The Telegraph (Macon)

Teens to 20-somethings hanging out at the mall, maybe trying on clothes, meeting friends at the food court or a nearby restaurant, checking out the window displays. The scene isn't from an '80s movie or a flashback moment shared by millennials or baby boomers. Many of the young people strolling while also scrolling for the latest fashion trend are members of Generation Z, ages 14 to late 20s.

Ecuador's president declared Friday a public holiday to celebrate the national team's 2-1 upset of Germany at the World Cup. "Thank you to the players and the coach who, despite the criticism, the insults, and the tough times they went through, managed to bounce back and bring this immense joy to the entire country," president Daniel Noboa posted on social media, translated from Spanish, on Thursday. "Tomorrow is a holiday! Long live Ecuador," he added.

Jonathan Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty to three charges related to the setting of the Palisades Fire in 2025. File Photo courtesy of Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli June 26 (UPI) -- A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday after a jury said it couldn't reach a verdict for the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, which killed a dozen people and burned more than 23,000 acres in Southern California.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's been a firm opponent of California's so-called "billionaire tax," said he would support a national wealth tax on billionaires, promoting it as a real solution to the wealth inequality facing the country.

Despite missing out on one of the biggest music festivals, Joni Mitchellstill released a popular folk-rock track titled "Woodstock." The 1970 song became an anthem of the 1960s counterculture era, and was later reimagined into a rock radio hit that same year. By 1969, Mitchell had already made a name for herself when she was scheduled to appear at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair alongside the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

WASHINGTON - Global trade flows and relationships are shifting after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed unilateral tariffs on most countries, but the U.S. dollar continues to anchor international trade, banking and central bank reserves, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist said on Friday.

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attend a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, in Moscow, Russia February 26, 2026. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held talks on Friday, the Kremlin said, and discussions were expected to focus on the war in Ukraine.

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, June 21, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency)via REUTERS DUBAI/LONDON - U.S. President Donald Trump blamed Iran on Friday for an attack on a ship near Oman which he said had violated their ceasefire, after Tehran insisted it would control the Strait of Hormuz and warned Gulf states not to side with Washington. The attack on Thursday highlighted the fragility of a preliminary deal to end the Iran war.

OpenAI said on Friday it was delaying a full public launch of GPT‑5.6 at the U.S. government's request, limiting the AI model's initial access to a small group of vetted partners whose details were shared with the authorities. The decision underscores growing concern in Washington over the national security risks posed by powerful AI systems, with policymakers pressing companies to put guardrails around them.

The first earthquake, measuring magnitude 7.2, struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening with horrific force. But just 39 seconds after it started, an even more powerful magnitude 7.5 temblor struck, making a catastrophic disaster even worse. A seismic one-two punch, which seismologists call a "doublet," has added to the unease over what is shaping up to be one of the Western Hemisphere's worst quakes in years.