Clocks Fall Back on Halloween Weekend in 2026
WHO:
NBC News - Joe Fryer reported for TODAY on the time change.
CBS News - President Trump supports the Sunshine Protection Act and accused Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton of holding up the legislation.
CBS News - Cotton said Congress had previously tried permanent daylight saving time, but returned to twice-yearly clock changes “once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter.”
CBS News - The Navajo Nation observes daylight saving time; Hawaii, most of Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not.
Vox - The newsletter *Today, Explained* described Halloween, the New York Marathon and the end of daylight saving time as the weekend’s events.
WHAT:
CBS News - President Trump posted what he said was Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton’s cellphone number on social media and urged people to call Cotton in support of the Sunshine Protection Act.
CBS News - If the Sunshine Protection Act fails, efforts to change daylight saving time would have to start over and win approval from both the House and Senate before going to the president.
CBS News - Carriers Simple Mobile and Straight Talk have posted online steps for checking phone clock settings.
NBC News - Most Americans will set clocks back one hour to standard time during Halloween weekend.
CBS News - Most of the U.S. will set clocks back one hour at 2 a.m.; millions of Americans will gain an hour.
CBS News - Daylight saving time is the period from March to early November when most of the U.S. operates one hour ahead of standard time.
CBS News - The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House in July and went to the Senate. It would make daylight saving time year-round and allow states to opt out before the law takes effect.
CBS News - Phones set to update automatically should display the correct time after the change; Apple, Google and Samsung publish device instructions.
Vox - The newsletter said clocks would fall back at 2 a.m. on Sunday.
WHERE:
CBS News - The clock change applies to most of the United States; Boston’s sunrise and sunset times differ before and after the change.
CBS News - The Navajo Nation spans part of Arizona and observes the change to stay aligned with communities in New Mexico and Utah.
WHEN:
CBS News - Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 1.
CBS News - The Senate’s opportunity to act on the legislation is limited; pending bills are set to expire in early January when the newly elected class of lawmakers takes office.
CBS News - Daylight saving time is set to begin Sunday, March 14, 2027, at 2 a.m. local time.
CBS News - Daylight saving time began March 8, 2026.
Vox - The newsletter identified the upcoming weekend as including Halloween, the New York Marathon and the clock change.
WHY:
CBS News - Daylight saving time shifts an hour of daylight from mornings to evenings during spring and summer; standard time brings daylight earlier in the morning during fall and winter.
CBS News - Continuous daylight saving time in the 1970s was stopped before it reached the 10-month mark.
CBS News - The U.S. first adopted daylight saving time in 1918 during World War I to conserve fuel, after Europe adopted a time change.
CBS News - Congress introduced year-round daylight saving time during World War II and the 1970s energy crisis to reduce energy consumption; neither experiment lasted long.
CBS News - The 2005 law moved the end of daylight saving time from the last Sunday of October; changes taking effect in 2007 established the first-Sunday-of-November end date.
CBS News - The 2007 change also moved the start date from the first Sunday of April to the second Sunday of March to extend daylight saving time.
HOW:
CBS News - In Boston, the sun rises at 7:16 a.m. and sets at 5:39 p.m. before the change; after clocks return to standard time, sunrise is at 6:17 a.m. and sunset at 4:37 p.m.
CBS News - After World War I, Congress repealed the clock switch but let states choose whether to keep observing it; Congress established uniform start and end dates in 1966.
CBS News - The time change can disrupt young children’s sleep schedules while they adjust.
(UPDATED October 31, 2026 09:58 UTC)
Most Americans will turn clocks back one hour, gaining sleep as daylight saving time ends. President Trump urged calls to Senator Tom Cotton, blaming him for delaying permanent daylight time legislation. The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House, but still needs Senate approval to become law.
--
(UPDATED October 30, 2026 23:58 UTC)
Most Americans turn clocks back one hour Sunday, gaining extra sleep as daylight saving time ends. President Trump backs year-round daylight saving, blaming Senator Tom Cotton for delaying legislation. Cotton warns winter mornings could remain dangerously dark under permanent daylight saving time.