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FILE - A woman takes a picture of the Olympic mascot, Bing Dwen Dwen, at the Olympic Green ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 1, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Olympic mascots: Creative, cartoonish, at times contentious

By Candice Choi Feb. 18, 2022 11:42 PM EST

A resident wearing a face mask walks under red lanterns setup for the Lunar New Year holidays in Beijing, China, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. As China gets back to business after a muted Chinese New Year holiday that coincided with the start of the pandemic-restricted Beijing Olympic Winter Games, the feeling inside and out of the bubble in this auspicious Year of the Tiger is that festivities for the most sacred and important holiday for the country were limited and underwhelming. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A muted Lunar New Year, inside and outside Olympic bubble

By Sally Ho And Ken Moritsugu Feb. 07, 2022 04:53 AM EST

Inflated Beijing Games mascot, Bing Dwen Dwen, tries to squeeze through the door to enter the main media center at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Jan. 24, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
AP PHOTOS: Winter Olympic mascots through the years

By The Associated Press Jan. 28, 2022 06:07 AM EST

Germany to drop investigation into Olympic horse cruelty

Jan. 11, 2022 09:33 AM EST
POTSDAM, Germany (AP) — German prosecutors will drop an animal cruelty investigation into an athlete and a coach who were shown striking a horse during the Olympic...

NC Zoo to drop requirement for reservations on July 1

Jun. 28, 2021 12:54 PM EDT
ASHEBORO, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Zoo is ending the requirement for visitors to make reservations in time for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. ...

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller speaks to media during a COVID-19 update in Sydney, Monday, June 28, 2021. Two naked men were rescued by emergency services from an Australian forest after they were startled by a deer while nude sunbathing on a beach and became lost, police say. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)
Police rescue spooked nude sunbathers from Australian forest

Jun. 28, 2021 02:24 AM EDT

In this image taken from video Petco CEO Ron Coughlin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press on June 3, 2021. (AP Photo)
Pandemic pets are a 'furry annuity,' says Petco CEO

By Joseph Pisani Jun. 24, 2021 11:51 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: South Carolina

By The Associated Press Jun. 23, 2021 01:30 PM EDT
(Charleston) The Post and Courier. June 20, 2021. Editorial: SC is finally focused on preventing flooding. Now we need to go deeper ...

This cover image released by Merge Records shows "Dark in Here" by The Mountain Goats. (Merge Records via AP)
Review: Demons, imaginations run wild on Mountain Goats set

By Steven Wine Jun. 23, 2021 12:10 PM EDT

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II look on, during day five of of the Royal Ascot horserace meeting, at Ascot Racecourse, in Ascot, England, Saturday June 19, 2021. (David Davies/PA via AP)
Queen beams as she returns to Ascot after COVID-19 hiatus

Jun. 19, 2021 12:19 PM EDT

Andrea Cattabriga, President of the Association for Biodiversity and Conservation, walks amongst his homegrown rare cacti at his greenhouse in San Lazzaro di Savena, Italy, Saturday, June 5, 2021. Cattabriga, a top expect on rare cacti, was called by the Carabinieri Military Police in February 2020 as a consultant to examine thousands of cacti stolen from from the Atacama Desert in Chile, confiscated when police conducted a massive cactus bust at a greenhouse along the Adriatic Coast in Italy. (AP Photo/Trisha Thomas)
Rare poached cacti found in Italy sent home to native Chile

By Trisha Thomas Jun. 18, 2021 07:00 AM EDT

A dead fish is seen floating in the water as palm trees are reflected Thursday, June 17, 2021 in the intracoastal waters between Clearwater and Dunedin, Fla. Pinellas County had small boats retrieving dead fish in Dunedin and around Clearwater Harbor Thursday. The fish kill is attributed to the recent Red Tide bloom. (Chris Urso /Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Amid red tide outbreak, Florida beckons visitors to beaches

By Bobby Caina Calvan Jun. 17, 2021 02:21 PM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, April 2, 2020 file photo, a traveler wearing a hazmat suit tends to his dog in a carrier before boarding a plane at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo. U.S. health officials are planning to temporarily ban importation of dogs from more than 100 countries that are considered at high risk for rabies, planned to go into effect on July 14, 2021. Japan is not included in the ban. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
US bans dogs brought in from 100 countries with rabies risk

By Mike Stobbe Jun. 14, 2021 03:07 PM EDT

Captain, a French bulldog, second from left, participates in breed judging at the 145th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Saturday, June 12, 2021, in Tarrytown, N.Y. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Star dog handler hurt in wreck en route to Westminster show

By Jennifer Peltz Jun. 12, 2021 06:48 PM EDT

Stella, a bulldog, poses after competing in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show's agility contest on Friday, June 11, 2021, in Tarrytown, New York. Because of pandemic precautions, the prestigious dog show is being held outside New York City for the first time. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
Border collie Verb wins retooled Westminster agility title

By Jennifer Peltz Jun. 11, 2021 07:32 PM EDT

Avian ecologist and Georgetown University Ph.D. student Emily Williams examines a robin's feet and claws, Wednesday, April 28, 2021, in Cheverly, Md. This spring and summer, her research project tracking the annual migration of American robins has gotten a boost from the enthusiasm of homeowners in the greater Washington area, who’ve let her and a research assistant set up makeshift research stations in their backyards before dawn — and sometimes contributed their own notes and observations. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
For love of birds: Backyard sleuths boost scientists' work

By Christina Larson Jun. 11, 2021 09:04 AM EDT

In this image provided by Renee Rosamilla, Tildy, a flat-coated retriever, poses with Rosamilla in Perry, Ga. Tildy is set to compete at the upcoming Westminster Kennel Club dog show, which has undergone many changes this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy Renee Rosamilia via AP)
No audience, new venue, but Westminster dog show barks on

By Jennifer Peltz Jun. 10, 2021 12:42 PM EDT

Residents wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus line up to receive the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine at the Central Business District in Beijing, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
EXPLAINER: The US investigation into COVID-19 origins

By Christina Larson And Nomaan Merchant Jun. 09, 2021 12:15 AM EDT

This combination of images shows promotional art for, from left, "Infinite," a film streaming June 10 on Paramount Plus, "Loki," a series streaming June 11 on Disney Plus and "In the Heights," a film both in theaters and streaming on HBO Max, beginning Friday, June 11. (Paramount+/Disney+/HBO Max via AP)
New this week: 'In the Heights,' 'Loki' and 'Infinite'

By The Associated Press Jun. 07, 2021 01:43 PM EDT

Florida horse rescue center cares for wild mustangs

By Christopher Spata Jun. 06, 2021 06:45 AM EDT
Webster, Fla. (AP) — The white hieroglyphs running down the mustang’s big, brown neck, and the necks of all the horses like him, tell some of the story — if...