Thunderstorms are set to batter July 4 celebrations in Washington, DC, and New York as a waning heat dome continues to test electricity grids in the eastern U.S., following record power demand over the past few days.

Storms will likely move through the U.S. capital on Saturday night, helping to cool temperatures to lows of about 75 degrees, ...Read more

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed Ukraine and the upcoming NATO summit in Turkey in a phone call Saturday.

Putin congratulated Trump on the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence in the call that lasted 85 minutes, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said in an audio message to reporters.

“The ...Read more

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that U.S. dollar-denominated bills featuring President Donald Trump’s signature were being introduced to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday.

Bessent reposted a social-media message on Saturday by the president with an image of a $100 bill bearing Trump’s familiar signature to confirm the ...Read more

The number of New Yorkers diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease on the Upper East Side has jumped to 10, officials said Saturday.

Council Speaker Julie Menin and other city officials were alerted to the significant increase as the city continues to check cooling towers in the affected areas to see if the potentially deadly bacteria has spread....Read more

Orange County prosecutors have filed involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of an 8-year-old girl killed by illegal fireworks at a Fourth of July party — a death Yolo County prosecutors had previously connected to the black-market explosives operation behind the deadly Esparto warehouse blast.

Earl Decastro, 47, of Buena Park, was ...Read more

A hit-and-run investigation Friday in Napa County led investigators to the husband of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Northern California authorities said. The 86-year-old driver could now face a misdemeanor charge.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office in a Saturday news release said a hit-and-run involving Paul Pelosi happened around 2:30 p.m. Friday ...Read more

Frozen fruit sold under Publix’s GreenWise brand has been recalled in Florida and seven other states out of fears it might be contaminated with a deadly form of E. coli.

Chilean company Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. recalled only lot No. 60401 of GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries, which had a best by date of Feb. 9, 2028, and came in 10-...Read more

The Grapevine Fire is estimated at 26,464 acres and is 95% contained, Nevada Incident Management Team #4 said Saturday.

Firefighters continue to patrol and secure containment lines on the Grapevine fire, located in Lincoln County’s Caliente area, with scattered pockets of residual heat still present across interior areas. Supression repair ...Read more

The Grapevine fire is estimated at 26,464 acres and is 95% contained, Nevada Incident Management Team #4 said Saturday.

Firefighters continue to patrol and secure containment lines on the Grapevine fire, located in Lincoln County’s Caliente area, with scattered pockets of residual heat still present across interior areas. Supression repair ...Read more

NAPA COUNTY — A driver who hit a parked car in Napa County and then drove away is suspected to be Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, authorities said.

The incident happened Friday about 2:30 p.m. in the 6700 block of Yount Street in unincorporated Napa County. Nobody was injured.

In a statement, the ...Read more

The eve of the United States’ 250th birthday in Philadelphia was less celebration and more chagrin, as oppressive heat left swaths of tourists and revelers in an aimless search of pomp and circumstance.

On Friday, Wawa’s Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade was canceled because of 100-plus-degree temperatures and a perilous heat...Read more

The death of Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen, the Queens Uber driver and Tibetan activist who set himself on fire outside the United Nations to protest the Chinese occupation of his native home, has left Mayor Zohran Mamdani “heartbroken,” the mayor said Saturday.

“No one should feel that such a desperate act is the only way to make the ...Read more

With hopes of finding additional survivors fading, Venezuela is entering a new phase of its earthquake response centered on rebuilding shattered communities as officials reported 2,954 dead and a U.N.-backed assessment estimated $37 billion in direct physical damage.

The twin 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck north-central ...Read more

President Donald Trump will headline U.S. Independence Day celebrations on Saturday with a speech and a show that seek to place him at the center of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Trump has made no secret of his joy at presiding over the July 4 festivities, portraying the timing as a side benefit of winning a second term starting in 2025 —...Read more

Illinois’ tick season may be starting earlier, lasting longer and creeping into new corners of the state, scientists and researchers say.

Milder winters and earlier springs are helping ticks survive in greater numbers, while doctors report earlier cases of tick-borne illnesses this year than in previous seasons. And ticks aren’t only in ...Read more

A new national poll shows how Americans feel about our country as we celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday.

Elon University Poll results show an optimism among younger Americans and pride in being American across generations, even though those polled think the nation’s founders would be disappointed.

Elon Poll developed the survey, ...Read more

There’s Taylor’s version, and then there’s President Trump’s version.

Around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, a series of billboards wrapping around Madison Square Garden lit up pink, revealing to the world that, after months of speculation, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce traded their “I dos” at the storied New York City venue.

“JUST&T ...Read more

Since moving to Minneapolis from Louisiana in 2023, Jamal Green has graduated from a GED program and rented his own apartment for the first time.

Life’s better up north: an escape from the poverty and low wages Green experienced in Louisiana, he said. But he’s still dealing with less federal food assistance as food is quickly becoming more ...Read more