Latest news with #StandardTimeAct
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
On This Day, March 19: 1935 Harlem Riot breaks out
March 19 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1909, financier J.P. Morgan, during a meeting with King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy in Rome, pledged to help wipe out the black hand and similar criminal societies in the United States through education. In 1916, eight Curtiss JN-3 "Jenny" airplanes with the First Aero Squadron took off from Columbus, N.M., to aid troops that had invaded Mexico in pursuit of the bandit Pancho Villa. It was the first U.S. air combat mission in history. In 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish standard time zones and daylight saving time. In 1931, the Nevada Legislature voted to legalize gambling. In 1935, the so-called Harlem Riot broke out after a crowd of onlookers mistakenly believed that a white business owner had beaten -- and possibly killed -- a 12-year-old Black boy accused of stealing candy. The child hadn't been beaten, but the riot, which left three people dead, is considered by some historians to be the first modern race riot. In 1953, legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille won the only Academy Award of his career when The Greatest Show on Earth, a big-budget extravaganza about circus life, was acclaimed the Best Picture. The 25th annual awards ceremony was the first to be broadcast on television. In 1987, South Carolina televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as head of the PTL Club, saying he was blackmailed after a sexual encounter with a former church secretary. In 1991, the NFL voted to revoke the plan for Phoenix to host the 1993 Super Bowl because the city did not observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In 2005, Pakistan successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 1,250 miles. In 2024, Finland was named the happiest country in the world for the seventh-straight year and Afghanistan was the least happy in the annual World Happiness Report. The United States dropped out of the Top 20 happiest nations.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
How does daylight saving time work, and who created it? See history behind the time change
Many would agree that the Monday after daylight saving time begins is among the worst days of the year. Even though time "springs forward" one hour early Sunday morning, it can take a few days — or even a week — for our sleep routines to adjust. Who can we blame for this practice? Here's how and why daylight saving time was created. Daylight saving time (DST) claims a variety of other names: daylight savings time, daylight time, summer time (not to be confused with summertime). It refers to the practice of setting clocks forward by one hour during the warmer months of the year and then setting them back one hour in the fall. One way to remember the pattern: "spring forward, fall back." The idea dates back to World War I, although some credit Benjamin Franklin for daylight saving time due to a satirical letter he wrote in 1784 stating: "Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing: and if that is not sufficient, let cannon be fired in every street to wake the sluggards effectually." To maximize resources for the war, Germany and Austria implemented the first daylight saving time in 1916. The U.S. did the same in 1918. An outdated idea, some argue. The general idea of daylight saving time is to maximize the use of natural daylight, according to the Almanac. This always occurs around the summer months. As the earth moves around the sun and is tilted on its axis, certain parts of the world experience longer days during certain months. For those in the northern hemisphere, like the U.S., these longer days run from March to November, with June to August seeing the longest days. For those in the southern hemisphere, such as Australia, the seasons are reversed: June through August mark winter months and are, therefore, the shortest of the year. Since 2007, daylight saving time has begun on the second Sunday in March and ended on the first Sunday of November, as directed by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Before that, a 1986 law placed the time changes on the first Sunday of April and the last Sunday of October, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. Between 1976 and 1986, clocks moved forward on the last Sunday of April. In 1974 and 1975, daylight saving time began in January and February, respectively. The U.S. first officially recognized daylight saving time in 1918, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act into law. Arizona and Hawaii are the only U.S. states that have never changed their clocks for daylight saving time. The Navajo Nation hasn't either. The U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands also don't observe daylight saving time. Daylight saving time was enacted by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which also allows states to remain in standard time year-round. However, many states are making efforts to remain in daylight saving time instead — which is currently barred by federal law and would require the approval of Congress. In recent years, states have considered more than 700 pieces of legislation regarding daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This includes 30 in 2024. A total of 20 states have passed laws or resolutions to move toward daylight saving time year-round, if Congress were ever to allow it, according to the NCSL. These include: Alabama Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Kentucky Louisiana Maine Minnesota Mississippi Ohio Oklahoma Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Utah Washington Wyoming The practice of daylight saving time has made its way back to debates among Texas lawmakers. After failing in the 2023 legislative session, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, has proposed a bill that would allow the state to remain in standard time all year as allowed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. This differs from previous attempts, which have generally suggested states remain in daylight saving time — an act barred by federal law. "The twice-a-year clock change is disruptive and unnecessary," Zaffirini said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. "Studies have linked these shifts to increased traffic accidents, negative health effects, and decreased productivity." In 2022, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, made such a proposal with the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023. Although the Senate passed it, the bill stalled in the House. "It's time to lock the clock and stop enduring the ridiculous and antiquated practice of switching our clocks back and forth," Rubio said toward the end of last year. The opposite happened in the 2023 Texas legislative session, in which Zaffirini and Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, proposed the state's permanent shift to daylight saving time. House Bill 1422 earned bipartisan support in the House but stalled in the Senate. Metcalf has filed a similar bill this year. "Texas doesn't need to wait for Washington," Metcalf said in a news release. "By passing HB 1393, we'll demonstrate leadership and send a strong message that Texans are ready to move forward." If Zaffirini's Senate Bill 64 is passed and Congress reverses previous rulings against the permanent adoption of daylight saving time, Texas voters could decide which time zone they would prefer to implement year-round. In recent years, Congress has faced the opportunity to stop changing clocks. In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, however the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and President Joe Biden did not sign it. In December, then-President-elect Donald Trump said he aims to put an end to daylight saving time and make standard time year-round. "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on social media site Truth Social. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation." — USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who invented daylight saving time? History, meaning of time change
