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Facebook Tweet Email Link American officials are rushing to finalize details ahead of Friday’s summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, with both logistical and geopolitical issues still unsettled four days ahead of the momentous sit-down. As of Monday, no venue for the summit had been announced. Administration officials were still making their way to Alaska — selected for its centrality to Washington and Moscow — to scope out where, exactly, the US and Russian presidents would meet. Officials were also working to clarify the contours of the two men’s expected discussion, which Trump hopes can yield…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Australia last week announced a $6.5 billion deal to buy advanced warships from Japan, a move that can go a long way to making Canberra a Pacific maritime power and Tokyo a major weapons exporter, analysts say. The Australian Defense Ministry said it will buy 11 of Japan’s Mogami-class frigates, stealthy, state-of-the-art surface combatants that analysts say are equal to – or in some repects better than – anything China or even the United States is putting in the water. Announcing the deal with its fellow member of the the US-led Quad defense group, Australia’s Minister…

Facebook Tweet Email Link That cup of joe that jolts you awake in the morning is pretty safe when it comes to contaminants and toxins, a new investigation has found. Well … almost. “While some contaminants were present, most were found at minimal levels and well below the European Union’s safety limits per 6-ounce serving. This means coffee is generally safe,” said Molly Hamilton, executive director of the nonprofit Clean Label Project, which conducted the investigation into caffeinated coffees. That’s great news because coffee has a stellar résumé: Studies have found drinking about 3 cups of black coffee a day…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Four reactors at France’s Gravelines nuclear power plant were shut down late Sunday due to a swarm of jellyfish in the cooling systems, operator EDF said on Monday, likely due to rising water temperatures because of global warming. The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total. The entire plant has now temporarily halted production as the other two units are offline for planned maintenance, EDF data showed.…

Facebook Tweet Email Link A Delta Airlines plane traveling to Guatemala clipped the wing of an empty jet Sunday morning in Atlanta, the airline said in a statement. The wing of Delta flight DL1830 “reportedly made contact” with an empty Delta jet while pushing back from the gate, an airline spokesperson told CNN. There were no reports of injuries among the 192 passengers and six crew members on board, the carrier noted. The flight, from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Guatemala City, had been scheduled to take off shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday morning. The passengers were reboarded on a…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Elon Musk’s Tesla has applied to the British energy regulator for a license to supply electricity to households in the United Kingdom. If approved, it would enable Tesla to compete with a host of big energy firms that currently supply the vital utility to properties across England, Wales and Scotland. The application to UK energy regulator Ofgem was lodged at the end of last month by Tesla Energy Ventures Limited, which is based in Manchester. The official document was signed off by Andrew Payne, who is cited as the company’s director. His LinkedIn page shows him…

Facebook Tweet Email Link As a ceasefire in Gaza took hold in January, Anas Al-Sharif began removing his protective gear live on television, piece by piece, while a jubilant crowd cheered, hoping the day marked the end of the suffering of 2 million Palestinians in the enclave. Nearly seven months later, Israel killed the Al Jazeera journalist and four of his colleagues in a strike in Gaza City. One of the most well-known Palestinian journalists in Gaza – and one of dozens to be killed by Israel during the war – Al-Sharif’s death has ignited international condemnation and calls for…

Facebook Tweet Email Link A growing number of countries are pledging to recognize a Palestinian state, with more than 145 nations now joining the call for international recognition. Most of the nations that recognize a State of Palestine did so in 1988, following the Palestine National Council’s (PNC) declaration of the state. Many other non-Western states followed suit in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. In the spring of 2024, more European and Caribbean nations recognized a Palestinian state, including Barbados, Ireland, Jamaica, Norway and Spain. At the time, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Marine researchers exploring extreme depths say they have discovered an astonishing deep-sea ecosystem of chemosynthetic life that’s fueled by gases escaping from fractures in the ocean bed. The expedition revealed methane-producing microbes and marine invertebrates that make their home in unforgiving conditions where the sun’s rays don’t reach, according to a new study. Geochemist Mengran Du had 30 minutes left in her submersible mission when she decided to explore one last stretch of the trenches that lie between Russia and Alaska, about 5,800 to 9,500 meters (19,000 to 30,000 feet) below the ocean’s surface in what’s…

Facebook Tweet Email Link This month, our twin boys — our only children — will fly the coop and head off to university. For the first time in 19 years, just two of us and our 12-pound Maltese Shih Tzu will be rattling around inside our family home. The laughter and music that have echoed off the walls will be gone, and my wife and I will enter a new, uncertain phase of life. We will become empty nesters. Admittedly, this is a rather stark interpretation of what empty nesting is going to be, but we hope we’re well-prepared. We’ve…