The Spectrum & Daily News
Next round of Iran peace talks on hold
Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire that was set to begin at 4 p.m. local time June 19 after escalating violence between Israel and Lebanon complicated President Donald Trump’s efforts to reach a final peace agreement with Iran. Still, the next...
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Juneteenth pioneer, 99, shares memories, advice
Opal Lee has held many titles in her nearly 100 years – mother, grandmother, teacher, activist. But she’s most heralded as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” the woman behind the momentum to federally recognize the holiday. This Juneteenth marks 161...
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Many Americans think nation’s future is grim
WASHINGTON – As the United States approaches its 250th birthday next month, about 2 out of 5 Americans do not believe it will endure another 250 years beyond that, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that highlighted deep divisions over how the nation...
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Trump: Nuclear ban part of Iran deal
President Donald Trump said June 16 that a secret peace agreement with Iran, the text of which has not been released, dictates that Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. A preliminary agreement that was announced last weekend promises...
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U.S. deal with Iran leaves uncertainty
The United States and Iran were set to begin a week of high-stakes diplomacy after announcing on June 14 a framework deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a preliminary agreement that has already pushed oil prices lower but leaves the...
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WINDS OF CHANGE
The United States is in a bizarre situation in 2026: It’s facing a looming energy shortage, yet the Trump administration is making deals to pay offshore wind developers nearly $2 billion in taxpayer money to walk away from energy projects. These...
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Trump’s health a growing concern
President Donald Trump wanted everyone to know he didn’t fall asleep on the job. Following a lengthy Cabinet meeting in December during which the president closed his eyes for stretches, giving the appearance he was dozing, Trump offered Cabinet...
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Views split on White House UFC event
It was 2001, and mixed martial arts fighting was on the ropes. Banned in 36 states, booted from cable operators, derided as “human cockfighting” – it was such an outcast sport that it traded hands for $2 million. A song. The new owners of Ultimate...
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Trump says he aims to hit Iran ‘very hard’
President Donald Trump on June 10 launched a new round of strikes on Iran and promised June 11 to again strike the country “very hard tonight,” raising fears of a return to all-out war. In a social media post, Trump said that along with new strikes on...
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Israel, Iran halt retaliatory attacks
Iran on June 8 announced a suspension of military operations against Israel after the two countries traded strikes for the first time since April, threatening a fragile ceasefire and diplomatic efforts to end the monthslong war. The unified command of...
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Big water problems need big solutions
When a drought turns into an urban water crisis, a city’s first step is often to limit lawn watering and launch a campaign to encourage everyone to conserve. It might raise water-use rates or offer incentives for installing lowflow devices. • While...
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Lawsuit alleges injury from monitor
INDIANAPOLIS – A few days after immigration officials placed a GPS monitoring device on the man’s left ankle, his leg started to swell. The bracelet gripped so tightly that it restricted blood flow. Discomfort escalated to pain. It kept him awake at...
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Panel holds hearing on the Trump arch
A second federal commission reviewing President Donald Trump’s plan to build a 250-foot arch in Washington, DC, with a 60-foot-tall gilded, winged Lady Liberty figure has been deluged with negative comments from the public. As the National Capital...
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House votes to end war with Iran
In a severe political blow to President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives on June 3 voted for the first time to end the war with Iran. The 215-208 vote, which was mostly symbolic, marked a new period of congressional unease with the conflict...
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AI partners could upend human relationships
When the movie “Her” debuted in 2013, its plot felt like science fiction. The protagonist, Theodore, is a jaded man with no vigor for life. He comes alive after talking daily with his artificial intelligence chatbot, Samantha, with whom he eventually...
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Trump, Netanyahu clash over Lebanon, Iran talks
President Donald Trump lit into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an expletive-laden call on June 1, multiple news outlets reported, after Iran threatened to pull out of peace talks with the United States over strikes on Hezbollah in...
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Pope’s encyclical on AI wins praise
What are humans worth when the work and thoughts they produce threaten to be replicated by technological algorithms? And what is artificial intelligence worth if in the end it does not benefit humanity? • With his first major document as head of the...
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Ads for GLP-1 drugs flooding the internet
If you watched the Super Bowl in 2026, you likely saw Serena Williams share her weight-loss journey on GLP-1 medications in a commercial. • Like millions of others around the country, if you’ve ever considered taking one of these drugs, you probably...
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Trump official tried to ban half of voting machines
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s election-security czar last year sought to ban voting machines used in more than half of states by asking whether the Commerce Department could declare their components national-security risks, according to two...
