5 things to know for Aug. 12: Paris Olympics, Presidential race, Middle East tensions, Brazil plane crash, Greece wildfires
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It’s a bird … It’s a plane … No, it’s a fireball. The Perseid meteor shower reached its peak before dawn today, lighting up the skies with up to 100 meteors per hour. If you were fast asleep, don’t fret: There are seven remaining meteor showers set to peak before the end of the year. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. After an exciting two-and-a-half weeks of competition, the Summer Olympics wrapped up on Sunday with a grand closing ceremony at the Stade de France. The celebration boasted an array of music, a parade of nations and even Tom Cruise rappelling from the roof. It was a fitting Hollywood finish as the Games were formally handed to 2028 host Los Angeles. Also on Sunday, the US women’s basketball team survived a scare and beat host nation France, 67-66. The victory sealed a US tie with China for most gold medals at the 2024 Games. Meanwhile, a saga is unfolding around American gymnast Jordan Chiles’ floor exercise bronze medal. US Olympic officials say they will appeal a ruling that stripped her of the medal and dropped her to fifth place. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are facing another busy week ahead in their quest for the White House. Harris delivered remarks at a San Francisco fundraiser Sunday while Trump said his weekend fundraisers in Montana and Wyoming raised $28 million for his campaign. On Saturday, Trump’s campaign said in a statement that it had been hacked by Iranian operatives that “intended to interfere with the 2024 election.” Politico reported that it had received emails from an anonymous account with documents from inside Trump’s campaign operation but it’s not clear whether Iran was responsible for the hack. The White House condemned any attempt at foreign interference in American elections. A barrage of rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel on Sunday night has further heightened tensions in the Middle East. The latest salvo was fired in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza and in retaliation for Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, the militant group said in a statement. Rocket fire toward Israel by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has become a near-daily occurrence since the outbreak of war in Gaza as fears grow over a possible Iranian attack that could escalate into a wider regional conflict. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel, the Pentagon said on Sunday. All 62 bodies have been recovered from the site of the deadly plane crash outside São Paulo on Friday, according to the state government. Flight tracking data shows that the passenger plane dropped 17,000 feet in just one minute, but it is not yet clear why. The flight had left Cascavel, in the Brazilian state of Parana, and was en route to Guarulhos, in São Paulo state. Dramatic footage circulating on social media showed the plane’s fall and its destroyed fuselage in flames on the ground. Preparations are expected to begin today for a wake to be held in Cascavel, according to reporters in the region.
Donald Trump wants us to believe that a deal with Cuba is close at hand. After this past week, I am not so sure.
The search for missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has stretched into another anguished week, with mounting pressure on investigators and a family grappling with uncertainty.
Cuba’s Ministry of Energy announced Saturday evening that entire island has suffered another electrical blackout, leaving more than 10 million people without power.
Iran’s attempt to strike a US-UK base over 2,000 miles (over 3,000 kilometers) off its coast has renewed questions about Tehran’s military capabilities and how far its missiles can reach.
For years, President Donald Trump has offered crass and insensitive comments about people who died – especially his foes. That reached a new level on Saturday.
Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who led the historic probe into alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government, has died. He was 81.
Marlon Batres is not OK. The assistant principal says he is in constant fear for his students, staff and even himself after federal agents swarmed the streets.
To hear some prominent MAGA voices tell it, the marathon Senate debate over the “SAVE America Act” is an existential one for the Republican Party. But the urgency to pass the legislation is not felt by Americans more widely.
In the days after winning the Democratic nomination for Senate, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton spoke to the two women with whom she could make history next year.
This month, terrorist suspects in the alleged bomb-throwing in New York City and the synagogue attack in Michigan visited Phantom Fireworks stores shortly beforehand.
In near-daily briefings with top military officials at the White House, President Donald Trump has reviewed options that include sending American troops into Iran.
With his Atlantic City casinos in duress in the 1990s, Donald Trump saw a potential lifeline in sports betting and aggressively campaigned to legalize it in New Jersey. But when state powerbrokers shut him down, Trump vowed that he’d eventually find a way to win.
Unpaid Transportation Security Administration workers are struggling to stay afloat – and on the job – amid a partial government shutdown that has frustrated travelers inching through security lines that stretch for hours, with wait times only expected to worsen this weekend.