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  • Fauci Invokes 5th Amendment at COVID-19 Hearing
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The Latest: Fire crews in southwest France battle massive blaze

Firefighters in southwest France are fighting against a mega-fire four times the size of Paris. Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to climb above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. The heat wave and forecast winds could hamper progress against the blaze that has forced 220,000 people from their homes.

US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China’s growing influence around the world, after it had put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts.

Ukraine hits 2 major Russian oil refineries hours after Zelenskyy's meeting

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian forces hit two of Russia’s biggest oil refineries overnight in its latest long-range strikes, officials said Wednesday, as Kyiv deepened its economic, military and diplomatic pressure on Moscow. Ukraine’s almost daily long-range drone and missile strikes using domestically developed weapons have battered Russian oil facilities for months.

Politics
Meta shares drop as Q2 profit declines due to expenses

Meta Platforms said Wednesday its second-quarter profit declined even as revenue beat Wall Street’s expectations, as legal expenses and severance costs for recent layoffs weighed on its results. The Facebook and Instagram parent company earned $15.85 billion, or $6.18 per share, in the April-June period.

Politics
Elon Musk's xAI sues Minnesota over law banning 'nudification'

Elon Musk’s company xAI has sued Minnesota over the state’s first-in-the-nation law that bans “nudification” technology on websites and apps, potentially providing a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence.

Politics
Microsoft beats Wall Street expectations with $90B in revenue

Microsoft posted strong results for its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, beating expectations and showing strong growth in its cloud computing platform and a boost in paid AI users.

Politics
Fauci invokes the fifth Amendment and declines to testify at COVID-19 hearing

WASHINGTON (AP) – Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators in a Republican-led committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Politics
New UK leader Burnham vows to fix a 'broken' social care system

LONDON (AP) – British Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged Wednesday that he will succeed where decades of predecessors have failed and fix a “broken” social care system built on an overstretched public sector and profit-making private firms.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal officials involved in the prosecution of James Comey misled judges, submitted false statements and withheld key facts during the course of the investigation, according to new defense filings that seek the dismissal of a case charging the former FBI director with threatening President Donald Trump on social media.

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Wisconsin Tornado stayed on the ground for more than 20 minutes
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Dramatic video captures teen lifeguard rescue a child from monster surf
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A supergroup of 300 humpback whales gather to feed
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How wildfires impact your health