News briefs

Tribune News Service on Aug 15, 2025

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Hillary Clinton says she’d nominate Trump for Nobel prize if he ends Ukraine war

Hillary Clinton said she would nominate President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize if he can end the war in Ukraine under certain conditions.

“I understand from everything I’ve read he very much would like to receive the Nobel Peace Prize,” the former secretary of state said in an interview on the “Raging Moderates” podcast published on Aug. 15

Clinton then outlined a scenario in which she could see herself tapping Trump — her opponent in the 2016 presidential election — for the prestigious honor.

“Honestly, if he could bring about the end to this terrible war where (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is the aggressor invading a neighbor country, trying to change the borders, if he could end it without putting Ukraine in a position where it had to concede its territory to the aggressor,” she said.

—Miami Herald

RFK Jr. disavows presidential run, pledges loyalty to Trump

WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he isn’t running for president in 2028 in a social media post on Friday, pushing back on criticism from right-wing commentator Laura Loomer that he’s disloyal to President Donald Trump.

“The president has made himself the answer to my 20-year prayer that God would put me in a position to end the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy wrote. “That’s exactly what my team and I will do until the day he leaves office.”

The declaration follows speculation, stoked by Loomer, that Kennedy, 71, has his sights set on the White House. Kennedy also defended one of his top aides, Stefanie Spear, from Loomer’s attacks on her loyalty to the president.

Last month, Spear joined a grass-roots organizing call affiliated with a nonprofit organization that works to promote Kennedy’s health policies. That group, MAHA Action, is led by Kennedy’s book publisher, who also helped raise money through a super PAC for Kennedy’s failed 2024 presidential bid.

—Bloomberg News

What’s behind the more than 130 small earthquakes hitting Northern California?

A series of more than 100 earthquakes has hit Northern California, shaking up the Geysers geothermal steam field in Sonoma and Lake counties.

Since Thursday, at least 131 earthquakes have been recorded — as small as magnitude 0.2 and as big as magnitude 4. The largest earthquake was recorded at 5:48 a.m. Pacific time Thursday, with an epicenter 10 miles east of Cloverdale, 20 miles northwest of Calistoga and 26 miles north of Santa Rosa.

Small earthquakes are common in the Geysers geothermal steam field. The Geysers-Clear Lake area is one of California’s eight volcanic areas, and the Geysers steam field — on the southwest area of the volcanic field — is home to one of the world’s most productive geothermal power facilities, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Power is produced using the steam generated from the volcanic field. Despite its name, no geysers exist in the Geysers-Clear Lake area, the USGS says. The Geysers provide electricity to Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, Marin and Napa counties, the agency says, and power has been generated from the area since 1960.

—Los Angeles Times

JD Vance has a rough day of golf at Trump’s Turnberry course in Scotland

JD Vance’s visit to the U.K. had another subpar moment when the vice president swung his way through a brutal round of golf on Trump’s Turnberry course in Scotland.

Video of the 41-year-old Republican needing four putts to conquer one green, according to local reports, went viral on social media Friday. Golf Monthly says that’s nearly double the number of putts an average golfer spends on a green.

Vance and his family arrived in Scotland on Wednesday, according to the BBC. He reportedly hit the links on Thursday surrounded by secret service personnel.

Vance is fresh off a stay in the English countryside, where the staff of popular pub The Bull in Charlbury allegedly threatened a mutiny if they were forced to serve the staunch conservative. The restaurant didn’t accept his reservation, according to The Daily Beast.

—New York Daily News