Russia punches through weakened lines in eastern Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces have made rapid gains in the eastern Donetsk region over the past week or so, capturing a few villages and closing in on the city of Pokrovsk, one of the main Ukrainian defensive strongholds in the area.
Park fire in Northern California spreads to 360,000 acres
The Park fire in Northern California has grown to more than 360,000 acres under less favorable weather conditions Sunday, with fire activity picking up again, according to officials.
US and Japan announce steps to strengthen their military ties
TOKYO — The top diplomatic and defense officials from the United States and Japan announced Sunday that their nations would take concrete steps to bolster their military alliance because of the growing threat from China in the region.
Fears of escalation after rocket from Lebanon hits soccer field
JERUSALEM — Western diplomats were scrambling Sunday to prevent a surge of fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border, officials said, after a rocket from Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 12 children and teenagers in an Israeli-controlled town. The rocket prompted Israel to retaliate early Sunday with strikes across Lebanon.
3 men with white supremacist ties sentenced in plan to attack power station
Three men with white supremacist ties, including two former U.S. Marines, were sentenced to prison last week after plotting to destroy a power station in the northwestern United States, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Study: A blood test accurately diagnosed Alzheimer’s 90% of the time
Scientists have made another major stride toward the long-sought goal of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease with a simple blood test. On Sunday, a team of researchers reported that a blood test was significantly more accurate than doctors’ interpretation of cognitive tests and CT scans in signaling the condition.
‘Maybe I’ve gotten worse’: Trump makes clear that unity is over
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Early in his speech in Minnesota on Saturday night, former President Donald Trump made clear just how quickly he has jettisoned the appeal for national unity that he made after he survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania two weeks ago.
Park Fire in California grows dramatically, becoming largest active blaze in U.S.
The Park fire in Northern California nearly doubled in size Friday night, becoming the largest active blaze in the country, as firefighters raced to contain scores of blazes across the West.
Elon Musk shares manipulated Harris video, in seeming violation of X’s policies
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has waded into one of the thorniest issues facing U.S. politics: deepfake videos.
Rocket from Lebanon kills at least 12 in Israeli-controlled Golan Heights
JERUSALEM — A rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field Saturday in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing at least 12 people, mostly teenagers and children, according to the Israeli military. It was the deadliest single attack from across Israel’s northern border in months of hostilities and raised fears of an escalation in the conflict.
Trump tells Christians ‘You won’t have to vote anymore’ if he’s elected
In the closing minutes of his speech to a gathering of religious conservatives Friday night, former President Donald Trump told Christians that if they voted him into office in November, they would never need to vote again.
Embattled Democrats express new hope with Harris at top of ticket
WASHINGTON — Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., was not on anyone’s watch list of incumbents facing serious reelection trouble given the reliable partisan tilt of his state, which has not voted for a Republican for Senate since 2002 or a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.
JD Vance stumbles in his debut as Democrats go on offense
The choice of Sen. JD Vance as former President Donald Trump’s running mate reflected the confidence of a campaign so sure of victory in November that it could look beyond a second Trump term to the legacy of his movement.
Fans of the Dead come alive in Las Vegas
Midway through their residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas during a record-breaking heat wave, Dead &Company played its jam band specials over the Fourth of July weekend for an eclectic crowd. The band’s audience — some die-hard fans, others just curious — came from all over the country (and the world) to pledge their own form of allegiance.
WNBA’s popularity booms, but money for players hasn’t kept pace
PHOENIX — Allisha Gray is a 29-year-old guard for the Atlanta Dream. She is 6 feet tall, speaks with a central Georgia drawl and smiles as if she’s keeping the best secret.
Battling inflation, Russia raises key interest rate to 18%
BERLIN — Russia’s central bank raised its key interest rate to 18% on Friday, the highest level in more than two years, in a sign of mounting concern in Moscow that the country’s wartime economy risked producing runaway inflation.
Now facing Harris, Trump backs off his commitment to debate in September
Advisers to former President Donald Trump said they would not commit to another debate, one they had already agreed to participate in, now that the Democrats have changed candidates from President Joe Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Arson attacks disrupt trains in France on day of Olympic opening ceremony
LILLE, France — An apparent arson attack on France’s high-speed rail network early Friday morning disrupted travel for 250,000 people the morning of the Olympic opening ceremony and directly hurt the route designated to transport USA Basketball’s men’s and women’s teams between Paris and Lille, the site of the early games of their tournaments.
After Netanyahu’s meeting with Harris, pressure for cease-fire grows
Australia, Canada and New Zealand called Friday for an urgent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, increasing the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel a day after Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, declared she would “not be silent” about Palestinian suffering.
As Trump looms, Blinken aims to reassure allies on U.S. commitment to Asia
LUANG PRABANG, Laos — For three and a half years, President Joe Biden and his aides have insisted that the United States is a Pacific power, and that its allies and partners in the region need not worry about Washington’s commitments.
