By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/26/2024 12:01 PM
Rain and cooler temperatures Friday are expected to help crews in the Canadian province of Alberta, where wildfires have destroyed up to half of the historic town of Jasper, forcing some first responders to pull back. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/26/2024 11:13 AM
Britain confirmed Friday it has dropped objections to arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant sought by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/26/2024 9:47 AM
Philippine authorities were engaged in a race to contain an oil spill from a tanker sunk by typhoon Gaemi and prevent 370,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil remaining on board from escaping into the ocean. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/26/2024 9:23 AM
France's high speed rail network was severely impacted by a series of arson attacks targeting track infrastructure and signaling hours before the Paris Olympics were due to open, the state-owned SNCF said. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/26/2024 9:14 AM
The European Union Friday transferred $1.6 billion in frozen Russian assets held by central securities depositories to Ukraine for military and reconstruction support against Russia's invasion. ... Read full Story
three fires were reported near the tracks on the high-speed lines of Atlantique, Nord and Est, causing disruptions that affected hundreds of thousands of travellers. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 7:49 PM
The United States warned Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government any political repression and violence ahead of Sunday's presidential election is "unacceptable." ... Read full Story
The meetings came a day after Netanyahu gave a fiery speech to Congress and at a time of growing pressure in Israel and the U.S. to find an endgame to the nine-month conflict. ... Read full Story
Kai McKenzie, 23, was surfing off Australia's east coast when a three-metre-long great white shark attacked him, severing his right leg. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 3:19 PM
The coast guards of Taiwan and the Philippines were scouring the South China Sea for a least 10 seamen who remain unaccounted for after their vessels were sunk or damaged by supertyphoon Gaemi. ... Read full Story
Steven van de Velde pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19, after meeting the minor online and chatting with her for months. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 11:33 AM
The United Nations humanitarian relief agency OCHA said Thursday the death toll from southern Ethiopian landslides rose to 257 as of Wednesday. Deaths are expected to reach up to 500 people. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 9:27 AM
The Netherlands and Denmark will deliver 14 refitted German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine by the end of the summer to help meet Kyiv's demand for more firepower to combat Russian aggression. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 9:15 AM
Vladimir Putin met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow, according to a Thursday morning Kremlin announcement. Putin told Assad he wanted the Syrian leader's opinion on the situation in the Middle East. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 8:58 AM
Climate change activists glued themselves to the tarmac at Germany's busiest airport on Thursday morning, suspending some flights and air traffic around Frankfurt Airport. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 7:37 AM
Britain's Financial Conduct Authority fined Coinbase's CB Payments Limited $4,516,736 for regularly ignoring a requirement that prevented the company from offering services to high-risk customers. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 6:56 AM
South Korea is aiming to transform the country's largest veterans cemetery into an international memorial site and tourism destination, officials said Thursday. ... Read full Story
The shooting came after attempted and completed assassinations of politicians in Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Ecuador, Brazil and other countries over the past few years. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/25/2024 3:32 AM
Israel has recovered the body of a woman who was taken hostage by Hamas during its bloody and surprise October assault and died while in captivity in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2024 is:
herald \HAIR-uld\ verb
Herald is a verb meaning "to give notice of"; it is synonymous with announce, publicize, and foreshadow. Herald may also mean "to greet especially with enthusiasm."
// The appearance of robins heralded the advent of spring.
// She is being heralded as the year's best new author.
"Trumpets herald the arrival of the players at the arena." — Simon Webster, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2023
Did you know?
While herald the verb is more common today, herald the noun is older. When the word was first welcomed into English in the early 14th century, it referred to an official at a tournament (one of those knightly sporting events the Middle Ages are famous for). The herald's duties included making announcements, hence the word's uses relating to announcements both literal and metaphorical. The word is ultimately Germanic in origin, though like so many words of 14th century vintage, it came to English by way of Anglo-French. The resemblance between herald and the name Harold is not coincidental: Harold is a modern form of Chariovalda, the name of a 1st century C.E. leader of the Batavi, a tribe who lived on the lower Rhine. The Germanic source of Chariovalda, haria-, is also the source of herald.