AP National

Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that app-based ride-hailing and delivery services like Uber and Lyft can continue treating their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The unanimous decision by the state’s top court is a big win for tech giants. The ruling upholds a voter-approved law passed

Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man who was on the verge of walking out of prison this week after a judge found evidence of his “actual innocence” and overturned his murder conviction now faces a fresh legal hurdle. The person blocking Christopher Dunn’s freedom is Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. He is fresh

Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Ending an eight-year legal battle, chemical giant Monsanto has agreed to a $160-million settlement with Seattle for its part in polluting the Lower Duwamish River with toxins that posed a threat to humans, fish and wildlife. Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison says she is glad the company will contribute to

Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A forensic review commissioned by the state Department of Elections has uncovered improprieties in the campaign finances of Delaware’s lieutenant governor, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. The report was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. It found Bethany Hall-Long and her husband had received payments

Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. wildlife authorities say an exceptionally restless female Mexican gray wolf will be held in captivity with a potential mate through the 2025 breeding season. Authorities confirmed on Thursday the decision in hopes of aiding the recovery of the species. The wolf nicknamed Asha captured the public imagination

Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Finance ministers from leading rich and developing nations are meeting in Rio de Janeiro to discuss a global tax on the super-rich. The proposal is a top priority for Brazil, which holds the Group of 20 presidency. The proposal before the G20 participants Thursday would require individuals with

Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A court filing shows that the signatures collected by volunteers for an Arkansas abortion-rights measure would fall short of the number needed to qualify for the ballot if they’re the only ones counted. The Arkansas secretary of state’s office on Thursday said it determined 87,675 of the signatures

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan diamond dealer with a history of gemstone fraud has been indicted in what officials described as a scheme to swindle his fellow merchants out of nearly half a million dollars. Prosecutors say Manashe Sezanayev invited fellow diamond merchants to his shop in Manhattan’s diamond district, then covertly

Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — In an unusual action, a Brazilian federal court has halted a project to pave a dirt highway that connects the major city of Manaus to populous regions, citing the likelihood it will contribute to climate change. The court on Wednesday suspended a key environmental permit after the Climate Observatory

WINSTED, Conn. (AP) — Two black bears are being blamed for causing a bit of a ruckus in Connecticut. State officials say an adult bear and a cub got trapped inside a car in Winsted on July 15 and destroyed the vehicle’s interior. State environmental conservation police were called by the startled vehicle owner. They

Associated Press Sao Paulo (AP) — The Brazilian government has apologized to the Japanese community for human rights violations in the persecution and incarceration of immigrants in the years after World War II. The president of the government’s Amnesty Commission, Enea de Stutz e Almeida, apologized on behalf of the Brazilian state for “all the

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Hulk Hogan visited Detroit Lions practice and says coach Dan Campbell would have been good in the squared circle. The pro wrestling great even came up with a nickname for Campbell, calling him “Dirty Dan.” Hogan was in the Motor City to promote his new beer brand. Hogan and Campbell

Associated Press/Report for America Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has appointed the daughter of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to serve on the Virginia Board of Education. Some Democrats are criticizing Youngkin’s appointment of Meg Bryce, claiming she is unfit for the board following her unsuccessful campaign in 2023 for an at-large seat on

DETROIT (AP) — Yuval Sharon’s contract as artistic director of the Detroit Opera has been extended for three years through the 2027-28 season. Sharon is shifting the company toward themed season. He is planning America for 2025-26, Faith for 2026-27 and Sustainability for 2027-28. Sharon started with the company in 2020. The first season under

Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — “Deadpool & Wolverine” has swept through Comic-Con, with its hordes of Marvel fans, with a surprise screening and the film’s stars and thousands of fans. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, who play the titular superheroes, joined director Shawn Levy in the San Diego Convention Center’s famed Hall H Thursday

AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Investors are punishing automakers’ stocks this week after second-quarter earnings reports exposed industrywide issues of slowing sales and high prices. That has come just as the companies are having to spend huge sums to make new electric and gas vehicles. Many automakers have growing stockpiles on dealer lots, requiring

