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Facebook Tweet Email Link In Melissa Knicely’s nearly 19 years at a North Carolina animal shelter, she’s learned to spot an unofficial and heart-wrenching sign that the economy may be taking a turn for the worse: When there’s a surge in the number of people looking to give up their pets. That happened in the late 2000s, as the pain from the financial crisis spread; at other times when waves of layoffs hit the region; and, more recently, when inflation spiked. And in recent months, that activity, which is referred to as “owner surrenders,” has picked up steam at Charlotte-Mecklenburg…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Ezra Klein begins one of his recent podcasts by telling a joke that has been making the rounds. Basically, a conspiracy theorist dies and ascends to heaven. God is there to greet him and explains that as part of the celestial welcome, he will answer any question the man has. “Please, I must know the answer to this one,” the man says, “who killed John F. Kennedy?” God answers instantly, “That’s easy: Lee Harvey Oswald.” Shocked, the man murmurs, “This goes higher than I had thought!” This is the dilemma in which Donald Trump finds himself.…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Kinshasa, Congo AP  —  At least 21 people were killed on Sunday in an attack on church premises in eastern Congo by Islamic State-backed rebels, according to a civil society leader. The attack was carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) around 1 a.m. inside the premises of a Catholic church in eastern Congo’s Komanda. Several houses and shops were also burnt. “More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing,” Dieudonne Duranthabo, a…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Israel has announced a daily “tactical pause in military activity” in three areas of Gaza to enable more aid to reach people, amid growing international outrage over starvation in the territory. The Israeli military said the move would “refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip.” The pause – which will also see the military open up corridors to facilitate aid delivery by the UN and other agencies – has come too late for dozens of Palestinians, with officials in Gaza reporting more deaths from malnutrition and among people desperately trying to get…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Istanbul AP  —  Wildfires that have engulfed Turkey for weeks threatened the country’s fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing more than 1,700 people to flee their homes and leaving a firefighter dead. Meanwhile, firefighters elsewhere in the region, including Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro, were also battling blazes fed by unusually high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds. Overnight fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkey spread rapidly, tinting the night sky over the city’s eastern suburbs with a red glow. Dozens of severe wildfires have hit the country daily since late June, with the…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Associated Press  —  A regional passenger train derailed in southern Germany, killing at least three people and seriously injuring others on Sunday, authorities said. Federal and local police said the cause of the crash near Riedlingen, roughly 158 kilometers (98 miles) west of Munich, remains under investigation. Photos from the scene showed parts of the train on its side as rescuers climbed atop the carriages. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured. Roughly 100 people were onboard the train when at least two carriages derailed in a forested area around 6:10 p.m. (1610…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Associated Press  —  Syria will hold parliamentary elections in September, the head of a body tasked with organizing the election process told state media Sunday. Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, told state news agency SANA that elections will take place between Sept. 15 and 20. They will be the first to take place under the country’s new authorities after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December. One third of the 210 seats will the appointed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, with the…

Facebook Tweet Email Link AP  —  Russia on Sunday opened a regular air link between Moscow and Pyogyang, a move reflecting increasingly close ties between the two countries. The first flight operated by Russian carrier Nordwind took off from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport carrying over 400 passengers. Russia’s Transport Ministry said there will be one flight a month to meet demand. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who visited North Korea’s new Wonsan-Kalma beach resort earlier this month to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promised to encourage Russian tourists to visit the complex. The resort, which can accommodate nearly…

Facebook Tweet Email Link England has been crowned champion of Europe for the second successive time after defeating Spain 3-1 on penalties in the Women’s Euro 2025 final. Just as she was when the Lionesses beat Germany to win this tournament in 2022, Chloe Kelly was the hero, scoring the decisive penalty after a 1-1 draw to avenge the memory of England’s defeat to Spain in the 2023 World Cup final. But, in truth, there were stories all throughout Sarina Wiegman’s team, one which has come to be defined by its resilience and strength of character. Alessia Russo, whose 57th-minute…

Facebook Tweet Email Link At just 12 years old, China’s Yu Zidi is already one of the fastest swimmers in the world. Her times are so quick in fact, that she’s already in contention to win medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in the coming days. World Aquatics has a minimum age requirement of 14 for the world championships, but Yu’s times are so fast that she qualifies regardless. The youngster, not yet a teenager, will race in the 200m and 400m meter individual medleys, as well as the 200m butterfly. The precocious pre-teen may also be selected…