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Lifestyle

High school students sing while standing in a 67-foot-tall structure as part of the annual Mona Sho...

Michigan high school choir belts out holiday tunes from a towering Christmas tree

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A western Michigan community is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its beloved singing Christmas tree. The Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree, which features a 180-student high school choir and stands 15 rows tall, belted out 19 holiday tunes at a Muskegon theater this week and was set to perform two more […]
8 hours ago
Tulalip Christmas Lights 5...
Bill Kaczaraba

Marysville’s Tulalip Christmas lights dazzle with 7.8 million bulbs

The new and improved Tulalip Christmas lights display is truly one of the Pacific Northwest's traditions and it is free.
14 hours ago
FILE - The Chipotle Mexican Grill logo is seen on a storefront, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo...

Chipotle is raising US prices after promising bigger portions

Chipotle is raising its U.S. prices to offset inflation and to compensate for a promise to increase portion sizes. Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, Laurie Schalow, confirmed Friday that the Mexican restaurant chain was implementing a 2% price increase nationally. Schalow said it’s the first time the California-based company has raised its prices in more […]
20 hours ago
Revelers dressed as holiday characters participate in the annual Santa Con pub crawl on Dec. 9, 202...
Paul Holden

Weekend event digest: Santa Con and more fun holiday-themed events

The holiday season is in full swing and there are plenty of events happening this weekend in Seattle and around the Puget Sound.
20 hours ago
Image: Members of the KIRO Newsradio staff who took part in the 2024 holiday play, 'North Pole Even...
KIRO Newsradio staff

KIRO Holiday Radio Play: Christmas episode of the ‘North Pole Evening News’

Santa Claus does more than bring toys to kids around the world. He also hosts a show on North Pole Newsradio called "North Pole Evening News."
22 hours ago
This photo provided by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows “Temp-tations Oven Gloves”...

More than a million oven gloves are being recalled after consumers report 92 minor burns

NEW YORK (AP) — More than one million pairs of oven gloves are being recalled due to a burn hazard, after dozens of injury reports. Video and e-commerce retailer QVC is recalling about 1.1 million of its “Temp-tations Oven Gloves” because they fail to provide sufficient heat protection. According to a Thursday notice published by […]
22 hours ago
Image: The KING 5 tower atop Seattle's Queen Anne Hill has been decorated with holiday lights nearl...
Feliks Banel

KING 5 says tower holiday lights will return in 2025

This year, the 680-foot tall tower is dark, as far as holiday decorations are concerned, for the perhaps the first time since the energy crisis of 1973.
2 days ago
Two women view aquatints by artist Karl Bodmer on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, at the North Dakota Heri...

Historic images of Native Americans by a Swiss artist find their way back to North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — More than two dozen historic prints that depict a slice of Native American life and culture on the Upper Missouri River nearly 200 years ago will soon be more accessible to the public thanks to a gift that enabled a North Dakota organization to buy the rare aquatints. The State Historical […]
2 days ago
Travelers self-check at Delta Airlines counter at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles,...

US senators are set to grill officials from 5 airlines over fees for seats and checked bags

A U.S. Senate panel planned to take aim at airline executives Wednesday for the carriers’ growing use of fees for early boarding, better seats and other comforts that used to be part of the ticket price. The panel’s chairman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he thinks the federal government should review and perhaps fine the […]
3 days ago

When it’s time to rethink your asset allocation

Unless you happen to be an average-size person with perfectly balanced proportions, the clothing you buy may or may not fit perfectly. A skilled tailor can make a wardrobe seem almost custom-made by taking up a hem, adjusting a cuff, or making a few nips and tucks here and there. The same applies to your […]
4 days ago
El Pollo Loco restaurant. (Photo: El Pollo Loco)...
Bill Kaczaraba

El Pollo Loco breaks into the Pacific Northwest

Although not yet formalized, it appears El Pollo Loco fire-grilled chicken will be opening shop in Kent soon.
4 days ago

Are you a former SmileDirectClub customer? You might be eligible for a refund

NEW YORK (AP) — When SmileDirectClub shut down a year ago, scores of existing customers of the teeth-straightening company were left in limbo. Now, tens of thousands are set to get some relief. New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced that her office recovered $4.8 million to distribute nationwide to more than 28,000 consumers. […]
4 days ago
FILE - Taylor Swift performs during the opening show of the Toronto dates of The Eras Tour on Nov. ...

