Evenings across the U.S. this summer were balmier than any other summer since records began in 1895, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a report Thursday. NOAA defines summer as the three-month period between June and August in which the average low...

The U.S.-led war on Islamic State has depleted the group's funds, leadership and foreign fighters, but the biggest battle yet is expected later this year in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his "caliphate" two years ago. The jihadist insurgents have lost...

Syrians from territory held by opposing sides in the civil war prayed together for peace as they flew to Mecca for the haj, even as President Bashar al-Assad's government accused Saudi Arabia of politicizing the annual Muslim pilgrimage. Riyadh has no diplomatic ties with Damascus and requires...

The United States does not believe it is worthwhile for Secretary of State John Kerry to meet now with Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, about a ceasefire in Syria, the State Department said on Thursday. "It's our belief that ... the remaining issues are at a technical level that need...