DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An estimated $1.4 billion lottery jackpot will be up for grabs Wednesday night thanks to dozens of drawings without a big winner. The massive Powerball prize is the sixth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot. It’s a result of 40 consecutive drawings stretching over the summer without anyone matching all of the game’s […]
In the fitness class Jessie Syfko created for a nationwide gym chain, exercisers wear weighted vests that add a challenge to their workouts. “People start to realize how good it feels to work just a little bit harder and a little bit smarter” without actually changing what they’re doing, said Syfko, senior vice president for […]
The lights are off, the house is quiet and nothing seems to be running. But electricity is silently flowing through the plugs in your home. This hidden drain is known as phantom energy. Also called vampire energy, the wasted electricity comes from leaving devices plugged in when they’re not in use. That could range from […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka is bringing the Labubu fad to the U.S. Open — all the way to at least the quarterfinals. Osaka has played four matches at the Grand Slam tennis tournament so far this year, each time toting a different version of the popular plush toy attached to her racket bag. […]
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade, one of the world’s largest celebrations of Caribbean culture, kicked off Monday with vibrant costumes, colorful flags and the sounds of soca and reggae music. Along with crowds of hundreds of thousands of people, the parade has long been a magnet for local […]
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — A lost boy wandering a monorail line high above the crowd at Hersheypark was rescued by a park visitor who climbed onto a building and jumped onto the rails. The child was reported missing at about 5:05 p.m. Saturday after he became separated from his parents, according to a news release […]
ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. (AP) — Seen from the air, a Florida freshwater spring is a bit of liquid heaven, luring humans and wildlife to enjoy its aquamarine cool. With at least 1,000 of them — more than any other state — the springs serve as beaches for large swaths of central and northwestern Florida far from […]
DALLAS (AP) — From barbecues to getaways to shopping the sales, many people across the U.S. mark Labor Day — the federal holiday celebrating the American worker — by finding ways to relax. The holiday with activist roots is celebrated on the first Monday of September, creating a three-day weekend that marks the unofficial end […]
On any given Sunday, the massive American Dream mall in New Jersey allows visitors to hit an indoor ski slope, surf an artificial wave, ride roller coasters — or shop for a new outfit at dozens of big-name retail stores. One of those things is a problem, argues a new lawsuit against the massive entertainment […]
Like its namesake barrels that transported soda crackers until boxes replaced them, Cracker Barrel needed to change. The restaurant chain’s new CEO, Julie Felss Masino, laid out the argument to investors last year: Cracker Barrel’s customer traffic was down 16% compared to 2019. Research showed consumers thought the brand fell short of competitors in essential […]
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. consumers have gotten used to shopping the world without paying customs duties on the international packages they receive from big e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu, specialty shops and businesses that sell goods through online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy and eBay. That era is about to end. On Friday, the […]
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina changed the face of education in New Orleans forever. The school system was utterly destroyed and then utterly transformed, becoming the first and only all-charter school district in the country. Ahead of the storm’s anniversary, The Associated Press asked three survivors to reflect on what it […]
MOUNT GRETNA, Pa. (AP) — It takes a 54-page pamphlet to list all the classes, concerts, outdoor recreation and other self-improvement and entertainment going on at the Pennsylvania Chautauqua in Mount Gretna this summer. The area springs to life every June, July and August, when a year-round population of about 1,000 more than doubles and […]
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — It was in Cedar Rapids, surrounded by cornfields, where Iowa artist Grant Wood painted “American Gothic,” the iconic 1930 portrayal of a stern-looking woman and a man with a pitchfork in front of a white frame house. The city presents many different images today, after more than a century of […]
