Here are the USA TODAY Sports/American Volleyball Coaches Association regional volleyball rankings as the 2024 season begins. Related: See the Opening USA TODAY Sports/AVCA Super 25 West Region: 1. Corona Del Mar High School (Calif.) 2. Loyola High School (Calif.) 3. Mira Costa High School (Calif.) 4. Sandra Day O’Connor High School (Ariz.) 5. Kamehameha … Read more
Struggling regional lender New York Community Bancorp announced a $1 billion capital raise and a leadership shakeup on Wednesday, headlined by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, leading to a sharp rebound for its stock. NYCB has agreed to a deal with several investment firms including Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital, Hudson Bay Capital and Reverence Capital … Read more
DUBAI — Texas A&M University is shutting down its branch in Qatar, citing “heightened regional instability” in a statement from the university board. Qatar quickly issued a reply, calling the move “misguided” and “influenced by a disinformation campaign.” The university’s decision comes as the war in Gaza has escalated tensions across the Middle East, but … Read more
FILE – The defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, gather for their extraordinary meeting in Accra, Ghana, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, to discuss the situation in Niger. Three West African nations of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have quit the regional … Read more
ACCRA, Ghana – ECOWAS flag with member flags at the second extraordinary summit on the political situation in Burkina Faso, in Accra, Ghana, on February 3, 2022. Photo by NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images Three West African countries currently under the rule of military juntas have announced plans to exit the Economic Community of West … Read more
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday as the region braced for continued attacks between U.S. forces and Iranian-backed proxy groups. The top U.S. diplomat carried a complicated message on his trip: Even as the United States targets militias in Syria and Iraq, it is ultimately seeking … Read more
JERUSALEM — Iran said Saturday it had conducted a successful satellite launch into its highest orbit yet, the latest for a program the West fears improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles. The announcement comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and just days after Iran … Read more
United States fighter jets struck Houthi rebel sites in Yemen for a sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire. The Iranian-backed Houthi militants say their attacks on global shipping in the Red Sea corridor are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Now in its … Read more
In the wake of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, Houthi rebels based in Yemen have been carrying out attacks on U.S. and British commercial ships. Last week, President Biden authorized airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. In response, Houthi fighters targeted more ships on Monday. On Tuesday, the United States launched more airstrikes against … Read more
Israel said one of its troops was “slightly injured” in an exchange of fire along the country’s border with Egypt, which Cairo attributed to drug smuggling. One person in Egypt was killed. Ties between the two countries have been strained since the Israel-Hamas war began. Israel’s defense minister said Monday that the intense Israeli military … Read more