The United States is rapidly approaching another historic fiscal milestone, with the national debt now nearing $40 trillion as Washington continues running massive annual deficits and interest costs consume a growing share of federal spending.

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner met senior Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday as the Trump administration intensified efforts to move Gaza toward disarmament and postwar governance, even as Israel continued targeted strikes against terrorist operatives inside the Gaza Strip.

A third red heifer has been born in Israel this season, giving rabbis three candidates now being examined as part of renewed efforts connected to the biblical purification rites required for Temple service.

A highly unusual midsummer storm swept across parts of Israel on Saturday, August 15, bringing heavy rain to Jerusalem, shattering August rainfall records near the capital, and sending floodwaters through a Judean Desert stream in what meteorologists described as an unprecedented summer event.

France’s Constitutional Council has upheld the core provisions of a sweeping new law establishing a legal right to assisted dying, clearing one of the final major obstacles to euthanasia and assisted suicide in a nation long shaped by Catholic tradition.

Scores of people have been killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores Island early Saturday, authorities said, as rescuers struggled to reach some of the hardest-hit areas, while a less powerful tremor was reported in North Sumatra province.

Five people were injured, one critically, in a shooting involving multiple gunmen at Virginia State University early Saturday, authorities said, a day after six people, including a suspected shooter, died in separate shootings in Michigan.

Romania and neighboring Hungary are facing an energy crisis linked to a record heat wave and the related low level of the Danube River, with Romania forced to shut down its last operating nuclear reactor while Hungary struggles to keep the only one of its four Paks reactors still operating online.

An elderly Christian leader has been detained in India for allegedly offending the religious sentiments of the Asian nation’s Hindu majority on social media.

Members of Pakistan’s Christian minority were reeling Friday after numerous violent incidents over faith and what they say were false allegations of blasphemy against Islam, the majority religion in the Asian nation.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits remained relatively low in early August, offering another sign that widespread layoffs have yet to take hold even as hiring across the U.S. economy remains subdued.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a second preemptive airstrike in Gaza in two days Thursday, targeting a Hamas terror cell in Khan Yunis that Israeli military officials said was preparing an attack against Israeli forces.

The Trump administration has announced nearly $2 billion in health and humanitarian assistance for faith-based organizations, placing several major Christian ministries at the center of a reshaped U.S. foreign-aid strategy following sweeping cuts to USAID programs.

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has cast doubt on a controversial Russian-led expansion of Hungary’s only nuclear power plant after record-low levels of the Danube River nearly forced its existing reactors into a complete shutdown.

The United States is preparing to send the USS George Washington aircraft carrier to the Middle East, replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln after an exceptionally long deployment supporting American military operations against Iran, according to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are moving to deepen military cooperation under a new mutual-defense pact that Israeli analysts say could reshape the Middle East’s security architecture while reducing dependence on the United States and bypassing Israel.

Americans added another $21 billion in credit card debt during the second quarter of 2026, pushing outstanding balances to roughly $1.26 trillion and bringing consumer borrowing close to its record high.

Israel is moving to expand the use of autonomous strike systems across its frontline forces, awarding a new Defense Ministry contract to develop a next generation of low-cost tactical attack drones for the Israel Defense Forces.

The United States has publicly rejected Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s declaration that Israeli troops will remain in southern Lebanon for the long term, exposing a widening disagreement between Washington and Jerusalem over how to secure Israel’s northern border.

Millions across Europe watched Wednesday as a rare total solar eclipse swept across the northern Atlantic and portions of the continent, an extraordinary celestial event unfolding just hours before the biblical calendar entered Elul — the month traditionally associated with repentance, spiritual preparation and the approach of the King.