A record snow drought with unprecedented heat is hitting most of the American West, depleting future water supplies, making it more vulnerable to wildfires and hurting winter tourism and recreation.

Scientists say snow cover and snow depth are both at the lowest levels they've seen in decades, while at least 67 Western weather stations have measured their warmest December through early February on record. Normal snow cover this time of year should be about 460,000 square miles — about the size of California, Utah, Idaho and Montana — but this year it's only California-sized, about 155,000 square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Barcelona forward Raphinha is doubtful for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals against Atletico Madrid on Thursday.

Raphinha is recovering from a muscle injury and has missed two straight matches. He did not train with the rest of the squad on Tuesday.

The European Parliament Tuesday gave its final approval to an ambitious target for cutting EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, a key milestone towards the bloc's goal of becoming carbon neutral by mid-century.

Lawmakers voted by 413 to 226 in favour of a 90-percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels -- with flexibility to allow carbon credits bought outside the 27-nation EU to help reach the goal.

Oil and gas exports have sustained Russia's finances throughout its war against Ukraine. But as the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion approaches, those cash flows have suddenly dwindled to lows not seen in years.

It's the result of new punitive measures from the U.S. and the European Union, U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff pressure against India, and a tightening crackdown on the fleet of sanctions-dodging tankers carrying Russian oil.

A top Israeli official said Tuesday that measures adopted by the government that deepen Israeli control in the occupied West Bank amounted to implementing "de facto sovereignty," using language that mirrors critics' warnings about the intent behind the moves.

The steps "actually establish a fact on the ground that there will not be a Palestinian state," Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Israel's Army Radio.

What's in a surname? For many people from Spain and Latin America, it's about who your father is and who your mother is.

The tradition of using two surnames helps clearly identify familial relationships in much of the Spanish-speaking world. But in the United States, having two surnames can be a bureaucratic headache, or worse.

The stated purpose of Israel President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia is to support the Jewish community still reeling from an antisemitic attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach that left 15 dead. But his critics warn his presence undermines rather than repairs social cohesion frayed by the far away war in Gaza.

Protest rallies are expected to follow the president, who performs a largely ceremonial role as head of state, as he travels to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra over four days starting Monday. Some critics demand he be arrested in Australia on suspicion of inciting genocide in Gaza.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a battle to stay in post as he comes under heavy criticism for his decision in 2024 to appoint veteran politician Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the U.S. despite the latter's ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer's judgment is in the spotlight like never before after the recent release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the U.S. Justice Department showed how close Mandelson and Epstein were.

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych will be allowed to wear a black armband in competition at the Milan Cortina Games, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday, but not the helmet he wanted to commemorate the lives of some athletes from his country who were killed in the war with Russia.

The IOC called the move a compromise.

Thousands of people gather each evening in Milan to watch the Olympic cauldron, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's intricate knot patterns, as it swells and pulsates with colored light to an original soundtrack in a spectacle that is quickly becoming a focal point of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

The Milan cauldron itself is dramatically suspended beneath the Arco della Pace, or Arch of Peace, erected to honor Napoleon's expulsion of the detested Austro-Hungarian rulers from Milan. The landmark Sforza Castle is perfectly framed in the background.