Science

The invasive blue crab has transformed Italy’s Adriatic coast, threatening traditional fisheries and livelihoods. As eradication proves impossible, fishermen and researchers are exploring new ways to manage the invasion, from natural predators like octopuses, to tapping into international markets and adapting local culinary styles.

Biologist captures and tags sharks off the Hamptons in Long Island as researchers study rising sightings, warming waters and white sharks decades after “Jaws.” (AP Video: Ted Shaffrey)

Yuan Yuan made short work of a special birthday cake of frozen fruit and vegetables, to the delight of her fans at Taipei zoo. (AP video: Taijing Wu)

NASA’s newest crown jewel - the $4.3 billion Roman Space Telescope - blasted off earlier on Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before.

AP Top Stories August 30

NASA held a flypast Saturday on the eve of the launch of its newest space telescope with administrator Jared Isaacman flying past the launchpad in a jet at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Five bush dog pups have emerged from their den for the first time at the UK’s Chester Zoo. The pups, about a month old, are the only ones to be born in the country this year, according to the zoo.

Invasive European green crabs are destroying valuable New England fisheries, but a coalition of oyster farmers, scientists, volunteers and chefs are developing a dining market to curb the aggressive predators. (AP Video and Production: Rodrique Ngowi.)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on Tuesday with former US professional boxer Terence Crawford in Kyiv. After their meeting, Crawford gifted Zelenskyy a female American pit bull terrier puppy named Freya, after the Ukrainian anti-ballistic missile defense project.

Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted a spacewalk outside the ISS on Tuesday to complete repairs on a critical communications antenna - the repairs are important to maintaining reliable communications between the astronauts aboard the station and teams on Earth.

Chinese Ambassador to Moscow Zhang Hanhui told reporters that the care Russia has provided for the pandas reflects the strength of Sino-Russian ties.

Cattle ranchers in Mexico’s northern state of Sonora are preparing to resume exports to the United States after more than a year of disruptions caused by the spread of the New World screwworm, but they say the initial flow of cattle will be too small to quickly clear a backlog. (AP Video: Fernanda Pesce)

A 15ft python named Jodie Foster is believed to be the first snake in the world to receive a pioneering cancer treatment usually reserved for humans. After an extraordinary operation by a team of zoo vets and cancer specialists, the reptile is now cancer-free.

The private Jellyfish Museum in Pompano Beach, Florida, is believed to be the first museum in the United States that houses roughly 20 unique species of jellyfish found in Florida waters and other parts of the world. (AP Video/Cody Jackson)

A NASA spacecraft circling the moon is providing the sharpest views yet of the crater carved by a crashing SpaceX rocket. The space agency on Tuesday released before-and-after photos of the impact area. (AP produced by Javier Arciga)

Kimie Smothermon runs The Guinea Pig Sanctuary in Salisbury, Massachusetts, caring for nearly 400 guinea pigs. Each day is a mix of chaos and joy as volunteers tend to the animals. (AP video by Amanda Swinhart)

An endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named Rhossi has moved to Houston Zoo, following a 5,000-mile journey from Wales.

The 50th Annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest was held at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa with contestants from as far away as Poland. Jinny Lu, a Pug rescuee, celebrated winning first place and is owned by Michelle Grady, who received a $5,000 prize.

With summer 2026 set to be the UK’s hottest on record, drought and heatwaves are putting increasing pressure on Britain’s wildlife, especially on vulnerable species like hedgehogs. But while climate change is leaving many native species struggling, there are also signs that nature itself could provide some of the solutions.

Crowds of people across Europe watched with joy as the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth briefly plunged parts of the planet into darkness on Wednesday.

The Associated Press has found that the decision by the United States to slash its foreign aid funding last year has increased pregnancy complications and deaths in Nepal. The AP interviewed health workers, government officials, aid workers and families who said cuts to programs that ensured uneducated, impoverished pregnant women got proper nutrition and prenatal care have led to more babies and pregnant women dying. The U.S. State Department says it still supports programs in Nepal aimed at improving maternal and child health.

Millions of people crowded cloudless cities and towns in Spain on Wednesday in search of the best views of a total solar eclipse, when the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth briefly plunged parts of the planet into darkness. In Medinaceli, a Roman-era hilltop town in northeast Spain, sky watchers secured grassy viewing points hours early and crowded restaurants and bars.(AP video shot by: Iain Sullivan)

Yak races were held in Mongun-Taiga, a remote and hard-to-reach area of Russia’s Tuva Republic.

A polar bear cub residing in an aquarium in Japan’s Akita Prefecture has gone viral for his love of traffic cones. Mobile phone footage obtained by the Associated Press showed the cub, named Momota, pushing his head inside a cone and poking his mother’s back.

Africa’s lions are under pressure from shrinking habitat, growing settlements and conflict with people living close to wildlife areas. The warning comes as conservationists mark World Lion Day, with experts in Kenya pointing to retaliatory killings and poisoning as major threats to the continent’s top predator. (AP video by Desmond Tiro)

The contiguous United States sizzled to its hottest month ever last month, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. July averaged 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit (24.94 degrees Celsius) across the Lower 48 states, eclipsing the Dust Bowl’s July 1936 by an eighth of a degree.

Farmers in Kenya’s Kimana area that neighbors Amboseli National Park are disputing claims that 15 elephants died of cyanide poisoning saying the toxin is not present in the pesticides they use. The elephant deaths have intensified concerns over growing human-wildlife conflict in the region due to expanding agricultural activities near the park. Kenya has been widely recognized for rebuilding its elephant population from historic lows to more than 36,000 individuals by reducing poaching and protecting elephants. But conflict between people and elephants remains the second leading cause of deaths after poaching, according to Kenya’s National Elephant Plan.

Once a rare visitor, the greater flamingo is booming in Bulgaria’s Burgas wetlands. Its growing population - and the country’s first successful breeding last year - is attracting birdwatchers and shining a spotlight on the need to protect one of Europe’s richest wetland habitats. (AP Video: Valentina Petrova)

Once rescued from the brink of extinction, Tuscany’s iconic Cinta Senese pig is facing a new existential threat. As African swine fever spreads southward in the region, farmers fear the virus could wipe out one of Italy’s most distinctive native breeds.

Scientists have captured images of the sun’s surface in the finest detail yet. Researchers were able to peek with the help of a telescope on the island of Maui in Hawaii.