The return of searing heat in the Houston area has deepened the misery for people still without power after Hurricane Beryl left residents in search of places to cool off and fuel up as the extended outages strained one of the nation's largest cities.

More than 1.7 million homes and businesses in Texas lacked electricity Wednesday morning, down from a peak of over 2.7 million on Monday, according to PowerOutage.us. State officials faced questions over whether the power utility that covers much of the area had sufficiently prepared.

Lionel Messi plans to keep playing for Argentina beyond Sunday's Copa America final.

"As I've said before, I intend to continue," he said Tuesday night after Argentina's 2-0 win over Canada. "I intend to keep living day by day without thinking about what will come in the future or whether I'll continue or not. It's something I just live each day. I'm 37 years and only God knows when the end will be."

Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics declared an indefinite strike Wednesday to pressure South Korea's biggest company to accept their calls for higher pays and other benefits.

Thousands of members of the National Samsung Electronics Union launched a temporary, three-day strike on Monday. But the union said Wednesday that it was announcing an indefinite strike, accusing the management of being unwilling to negotiate. Samsung Electronics says there have been no disruptions to production.

Chinese auto sales slumped in June as the domestic economy remained sluggish, but buoyant exports offset the decline at home, an industry association said Wednesday.

Sales in China dropped 7.4% compared to a year earlier to 1.8 million cars, while exports rose 29% to 400,000 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a monthly report.

Russia's parliament on Wednesday approved a bill that would raise income taxes for the rich, in a move to help fill government coffers during t he fighting in Ukraine.

The bill was endorsed in the final third reading by the lower house, the State Duma, and hours later by the upper house, the Federation Council. It must be signed by President Vladimir Putin to become law.

China announced an investigation Wednesday into whether the European Union has adopted unfair trade practices in its probes of Chinese companies bidding on projects in the 27-nation bloc. The move is the latest in a brewing trade war between the two economic giants.

The investigation will focus on wind power, photovoltaics, security equipment and electric trains, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that decisive action must be taken before the U.S. presidential election in November to repel Russia's offensive against his country, using an address on the sidelines of the NATO summit to press for greater support during a pivotal but tumultuous stretch in America's political calendar.

"It's time to step out of the shadows to make strong decisions to act and not wait for November or any other months to descend. We must be strong and uncompromising all together," Zelensky said.

After seeing off another one of the pre-tournament favorites to reach the Euro 2024 final, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has warned England or the Netherlands that his team can still improve.

Spain reached the European Championship decider with a 2-1 victory over France on Tuesday, with 16-year-old Lamine Yamal becoming the youngest-ever scorer at the continental tournament.

Lamine Yamal became the youngest player ever to score at the European Championship when the 16-year-old netted a stunning goal for Spain in its European Championship semifinal 2-1 victory over France on Tuesday.

Yamal will turn 17 on Saturday, a day before the final in Berlin against either England or the Netherlands.

Internal drama. Leaks. Second-guessing. The pressure and chaos swirling since Joe Biden's disastrous debate performance is causing cracks in a White House that until now had been marked by discipline and loyalty.

For three-plus years, the Biden administration has been mostly a restrained and staid operation, defined more by an insistence on showcasing policy and an avoidance of palace intrigue. Aides generally kept any criticism of their boss or their jobs out of the public eye. Not lately, though.