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Venezuela moves to restructure debt amid economic recovery push

Current News / News & Features /

For years, they have stood unfinished across Venezuela like monuments to collapse: abandoned bridges rising from rivers to nowhere, rusting refineries swallowed by weeds, empty rail lines ending in concrete pillars and half-built power plants that never generated electricity.

Tens of billions of dollars disappeared into those projects during ...Read more

Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

NASA refines Artemis III flight details for next year

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NASA announced it would forgo using the same upper stage used on the first two Artemis flights for next year’s Artemis III mission since it won’t be heading to the moon.

The mission will be headed for a low-Earth orbit and won’t need the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) built by United Launch Alliance that helped propel the ...Read more

Son of Sen. Rand Paul apologizes for antisemitic comments made to congressman

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William Paul, son of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, has apologized for antisemitic remarks made to a New York congressman at a bar in Washington, D.C., earlier this week.

William Paul “drunkenly hurled antisemitic insults at Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., at a Capitol Hill bar and restaurant,” according to NOTUS reporter Reese Gorman, who witnessed the ...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

China's Xi, warning of a clash, tells Trump: 'We must make it work'

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BEIJING — An extraordinary display of power and precision along Tiananmen Square greeted President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday, kicking off a two-day summit with particularly high stakes for the Americans.

It was not immediately clear what the two sides had accomplished in their first day of meetings. But carefully choreographed ...Read more

ROB ENGELAAR/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Hantavirus strikes a cruise ship: A 'perfect storm' or a warning sign?

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The voyage was marketed for explorers eager to venture to "the edges of the map," from Antarctica to some of the most remote islands in the world.

It would be a tantalizing trip for tourists with an appetite for adventure — less about trips to the spa and lounging by the pool than a chance to see landscapes few humans have ever laid eyes upon...Read more

AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Another Californian was exposed to hantavirus in deadly cruise ship outbreak, officials announce

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LOS ANGELES — Health officials have identified another California resident who was exposed to the deadly hantavirus strain that spread on a Dutch cruise ship and killed three people.

This brings the total count of exposed Golden State residents to five, all of whom are currently asymptomatic, according to the California Department of Public ...Read more

Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times/TNS

California Gov. Gavin Newsom offers early peek at rosy budget projections

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Hours before Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to present his budget plan on Thursday, his office released new projections of a $16.5-billion state revenue windfall over three years and offered a rosy outlook on California's fiscal position during his final year in office and the year after.

Newsom's office provided few ...Read more

Leon Neal/Getty Images North America/TNS

Starmer rival Streeting quits, setting up UK leadership bid

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Wes Streeting resigned as Keir Starmer’s health secretary, paving the way for him to challenge the U.K. prime minister for his job.

“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next,” Streeting said in a letter to Starmer that...Read more

Alex Wong/Getty Images North America/TNS

Xi's threat to Trump cements Taiwan as top risk to US-China ties

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After Xi Jinping regaled Donald Trump with goose-stepping soldiers and flag-waving children, the Chinese leader’s warning that Taiwan could lead to “clashes” between the superpowers amounted to a thunderclap in the choreographed world of Communist Party politics.

Cautioning American presidents against interfering with the self-ruled ...Read more

The men responsible for producing the Declaration of Independence, known as the Committee of Five, were, left to right: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, John Adams and Robert R. Livingston. Vintage etching circa late 19th century, digital restoration by Pictore via Getty Images

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson disagreed about the American Revolution’s meaning even as they lay dying

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Like Americans today, the people living in the United States in 1826 were preparing to celebrate a milestone for their country. July Fourth of that year marked the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

As what was known as the “Jubilee” of American independence approached, Americans realized that the founding ...Read more

Phoenix residents watch presidential candidate Donald Trump speak at the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2024. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Why a growing number of Trump supporters are experiencing voter’s remorse

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In recent months, some prominent conservatives and erstwhile allies of President Donald Trump – former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and journalist Megyn Kelly, for example – have voiced their displeasure with him on several issues. They range from Trump’s handling of the Iran war and the economy to the release of information ...Read more

An ancient disk shows the priestess Enheduanna, third figure from the right, during a ritual. Mefman00/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Is AI really ‘writing’? From a priestess to philosophers, ancient authors would have said ‘no’

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I teach writing and rhetoric, but my college students and I often overlook a surprisingly complicated question: What is writing?

