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Isaias strengthens into Cat 2 hurricane
on collision course for US Gulf Coast
MIAMI -- Isaias has strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane as it surges toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center reported that the storm's maximum sustained winds increased to 105 mph on Thursday. That bumped the hurricane up into the higher category.
Isaias is expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday. It threatens to bring strong winds, heavy rains and potentially life-threatening storm surges to the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi.
Heavy rain with the risk of flooding is possible into the weekend as far inland as the Tennessee Valley.
Long-deployed USS Lincoln carrier
returns home to San Diego Bay
CORONADO, Calif. -- The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has returned home to San Diego Bay after a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea supporting the Iran war.
The carrier's extended deployment drew the nation's attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.
The Navy initially downplayed any problems, and President Donald Trump commented that the Lincoln's lengthy deployment was "not nearly long enough." The carrier left San Diego in November, arrived in the Middle East in January to support Iran operations, and spent 265 days at sea, a record for uninterrupted time at sea.
Microsoft suspended from program
for green cards, alleging fraud
WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program to apply for green cards for workers who come to the U.S. to live and work using H-1B visas, accusing the company of fraud.
Vice President JD Vance said Thursday, "If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants."
Vance spoke in a White House news conference announcing the decision. The H-1B program has long been a target of President Donald Trump's supporters who say the program undercuts American workers and is rife with abuse. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft hasn't responded to a request for comment.
US will not resume military strikes
on Iran before Nov. 3 midterms
WASHINGTON -- The United States will not resume military strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, President Donald Trump announced Thursday.
Trump has hinted that he is confident that an end game to the war cold come in the days before or after the election, while also suggesting he remained open to resuming full-scale military operations against Iran.
But Trump in a social media post on Thursday said the U.S. "will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd."
New US indictment charges Maduro
of Venezuela with overseeing torture
NEW YORK -- A new U.S. indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with torture and other crimes.
The indictment was unsealed Thursday in New York. Maduro was previously charged with participating in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S.
He and his wife, Cilia Flores, now also face allegations of human rights abuses during his reign as president of the oil-rich South American nation.
On Thursday, Flores' lawyers unsuccessfully urged a judge to free her from jail and put her under house arrest because of heart problems. Maduro and Flores have been behind bars in New York since early January when U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home. Both have pleaded not guilty in the drug case.
Army finds systemic failures in DC
midair collision, seeks safety fixes
A U.S. Army report found systemic breakdowns that led to last year's midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C.
The military has also recommended numerous steps it should take to prevent future tragedies.
The Army highlighted how the air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport could have prevented the crash, but it also acknowledged its own failings.
The report recommended that the Army look beyond Washington to study every major city where its helicopters operate to ensure similar risks aren't present, and that is underway.
Russian strike in eastern Ukraine
kills at least 30 people, injures 18
KYIV, Ukraine -- A powerful Russian guided bomb explosion has killed 30 people and wounded at least 18 in eastern Ukraine, according to authorities.
The attack happened near public buses in Kramatorsk, Donetsk, region, on Thursday.
Public transport was suspended in the area. Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of the city's military administration, accused Russia of targeting civilians.
The attack follows deadly missile strikes in Pryluky, where 22 people died the previous day.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for more defense support from NATO countries.
Kyiv faces worsening power outages, and officials are urging families to prepare for expected winter blackouts.
The Associated Press