INTERNACIONAL
Daylight Savings: It’s about the sunlight
It’s not about the math.
But it is about the sunlight.
«My goal is just to make sure people get more sunshine,» said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
«I am fond of saying you can’t shovel sunshine,» said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex.
«The American people love having an extra hour of sunlight,» said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
‘STOP THE CLOCK’: GOP, DEMS COME TOGETHER TO END DAYLIGHT SAVING OVER HEALTH, ECONOMIC RISKS
Tax day is upon us. So millions of Americans are hoping they score a refund from the federal government.
And millions of Americans are hoping Washington can help them pocket an extra hour of daylight too.
This is why Congress is trying to maximize the sun.
President Trump recently opined «the House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day,» emphatically dubbing Daylight Saving Time «A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!» (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Some lawmakers believe it’s time to «lock the clock.» Either choosing Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time. But the twice-a-year clock switching may be living on borrowed time.
That’s why the Senate Commerce Committee held the first Congressional hearing on the biannual time change for the first time in three years last week.
«We need to stop the clock. We need to find a solution and stick with it,» said Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del. «People across our country are tired of the constant cycle of falling back and springing forward. I mean, who hasn’t forgotten to change their clock on their microwave. I think mine is still on the wrong time.»
WE LIVE IN TIME: DAYLIGHT SAVINGS AND THE ‘TIME LORDS’ OF CONGRESS
President Trump has weighed in several times in opposition to the clock switching – both during this term in office and during his previous tenure.
In March, the President called it a «50-50 issue.» But Mr. Trump again wrinkled the time conversation with a post on Truth Social. Despite not taking a stand when the U.S. «sprang forward,» President Trump was emphatic about what should happen now.
«The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day. Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!,» wrote the President.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has long been a proponent of ending the biannual clock change. (iStock | Getty Images)
Rick Scott has grappled with the time issue before. Scott served two terms as governor of Florida before entering the Senate. Scott signed a bill into law that would let the Sunshine State (go figure) opt out of the time change. A similar piece of legislation has bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.
Scott looked to the president’s lead.
«We have a great opportunity to finally get this done with President Trump on board to lock the clock,» said Scott.
But locking it an hour ahead? Or an hour behind? There’s little agreement.
TRUMP SAYS CONGRESS SHOULD PUSH ‘FOR MORE DAYLIGHT AT THE END OF A DAY’
The Senate voted to permanently park the U.S. on Daylight Saving Time in 2022. Secretary of State and then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., surprisingly advanced a bill without objection from any senator.
«Without objection, so ordered!» exclaimed former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., who presided over the Senate that day.
«Yes!» she declared, yanking her arms toward her like a coach who’s kicker just drilled a field goal late in the game.
Then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was able to advance a bill establishing permanent Daylight Savings in 2022 without objection from his colleagues. It subsequently died in the House. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
But the plan died in the House.
«The spring clock change to Daylight Saving Time is bad. But permanent Daylight Saving Time is worse,» testified Karin Johnson a Professor of Neurology at UMass Chan School of Medicine. «The later sunrises and sunsets of Daylight Saving Time lead to higher risks of chronic diseases, including but not limited to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and these outweigh the short term risks of what happens with the time change.»
Johnson also told senators that «year-round Standard Time is a natural, healthy choice promoting physical health, mental health performance and safety.»
CONGRESS DEBATES FUTURE OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Johnson argued that the U.S. should not «pick something that’s been tried and failed twice before.»
Johnson’s right. The U.S. has «sprung» forward to Daylight Saving Time – or its equivalent – on two separate occasions. In 1918, Congress voted for the nation to embrace Daylight Saving Time to conserve energy during World War I. Farmers pushed a repeal of Daylight Saving Time. So Congress undid it. President Woodrow Wilson vetoed the bill. But Congress overrode him. It’s one of only 112 successful presidential veto overrides by Congress in the history of the republic.
Lawmakers greenlighted the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act – triggering year-round Daylight Saving Time – in the mid 1970s. This was in response to the OPEC oil shocks. The nation was supposed to remain on Daylight Saving Time for two years. But the new time proved so unpopular that lawmakers unwound the clocks to Standard Time after only a few months.
Daylight Saving Time, in its current form, first became law during the Johnson administration. (Keystone/Getty Images)
However, permanent Daylight Saving Time has its advocates.
