North America

Tens of millions of Americans sweltered under furnace-like temperatures Tuesday as central and eastern cities hunkered down for a heat wave set to last through the July 4 holiday weekend. Dozens of local temperature records could be broken, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned, with temperatures in many places to surpass 38 degrees Celsius and high humidity pushing the heat index as high as 115 degrees. It comes as America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence, and as the United States along with Canada and Mexico co-host the World Cup soccer tournament amid the extreme heat. Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, announced it was opening cooling centers and sending city employees to carry out wellness checks on vulnerable populations. In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office said it was launching an “unprecedented, historic” plan to deal with the heat that includes vans to provide residents with hydration, as well as “pop-up” cooling stations with misting fans and cooling towels. People cool off at Coney Island beach on June 29, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. — AFP Washington, the capital, meanwhile was forecast to see 38C temperatures from Thursday through Saturday, when it will host a fireworks display on the National Mall that organizers said would be the biggest in history. More than 60 million people are currently under heat alerts, the NWS said. Health agencies are urging citizens to watch for signs of heat-related illness, ranging from cramps and exhaustion to life-threatening heat stroke. Child hot-car deaths are another concern, with nine such deaths reported so far this year in the United States, against an average of 37 annually, according to the National Safety Council. Pets are also at risk, with authorities recommending dogs remain indoors except for bathroom breaks, and warning owners to watch for hot asphalt that can burn paws. In World Cup news, numerous knockout-stage matches will be p

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A couple in the United States faces murder and child abuse charges after allegedly feeding their seven-year-old son a diet of potato chips and snacks that left him morbidly obese and ultimately led to his fatal heart disease.

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A year after the Trump administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID), most Americans still support foreign aid to provide disaster relief, prevent disease outbreaks and improve security, according to a new poll commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation and released on Tuesday. The poll of 2,022 voters showed Republicans and President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base were sceptical of foreign aid before getting more details. Nearly all Americans overestimated by far how much Washington spent on such programs, with over a third thinking they accounted for 20 per cent of the annual US budget. When told that foreign aid accounted for just 1pc of the US budget before 2025 and briefed on what it accomplished, Americans’ support grew to 70pc from 54pc, the poll showed. Republican support reached 58pc, and even MAGA Republicans, defined as those who primarily support Trump over the party, backed aid by 50pc, the foundation said. Trump, who made cutting off foreign aid a cornerstone of his “America First” campaign promises, ordered the closure of USAID when he took office in January 2025. Well over 10,000 USAID personnel and contractors were fired and thousands of programmes were cancelled, throwing into turmoil US-funded aid operations on which millions of the world’s poorest people depended. US foreign aid disbursements dropped to $47 billion in fiscal year 2025 from $72bn a year earlier, US data shows. Those cuts could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal last year. The poll, conducted June 12-16 by Echelon Insights, showed that 78pc of those surveyed favoured maintaining or expanding foreign aid outlays. This data is a direct rebuttal to anyone who claims Americans have lost their appetite for the world,” said John Gans, a former Pentagon speechwriter and project lead at The Rockefeller Foundation. “One year after USAID’s r

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Micha�l Trazzi, 30, leads the Stop the AI Race movement in the United States, pressuring major technology companies to pause artificial intelligence development over the risks the technology could pose to humanity. It was little known until now that the activist is the grandson of former congressman Rubens Paiva, who was killed by the military dictatorship, and Eunice Paiva, whose story inspired "I'm Still Here," winner of the 2025 Oscar for Best International Feature Film. Leia mais (06/15/2026 - 16h01)

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American artist Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, known on social media as Jerry Gogosian, was found dead at age 40 at the Rosewood hotel in S�o Paulo on Sunday afternoon (31). The hotel confirmed the incident in a statement, saying it is cooperating with authorities and providing no further details. Leia mais (06/01/2026 - 16h21)

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The US, Canada and Mexico were to reach an agreement on whether to extend their free trade pact by 1 July. All signs point to them blowing past that deadline.

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USA & Canada Intelligence Brief for Tuesday: the long wait gave way to results. The Supreme Court expanded presidential firing power and upheld late mail ballo… The post USA & Canada Intelligence Brief — Tuesday, June 30, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

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Americans rank Las Vegas the ninth most livable city in the country, but by the metrics that measure livability, it sits 248th, the starkest gap between reputation and reality in a new ranking of all 393 U.S. metropolitan areas.

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Since Trump returned to the White House a year and a half ago, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Honduras have either shifted to the right or confirmed an existing conservative turn. Leer más

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A 23-year-old Canadian tourist sent home with shingles was hospitalized two days later as a fast-spreading infection climbed his arm.

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For the former property tycoon and reality TV star, taking centre-stage is in his blood. Leer más

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The United States accounted for about a third of the rise in global carbon emissions in 2025, as higher gas prices pushed power producers back to coal, an Energy Institute report showed. The report was produced in partnership with Ember, Kearney Institute and KPMG. US coal consumption jumped 10 per cent last year, reversing a shift towards cleaner fuels and helping lift overall emissions. According to the report, global carbon emissions from the energy sector rose 1.1pc to 35,806 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. More than a third of this increase came from the US. North America’s increase bucked the 10-year trend of emissions falling by 0.7pc, while global energy-related demand continued to grow. Total energy supply rose 1.7pc from 2024, with renewable energy contributing the biggest share of that increase. Renewable power generation climbed 9.1pc, led by a 30pc surge in solar, it said. Europe’s carbon emissions from the energy sector increased by 0.5pc, while China’s rose by 0.7pc in 2025. Electricity demand rose faster than its supply, increasing 3pc year-on-year, driven by electric vehicles, data centres and artificial intelligence. Global oil consumption rose 1.3pc in 2025 to 103 million barrels per day, compared with a 1.1pc increase in 2024, while production grew by 3.5pc, the report said. In China, gasoline and diesel use declined last year, extending a trend seen in 2024. Gas demand growth was concentrated in Europe, the Middle East and North America, with Europe and India relying on imports for nearly half of their supply, the report said.

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The USMCA review began on July 1 as Washington declined to extend the pact, starting a decade-long clock that hangs over Mexico, the peso and autos. The post The Clock Starts Ticking on North America’s $2 Trillion Trade Pact appeared first on The Rio Times.

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The BBC asked Americans how they felt after the Supreme Court's ruling on citizenship for babies born in the US.

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Ahead of America's 250th anniversary, Donald Trump shared what appears to be an AI-generated image of a giant golden eagle mounted on the White House's Truman Balcony. Google detected a SynthID watermark, while photos taken after the post showed no eagle in place. Reposted by official White House accounts, the image sparked widespread mockery online, with critics calling it "tacky" and "cheap" and pointing out the White House isn't 250 years old.

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We asked Canadians across the country what they would say and give to their southern neighbour.

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In a historic ruling, the US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a Trump administration executive order targeting birthright citizenship, preserving a defining principle of what it means to be born an American. The court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Barbara, holding that children born in the United States to undocumented parents or parents on temporary visas are entitled to US citizenship. While undocumented immigration has long been central to the debate about birthright citizenship, so-called birth...

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