issue has re-emerged at the forefront. Stitt says he had his children vaccinated, and sees no reason to change current state laws, but the fact that the allegation was used against him in a pejorative fashion is telling.

President Trump signed a major tax code overhaul bill in December 2017. The president has referred to this tax-cut law as an "economic miracle." Are there any current indicators within our economic picture that would lend any validity to that statement?

Even if you're not a fan, someone else in your family is - and chances are good you've purchased a few pieces of apparel in the color of a "house" at the imaginary Hogwarts School of Wizardry - red, blue, gold or green. Perhaps you were "sorted" into a house by some online quiz, the most authentic of which is at www.pottermore.com, sanctioned by author J.K. Rowling. Or maybe you just declared yourself to be in the house you find most appealing.

As a newspaper, we stand firmly behind the First Amendment and people’s right to know about their government, be it local or national.

Recently, Jeff Sessions resigned as the U.S. attorney general, at the request of President Trump. This has been seen by some as an action that could threaten the independence of the special counsel's investigation into the Trump White House.

A candid Roy Blunt, in a Sunday interview on "This Week," made it plain that he thinks the ongoing special investigation over alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election needs to be allowed to go forward and come to a conclusion.