Teenage e-cigarette use drops to a 10-year low
The number of teenagers who reported using e-cigarettes in 2024 has tumbled from a worrisome peak reached five years ago, raising hopes among public health officials for a sustained reversal in vaping trends among adolescents.
Putin quips he prefers Harris to Trump now that Joe Biden is out
To laughter from some in his audience, a smiling President Vladimir Putin said he has made his choice in the U.S. presidential election.
Netanyahu says cease-fire deal with Hamas is not close
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the prospect of a cease-fire with Hamas being agreed soon, blaming the militant group for stalling talks.
Hunter Biden pleads guilty in federal tax case
Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, pleaded guilty to federal tax charges on Thursday in a surprise move that avoids a potentially embarrassing trial weeks before the U.S. presidential election.
US Charges American commentator who works for Russian state TV
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department indicted an American commentator for Russian television Thursday as part of a broader effort by the government to crack down on Russia’s attempts to influence U.S. politics before November’s presidential election.
Solar farms have a superpower beyond clean energy
RAMSEY, Minn. — It’s not your average solar farm.
Trump calls for an efficiency commission, an idea pushed by Elon Musk
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump called for the creation of a government efficiency commission in an economic speech in New York on Thursday, adopting a policy idea that was pitched to him by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The hot labor market has melted away. Just ask new college grads.
For much of the past three years, employers were fighting one another for workers. Now the tables have turned a bit. Few employers are firing. Layoff rates remain near record lows. But fewer employers are hiring.
Liz Cheney, a top GOP Trump critic, says she will vote for Harris
Former Rep. Liz Cheney, the once high-ranking Republican from Wyoming who torpedoed her political career by breaking forcefully with former President Donald Trump, said Wednesday she would be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
Trump questions fairness of next week’s debate at a town hall
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Hours after the Trump and Harris campaigns agreed to rules for their first presidential debate, former President Donald Trump sought to instill doubt that the debate would be fair, downplayed his need to prepare and suggested he was more worried about the network hosting the debate than his opponent.
Southern China braces for super typhoon Yagi
HONG KONG — China’s southern provinces and cities braced for the arrival of super typhoon Yagi, shutting schools and postponing flights ahead of its expected landfall along Hainan’s tropical coast, in what could be the most powerful storm to hit in nearly a decade.
Nation and world news – at a glance – for September 5
Texas attorney general sues to stop voter registration push
Georgia high school student, 14, shoots and kills 4 while wounding 9
ATLANTA — A 14-year-old student killed two fellow students and two teachers, while wounding nine others, in a shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday, just weeks after classes began, authorities said.
US negotiators racing to present new Gaza ceasefire proposal, sources say
The White House is scrambling to put forward a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas in the coming days, two U.S. officials, two Egyptian security sources and an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
US says Kremlin-backed plot to meddle in election disrupted
WASHINGTON — Russia-backed entities pursued a sprawling, yearslong operation to meddle in the 2024 U.S. presidential election and broadly boost the Kremlin’s interests, the Biden administration alleged in announcing steps to disrupt the scheme.
Judge leaves temporary block on Biden legalization program for immigrant spouses
A U.S. judge on Wednesday left in place a temporary block on a Biden administration legalization program for immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens.
Harris tells the business community: I’m friendlier than Biden
NORTH HAMPTON, N.H. — Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday sought to put daylight between herself and President Joe Biden on tax policy, making it the first issue on which she is trying to stand apart from an administration in which she holds a key role.
US job openings hit 3-1/2-year low as labor market eases
U.S. job openings dropped to a 3-1/2-year low in July, suggesting the labor market was losing steam, but the reduction on its own is probably not enough to warrant a half-percentage-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.
In deciding when to sentence Trump, judge faces ‘impossible’ task
NEW YORK — As Donald Trump’s criminal trial wrapped up in May, one of his lawyers wanted to give the jury unusual instructions that would have made it harder to convict him. A special case warranted special rules, the lawyer argued, and the first prosecution of a former U.S. president was “obviously an extraordinarily important case.”
Judge denies Trump’s request to move criminal case to federal court
NEW YORK — A federal judge in Manhattan denied an effort by Donald Trump to move his already adjudicated state criminal case to the federal courts Tuesday, rejecting his claims of presidential immunity and brushing aside his allegation of bias.