Jay Karen of the National Golf Course Owners Association told senators that shifting the clocks an hour ahead would prompt an extra 27 million rounds of golf on the links each year. Karen estimated that golf course owners would pocket an additional $1 billion.
«Americans overwhelmingly prefer evening recreation over early morning,» testified Karen.
But do you know who absolutely hates Daylight Saving Time?
Convicts!
A University of Washington study found that the single toughest sentencing day of the year is the Monday after we spring forward each March.
Blame it on cranky judges who lost an hour of sleep.
DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME: THERE OUGHTA BE A LAW
«Some people receive harsher sentences than they otherwise would,» said Scott Yates of the Lock the Clock Movement.
Justice may be blind. But it can certainly tell time.
Arizona and Hawaii don’t observe Daylight Saving Time.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., is leery of a nationwide fix. Two time zones cleave the Hoosier State.
«We have 12 counties in the western part of the state that are in the Central Time Zone,» said Young. «Maybe a one-size-fits-all national policy on time changes doesn’t take into account the regional differences that significantly impact daily life.»
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., represents a state that straddles two time zones. He’s naturally skeptical of a one-size-fits-all approach to the Daylight Savings issue. (Alex Wong)
It all hinges on location. Some people in the north and east will benefit for some of the year. But the sun will come up too early in the summer and set too early in the winter. Residents on the western ends of time zones seem to get more sunlight later in the year as well. But other locales? Not so much.
«Hello darkness, my old friend,» mused Cruz, channeling Simon & Garfunkel.
During the hearing, Cruz commented to a witness that «your time has expired.»
And that may be the case with the time change. But not unless Congress can agree what to do.
Even the name of the March time switch is contrived. It’s classic Washington spin. «Daylight Saving.» Lawmakers are essentially trying to convince the public they’re getting more of something – for free. But they’re not.
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There are only so many hours and minutes of sunlight in the day. Period. It’s always going to get too dark too early somewhere. And the sun will always come up too early somewhere. And even though Congress has a lot of clout, it certainly can’t control that.
Congress,Senate,Donald Trump
INTERNACIONAL
El Gobierno de Trump sacó una página web para culpar a China por el Covid: «Fuga de laboratorio»
La Casa Blanca eligió este viernes tensar aún más la cuerda de la relación con Beijing y acusó a China por la pandemia de coronavirus. «El verdadero origen del Covid», acusó el gobierno de Donald Trump al gigante asiático, mediante la construcción y publicación de una página web llamada «LabLeak» (algo así como «fuga del laboratorio»), la cual aduce trasladar las investigaciones del Congreso y otras instituciones estadounidenses.
«Si existieran pruebas de un origen natural, ya habrían aparecido. Pero no es el caso», acusó el gobierno norteamericano este viernes mediante su nueva página, un subdominio del sitio web de la Casa Blanca que se llama «Lab Leak, el verdadero origen del Covid».
Se refiere a China, que además de ser el primer país en que se reportaron casos de coronavirus a fines de 2019, este año se ve envuelta en una guerra comercial con los Estados Unidos, luego de que Donald Trump anunciara que incrementará los aranceles comerciales para productos hechos en el gigante asiático. Beijing, su contraparte, anunció lo mismo posteriormente y Trump volvió a retrucar.
La página que la Casa Blanca instituyó este viernes es, en realidad, una actualización del anterior apartado «covid.gov», que el gobierno estadounidense usaba hasta el 10 de abril pasado para dispensar distinta información sobre el coronavirus, cómo prevenirlo y cómo tratarlo.
Pero no sólo la página publicada por la Casa Blanca acusa a China por el origen, sino que rechaza el uso de barbijos y la implementación de medidas de distanciamiento social como políticas relevantes en materia sanitaria durante el transcurso de la pandemia.
Y cimenta su teoría en base a cinco argumentos a favor de la teoría de una fuga del laboratorio. Uno de ellos es que Wuhan, la ciudad donde se registró el primer caso conocido del virus, también alberga el «principal laboratorio de investigación del (virus respiratorio) SARS» de China y tiene un historial por investigar con «niveles inadecuados de bioseguridad». Es en esa línea que argumenta que «si existieran pruebas de un origen natural del virus, ya habrían aparecido. Pero no es el caso».
