A Russian fighter jet flew very close to a U.S. surveillance aircraft over Syria, forcing it to go through the turbulent wake and putting the lives of the four American crew members in danger, U.S. officials said.

The officials said the incident, which happened just before noon EDT on Sunday, was a significant escalation in what has been a string of encounters between U.S. and Russian aircraft in Syria in recent weeks. The intercept by the Russian Su-35 impeded the U.S. crew's ability to safely operate their MC-12 aircraft, the officials said, calling it a new level of unsafe behavior that could result in an accident or loss of life.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday is hosting Israel's figurehead president Isaac Herzog at the White House, as they seek to sustain ties despite U.S. concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial plans to overhaul his country's judicial system and ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank.

Herzog's visit comes a day after Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone and invited him to meet in the U.S. this fall, although the president expressed reservations about several of Netanyahu's hard-right coalition's policies. Netanyahu's government is pushing forward with judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel and he also has authorized the construction of thousands of new housing units in the West Bank.

Extreme rainfall accompanied by deadly flooding hit the United States and several other countries over the weekend and last week.

There were several dozen fatalities in central and southern regions of South Korea, including the Chongju region where an underpass flooded and drowned motorists who became trapped in their submerged vehicles.

Pennsylvania authorities drew on 100 people, drones and cadaver dogs Monday in their search for two missing children whose family's car was swept away in flash flooding that ravaged the East Coast over the weekend. Other parts of the country endured threateningly high temperatures and severe air pollution from Canadian wildfires.

In eastern Pennsylvania, authorities described Monday's search for missing Matilda Sheils, 2, and her 9-month-old brother Conrad Sheils as a "massive undertaking" along a creek that drains into the Delaware River. The children are members of a Charleston, South Carolina, family that was visiting relatives and friends when they got caught in a flash flood Saturday.

Israeli protesters blocked highways and gathered outside Tel Aviv's stock exchange and military headquarters on Tuesday in the latest countrywide demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned judicial overhaul.

The latest "day of disruption" came as longtime allies of the prime minister pushed a contentious piece of legislation through a parliamentary committee ahead of a vote expected next week.

Heat records are being shattered all over the world and the summer swelter keeps coming.

Around one-third of Americans are under some type of heat advisory, with the most blistering temperatures in the South and West, where even the regular simmer has turned up a notch.

Wildfires outside Athens forced thousands to flee seaside resorts, closed highways and gutted vacation homes Monday, as high winds pushed flames through hillside scrub and pine forests parched by days of extreme heat.

Authorities issued evacuation orders for at least six seaside communities as two major wildfires edged closer to summer resort towns and gusts of wind hit 70 kph (45 mph).

Pope Francis' peace envoy was traveling to Washington on Monday as part of the Holy See's peace initiatives for Ukraine, hoping to support humanitarian operations especially concerning children, the Vatican said Monday.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi's visit, which lasts through Wednesday, follows his recent mission to Moscow and an earlier stop in Kyiv, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß is confident that England captain Harry Kane will switch to the club from Tottenham this summer.

After a globe-trotting publicity blitz by star Tom Cruise, "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" launched with a franchise-best $80 million over five days, though it came in shy of industry expectations with a $56.2 million haul over the three-day weekend, according to studio estimates.

The Paramount Pictures debut was boosted by strong overseas sales of $155 million from 70 markets. But while a $235 million worldwide launch marked one of the best global openings of the year, "Dead Reckoning" couldn't approach the high-speed velocity of last summer's top film, "Top Gun: Maverick."