The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating a Ford Motor Co. recall of more than a quarter-million Explorer SUVs in the U.S. The probe comes after the administration received complaints about repairs intended to prevent the vehicles from unexpectedly rolling away even while placed in park

The Rhode Island TF Green International Airport is on lockdown as a possible “security threat” is evaluated. Rhode Island State Police Col Darnell Weaver said that the threat “appears to be unfounded at this time”. The airport wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter on Friday morning: “Rhode Island T.F. Green Airport is currently in lockdown as law enforcement addresses a potential security threat. Travelers are asked to delay arrivals at the airport at this time. More information will be provided when available.” Both state and local police responded to the possible threat at the airport, according to WPRI. “We received a call of a possible threat at the airport, multiple agencies are investigating now and conducting a search of the parking lots,” Warwick Police Chief Bradford Connor told the local TV station. Col Weaver added that troopers have established a perimeter surrounding a parking garage, adding that a Warwick SWAT team was clearing that building. “Preliminary, what we have is the call came into Warwick police about a potential suspect with a rifle,” Col Weaver said, according to WPRI. “They responded to the area, it was isolated to the parking garage, not the actual terminal.” Police are telling travellers that the airport is closed and they have blocked the entrances. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation have said that all travel lanes going towards TF Green on the airport connector have also been blocked. More follows...

By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan's outgoing prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and the leader of the opposition will meet again

Russian president Vladimir Putin is the “ultimate apostle of payback” and is buying time to strike back against Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prighozin, CIA director William Burns said. The Wagner mutiny last month was one of the toughest challenges to the Kremlin in decades and exposed “some of the significant weaknesses in a system that Putin has built”, Mr Burns said. “Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold,” he said at the Aspen Security Forum 2023. “In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution. “If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn’t fire my food taster.” Meanwhile, the US has hit nearly 120 people and entities with new Russia-related sanctions, designed to block its access to electronics and battlefield supplies. Russia‘s embassy in Washington denounced the sanctions as part of “endless attacks” by Joe Biden’s administration “in the context of the hybrid war unleashed by the West against our country”. Elsewhere, US-supplied cluster munitions are in the Ukrainian military’s hands and are being deployed, John Kirby said. Read More Aftermath of Russian missile attack on Odesa captured in bodycam footage Russians against Ukraine war should spy for the UK, MI6 boss says In Ukraine, a family's ordeal to identify and honor a veteran killed in Bucha ends after 16 months South African leader says that arresting Putin if he comes to Johannesburg next month would be 'war'

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he’ll intensify efforts to realize a meeting with North Korean leader Kim

Hundreds have fled as wildfires rage in Greece for a third day while authorities brace for a new heatwave stoking tinderbox conditions across the country. Dozens of homes were gutted and hundreds were forced to flee towering flames west of Athens, while the fire brigade reported that a third fire had broken out on the island of Rhodes. Firefighters worked throughout the night and four aircraft sent from Italy and France will soon join the efforts to keep the flames at bay, as a second heatwave is forecast to start in Greece on Thursday. Temperature records have been shattered in Rome and Catalonia, provisional data suggests, as southern Europe is gripped by the ongoing extreme heat and wildfires. Britain’s Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Spain and Greece, with holidaymakers urged to sign up for emergency alerts and warned of travel disruption as temperatures soar. Read More Why is there no UK heatwave as Europe swelters during Charon? Expert warns of heart attack risk as heatwaves intensify due to climate change Families unable to cancel summer holidays despite extreme heat warnings and wildfires

Atlanta police released images of a person of interest in the killing of Harrison Olvey

Jailed Iranian rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, has sacrificed her freedom

The San Antonio Spurs are looking to end their four-year playoff drought with the addition of Victor Wembanyama

President Joe Biden is expected to sign legislation on Saturday to raise the debt ceiling, just two days before the U.S. Treasury warned that the country would struggle to pay its bills. The bipartisan measure, which was approved this week by the House and Senate, eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government default. “Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher," Biden said from the Oval Office on Friday evening. “Nothing would have been more catastrophic,” he said, than defaulting on the country's debt. The agreement was hashed out by Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, giving Republicans some of their demanded federal spending cuts but holding the line on major Democratic priorities. It raises the debt limit until 2025 — after the 2024 presidential election — and gives legislators budget targets for the next two years in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up. “No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,” Biden said, highlighting the “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.” Biden used the opportunity to itemize the achievements of his first term as he runs for reelection, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change. He also highlighted ways he blunted Republican efforts to roll back his agenda and achieve deeper cuts. “We’re cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,” Biden said. “We're protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.” Even as he pledged to continue working with Republicans, Biden also drew contrasts with the opposing party, particularly when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has sought. It’s something he suggested may need to wait until a second term. “I’m going to be coming back,” he said. “With your help, I’m going to win.” Biden's remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He largely remained quiet publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give space for both sides to reach a deal and for lawmakers to vote it to his desk. Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. “They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,” he said. Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects — a move long sought by moderates in Congress. The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care. The legislation also bolsters funds for defense and veterans, cuts back some new money for the Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden’s call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nation’s deficits. But the White House said the IRS' plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue. The agreement imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programs if Congress fails to approve its annual spending bills — a measure designed to pressure lawmakers of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September. In both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed. The vote in the House was 314-117. ___ AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide FBI offers to show GOP chairman document that purports to relate to Biden, his family Republicans schedule 1st presidential debate for Aug. 23, but there's no guarantee Trump will attend DeSantis wraps up 1st early states tour as candidate with more personal touch in South Carolina

Australia’s consumer confidence slipped further into “deeply pessimistic” territory as elevated inflation combined with high interest rates intensifies

The Israeli military's operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin is winding down but "not over" until the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say it is, a spokesperson told CNN, as the United Nations expressed deep concern over the violence in the city's sprawling refugee camp.