Iran promoted a hard-line ex-commander as its top security official, shaking up its highest decision-making body on national defense after saying it was “very close” to a deal with Oman over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mohsen Rezaee was appointed the new leader of the Supreme National Security Council, the state-run Islamic ...Read more

Taiwan plans to spend a record NT$1.1 trillion ($34.1 billion) on its military in 2027, a semi-official media outlet reported, a move that comes as the U.S. pushes it to do more to deter China.

The defense budget for the year would exceed 3% of GDP, the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The ...Read more

Syria said two Russian bases in the country will be turned into joint training centers after the two sides agreed to redefine the role of the facilities that have given Moscow a military presence on the Mediterranean.

Under the memorandum of understanding announced Sunday, the air and naval bases should be converted to “joint training and ...Read more

Severe storms buffeted western Massachusetts through Saturday, leaving Springfield in a state of emergency, over a thousand without power and dozens of residents displaced after a building collapsed.

“My heart goes out to our neighbors in Western Mass affected by yesterday’s storms, especially the dozens of residents displaced in ...Read more

When the temperature soars in California , people and pets stay indoors, seek out air-conditioned spots or head the nearest lake, river or swimming pool.

What about rattlesnakes?

Where do snakes go when highs climb into the triple digits?

Here’s what to know:

What happens to rattlesnakes in hot weather?

As cold-blooded critters, you might...Read more

Last fall, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game brought 19 Sitka black-tailed deer from an island near Kodiak to the bottom of the Kenai Peninsula as part of an effort to see how the animals would fare.

Not well, it turned out.

At least 13 of the deer died. Another one slipped out of its GPS collar, and the department isn't sure if it ...Read more

Taylor Farms is pulling more than a dozen prepared food items containing jalapeños, including salsas and guacamole, from retailers due to concerns over salmonella, just weeks after federal health officials tied the produce company to a separate outbreak of cyclospora.

The Salinas, California-based company said Sunday it has issued a voluntary ...Read more

A 27-year-old woman and her 5-month-old daughter died, and 12 people needed rescuing, when their boat capsized in the waters off lower Manhattan near Liberty Island — and the captain has been arrested, police said Sunday.

The vessel, described by police sources as a 21-foot Yamaha boat, overturned just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, officials ...Read more

After weeks of silence, the Atlantic is showing signs of life days ahead of the usual peak of hurricane season.

On Friday, the National Hurricane Center flagged two potential systems in the eastern Atlantic to watch over the next few days. One has a low chance (20%) of strengthening into a tropical depression or storm in the next week and the ...Read more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal by U.S.-backed mediators for disarming Hamas, hardening his position after voicing misgivings at the suggestion that Israel reciprocate with phased pullouts from Gaza.

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, according ...Read more

When she heard about a new, experimental drug to treat pancreatic cancer, Rachelle Gardner tried not to get her hopes up.

She wondered: Would she be eligible for the medication? Would her hospital be allowed to give it to her? Would she live long enough to get it?

In late July, her questions were answered. In an exam room at City of Hope ...Read more

A second Chicago facility is accused of mishandling human remains after nearly five dozen decomposing bodies were discovered at a Southeast Side funeral home last week.

The Bohemian National Cemetery and Crematorium in North Park has been ordered to stop accepting any new human remains after investigators were alerted to possible storage ...Read more

The National Hurricane Center on Sunday continued to forecast chances that two Atlantic systems could develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.

As of the NHC’s 2 p.m. tropical outlook, the more likely of the two was a tropical wave expected to move off the west coast of Africa into the eastern tropical Atlantic early this...Read more

Last June, the federal government's immigrant detention center in Tacoma — then supposed to hold a maximum of 1,575 people — was so full amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that several dozen were transferred to an Alaska jail. As of Friday, the number of people detained at the Tacoma facility had dropped to 919, according ...Read more

A slew of online discourse unfolded last week after Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet shared that a college-aged member of the conservative nonprofit told him, "A burrito shouldn't cost $20."

"Yeah, a lot of this is a hangover from COVID and Biden-era inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost ...Read more

More intense heat was in store for wide swaths of Southern California on Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach the 90s along areas away from the coast in Los Angeles County, and the low 100s in the Inland Empire.

Temperatures were expected to be even more extreme Sunday in the deserts and the San Joaquin Valley, where they could reach up ...Read more

Iran and Oman remained short of a final deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although President Donald Trump signaled patience, saying the U.S. could wait for Tehran’s economic suffering to soften its stance.

For its part, Iran ruled out direct talks with the U.S. for now, citing what Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described as repeated ...Read more

The wait for an Iranian deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz dragged on, as the Islamic Republic’s top envoy ruled out direct talks with the U.S. for now.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has said a pact to establish a temporary shipping route through the global energy choke point was “very close,” on Sunday criticized what ...Read more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal by U.S.-backed mediators for disarming Hamas, hardening his position after earlier voicing misgivings at the suggestion that Israel reciprocate with phased pullouts from Gaza.

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, ...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court has a reputation problem. And Donald Trump’s attacks are making it worse.

In the weeks since an ideologically divisive term ended, polls show the court getting poor approval ratings, with one survey finding record low support. The president’s tirades after losing cases have fueled a slide among Republicans, ...Read more