Breaking News

US strikes Iran in response to ship attack

WASHINGTON — The U.S. struck Iran on Friday in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. It’s the most significant test yet to an interim understanding reached a week ago by the two countries to begin working to end their months-long war and reopen the pivotal waterway. U.S. President Donald Trump said the drone attack violated the ceasefire. The strikes came shortly after Trump told reporters, “You’ll find out,” whether the U.S. would respond. U.S. Central Command said the military struck missile and drone locations and coastal radar ...

Bible stories added to required reading in Texas public schools

DALLAS — Texas’ education board on Friday approved a required reading list for more than 5 million public school students that includes Bible stories, widening conservative efforts to bring Christian teachings into U.S. classrooms. The state-mandated list of assigned reading — which includes Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” and excerpts from the New Testament — appeared to be among the first of its kind of the nation and will take effect starting in 2030. The State Board of Education, which is controlled by Republicans, approved the list on a 9-5 vote following ...

Ukraine bombards Russia with drone attacks

Ukraine launched a major nighttime attack on a dozen Russian regions, Russian-held Crimea and the surrounding seas, Moscow’s Defense Ministry said Friday, in what appeared to be one of Kyiv’s biggest drone assaults since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion more than four years ago. Russian air defenses intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The previous biggest Ukrainian attack over the past year, as Ukraine has accelerated its drone development, involved 556 drones on May 17. In an effort to turn the tables on Russia’s grinding war of attrition, ...

Saint Michael School teacher remembered for spirit

Always equipped with a can-do attitude, relatives, friends and students are remembering local teacher Samantha Brisini as a beam of light. “She lifted everyone up around her, and she never questioned if someone could do something or not,” Saint Michael School teacher and longtime friend ...