Scientists say that global warming makes the kind of extreme rainfall that caused deadly flash flooding in western Europe last month more likely, though it remains unclear exactly how much.

At least 220 people died in Germany and Belgium on July 14-15 when swollen streams turned into raging rivers, sweeping away houses, roads and bridges, and causing billions of euros (dollars) in damage.

Spooked by the pandemic and streaming platforms, the embattled movie theater industry called on new "Ghostbusters" and "Spider-Man" films as it vowed to fight back at a major trade summit in Las Vegas Monday.

CinemaCon -- which typically sees Hollywood studios bring glitzy stars and never-before-seen footage to a Las Vegas casino to woo theater bosses -- did not take place at all last year as the pandemic shuttered cinemas around the world.

Richard Barclay opens a metal drawer in archives of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum containing fossils that are nearly 100 million years old. Despite their age, these rocks aren't fragile. The geologist and botanist handles them with casual ease, placing one in his palm for closer examination.

Embedded in the ancient rock is a triangular leaf with rounded upper lobes. This leaf fell off a tree around the time that T-rex and triceratops roamed prehistoric forests, but the plant is instantly recognizable. "You can tell this is ginkgo, it's a unique shape," said Barclay. "It hasn't changed much in many millions of years."

What does full approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine mean?

It means Pfizer's shot for people 16 and older has now undergone the same rigorous testing and regulatory review as dozens of other long-established vaccines.

For more than seven decades, Martin Adler treasured a black-and-white photo of himself as a young American soldier with a broad smile with three impeccably dressed Italian children he is credited with saving as the Nazis retreated northward in 1944.

On Monday, the 97-year-old World War II veteran met the three siblings — now octogenarians themselves — in person for the first time since the war.

Two months ago, the leaders of the world's seven major industrialized democracies met in summer sunshine on England's southwest coast. It was a happy occasion: the first in-person summit of the Group of Seven nations in two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and the welcomed appearance of President Joe Biden and his "America is back" message on matters ranging from comity to COVID-19 to climate change.

On Tuesday, those same seven leaders will meet again in virtual format confronted by a resurgence in the pandemic, more dire news on climate change and, most immediately and perhaps importantly, Afghanistan. The country's burgeoning refugee crisis, the collapse of its government and fears of a resurgence in Afghan-based terrorism have left the G-7 allies scrambling and threaten the unity of the bloc.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a sharp rebuke to China for its incursions in the South China Sea, warning its actions there amount to "coercion" and "intimidation" and affirming that the U.S. will support its allies in the region against Beijing's advances.

"We know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea," she said in a major foreign policy speech Tuesday in Singapore in which she laid out the Biden administration's vision for the Indo-Pacific. "Beijing's actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations."

Cyprus on Monday sent 88 Syrian migrants back to Lebanon after they tried to reach the eastern Mediterranean island nation on two boats.

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris told The Associated Press that rescue crews continue to search for one of five men who jumped overboard after police vessels intercepted their boat off Cyprus' eastern coast. Nouris said police picked up four men, but the fifth, who was wearing a mask, flippers and a life preserver, managed to swim away.

Lebanon's government agreed Monday to pay tens of thousands of poor families cash assistance in U.S. dollars from a World Bank loan as the country's economic crisis deepens.

The decision comes as Lebanon is expected to end subsidies for fuel by the end of next month, a move that is expected to lead to sharp increases in prices of almost all products.

The Afghanistan flag will be displayed in Tuesday's opening ceremony of the Paralympics even though the country's athletes were not able to get to Tokyo to compete.

Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, said Monday it will be done as a "sign of solidarity."