AP-National

By MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press/Report for America ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state has sued PepsiCo in an effort to hold the soda-and-snack food giant partly responsible for litter that winds up in bodies of water that supply the city of Buffalo with drinking water. The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court by Attorney

By ELÉONORE HUGHES and DIANE JEANTET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It’s still spring in Brazil, but a dangerous heat wave is sweeping the country, prompting health alerts and driving up energy demand as people turn to air conditioning and fans to stay cool. The National Institute of Meteorology said most Brazilians face

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Terry R. Taylor, who in two trailblazing decades as the first female sports editor of The Associated Press transformed the news agency’s emphasis into multilayered coverage of rigorous reporting, entertaining enterprise and edgy analysis, has died. She was 71. Taylor died Tuesday at her home

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund have reached a preliminary agreement on releasing $700 million from a $3 billion bailout fund approved in July. The standby credit set up by the IMF is meant to save cash-strapped Pakistan from default. Pakistan’s government is hailing Wednesday’s agreement. In a statement, the

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In a story published November 16, 2023, about fracking in Ohio state parks, The Associated Press erroneously reported that an Ohio commission to consider fracking on public lands was not formalized under former Ohio Gov. John Kasich from 2011 to 2018 and that its first meeting was December 2022. The commission

NEW YORK (AP) — A cargo jet headed to Belgium from New York had to turn around mid-flight after a horse escaped its stall and got loose in the hold, according to air traffic control audio. The Boeing 747 operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic had just started its flight across the Atlantic Ocean on Nov.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A mistrial has been declared for a Texas police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in Austin. The mistrial for Austin Officer Christopher Taylor was declared Wednesday after jurors were unable to reach a verdict following five days of deliberations. Taylor has been on administrative leave since the

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican has signed an agreement with Volkswagen to gradually replace its auto fleet with electric vehicles. The announcement Wednesday does not give any details on the value of the deal or set a timetable for completing the switch to electric vehicles. The partnership falls under the

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer who was detained last month for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory headscarf law has been freed on bail. Reza Khandan, the husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh, posted Wednesday on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, a photo of his wife and said she

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s opposition leader warns that the country is “heading into a dangerous direction” as his party mourned an official abducted while campaigning for upcoming elections and later found dead. Tapfumaneyi Masaya was part of a team of Citizens for Change Coalition activists campaigning Saturday in the

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Department of Civil Rights filed a charge of discrimination against Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City. The hair salon’s owner had posted on social media that anyone identifying as other than a man or a woman is not welcome at her business. The

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge has ordered a pair of white men sentenced to prison for breaking a Black man’s jaw to pay $1.25 million in damages for the racially motivated, random attack. The state judge issued a default judgement against Maurice Diggins and Dusty Leo, of Biddeford. The victim, Daimon McCollum, was attacked

By EMMA BURROWS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Russia’s State Duma passed a record federal budget in its second reading which aims to increase spending by around 25% in 2024, with record amounts going on defense. Defense spending is expected to overtake social spending next year for the first time in modern Russian history at

By SAM METZ Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A German newspaper investigation is raising questions about the future of a Moroccan mine that was meant to supply carmakers a mineral critical for electric vehicle batteries. The mining company controlled by Morocco’s royal family is denying claims that operations at the site are causing hazardous

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities have announced fines totaling 1.67 million euros ($1.81 million) on the local branches of two U.S.-based health care and consumer products giants for alleged breaches of a profit cap imposed amid the country’s cost-of-living crisis. The Development Ministry says Johnson & Johnson Hellas has been fined 1 million euros

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian Kevin Hart has been chosen to receive the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in American humor. The honor caps a three-decade career that has seen the comic rise from the open mics of Philadelphia to become one of his generation’s most successful performers.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says it is searching for a crew member that apparently fell from a cruise ship northwest of Puerto Rico. Authorities say that the unidentified 30-year-old man of Indian nationality was aboard the MSC Seascape when someone apparently saw him tumble more than 30 feet (nine

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America CHICAGO (AP) — The father of the suspect in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago has turned himself in to begin a 60-day jail sentence, but not before the judge reprimanded him for violating court rules. Robert Crimo Jr. entered a guilty plea to

MEXICO CITY (AP) — At least four men are dead following the explosion of a fireworks workshop near Mexico’s Gulf coast. Authorities in the central state of Puebla said Wednesday that the blast occurred Tuesday in the township of Xiutetelco, near the border with the neighboring state of Veracruz. Three of the men, including the

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A petition referendum effort is being launched to establish abortion rights in Nebraska, following on the heels of similar successful efforts in other reds states. Documents released by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office Wednesday show a coalition of civil rights and advocacy groups is