‘Childless Cat Lady’ Taylor Swift tops Yale list of 2024’s most notable quotations

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — From “Childless Cat Lady” to “They’re eating the cats,” Yale University’s list of 2024’s most notable quotations delves into the worlds of presidential politics, entertainment and conspiracy theories while saving room for sports, business and protests against the war in Gaza. Pop superstar Taylor Swift topped this year’s list by signing […]
4 days ago
Sand cascades down the badly eroded face of a dune in North Wildwood, N.J. on Feb. 24, 2023. (AP Ph...

10 years and $42 million later, Jersey Shore town ends battle over its eroding beaches

NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey resort community that has lived in fear of being wiped out by the next big storm voted Tuesday to end a decadelong battle with the state over the condition of its beaches and protective sand dunes that involved $42 million worth of fines and litigation. The North […]
4 days ago
A man plows a sidewalk after a snow storm in Lowville, N.Y., Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Cara A...

What is ‘lake-effect snow’? Warm air from large bodies of water is the key ingredient

When towns along the Great Lakes get buried in drifts of blowing snow, like several have over the past few days, weather experts start talking about the “lake effect.” Lake-effect snow often occurs in relatively narrow bands that dump copious amounts of snow. The weather phenomenon can drastically increase snowfall totals, and it may slam […]
5 days ago
Amazon's generative AI-powered shopping assistant, known as Rufus, appears on a computer monitor in...

Can AI chatbots make your holiday shopping easier?

Tired of thinking about what gifts to get everyone this year? Artificial intelligence chatbots might help, but don’t expect them to do all the work or always give you the right answers. Anyone scouring the internet for Cyber Monday deals is likely going to encounter more conversational iterations of the chatbots that some retailers and […]
5 days ago
FILE - A FedEx delivery person carries a package from a truck on Nov. 17, 2022, in Denver. (AP Phot...

Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set a record on the year’s biggest day for online shopping

Consumers in the United States are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon with Cyber Monday. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people’s regular routines and the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday — a term coined in 2005 by the National […]
5 days ago
President Joe Biden accompanied by his family from left, Melissa, Hunter Biden, grandson Beau and F...

It’s the final holiday stretch at the Biden White House. The theme is ‘A Season of Peace and Light’

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s the final holiday stretch at the White House for President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who has the executive mansion decorated to the theme of “A Season of Peace and Light.” The first lady is set to unveil the decorations and deliver a holiday message at a White House event […]
5 days ago

Great Lakes region faces more snow after weekend of harsh holiday weather

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — After U.S. travelers battled through harsh weekend weather to reach home following the Thanksgiving holiday, residents of the Great Lakes region face the prospect of more snow through the week, forecasters said. Snow was expected to fall in the region overnight into Monday morning and again Wednesday and Thursday, along […]
5 days ago
Sauna enthusiasts Jeff Tait, Emily Scribner-O’Pray, Darcy Sudderth, Miki Mosman and Igor Rudenko ...

As temperatures turn frigid, Minnesotans turn to saunas for warmth and community

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Ed Kranz set up his mobile sauna next to a frozen beach at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan, Minnesota, on a bone-chilling Sunday morning during a weekend cold snap. Ed and his wife Colleen own Saunable, “a wood-fired sauna experience on wheels.” After about 8 to 12 minutes of sweating […]
6 days ago

Storm blankets parts of the US during busy holiday travel weekend with more snow and cold forecast

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The first big snowfall of the season blanketed parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan during the hectic U.S. holiday travel and shopping weekend, with numbing cold and heavy snow forecast to persist through the early part of the week and cause hazards in the Great Lakes, Plains and Midwest regions. […]
6 days ago

Southwest Airlines says it is ending cabin service earlier to reduce chance of injury

Southwest Airlines says it is ending its cabin service earlier on its flights starting next month. Beginning on Dec. 4, a company spokesperson said, flight attendants will begin preparing the cabin for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) instead of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters). The change in procedure is designed to “reduce […]
7 days ago
A collection of 2024 holiday catalogs are displayed Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in Freeport, Maine. Cata...

Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday season

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Honey, they shrunk the catalogs. While retailers hope to go big this holiday season, customers may notice that the printed gift guides arriving in their mailboxes are smaller. Many of the millions of catalogs getting sent to U.S. homes were indeed scaled down to save on postage and paper, resulting in […]
7 days ago
Lake-effect snow falls in Lowville, N.Y., on Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)Credit: ASS...

New York state and Michigan brace for lake-effect snow that could snarl travel and disrupt football

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The first big snow of the season threatened to bury towns in New York along lakes Erie and Ontario during a hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend. In Michigan, heavy lake-effect snow in northern parts of the state was expected to continue into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service […]
7 days ago