The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an ambush in eastern Syria that killed and wounded dozens of soldiers as opposition activists said the death toll rose to at least 33 as some of the wounded succumbed to their injuries.

The attack is among the deadliest to be carried out this year by the extremists. IS sleeper cells still carry deadly attacks despite their defeat in Syria in 2019. The group once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq where they declared a caliphate in 2014.

Western-backed maritime forces in the Middle East have warned shippers traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz to stay as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible to avoid being seized, a stark advisory amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.

A similar warning went out to shippers earlier this year ahead of Iran seizing two tankers traveling near the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world's oil passes.

An armed Utah man killed by FBI agents after making violent threats against President Joe Biden was described by family and neighbors as a gun enthusiast and devoted churchgoer who became distraught over what he saw as "a corrupt and overreaching government."

The family insisted in a statement on Thursday that Air Force veteran Craig Deleeuw Robertson would not have acted on the threats and committed violence over political disagreements, despite court records in which prosecutors depicted him as radicalized.

The strike-delayed 75th Emmy Awards have a new date — one that places them squarely within Hollywood's awards season, for a change.

Fox announced Thursday that the Emmys will air Jan. 15 from the Peacock Theater at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles. The show will air on the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday.

Firefighter and paramedic Mike Camilleri once had no trouble hauling heavy gear up ladders. Now battling long COVID, he gingerly steps onto a treadmill to learn how his heart handles a simple walk.

"This is, like, not a tough-guy test so don't fake it," warned Beth Hughes, a physical therapist at Washington University in St. Louis.

The head of this year's U.N. global climate summit has urged more availability of funds to fight climate change in the Caribbean during a regional meeting in Barbados.

Sultan al-Jaber, the United Arab Emirates' minister of industry, noted that high costs have prevented island nations from quickly adopting renewable energy as they face what he said was some of the world's harshest climate impacts.

A suspected al-Qaida attack in southern Yemen has killed a military commander and three soldiers from a secessionist group, according to the group's leader, security officials, and an eyewitness.

Commander Abd al-Latif al-Sayyid and the three soldiers from the Security Belt Forces, a fighting group loyal to Yemen's secessionist Southern Transitional Council, were killed in an explosion while traveling in a convoy through southern Abyan province, three security officials and the witness said.

Authorities were on standby to evacuate more people in southeastern Norway Friday, where huge amounts of water, littered with broken trees, debris and trash, were thundering down the usually serene rivers after days of torrential rain.

The level of water in swollen rivers and lakes continued to grow despite two days of dry but overcast weather, with houses abandoned in flooded areas, cars coated in mud and camping sites swamped.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has fired most of the governors in the occupied West Bank, responding to long-standing demands for a political shake-up as frustration grows with the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority.

Abbas issued a decree dismissing the governors of eight provinces under Palestinian administration in the occupied territory. The upheaval included the restive northern cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem, the focus of a recent surge in Palestinian militancy that has undermined the authority's leadership. Only three areas — including Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority — retained their governors. The president's office said that he would form a committee to suggest replacements.

Some 14,000 people were evacuated Friday in the eastern Polish town of Lublin after a construction worker uncovered a massive unexploded bomb.

The police, Territorial Defense troops and city transport were helping in the evacuation, which must take place before military engineers can take the bomb away for neutralization, according to town hall spokesperson Katarzyna Duma.