And can artificial intelligence really do it?

Many people think of “writing” as putting words on a page. However, even from very early on, writers have seen their craft as something more. From ...Read more

El Niño can mean a rainy U.S. Southwest, warmer winters in the North and less Atlantic hurricane activity – but not always.  Bill Tompkins/Getty Images

A ‘super El Niño?’ Why it’s too early to forecast one with certainty, but not too soon to prepare

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Talk of a “super El Niño” developing in 2026 is gaining momentum, with concerns rising that this climate pattern could bring extreme rainfall, heat, drought and destructive flooding around the world.

The signals appear to be in place: The tropical Pacific is warming along the equator, and computer models point toward extreme ...Read more

Xi warns Trump of possible 'clashes' if Taiwan issue mishandled

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Xi Jinping warned Donald Trump of a potential conflict if the Taiwan issue is mismanaged, in blunt remarks that punctured an otherwise cordial start to the first trip to China by a sitting U.S. president in nearly a decade.

The two leaders spoke for nearly two-and-a-half hours at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday, after a welcome ...Read more

Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

US efforts to end Iran war stumble as ship seized near UAE

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U.S. efforts to end the war with Iran were dealt a setback after a commercial vessel was apparently seized by unauthorized personnel near the United Arab Emirates, increasing uncertainty over control of the critical Strait of Hormuz.

The ship, whose identity wasn’t immediately clear, was taken 38 nautical miles off the UAE coast and is now ...Read more

Pope warns Europe's rearmament risks undermining social spending

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Pope Leo XIV has criticized a European rush to rearm, warning it is diverting resources from education and health, as he reiterated his message of peace.

“Over the past year, the increase in military spending worldwide, and particularly in Europe, has been enormous,” the pope said in a speech at the Sapienza University in Rome on Thursday. ...Read more

Leon Neal/Getty Images North America/TNS

Starmer rivals prepare to challenge weakened prime minister

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(Bloomberg) — Keir Starmer’s efforts to hold back a potential leadership challenge showed new cracks, as allies of leading Labour Party rivals signaled they were ready to challenge him for the prime minister’s job.

Starmer’s former No. 2, Angela Rayner, indicated on Thursday that she was preparing for a bid to lead the governing Labour...Read more

Courtesy Wendy Bobadilla/Stateline/TNS

As Trump looks to punish foes, Democratic states find ways to push back

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President Donald Trump is wielding power in unprecedented ways to bring states to heel, marking a dark new chapter in the relationship between the federal government and the states.

Since taking office last year, Trump has punished Democratic-led states that anger him by withholding federal funding and slow-walking assistance. His ...Read more

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How the humpback whale made a massive comeback in the Salish Sea

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ABOARD THE MOLLY B, on the Salish Sea — They are big. They are beautiful. And they are back.

The return of the humpback whale to greater numbers than observed in decades is part of a larger revival of marine mammals in the Salish Sea. It is an astonishing sight of life rebounding, with exception of the endangered southern residents orcas.

On...Read more

Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS

Lawsuit ties 'brazen fraud' in real estate deals to husband's murder of Florida woman in Spain

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The last known act of Ana Knezevich’s life was to finalize the sale of a house in Oakland Park.

Within hours of signing the deal, the 40-year-old Fort Lauderdale woman disappeared from her apartment in Madrid, murdered by her husband, David, according to federal officials. Now, a civil complaint filed May 1 by her ...Read more