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Judge blocks Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
WASHINGTON – A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from setting up a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people the Justice Department deems were investigated improperly. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia ordered the...
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Strikes test ceasefire
DUBAI – Iran targeted a U.S. air base in Kuwait on May 28 after the United States struck what Washington described as an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz and President Donald Trump rejected a reported compromise deal with Tehran. The...
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NY Fed finds rise in food insecurity
NEW YORK – Food-related challenges are surging for America’s least well-off residents, and that likely explains the marked rise in a sour consumer mood despite data showing the economy is overall doing pretty well, new research from the Federal Reserve...
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Trump: Blockade stays until deal signed
President Donald Trump on May 24 said he has told his diplomatic representatives not to rush into a deal with Iran because “time is on our side,” less than a day after announcing that an agreement with Tehran had been largely negotiated. “The Blockade...
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Why many feel bad about the economy
As the impacts from the Iran war spilled over into everyday life, more Americans have said they are worse off today than at most any point in the last 25 years. More than half – 55% – say their financial situation is deteriorating, according to a new...
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Trade court rules against tariff in defeat for Trump
A federal court dealt another blow to President Donald Trump’s trade agenda May 7, ruling against a 10% global tariff the president imposed earlier this year to replace tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court. A panel of judges for the Court of...
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Charting his own path
It’s been nearly 1,000 years since King Henry IV stood barefoot in the Italian snow to beg forgiveness after clashes with Pope Gregory VII, and over two centuries since Napoleon imprisoned Pope Pius VII in France. Now, a battle is underway between a...
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Memorandum hints at possible U.S.-Iran deal
President Donald Trump said Iran could either agree to a framework for peace talks or bombing would resume, after he had paused the military operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said on social media the war that began Feb. 28, with a...
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U.S. says ships sailed through strait
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on May 5 said two U.S. commercial ships and two Navy destroyers sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, embarrassing Iranians who claimed the key waterway was closed and demonstrating it is safe to pass while a blockade of...
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U.S. sinks boats in Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. military sunk six Iranian boats on May 4, a military official said, as the United Arab Emirates reported missile fire and drone attacks from Iran, testing a weekslong ceasefire amid Washington’s attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Adm....
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Microplastics could be overestimated
It seems like every day a new study finds tiny plastic particles called microplastics where they should not be: in our bodies and our food, water and air. • Yet finding and identifying microplastics is extremely challenging, especially given their...
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States fighting DOJ over voter data access
Anthony Nel was surprised when his voter registration was revoked in Texas after he cast an early ballot for the November 2025 election. The Denton County resident was born in South Africa in 1996 and became a U.S. citizen in 2013 when his parents...
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U.S. to close its flagship Gaza mission
TEL AVIV – A U.S. military-run center near Gaza that critics say failed in its mission to monitor the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and boost aid flows to besieged Palestinians is set to be shut by the Trump administration, sources familiar with the matter...
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Royal visit unlikely to mend differences
In one sign of how much the United Kingdom has worried over the relationship between the two countries, its ambassador to the United States told a group of students in February that the only country that has a “special relationship” with the United...
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Congress grills Hegseth on Iran war
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth faced questions on the war with Iran from Congress for the first time since the two-month conflict began, as President Donald Trump warned the Middle Eastern country to “get smart soon” and make a deal that meets U.S....
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Trump claims Iran is breaking down
President Donald Trump on April 28 said Iranian officials have warned the country is in a state of collapse and want a U.S. blockade lifted, as the White House weighs a peace offer from Iran that seeks to end the two-month war. “Iran has just informed...
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Food aid doesn’t make people loafers
Millie Morales believes in hard work. • “I feel that as an American citizen, we all have a great opportunity to be able to improve our life,” the 58-year-old woman explained in an interview I conducted with her in 2025. “Are you willing to put in the...
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Blanche: Trump ‘likely’ targeted in shooting
WASHINGTON – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on April 26 said the gunman who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner appears to have targeted President Donald Trump and officials in his administration. “It does appear...
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After his firing, immigration judge set off on migrant trail
Five months after he was fired as a U.S. immigration judge, Jeremiah Johnson found himself rumbling into the highlands of Guatemala on a crowded bus, a bouquet of flowers in hand. His unusual, if poetic, mission: to visit relatives of an indigenous...
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Lebanon ceasefire extended by 3 weeks
Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire by three weeks, President Donald Trump announced, though reports of salvos continued between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon. Also continuing was Trump’s blockade against commercial shipping to...
