Supreme Court weighs appeal to overturn decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide

WASHINGTON (AP) — A call to overturn the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide is on the agenda Friday for the justices’ closed-door conference. Among the new cases the justices are expected to consider is a longshot appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower court order for her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorney’s fees to a couple whom she denied a marriage license. Clarence Thomas is the only justice to call for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling.

A lesser-known Farmers’ Almanac will fold after 2 centuries, citing money trouble

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The 208-year-old Maine-based Farmers Almanac says it will publish its planting guidance and weather predictions for the final time, citing financial challenges. Farmers’ Almanac is not to be confused with its older, longtime competitor, The Old Farmer’s Almanac from neighboring New Hampshire. Both publications used secret formulas based on sunspots, planetary positions and lunar cycles to generate long-range weather forecasts. Studies found them to be a little more than 50% accurate, or slightly better than random chance. Still, many readers considered the almanacs a quaint relic with a special kind of charm. Farmers Almanac said Thursday that its 2026 edition will be its last.

Cornell University to pay $60M in deal with Trump administration to restore federal funding

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cornell University has agreed to pay $60 million and accept the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws in order to restore federal funding and end investigations into the Ivy League school. Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff announced the agreement on Friday, saying it upholds the university’s academic freedom while restoring more than $250 million in research funding that the government withheld amid investigations into alleged civil rights violations. The university agreed to pay $30 million directly to the U.S. government along with another $30 million toward research that will support U.S. farmers.

James Watson, co-discoverer of the double-helix shape of DNA, has died at age 97

(AP) — Scientist James Watson, who shared a Nobel prize for helping discover the double-helix shape of the DNA molecule, has died. He was 97. His death was announced by his former research lab. Watson also helped guide efforts to map the human genome. But he was widely condemned for racist remarks later on and left his job as chancellor of the prestigious Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. Watson shared a 1962 Nobel Prize with collaborator Francis Crick and scientist Maurice Wilkins for discovering in 1953 that DNA was shaped like a long, gently twisting ladder. Knowing the structure of DNA was key to figuring out how the genetic material works.