What to buy, what to serve, which events to attend — December is typically full of decisions. Here’s one more for you to contemplate: What are you going to do with your Christmas tree? According to the Nature Conservancy, some 10 million live Christmas trees end up in landfills every year. There, they are covered […]
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A dozen of the iconic swans that live in the heart of downtown Orlando, Florida, have died in recent days of an unknown cause, leading officials to suspect that bird flu is to blame. The deaths of the swans at Lake Eola don’t appear to be suspicious, Orlando City Commissioner Patty […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The start of a new year usually brings new motivation to achieve goals like eating healthier or finally cleaning your basement. Many resolutions also focus on financial goals, such as paying off credit card debt, saving for a new house, or simply getting more educated about money. “New Year’s is a […]
HONOLULU (AP) — Mike Lambert heard fewer illegal fireworks exploding in his suburban Honolulu neighborhood in the months after a chain of blasts at a house party last New Year’s Eve led to the deaths of six people, including a 3-year-old boy. As the director of Hawaii’s Department of Law Enforcement, Lambert wondered if the […]
NEW YORK (AP) — When the MetroCard replaced the New York City subway token in 1994, the swipeable plastic card infused much-needed modernity into one of the world’s oldest and largest transit systems. Now, more than three decades later, the gold-hued fare card and its notoriously finicky magnetic strip are following the token into retirement. […]
As technology distracts, polarizes and automates, people are still finding refuge on analog islands in the digital sea. The holdouts span the generation gaps, uniting elderly and middle-aged enclaves born in the pre-internet times with the digital natives raised in the era of online ubiquity. They are setting down their devices to paint, color, knit […]
The sun would rise over the Rockies, and Robin Gammons would run to the front porch to grab the morning paper before school. She wanted the comics and her dad wanted sports, but the Montana Standard meant more than their daily race to grab “Calvin and Hobbes” or baseball scores. When one of the three […]
Christmas came early for someone who purchased a Powerball ticket at a gas station outside Little Rock, Arkansas, worth more than $1.8 billion. The lone winner in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing matched all five winning numbers and the Powerball to capture the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, ending the game’s three-month stretch without a […]
Kwanzaa has become a nationally recognized celebration of African culture and community in the United States since its founding in 1966 and also is celebrated in countries with large African descendant populations. The holiday, which serves as a nationwide communal event reinforcing self-determination and unity in the face of oppression, spans seven days from the […]
NEW YORK (AP) — When Cami Teacoach’s son turned three she set out to find volunteer opportunities they could do together. He made Valentine cards for senior citizens. They hiked and picked up trash. He helped harvest produce at community gardens and made seed balls out of mud, throwing them into the forest to promote […]
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — When Fernando Dávila was 8 years old in Colombia, he failed a drawing class because he painted donkeys red. There was a reason for that: He is colorblind. Now the 72-year-old Dávila is an established and respected artist whose vibrant paintings have been exhibited in South America, Europe and the United […]
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 engaging in bold adventures. But they can still be thrust back to their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking whenever caretakers at the community in […]
From department stores to grocery stores, most retailers across the U.S. close early on Christmas Eve and shut their doors entirely on Christmas Day — while others opt to cut back hours. But there’s also a handful of businesses that will be open during the holiday. Before you run out the door this Christmas — […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Christina Chavarria had already prepared almost 200 tamales, but she was back at Amapola Market in Southern California early Tuesday morning for more masa. The dough made from ground corn was the best there, so it didn’t bother her that the line was wrapped around the parking lot. “It’s always seasoned […]
After 19 inches of snow fell at the base of the mountain over the past week, Mt. Bachelor ski resort announced it will be open for the season starting Tuesday, Dec. 23.
BRANDY STATION, Va. (AP) — On a sparkling late-fall Sunday at a rural Virginia airfield, 16 careworn passengers were getting off a flight that changed, even saved, their lives. Some looked bemused, some wary, some enthusiastic as they were carried off a small private plane onto the tarmac at Culpeper Regional Airport. Then they were […]
