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WASHINGTON (AP) — While millions of soccer fans cheer or groan over World Cup matches spanning North America, health officials will be on high alert for germs. A heat wave may be the most obvious health threat. But infectious diseases can spread in a crowd, and experts are set to scrutinize wastewater, hospital visits, even social media for any signs that an outbreak might be brewing. Measles, one of the […]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Thousands of Southern Baptists overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to advance a formal ban on women pastors in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, sending a clear message that men alone should preach to these conservative evangelical congregations. The amendment would tighten existing restrictions in the Southern Baptist Convention, which already has a faith statement opposing women pastors. The vote at the annual meeting was 6,028 to 2,026 — […]

LONDON (AP) — Laurence Olivier, arguably Britain’s greatest ever stage actor, was honored Wednesday with a blue plaque attached to the central London property where he lived as a child. Unveiled by Ian McKellen, the plaque at 22 Lupus Street in Pimlico marks the place where Olivier began acting as a child. “For those of us who were lucky enough to have seen him in the theater, it’s of course […]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Payments giant Visa said Wednesday that it has embedded its payment network inside of ChatGPT, empowering the chatbot to independently shop and complete transactions on behalf of its user. It means AI agents can not only recommend products but complete the purchase on the user’s behalf, at potentially any merchant that accepts Visa. The payment network’s previous attempts at this technological leap were confined to a […]

DETROIT (AP) — Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment Wednesday against eight pro-Palestinian activists who are accused of conspiring to run a criminal intimidation campaign against University of Michigan officials while trying to force the school to cut financial ties to Israel. The indictment also describes vandalism against some companies that operate in Michigan and against the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. “In America, we rule by law not by fear. […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities served a search warrant on Wednesday at a Southern California aerospace facility where a chemical tank overheated last month, forcing 50,000 residents to evacuate. The warrant signed by a federal judge last week approved the seizure of documents and records related to the “storage, use, or disposal” of methyl methacrylate, the chemical inside the affected tank. “Samples of the substance within any tank, tote, […]

The NHL Players’ Association has asked the league to investigate Mike Babcock’s ill-fated tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets before Edmonton or any other NHL team can hire him as coach, two people with knowledge of the discussions said Wednesday. The request followed reports that the Oilers expressed interest in hiring Babcock. Both people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the talks were private. It was […]

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — In Brazil, home of soccer-mad fans and the five-time world champions, the only way to watch all 104 games of the World Cup will be through a streaming platform anchored by an influencer. Elsewhere, users will get to see parts of matches live on YouTube and TikTok for the first time. Forget about the exclusivity of traditional over-the-air networks: The World Cup will be watched differently […]

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Dozens of motorcycle taxi drivers spread messages about Ebola in an awareness caravan Tuesday in eastern Congo where community skepticism has led to attacks on health workers who are trying to contain a spreading outbreak of the illness. The drivers wore white “Stop Ebola” T-shirts and displayed public health messages and illustrations on how to prevent the disease as they rode through the streets of Bunia […]