AP-National

Traffic fatalities dropped 3.3% in the first half of the year compared with the prior-year period, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency said Thursday that an estimated 19,515 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the first half of 2023. There were 20,190 fatalities in the first half of 2022.

MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has launched a pact with Italian industry aimed at keeping prices down on a range of essential goods, including food, personal care and baby items. Consumer advocates say it could translate to over $4 billion in savings for families. The experimental program runs from Oct. 1 to Dec.

LONDON (AP) — A 16-year-old boy was arrested Thursday in northern England in connection with what authorities described as the “deliberate” felling of a famous tree that had stood for nearly 200 years next to the Roman landmark Hadrian’s Wall. Thousands of visitors each year walk along Hadrian’s Wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed former Ukrainian soccer great Andriy Shevchenko as a special adviser and British actor Mark Strong as an ambassador to the charity the Ukrainian president set up to raise money for Ukraine. It was not clear what Shevchenko’s duties as adviser to

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union governments are struggling to overcome obstacles to put a new asylum system in place three years after unveiling a plan to reform the bloc’s outdated asylum rules. Some fear the plan may never see the light of day. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI and other government agencies should be required to get court approval before reviewing the communications of U.S. citizens collected through a secretive foreign surveillance program, a sharply divided privacy oversight board recommended on Thursday. The recommendation came in a report from a three-member Democratic majority

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Rina has formed in the Atlantic Ocean on the heels of Tropical Storm Philippe. Forecasters said Thursday that any possible interaction between the back-to-back storms was making it too early to tell if Rina might strengthen further, given their close proximity. Rina had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and

By JACK JEFFERY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The United States has imposed sanctions on a former Sudanese government minister and two companies tied to the paramilitary force that’s locked in fighting with the Sudanese army. The sanctions imposed by the U.S Department of the Treasury will block all property in the U.S. and entities

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Republican Kari Lake, a Donald Trump ally who has refused to acknowledge her loss in last year’s race for Arizona governor, will soon launch her campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by independent Kyrsten Sinema, a senior adviser said Thursday. Lake’s entrance

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A former director of an Ohio memory-loss clinic accused by dozens of patients of falsely diagnosing them with Alzheimer’s disease has been sentenced on federal fraud charges, along with her physician husband. Sherry-Ann Jenkins received nearly six years in prison on Tuesday, while Oliver Jenkins got a 41-month sentence. The couple

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit seeking an order blocking any attempt from the state Legislature to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz. Her election to the court this year tilted control to liberals for the first time in 15 years. The court decided Tuesday not

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say a man who shot and wounded two people, including a sheriff’s deputy, along the South Carolina coast has been killed by officers. Law enforcement says Ernest Robert Burbage III shot a police dog searching for him on Johns Island on Thursday afternoon, then pointed the high-powered rifle at

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Two of Southeast Asia’s newest national leaders have exchanged congratulations on their new posts as Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin paid a one-day official visit to Cambodia for talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. Although there are currently no major issues of contention between

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Police in the Netherlands say a lone gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire in an apartment and a hospital in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, killing three people, including a 14-year-old girl. The shooting sent patients and medics fleeing the Erasmus Medical Center

By ZANA CIMILI Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s interior minister has accused Serbia of direct involvement in weekend clashes and was investigating the possibility of Russian involvement in the violence that left four people dead and further strained relations between the former wartime foes. One Kosovo police officer and three gunmen were killed

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and Israel have signed an agreement for Berlin to buy the sophisticated Arrow 3 missile defense system, designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles. It’s the latest step in Berlin’s bid to strengthen its air defenses following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany aims to integrate the system into wider NATO air defense

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — There are rock stars, and then there is Ringo Starr — drummer for the Beatles, award-winning soloist, photographer, narrator, actor, activist. To call him prolific would almost shortchange his accomplishments. But it also feels right. “Rewind Forward,” out October 13, is his fourth extended play

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer The curtain is finally coming down on Netflix’s once-iconic DVD-by-mail service, a quarter century after two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs came up with a concept that obliterated Blockbuster video stores while providing a springboard into video streaming that has transformed entertainment. The DVD service that has been steadily shrinking in

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese singer and actress Najah Sallam, who surged to fame in the mid-20th century for her songs promoting pan-Arabism, has died. She was 92. Her family did not disclose the cause of her death on Thursday. Sallam was born on March 13, 1931. Her songs supporting Arab unity were especially popular in

By PAUL WISEMAN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annual pace from April through June, extending its sturdy performance in the face of higher interest rates, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged. The second-quarter expansion of the nation’s gross domestic product —