Nation/world | The Daily Chronicle

A person signs up for employment information outside during a job fair hiring new postal workers and mail carrier assistants at a United States Postal Service (USPS) post office on July 18, 2022, in Inglewood, California. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

U.S. Jobless Claims Hit Eight-Month High as Labor Market Cools

Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance rose for a third week to the highest since November as more companies announce job cuts, suggesting some softening in the labor market. Initial … more

Maria Paula Mijares Torres, Olivia Rockeman / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 7/21/22

Medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk studying slides in his laboratory, following the invention of his pioneering polio vaccine, circa 1957. (Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/TNS)

New York Records First U.S. Polio Case in Almost a Decade

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York health officials confirmed Thursday that a case of polio was recently recorded in Rockland County, the first time the highly infectious virus has been reported in the … more

Denis Slattery / New York Daily News (TNS) | 7/21/22

Uvalde schools police Chief Pedro "Pete" Arredondo listens during a news conference at Uvalde County Fairplex after 19 students and two teachers were killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. Arredondo has been placed on administrative leave. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

Uvalde School Officials to Consider Firing Police Chief Pete Arredondo at Special Meeting

DALLAS — As pressure from the community builds, Uvalde school officials have scheduled a special meeting to vote on the firing of Pete Arredondo after the district’s superintendent … more

Jamie Landers / The Dallas Morning News (TNS) | 7/20/22

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele delivers a press conference at a hotel in San Salvador on Feb. 28, 2021. (Stanley Estrada/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

U.S. to Expand List of ‘Corrupt’ Officials in Central America

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing to significantly expand a list of Central American officials deemed too corrupt to work with or to be allowed to enter the United States. … more

Tracy Wilkinson / Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 7/20/22

Alex Murdaugh walks into the Colleton County Courthouse on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Murdaugh was charged with murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul, and faces weapons charges. (Drew Martin/The Island Packet/TNS)

Alex Murdaugh Agrees to No Bond on Murder Charges, Attorneys Ask for Gag Order in Case

WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife and son and put up no opposition to the denial of a bond. The disgraced Lowcountry attorney waved asking for a … more

Maayan Schechter / The State (Columbia, S.C.) (TNS) | 7/20/22

A customer purchases a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a 7-Eleven store in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/TNS)

Mega Millions Jackpot Soars to $630 Million for Friday’s Drawing

For the fifth time in 20 years, the Mega Millions jackpot has more than $600 million up for grabs. Friday’s jackpot is estimated to be around $630 million, according to Mega … more

Ryan Biller / The Denver Post (TNS) | 7/20/22

At Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida, manatees frolic near the main spring, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. The manatees are attracted to the warmth of the 73-degree spring during cold weather, with a record-breaking number counted by volunteer manatee watchers this week. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)

Florida Manatees Death Toll Grows But Falls Below Record Pace

The 631 manatee deaths in Florida through mid-July this year already stands as the fourth deadliest annual count since records began nearly a half-century ago. Though a blistering pace, the 2022 … more

Kevin Spear / Orlando Sentinel (TNS) | 7/20/22

The Hoover Dam stores water from Lake Mead, forming the largest reservoir in the country by volume when full. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Transformer Explodes at Hoover Dam, Prompting Emergency Response; Fire Quickly Extinguished

An explosion at the Hoover Dam has prompted an emergency response from a Nevada fire crew, authorities said Tuesday morning. “We have a crew on the way where we have a report of a … more

Felicia Alvarez / Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 7/19/22

President Joe Biden speaks virtually at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House on Friday, June 17, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)

White House Considers Emergency Declaration to Fight Climate Change

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will announce executive action to confront climate change after a key senator blocked legislation, but he’s holding off for now on an emergency decree … more

Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Ari Natter and Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 7/19/22

This photograph taken on July 18, 2022, shows people swim on the Moulleau's beach as the smoke rising from the forest fire in La Teste-de-Buch, seen from Arcachon, in front of the Pilat dune. - In scorching heat, with more than 40°C, some 8,000 people had to leave - in a "preventive manner" according to the prefecture - the Miquelots and Pyla-sur-Mer, districts of the municipality of La Teste-de-Buch, a town of 28,000 inhabitants where 4,300 hectares of forest went up in smoke. (Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

British Rails Buckle Under Record Heat in Europe’s Summer of Woe

Travelers in Britain were warned to stay home rather than risk a ride on rails that could buckle under record temperatures as brutal conditions swept through Europe. Train companies offered … more

William Mathis, Flavia Rotondi, James Regan / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 7/19/22