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Daylight saving time is almost here: When to 'spring forward' and why we do it
Most Americans should consider going to bed early Saturday night, because they are about to lose an hour of sleep. Daylight saving time is imminent, meaning that on Sunday, 2 a.m. will become 3 a.m. in the matter of a seconds. On the bright side, the "spring forward" will delay when day becomes night leading to sunnier drives home from work for many. The new time schedule will go until November, when standard time returns ahead of the holiday season. Here's what to know about "spring forward" this weekend, including when the process began, which two states are exempt from it and efforts to end time changes permanently. Cancel daylight saving time? Elon Musk stirs debate. Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9 at 2 a.m. local time. Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks ahead by one hour. We lose an hour in March (as opposed to gaining an hour in the fall) to make for more daylight in the summer evenings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the vernal, or spring equinox, is on March 20, marking the start of the spring season. Daylight saving time ends for the year on Sunday, Nov. 2. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Because of its desert climate, Arizona doesn't follow daylight saving time (with the exception of the Navajo Nation). After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, the state figured that there wasn't a good reason to adjust clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the hottest months of the year. The Standard Time Act of 1918 was the first law to implement standard and daylight saving times at the federal level. "Federal oversight of time zones began in 1918 with the enactment of the Standard Time Act, which vested the Interstate Commerce Commission with the responsibility for establishing boundaries between the standard time zones in the U.S.," according to The U.S. Department of Transportation. "This responsibility was transferred from the Interstate Commerce Commission to DOT when Congress created DOT in 1966." The DOT oversees the observance of daylight saving time, as well as U.S. time zones, according to the federal agency. The DOT cited energy reduction and reduced crime as reasons for having both standard and daylight saving time. Recent bills that would make daylight saving time the national year-round standard have languished in committee after being introduced in January. Officials have vowed to put an end to the procedure, including President Donald Trump, who said in a Truth Social post in December that "the Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate daylight saving time." However, since resuming office for his second term in January, the president has not issued any executive orders on the issue. Congress, which has a narrow GOP majority, has also not shown a major push on the issue. More: City workers try to get falls flowing again More: Guest viewpoint: What to know about the Nymphea Solar Project | Opinion Contributing: Alexis Simmerman, Jana Hayes, The Oklahoman, James Powel, Emily DeLetter, Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY Network. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daylight saving time 2025: When we 'spring forward' for time change
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Daylight saving time starts Sunday. What to know about 'springing forward.'
After a long winter of short days, it's finally time to spring forward. Clocks across the U.S. will jump from 1:59 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday. Here's what you need to know about daylight saving time and why we change the clocks twice a year in the U.S. Daylight saving time will start Sunday and last until Nov. 2. Standard time will have been in effect from Nov. 3, 2024, until Sunday. The springtime clock change differs from the fall. Unlike the fall, when we gain an extra hour and the clocks fall back, we lose an hour in the spring. But that turns into longer days and brighter evenings as the spring and summer months begin. It will remain in effect until we turn the clocks back to standard time, which comes back into effect on Nov. 2 as we ready for winter and usher in an era of shorter days. The U.S. has been observing daylight saving time since 1918, with the passage of the Standard Time Act, according to the U.S. Astronomical Applications Department. It was an effort to extend summertime daylight hours by pushing off sunset an hour. Daylight saving time wasn't totally accepted at first — it was quickly repealed in 1919, making the changing of clocks a local matter. The practice was officially reinstated during the early days of World War II and was observed from 1942-45, according to the department. Daylight saving time varied by state until 1966 with the passage of the Uniform Time Act, which standardized dates of daylight saving time, but allowed for states and localities to opt out of the practice if they did not want to participate. Since that act passed, the standardized dates have been changed throughout the years, according to the department. But the dates have remained the same since 2007. Since then, daylight saving time had started on the second Sunday in March and ended on the first Sunday in November. Yes. Residents in Hawaii and most of Arizona won't lose an hour of sleep Sunday night. The two states do not observe daylight saving time and do not change the clocks twice a year, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. The U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent year-round and usher out the era of changing clocks, in March 2022. Under the bill, Hawaii and most of Arizona would continue to observe year-round standard time. But the bill stalled in the House of Representatives, so the U.S. will continue to flip the clocks every six months until new legislation is passed in the House and Senate and then signed by the sitting president. President Donald Trump addressed the practice this week when asked by a reporter when he is going to 'get rid of' daylight saving time. 'I assume people would like to have more light late, but some people want to have more light earlier because they don't want to take their kids to school in the dark,' he said, calling the issue '50-50.' 'But a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way. It's very even,' he said. 'And usually, I find when that's the case, what else do we have to do?' Shortly after winning the election last year, Trump said he and Republicans would try to 'eliminate' daylight saving time, calling it inconvenient and costly. It was unclear at the time whether he was referring to eliminating daylight saving time or making it permanent. Almost all U.S. states have considered legislation to avoid changing the clocks, staying on either standard or daylight saving time year-round. In the last six years, 20 states have passed bills or resolutions to codify year-round daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But since federal law does not currently allow year-round daylight saving time, those states are in a holding pattern until Congress passes the bill to make the change. No, many other countries observe some version of 'summer time,' whether that's daylight saving time or their own version. Not all do so on the same schedule as the U.S., though. In the Southern Hemisphere, for example, the seasons are swapped, so the start and end date of 'summer time' are reversed from ours, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. Some studies suggest that using daylight saving time year-round could reduce the number of traffic accidents and the amount of crime, but a number of experts are against longer days year-round. According to some sleep experts, the sun should reach the highest point in the sky at noon, or solar time, which occurs during standard time. A study from June 2022 found that people whose clock times weren't closely aligned with the sun had 22% higher road fatality rates than those living within 30 minutes of solar time. This article was originally published on
NBC News
08-03-2025
- Climate
- NBC News
Daylight saving time starts Sunday. What to know about 'springing forward.'
