- MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Efforts to quickly and quietly oust the president of the University of Wisconsin system drew fire Friday from a Republican legislative leader who said he was “troubled” that the board of regents is threatening to remove Jay Rothman without any explanation. Rothman has been president of the multicampus 165,000-student university system […]
- CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon. NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1 1/2 days into the first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century. The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows […]
- LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Review-Journal announced Friday that it will no longer print its rival the Las Vegas Sun for the first time in decades, amid an ongoing legal dispute over the nation’s last joint operating agreement stemming from a 1970 law designed to preserve newspapers. Readers “will not find a printed […]
- WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday proposed to begin the process of privatizing airport security operations handled by the Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency created after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The White House budget proposes cutting the TSA budget by $52 million and would require small airports to enroll […]
- WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – Three Democratic senators on Friday urged President Donald Trump to bar Chinese automakers from building vehicles in the United States and to prevent Chinese cars assembled in Mexico or Canada from entering the United States. Senators Tammy Baldwin, Elissa Slotkin and Chuck Schumer cited Trump’s comments in January in Detroit […]
- Fight over University of Wisconsin system president’s future draws heat from Republican leader
on April 3, 2026 at 3:18 pmMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Efforts to quickly and quietly oust the president of the University of Wisconsin system drew fire Friday from a Republican legislative leader who said he was “troubled” that the board of regents is threatening to remove Jay Rothman without any explanation. Rothman has been president of the multicampus 165,000-student university system since 2022. He said in letters to regents first obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday that they were trying to force him to resign or face being fired without explanation. The letters were the first public indication that Rothman’s job was in jeopardy and took university and state government officials by surprise. Regents the AP contacted have declined to comment. “This lack of transparency is unacceptable,” Republican state Rep. David Murphy, chair of the Wisconsin Assembly’s colleges and universities committee, said in a Friday statement. “President Rothman deserves to know exactly why the Board has lost confidence in his leadership.” Rothman’s tenure has been marked by his efforts to increase state funding amid federal cuts, debates over free speech on campus amid pro-Palestinian protests, and declining enrollment leading to eight branch campus closures. Murphy, a frequent critic of the university, praised Rothman’s work, saying “he has made tough decisions to sustain our campuses and protect educational access for Wisconsin students.” “I am concerned that the push to oust him may actually stem from his strong support for free speech and open inquiry on our campuses—core principles that must be defended in higher education,” Murphy said. Murphy called on the board of regents to give a “full explanation” for why they want Rothman out or “stand down from this effort.” Rothman has had to navigate negotiations with a Republican-controlled Legislature during his tenure and a board of regents with a majority of appointees from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The board was controlled by Evers appointees when Rothman was hired. Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback did not return messages Thursday or Friday seeking comment. Evers is not seeking a third term, meaning there will be a new governor next year with the power to make appointments to the board of regents. The board is in charge of hiring and firing university leaders. Rothman raised the possibility of resigning in 2023 when the board of regents rejected a deal reached with legislative Republicans over diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The board later reversed its vote and approved the deal. The fight over Rothman’s future also comes as the flagship Madison campus is losing its chancellor. Jennifer Mnookin is leaving at the end of the current academic year in May to take the job as president of Columbia University. Rothman, the former chair and CEO of the Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner law firm, had no prior experience administering higher education. His salary as UW president is $600,943. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts capture Earth’s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind
on April 3, 2026 at 3:18 pmCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon. NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1 1/2 days into the first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century. The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds. As of midmorning Friday, Wiseman and his crew were 90,000 miles (145,000 kilometers) from Earth and were quickly gaining on the moon with another 168,000 miles (270,000 kilometers) to go. They should reach their destination on Monday. The three Americans and one Canadian will swing around the moon in their Orion capsule, hang a U-turn and then head straight back home without stopping. They fired Orion’s main engine Thursday night that set them on their course. They’re the first lunar travelers since Apollo 17 in 1972. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Las Vegas Review-Journal will no longer print a competing newspaper