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hoping for a chance to stay in the game and pitch the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, Dylan Cease received some help from the man who threw the first. Cease was at 94 pitches through seven innings when Padres manager Mike Shildt glanced at Joe Musgrove. “Joe is

Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review rulings that found the state’s refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory. Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said the state filed its request with the high court on Thursday. In April, the

PARIS (AP) — On the heels of low ratings for the coronavirus pandemic-marred Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, Paris may not do much better among U.S. viewers. That’s according to a poll from Gallup released Thursday. Simone Biles and women’s gymnastics is poised to be a bright spot, with those surveyed selecting it as their most

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors are urging a judge to uphold Donald Trump’s historic hush money conviction, arguing in court papers made public Thursday that the verdict should stand despite the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a court filing that the high court’s opinion

RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Military scientists have identified the remains of a Wisconsin airman who died during World War II when his aircraft was shot down over Germany during a bombing mission. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Thursday that U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Ralph H. Bode’s remains were identified using anthropological analysis

The 2024 White House campaign has thrust a handful of governors and senators into the mix for vice president. That has drawn attention to rules of succession in the contenders’ home states should they win. Each state has its own rules for naming replacements when elected officials leave office. Those rules carry significant political stakes

Associated Press The Ohio Supreme Court says consumers can’t expect boneless chicken wings to actually be free of bones. By a 4-3 vote, the court on Thursday has rejected claims by a restaurant patron who suffered serious medical complications from getting a bone stuck in his throat. The man says the restaurant failed to warn

Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s Democratic Alliance is taking the African National Congress, the party it co-governs the country with, to court over a preelection speech given by President Cyril Ramaphosa. It’s an early sign of friction between the country’s most important partners in a new multiparty coalition. The DA

Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — New federal court rulings are narrowing the Biden administration’s enforcement of a rule for protecting LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and allowing critics to limit it even further school by school. The rule is to take effect on Aug. 1. A federal judge in Missouri blocked enforcement in six additional

AP Sports Writer PARIS (AP) — The feuding this week among officials in the Olympics, the anti-doping world and the United States government over eradicating drugs from sports is hardly new. They’ve been going at it for decades. The tension reached a new level on the eve of the Paris Games when the International Olympic

Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is putting her own stamp on the campaign that she inherited from President Joe Biden. From her music to her stump speech, she’s reshaping the message around her background and image. Democrats have been energized by her first outings on the campaign trail as she’s visited

AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Sandra Oh will help reopen the newly revitalized Delacorte Theater in Central Park in a free production of “Twelfth Night.” Director Saheem Ali picked William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night” to christen the return in the summer of 2025. The

Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ energy minister says the future of an electricity cable linking the power grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel will be settled next month. That’s when the Cypriot energy regulator is due to rule on whether to accept the terms of the project’s Greek operator, which wants Cypriot consumers

AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ first 2024 presidential campaign video is soundtracked by Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” a cut from her 2016 landmark album, “Lemonade.” “We choose freedom,” Harris says in the clip, as Beyoncé’s powerful chorus kicks in: “Freedom! Freedom! I can’t move. Freedom, cut me loose! Yeah.” Harris also

AP Business Writer A court case could soon settle a spicy dispute: Who invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? A former PepsiCo executive is suing the company in California, saying it destroyed his career after questioning his claim that he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. According to his lawsuit, Richard Montañez began working for PepsiCo as a janitor

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed into law on Thursday a bill strengthening oversight of the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons after reporting by The Associated Press exposed systemic corruption, failures and abuse in the federal prison system. The Federal Prison Oversight Act, which passed the Senate on July 10 and the

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Transit and environmental advocacy groups in New York have filed lawsuits challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to block a plan for a new $15 congestion toll on Manhattan drivers. The two separate lawsuits were filed Thursday in New York Supreme Court. One suit comes from the Riders Alliance, the

