From attic to auction: A Rembrandt painting sells for $1.4M in Maine
THOMASTON, Maine — A Rembrandt discovered in an attic sold for $1.4 million. The 17th century painting “Portrait of a Girl” by Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was discovered by art appraiser and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux in an attic in an estate in Camden, Maine. A label on the...
Raise taxes on the rich or cut them? Harris, Trump differ on how to boost the U.S. economy
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is betting that Americans crave trillions of dollars in tax cuts — and that growth will be so fantastic that it’s not worth worrying about budget deficits. In short, he’s hoping that most economic analyses of his ideas are dead wrong. Vice President Kamala Harris believes...
U.S. job openings fall as demand for workers weakens
WASHINGTON — America’s employers posted fewer job openings in July than they had the previous month, a sign that hiring could cool in the coming months. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that there were 7.7 million open jobs in July, down from 7.9 million in June. The pace of hiring...
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba resigns as Russian strikes kill 7 people in Lviv
KYIV, Ukraine — Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, one of Ukraine’s most recognizable faces on the international stage, submitted his resignation Wednesday ahead of an expected major government reshuffle. Russian strikes, meanwhile, killed seven people in a western Ukraine city, a day after one of the deadliest missile attacks since the...
South Korea says North Korea has again launched suspected trash-carrying balloons across the border
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it has detected suspected trash-carrying balloons launched by North Korea, in the latest round of a Cold War-style psychological warfare between the war-divided rivals. The metropolitan government of Seoul, South Korea’s capital, issued text alerts Wednesday saying that objects likely to be North...
Grenfell Tower was a ‘death trap’ due to failures by UK government and industry, inquiry finds
LONDON — A damning report on a deadly London high-rise fire said Wednesday that decades of failures by government, regulators and industry turned Grenfell Tower into a “death trap” where 72 people lost their lives. The years-long public inquiry into the 2017 blaze concluded that there was no “single cause”...
Pittsburgh man arrested at Trump rally wanted to hang protest banner, police say
HARRISBURG — A man arrested last week at a Pennsylvania rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had hoped to hang a banner to protest Trump’s policies, Johnstown’s police chief said Tuesday. Authorities announced that misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were filed against Stephen A. Weiss, 36,...
Elon Musk ‘can’t wait’ to help cut government programs if Trump is reelected
Elon Musk is excited about the possibility of joining a second Donald Trump administration — and he’s sharpening his ax. The right-wing tech entrepreneur announced shortly after the former president was shot during a July rally in Pennsylvania that he “fully” supports the MAGA candidate. But Trump said in a...
House set to help bald eagle soar as national bird
WASHINGTON — The bald eagle is poised to officially rise to its long-assumed perch as the national bird of the United States if House members follow suit when they return from recess and pass legislation that sailed through the Senate. The Senate took the first step toward that designation July...
At least 7 cars hit, 6 people injured in gunfire on interstate near Seattle
SEATTLE — At least seven vehicles traveling along Interstate 5 just south of Seattle were hit by gunfire overnight, leaving at least six people injured before a suspect was taken into custody, officials said Tuesday. The state patrol did not release any information on the suspect in the shooting that...
Police say 11-year-old used 2 guns to kill former Louisiana mayor and his daughter
MINDEN, La. — An 11-year-old boy is suspected of using two guns to fatally shoot a woman and her father, an 82-year-old man who once served as mayor, city council member and deputy sheriff in Louisiana, police said Tuesday. A 911 caller told police on Sunday morning that there were...
Mongolia ignores an international warrant for Putin’s arrest, giving him a red-carpet welcome
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red-carpet welcome Tuesday to Mongolia, as the country ignored calls to arrest him on an international warrant for alleged war crimes stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The trip, which concluded Tuesday night, was Putin’s first to a member nation of...
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey claims he will not vote for Donald TrumpVideo
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 but will not do the same in 2024. Toomey, who represented the Keystone State from January 2011 to January 2023, said he could not support Trump because of the former president’s efforts to reverse the 2020 election....
Judge rejects Donald Trump’s request to intervene in wake of hush money conviction
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, thwarting the former president’s latest bid to overturn his felony conviction and delay his sentencing. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that Trump had not satisfied the burden...
U.S. charges Hamas leader, others in connection with Oct. 7 massacre in Israel
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced criminal charges Tuesday against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior militants in connection with the Oct. 7, 2023, rampage in Israel, marking the first effort by American law enforcement to formally call out the masterminds of the attack. The seven-count criminal complaint filed...
New Instagram filter keeps Wyoming visitors from getting too close to wildlife
In Wyoming, a new Instagram filter was created to tell people if they’re too close to wildlife while taking photos, the Washington Post reported. The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board created the tool in order to reduce conflict between visitors and animals. According to the National Park Service, visitors...
Phoenix weathers 100 days of 100-plus degree temps as heat scorches the West
PHOENIX — Cam Ferguson gets to his spot on the street adjacent to Chase Field — home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks — about four hours before first pitch to set up his usual display of cold water, sports drinks, peanuts and candy. By game time, it’s about 103...
Former aide to 2 New York governors charged with being an agent of the Chinese governmentVideo
A former aide to two New York governors was charged Tuesday with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government who used her state positions to subtly advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for financial benefits worth millions of dollars. Linda Sun, who held numerous posts in New York state...
RFK Jr. must remain on the Michigan ballot, judge says
LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan judge ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must remain on the November presidential ballot, dealing a blow to his crusade to strategically remove his ticket from the battleground state. Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump in August. Since then, he has...
The Fed welcomes a ‘soft landing’ even if many Americans don’t feel like cheering
WASHINGTON — When Jerome Powell delivered a high-profile speech last month, the Federal Reserve chair came the closest he ever had to declaring that the inflation surge that gripped the nation for three painful years was now essentially defeated. And not only that. The Fed’s high interest rates, Powell said,...
Prosecutors balk at Trump’s bid to delay post-conviction hush money rulings
NEW YORK — Manhattan prosecutors balked Tuesday at Donald Trump ‘s effort to delay post-trial decisions in his New York hush money criminal case while he seeks to have a federal court intervene and potentially overturn his felony conviction. However, they said they could be OK with postponing the former...
China-linked ‘Spamouflage’ network mimics Americans online to sway U.S. political debate
WASHINGTON — When he first emerged on social media, the user known as Harlan claimed to be a New Yorker and an Army veteran who supported Donald Trump for president. Harlan said he was 29, and his profile picture showed a smiling, handsome young man. A few months later, Harlan...
Nearly 50 years after being found dead in a Pennsylvania cave, ‘Pinnacle Man’ is identified
The body of a man found frozen in a small Pennsylvania cave nearly 50 years ago has finally been identified. The remains of Nicolas Paul Grubb, 27, of Fort Washington, were discovered in January 1977 by two hikers who had ducked inside the cave to escape some inclement weather. Grubb...
Salvagers abandon effort to tow burning oil tanker in Red Sea targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Salvagers abandoned an effort to tow away a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels as it “was not safe to proceed,” a European Union naval mission said Tuesday, leaving the Sounion stranded and its 1 million barrels of oil...
Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine is shot and wounded in confrontation with police
KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan opposition figure Bobi Wine was shot in the leg in a confrontation with police Tuesday just outside the capital, Kampala, his opposition group said. Photos posted online showed Wine surrounded by followers who yelled that he had been shot in the leg before some supported him...
