Starbucks is facing a consumer lawsuit over claims that the protein drinks labeled “sugar-free” on its cafe menus may actually contain more sugar than a Reese’s peanut butter cup. The federal lawsuit filed late Friday in Seattle alleges that eight protein beverages Starbucks sells in the U.S. contain varying amounts of sugar even though the […]
DETROIT (AP) — Every Monday, Ricky Blanding drives his Ford Ranger pickup truck around Detroit along a carefully planned route. Blanding hops in and out of the truck, grabbing buckets of food scraps from porches and restaurants, piling those scraps into bins in the truck bed and driving them to a composting site. Blanding is […]
PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Jake Hutzler spends his workdays directing planes from an airport tower. Once a week, he gets there by strapping a propeller to his back and taking to the skies of Colorado. Before his commute, the 28-year-old air traffic controller lays out a large wing on the road outside his apartment complex, […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Four quarters used to buy a can of AriZona Iced Tea. You’d crack it open and savor the artificially flavored, high-fructose-corn-syrup-sweetened drink between fits of giggling on the walk home from school. For some, the can symbolized childhood autonomy. It was among the first solo purchases a kid made or a […]
Years after the risks of social media for kids first became apparent, U.S. states this summer reached an accord hailed as a turning point for child safety. Meanwhile, a new generation of children has begun engaging with an even more potent technology: artificial intelligence. While the efforts to make social media safer are still taking […]
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Jack Pearadin is the first to admit that his diamond-hunting hobby hasn’t paid off, despite sifting rocks for more than a dozen years. But earlier this year, the Navy reservist and his friend shoveled a six-carat diamond from a field in Arkansas where he’s found over 300 gems so far. […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans spent more than $160 billion last year using buy now, pay later plans, according to research published by Federal Reserve economists. Experts say they’re increasingly seeing people use the plans for everyday expenses like groceries, bills, transportation and, sometimes rent. “It has been very hard out there for a lot […]
Carnegie Mellon University announced Wednesday that hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin is donating $3 billion, with the bulk of the money for a new campus in Miami focused on societal challenges. The Pittsburgh-based private research university said the gift is the largest ever single gift to a U.S. university. Other donations topping the billion-dollar mark […]
A new study ranked the cities with the best "foodie" culture, and two Pacific Northwest cities placed in the top five out of more than 180 U.S. cities.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Cassie Reed and her two young children had just moved from a domestic violence shelter into a third-floor apartment in Spokane, Washington, when she spotted a soon-to-open Head Start preschool on the building’s ground floor. Much of Reed’s first three decades of life had been shaped by abuse and neglect: first, she […]
WOODBURY, Minn. (AP) — “Forecast: God reigns and the Son shines.” In mid-September, the large electronic sign of a Lutheran church flashed this message by a throughfare between growing subdivisions and cornfields in a Twin Cities suburb. The messages on Resurrection Lutheran Church’s sign range from witty to practical to profound. It’s an effort to […]
FISHERS, Ind. (AP) — Finn Vester, who has autism and Down syndrome, tried a martial arts class but it proved unsuitable because he learns differently, his mother said. Then he joined Dance Abilities, a program at Academy of Dance Arts in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers for people with physical or intellectual disabilities. Now dance […]
Pour yourself a cup of ambition. It’s Dolly Parton Day. Across the world, communities are dedicating Friday to honoring the beloved country singer. The day is falling on Sept. 25, a wink at Parton’s hit song “9 to 5.” Parton, who died of cancer last month at age 80, built an impressive legacy over the […]
KFC has been taking a licking from fried chicken rivals like Raising Cane’s, but the global fast-food chain has a plan to return to the top of the U.S. pecking order. The Kentucky-born brand opened a new restaurant in McKinney, Texas, on Thursday to serve as a test lab in its home market. Called Open […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Deeply impactful exhibits, ticketed galas and educational events are expected ways to celebrate a world-class museum. But at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which marks the 10-year anniversary of its opening on Thursday, the singing of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” will give the event the flavor of a […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Skid Row held its first talent show, giving local homeless and formerly homeless residents a chance to share their talents and personal stories through original music, rap covers and Scripture readings. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wearing shiny heels, a thrifted dress and a red rose in her hair, Deoujahne Darc belted out an original song on a small, makeshift stage in the heart of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. “I saw the Lord in the face of a homeless man,” she sang, as the crowd swayed along. […]
The fall equinox is Tuesday, when light and darkness split the day evenly. It marks the beginning of fall for the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. On the equator, the sun will be directly overhead at noon. Equinoxes are the only times when both the north and south poles […]
LODI, Calif. (AP) — It’s harvest time in California wine country, but many growers are struggling to sell their grapes as changing drinking habits have caused demand to plunge. The decline is forcing some growers to tear out vineyards that their families have grown for generations. Wine sales have decreased by more than 20% over […]
The sneaker company Converse has removed a social media ad that sparked outrage among critics who viewed it as evoking the Ku Klux Klan and lynching. The Instagram ad photo showed K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers. Critics lashed out online, saying that a white triangular […]
NEW YORK (AP) — America: land of possibility. And also: land of suckers. Our enduring belief that anything is possible — whether based in reality or not — has helped the nation become the world’s largest economy. It has also led us to fall head over heels for hucksters and charlatans, again and again. If […]
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Betsy Ross is a dynamo with a T-shirt cannon. America’s 250th birthday has been a banner year for the actors of Historic Philadelphia, Inc. who immerse visitors in Colonial history via first-person interpretations and true stories. In the last few months, Betsy, played by Carol Spacht, has waved the checkered flag at […]
For generations, kids have learned how to ride a bike — a quintessential childhood milestone — in driveways, on sidewalks and in neighborhood streets. Now, they’re learning in school gyms and playgrounds. On a recent September day, kindergarteners at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, were fitted with helmets and assigned a black-and-white […]
