1gridNATION
A garbage crisis engulfs Havana as fuel shortages stall trash pickup
HAVANA | On a recent afternoon in Cuba, the temperature climbed and anxiety grew among the residents of a Havana street. Their focus was an improvised dump site on the sidewalk with rotting food scraps, torn bags, cardboard and rubble. Swarms of flies and stray cats gathered around the trash whose stench wafted on the […]
Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on federal regulation of telecom companies
WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Thursday in upholding the power of federal regulators to enforce data privacy laws on telecommunications companies. The 8-1 decision preserved one of the Federal Communications Commission’s key tools, though the companies also won a concession from the Republican administration that could shift the regulatory landscape. […]
Police warn families of Tiananmen crackdown dead not to visit graves on 37th anniversary
BEIJING | Chinese authorities are snuffing out any remembrance of the deadly 1989 military crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, which happened 37 years ago Thursday, in a further tightening in a yearslong campaign to erase what happened from public memory. Police told relatives of the victims they would not be allowed to […]
Presidential museum showcases political and personal sides of Obama with sprawling community campus
CHICAGO | Former President Barack Obama’s influence in his presidential museum runs deep, from the location on Chicago’s South Side to textured stone adorning its dramatic tower to striped reading chairs that resemble ones in his own home. The Obama Presidential Center opens to the general public on Juneteenth after a celebratory dedication in Chicago […]
Hezbollah rejects latest ceasefire agreement as Israeli strikes kill 4 in Lebanon
BEIRUT | Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the latest ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and the Lebanese government, and the militant group demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as continued fighting there hampered moves to end the Iran war. The Hezbollah announcement came as Israeli strikes killed at least four people, according to local authorities, […]
North Korea unveils a new plant to produce fuel for nuclear weapons
SEOUL, South Korea | North Korea on Thursday unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear bomb fuels, with leader Kim Jong Un announcing plans to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” Some experts still question whether North Korea has functioning nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. But the nuclear plant’s […]
Republicans won the redistricting battle. Now voters will decide whether they win Congress
A no-holds-barred bout of partisan redistricting has been won by Republicans. Now it’s up to voters to decide whether it matters for control of Congress. Republicans could net about 10 additional U.S. House seats in the November elections if redrawn voting districts perform as they were intended. The question is whether that’s enough for the […]
George Santos reported to prosecutors over suspicious Kalshi trades, AP source says
NEW YORK | A prediction market reported former U.S. Rep. George Santos to federal prosecutors after he boasted he’d be going to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, then bet against his own attendance, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Kalshi, the online prediction marketplace, referred Santos to the Department of […]
Trump taps housing finance director Pulte as acting director of national intelligence after Gabbard
WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump has tapped Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to be the acting director of national intelligence — putting a real estate scion and fierce Trump loyalist in a key national security post as the U.S. remains at war with Iran. Trump made the surprise announcement Tuesday on […]
Iran stops talking to mediators over Israel fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian reports say
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Iran stopped communicating with mediators after Israel threatened to bomb Beirut as it fights the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported Tuesday. Halting communication likely is a means to further pressure U.S. President Donald Trump over negotiations on the ceasefire, which include trying to loosen Iran’s […]