Object washed ashore in Australia thought to be space junk
Authorities were investigating on Tuesday whether a cylindrical object about the size of a small car that washed up on a remote Australian beach is space junk from a foreign rocket.
British Columbia wildfires burned a record amount of area
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Wildfires have already burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the situation will probably get worse due to more hot, dry weather, government officials said Tuesday.
Exec tells UN council big tech can’t be trusted with AI safety
UNITED NATIONS — The handful of big tech companies leading the race to commercialize AI can’t be trusted to guarantee the safety of systems we don’t yet understand and that are prone to “chaotic or unpredictable behavior,” an artificial intelligence company executive told the first U.N. Security Council meeting on AI’s threats to global peace on Tuesday.
Calls to House committee to uninvite RFK Jr. after comments
NEW YORK — A Democratic watchdog group has called for a U.S. House committee to rescind an invitation to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after the Democratic presidential candidate was filmed falsely suggesting COVID-19 could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
VP Kamala Harris matches record for tiebreaking votes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman, the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president, has made history again by matching the record for most tiebreaking votes in the Senate.
U.S. endures extreme weather, smoke up north, heat in the West
WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. — Pennsylvania authorities drew on 100 people, drones and cadaver dogs Monday in their search for two missing children whose family’s car was swept away in flash flooding that ravaged the East Coast over the weekend. Other parts of the country endured threateningly high temperatures and severe air pollution from Canadian wildfires.
Actors, writers on strike united and determined
LOS ANGELES — Solidarity and stamina were picket-line themes Monday as striking screenwriters and actors in New York and Los Angeles braced for a long, hot summer standoff with studios.
How Benjamin Franklin laid groundwork for the U.S. dollar
SAN FRANCISCO — Benjamin Franklin was so busy as an inventor, publisher, scientist, diplomat and U.S. founding father that it’s easy to lose track of his accomplishments.
Russia halts landmark Ukraine grain export deal
LONDON — Russia on Monday halted a breakthrough wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.
Biden to meet with pope’s Ukraine peace envoy
ROME — U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Pope Francis’ peace envoy Tuesday as part of the Holy See’s peace and humanitarian initiatives for Ukraine, with the plight of Ukrainian children taken to Russia topping the agenda, the White House and Vatican said Monday.
Russian fighter jet flies close to U.S. warplane over Syria
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Russian fighter jet flew very close to a U.S. surveillance aircraft over Syria, forcing it to go through the turbulent wake and putting the lives of the four American crew members in danger, U.S. officials said Monday.
The pope’s visit to Mongolia shows his dedication
VATICAN CITY — The young cardinal in charge of Mongolia’s tiny Catholic community said Monday that Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to a country with just 1,450 Catholics is evidence of his willingness to travel to the farthest corners of the globe to minister to even a handful of the faithful.
Taiwan’s presidential front-runner U.S. visit criticized
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China is criticizing an upcoming stopover in the United States by Taiwan’s vice president and presidential front-runner William Lai as a challenge to its territorial integrity, while Taiwan says it’s merely a transit stop.
U.S. Southwest swelters under dangerous heat wave
PHOENIX — A dangerous heat wave threatened a wide swath of the Southwest with potentially deadly temperatures in the triple digits on Saturday as some cooling centers extended their hours and emergency rooms prepared to treat more people with heat-related illnesses.
Trump, DeSantis in their own fundraising tier
NEW YORK — Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are dominating the fight for campaign cash in the Republican presidential contest, according to federal filings made public Saturday.
DeSantis would consider Iowa’s Reynolds as VP
ANKENY, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Saturday he would consider Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds as a potential running mate, should he win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and dismissed former President Donald Trump’s recent complaints about her as “totally out of hand.”
Alaska volcano spews ash cloud, weather service warnings pilots
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An erupting volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands sent a towering cloud of ash into the air Friday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue an inflight warning to pilots.
Farm fields don’t just feed us. They store carbon.
DYSART, Iowa — When Al Schafbuch cut back on plowing his Iowa fields decades ago and later began growing cover crops, he was out to save money on fertilizer and reduce erosion. He got those benefits and saw his soil change for the better, too: dark, chunky, richly organic matter that he said feels like “chocolate cake.”
South Korea President makes a surprise Ukraine visit
KYIV, Ukraine — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday, offering support for the invaded country in its war with Russia while demonstrating his own nation’s cooperation with NATO.
Europe sizzles under heat wave that’s going to get worse
ROME — Scorching temperatures across Europe forced the closure of the Acropolis in Athens for a second day as officials warned Saturday of even hotter weather next week, when the mercury is forecast to top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several popular Mediterranean tourist destinations.