LONG POND, Pa.—Denny Hamlin chalked up his record seventh win at Pocono Raceway—“Eight, right?” he quipped—to nothing more than coming out ahead after a hard, respectful duel with Kyle Larson over the furious final laps. Hamlin’s take: His Toyota held firm in the middle lane while Larson’s Chevrolet ran out of room on the outside when it got choked in a tight aerodynamic situation and sailed into the wall. Larson’s view: His so-called good buddy Hamlin ran him up the track, smashed him into the wall and derailed his chance at the win. Larson was furious. Hamlin shrugged it off. After all, he h ..read more

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is facing calls for a public inquiry into events that might have contributed to the suicide of Richard Bilkszto, a former principal who was suing the board for alleged bullying during a diversity, equity, and inclusion training (DEI) workshop. The Toronto School Administrator’s Association (TSAA) issued a July 24 statement calling for an investigation and demanded that an independent and impartial investigator be appointed by Ontario’s Minister of Education “to conduct a thorough inquiry into the concerns raised” by Mr. Bilkszto before his death. The or ..read more

An analysis by a non-profit research group drawing on calculations by an Italian analyst looking into the carbon footprint of made-in-China solar panels claims that the influential United Nations body on climate change has been drastically underestimating the carbon intensity of Chinese-made photovoltaic cells. Environmental Progress, a non-profit co-founded by investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, in collaboration with The Blind Spot and Italian analyst Enrico Mariutti, recently released a report arguing that Chinese-made solar panels are about three times as dirty, in terms of carb ..read more

SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, adding to a recent streak in weapons testing that is apparently in protest of the U.S. sending major naval assets to South Korea in a show of force. In its third round of launches since last week, North Korea fired the missiles just before midnight from an area near its capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said both missiles traveled around 400 kilometers (248 miles) before landing in waters off the Korean Peninsula’s eastern coast. Its ..read more

The body of a missing paddle boarder recovered from Edgartown Great Pond by Massachusetts State Police (MSP) divers on Monday is that of former President Barrack Obama’s former chef, Tafari Campbell. Authorities identified the victim on Monday as Mr. Campbell, a 45-year-old male who was previously employed by the former first family as a personal chef. He drowned near the former first family’s home on Martha’s Vineyard. “Mr. Campbell was employed by former President Obama and was visiting Martha’s Vineyard at the time of his passing,” MSP said in a statement. Mr. Campbell was a nativ ..read more

A group of chemical engineering students was denied state funding to participate in a national competition in Florida because of California’s travel ban to certain states that don’t allow biological male athletes to compete in girls’ and women’s sports. The ban, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in 2019, was recently expanded to include three new states, boosting the total to 26. As a result, Will Donahue, College Republicans of America president, told the Epoch Times the Chem-E-Car team at California Polytechnic State University—Pomona, was denied state and university funding to partici ..read more

A major backlog of U.S. passport applications has spurred a flood of calls by angry American travelers to House and Senate offices on Capitol Hill, as the delays worsen. Congressional offices are scrambling to address the issue at the height of the summer travel season, as many desperate constituents plea for help in dealing with unprecedented passport delays. Members of Congress and their staff regularly attempt to assist constituents with their passport issues before travel plans are derailed. Senate and House offices, which typically help a few dozen individuals expedite their pas ..read more

The CIA is working to rebuild its network of spies in China after Beijing caught and killed many of its agents a decade ago. As China vows countermeasures, will the agency pull it off this time? Streets lie vacant and sirens sound across northern Taiwan. A half-hour evacuation drill aims to prepare residents for natural disasters, or a possible Chinese attack. In a show of force and unity aimed at China, the largest-ever joint military training between Washington and Canberra is underway in Australia. Does America’s Indo-Pacific strategy impact world dynamics? What role does Beijing play? We h ..read more

The first thing “H.N.” did when he got up on a July Sunday morning was say hi to his dog, Biscuit, and then start reading “Treasure Island,” which after just the first chapter may overtake “Robinson Crusoe” as his all-time favorite book—but that needs to wait until he finishes the book. Later, he played Monopoly with a friend, practiced baseball (which he plays for his school team), and told us about his favorite board game, Kids Against Maturity. His room looks like a typical young boy’s, with board games, Nerf guns, baseball equipment, and toy vehicles. In the living room is a mini ..read more

British soldiers based in Australia could be part of the next step to bringing the two military forces closer together. UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said stationing British troops in Darwin, where U.S. marines have a presence, was “not impossible” as his nation looked to expand its influence in the Pacific. “It comes up quite regularly in conversation about what the Aussies and the U.S. are doing up there and whether we should be there too,” he said. “But it’s not something we’ve got an active plan for, and it’s certainly not something we’ve spoken to the Australian government about ..read more