Banksy's mural at London Zoo gives a hint as to why wildlife has appeared across the city
LONDON (AP) — Staff arriving at London Zoo were surprised to find an unexpected exhibit that suggested animals were on the loose: a mural by the enigmatic street artist Banksy showed a gorilla holding up an entrance gate, birds taking flight and a sea lion waddling away. Three pairs of eyes peeked out of the darkness. The painting may explain why Banksy's creatures — from a mountain goat perched on a building's post to a rhino straddling a car — have been appearing in unlikely places around London for nine days in a row.
New Zealand food banks hand out lethal methamphetamine candy
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A charity working with homeless people in Auckland, New Zealand, was distributing candy donated by members of the public in food packs that unknowingly contained deadly amounts of methamphetamine. The Auckland City Mission said Wednesday that the suspected candy was a solid dose of methamphetamine wrapped in a candy wrapper and stamped with the Malaysian brand Linda. The country's Drug Foundation said disguising drugs as harmless items is common among international smugglers and that the candy was likely donated to a food bank by mistake. It warned the public that the candy could be anywhere in New Zealand.
An apostrophe battle has broken out among grammar nerds: Is it Harris's or Harris's?
We don't know why Vice President Kamala Harris wanted to incite a debate about apostrophes, but it probably isn't because she wants to incite a debate about apostrophes. But it doesn't take much to infuriate grammar nerds, who are arguing on social media about the rules for possessive proper nouns ending in S. Some agree with the Associated Press, which says Harris should be given an apostrophe to make her possessive, while others agree with the New York Times and other media, which say she should be given an apostrophe S. Timothy Pulju, a senior lecturer in linguistics at Dartmouth College, said the AP guidelines reflect centuries-old ways of speaking and writing English, but that change is coming, and that for now, either is acceptable.
Robbery occurs at Trump campaign office in Virginia
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Northern Virginia sheriff's offices are investigating a weekend robbery at former President Donald Trump's campaign office. The incident happened Sunday at an office in Ashburn rented by Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, which also serves as the headquarters for the Virginia 10th District Republican Committee, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office said they have security camera footage of someone wearing black clothing, a black hat and carrying a backpack entering the office and searching. It's unclear if anything was stolen, but the investigation is ongoing. The campaign and the Republican committee have not commented.
A game of inches: Lobster fishermen say slight changes to legal size could upend endangered industry
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fisheries regulators are introducing new rules that will force lobstermen to stick more closely to the minimum size of the crustaceans they catch. The impending change may be only 1/16 of an inch, but it will make a big difference for a fishery that faces bigger threats from climate change and new rules to protect whales. The U.S. lobster catch is already in decline. The catch in Maine, which produces most of the U.S. lobster, fell from a high of 132.6 million pounds in 2016 to 93.7 million pounds last year. The changes will start next summer.
Before lobsters arrived, Maine had a thriving sardine fishery. A sunken ship serves as a reminder of that history.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An 83-foot motorboat that was one of Maine's first refrigerated sardine carriers during the state's booming industry is being scrapped. The Coast Guard led the effort last week to salvage the Jacob Pike, which sank last winter. The 21-year-old great-grandson of the ship's namesake wants to preserve the wooden vessel and has started a nonprofit to use it as an educational center. But any new owners could have to foot the bill for up to $300,000 in environmental remediation.
Starbucks has replaced its CEO with Brian Niccol, who revived Chipotle when the company was struggling.
Starbucks on Tuesday named Chipotle's Brian Niccol as its new chairman and CEO. The Seattle coffee giant has been struggling with sluggish sales and is hoping Niccol will help turn it around. Niccol joined Chipotle in 2018, shortly after the food poisoning crisis. Niccol, who previously led Taco Bell, has strengthened Chipotle's marketing and product innovation and increased digital sales. Starbucks shares rose more than 24% on Tuesday, recouping all the losses it had incurred this year. Chipotle shares, however, fell 7.5%. Niccol will replace Lakshman Narasimhan, a longtime PepsiCo executive who became Starbucks CEO in March 2023.
Ford, Mazda warn owners to stop driving older cars with dangerous Takata airbag inflators
DETROIT (AP) — Ford and Mazda are warning owners of more than 475,000 older vehicles in the U.S. not to drive them because they contain dangerous Takata airbag inflators that haven't been replaced. The warning, issued Tuesday, applies to more than 374,000 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles from model years 2004 to 2014 and about 83,000 Mazdas from model years 2003 to 2015. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the inflators could explode with so much force in a crash that they blow apart the metal container and send shrapnel flying, causing serious injury or death. All vehicles were previously recalled, but repairs have not been completed. The government says 27 people have died in the U.S. from the inflators.
Jets GM Joe Douglas says team won't accommodate Haason Reddick's trade request
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Haason Redick's departure from the New York Jets is looking ugly as he enters Week 3. Shortly after a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that the star edge rusher requested a trade on Monday, Jets general manager Joe Douglas said the team told Redick it had no intention of granting his wish. Redick came to New York from Philadelphia in the offseason after asking the Eagles for a trade due to issues with his contract situation. He wanted a new contract at the time, but the Eagles were not willing to accommodate.
The Berlin Zoo is hoping to have more German-born giant pandas after a scan confirmed she was pregnant.
BERLIN (AP) — The Berlin Zoo has delivered long-awaited news: A few months after the first giant panda born in Germany was sent to China, the panda Meng Meng is pregnant again. The zoo said Tuesday that an ultrasound over the weekend revealed that Meng Meng is pregnant with two cubs. There's still plenty of room for growth, but if all goes well, she's due to give birth at the end of August. The birth is especially welcome, as giant pandas are difficult to breed. There are about 1,800 wild pandas in China and hundreds more in captivity around the world.
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