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Tensions escalate in Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump’s ceasefire with Iran remained in place April 23 as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continued and negotiations between Lebanon and Israel were expected to resume in Washington.
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Iran seizes 2 ships in Strait of Hormuz
Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway, after President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire “until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified...
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Trump says he’s extending ceasefire
With the U.S.-Iran ceasefire set to expire, President Donald Trump said he did not want to extend the temporary truce, and prospects of more peace talks appeared uncertain. “I don’t want to do that,” Trump told CNBC in an April 21 interview, adding...
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Answers sought after Louisiana massacre
SHREVEPORT, LA – Residents of this historic riverfront city remained shaken a day after a gunman opened fire April 19 and killed eight children in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since January 2024. They were looking for explanations – and...
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Latino vote shifting away from Trump, GOP
In the 2024 election, President Donald Trump dramatically improved his performance among nearly all groups of voters from four years earlier. Trump’s growth among Hispanic voters was especially notable, increasing by more than 10 points from 2020 to...
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Democrats hoping gas prices influence 2026 elections
As rising gas prices force Americans to change their spending habits, Democrats are revving their 2026 midterm messaging on the potentially potent issue. The last time the average retail price to fill up went over $4 a gallon was August 2022....
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National Mall to get Freedom 250 makeover
WASHINGTON – Livestock competitions, rodeo events and a 110-foot Ferris wheel are coming to the National Mall this summer as part of a White Housebacked, “World’s Fair-style” celebration marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. The 16-day event, dubbed...
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Blockade continues on Iranian ports
President Donald Trump announced that Lebanon and Israel agreed to a 10day ceasefire. In a post on social media, Trump said he spoke with the two leaders, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who both agreed to...
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Iranians pledge to retaliate for blockade
Iran on April 15 vowed to retaliate against the U.S. naval blockade by halting all trade in the Persian Gulf region as an intensifying standoff threatens to upend a delicate twoweek ceasefire between the warring nations. Ali Abdollahi, leader of...
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Lebanon, Israel ‘on the same side’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted talks between envoys from Lebanon and Israel on April 14 in Washington, the first diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said the Israeli and Lebanese...
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Why third partie e perform best in Northeast U.S.
A majority of Americans say they are “frustrated” or “angry” – or both – with Republicans and Democrats, according to the Pew Research Center. But that rarely translates into support for independent or third-party candidates. One exception has been in...
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U.S. to blockade strait, Trump says
A day after failed peace negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy will start blockading the Strait of Hormuz. In back-to-back social media posts on April 12, Trump said the United States...
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Suit filed over DOJ memo
The nation’s largest organization of historians and a government watchdog group are suing President Donald Trump and his administration over the preservation of presidential records. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, on April 6,...
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Iran sets conditions for further talks with U.S.
Iran vowed on April 10 not to participate in negotiations unless a ceasefire takes hold in Lebanon and Iran’s assets are unfrozen, throwing doubt over high-stakes peace talks set to begin the following day in Pakistan. Iran’s parliamentary speaker,...
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U.S.-Iran ceasefire on tenuous ground
President Donald Trump’s ceasefire with Iran was on tenuous ground on April 9 after Israel launched its deadliest day of strikes on Lebanon yet and Tehran vowed not to desert its allies. A day after announcing the Iran war ceasefire, Trump took to...
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U.S. and Iran declare victory with ceasefire
A two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is underway following an eleventh-hour deal struck just before a deadline imposed by President Donald Trump, who threatened to wipe out a “whole civilization” if Iran did not capitulate to U.S....
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Artemis II completes historic flyby of moon
The Artemis II astronauts are on their way home, leaving the moon in the rearview mirror after becoming the first humans in more than 50 years to travel near Earth’s celestial neighbor, setting an alltime distance record and completing the most...
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Public defender shortage ripples across legal system
The Oregon Supreme Court on Feb. 5 issued a ruling that will have a wide impact. More than 1,400 criminal cases had to be dismissed, the justices ruled, due to lack of adequate counsel available for defendants. Like other states, Oregon must provide...
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Trump issues more threats against Iran
President Donald Trump took to social media on April 5 to applaud the U.S. military’s rescue of the second airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran – and to issue an expletive-laden threat against the Middle Eastern nation to reopen the Strait...
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Americans impacted as Iran war drags on
It’s been over a month since the United States and Israel jointly began the Iran war, and Brenna Boyde believes President Donald Trump’s repeated promises to end it have fallen flat. Boyde is one of a trio of Americans, of different political...
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