Aug 15 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on

the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified

these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Mars, the company behind M&M's and Snickers, has agreed to

acquire Kellanova ( K ), the snack food business spun off by

Kellogg's ( K ) last year, in a $36 billion deal that will

create a new global food giant.

- Cisco Systems ( CSCO ), one of the largest makers of

computer networking equipment, said on Wednesday that it would

cut 7% of its work force in its second major round of layoffs

this year.

- One of China's leading autonomous driving start-ups,

WeRide, a $5 billion software maker, is set to go public in New

York as soon as this week.

- A California bill that could impose restrictions on

artificial intelligence (AI) has tech companies, investors and

activists scrambling to explain what the first-of-its-kind

legislation could mean for their industry in the state.

- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will call for a federal

ban on corporate price gouging on groceries in a speech laying

out her economic agenda on Friday, campaign officials said late

Wednesday, in an effort to blame big companies for persistently

high costs of American consumer staples.

- The rapid spread of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, in

African countries constitutes a global health emergency, the

World Health Organization declared on Wednesday.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)