Congress’ updated NASA directive seeks to extend space station life to 2032
A revamped version of a congressional NASA authorization act moving through the U.S. Senate would add two more years of life to the International Space Station among a slew of new directives for the nation’s space agency. The NASA Authorization Act of 2026 passed the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation...
Hungary’s top diplomat stokes anger at anti-Ukraine protest with allegation of election meddling
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary ‘s pro-Russian foreign minister Friday accused neighboring Ukraine of seeking to interfere in upcoming Hungarian elections in which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces an unprecedented challenge. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó made the accusation in a speech to several hundred protesters outside Ukraine’s embassy in Budapest. The...
How springing forward to daylight saving time could affect your health
WASHINGTON — Most of America “springs forward” Sunday for daylight saving time. Losing that hour of sleep can do more than leave you tired and cranky the next day; it also could harm your health. Darker mornings and more evening light knock your body clock out of whack — which...
Trump rules out talks absent Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as Israel strikes Lebanon
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched more retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war. The strikes in Lebanon were...
Panel reviewing Trump’s White House ballroom project gets an earful from the public opposed to it
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s proposed White House ballroom is “ugly,” “grossly out of scale” and a “gold gilded edifice to one man’s ego,” according to members of the public who oppose the project and got a chance to speak their minds Thursday to a federal panel that’s reviewing it....
How to set and invest your emergency fund
Emergency funds need a PR makeover. Who wants to think about broken-down cars, sick dogs, or job loss? We should call them “cushion funds.” Then there’s the frequently cited ideal amount: three to six months of expenses. That’s a decent starting point, but it sounds off-putting to people just starting...
People love to hate changing clocks twice a year, but can’t agree how to fix it
Clocks will skip ahead an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday for daylight saving time in most of the U.S., creating a 23-hour day that throws off sleep schedules, plunges early-morning dog walks into darkness and inspires millions of complaints. Even though polls show most people dislike the system that has...
Attempted suicides, fights, pain: 911 calls reveal misery at ICE’s largest detention facility
EL PASO, Texas — The calls to 911 poured in from staff at Camp East Montana in Texas, the nation’s largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, at a rate of nearly one a day for five months, each its own tale of pain and despair. A man sobs...
Greensburg Salem aims to open latest comprehensive plan for public review next week
Early-level literacy, student engagement, work-based learning experiences and student mental health could be Greensburg Salem’s primary focuses for the next three years. The school board will vote next week on whether to release a proposed comprehensive plan — a guide for district operations — for a monthlong review by parents...
Drug plan middlemen face new oversight push as Pa. pharmacies close
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Some Pennsylvania lawmakers want to give the state’s top prosecutor more power to take on pharmacy benefit...
Analysis suggests school was hit amid U.S. strikes on Iranian naval base
The strike that hit an elementary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab is the deadliest known episode of civilian casualties since the United States and Israel attacked Iran — and no side has yet taken responsibility. But a body of evidence assembled by The New York Times —...
U.S., Venezuela agree to restore diplomatic ties, 7 years after they were cut off
The United States and Venezuela have agreed to restore diplomatic and consular relations, reopening a formal channel between Washington and Caracas for the first time since ties were severed in 2019. The decision marks a significant step in the cooperation framework that has emerged between the two governments following the...
Iowa man charged with aggravated murder in the deaths of 3 women found in Utah
TORREY, Utah — An Iowa man faces three counts of aggravated murder in southern Utah where authorities said Thursday that he killed a woman, stole her vehicle and drove it to a nearby trailhead where he killed two more women before fleeing in one of their vehicles. The series of...
Mother of 2 girls found in shallow graves in Cleveland charged with murder
CLEVELAND — The mother of two young girls found buried inside suitcases in Cleveland was charged Thursday with two counts of aggravated murder, police said. Aliyah Henderson, 28, is accused of killing Mila Chatman and Amor Wilson, whose remains were recovered after a dog walker led authorities to the suitcases...
Study suggests Trump’s unproven autism claims influenced care
Last year, President Donald Trump told pregnant women not to take Tylenol as he promoted unproven ties between the fever reducer and autism and touted an old generic drug as a treatment for the developmental condition. For nearly three months after that, new research found, Tylenol orders for pregnant women...
Justice Department publishes missing Epstein files involving uncorroborated claim about Trump
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday released additional Jeffrey Epstein files involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Donald Trump that the department said had been mistakenly withheld during an earlier review. The department said last week that it was working to determine if any records were...
Poll: Pa. voters have a more favorable opinion of Shapiro than Trump
Gov. Josh Shapiro remains more popular with Pennsylvania voters than President Donald Trump, according to a poll released Thursday. Half of Pennsylvania’s registered voters believe Shapiro is doing an “excellent” or “good” job in the state’s highest office, while 44% rate his performance as “fair” or “poor,” the Franklin &...
Panel reviewing Trump’s White House ballroom project gets deluge of public criticism
WASHINGTON — A federal panel reviewing President Donald Trump’s plans to build a ballroom at the White House got an earful Thursday from members of the public. Most speakers said they opposed the project and criticized it as too big and unnecessary. Only one of the 28 people who addressed...
U.S. Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress, postmaster says
The U.S. Postal Service will run out of cash within a year unless Congress lifts a decades-old cap and allows the agency to borrow more money, the new postmaster general warned in an interview. If it doesn’t, the Postal Service might not be able to pay its employees or vendors...
House narrowly rejects Iran war powers resolution in early test of Trump’s strategy
WASHINGTON — The House narrowly rejected a war powers resolution Thursday to halt President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iran, an early sign of unease in Congress over the rapidly widening conflict that is reordering U.S. priorities at home and abroad. It’s the second vote in as many days, after the...
Capitol rioter who was pardoned by Trump gets life sentence for molesting 2 children in Florida
WASHINGTON — A Florida handyman who was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison for molesting two children had been convicted of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but was pardoned by President Donald Trump. Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, is among several Jan. 6 defendants who have been charged...
Montana senator helps officers forcibly remove protesting veteran from hearingVideo
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., helped Capitol Police officers forcibly remove an anti-war protester from a Senate hearing in a physical struggle that was captured on video. The protester, Brian McGinnis, a Marine Corps veteran and a Green Party candidate for Senate in North Carolina, said on social media that his...
More than 20 states sue over new global tariffs Trump imposed after his stinging Supreme Court loss
WASHINGTON — Some two dozen states challenged President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs on Thursday, filing a lawsuit over import taxes he imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court. The Democratic attorneys general and governors in the lawsuit argue that Trump is overstepping his power with planned 15%...
House Republican leaders urge Tony Gonzales to end reelection bid after he admitted to affair with aide
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership are calling for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas to withdraw from his reelection race after he admitted having an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide. The Republican leadership announced its decision Thursday, a day...
Intense Israeli strikes target Iran and Lebanon as U.S. warns bombardment to ‘surge dramatically’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Intense Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon early Friday as the U.S. apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republic’s fleet of warships. Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East at the end...