Russia batters Ukraine with more than 700 drones, the largest barrage of the war, officials say
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Russia has fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight. That tops previous nightly barrages for the third time in two weeks. It’s part of Moscow’s intensifying aerial and ground assault in the three-year war. Russia has recently sought to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses by launching major attacks that include increasing numbers of decoy drones. The most recent one appeared aimed at disrupting Ukraine’s vital supply of Western weapons. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the city of Lutsk was the hardest hit. It lies near the border with Poland in western Ukraine, a region that is a crucial hub for receiving foreign military aid.
Searchers in helicopters and on horseback comb Texas flood debris for missing people
HUNT, Texas (AP) — Crews are using backhoes and their bare hands to dig through piles of debris that stretch for miles in the search for more than 160 people believed to be missing in the flash floods that laid waste to Texas Hill Country. Over 100 bodies have been recovered so far, but the large number of missing suggested that the full extent of the catastrophe was still unclear five days after the disaster. Gov. Greg Abbott says the efforts will not stop until every missing person is accounted for. Officials have been seeking more information about those who were in the popular tourist destination during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Biden’s former doctor refuses to answer questions in House Republican probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s former White House physician is refusing answer questions as part of the House Republican investigation into Biden’s health in office. Dr. Kevin O’Connor invoked doctor-client privilege and his rights under the Fifth Amendment during an appearance Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee. That’s according to the doctor’s attorneys. Republicans are conducting a sweeping investigation into Biden’s actions in office and questioning whether the Democrat’s use of an autopen may have been invalid. Biden has strongly denied that he was not in a right state of mind at any point while in office, calling the claims “ridiculous and false.”
The US is having its worst year for measles in more than three decades
Measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest in three decades. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the U.S. has 1,288 cases since the beginning of the year. That’s higher than 2019, when there 1,274 cases driven by 22 outbreaks over 12 months. Seventeen states have seen outbreaks this year. Experts fear the U.S. may lose its status as having eliminated measles. There are also large outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable disease in Mexico and Canada.
Chipmaker Nvidia becomes most valuable company in the world at $4 trillion
NEW YORK (AP) — Chipmaker Nvidia became the first public company to top $4 trillion in value on Wednesday after two-year investor frenzy. Nvidia shares rose 2.5%, or $3.97, in early trading Wednesday, topping $164 each. At the beginning of 2023, Nvidia shares were around $14 each.
Israeli strikes kill 40 in Gaza, with no sign of a breakthrough after Trump’s talks with Netanyahu
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hospital officials say Israeli airstrikes killed at least 40 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including 10 from the same family who were sheltering in a tent. Wednesday’s strikes came as U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a ceasefire that might end the war and free dozens of Israeli hostages. Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the second time in two days at the White House on Tuesday evening, but there was no sign of a breakthrough. Netanyahu has vowed to continue the 21-month war until Hamas is destroyed, while the militant group has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
European court finds Russia committed violations in Ukraine and was behind downing Flight MH17
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Europe’s top human rights court delivered damning judgments against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands accusing Moscow of atrocities in Ukraine dating back more than a decade. Judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law — from shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, to the murder, torture, rape, destruction of civilian infrastructure and kidnapping of Ukrainian children after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of 2022. The Kremlin said it would ignore the largely symbolic judgment, but Ukraine hailed it as “historic and unprecedented,” saying it was an “undeniable victory” for the embattled country.
Philadelphia workers and city reach a deal to end strike that halted residential trash pickup
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials say a union representing thousands of city workers in Philadelphia and the city have reached a deal to end a more than weeklong strike that halted residential curbside trash pickup and affected other services. Word of the tentative agreement came early Wednesday, on what would have been the ninth day of the strike. Nearly 10,000 blue-collar employees from District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had walked off the job July 1, seeking better pay and benefits after failing to agree with the city on a new contract. District Council 33 is the largest of four major unions representing city workers. Its membership includes 911 dispatchers, trash collectors, water department workers and many others.
Stocks open higher on Wall Street as trade talks press ahead
Stocks are higher on Wall Street as the Trump administration seeks to win more deals with global trading partners. The S&P 500 index was up 0.7% in early trading Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 224 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1%. Treasury yields slipped in the bond market. Crude oil and other energy prices were lower. Copper prices eased after spiking a day earlier as President Donald Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on imports of the metal. European markets were higher and Asian markets closed mixed.
Flash flooding kills 3 in a New Mexico mountain village
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Monsoon rains in southern New Mexico triggered flash flooding that killed three people in a mountain village. The flood Tuesday was so intense that an entire house was swept downstream. The village of Ruidoso said in a statement that a man, a 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy were swept away by floodwaters. Ruidoso spokesperson Kerry Gladden says they are the same three people who had been reported missing. Gladden says no one else has been reported missing as of Wednesday morning. The water in the Ruidoso area receded Tuesday night and search and rescue and swift water rescue teams are scouring the town.
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