Former Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Alexander Dworet describes the gunshot injuries he sustained to the back of his head. He was testifying during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, July 19, 2022. His brother, Nicholas Dworet was killed in the rampage. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Mike Stocker/Sun Sentinel/TNS)

Parkland Gunshot Victim Who Lost Brother in Mass Shooting Testifies About ‘Trying Not to Freak Out’

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Even after he was shot, Alex Dworet tried not to believe the Parkland tragedy was real. Dworet was one of 17 injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas … more

Scott Travis and Rafael Olmeda / South Florida Sun Sentinel (TNS) | 7/19/22

The water tower at the Flint Water Plant in Flint, Michigan, looms large over the city March 4, 2016, nearly 2 years after the start of the city's water crisis. (Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Flint Water Crisis Costs Michigan $53 Million in Legal Bills So Far

DETROIT — The state has spent nearly $53 million since 2016 for both the prosecution and defense of Michigan's top officials in the Flint water criminal and civil litigation, with costs … more

Beth LeBlanc / The Detroit News (TNS) | 7/19/22

Detectives process the crime scene on North Henry Street where a man was shot while sitting on his car early Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/TNS)

Man, 31, Shot Dead at Brooklyn ‘Law & Order’ Set, Police Sources Say

NEW YORK — A 31-year-old man was fatally shot early Tuesday as he guarded a “Law & Order” film set in Brooklyn, police said. The unidentified victim was providing security … more

Brittany Kriegstein, Thomas Tracy / New York Daily News (TNS) | 7/19/22

Nikki Haley gives a keynote address at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee on June 16, 2022. (Brian Cahn/ZUMA Press Wire/TNS)

‘Sometimes It Takes a Woman’: Nikki Haley Teases 2024 Presidential Run at Pro-Israel Event

COLUMBIA, S.C. — In what was to be a speech focused on Middle Eastern foreign policy Monday night, Nikki Haley shifted attention to a topic much different: her potential 2024 presidential bid. … more

Makiya Seminera / The State (Columbia, S.C.) (TNS) | 7/19/22

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., speaks at a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Jan. 27, 2021 in Washington, D.C. Manchin pulled the plug on expansive legislation addressing multiple Democratic priorities after a report Wednesday that inflation accelerated even faster than economists expected in June. (Photo by Leigh Vogel-Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

Manchin in Driver’s Seat Again After Inflation Fears Vindicated

WASHINGTON — Nearly a year ago, Sen. Joe Manchin wrote Fed Chair Jerome Powell to raise alarm that the central bank’s policies would overheat the economy, a fixation that made the West … more

Nancy Cook and Laura Litvan / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 7/17/22

US President Joe Biden arrives at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, on July 15, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Biden Says He Confronted Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi’s Killing

JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — President Joe Biden shared a fist bump Friday with the leader of the oil-rich country he once vowed to make a “pariah” over its human rights abuses as the … more

Noah Bierman and Tracy Wilkinson / Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 7/15/22

Image from the online fundraising page for friends of the Roberts family. (GoFundMe.com/TNS)

8-Year-Old Paralyzed in Highland Park Shooting in ‘Very Critical’ Condition, Family Says

CHICAGO — Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old boy paralyzed from the waist down after being wounded at the Independence Day parade shooting in Highland Park, is in “very critical” … more

Laura Rodríguez Presa / Chicago Tribune (TNS) | 7/15/22

A man walks past a "Now Hiring" sign in New York City on July 8, 2022. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

U.S. Jobless Claims Rise to Highest Since November in Holiday Week

Applications for U.S. state unemployment insurance rose to the highest level since November during the week that included the July 4 holiday, led by a big jump in New York. Initial unemployment … more

Maria Paula Mijares Torres / Bloomberg News (TNS) | 7/14/22

US President Joe Biden (left) and Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, shake hands before signing a security pledge in Jerusalem, on July 14, 2022. (Atef Safadi/Pool/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Biden Won't Commit to Confronting Saudi Arabia Over Journalist's Murder

JERUSALEM — President Joe Biden on Thursday would not commit to confronting the leaders of Saudi Arabia later this week over the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “I … more

Noah Bierman / Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 7/14/22

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, right, listens as Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a joint session of Congress to count the Electoral College votes of the 2020 presidential election in the House Chamber on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Erin Scott/Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

Bipartisan Bill Would Clarify That Vice President Role With Electors Is Only Ceremonial

A bipartisan group of senators is expected to release a bill as soon as next week clarifying that the vice president has only a ceremonial role when Congress tallies Electoral College votes after a … more

Chris Cioffi / CQ-Roll Call (TNS) | 7/14/22