WORLD
Firefighters battle exhaustion along with wildfire flames
Firefighters trying to contain the massive wildfires in Oregon, California and Washington state are constantly on the verge of exhaustion as they try to save suburban houses, including some in their own neighborhoods.
BUSINESS
Egyptian, Mexican, Moldovan exit in race for top post at WTO
The WTO’s General Council, made up of ambassadors from the 164-member Geneva organization, ruled out Jesus Seade Kuri of Mexico, Tudor Ulianovschi of Moldova and Hamid Mamdouh of Egypt.
BUSINESS
‘Forrest Gump’ author Winston Groom dead at 77
Mayor Karin Wilson of Fairhope, Alabama, said in a message on social media that Groom had died in that south Alabama town. A local funeral home also confirmed the death and said arrangements were pending.
BUSINESS
UK police help return 3 stolen sculptures to Indian temple
Police said in a statement that the works were removed in 1978 from a temple in the Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. Although the thieves were caught and convicted in India, the bronzes remained missing for the next four decades.
BUSINESS
UK to ration COVID-19 testing amid testing failures
Johnson defended his efforts to increase testing capacity, telling the House of Commons that the government was responding to a “colossal″ increase in demand and arguing that Britain is testing more people than other European countries.
BUSINESS
Federal Reserve adjusts inflation target, rate unchanged
The Fed's benchmark interest rate influences borrowing costs for homebuyers, credit card users, and businesses.
BUSINESS
Report finds global economic outlook not as bad as expected
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in a report that the world’s gross domestic product is projected to decline by 4.5 percent this year - less than the 6 percent plunge it had predicted in June.
WORLD
US outlines sweeping plan to provide free COVID-19 vaccines
The campaign is “much larger in scope and complexity than seasonal influenza or other previous outbreak-related vaccination responses,” said the playbook for states from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
WORLD
Winds kick up century old volcanic ash in Alaska
Strong southerly winds picked up loose ash from a 1912 volcanic eruption, sending an ash cloud about 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) into the sky on Monday.
WORLD
Seeping under doors, bad air from West’s fires won’t ease up
People in Oregon, Washington state and California have been struggling for a week or longer under some of the most unhealthy air on the planet. The acrid yellow-green smog may linger for days or weeks, scientists and forecasters said.
BUSINESS
Bill Gates Sr., father of Microsoft co-founder, dies at 94
Bill died peacefully on Monday at his beach home in Washington state from Alzheimer’s disease, the family announced on Tuesday.
WORLD
Political preferences of Asian Americans including Indian-origin voters flip from Republican to Democrat
It’s true that Asian Americans are not necessarily a homogeneous group. Some have wondered if those with ties to countries that experienced communist rule might be more supportive of the Republican Party, which has historically strongly opposed communism.
TRENDS
Lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair along with blood-stained telegram auctioned for more than $81,000
The roughly 2-inch (5 centimeter) long lock of hair was removed during Lincoln’s postmortem examination after he was fatally shot at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., by John Wilkes Booth.
WORLD
To door knock or not? Campaigning for Congress in COVID era
President Donald Trump is setting the tone for his party, with big rallies and few masks. Democrats, led by presidential nominee Joe Biden, are keeping events small and mostly virtual, confident that voters will reward them for adhering to public health protocols.
WORLD
Yoshihide Suga poised to win party vote for Japan PM
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is choosing its new leader in an internal vote to pick a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced last month that he would resign due to health problems.
WORLD
Winds a worry as death toll reaches 35 from West Coast fires
The flames up and down the West Coast have destroyed neighborhoods, leaving nothing but charred rubble and burned-out cars, forced tens of thousands to flee and cast a shroud of smoke that has given Seattle, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, some of the worst air quality in the world.
WORLD
Hurricane Paulette rolls toward Bermuda; Tropical Storm Sally threatens Gulf Coast
Paulette gained hurricane status late on Saturday and was expected to bring storm surge, coastal flooding and high winds to Bermuda, according to a US National Hurricane Center advisory.
BUSINESS
Domestic air travel recovers in Wuhan, China
The virus was first detected in Wuhan late last year and the city underwent a draconian 76-day lockdown as its hospitals struggled to deal with a tidal wave of cases that required the rapid construction of field hospitals to handle the overflow.
BUSINESS
Hyundai warns owners to park outside, recalls 180,000 SUVs
Hyundai says on Friday that it knows of a dozen engine fires caused by the problem but no injuries.
WORLD
What’s next? Devastating fires are latest challenge in West
It’s an ominous harbinger of fall for the region that was the first to be hit hard by the coronavirus and where the cries for social justice have rung especially loud this summer with protests in Portland for more than 100 days.
WORLD
The only place in the world without COVID-19
As nearly 1,000 scientists and others who wintered over on the ice are seeing the sun for the first time in weeks or months, a global effort wants to make sure incoming colleagues don’t bring the virus with them.
WORLD
Slovenian woman cut off her hand for insurance payout
The district court in Ljubljana said Julija Adlesic agreed with her boyfriend to have her left hand severed above the wrist at their home in the capital early in 2019.
WORLD
James Bond, 'Avengers' star Diana Rigg dies at 82
Rigg “spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession. I will miss her beyond words,” Stirling said.
BUSINESS
European Central Bank's stimulus train to keep on rolling
The bank’s governing council made the decision Thursday to keep benchmark interest rates, the size of its bond-buying stimulus programs and its outlook unchanged.
