A victory by the American women’s basketball team on the last day of the Olympics pushed the United States to the top of the medal list. The triumph by the American ladies is the seventh consecutive time the United States won the gold medal for basketball at the Olympics.

In a dramatic game against the French team playing home court, the two teams traded the lead throughout the match, with the outcome unknown until the last moment. 

With 3.8 seconds remaining, a three-pointer from France’s Gabby Williams brought the crowd to their feet as the French team closed the gap to a single point. Kalleah Copper’s composure at the free-throw line extended the Americans’ lead to three. Then, in a dramatic final play, Williams once again found the net, this time from just inside the three-point line, securing the win for Team USA. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky all-but-confirmed that the Ukrainian military is behind the offensive into Russian territory in the Kursk region. In a speech transcript published on Aug. 10, the Ukrainian leader referred to “our actions to push the war out into the aggressor's territory.”

The Ukrainian offensive in Kursk began on Aug. 6. Russia at first signaled that the foray was neutralized, but reports of Ukrainian soldiers in the region have continue to surface. Russia President Vladimir Putin has termed the operation “a large-scale provocation” and promised retribution for those involved. 

On Saturday, Russian state news agencies reported that more than 76,000 people had been evacuated from the region. Early that day, Kursk officials said 13 people were injured in the city after debris from a destroyed Ukrainian missile fell onto a nine-story residential building. An image posted by Kursk’s mayor showed flames rising through a shattered apartment block surrounded by charred debris. Full Story ›

After criticizing former President Donald Trump for his proposal to cut taxes on tips, the Culinary Workers Union reversed course. That’s after Vice President Kamala Harris pitched the same idea to an audience in Las Vegas on Saturday.

After Trump pitched the idea at a rally in Las Vegas in June, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge called it a “wild campaign promise.”  Two months later, the union changed course, praising Harris for her “commitment to end taxes on tips.”

Harris has moved closer to the center and to Trump on a number of issues since her first presidential campaign in 2020. She’s backed away from her opposition to fracking, renounced her support for Medicare for All, and is now open to stricter border policies. Trump, in the meantime, has signaled other taxes, including ending taxes on social security benefits. Full Story ›