La hipótesis de una fuga de un laboratorio chino ha ganado cierta popularidad no sólo en la sociedad estadounidense, sino también en agencias gubernamentales de ese país, como el FBI, la CIA o el Departamento de Energía, que se han pronunciado a lo largo del transcurso de la pandemia y en la posterioridad en concordancia con esa hipótesis.
Con base en eso es que en la página web en cuestión, la Casa Blanca cita un informe de más de 200 páginas de extensión acerca de las investigaciones sobre el Covid, que provienen de esas y otras instituciones del gobierno norteamericano.
La nueva escalada de Trump contra China condice con el recrudecimiento de la guerra comercial entre ambos países, luego de que el gobierno estadounidense aumentara a más de 100 % los impuestos sobre ciertos productos made in China. Pero no sólo la tensión responde a motivos estrictamente comerciales, sino también a cuestiones geopolíticas.
Sin ir más lejos, Scott Bessent, secretario del Tesoro de Estados Unidos, se metió de lleno en esa contienda y desde Buenos Aires, donde afirmó que el gobierno de Trump quiere evitar que América Latina se convierta en la «nueva África», continente en el que el gobierno chino cobra más y más importancia cada año.
Además de comparar la situación argentina con la de Africa, Bessent vino especialmente informar que su país deseaba que los argentinos pusieran fin a su dependencia del financiamiento chino a través del millonario intercambio de monedas, conocido como swap.
La movida en varios frentes reveló una clara estrategia de armar grupos de aliados para aislar a China. Esta representa un triunfo de la mirada geopolítica de Bessent, el hombre más importante hoy en la guerra arancelaria de Trump, y quien logró pausar las bruscas subas de aranceles para empezar a negociar. Empezaron por Japón, seguirán por los vecinos asiáticos de China, siguen negociando con Canadá y México. Y al gobierno de Javier Milei también le toca un lugar.
Casa Blanca,Washington,Donald Trump,China,Coronavirus,Últimas Noticias
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content.
Here’s what’s happening…
-Gabbard announces RFK files released months after Trump’s order: ‘Light on the truth’
-Top Dem asks Noem how TSA will prevent ‘major disruptions’ as many travelers still lack REAL ID
-Biden’s vax-focused COVID-19 website obliterated by White House, replaced with ‘true origins’ virus guide
‘We are not the same’
The White House released a splitscreen image overnight to underscore the stark contrast between where Republicans and Democrats stand on illegal immigration.
One image featured distraught Angel Mom Patty Morin being comforted by President Trump in the Oval Office. Morin’s daughter, Rachel Morin, was savagely beaten, raped and killed in Maryland by an illegal migrant from El Salvador in 2023.
The other image showed Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., sitting and talking with deported illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, in El Salvador…Read more
The White House released a splitscreen image overnight to underscore the stark contrast between where Republicans and Democrats stand on illegal immigration. (The White House, Sen. Van Hollen via X)
Abrego Garcia
HOMELAND SECURITY REPORT: Kilmar Abrego Garcia suspected of human, labor trafficking in Homeland Security report
‘LOOKED LIKE A FOOL’: Trump calls Sen. Van Hollen a ‘fool’ after meeting with deported MS-13 suspect in El Salvador
White House
POLL POSITION: How Trump’s approval rating compares to his presidential predecessors
PUT THAT ON HOLD: Federal judge bucks Trump admin, delays dismissal of of MS-13 leader’s case
CROWN OF THORNS: LGBTQ Christians crusade against Trump’s religiously ‘hostile’ policies during Holy Week
A group of LGBTQ+ Christian leaders gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to reject President Donald Trump’s «anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, with one religious leader telling Fox News Digital the Trump administration is «the most hostile administration to religion in recent memory.» (Fox News Digital)
‘BIG HONOR’: Trump announces a conservative media star, a GOP governor, and others for Homeland Security Advisory Council
CENTURY-OLD LAW: When did the US stop keeping up with the Joneses? The maritime law at the crux of US shipbuilding
‘YOU WANT PEOPLE TO BUY’: Trump says US ‘talking to China end may be in sight amid tariff hikes
World Stage
‘NEVER ALONE’: Huckabee visits iconic holy site in Israel, delivers Trump’s prayer for peace
HAMAS CASH CRISIS: Hamas terror group reportedly buckling under financial strain amid Israeli military gains and growing unrest
Palestinian Hamas militants gather at the site of the handing over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza on February 20, 2025. (Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images)
