EPA proposes flexibilities for toxic coal waste 

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 11:07 pm

{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment   The Big Story EPA proposes flexibilities for toxic coal waste The Trump administration is proposing to make regulations on the disposal of coal plants’ toxic waste more flexible. (Joshua A. Bickel/AP) When coal is burned to produce power, it results in a waste known as “coal ash” that contains...

Pentagon denies threatening Vatican during January meeting with Holy See’s diplomat

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:47 pm

The Pentagon has denied threatening the Vatican during a late January meeting with the Holy See’s then-envoy to the U.S., as Pope Leo XIV has warned against the growing use of military action in recent months.  The Pentagon’s policy office head, Elbridge Colby, met with Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican's former diplomat to the U.S.,...

Trump says Iran is not living up to ceasefire agreement in Strait of Hormuz

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:45 pm

President Trump indicated Thursday that Iran was not living up to the ceasefire agreement reached between the two nations by not adequately reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.”...

High-stakes talks set for Islamabad over US-Iran war: What to know

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:34 pm

High-stakes talks are set for Islamabad this weekend where U.S. and Iranian officials plan to meet to negotiate the terms of a tenuous ceasefire to end the war in Iran. The White House called the talks “ongoing” but any agreement remains extremely fragile as fighting continues across the Middle East. “As the White House has...

McCarthy: 'Right now, Trump has more power than Reagan'

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:30 pm

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday said President Trump "has more power" than former President Reagan. McCarthy emphasized Trump's executive strength during a talk at Harvard University's Kennedy School in Cambridge, Mass., where he spoke about his time in the House and the future of democracy in the U.S. "Right now, Trump has more...

RSV season runs into spring 

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:27 pm

Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} View Online Health Care Health Care   The Big Story An unusually late RSV season runs into spring A later-than-expected season of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has states extending eligibility for preventive measures in children. Experts are urging parents to keep in mind the measures that...

Democrats intensify calls to oust Trump over Iran threats

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:22 pm

More than 70 Democrats in Congress are calling for President Trump’s removal over his blistering threats against Iran and handling of the military operation in Iran, a dynamic that is forecasting the aggressive posture many in the party will demand their leaders take toward Trump if they win the majority in the midterms. Democratic leaders...

Confusion surrounds Trump effort to pay TSA, DHS; some could see last paycheck Friday

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:19 pm

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is warning its employees that Friday’s paycheck could be their last until Congress acts to fund the department and end the record-long partial shutdown — but questions remain over whether that warning extends to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. TSA employees last week began receiving back pay after President...

Trump administration proposes more flexible regulations for coal plants’ toxic waste disposal

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 10:01 pm

The Trump administration is proposing to make regulations on the disposal of coal plants’ toxic waste more flexible. When coal is burned to produce power, it results in a waste known as “coal ash” that contains contaminants including mercury and arsenic. Often coal ash is stored in ponds. Improper management of coal ash ponds can result in groundwater and drinking water...

Watch live: Artemis II crew holds press conference from space

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 9:47 pm

The Artemis II crew will give remarks from the Orion spacecraft Thursday evening, just days after the four astronauts traveled farther into space than anyone before them. The crew — Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency mission specialist Jeremy Hansen — embarked on the 10-day lunar flyby mission on...

Van Hollen: Trump 'genocide' post shows Republican Party is 'bankrupt'

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 9:26 pm

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Wednesday went after the Republican response to President Trump’s recent post threatening Iran in which he stated that “a whole civilization will die." “It says something about just how bankrupt the Republican Party has become under Donald Trump, that none of them said a peep. And so, the reality...

Wisconsin mayor who removed ballot drop boxes won't face charges

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 9:22 pm

A Wisconsin mayor who removed an absentee ballot drop box from city hall ahead of the 2024 presidential election will not face charges, a special prosecutor said Wednesday. Doug Diny, the mayor of Wausau, has maintained that he did nothing wrong when he carted away the city’s lone ballot drop box in September 2024, according...

Sotomayor says AI forecasting Supreme Court decisions a 'bad thing,' shows 'we're way too predictable'

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 9:16 pm

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday called artificial intelligence models that have found success in anticipating how the high court will rule in upcoming cases “a very bad thing.” “It shows we're way too predictable,” Sotomayor told students while speaking at the University of Alabama School of Law. “And we may not be stepping...

Trump slams conservative media figures over splitting with him on Iran

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 9:13 pm

President Trump on Thursday tore into several right-wing media figures who had been reliably supportive of him during his second term until the U.S. war in Iran broke out. The president attacked several of the hosts and commentators personally, dismissed their viewpoints on the war and defended the military operation in the Middle East. "I...

State Department to hold ceasefire talks between Israel, Lebanon

By: The Hill

Published on: April 9, 2026, 9:10 pm

The State Department will host a meeting next week in Washington, D.C., to discuss ongoing ceasefire negotiations with Israel and Lebanon, a department official confirmed Thursday. The official gave no further details on the talks, which will be focused on ending current hostilities between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, which Israel has targeted in...