ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s top court has rejected an effort to free Happy the elephant from the Bronx Zoo. The state Court of Appeals decided Tuesday that she does not meet the definition of “person” who is being illegally confined.
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone officials are assessing the damage caused by a deluge of floodwaters that forced the evacuation of parts of the iconic national park just as the summer tourism season was ramping up. A torrent of rain combined with a rapidly melting snowpack caused Monday's flooding, which cut off electricity and forced the closure of all entrances to the park.
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Flooding has wiped out roads and bridges and closed off all entrances to Yellowstone National Park at the onset of the busy summer tourist season. Officials are evacuating visitors from the northern part of the park. And the flooding has cut off road access to Gardiner, a town of about 900 people near Yellowstone’s busy North Entrance.
More than 100 million Americans are being warned to stay indoors if possible as a heat wave settles over states stretching through parts of the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and east to the Carolinas. The National Weather Service Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said Monday that a combination of heat advisories, excessive heat warnings and excessive heat watches will impact 107.5 million people, and record-setting temperatures are expected to last through midweek.
A lawyer for a father-son team of treasure hunters is accusing the FBI of either lying to a federal judge about having video of its 2018 dig for legendary Civil War-era gold, or illegally destroying the video. The FBI has acknowledged it was looking for gold at the Pennsylvania site but says it found nothing of value.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say firefighters are responding to a wildfire about six miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona, that has forced evacuations. Coconino National Forest officials say the Pipeline Fire was reported Sunday morning by a fire lookout. By late that evening, it had burned approximately 4,000-5,000 acres, pushing about 15 miles.
Country music star Toby Keith says he has been undergoing treatment for stomach cancer since last fall. The multi-platinum-selling singer said Sunday on Twitter that he underwent surgery and received chemotherapy and radiation in the past six months.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators have historically inspected baby formula plants at least once a year, but they did not inspect any of the three biggest manufacturers in 2020. That's according to federal records reviewed by The Associated Press. The FDA has consistently inspected infant formula facilities annually. But in early 2020, the FDA pulled most of its safety inspectors from the field because of the pandemic. So it skipped thousands of routine plant inspections.
A tundra wildfire has moved closer to an Alaska Native community in southwest Alaska, but mandatory evacuations have not been ordered. Fire officials Sunday said the East Fork fire was within 3.5 miles of St. Mary’s. Even though it had moved 1.5 miles closer to the Yup’ik community since Saturday, fire managers said the progress has slowed somewhat because of favorable weather conditions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that international air travelers to the U.S. take a COVID-19 test within a day before boarding their flights, easing one of the last remaining government mandates meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus. A senior administration official says the mandate expires Sunday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas school police chief criticized for his actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history says in his first extensive published comments that he didn't consider himself the incident commander as the massacre unfolded. Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo told the Texas Tribune that he assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A new West Virginia law going into effect prevents patients from getting abortions because they believe their child will be born with a disability. The ban was signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice in March. It provides exceptions in the case of a medical emergency or in cases where a fetus is “nonmedically viable.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The costs of gas, food and other necessities jumped in May, raising inflation to a new four-decade high and giving American households no respite from rising costs. Consumer prices surged 8.6% last month from 12 months earlier, faster than April’s year-over-year surge of 8.3%.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is launching a study of UFOs as part of a new push toward high-risk, high-impact science. The space agency announced Thursday that it's setting up an independent team to see how much information is publicly available on the matter and how much more is needed.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Police waited for protective equipment as they delayed entering the Texas elementary school where a gunman inside killed 19 children and two teachers. That's according to a review of law enforcement documents and records obtained by The New York Times. The records show that police waited even as they became aware that some victims needed medical treatment. Police waited more than hour to confront the gunman on May 24 even as anguished parents outside the school urged officers to go inside.
DALLAS (AP) — Gasoline is closing in on $5 a gallon nationwide for the first time ever. That's according to AAA. The auto club said the national average for a gallon of regular hit $4.97 on Thursday. High gas prices are another drain on the wallets of consumers who are paying more for many other essentials too.
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man who jumped onto train tracks to rescue someone who had fallen onto an electrified rail during a fight at an L station earned more than praise for his heroic act. Twenty-year-old Anthony Perry was surprised Wednesday with a 2009 Audi A8 from the founder of a local anti-violence group. Perry said the car will make his life “way easier.”
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Marine Corps says all five Marines died on board an Osprey aircraft that crashed in the Southern California desert. The MV-22 Osprey belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.
FRIENDSHIP, Ark. (AP) — State police say three people have been killed after at least a dozen vehicles collided in different spots during stormy weather along heavily traveled Interstate 30 in southwestern Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Transportation reports the Wednesday afternoon crashes began in the eastbound lanes near Friendship, Arkansas, about 50 miles southwest of Little Rock.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A COVID-19 vaccine that could soon win federal approval may offer a boost for the U.S. military: an opportunity to get shots into some of the thousands of service members who have refused the other coronavirus vaccines for religious reasons. Already, at least 175 active duty and reserve service members have received the Novavax vaccine.
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — The school district police chief criticized for waiting too long before law enforcement confronted and killed the gunman during a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school did not appear at a City Council meeting in Uvalde on Tuesday, despite being newly elected to the panel. Mayor Don McLaughlin says he's unable to explain why school district police Chief Pete Arredondo wasn’t at the brief meeting Tuesday.
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — One of the first people shot at by the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, is now trying to comfort the community. Gilbert Limones and a coworker at a funeral home both came under fire as they were across the street from Robb Elementary School last month. Neither was injured, and Limones preached about the horror on Sunday at the small church where he serves as pastor.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says an armed man who made threats against Justice Brett Kavanaugh was arrested near the justice’s house in Maryland. A court spokeswoman says the man was arrested about 1:50 a.m. Wednesday. According to a law enforcement official, the man is from California, is in his 20s, and was armed with a gun and a knife.
Some cancer patients can safely skip radiation or chemotherapy after surgery. That's according to two new studies exploring shorter, gentler cancer care. Researchers are looking for ways to precisely predict which patients can avoid unneeded treatment to cut down on harmful side effects and unnecessary costs.
It’s the inflation you’re not supposed to see. From toilet paper to yogurt to corn chips, manufacturers are quietly shrinking package sizes without lowering prices. It’s dubbed “shrinkflation,” and it’s accelerating worldwide. In the U.S., a small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65.