3 mins read

Billionaire investor Leon Black is set to testify to Congress about $158M in payments to Epstein

WASHINGTON | Billionaire investor Leon Black is appearing before the House Oversight Committee on Friday as lawmakers seek to untangle the web of wealth and influence around Jeffrey Epstein that they say enabled decades of sexual abuse. Black is the latest powerful figure to sit for a closed-door deposition before the committee. Microsoft co-founder Bill […]

4 mins read

Massive Shiite crowds mark Ashoura amid fresh Iran-Israel-US war fallout

NABATIYEH, Lebanon | Shiite Muslims marked one of the most important days on their calendar Friday with large gatherings in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and other parts of the world to remember the seventh-century killing of Hussein, the grand son of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The annual commemoration, known as Ashoura, is marked on the 10th day […]

4 mins read

Newsom urges a national ‘billionaires’ tax’ while fighting one in California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for president as he approaches the end of his term, called for a national “billionaires’ tax” on Friday even as he fights another proposal targeting the wealthy in his home state. Newsom also said the U.S. government should own a stake in artificial intelligence […]

5 mins read

Ukraine unleashes one of its heaviest drone bombardments of Russia

Ukraine launched a major nighttime attack on a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea and the surrounding seas, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said Friday, in what appeared to be one of Kyiv’s biggest drone assaults since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion more than four years ago. Russian air defenses intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The […]

4 mins read

Trump blames Iran for a drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON | U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for carrying out a drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement with the United States. One drone damaged the upper deck of the ship, but the vessel was able to proceed, Trump […]

1 min read

Missile alert goes off in Dubai but authorities quickly tell public to disregard the warning

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Authorities in the United Arab Emirates on Friday sounded an incoming missile alert for Dubai but shortly afterward told the public to “disregard the previous warning,” an indication that it was likely triggered by mistake. The brief text message from the UAE’s Interior Ministry, the first of its kind during […]

3 mins read

Merlín the duck takes a trip to the stadium, but FIFA rules keep him out of Mexico match

MEXICO CITY | One of the biggest folk heroes of this World Cup, Merlín the duck arrived outside Mexico City’s stadium on Wednesday to great fanfare — but was ultimately told he could not remain for Mexico’s match against the Czech Republic. After winning hearts across social media, supporters had launched an effort urging organizers […]

4 mins read

A cancer patient’s cats inspired a push for pets in hospice wards

WARSAW, Poland | When Ewa Lutka-Krawczyk was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer, her first thought was for Gaja, a shelter dog she took in three years ago. She asked her doctor to assure her she would live a few more years so the deeply attached Gaja “wouldn’t be left behind.” But the prognosis was grim, and […]

10 mins read

Supreme Court lets Trump end protections for Haitian, Syrian migrants. Salvadorans in Aurora at risk, too

WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation. The 6-3 decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, […]

5 mins read

Key inflation gauge jumps to 3-year high in latest sign of affordability challenges

WASHINGTON | The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked, a sign rising costs could pose political problems for President Donald Trump and his political party as midterm elections near. Consumer prices rose 4.1% in May from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday, […]