on April 3, 2026 at 3:18 pmLAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Review-Journal announced Friday that it will no longer print its rival the Las Vegas Sun for the first time in decades, amid an ongoing legal dispute over the nation’s last joint operating agreement stemming from a 1970 law designed to preserve newspapers. Readers “will not find a printed Las Vegas Sun insert inside,” the Review-Journal said in an editorial, noting the Sun maintains a website, has a few hundred thousand followers across social media platforms, and is free to produce its own newspaper. “We encourage them to do so. The Review-Journal competes with countless sources of news and entertainment, but we would welcome one more. We just don’t want to foot the bill. It is time the Sun stood up on its own two feet,” the editorial said, without specifying the cost. The two publications will be in court Friday and the Sun hopes a judge will order printing to immediately resume, attorney Leif Reid said in an email. It will be the first day in 76 years that the Sun hasn’t been printed, he said. “This does irreparable harm to our community, as no one benefits when a local newspaper is prevented from being published,” he said. The now-rare joint operating agreement required the Sun to be printed as a daily insert in the Review-Journal, while both companies remained editorially independent with separate newsrooms and websites. A lower court had found the agreement was unenforceable because a 2005 update was never signed by the U.S. attorney general, and in February the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the Sun. The Review-Journal editorial called the Supreme Court decision a decisive victory, saying that halting publication of the Sun on Friday was “a result of 6½ years of litigation between the newspapers, precipitated by the Sun.” Such agreements between rival publications have dwindled as part of a “long, slow goodbye of newspapers as we knew them,” said Ken Doctor, a news business analyst. The Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News ended a 40-year agreement last year. USA Today Co., which owns the Detroit Free Press, recently announced its plans to purchase the Detroit News. In 1950, the Sun was founded in response to the Review-Journal’s refusal to negotiate with typesetters from the International Typographical Union. The union started its own newspaper and reached out to businessman Hank Greenspun for financial backing. The Greenspuns still own the paper. The Review-Journal has been publishing since 1909, first as the Clark County Review. It is owned by the Adelson family, casino magnates and mega GOP donors, and remains the state’s largest newspaper. The Review-Journal’s editorials lean more conservative, while the Sun’s lean liberal. The 1970 law signed by then President Richard Nixon, called the Newspaper Preservation Act, was designed to save newspapers costs while maintaining competition and editorial variety in cities as newspapers began to financially struggle. The papers first entered into a joint operating agreement in 1989 when the Sun was struggling to stay afloat financially. The agreement made the Sun an afternoon newspaper during weekdays and a section within the Review-Journal on weekend mornings, while the Review-Journal handled production, distribution and advertising. The Review-Journal also collected all revenue and was required to pay the Sun monthly to cover the Sun’s news and editorial expenses. In 2005 the agreement was amended to make the Sun an insert in the Review-Journal every morning. Review-Journal owners sought to end the agreement in 2019, and in response the Sun’s owners filed a lawsuit alleging that ending the agreement violated anti-trust laws. The 1970 law allowing such agreements was signed at a time when news options weren’t as prevalent and there was more concern over news monopolies. Las Vegas — and Nevada as a whole — today have more strong, independent news organizations compared to other places, said Stephen Bates, a journalism and media professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The Sun also publishes online. But it has argued in court that losing its print product could make it harder to recruit staff, cause a loss in readers, and even force it to close. Genelle Belmas, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas who specializes in media law, said it would be disappointing if the last joint operating agreement in the country ends. During visits to Vegas, she’s enjoyed being able to pick up the Review-Journal and see the Sun folded inside, offering two differing points of view in one place. Online news outlets make it easier for consumers to stay in their echo chambers, she said. “Every local news outlet we lose — and that includes big towns, small towns, whatever — is a loss of perspective and a loss of a potential alternative view,” Belmas said. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Trump proposes to begin privatizing US airport security operations
on April 3, 2026 at 1:38 pmWASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday proposed to begin the process of privatizing airport security operations handled by the Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency created after the September 11, 2001, attacks. The White House budget proposes cutting the TSA budget by $52 million and would require small airports to enroll in a program in which TSA pays for private screeners. TSA has about 50,000 federal employees who handle screening at nearly all U.S. airports. Budget documents said that airports currently using the program have demonstrated savingscompared to federal screening operations. In recent weeks major U.S. airports suffered massive disruptions after Transportation Security Administration security officers went unpaid since mid-February after funding for the workers was halted in a budget dispute. Trump fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration, David Pekoske, on his first day in office and has never nominated a replacement. Last year, the White House said it wanted funding cut for the TSA by $247 million, saying the “TSA has consistently failed audits while implementing intrusive screening measures that violate Americans’ privacy and dignity.” That budget cut represented about a 3-4% cut to the TSA staffing levels – with half for staff at exit lanes and the remaining cut of 2% of transportation security officers spread across 435 airports. The Biden administration had increased the size of the TSA, which has nearly 60,000 employees, as air travel has increased in recent years. The TSA screened 904 million passengers in 2024, which was a record high and a 5% increase over 2023. (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Michelle Nichols) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Senators urge Trump to bar Chinese automakers from building cars in US
on April 3, 2026 at 1:20 pmWASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – Three Democratic senators on Friday urged President Donald Trump to bar Chinese automakers from building vehicles in the United States and to prevent Chinese cars assembled in Mexico or Canada from entering the United States. Senators Tammy Baldwin, Elissa Slotkin and Chuck Schumer cited Trump’s comments in January in Detroit that he is open to Chinese automakers building U.S. factories. “We must be clear-eyed that inviting China’s automakers to set up shop in the United States would confer an insurmountable economic advantage impossible for American automakers to overcome, and it would trigger a national security crisis that could never be reversed,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Trump first reported by Reuters. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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