Mississippi River water levels are plummeting to an all-time low this week at Memphis in the wake of a sweltering summer and ongoing drought -- setting a record for the second consecutive year, new data shows.

Israel has reopened a main crossing with the Gaza Strip, allowing thousands of Palestinian laborers to enter the country for the first time since sealing it last week

A top Kremlin official says Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to visit China in October

From Clint Eastwood to Cynthia Nixon, a look at some of the biggest celebs who dipped their toes in the political waters

An ex-Russian officer has said Vladimir Putin’s forces are ‘deteriorating’ in Ukraine as the Crimea was hit by up to 17 drones. Igor Girkin, an imprisoned Russian nationalist, said Putin’s forces would be “even less capable of offensive operations than they are now” by spring 2024, according to the Institute for the Study of War. In a letter published by his wife, Girkin claimed that the situation for Russian forces was “gradually deteriorating” and that Russian forces were showcasing “growing weakness compared to Ukraine’s capabilities.” He added that the Avdiivka offensive, where thousands of troops are said to have died, demonstrated the Russian Army’s inability “to achieve superiority on a very narrow sector of the front”, the ISW said. It comes as Ukraine launched up to 17 drone attacks on Crimea and the Black Sea, which Russia destroyed and intercepeted, according to the Russian defence ministry. Nine drones were destroyed by air defence systems and eight were intercepted by electronic warfare, it added. Explosions were heard near the towns of Novofedorivka and Saky, a Russian air base on the peninsula, just after 4am, according to local reports. Read More Activist hands ICC evidence he says implicates Belarus president in transfer of Ukrainian children Mapped: Has Ukraine made advances against Russia? Ukraine fires drones over Black Sea and Crimea as Putin’s attacks fail in Bakhmut

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to the lowest level in seven months, another sign that the labor market remains largely unaffected by higher interest rates

Former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik has met with investigators from special counsel Jack Smith’s team

The Japanese government treated and diluted radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will be released into the ocean as early as Thursday

By Laura Gottesdiener, Ted Hesson, Mica Rosenberg and Daina Beth Solomon REYNOSA, Mexico Sept 29 When

The Justice Department is seeking three-decade prison sentences for the leaders of the Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting and leading the crowd at the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, positioning the men as failed, thuggish political revolutionaries.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco has reported a first-quarter profit of $31.88 billion, down nearly 20% from the same period last year as energy prices have sunk over global recession concerns

Officials say the prison riots are a response by criminal gangs at attempts to curb their power.