By Joseph Ax, Sharon Bernstein and Gabriella Borter For decades, selective U.S. colleges and universities have considered, among

More mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner military contractor have rolled into Belarus, continuing their relocation to the ex-Soviet nation following last month’s short-lived mutiny

More than half a million people were left without power in Crimea, Russia and Ukraine after a storm in the Black Sea area flooded roads, ripped up trees and took down power lines, Russian state news agency Tass and Ukraine's energy ministry said. Meanwhile, the Moscow region experienced its heaviest snowfall in 40 years, the governor said. The storms and snowfall were part of a weather front that left one person dead and many places without electricity amid heavy snow and blizzards in Romania and Moldova on Sunday. The head of Russia's national meteorological service said the storm that hit Crimea was the most powerful since record keeping began, state news agency RIA Novosti reported. Crimea was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014 and is a key military and logistics hub for Russia as it pursues its war in Ukraine. It is unclear whether the storm damaged any Russian military equipment or defenses. The storm also hit southern Russia and sent waves flooding into the beach resort of Sochi, blew the roof off a five-story building in Anapa and damaged homes and schools in Kuban, the state news agency said. It also caused a cargo ship to run aground near Anapa. Local Russia-installed officials said one person died in Crimea after going out to look at the waves in a village near the town of Sudak in the southern part of the peninsula, while other people were hospitalized or evacuated from their homes. The government in Crimea told people to stay at home on Monday and closed government facilities including schools and hospitals as strong winds were expected to continue. The storm prompted several Crimean regions to declare a state of emergency, Tatyana Lyubetskaya, a Russia-installed official at the Crimean environmental monitoring department, told Tass. Roman Vilfand, the head of Russia’s national meteorological service, told RIA Novosti that a similar storm hit the region in November 1854 during the Crimean War. It aused at least 30 ships to sink off Crimea’s coast, RIA Novosti said. The head of one Crimean region, Natalia Pisareva, said everyone in the Chernomorske area of western Crimea lost water supply as well as central heating because pumping stations had lost power. There were also reports of a problem with a gas pipeline in Saky in western Crimea. Around 800 exotic fish died in an aquarium in Sevastopol after the room they were in was flooded, the Crimea 24 TV channel reported. The fish, including pikes and piranhas, died from thermal shock after cold sea water flooded the aquarium, the aquarium director told RIA Novosti. Ukraine's Ministry of Energy said more than 2,000 towns and villages were without electricity in 16 Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv, Odesa and Mykolaiv. It said it expected the weather to worsen, with forecasters predicting more strong winds and snowfall. In southern Russia, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium stopped crude oil loading at the Novorossiysk port on Monday due to “extremely unfavorable weather conditions,” including winds of up to about 86 kilometers (54 miles) per hour and waves of up to 8 meters (26 feet). Heavy snow in the Moscow region caused drifts of up to 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches), three times more than normal, Tass said. Andrei Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region, said about 3,000 people worked to clear the streets after the heaviest snowfall in 40 years. In Serbia, heavy snow that fell over the weekend left villages cut off and thousands of people without electricity. A 53-year-old man was reported missing on Sunday in central Serbia and the search for him is continuing, RTS state television reported. Read More Ukraine aims a major drone attack at Crimea Russia puts Ukrainian winner of 2016 Eurovision on wanted list Ukraine's troops work to advance on Russian-held side of key river after gaining footholds Ukrainian marines claim multiple bridgeheads across a key Russian strategic barrier Russia admits Ukrainian troops crossed Dnipro river but says ‘fiery hell’ awaits them Blow for Putin as Ukraine takes major step in bid to outflank Russian troops

By Jessica DiNapoli NEW YORK Makers of brand-name household basics like Dunkin' coffee and Schick razors are bulking

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he and President Joe Biden will meet Monday afternoon and negotiators will resume

An apparent shooting has happened on the University of North Carolina's flagship campus

West Virginia University students have staged a walkout to protest the proposed elimination of academic programs while showing support for faculty and staff whose jobs are being targeted

By Doyinsola Oladipo NEW YORK Casino operator MGM Resorts International is finding Formula One's inaugural stop in Las

The first U_N_ independent investigator to visit the U_S_ detention center at Guantanamo Bay says the 30 men held there are subject “to ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law."

The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money case has said that he may delay the trial because of the former president’s packed court schedule. The trial is currently scheduled for early 2024, but New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan cancelled a hearing set for this week and wrote in a short letter to Trump lawyer Todd Blanche that “In light of the many recent developments involving Mr. Trump and his rapidly evolving trial schedule, I do not believe it would be fruitful for us to conference this case on September 15 to discuss scheduling”. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington DC has scheduled Mr Trump’s case connected to the January 6, 2021 insurrection for 4 March 2024 – the day before Mr Trump is believed to be set to take a strong grip on the Republican presidential nomination on Super Tuesday. The 4 March date is also just weeks before the original schedule for the hush money trial. Previously this summer, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg suggested in a radio interview that he was open to making space for federal prosecutors in his own trial schedule. The office of Mr Bragg was the first to charge Mr Trump – with 34 counts of falsifying business records linked to the hush money payments to adult actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. The judge has said that the prosecutors and defence team may discuss any alterations to the trial schedule on 15 February 2024, when they’re set to meet for the judge’s ruling on Mr Trump’s possible pre-trial motions, according to The Messenger. “We will have a much better sense at that time whether there are any actual conflicts and if so, what the best adjourn date might be for trial,” Justice Merchan wrote. Read More US election 2024 polls: Biden and Trump tied across most polling raises alarms for Democrats Trump lashes out at Biden over prisoner swap deal with Iran after demanding Jan 6 judge recuse herself - live Trump accuses Biden of taking ‘kickback’ in $6bn Iran deal

A judge has set a trial date for two men charged with killing rapper Young Dolph in a daytime ambush at a bakery in Memphis, Tennessee

Georgia is offering a new bargain to some adults without health insurance beginning Saturday: Go to work or school and the state will cover you