Current News
/ArcaMax
A brief history of presidential inaugural speeches, from George Washington to today
The only constitutionally mandated event on Inauguration Day is for the president-elect to take the oath of office. But on the first Inauguration Day, in 1789, George Washington did something else.
He gave a speech.
Every president since has followed his example and delivered an inaugural address as part of the national ...Read more
Larry Krasner, Kensington, the scrapped Sixers arena − and other key concerns that will shape Philly politics in 2025
Campus protests. Homeless encampment clearings. Significant decreases in shootings, homicides and overdose deaths. Protests to “Save Chinatown.” A mass shooting at a SEPTA bus stop. Illegal car meetups. City workers called back to the office. A SEPTA strike averted.
These were just some of the headlines that dominated Philadelphia...Read more
Job of homeland security secretary is to adapt almost continuously to pressures from the department, the public and the world at large
The secretary of homeland security is the newest permanent member of the president’s Cabinet, overseeing the sprawling agencies and missions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and an annual budget exceeding US$62.2 billion.
Overall, the department – and the secretary who leads it – is charged with protecting the nation ...Read more
The power of friendship: How a letter helped create an American bestseller about antisemitism
Eighty years ago, the Jewish American novelist Laura Z. Hobson was contemplating her next writerly move and was seeking a little help from her friends.
“Gentleman’s Agreement,” the story she was drafting, felt like a bold idea. Maybe too bold. In her vision for the novel, reporter Phil Green is assigned to write an article about...Read more
Vaccine hesitancy among pet owners is growing – a public health expert explains why that matters
When most people think about vaccines, they typically think about humans: Experts warn that when large numbers of people are unvaccinated, it can lead to severe consequences, including disease outbreaks and higher rates of illness and death, particularly among the most vulnerable. The economic costs to society can also be substantial.
...Read more
Terrorist groups respond to verbal attacks and slights by governments with more violence against civilians
After an Islamic State group-inspired attack in New Orleans killed 14 people on New Year’s Day 2025, President Joe Biden warned that terrorists would find “no safe harbor” in the U.S.
Governments often condemn terrorist groups in this way, as well as making threats and engaging in what we call “verbal attacks.”
But ...Read more
4 reasons why the US might want to buy Greenland – if it were for sale, which it isn’t
President-elect Donald Trump has sparked diplomatic controversy by suggesting the U.S. needs to acquire Greenland for reasons of “national security” and refusing to definitively rule out using military force to do so. Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, “is not for sale,” said Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen....Read more
Why forecasters are so alarmed about new extreme winds hitting Southern California
LOS ANGELES — An unprecedented fourth "particularly dangerous situation" fire weather warning took effect Tuesday morning and is expected last through Wednesday.
The National Weather Service reserves the designation for signifying an extreme red flag warning, when especially hazardous fire weather conditions are expected.
During each of the...Read more
Special counsel Jack Smith report says Trump would've been convicted in Jan. 6 election interference case
President-elect Donald Trump would have been tried and convicted of election interference in the federal Jan. 6 case if he hadn’t escaped prosecution by winning reelection, special counsel Jack Smith said in his final report released after midnight Tuesday.
“But for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office ...Read more
It's a tense wait for fire refugees kept from their neighborhoods. The breakfast club helps
LOS ANGELES — Far Farshad's favorite part of the day is breakfast — and it has nothing to do with the food.
Since he and his sister Mitra fled the Palisades fire last week with little more than the clothes on their back, Far has been in a fog. He thinks the house where he and Mitra have lived for 47 years, at the end of a cul-de-sac that ...Read more
Trump and Biden say Israel and Hamas are nearing a Gaza ceasefire deal
Donald Trump and Joe Biden both said they are optimistic a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could be agreed within days, pausing the devastating war in Gaza that’s raged for more than 15 months.
“We are very close to getting it done,” Trump, who succeeds Biden as U.S. president on Jan. 20, said Monday in an interview with Newsmax. “I ...Read more
Family members of man found dead in pillar sue ex-deputy they allege left him there
LOS ANGELES — The family of a man who was found dead outside a Lancaster supermarket in 2018 sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department last week, alleging that deputies knew 35-year-old Raymundo Rivera had become trapped in a pillar and left him there to die.
For six years, the complaint said, Rivera's family thought his death was an ...Read more
NYPD commanders knew cop busted in random New Jersey shooting was on a downward spiral
NEW YORK — NYPD Officer Hieu Tran’s downward spiral into depression and heavy drinking began long before he inexplicably shot and paralyzed a young businessman last May during a random traffic encounter on a road in South Jersey, according to sources and court records reviewed by the News.
Tran, 27, now sits accused in a cell in the Camden ...Read more
Republican Michigan Senate Leader Aric Nesbitt jumps into 2026 race for governor
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt announced Tuesday morning he'll seek the Republican nomination for governor in 2026, kicking off what could be a crowded GOP primary race.
Twenty-one months before the November 2026 election, Nesbitt, a Porter Township resident and veteran of the state Legislature, became the first...Read more
Supreme Court to hear arguments on porn age verification law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday over a Texas law that requires pornography websites to verify the ages of their visitors, a case over salacious content that might influence the power of Congress and states to regulate minors’ access to the internet.
In Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxton, a group of ...Read more
DELETED: Ukraine strikes Russian energy, military facilities overnight
This story has been deleted by the news provider.
Ukraine strikes Russian energy, military facilities overnight
Swarms of Ukrainian drones attacked energy and military facilities across central Russia and the Volga region overnight, according to a Ukrainian Security Service official.
Drones targeted two chemical plants in the Tula and Bryansk regions, hit an ammunition warehouse at the Engels airfield in the Saratov region and set Rosneft PJSC’s ...Read more
Eaton fire victim must start over. He begins by volunteering with the people who helped him
LOS ANGELES — Less than a week ago, Fernando Villaluna lost nearly everything.
The 72-year-old was startled awake about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday by his landlord banging on his door. An adjacent home on West Las Flores Drive was engulfed by the Eaton fire.
He grabbed a small bag with his essential documents and left his Altadena rental cottage, ...Read more
It's a girl! Boston Mayor Michelle Wu gives birth to healthy baby girl
BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has given birth to a healthy baby girl.
In a statement this morning, a spokesperson for the City of Boston said, “Yesterday at 2pm, Mayor Wu and her husband Conor welcomed Baby Mira Wu Pewarski—arriving at 8lbs, 4oz and 20 inches—to their family and to Boston. Mom and baby are in good health, and the ...Read more
With her city in flames, LA Mayor Karen Bass' political future hangs in the balance
LOS ANGELES — Apocalyptic fires had been ravaging Los Angeles for more than 24 hours when Mayor Karen Bass stepped off a plane and into a now-viral encounter that may come to define her mayoralty.
As an Irish reporter who happened to be on her flight hurled questions at her, the mayor of the nation’s second-largest metropolis stood silent ...Read more
Popular Stories
- With her city in flames, LA Mayor Karen Bass' political future hangs in the balance
- Trump's return puts Medicaid on the chopping block
- Parkinson's tremors disappear with use of machine that sends heat waves to the brain
- Analysis: Bad luck and a family matter -- how a recent trip embodied Biden's shaky term
- Mass. Gov. Maura Healey says she'll move to do away with renter-paid broker fees
Comics
