THE LATEST LIFE AND ENTERTAINMENT HEADLINES FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lifestyle

Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather O'Brien holds her labradoodle service dog, Albus, on Thursday, Nov. 7,...

‘I got my life back.’ Veterans with PTSD making progress thanks to service dog program

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — After working at a crowded and dangerous internment camp in Iraq, Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather O’Brien brought home with her anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. A bouncy labradoodle and a Kansas City-area program helped her get back on her feet. Dogs 4 Valor, operated through the Olathe, Kansas-based organization […]
10 hours ago
Veteran and business owner Jackson Dalton arranges protective gear at the Black Box Safety offices,...

Veterans face challenges starting small businesses but there are plenty of resources to help

NEW YORK (AP) — Many veterans who’ve started small businesses tell a similar story: Their military service prepared them mentally for the task, but they were at a disadvantage when it came to the financial part. “Vetrepreneurs” – veterans that start small businesses or startups — own nearly 2 million small businesses that employ 5.5 […]
21 hours ago
Aviva Lehmann, Heritage Auction's senior vice president of American art, responds to a question as ...

The Boy Scouts inspired Norman Rockwell. His works will now help pay abuse survivors

DALLAS (AP) — In one Norman Rockwell painting, a family proudly welcomes a beaming Boy Scout home from camp, his duffel bag in hand. In another of Rockwell’s achingly idyllic works, a Cub Scout stands on a chair to measure the chest of his older brother, a Boy Scout who has taped his fitness record […]
2 days ago
FILE - A jewelers displays an engagement ring on May 14, 2014, in Jacksonville, N.C. (Maria Sestito...

$70,000 engagement ring must be returned after canceled wedding, Massachusetts high court rules

BOSTON (AP) — Who gets to keep an engagement ring if a romance turns sour and the wedding is called off? That’s what the highest court in Massachusetts was asked to decide with a $70,000 ring at the center of the dispute. The court ultimately ruled Friday that an engagement ring must be returned to […]
3 days ago
Image: Patrons walk down the alley at Pike Place Market where the Gum Wall is located....
Steve Coogan

Chew on this: Cleaning of Gum Wall in Seattle to finish Friday

The famed Gum Wall at Pike Place Market in Seattle is getting a refresh for the first time since 2019 this week.
3 days ago
Northern Arizona University's Jonny Bottorff took advantage of new NIL money making opportunities a...

Money in NCAA sports has changed life for a few. For many athletes, college degree remains the prize

PHOENIX (AP) — Sponsorship deals were far from Jonny Bottorff’s mind when he transferred to Northern Arizona University on a football scholarship. As money-making opportunities for college athletes have boomed since then, the offensive lineman has earned a few hundred dollars through name, image and likeness deals, but nothing that has changed his life. Bottorff, […]
3 days ago
Photo: There are many fall activities in Western Washington....
Paul Holden

Weekend event digest: Numerous fall activities to choose from

With what felt like an extended Halloween over, the focus of weekend fun has shifted to autumn, with a multitude of fall activities in Western Washington.
3 days ago
FILE - A pharmacist holds a COVID-19 vaccine at a pharmacy in New York, on Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Phot...

Don’t wait for a holiday surge. Now is a good time to get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you missed the early fall push for flu and COVID-19 vaccines, it’s not too late. Health officials say it’s important to get vaccinated ahead of the holidays, when respiratory bugs tend to spread with travel and indoor celebrations. Those viruses haven’t caused much trouble so far this fall. But COVID-19 tends […]
4 days ago
A Norway Spruce that will serve as this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is placed on a fla...

A green giant: This year’s 74-foot Rockefeller Christmas tree is en route from Massachusetts

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A giant Norway spruce that will serve as this year’s Rockefeller Christmas tree was en route to New York City on Thursday from its tiny Massachusetts hometown. The 74-foot-high (23-meter-high) conifer was cut down Thursday morning in West Stockbridge and hoisted onto a flatbed truck by crane. It will travel […]
4 days ago
FILE - A housing development in Cranberry Township, Pa., is shown on March 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene...

My 8 Biggest Financial Mistakes

As a person who writes about investing for a living, it’s helpful (if humbling) to take a hard look at my own decisions from time to time. In the spirit of continuous learning and improvement, I present some of my personal shortcomings. Roth Conversions Whether from inertia or income restrictions (probably a bit of both), […]
7 days ago
FILE - An Oct. 31, 2016 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitati...

True crime’s popularity brings real change for defendants and society. It’s not all good

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In 1989, Americans were riveted by the shotgun murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion by their own children. Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life in prison and lost all subsequent appeals. But today, more than three decades later, they unexpectedly have a chance of […]
8 days ago
Families gather by the tomb of their dearly departed, as they celebrate the Day of the Dead, at the...

As Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead, they grapple with what it means to hold on to tradition

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It’s midnight on the fringes of Mexico City, and the San Gregorio Pantheon is not just alive, it’s booming. The roar of mariachis echoes over families adorning the graves of lost loved ones with rows of candles, orange cempasúchil flowers and their favorite treats ranging from pan de muerto to bottles […]
9 days ago
In this image take with a drone, a Norway spruce, this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, ...

Crowds flock to tiny Massachusetts town to send off New York’s Rockefeller Christmas tree

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree comes with a strong New England accent, and locals could not be more excited. The Norway spruce that will travel to New York City hails from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was scheduled to be cut down Thursday and make the roughly 140-mile (225-kilometer) journey […]
9 days ago
A dog's paw print (left of arrow) is seen in one of the chimney bricks at the Bray School on Wednes...

Inside a 1760 schoolhouse for Black children is a complicated history of slavery and resilience

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — A Virginia museum has nearly finished restoring the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children, where hundreds of mostly enslaved students learned to read through a curriculum that justified slavery. The museum, Colonial Williamsburg, also has identified more than 80 children who lined its pinewood benches in the 1760s. They include […]
10 days ago
FILE - A priest prays inside a shire at the Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple in Frisco, Texas, Oct. 22, ...

We are what we celebrate: America’s holiday calendar is increasingly diverse

NEW YORK (AP) — John Albert’s daughter isn’t going to school on Friday. And he couldn’t be happier about it. For the first time, the high school senior and all of New York City’s public school students have the day off to mark the holiday of Diwali, celebrated in India and among the global Indian […]
10 days ago
FILE - Sand washed ashore by the surge of Hurricane Helene is piled, Oct. 2, 2024, in Treasure Isla...

Will people leave Florida after devastating hurricanes? History suggests not

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The news rippled through Treasure Island, Florida, almost like a third storm: The mayor planned to move off the barrier island a month after Hurricane Helene flooded tens of thousands of homes along the Gulf Coast and two weeks after Hurricane Milton also ravaged the state. Mayor Tyler Payne’s home had […]
10 days ago
Día de los Muertos Community Celebration...
Paul Holden

Weekend happenings: Dia de los Muertos celebrations across the region

Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebrations are happening throughout the region this weekend and we have the list.
11 days ago

No trick! Halloween temperatures soar above normal in Northeast

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — Trick-or-treaters in the Northeast who in past years would bundle up under their Bluey or Beetlejuice costumes will be able to bask in unseasonably mild temperatures Thursday. New York City was forecast to hit 78 degrees (25.5 Celsius) on Halloween, with Boston expected to top out 76 degrees (24 Celsius). Caribou, […]
11 days ago
FILE - Guests pass a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney Wor...

Ex-Disney worker accused of hacking computer menus to add profanities, errors

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A former worker hacked servers at Walt Disney World after being fired in order to manipulate computer menus by changing prices, adding profanities and altering notifications to wrongly declare some items as safe for people with allergies, according to a federal criminal complaint. The former employee was arrested last week following […]
11 days ago
One of the cars that Google uses to periodically to photograph the millions of destinations covered...

Google Maps adds AI features to help users explore and navigate the world around them

PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Google Maps is heading down a new road steered by artificial intelligence. The shift announced Thursday will bring more of the revolutionary AI technology that Google already has been baking into its dominant search engine to the digital maps service that the internet company launched nearly 20 years ago as […]
11 days ago
Photo: A cruise ship leaving the Seattle. Seattle's 2024 cruise season saw nearly 2 million revenue...
Julia Dallas

How many passengers set sail in Seattle’s 2024 cruise season?

According to a news release from the Port of Seattle on Monday, the 2024 Alaska cruise season saw 276 vessel calls and 1.75 million revenue passengers.
12 days ago
FILE - The logo for Tupperware Brands appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Sto...

Court approves Tupperware’s sale to lenders, paving way for brand’s exit from bankruptcy

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a sale of Tupperware Brands on Tuesday, paving the way for the iconic food-shortage company to soon exit Chapter 11 protection and continue offering its products while undergoing a hoped-for revitalization. The sale given the court’s green light in Delaware still is subject to closing conditions. […]
13 days ago
FILE - Baseball fans watch a spring training exhibition baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirate...

7 steps to forecasting your cash flow needs in retirement

New retirees frequently rhapsodize about the joys of tossing their alarm clocks into the trash and filling their days with whatever activities they find gratifying. But if they’re honest, most new retirees find the financial aspect of the retirement transition to be a little jarring. While retirees are often counseled to estimate that they’ll spend […]
13 days ago
Visitors enter the Lizzie Borden House, site of an 1892 double axe murder, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024...

As Halloween approaches, tourists visit a home with a gruesome past and tunnels said to be haunted

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — “Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41.” That rhyme has been passed down through the generations to describe the horror that took place at the Borden household in 1892. While it’s not entirely accurate, […]
13 days ago