News

Wildfires in France force George Clooney’s family to evacuate their home

International News July 31, 2026

PARIS (AP) — George Clooney and his family have been forced to evacuate their home in southeastern France because of a wildfire burning nearby, his agent said Thursday. The Hollywood star behind the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise and other films made the statement in a letter to Didier Bremond, the mayor of the town of Brignoles, some 55 miles east of Marseille, publicist Guido Gotz told The Associated Press in an email. Addressed “Dear Didier,” the letter said Clooney and his wife Amal, a human rights lawyer, had “no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this ...

A 150-year-overdue book resurfaces in an Australian library

International News July 31, 2026

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian public library has had a book returned an estimated 150 years late and has no way of tracking down the errant borrower, a librarian said on Thursday. The book “Antiquities of Athens,” published in 1858, was returned to the library in the seaside town of Kiama last week by a man who had found it during recent home renovations inside a tea crate bricked into a sealed fireplace, Kiama Library manager Michelle Hudson said. “We’ve never had anything that old come back to us,” Hudson said. “I follow lots of libraries on social media ...

Steel producer announces quarterly results

Business July 31, 2026

Adapting to a volatile Middle East situation and fewer volumes of tubes available internationally, Vallourec said it produced good second- quarter results. Net income was $4 million higher versus $51 million reported during the same period of 2025. Operating income was $103 million for the quarter, compared with $114 million last year. “Vallourec demonstrated the strength and resilience of its business model once again in the second quarter,” said Philippe Guillemot, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of the multinational company based in France. ...

Film financier Jason Cloth indicted in alleged $100M Ponzi scheme tied to movie funding

National News July 31, 2026

Film producer Jason Cloth, who financed “Joker,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and dozens of other movies, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on wire fraud charges in connection with what prosecutors say was a $100 million Ponzi scheme. The indictment against Cloth, 60, was unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Cloth was arrested the same day in Los Angeles, where he made his first court appearance, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois said. The indictment alleges Cloth solicited money from investors, telling them the funds would ...

State and local at a glance

Local News July 30, 2026

Warrant issued for man evading police LIBERTY — A warrant was issued through Girard Municipal Court for Shane Link, 31, of Youngstown, on a charge of obstructing official business Wednesday morning. According to a police report, officers were notified by an anonymous caller Monday that Link, with whom officers are familiar, was staying in a Motel 6 hotel room, with officers also noting that he had felony warrants and a history of resisting arrest. Two officers responded to the area, and they had a brief visual on Link before losing him on a second-floor walkway. The report states ...

Jared Leto denies sexual assault allegations described in BBC documentary

National News July 30, 2026

The Associated Press Four women have accused Jared Leto of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers, to which the actor and musician responded Wednesday that he has “never sexually assaulted anyone.” “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false,” Leto, 54, said in a statement to The Associated Press. The BBC documentary “Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret,” released Wednesday, details allegations including those from four women who accused the actor of sexual misconduct and assault between 2002 and ...