1gridNATION
Lawmakers fight to stop the Trump administration’s dismantling of a $386M ocean observatory project
SEATTLE | A group of Democratic senators and one Republican, as well as two Democratic House committees, sent letters Monday to the National Science Foundation asking it to reverse course on its plan to dismantle a sprawling ocean monitoring network, with House lawmakers going further and accusing the agency of acting illegally. The Ocean Observatories […]
UK bans under-16s from using social media apps including TikTok and YouTube
LONDON | Britain will ban children aged under 16 from using a range of social media apps, including Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, to protect them from harmful content and excessive screen time, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday. The plan was met with mixed reaction, with some praising Starmer for taking action and others questioning […]
Drone strikes kill over 1,000 civilians in Sudan in the first 5 months of 2026, UN rights chief says
CAIRO | Drone strikes killed more than 1,000 civilians in war-torn Sudan in the first five months of 2026, a senior United Nations official said Monday as the unmanned aerial vehicles turn the conflict deadlier for civilians. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said his office has documented a “sharp increase” in drone […]
Lights! Camera! Cage match! The White House lawn’s Octagon is ready for Trump’s 80th birthday bash
WASHINGTON | It looks from afar more UFO than UFC. Maybe it’s the kind of contraption that has carried space aliens to the White House to force a meeting with America’s leader. But come closer and you’ll see the contours of the eight-sided cage, 30 feet (9 meters) in diameter and shaped, with careful precision, […]
An ancient whale graveyard in the Indian Ocean teems with life
NEW YORK | Scientists have unearthed communities of marine life — including jellyfish, tubeworms and brittle stars — thriving on a millions-year-old whale graveyard. These graveyards form when whale carcasses fall to the sea floor, becoming a sustaining snack for nearby critters. This one, located up to 23,000 feet (7 kilometers) below the surface of […]
House vote to extend FISA spy tool fails and it could lapse as Friday deadline looms
WASHINGTON | A rare lapse in a law that allows the United States to gather intelligence abroad appears likely after the House failed on Thursday to temporarily extend the program, in a protest of President Donald Trump ‘s refusal to name a permanent head of the nation’s intelligence agencies. Trump has doubled down on his […]
UK defense secretary resigns, saying the government is not willing to spend enough on the military
LONDON | U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey unexpectedly quit on Thursday, saying the government is unwilling to spend enough on the military at a time of “rising threats.” The resignation dealt another blow to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is already facing demands from Labour colleagues to step down. Healey told Starmer in a […]
Opening of Canada-US bridge that Trump threatened to block is delayed over unresolved ‘issues’
WASHINGTON | The opening of a Canadian-U.S. bridge across the Detroit River that President Donald Trump previously threatened to block was delayed on Thursday due to “outstanding issues.” In a statement released before a Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bridge, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority said that “Canada and the United States have agreed to delay […]
Police blast water cannons at Belfast protesters as unrest flares again after stabbing
BELFAST, Northern Ireland | Police blasted water cannons Wednesday at protesters in Northern Ireland who set small fires and hurled bricks, rocks and bottles at them during a second night of violence over a brutal stabbing on a Belfast street. Demonstrators wearing masks tore bricks from the walls outside homes and smashed sidewalks with sledgehammers […]
Judge considers arguments in challenge to New Mexico’s universal childcare program
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. | A New Mexico judge is scheduled Thursday to consider arguments in a challenge to the state’s fledgling universal childcare program, an ambitious and closely watched effort to eliminate daycare costs for all working families. A lawsuit brought by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Rodriguez and other plaintiffs challenges the process used by […]