Philippines Summons Chinese Envoy Over Water Cannon Incident

Philippine Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated Monday that China's envoy has been summoned after Chinese coastguards used water cannons to block Philippine vessels carrying supplies for its military personnel in the South China Sea....

Politics

US Seeks to Ban Medical Debt From Credit Reports

The Biden admin. announced Thursday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering barring consumer credit companies from including medical debt and collection information on individuals' credit reports....

Social issues

US Govt Shutdown Looms as House GOP Blocks Spending Bill

According to an official at the US Office of Management and Budget, the White House on Friday began the process of telling federal agencies to prepare for a shutdown following House Republican opposition to its own defense bill. This process is standard practice seven days ahead of an anticipated...

United States

Musk’s Neuralink Seeks Humans for Brain-Implant Trials

Elon Musk's brain-chip start-up Neuralink has started recruiting people for its first human trial....

Science & Technology

Report: China Bars 3 Indian Athletes From Asian Games

On Thursday, China reportedly denied entry to three Indian athletes from Arunachal Pradesh — a northeastern state in India, much of which Beijing claims as its own — for the Hangzhou Asian Games....

Sports

UK: 5 Bulgarian Nationals Charged With Spying for Russia

The UK's Crown Prosecution Service revealed on Thursday that three men and two women suspected of spying for Russia will face charges of conspiracy to commit espionage....

Crime & Justice

Indonesian Woman Jailed for Blasphemy Over TikTok Video

A 33-year-old Indonesian woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for filming herself saying a Muslim prayer before eating pork....

Crime & Justice

Ukraine Attacks Russia's Black Sea Fleet Headquarters

On Friday, the Russian defense ministry alleged that one serviceman was missing after Ukraine launched a missile attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol....

Military

NYC: Daycare Owner Concealed Illicit Drug Trade

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Grei Mendez, the owner of a New York City daycare where a toddler died last week after being exposed to a lethal opioid, was connected to a drug distribution ring....

Crime & Justice

FTX Sues Founder Bankman-Fried's Parents

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has filed a lawsuit against the parents of founder Sam Bankman-Fried for allegedly enriching themselves at the expense of FTX's customers....

Money

Biden Launches US 'Climate Corps'

On Wednesday, the Biden Admin. unveiled the creation of the American Climate Corps — an initiative aimed at environmental projects set to involve 20K young adults in its first year....

Weather

Cisco Buys AI Firm Splunk in Historic $28B Deal

Technology giant Cisco agreed on Thursday to buy Splunk, a data-analysis and artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity company, for $28B in one of the largest business acquisitions of the year and the age of AI....

Science & Technology

Senate Circumvents Tuberville’s Blocks on Military Confirmations

The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, getting past Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) blocks on military nominations by holding a full vote of the body....

Politics

Biden Expands Temporary Protected Status to 472K Venezuelans

On Wednesday, the Biden admin. announced that it would offer 472K Venezuelan migrants Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing them to obtain work permits and apply for deportation protection....

Social issues

Rupert Murdoch Steps Down as Chairman of Fox Corp., News Corp.

Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch announced Thursday morning that he is stepping down as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp. and will transition into the chairman emeritus position of the two corporations....

Media

Saudi Crown Prince Says Israel Normalization Deal Getting 'Closer'

Saudi Arabia is moving closer to normalizing bilateral relations with Israel, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Wednesday in his first interview on US television since 2019....

Politics

Venezuela Seizes Control of Tocoron Prison

Venezuela has reportedly conducted an operation involving 11K security forces personnel to retake “total control” of a prison that had been run by a powerful gang for years....

Crime & Justice

International Criminal Court Says It Was Hacked

The International Criminal Court (ICC) said Tuesday that its computer systems were hacked last week....

Crime & Justice

US Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

Following 11 rate hikes in 18 months, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) chose on Wednesday to leave benchmark interest rates unchanged between 5.25%-5.5% in the bid to tackle inflation....

Money

Nagorno-Karabakh: Local Armenian Reps. Meet with Azeri Side

Armenian leaders from Nagorno-Karabakh met with Azerbaijani officials on Thursday to discuss the dissolution of their unrecognized state, with Azerbaijan’s president saying that the 'reintegration of the Armenian population of Karabakh, restoration of infrastructure and organization of activiti...

Military

Trump Pledges to Send Troops to Border If Reelected

On Wednesday, former Pres. Donald Trump said he would deploy thousands of troops currently stationed overseas to the US-Mexico border if he's reelected....

Military

Anti-Affirmative Action Group Sues West Point

Virginia-based Students for Fair Admissions on Tuesday filed a suit against the US Military Academy at West Point, accusing the Army’s school of discriminating against white applicants....

Crime & Justice

Iran Passes Hijab Bill

Iran's parliament passed a bill Wednesday that imposes heavier penalties on women for violating the Islamic dress code, including jail terms of up to 10 years....

Politics

China Hosts Bashar al-Assad for Summit

Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad arrived in China's city of Hangzhou on Thursday. It's his first visit to the PRC since 2004 as he continues his efforts to end his country's diplomatic isolation since 2011....

Politics

Poland to Stop Supplying Ukraine with Weapons Amid Grain Row

Poland, one of Ukraine's closest allies in its war with Russia, said it will no longer provide Kyiv with weapons amid an escalating dispute over Ukrainian grain exports....

Politics