News

Hawaii prepares for a possible weekend cyclone

National News August 21, 2026

HONOLULU (AP) — Communities still recovering from last weekend’s hurricane in Hawaii could get pounded again in coming days from another tropical system gaining strength over warm Pacific waters. Hurricane Lala tore roofs off houses, uprooted trees, covered roads in mud and rocks and left many households without electricity. With thousands of homes and businesses still in the dark Thursday, forecasters warned yet another tropical cyclone is likely to approach the islands soon. A depression moving west and northwest could become a tropical storm in the coming hours and pass near ...

YSU ignites the semester

Local News August 21, 2026

YOUNGSTOWN — Incoming Youngstown State University freshman Adrianna Holden hopes to major in studio art, and she wasted no time cutting to the colorful chase. “I hope someday to become a storybook artist,” Holden, of Youngstown, said. “I really like the art program here.” She was ...

New World screwworm outbreak puts Texas pet adoptions on hold

National News August 21, 2026

Adoptions are on hold for thousands of dogs and cats in Texas, potentially putting the animals at risk of being euthanized, because of efforts to stop the spread of the New World screwworm, an insect that has crossed the border from Mexico into the United States for the first time in 60 years. The flesh-eating parasite threatens the nation’s $113 billion beef industry, prompting federal officials to close the border to cattle movements. Because the screwworm also can infect pets, most states have restricted the movement of animals from infested areas of Texas, leading to crowded ...

‘Many’ Fed officials think higher rates will be needed if inflation stays high

Business News August 21, 2026

WASHINGTON — Many Federal Reserve officials think the central bank will have to lift its key short-term interest rate in the coming months if inflation doesn’t subside, minutes of the Fed’s meeting last month showed. The minutes of the July 28-29 meeting, released Wednesday, don’t provide specifics on how many of the 19 officials supported higher rates. Only 12 of the 19 policymakers vote on the outcome. Officials voted 9-3 at the meeting to keep their key rate unchanged at about 3.6%. Inflation has since showed some signs of cooling, though gas prices have rebounded this ...

The bond market swings back to worries and knocks US stocks lower

Business News August 21, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — The relief that swept the bond market just a day earlier disappeared on Thursday as oil prices, worries about high inflation and the U.S. government’s debt kept rising. That helped knock the U.S. stock market to its worst day in three weeks, and Walmart led the way on concerns about its upcoming profits. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% for its fourth loss in the five days since setting its all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 703 points, or 1.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1%. The bond market remains the center of the action after yields ...

Aircraft carrier arrives to relieve USS Lincoln

National News August 21, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Asia-based USS George Washington aircraft carrier is now operating in the Middle East, the U.S. military said Thursday, relieving a long-deployed carrier following reports of mental health challenges and supply shortages aboard while it was supporting the Iran war. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said on social media that the carrier arrived in the region Wednesday. It was not clear when the USS Abraham Lincoln would arrive back in the U.S. or whether it would make a port stop along the way, but the journey takes just ...