AP-National

By ED KOMENDA The Associated Press TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The 13 largest U.S. tire manufacturers are facing a lawsuit from a pair of California commercial fishing organizations that could force the companies to stop using a chemical found in almost every tire because it kills migrating salmon. Found in footwear, synthetic turf and playground

By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s attorney general is defending the Republican-led Legislature’s latest attempt in a years-long struggle to block taxpayer dollars from going to Planned Parenthood. Lawyers for the state argued against any taxpayer money going to Planned Parenthood during a Missouri Supreme Court hearing Wednesday. Missouri banned

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Three people have been charged with running a sophisticated commercial sex ring in Massachusetts and eastern Virginia that catered to well-connected clients such as elected officials and military officers, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. Women were featured on websites that falsely claimed to advertise nude Asian

By ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett has easily won a third term after an expensive race against a Republican challenger who had a significant fundraising advantage. Hogsett received 59.51% of votes. Businessman and former city-county councilman Jefferson Shreve received 40.49% of votes in Tuesday’s election. Hogsett also won

By JUAN A. LOZANO AND BEATRICE DUPUY Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A massive fire at a chemical plant in rural Texas on Wednesday sent a plume of black smoke into the sky as officials closed down a local highway and ordered residents to take shelter. Authorities issued the shelter-in-place order for residents within a

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Fresh off a victory in Republican-leaning Kentucky that raised his national profile, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday that Democrats can overcome America’s deep divisions by trying “to lead with compassion” and improving the lives of the people who elect them. After a bitter campaign against GOP

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A judge at Britain’s High Court ruled Wednesday that life support for a terminally ill 8-month-old baby should be withdrawn in a hospice or hospital, despite efforts by the infant’s parents and the Italian government to transport her to Italy for further treatment. The parents of baby

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — It may be time to get out those fairytale ballgowns. The theme of the next Met Gala has been unveiled: It’s “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Wednesday revealed the theme of its spring 2024 exhibit, which

By ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP) — A Republican candidate who refused to denounce a local Moms for Liberty Chapter that used a quote by Adolf Hitler in a newsletter earlier this year has won the election for mayor of Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. While Sue Finkam condemned the use of

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Putting together a collection of Bush’s greatest hits was relatively easy. Convincing frontman Gavin Rossdale to do it was harder. He thought it sounded like a farewell. Rossdale relented and that’s why we have “Loaded: The Greatest Hits 1994-2023,” a 21-song set that includes such

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A jury is set to decide the perjury case against a former top prosecutor for the city of Baltimore. Jurors heard attorneys’ closing arguments on Wednesday in the trial of former state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby. The judge presiding over the trial said she expects jurors to

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has expressed disappointment with election results that allowed Democrats to take control of both the Virginia House and Senate, but pledged to work with the party’s new legislative majority on bipartisan priorities. Youngkin struck an optimistic tone as he told reporters gathered

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president has announced he will require private concessionary railway companies to offer passenger service. If the companies refuse, the government will schedule its own trains on tracks that are currently used almost exclusively to carry freight. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has denied any notion that his decree, to be

By JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — A Texas businessman at the center of the scandal that led to the historic impeachment of state Attorney General Ken Paxton has been charged with additional federal crimes. The new indictment of Nate Paul alleges that he defrauded business partners. It adds to earlier charges that the

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press After Ohio voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion and other forms of reproductive healthcare, advocates on both sides of the issue are looking at how they can get support on 2024 ballots in at least a dozen states. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A federal regulator says Citigroup intentionally discriminated against Armenian Americans when they applied for credit cards. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday that Citibank argued internally that Armenian Americans were more likely to commit fraud and referred to applicants as “bad guys” or affiliated

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (AP) — A suburban Minnesota city became what is believed to be the first in the U.S. to elect a Somali American mayor when 27-year-old Nadia Mohamed was chosen to lead St. Louis Park. Mohamed won easily Tuesday night. She had been endorsed by the outgoing mayor, who did not seek

By JESSE BEDAYN and MEAD GRUVER Associated Press COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The owners of a Colorado funeral home were arrested Wednesday in Oklahoma on charges linked to the discovery of 190 sets of decaying remains at one of their facilities, including some that apparently had been languishing there for four years. Investigators entered

MENTONE, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake has struck a sparsely populated and remote area of West Texas. The temblor Wednesday could be felt hundreds of miles away. The USGS reports the 5.3 magnitude quake shook Loving County, on the border with New Mexico, shortly before 4:30 a.m. A 5.3 magnitude

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities are seeking an eight-year prison term for an artist and musician who was jailed after protesting the war in Ukraine. Sasha Skochilenko was arrested in her native St. Petersburg in April 2022 on charges of spreading false information about the military after replacing supermarket