NEW YORK (AP) – They’re ready to embark on 2026. Three more dog breeds joined the American Kennel Club’s roster of recognized breeds on Tuesday, making them eligible for many U.S. dog shows and likely increasing their visibility to the pet-loving public. One of the newcomers is a terrier named for a U.S. president.

WESTERLY, R.I. (AP) – A yellow Labrador out for a walk with his owner in Rhode Island had to be rescued by firefighters on New Year’s Day after he wandered onto a thin layer of ice covering a pond and fell through the center.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea said it will formally end its dwindling yet much-criticized bear bile farming industry this week, though about 200 bears are still kept in pens and raised for their gallbladders.

On most Monday nights, the sanctuary of All Saints Episcopal Church – with its vaulted ceilings, stone arches and stained-glass windows – seamlessly transforms into a space of quiet contemplation.

LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) – Like many retirement communities, The Terraces serves as a tranquil refuge for a nucleus of older people who no longer can travel to faraway places or engage in bold adventures.

Suze Lopez holds her baby boy on her lap and marvels at the remarkable way he came into the world.  Before little Ryu was born, he developed outside his mom’s womb, hidden by a basketball-sized ovarian cyst – a dangerous situation so rare that his doctors plan to write about the case for a medical journal.

Melanin Bee curves her spine like a stretching cat as she lets out a maniacal, forced laugh. The quick-fire pattern of manufactured giggles -“oh, hoo hoo hoo, eeh, ha ha ha”- soon ripples into genuine laughter, and she giddily kicks her feet.

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Pakistan reported fewer than half as many cases of polio in 2025 than the previous year, a sign of progress in its eradication campaign even as vaccinators faced repeated militant attacks, according to a statement from the government-run Polio Eradication Initiative.