PARIS (AP) — Workers have gone on strike at the five-star hotel in Paris where members of the International Olympic Committee are staying. According to the major French union CGT, the IOC paid the hotel where staffers were striking Thursday 22 million euros for exclusive use of the facility during the Games. The CGT says

Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Federal authorities say a North Korean military intelligence operative has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack into American medical centers, military bases and even NASA. The grand jury indictment announced Thursday in Kansas City accuses Rim Jong Hyok of ransomware attacks and other hacks on targets in

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission has advanced a proposal that would require political advertisers to disclose their use of artificial intelligence in broadcast television and radio ads. But it’s unclear whether new regulations may be in place before the November presidential election. The proposed rules announced Thursday could add a

Associated Press AMPLIACION NUEVA REFORMA, Guatemala (AP) — Catholic Church leaders in southern Mexico have made a desperate plea for the Mexican government to protect communities from drug cartels that extract protection payments and use locals as human shields near the border with Guatemala. The letter dated July 24 was signed by the council of

BATH, Maine (AP) — Maine’s attorney general has filed a civil rights complaint against a couple he said targeted their Black immigrant neighbors for months with a campaign of racist harassment. Attorney General Aaron Frey is using the complaint to ask a court to bar the Bath residents from having any contact with their neighbors.

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — On the eve of the Olympics opening ceremony in Paris, France’s interior minister thanked Belgium for a string of raids that led to the detention of seven people for questioning over suspected terrorist activities. The Belgian Federal prosecutor’s office said Thursday that the people detained during 14 raids in towns

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Ethnic armed groups in Myanmar are claiming to have captured two strategically important towns in the northeast. Lashio houses the major regional military headquarters and Mogok is the center of the country’s lucrative gem-mining industry. Their fall would be the biggest in a series of setbacks suffered by Myanmar’s military

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A fiery January crash of a B-1 bomber aircraft in South Dakota was caused by multiple crew failures, winter weather and a last-minute brush with wind shear that resulted in all four members ejecting and the total loss of the $450 million warplane. That was the finding of an investigation

LINCOLN, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was killed and a man was injured when their upstate New York house exploded. The blast happened just after 6:30 on Wednesday evening in the town of Lincoln in Madison County. A county spokesperson says crews from several police and fire departments arrived at the scene and

PARIS (AP) — After getting off to a rocky start last year, Olympics 2024 organizers said the Paris Games have broken the record for the most number of tickets sold or allocated in the event’s history. And yet, tickets are still available. Organizers say 9.7 million tickets were sold or allocated for this year’s Olympic

Associated Press London (AP) — The reality of a dance career is that it’s tough. New Hulu reality series “Playground” doesn’t shy away from that. The show is set at the Playground dance studio in Los Angeles, home to famous hip hop choreographers and teachers, and documents the dramas and ups and downs of dancers

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Four detainees at a downtown St. Louis jail are injured after being stabbed during a fight — the latest of several instances of violence at the jail. A city official told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a guard sent out a distress call about a disturbance around 1:20 p.m. Wednesday at

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China has issued a rare compliment to the administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his order banning widespread and Chinese-run online gaming operations. Marcos has accused some of them of venturing into crimes, including financial scams, human trafficking, kidnappings, torture and murder. Relations between China and the

MELVINDALE, Mich. (AP) — A 44-year-old man has been charged with murder in the death of a Detroit-area police officer who was shot while responding to a call about a suspicious person near a car wash. The Wayne County prosecutor’s office says Michael Lopez was expected to be arraigned Thursday. Lopez faces other charges that

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana judge says a man accused of killing a police officer during a traffic stop can stand trial. One of the three doctors who evaluated Carl Roy Webb Boards II said he’s “not just competent, he is very competent.” Boards faces the death penalty if convicted of killing Elwood police

Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Javier Milei has arrived in Paris, where he is expected to meet French President Emmanuel Macron after tensions escalated between their countries over the Argentine soccer team’s derogatory post-match chants about French players. A short clip captured during Argentina’s Copa America victory celebrations this month shows

Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Officials in Greece say they have formally approved the purchase of 20 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from the United States as part of a major defense overhaul. Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said a letter of acceptance had been sent to the United States. Greece is modernizing its military in

AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s selection of JD Vance as his running mate has led to a surge in sales for “Hillbilly Elegy,” his best-selling memoir that came out in 2016. A spokesperson for HarperCollins told The Associated Press that more than 650,000 copies have been sold since Trump’s

Associated Press A burning car pushed into a gully sparked California’s largest wildfire of the year, authorities said Thursday as they announced the arrest of a suspect. Meanwhile other blazes scorched the Pacific Northwest. Flames from the fire the man is accused of starting exploded into what is now the Park Fire, which has burned

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia judge has denied a preliminary request to block a commission created to discipline and remove prosecutors. Prosecutors argue that it violates the U.S. and Georgia constitutions. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker on Tuesday denied an injunction seeking to halt the work of the Prosecuting Attorneys

AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Meta’s Oversight Board says the company failed to take down an AI-generated intimate image of an Indian female public figure that violated its policies until the board got involved. The quasi-independent board also said the social media giant’s policies on non-consensual deepfake images needs updating, including wording that’s “not

AP Sports Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — College football players are finally getting to be themselves — or play against themselves — in one of the hottest video games on the planet. EA Sports College Football 25 released on Friday as schools across the country threw parties, tournaments and fan events with their teams to

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Participants at an international summit in Paris pledged billions of dollars in financing and committed to supporting various sporting initiatives aimed at accelerating sustainable development. Thursday’s summit came one day before the Olympic Games officially open. About 500 participants, including 50 heads of state and government, attended the event championed

CINCINNATI (AP) — A former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples is appealing a ruling ordering her to pay thousands in attorney fees. The appeal filed by attorneys for Kim Davis argues that the landmark Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling in 2015 should be overturned. Davis objected to same-sex

Chronicle of Philanthropy The Trust for Civic Life — a collaborative of 15 grantmakers, mostly high-profile national funders — sees small, local groups as instruments of change — modern versions of the organizations that scholars from Alexis de Tocqueville to Robert Putnam have singled out as a distinguishing feature of American democracy. The trust announced

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After getting trounced by their larger rivals for years, some of the smallest stocks on Wall Street have shown much more life recently. Hopes for coming cuts to interest rates have pushed investors to look at smaller stocks through a different lens, and they soared recently during a

AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley says he was portrayed fairly in the HBO show “Hard Knocks.” Barkley did say he had no idea his side of the conversation with New York Giants management in the midst of free agency would be recorded and aired on the documentary television

Associated Press Beneath the blazing summer sun on a former slave plantation, Lamont Gross and fellow prisoners stooped in long rows, picking vegetables by hand under the watchful eyes of armed guards on horseback. He said breaks were short and infrequent, with nothing to protect workers from the heat. “I saw guys collapse,” Gross said

Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — As much of the world swelters, it’s not just people who need help with the dog days of summer. Pet owners have to consider how to both shield and cool down furry family members as intense — at times deadly — heat waves become more common. “It’s really important to

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City bus driver suffered an apparent medical episode and crashed his bus into a closed fast food restaurant. Police say the driver crashed into a Burger King in Brooklyn just after midnight. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. Neither of the two passengers on the bus

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Black clergy who know Vice President Kamala Harris, now the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded her religious faith and social justice values. A Baptist married to a Jewish man, she’s inspired by the work of the Rev. Martin

AP Soccer Writer The head of Argentina’s soccer federation said the chaotic ending to its Olympic soccer match against Morocco on Wednesday “makes no sense,” and coach Javier Mascherano called the scene “a scandal.” The opening match of the men’s soccer tournament was suspended for nearly two hours during added time after Morocco fans invaded