July marked a new all-time record for electricity use in the United States, and that was prior to even hotter weather straining the power grid this week. The Edison Electric Institute, the national association for investor-owned utilities, says demand across the country reached 360,609 gigawatt hours in July, 1.8 percent higher than the record set in July 2005 and up 17.7 percent over July 2000.
When a woman was brutally raped in Denver in 2003, DNA found at the crime scene was similar to that of a felon whose genetic profile was kept in Oregon's DNA database--so similar that the man in Oregon was probably a close relative of the suspect, says Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey. But FBI rules on interstate cases prevented Oregon's crime lab from sharing the man's name with out-of-state police, effectively stalling the investigation.
The announcement on July 31 that Fidel Castro, Cuba's maximal leader for the past 47 years, had temporarily relinquished power to his brother Raúl after undergoing surgery for intestinal bleeding has unleashed a torrent of gossip and analysis. Many are already speculating that, if still alive, the 79-year-old dictator is launching the transition to the next regime. U.S. News spoke with Brian Latell, a former CIA analyst and author of After Fidel: The Inside Story of Castro's Regime and Cuba's Next Leader.
AP - Israeli warplanes destroyed four key bridges on Lebanon's last untouched highway Friday, severing the country's final major connection to Syria and deepening its isolation.
AP - Gripped by caution, employers slowed hiring in July, pushing the nation's unemployment rate to a five-month high and putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to take its foot off the economic brakes.
AP - Tens of thousands of Shiites thronged a Baghdad slum Friday to show support for Hezbollah as Arab anger toward Israel mounted on the Muslim holy day. Such protests have even reached Saudi Arabia, where public discontent is rare.
Two men have been arrested in a series of random shootings that have terrorized Phoenix, Arizona, for more than a year. "These are the two monsters we've been hunting," said Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. The suspects are accused of killing six people and wounding 18 others. Still at large is the "Baseline Killer," who is blamed for 23 crimes, including eight murders.
More than 50 people buried in rubble after Israeli airstrikes, AP reports Israeli aircraft bomb major roads north of Beirut for first time; four bridges destroyedAirstrike on Qaa, Lebanon, killed more than 20, according to Lebanese officialIsraeli military confirms third soldier killed
The United States has imposed sanctions against seven companies from Russia, North Korea, India and Cuba for arms deals with Iran, State Department officials said Friday.
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