Rupert Grint will become Ron Weasley again – this time, on Broadway

Comparing the Iran and Vietnam Wars

The other day I asked my students in U.S. foreign policy to think about the relevance of the Vietnam War in relation to the ongoing war in Iran. More specifically, I wanted them to identify the similarities and differences between the two wars.

What is immediately striking is how domestic politics played such a seminal role in both conflicts. While American public opinion was generally in favour of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam in the early years, things started to turn very sour after U.S. soldiers started arriving stateside in flag-draped coffins and body bags. As for Iran, just about every single poll and TV newscast since the first few weeks of the war have illustrated an overwhelming public repudiation of President Trump’s military adventurism.

The electoral implications were also quite apparent for the two wars. The U.S.-Iran War is clearly having a positive effect on the Democratic Party’s electability, as it looks set to capture both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Democratic President Lyndon Johnson, reading the political tea leaves from the Vietnam fallout, opted not to contest the 1968 U.S. presidential election.

Equally interesting, the U.S. press had a crucial, and mostly negative, impact on both the Vietnam and Iran conflicts. Who could forget Gen. William Westmoreland — the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam (1964-1968) — maintaining that it was the media’s fault the U.S. lost the war in Vietnam. While I take issue with his thesis, I do believe the news coverage and visuals of the first televised war served to raise serious concerns about why the U.S. was at war in Southeast Asia.

Hurricane Simon pounds resorts and vulnerable towns along Mexico’s Pacific coast

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Simon pounded Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 3 storm on Sunday, its eye remaining just offshore as its most powerful winds and rain slammed people living between the Sierra Madre and the ocean.

The hurricane's center swirled parallel to the coast, closing in on the Puerto Vallarta area, where its most damaging winds and rain were expected to hit around midnight and continue through Monday morning. Its maximum sustained winds weakened late Sunday to 115 mph (185 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, but it was still expected to remain a dangerous hurricane.

That’s not good news for people in and around Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist destination in the state of Jalisco. Just inland and uphill from the resort areas, many Mexicans live in communities where housing might not stand up to the storm.

By late Sunday, Simon's eye was moving northwest about 45 miles (75 kilometers) south of Cabo Corrientes at about 5 mph (7 kph). A senior hurricane center specialist, Philippe Papin, said this westernmost tip of mainland Mexico is the area most likely to get a direct hit from the system. Cabo Corrientes is at the southern tip of Bahia de Banderas, the wide bay where Puerto Vallarta looks out to the Pacific.

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and important decisions until after 10:45 a.m. After that, the moon moves from Libra into Scorpio.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

You have a choice. You can either get embroiled in disputes about shared property, debt, insurance issues or inheritances; or instead, relax and have a playful day featuring sporting events, social outings and fun activities with kids.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

What's open, what's closed, what's up on Thanksgiving

Here's a round-up of things to do and hours of business for services on Thanksgiving Day 2026.

Prime minister’s Thanksgiving message addresses Alberta separation referendum

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney focused his Thanksgiving Day message on Alberta’s upcoming separation referendum, saying Canada is "worth fighting for."

"This year, Thanksgiving is a bit different," he said in the video message. "A week from today, Albertans will have the opportunity to make an important decision about their future: whether to remain part of Canada or begin a long and uncertain process through which Alberta could separate from Canada."

Albertans will vote on Oct. 19 on whether the province should stay in Canada or hold a second, binding separation referendum.

In the video posted Monday and filmed in his old high school in Edmonton, Carney noted he grew up in Alberta.