Vladimir Putin is heading to Friday’s planned summit with Donald Trump confident that Russia is in a dominant position on the battlefield as his military advances in Ukraine.

That’s likely to strengthen his determination to secure major territorial concessions when the Russian and U.S. presidents meet in Alaska in return for a ceasefire ...Read more

BANGKOK — Thailand’s Constitutional Court will rule on Aug. 29 whether to disqualify Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who has been previously suspended from duty, over allegations she breached ethical standards in handling a border dispute with Cambodia.

The nine-member court will read out the verdict at 3 p.m. local time, it said in ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — If you travel along Interstate 91 during rush hour in Hartford on any given weekday you may notice a smiling face waving to you above on the pedestrian overpass bridge along with American flags, signs and messages to alert motorists below that “things are not normal.”

The Hartford Visibility Brigade, a group of area ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Convincing young Black people to become cops long been a tough sell at summer job fairs.

But in recent months the pool of recruits at the Los Angeles Police Department has shriveled to the point of running dry. The last two training academy classes haven't included a single a Black graduate.

Despite offering generous pay and ...Read more

MIAMI — Florida anglers say sharks are snatching their catches at unprecedented rates, calling it an “overwhelming problem” and blaming a boom in Gulf shark numbers.

But scientific research paints a more complicated picture.

Scientists who study sharks acknowledge that depredation — the act of fish being eaten by an underwater predator...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In better times, droves of young winter-run Chinook salmon would travel 300 miles downstream from the Sacramento River, beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific. They would return as adults, shimmering silver and red, and spawn at their exact place of birth in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta.

Today, fewer ...Read more

WATERLOO, Iowa — John-Paul Sager appreciates the care he has received at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, but he thinks it should be easier for veterans like him to use their benefits elsewhere.

Sager, a Marine Corps and Army veteran, uses his VA coverage for non-VA treatment of back injuries stemming from his military ...Read more

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”

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REDDING, Calif. 𑁋 This spring, the Good News Rescue Mission, which runs the only emergency homeless shelter in Shasta County, received a game-changing $17.8 million state grant to build a ...Read more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — United Launch Alliance knocked out its first Vulcan Centaur launch of the year Tuesday night, and its first ever for the Space Force.

The company’s new workhorse rocket lifted off on the USSF-106 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41 at 8:56 p.m. under clear skies except for a ...Read more

SEOUL, South Korea — Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to brief him on the war in Ukraine ahead of the Russian president’s planned summit with President Donald Trump in Alaska.

During the call on Tuesday, Putin thanked Kim for supporting his war on Ukraine as the two leaders “exchanged views on...Read more

Tropical Storm Erin on Tuesday continued to push west through the Atlantic as the National Hurricane Center forecasted it to become a major hurricane with Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands in its potential path.

As of the NHC’s 5 p.m. Eastern time update, the center of Erin was located about 1,635 miles east of the northern Leeward ...Read more

A Miami judge overseeing an environmental lawsuit seeking to shut down Alligator Alcatraz said Tuesday at the end of a contentious afternoon of witness testimony that she would like to take up Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on his invitation to visit the Everglades immigration detention center.

Surprising attorneys for the DeSantis ...Read more

Victims of child sexual abuse linked to the Roman Catholic Baltimore Archdiocese will have a third chance to be seen and tell their stories.

On Monday, Judge Michelle Harner ordered a two-hour status conference for Oct. 6 at 1 p.m., meant to raise awareness of and understanding for sexual abuse victims of the Baltimore Archdiocese.

In February...Read more

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Keon Hee, wife of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, was arrested late Tuesday in an ongoing investigation into allegations ranging from suspected stock manipulation to bribery, investigators said.

The arrest was made after the Seoul Central District Court approved an arrest warrant for the former first ...Read more

A $900 million request for humanitarian assistance for Haitians, millions of whom are facing starvation, has received the lowest level of support for any such plan in the world, the United Nations’ outgoing humanitarian coordinator said Tuesday.

Ulrika Richardson, who has spent the past three years guiding the U.N.’s response amid ...Read more

Illinois students could be held to new standards for school testing, a shift the state school board says will better prepare them for college and postsecondary education careers while accurately measuring performance levels.

The Illinois State Board of Education announced proposed changes to state standardized testing Tuesday — including the ...Read more

U.S. tariff revenue reached a fresh monthly record in July, though the increase wasn’t enough to prevent a widening in the monthly budget deficit — pointing to the federal government’s continuing fiscal challenges.

Customs duties climbed to $28 billion last month, marking a 273% surge over July last year, a Treasury Department release ...Read more

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — As national Democrats continue looking for a message that will resonate with the American public enough to put them back in power, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday it could be as simple as: “America is too expensive.”

Speaking in Illinois’ state capital about President Donald Trump and GOP ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Several hundred workers, organizers and immigrant advocates gathered in palm-tree-dotted MacArthur Park on Tuesday to denounce the Trump administration and immigration raids it has carried out in the city and in other parts of California.

Rows of parked cars clogged a stretch of Park View Street in the morning, blocking traffic....Read more