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Honor the plumbers

There are many things in American life that deserve our suspicion and contempt, but plumbers aren't among them. Evidently, Jimmy Kimmel disagrees. The late-night host took a shot at newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who used to run a plumbing ...

GOP says they have a path toward ending DHS shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced Wednesday what they are calling a path forward to fully funding the Department of Homeland Security and will try to end a record partial government shutdown. They said in a joint statement that "in ...

Almanac for April 2, 2026

Today is Thursday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2026. There are 273 days left in the year. Today in history: In 2005, John Paul II, the Polish pope born Karol Józef Wojtyła, died in his Vatican apartment at age 84. The first non-Italian pope in over 450 years, John Paul II became one of the most influential leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries while playing a crucial role in the fall of communism in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Also on this date: In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint. In 1865, Confederate ...

Lessons from the Vietnam War for Iran

We Americans are an impatient lot. If we must engage in warfare, we would prefer it be wrapped up in weeks, not months, and certainly not years like World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In those wars we had the draft, so more Americans were engaged in fighting and watching their progress, or lack ...

Judge blocks Trump order to end NPR, PBS funding

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing the First Amendment, a federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, two media entities that the White ...

Almanac for April 1, 2026

Today is Wednesday, April 1, the 91st day of 2026. There are 274 days left in the year. This is April Fool's Day. Today in history: In 1945, American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa during World War II. (U.S. forces succeeded in capturing the Japanese island on June 22 after a battle in which more than 240,000 died, including as many as 150,000 Okinawan civilians.) Also on this date: In 1924, Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. (Hitler would serve just nine months of the sentence, during which time ...