AP-National

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer White noise is frequently used to mask background sounds and it now has competition in a rainbow of colors. There’s a growing buzz around pink noise, brown noise, green noise and their theoretical effects on sleep, concentration and the relaxation response. The science is new with only a

GOODHOPE, Mo. (AP) — Four people in rural Missouri died when an explosion that could be heard 10 miles away occurred at a house. The explosion happened Saturday night near the unincorporated town of Goodhope. Douglas County Sheriff Chris Degase says the home was undergoing renovations and a propane leak was found. The federal Bureau

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. Omar Khadr had waived his right to appeal when he pleaded guilty in 2010 to charges that included murder. But his

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has declined, for now, to hear a challenge to a Maryland law banning certain semi-automatic firearms commonly referred to as assault weapons. The court did not elaborate on the denial, as is typical. It would have been unusual for the justices to take up

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer CANNES, France (AP) — Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos’ collaboration has by now become so regular that it would be easy to take it for granted. Just a few months removed from the Oscar campaign for “Poor Things,” they’re back together at the Cannes Film Festival with “Kinds of

By TRISHA AHMED Associated Press/Report for America ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Uber and Lyft announced they will keep operating in Minnesota, now that state lawmakers have passed a measure that will increase driver pay to a level the companies can accept. The new compromise passed the Minnesota House and Senate on Sunday. Minnesota’s governor

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Target is cutting prices on thousands of consumer basics this summer, goods ranging from diapers to milk, with more Americans paying closer attention to their spending as inflation cuts into household budgets. The price cuts on as many as 5,000 food, beverage and household essential items is a bid

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writers Casual dining chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The 56-year-old chain   made the filing late Sunday, days after shuttering dozens of restaurants. Red Lobster brought seafood to the masses with inventions like popcorn shrimp and “endless” seafood deals. But it struggled

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin committed Monday to keeping U.S. weapons moving to Ukraine as Kyiv faces one of its toughest moments against a renewed assault by Russia. Austin and as many as 50 defense leaders from Europe and around the world met Monday

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has added a stop in Luxembourg to a trip to Belgium in September. The Vatican on Monday announced the Sept. 26-29 dates of the planned trip. Francis will first stop in Luxembourg and then travel onto Brussels, Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. The Luxembourg and Belgium visit is scheduled to

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been barred from running in next week’s national election over a previous criminal conviction, the latest twist in his return to politics. The decision by the country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, may still be appealed. Zuma has returned to

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines has blamed Chinese fishermen for a massive loss of giant clams in a disputed shoal controlled by China’s coast guard in the South China Sea and urged an international inquiry into the amount of environmental damage in the area. The Philippine coast guard presented

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the world’s top war crimes court sought arrest warrants Monday for leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over actions taken during their seven-month war. While Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, do not face imminent arrest, the

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian court has started the trial of a theater director and a playwright facing charges of justifying terrorism over a play they staged, the latest step in the unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached unprecedented levels during Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Zhenya

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Human rights experts working for the United Nations are urging Yemen’s Houthi rebels to release five people from the country’s Baha’i religious minority who have been in detention for a year. The experts said on Monday that the five are among 17 Baha’i followers detained last May

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — An inquiry has found that British authorities and the public health service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products and hid the truth about the disaster for decades. An estimated 3,000 people are believed to have died and

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovak populist Prime Minister Robert Fico’s condition is improving following an assassination attempt last week that shocked the European Union nation deeply polarized over his policies. The hospital treating Fico in the central city of Banská Bystrica says Fico’s “clinically improving, communicating, inflammatory parameters are slowly decreasing.” It said Fico remains

By FIRDIA LISNAWATI and NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top investment official says the government has proposed building an electric vehicle battery plant to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The official spoke after Musk met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo while attending a water conference on the island of Bali. Indonesia is

NEW YORK (AP) — The prosecution in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has rested its case after star witness Michael Cohen concluded his testimony. Cohen spent nearly four full days on the stand before ending his testimony Monday afternoon. He placed Trump directly at the center of the alleged scheme to stifle negative stories to

By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE Associated Press TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s parliament speaker on Monday vowed to override a presidential veto on divisive legislation that sparked weeks of mass protests by critics who see it as a threat to democratic freedoms and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The legislation, passed by the parliament