Breaking News

Venezuelans search more earthquake ruins as attention turns to humanitarian crisis

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — With the window for finding survivors shrinking fast, Venezuelans combed Monday through more ruins of buildings toppled by last week’s powerful back-to-back earthquakes, and attention turned to the country’s humanitarian crisis that could persist for years. Relief organizations say the first 72 hours after a natural disaster is the most crucial time period for rescues, though survival can be extended if people have access to food and water. Five days after the twin quakes, questions loomed about whether the cash-strapped government will be able to ...

Cooling center to open at Altoona Salvation Army building

A cooling center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Thursday, July 2, at the Salvation Army building, 1813 Sixth Ave., Altoona, for anyone needing a place to rest and stay cool as temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-90s this week. According to Accuweather, a “prolonged and dangerous heat wave is expected this week.” Area residents are reminded to stay hydrated and to check on neighbors who may need assistance during the heat wave.

East braces for heat wave

DES MOINES, Iowa — Summer camp and other outdoor activities were canceled or delayed Monday as a heat wave held its grip on the Midwest and spread eastward. Communities opened cooling centers and urged people to take it easy and stay hydrated. “Overall, we’re looking at just a really hot and humid pattern. It’s going to be with us through most of the week,” Andrew Ansorge, a meteorologist in Des Moines, Iowa, said of the first prolonged period of heat this summer. Much of Iowa and big chunks of the Midwest were under an extreme heat warning through at least Tuesday. ...

Supreme Court says Fed’s Cook can keep her job for now, but it upholds other Trump firings

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday dramatically expanded presidential power, upholding President Donald Trump’s firings of the heads of independent federal agencies with one important exception: the Federal Reserve. The justices allowed Fed governor Lisa Cook to stay in her job while she fights the Republican president’s effort to fire her over allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied. But other than at the nation’s central bank, with its role of setting interest rates, the court held that presidents have free rein to fire agency heads at will, despite federal ...

Local leaders offer tips for Big Boy viewing

At a news conference Monday at the Railroaders Memorial Museum called by local leaders in emergency management and law enforcement, AMED Executive Director Gary Watters spoke of videos taken in recent weeks in places like New York state that illustrate why there’s so much concern about the ...