At the Pittsburgh Sword Fighters club, members are asked to leave their politics at the door, a rule that has led to closer ...

Over the last few years and through this year's contentious campaign season, which was rooted in America's deep divisions, there has been a coarsening in the way people talk to each other.

CREIGHTON, Pa. — With their faces hidden behind hard black masks, two fighters stand a few feet apart and raise their swords. They step forward and clank the broad, dull metal blades against each ...

It's a tournament — as well as a party — billed as Friday Night Fights. There are plenty of rules in a sword fight. But there's one rule that applies after the fighters have put down their ...