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Almanac for May 7, 2026

Today is Thursday, May 7, the 127th day of 2026. There are 238 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the British liner RMS Lusitania off the southern coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans, out of the nearly 2,000 on board. Also on this date: In 1945, Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims, France, ending its role in World War II. In 1954, the 55-day Battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese insurgents overrunning French forces; it would be the last major ...

Who is monitoring the debt?

People of a certain age will recall a lyric from the Tennessee Ernie Ford song “Sixteen Tons”: “Another day older and deeper in debt.” I thought of that song as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth asked Congress to approve a $1.5 trillion budget for fiscal year 2027 to put the military on ...

GOP seeks $1B for security upgrades for WH ballroom

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have added $1 billion in White House security upgrades to legislation that would fund immigration enforcement agencies, a proposed boost for President Donald Trump's ballroom project after a man was charged with trying to assassinate him at the White ...

Almanac for May 6, 2026

Today is Wednesday, May 6, the 126th day of 2026. There are 239 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey; 35 of the 97 people on board and one crew member on the ground were killed. Also on this date: In 1882, President Chester Alan Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. for 10 years. (The act would remain in effect until 1943.) In 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened to the public as part of the Paris ...

Turning data into action: Efforts to track cancer risk

Firefighters respond to a myriad of emergencies that can vary significantly from one call to the next. In a typical shift, these personnel may spring into action for a motor vehicle accident along rural routes, then swiftly transition to a raging structural fire as well as a critical medical event at an industrial or residential site. Nevertheless, each situation may place them in environments where heat, smoke and combustion byproducts are often unavoidable. But though modern gear has indeed enhanced on-scene safety, it does not fully eliminate contact with hazardous substances ...

The real king schools the would-be king

I've always been both a small-r republican and an Anglophile, so I looked upon the British monarchy with at least a pinch of smug superiority. The Windsors are revered for nothing more than birth — not talent, nor accomplishments, nor virtue. It's all a throwback to an earlier stage of human ...