Budget deal forecasts sunnier times for US science

Researchers and science advocates in the US are celebrating the new $1.3 trillion (£920 billion) spending bill that will fund the government for the remainder of this fiscal year. President Trump signed the measure into law on 23 March despite having threatened a veto, and its enactment avoided a government shutdown slated to go into effect at midnight. The spending bill came almost halfway through the fiscal year, and brings total US federal R&D spending to $177 billion – its highest ever in inflation-adjusted dollars, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).