James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA’s double helix, dead at 97
James D. Watson, the brilliant but controversial American biologist whose 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, the molecule of heredity, ushered in the age of genetics and provided the foundation for the biotechnology revolution of the late 20th century, has died at the age of 97. His death was...
Trump meets Hungary’s Orban to discuss Russian oil, economic cooperation
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to the White House on Friday for a discussion about Hungary’s reliance on Russian oil at a time when Trump has been working to wean nations off of it. Orban, a long-time Trump ally, arrived at the White House...
Trump administration seeks to block food aid funding order
The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to block a judge’s order that the U.S. Department of Agriculture provide full November food stamp benefits to 42 million low-income Americans. U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, R.I., on Thursday ordered the payout by Friday, accusing the administration of withholding...
U.S. government launches program to lower Medicaid drug prices
The U.S. government on Thursday unveiled a new program to cut prescription drug costs for Medicaid patients by tying prices to those paid in other countries. The announcement follows previous agreements between the White House and pharmaceutical companies to reduce drug prices for Americans, who often pay significantly more for...
Iranian plot to kill Israel’s ambassador to Mexico contained, U.S. official says
WASHINGTON — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to assassinate Israel’s ambassador to Mexico starting late last year, but the effort was contained and there is no current threat, a U.S. official said on Friday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plot against the ambassador, Einat Kranz...
U.S. Army to buy 1 million drones, in major acquisition ramp-up
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army aims to buy at least a million drones in the next two to three years and could acquire anywhere from a half million drones to millions of them annually in the years that follow, U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said. Driscoll detailed the major ramp-up...
Farmers’ Almanac announces last edition after over 200 years of publishing
The iconic and beloved Farmers’ Almanac, a guide to living in harmony with nature’s rhythm that has been published for two centuries, has reached its final season. The Lewiston, Maine-based company that produces the Almanac announced Thursday that the 2026 edition would be its last after it began publishing annually...
Trump loyalist Elise Stefanik to challenge Hochul for New York governor
Elise Stefanik plans to announce her bid for governor of New York on Friday, according to people with knowledge of the decision, pitting her against incumbent Kathy Hochul in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican candidate to the position since 2002. Stefanik, the 41-year-old representative for an upstate New...
Airlines cut hundreds of flights amid FAA shutdown directiveVideo
WASHINGTON — U.S. airlines on Friday scrambled to cut 4% of flights at 40 major airports after the government imposed an unprecedented cut to air travel citing air traffic control safety concerns because of a record-setting government shutdown. The cuts, which began at 6 a.m., include about 700 flights from...
Supreme Court allows Trump’s passport policy targeting transgender people
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Donald Trump’s administration to bar applicants for U.S. passports from designating the sex reflecting their gender identities on the document, part of the Republican president’s crackdown on the rights of transgender Americans. The court granted the Justice Department’s request to lift a judge’s order...
Horrific ‘Murder in a Choir Loft’ cold case now solved, investigators say
Carol Ann Dougherty was on her way to meet friends at the library in her small Pennsylvania hometown on an October day in 1962. The 9-year-old never made it there. She stopped, apparently to say a short prayer at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, parking her bicycle outside. When she...
Elon Musk’s $1 trillion Tesla pay plan wins shareholder approval
SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla CEO Elon Musk won shareholder approval on Thursday for the largest corporate pay package in history as investors endorsed his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut. The proposal was approved with over 75% support, and Musk bounded to the stage...
Washington sandwich-thrower cleared of assaulting federal agent
WASHINGTON — A man who hurled a sandwich at a federal agent in a fit of fury over President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., was cleared on Thursday of a misdemeanor assault charge. Sean Dunn, a former U.S. Justice Department staffer, was found not guilty of assaulting...
Trump administration must fully fund food aid benefits by Friday, federal judge rules
A federal judge on Thursday ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to fully fund food aid for 42 million low-income Americans in November by Friday, blocking its plan to only provide reduced benefits during the government shutdown. U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island accused the administration of withholding...
Afghanistan and Pakistan exchange fire as peace talks begin
ISLAMABAD/KABUL — Afghan and Pakistani troops briefly exchanged fire along their shared border on Thursday, both nations said, on the same day talks to find a lasting peace restarted in Istanbul. Each nation blamed the other for starting the exchange of gunfire near Spin Boldak, an Afghan border town toward...
Trump expands U.S. critical minerals list to include copper, metallurgical coal
The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a new list of critical minerals it deems essential to the U.S. economy and national security, adding copper, which is vital to electric vehicles, power grids, and data centers, as well as metallurgical coal, which is used to make coke. The Interior Department’s list...
Trump gets new review of New York criminal hush money case
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court Thursday said President Donald Trump deserves another chance to show his New York state hush money criminal case belonged in federal court, providing a fresh opportunity for the U.S. president to try to erase his conviction. Trump has argued that presidents are immune...
People from South Sudan will lose temporary U.S. legal status
JUBA, South Sudan — The United States is terminating South Sudan’s designation for temporary protected status, which for years allowed people from the East African country to remain in the U.S. legally and escape armed conflict back home. The termination will be effective Jan. 5, the Department of Homeland Security...
Nancy Pelosi won’t seek reelection, ending her storied career in U.S. House
WASHINGTON — Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi will not seek reelection to the U.S. House, bringing to a close her storied career as not only the first woman in the speaker’s office but arguably the most powerful in American politics. Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for nearly 40 years, announced...
Texas seeks to block Kenvue dividend amid Tylenol lawsuit
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday asked a state judge to block Kenvue from paying a nearly $400 million shareholder dividend this month, after suing the drugmaker for allegedly concealing risks to children from the use of Tylenol by pregnant women. The Oct. 28 lawsuit against Kenvue and its...
U.S. airlines scramble to rework schedules as government orders flight cuts
U.S. airlines were scrambling on Thursday to rework schedules and fielding a flood of customer queries after the U.S. ordered flight cuts at some of the nation’s busiest airports, the latest travel disruption from the prolonged government shutdown. On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he would order steep cuts...
Groping of Mexico’s president puts violence against women in spotlight
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday she filed a complaint against a man who groped her and tried to kiss her as she walked between meetings in the capital city, a day after a video of the incident went viral. “If this happens to the president, where...
France says EU must investigate Shein over sex dolls, weapons
PARIS — The European Union must take action against Shein, French government officials said on Thursday, saying the Chinese online retailer was in breach of the bloc’s regulations due to the sale of child-like sex dolls and banned weapons on its marketplace. France moved to ban Shein over the illicit...
U.S. military to establish presence at Damascus airbase, sources say
AMMAN/DAMASCUS — The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The U.S. plans for the presence in the Syrian capital, which...
Federal judge in Chicago orders clean toilets, access to lawyers for immigration detainees
CHICAGO — A federal judge in Chicago ordered federal officials to improve conditions for detainees at a suburban Chicago immigration facility, including access to clean toilets, after a lawsuit alleged the conditions were unconstitutional and inhumane. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman granted the detainees’ request for a temporary restraining order...
