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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States committed to the idea of phasing out coal power plants, joining 56 other nations in kicking the coal habit that’s a huge factor in global warming. U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry announced over the weekend that America was joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which means the Biden Administration commits to building no new coal plants and phasing out existing plants. No date was given for when the existing plants would have to go, but other Biden regulatory actions and international commitments already in the works had meant no coal by 2035.

Less than one month before Mike Johnson’s sudden ascent to the speakership, the Louisiana Republican, then a little-known member, joined with most GOP lawmakers to vote against $300 million in U.S. security assistance for Ukraine. Now, as speaker, Johnson has surprised many on Capitol Hill by publicly and repeatedly calling Ukraine aid a critical priority for the House. Where Johnson stands on Ukraine and how hard he plans to push for tens of billions of dollars in new aid could shape the future of the embattled country, just as the U.S. is facing questions about its commitment to Kyiv and...

I'm originally from the United States, but I've lived in Germany for over 11 years. Moving to Germany was not necessarily an extreme culture shock, but many things have surprised me — especially when it comes to raising my three kids, who have all been born here.

COVID will likely reach levels this winter not yet seen this year, combining with surges of flu, RSV, and other pathogens for a “syndemic” winter not so different from last year’s “tripledemic,” experts say. Raj Rajnarayanan, assistant dean of research and associate professor at the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Ark., told Fortune that the U.S. is a “sitting duck” in the face of a “syndemic” winter.

The U.S. will attend COP28 climate talks this week as it sets new records in the extraction of oil and gas. The federal government is forecasting a surge in the production of the fossil fuels this year, and output is projected to remain high until 2050. The summit opening Thursday in Dubai, meanwhile, is expected to agree on a “phaseout” of the fuels to contain planet-heating emissions. The Biden administration, while passing laws to incentivize clean energy production and curb gases, has also granted drilling leases on public lands.

The U.S. economy grew at a blistering 5.2 percent annual pace in the third quarter, the government said Wednesday. This was faster than the previous estimate of 4.9 percent, which was much higher than anticipated. Excluding the rebound from the pandemic, this is the fastest pace of growth in a decade. The upward revision reflects an increase in government spending and business investment. Consumer spending was revised down as were exports. This is the government’s second estimate of gross domestic product, the official government scorecard for the economy. In the second quarter, the government grew at a 2.1 percent annual...

The U.S. said it had delivered more than 54,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies to Gaza on Tuesday as a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was extended amid prisoner releases. The ceasefire has provided a window for humanitarian efforts in the small territory, where people have been running out of fuel, water and food amid bombing by Israel. Gaza is controlled by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. In a release, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said it had airlifted “24.5 metric tons, more than 54,000 pounds, of UN humanitarian supplies to...

Are the powers that be planning a war? The US Army last week “released a recruitment ad that critics argue is a sure sign the military is gearing up for war,” Townhall’s Leah Barkoukis reports. “There are no signs of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the 30-second spot, which features white males jumping out of a plane.” After several years of stressing wokeness and diversity — and telling troops, “If you’re a white male, you are part of the problem” — the Army is suddenly seeking old-fashioned soldiers from traditional sources. That’s because, like it or not, if you’re looking...

Barbra Streisand says she “can’t live in this country” if former President Donald Trump is reelected in 2024, adding that she thinks President Joe Biden has “done a good job.” “I will move. I can’t live in this country if he became president,” Streisand said told late-night host Stephen Colbert during an interview on The Late Show after being asked about her opinion of the idea of a second second Trump administration. After Colbert asked her where she would live if not the United States, the “Woman in Love” singer said, “Probably to England. I like England.”

If someone attacks your troops 46 times in less than a month, you are at war with them. But the Biden administration certainly does not want to admit that we are at war with Iran. We are heading into an election year, and many Americans don’t want to hear that we are involved in yet another war in the Middle East. The mainstream media isn’t telling us the truth either. Even though U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq have now come under fire 46 times since October 7th, the mainstream media continues to insist that we aren’t actually “at war”...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) argued that the U.S. needs to strike Iran and that while Iran may bluster, when they’re hit, they back down. Host Rob Schmitt asked, “What is your take on that idea, you attack Iran, go after them?”

Without warning, hundreds of noncommissioned officers were ordered via email to report to the recruiting school at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in less than a week, with hundreds more set to start at the school in December -- a sudden unexpected move by the Army as the service scrambles to boost its recruiting force by 800 by the end of the year. The orders came after a breakdown in how the Army tracks how many recruiters it has coming through the pipeline along with retention of existing ones, according to Lt. Gen. Douglas Stitt, the Army's top personnel officer. The sudden...

COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. remained relatively steady week over week following five weeks of larger declines, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. tallied about 16,200 new hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 over the seven days ending Oct. 21, according to provisional data – only 40 hospitalizations less than the total for the previous week and effectively pausing a downward trend that began after hospitalizations totaled close to 21,000 during the week ending Sept. 9. Hospitalizations dipped to a low point of approximately 6,300 in late June before starting to trend back up.

Federal authorities warned Thursday of the increasing threat posed by “violent extremists and lone offenders” on U.S. soil amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. In a joint news release, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the threat level has increased since their initial alert earlier this month. “Since DHS and FBI issued the 10 October Public Service Announcement, the volume and frequency of threats to Americans, especially those in the Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities in the United States, have increased, raising our concern that...

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a resolution expressing support for Israel in its war against Hamas. The resolution, titled “Standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists”, passed by a majority of 412 to 10. Nine of the ten “no” votes were by Democrats: Reps. Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, Andre Carson, Al Green, Summer Lee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Delia Ramirez and Rashida Tlaib. The lone Republican no vote was from Rep. Thomas Massie. The resolution states that the House of Representatives “stands with Israel as it...

Cher is vowing to exit the United States if former President Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. “I almost got an ulcer the last time,” the “Believe” singer said of Trump’s time in the White House, during an interview with The Guardian published Wednesday. “If he gets in, who knows?” Cher said. “This time I will leave [the country,]” the Grammy Award winner declared.

We are on the precipice of a major regional war in the Middle East, and the U.S. military is going to be involved. Of course if this war was just limited to a fight between Israel and Hamas, there would be no need for the U.S. military to intervene, because the IDF can handle Hamas quite easily. But Hezbollah is another matter entirely. Hezbollah possesses an extremely powerful military, and they have an arsenal of approximately 130,000 missiles ready to be fired at Israel. If Hezbollah enters the war and starts firing thousands upon thousands of missiles at Israel, the...

At least 22 Americans have died in Israel since Hamas launched its assault over the weekend, the State Department said on Wednesday.

The United States has transferred American munitions stored in Israel for use in Ukraine and plans to send more soon, US and Israeli officials told CNN Wednesday. A US official told CNN they have moved “some” of the 300,000 155-millimeter shells that the US and Israel agreed would be transferred, and that there are plans to move the remaining amount in the coming weeks. Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Richard Hecht told CNN that the Americans notified the Israelis a while ago they were transferring munitions. Hecht said the munitions are US-owned, that their movements are “American business” and that they...

The US economy added 336,000 jobs in September — a surprising surge that raises the risk that the Federal Reserve will further tighten interest rates to tamp down inflation. The blowout number was nearly double the 170,000 jobs economists had expected, and marks a sharp increase from the 187,000 jobs gained in August, according to fresh data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. The report also showed that wages increases were smaller than expected and the unemployment held steady at 3.8% — slightly above the 3.7% forecast and even with the jobless rate in August, which had...