After a long winter of short days, it's finally time to spring forward. Clocks across the U.S. will jump from 1:59 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday. Here's what you need to know about daylight saving time and why we change the clocks twice a year in the U.S. When does daylight saving time end? Daylight saving time will start Sunday and last until Nov. 2. Standard time was in effect from Nov. 3, 2024, until Sunday. The springtime clocks change differs from the fall. Unlike the fall, when we gain an extra hour and the clocks fall back, we lose an hour in the spring. But that turns into longer days and brighter evenings as the spring and summer months begin. It will remain in effect until we turn the clocks back to standard time, which comes back into effect on Nov. 2 as we ready for winter and usher in an era of shorter days. Why do we change the clocks? The U.S. has been observing daylight saving time since 1918, with the establishment of the Standard Time Act, according to the U.S. Astronomical Applications Department. It was implemented in an effort to extend summertime daylight hours by pushing off sunset an hour. Daylight saving time wasn't totally accepted when it was first passed — it was quickly repealed in 1919, making the changing of the clocks a local matter. The practice was officially re-instated during the early days of World War II and was observed from 1942-1945, according to the department. Daylight saving time varied by state following the war and until 1966, when the Uniform Time Act passed, which standardized dates of daylight saving time, but allowed for states and localities to opt out of the practice if they did not want to participate. Since that act passed, the standardized dates have been changed throughout the years, according to the department. But the dates have remained the same since 2007. Since then, daylight saving time had started on the second Sunday in March and ended on the first Sunday in November. Are there any states that don't observe the time change? Yes. Residents in Hawaii and most of Arizona won't lose an hour of sleep Sunday night. The two states do not observe daylight saving time and do not change the clocks twice a year, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. Is anyone trying to end daylight saving time? The U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent year-round and usher out the era of changing our clocks, in March 2022. Under the bill, Hawaii and most of Arizona would continue to observe year-round standard time. But the bill stalled in the House of Representatives, so the U.S. will continue to flip the clocks every six months until new legislation is passed in the House and Senate and then signed by the sitting president. President Donald Trump addressed the practice this week when asked by a reporter when he is going to "get rid of" daylight saving time. "I assume people would like to have more light late, but some people want to have more light earlier because they don't want to take their kids to school in the dark," he said, calling the issue "50-50." "But a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way. It's very even," he said. "And usually, I find when that's the case, what else do we have to do?" Shortly after winning the election last year, Trump said he and Republicans would try to "eliminate" daylight saving time, calling it inconvenient and costly. It was unclear at the time whether he was referring to eliminating daylight saving time or making it permanent. Almost all U.S. states have considered legislation to avoid changing the clocks, staying on either standard or daylight saving time year-round. In the last six years, 20 states have passed bills or resolutions to codify year-round daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But since federal law does not currently allow year-round daylight saving time, those states are in a holding pattern until Congress passes the bill to make the change. Is the U.S. the only country that changes the clocks? No, many other countries observe some version of 'summer time,' whether that's daylight saving time or their own version. Not all do so on the same schedule as the U.S., though. In the Southern Hemisphere, for example, the seasons are swapped, so the start and end date of 'summer time' are reversed from ours, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. What do health experts say? Some studies suggest that using daylight saving time year-round could reduce the number of traffic accidents and the amount of crime, but a number of experts are against longer days year-round. According to some sleep experts, the sun should reach the highest point in the sky at noon, or solar time, which occurs during standard time. A study from June 2022 found that people whose clock times weren't closely aligned with the sun had 22% higher road fatality rates than those living within 30 minutes of solar time.
