The Columbian

Nation & World

FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School class at the Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Ga., Aug. 23, 2015. Former President Carter will be honored next month, ahead of his 100th birthday, with a musical gala at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, The Carter Center announced Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024.

Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday to be celebrated with musical gala at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre

August 1, 2024, 5:54pm Nation & World

Former President Jimmy Carter will be honored next month, ahead of his 100th birthday, with a musical gala at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, The Carter Center announced Thursday. Read story

Norm Rosen, from Butte County Calif., hands some feed to cattle that had to stay behind as the Park Fire burned in Cohasset, Calif. Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Behind the lines of red-hot wildfires, volunteers save animals with a warm heart and a cool head

August 1, 2024, 5:35pm Nation & World

While firefighters continued to battle California’s biggest wildfire of the year, Norm Rosene was spending 18-hour days behind fire lines with a different task –- saving the animals. Read story

United States’ Brittney Griner, center, stands on the court prior to a women’s basketball game against Belgium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France.

Brittney Griner: ‘Head over heels’ for Americans coming home in prisoner swap

August 1, 2024, 4:56pm Nation & World

Brittney Griner knows only too well the swirling emotions of being involved in a prisoner swap, and she said Thursday night she is “head over heels” that fellow Americans are coming home from Russia. Read story

This Nov. 14, 2017 photo shows Jaìme Ceja operating a forklift while loading boxes of Red Delicious apples on to a trailer during his shift in an orchard in Tieton, Wash. A new report finds that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2022 while many are shut out of the programs their taxes fund.

Study says undocumented immigrants paid almost $100 billion in taxes

August 1, 2024, 4:44pm Nation & World Free

A new study shows that undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2022 while many are shut out of the programs their taxes fund. The findings run counter to anti-immigrant rhetoric that undocumented immigrants are “destroying” social programs. Read story

United States’ claims to seabed face challenges

August 1, 2024, 4:31pm Nation & World

U.S. claims to a vast section of the seabed — and the potential resources buried within — have no basis in international law and should be rejected, according to government representatives from Russia and China. Read story

Rescuers make their way to the upper regions as they search through mud and debris for a third day after landslides set off by torrential rains in Wayanad district, Kerala state, India, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024.

Hopes of finding more survivors in mud wane after landslides in India kill 194

August 1, 2024, 3:26pm Nation & World

Hopes of finding more than 180 missing people alive waned as rescue workers searched through mud and debris for a third day Thursday after landslides set off by torrential rains killed at least 194 people in southern India. Read story

The White House is lit with the colors of the American flag to support team USA competing in the Paris Olympics, on Monday, July 29, 2024, in Washington. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will join an effort to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, highlighting the initiative’s attempts to build bipartisan momentum in an era of extreme political polarization. The former presidents and first ladies Michelle Obama and Laura Bush will serve as honorary national co-chairs of America250, the organization created by Congress in 2016 to oversee the celebration of the the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Obama and Bush join effort to mark America’s 250th anniversary in a time of political polarization

August 1, 2024, 2:16pm Nation & World

Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will join an effort to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary in 2026, highlighting the initiative’s attempts to build bipartisan momentum in an era of extreme political polarization. Read story

FILE - Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., speaks about the southern border outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Washington.

What polling shows about the top VP contenders for Kamala Harris

August 1, 2024, 1:21pm Nation & World

As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to announce her running mate, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that several of the top contenders for the role are largely unknown to Americans. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly stands out as one with more name recognition and… Read story

FILE - Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin talks about a lawsuit challenging a new regulation aimed at protecting the rights of transgender students in schools during a news conference in Little Rock, Ark., May 7, 2024. Courts have blocked the federal government from enforcing the rule in more than 20 states.

Federal protections of transgender students are in effect where courts haven’t blocked them

August 1, 2024, 12:53pm Nation & World

New federal protections for transgender students at U.S. schools and colleges took effect Thursday with muted impact because judges have temporarily blocked enforcement in 25 states and hundreds of individual colleges and schools across the country. Read story