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By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press Enormous warty pumpkins. Carnivorous plants. Immersive arachnid displays. Slithering snakes and fluttering bats. And illuminated displays of hundreds, or thousands, of ornately carved jack-o’-lanterns. Zoos and botanical gardens have become increasingly popular Halloween destinations. Their haunting array of natural installations and spooky events provide a fun addition, or alternative, to

By The Associated Press Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is visiting North Korea just days after the U.S. said Pyongyang had transferred munition to Moscow for its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti posted a video of a crowd on Wednesday greeting Lavrov on in the pouring rain in Pyongyang alongside

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is dipping Wednesday following a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies. Worries about war in the Middle East are also dragging on the market. The S&P 500 was 0.6% lower in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh has announced plans to expand with a $45 million event venue. The proposed entertainment project is part of the museum’s ‘Pop District’ initiative and would be built on an existing museum parking lot. Plans for the project were presented to the city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday.

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is moving quickly to confirm Jacob Lew as ambassador to Israel, holding a hearing on his nomination Wednesday as President Joe Biden visits the region to reinforce U.S. support for Israel and try to ease tensions in its new war with Hamas. The Senate

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is dipping in early trading following a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies. Worries about war in the Middle East are also dragging on the market. The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower in the early going Wednesday. The Dow fell 69 points, and the Nasdaq composite

BERLIN (AP) — The German government has announced a drive to get more Ukrainian and other refugees into jobs now that many have a usable knowledge of the German language. The government is trying to address both a shortage of skilled labor and concerns about high levels of migration. Germany has taken in more than

By KIM CHANDLER and SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The chief suspect in Natalee Holloway’s 2005 disappearance is scheduled to appear in court. He is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to trying to extort money from her mother as part of a plea deal that her attorney says is contingent on providing

By ABBY SEWELL, TARA COPP and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA BEIRUT (AP) — Two suicide drones launched at a base hosting U.S. troops in Iraq have been intercepted, according to a defense official. Hours later, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq announced it had launched another drone attack on a second base. No injuries have been reported in

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former detective in Missouri convicted in the death a Black man in 2019 is now jailed after losing an appeal of his conviction despite unusual support from the state’s Republican attorney general. Eric J. DeValkenaere had been free on bond during the appeal, but a judge revoked bond Tuesday.

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The next book by Erik Larson, known for the best-selling “The Devil in the White City,” is a work of Civil War history inspired in part by current events. Crown announced Wednesday that Larson’s “The Demon of Unrest: Subtitle: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and