‘UNACCEPTABLE’: Chinese firm aiding Houthi attacks on US vessels, as airstrikes kill 74
HOLY WEEK OUTREACH: Pope Francis visits Rome prison during Holy Week
‘MOVE ON’: Rubio says US ready to ‘move on’ within days if no progress on Russia-Ukraine peace deal
Capitol Hill
DEMOCRATS IN DISARRAY: Confidence in Congressional Democrats hits all time low in new poll
The New York Times Editorial Board accused the Democratic Party’ of being in «denial’ over why it lost in 2024. (Getty Images)
PINK ALERT: Top GOP senator calls out Code Pink, The People’s Forum allegedly pushing CCP propaganda in US
Across America
UNMASKED: Anti-Israel agitator charged in violent hate crime attack on two Jewish college students
GLOVES ARE OFF: Top GOP lawmaker, Hochul trade barbs amid speculation Trump ally is jumping in gubernatorial race
‘SAFER TODAY’: ICE arrests over 200 illegal aliens in New York City’s ‘most crime-infested neighborhoods’
GATHERING INFO: ICE and DOGE seek sensitive data in crackdown on illegal immigration, waste: report
ICE agents in Los Angeles are frustrated with sanctuary city policies. (Fox News)
UNHEALTHY: HHS probing hospital over firing of nurse who blew whistle on minors getting gender treatments
‘WIDE FISSURE’: Federal judge temporarily restricts DOGE access to personalized Social Security data
Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Elections Newsletter
INTERNACIONAL
Three tourists among 4 killed after Italian cable car crashes to the ground near Naples
Three tourists were among four people who were killed when a cable car crashed south of Naples, an Italian official said Friday.
A British woman and an Israeli woman were among the three foreign victims identified since the accident on Thursday, said Marco De Rosa, the spokesperson for the mayor of Vico Equense. The fourth victim was the Italian driver of the cable car.
FSU STUDENT RECOUNTS MOMENTS SHOTS RANG OUT
Four are dead after a cable car crash in Italy. (Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico)
According to initial information, a traction cable snapped and one car crashed after both the upward and a downward-going cable cars came to a halt as they traversed Monte Faito, in the town of Castellammare di Stabia.
A fifth person, who is also believed to be a foreign tourist, was seriously injured and is being treated in hospital in Naples, officials said. Sixteen passengers were helped out of the other cable car that was stuck mid-air near the foot of the mountain following the incident.
The accident happened just a week after the cable car, popular for its views of Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples, reopened for the season.
Local prosecutors have opened an investigation into possible manslaughter, which will involve an inspection of the cable stations, the pylons, the two cabins and the cable, local officials said Friday,
The emergency services, including Italy’s alpine rescue, more than 50 firefighters, police and civil protection personnel, worked into the evening in severe weather conditions, which made the rescue operations difficult.
«The traction cable broke. The emergency brake downstream worked, but evidently not the one on the cabin that was entering the station,» Luigi Vicinanza, the mayor of Castellammare di Stabia, said on Thursday. He added that there had been regular safety checks on the cable car line, which runs 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the town to the top of the mountain.
SCHOOL BUS FLIPS ON SOUTH CAROLINA HIGHWAY
Rescue workers recover a body at the scene of a cable car crash in Italy. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)
The company running the service, the EAV public transport firm, stressed that the seasonal cable car had reopened with all the required safety conditions.
«The reopening had taken place a week ago after three months of tests every day, day and night,» said EAV President Umberto De Gregorio. «This is something inexplicable.»
De Gregorio said technical experts believed there was no connection between the severe weather and the cause of the crash. «There is an automatic system. When the wind exceeds a certain level, the cable car stops automatically,» he said.
The Monte Faito cable car opened in 1952. Four people died in 1960 when a pylon broke.
Italy has recorded two similar fatal accidents involving cable cars in recent years.
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A cable car crash in May 2021 in northern Italy killed 14 people, including six Israelis, among them a family of four. In 1998, a low-flying U.S. military jet cut through the cable of a ski lift in Cavalese, in the Dolomites, killing 20 people.
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