Water crisis in Mississippi capital developed during failures in oversight, watchdog says

Water crisis in Mississippi capital developed during failures in oversight, watchdog says

JACKSON, Miss. — JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — “Layers of inadequate oversight and enforcement” by state and federal agencies contributed to a water crisis in Mississippi’s capital city that left tens of thousands of people without safe drinking water for weeks in 2021 and 2022, a watchdog agency says. The Mississippi State Department of Health did … Read more

In Mexico City, women water harvesters help make up for drought and dicey public water system

In Mexico City, women water harvesters help make up for drought and dicey public water system

MEXICO CITY — Gliding above her neighborhood in a cable car on a recent morning, Sonia Estefanía Palacios Díaz scanned a sea of blue and black water tanks, tubes and cables looking for rain harvesting systems. “There’s one!” she said, pointing out a black tank hooked up to a smaller blue unit with connecting tubes … Read more

Olympics opening ceremony latest: French rail network sabotaged hours before Paris Games begin

Olympics opening ceremony latest: French rail network sabotaged hours before Paris Games begin

PARIS — France’s high-speed rail network was hit Friday with widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics. Germany’s national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, said there were short-notice cancellations and delays of … Read more

Olympics opening ceremony latest: French rail network sabotaged hours before Paris Games begin

Olympics opening ceremony latest: French rail network sabotaged hours before Paris Games begin

PARIS — France’s high-speed rail network was hit Friday with widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics. Germany’s national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, said there were short-notice cancellations and delays of … Read more

AP PHOTOS: Weeks of sweltering heat scorch northern India

AP PHOTOS: Weeks of sweltering heat scorch northern India

BIKANER, India — People in northern India have been struggling with an unrelenting, weekslong heat wave that has forced schools to close in some places and raised the risk of heatstrokes for laborers working outdoors. India’s weather department expects the high temperatures to persist across the region for the next few days and has put … Read more

Halfway Home: Count on surprises, familiar faces in second half of NASCAR’s regular season

Halfway Home: Count on surprises, familiar faces in second half of NASCAR’s regular season

DARLINGTON, S.C. — The first half of NASCAR’s regular season wrapped with a satisfying, drought-busting win by past champion Brad Keselowski at Darlington Raceway. Keselowski, in his third full season as a driver-owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, locked himself into the playoffs and marked himself as a title contender for the fall. There are … Read more

Buffalo Sabres fire head coach Don Granato after extending playoff drought to 13th season

Buffalo Sabres fire head coach Don Granato after extending playoff drought to 13th season

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres fired head coach Don Granato on Tuesday, making him the seventh coach to be ousted during what’s grown into an NHL-record 13-season playoff drought. The move was announced by the team a day after the Sabres closed their season with a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay. They finished with … Read more

The ‘Taylor Swift effect’ aims to provide water during Brazil’s life-threatening heat waves

The ‘Taylor Swift effect’ aims to provide water during Brazil’s life-threatening heat waves

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian climatologist Núbia Beray Armond for years had been sounding the alarm about Rio de Janeiro’s need for an extreme heat plan including water distribution. Interest was tepid until a disastrous Taylor Swift concert — and now her phone won’t stop ringing. A stifling heat wave blanketed southeast Brazil the day … Read more

Ethiopia’s Tigray region is now peaceful, but extreme hunger afflicts its children

Ethiopia’s Tigray region is now peaceful, but extreme hunger afflicts its children

NEBAR HADNET, Ethiopia — The cruel realities of war and drought seem to have merged for Tinseu Hiluf, a widow living in the arid depths of Ethiopia’s Tigray region who is raising four children left behind by her sister’s recent death in childbirth. A two-year war between federal troops and regional forces killed one of … Read more