Google will soon give California millions of dollars to help pay for local journalism jobs in a first-in-the-nation deal, but journalists and other media industry experts are calling it a disappointing agreement that mostly benefits the tech giant.

The agreement, which was hashed out behind closed doors and announced this week, will direct tens of millions of public and private dollars to keep local news organizations afloat. Critics say it's a textbook political maneuver by tech giants to avoid a fee under what could have been groundbreaking legislation. California lawmakers agreed to kill a bill requiring tech to support news outlets they profit from in exchange for Google's financial commitment.

Freight trains in Canada could be running again within days after the government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union Thursday, a move aimed at averting potentially dire economic consequences across the country and in the U.S. if the trains are sidelined for a long period.

The government's action came more than 16 hours after Canadian National and CPKC locked out workers over a labor agreement impasse. Both railroads said they would work to get trains moving again as soon as possible.

To figure out what really works when nations try to fight climate change, researchers looked at 1,500 ways countries have tried to curb heat-trapping gases. Their answer: Not many have done the job. And success often means someone has to pay a price, whether at the pump or elsewhere.

In only 63 cases since 1998, did researchers find policies that resulted in significant cuts of carbon pollution, a new study in Thursday's journal Science found.

A tropical storm is expected to deliver strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend, particularly to the Big Island and Maui, as it passes south of the island chain.

The National Weather Service on Thursday evening issued a tropical storm watch for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Hone.

Floods wreaked more havoc in India's northeast and neighboring Bangladesh's eastern region, raising this week's total death toll to 30, officials and media reports said Friday.

Rain stopped in many parts of Bangladesh on Friday and weather officials in Dhaka said the waters had started receding in some areas, but said the flooding would not be over for days.

Global shares traded mixed Friday ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that might deliver clues on how quickly and deeply the Fed may cut interest rates.

France's CAC 40 rose 0.3% in early trading to 7,546.93, while Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 18,563.15. Britain's FTSE 100 added nearly 0.2% to 8,302.17. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.3% at 40,930.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% to 5,614.75.

Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched a large offensive in the spring that brought initial gains but the operation soon stalled.

Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement late Thursday that its forces advanced nearly two square kilometers (about three-quarters of a square mile) in that area.

When Mostafa Qadoura was a week old, an Israeli strike on his home in the Gaza Strip last October launched him and his crib into the air, sent shrapnel into his right eye that damaged it beyond repair and killed one of his brothers.

Mostafa was evacuated to Egypt weeks later when the hospital treating him came under siege by the Israeli army, and he has grown into a smiling and active 10-month-old with chubby cheeks. But he still faces huge challenges.

Leaders of an "Uncommitted" movement, which garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries across the nation in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, have been negotiating for weeks to secure a speaking slot for a Palestinian American at the Democratic National Convention this week.

The negotiations stalled late Wednesday when leaders with the Uncommitted National Movement say a Democratic National Committee official called and delivered a firm response: "The answer is no."

Over and over, from the massive stage in the electric convention hall, the Democrats this week predicted that Kamala Harris would defeat Donald Trump. They described her as a historic figure, the embodiment of hope, "the president of joy."

But amid the extraordinary optimism, former first lady Michelle Obama offered a sober warning: "No matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day, this is going to be an uphill battle."