Lifestyle

FILE - Portraits of a red-headed Thomas Jefferson, left, and John Dickinson, right, by by Charles W...

A year before declaring independence, colonists offered ‘Olive Branch’ petition to King George III

NEW YORK (AP) — Alarmed by the policies of President Donald Trump, millions turned out last month for protests around the United States and overseas. Mindful of next year’s 250th anniversary of American independence, organizers called the movement “No Kings.” Had the same kind of rallies been called for in the summer of 1775, the […]
1 year ago
Billy Hazelwood, 90, dances with Hillary Fretland, 32, as a band plays on stage at American Legion ...

Veterans and civilians bond over beers and bluegrass at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Matthew “Moose” Musquiz was working as a diesel mechanic in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, when his physical therapist told him about a bar in Nashville, Tennessee, that he might like. Musquiz loves the Texas dance hall style of venues popular there, but he hadn’t really […]
1 year ago

How people are celebrating, protesting and traveling for July Fourth

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Recent polls will tell you there’s been a drop in national pride among Americans, particularly Democrats in the Trump era, with some questioning whether to celebrate July Fourth at all this year. But Scott Allen, a registered Democrat in southern California, isn’t one of them. He planned to commemorate the nation’s […]
1 year ago
fireworks Gas Works Fourth of July western Washington...
Paul Holden

Where to celebrate the Fourth of July in western Washington

Discover top spots in Western Washington for a memorable Fourth of July celebration with fireworks and festivities.
1 year ago
FILE - People enjoy the summer day in the pool on Wednesday, June 24, 2020, in Omaha, Neb. (Anna Re...

Why hosting a July Fourth pool party may cost less this year

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans have one more reason to celebrate this Fourth of July: getting all the gear needed to host a pool party costs less than it has in years, according to a market research company’s preliminary data. The total price to buy beach towels, a beverage cooler, bathing suits and other accountrements […]
1 year ago

Pope Leo XIV’s hometown approves the purchase of his childhood home in hopes of reviving the village

CHICAGO (AP) — Pope Leo XIV’s hometown is poised to buy his childhood home after the south Chicago suburb’s board voted unanimously Tuesday to purchase the property, hoping it will breathe new life into a village saddled with financial woes. Since white smoke billowed in May from the Sistine Chapel and Pope Leo XIV was […]
1 year ago
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, right, and Maria Francisco, both of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, harvest fruit...

PHOTO ESSAY: Tohono O’odham families carry on sacred saguaro fruit harvest in Arizona borderlands

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens. For members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose ancestors have lived in this hot desert for thousands of years, harvest time for the “bahidaj” is sacred. The towering saguaros […]
1 year ago
The Rev. Aro Varnabas starts the St. John the Baptist's feast day Mass in Saguaro National Park nea...

A Tohono O’odham family integrates Catholic and Native beliefs in the Arizona desert

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — On St. John the Baptist’s feast day in late June, an extended Tohono O’odham family attends Mass out at their desert camp, where they gather to harvest saguaro fruit in a process sacred in their Native spirituality. “When you’re raised as being a Catholic and raised as being an O’odham, you […]
1 year ago
Tanisha Tucker Lohse, of the Tohono Oʼodham nation, picks a ripe saguaro cactus fruit during a har...

In Arizona borderlands, a sacred saguaro harvest marks the Tohono O’odham’s new year

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Cousins Tanisha Tucker Lohse and Maria Francisco set off from their desert camp around dawn on most early summer days, in search of ripe fruit from the towering saguaro cactus, an icon of the Southwest that is crucial to the Tohono O’odham Nation’s spirituality. One plucks the small, thorn-covered fruits called […]
1 year ago
FILE - Children from Yazidi families, displaced by Islamic State group militants, look at a smartph...

He pioneered the cellphone. It changed how people around the world talk to each other — and don’t

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Dick Tracy got an atom-powered two-way wrist radio in 1946. Marty Cooper never forgot it. The Chicago boy became a star engineer who ran Motorola’s research and development arm when the hometown telecommunications titan was locked in a 1970s corporate battle to invent the portable phone. Cooper rejected AT&T’s wager […]
1 year ago
In this March 7, 2012 photo, visitors walk along the boardwalk in downtown Myrtle Beach, S.C. (AP P...

Once known as ‘Dirty Myrtle,’ Myrtle Beach is now the fastest-growing US metro for seniors

A South Carolina beach town once nicknamed “Dirty Myrtle” because of its rowdy nightclubs and strip joints has become a magnet for retirees in a nation that continues to age. The number of residents age 65 years and older in the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area grew by 6.3% last year, making it the fastest-growing metro […]
1 year ago
FILE - Revelers walk along Market Street during a Pride Parade, June 30, 2024, in San Francisco. (A...

NYC, San Francisco and other US cities capping LGBTQ+ Pride month with a mix of party and protest

NEW YORK (AP) — The monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride reaches its rainbow-laden crescendo as New York and other major cities around the world host major parades and marches on Sunday. The festivities in Manhattan, home to the nation’s oldest and largest Pride celebration, kick off with a march down Fifth Avenue featuring more than […]
1 year ago
Tim Kalke, general manager of Sustainable Energy for Galena Alaska, poses for a portrait Monday, Ma...

In words and photos, rural Alaska residents reflect on their village’s sustainable practices

GALENA, Alaska (AP) — In rural central Alaska, a village is in the midst of a clean energy transformation that locals say will boost savings, build resilience and provide jobs. Galena wants to curb its reliance on expensive, imported diesel that when burned is one of the largest contributors of planet-warming emissions. Nearly 10 years […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott A...

The Latest: US Supreme Court to rule on birthright citizenship

The U.S. Supreme Court will issue decisions on the final six cases left on its docket for the summer, including those that are emergency appeals relating to U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda. Cases on the court’s emergency docket are handled swiftly, and decisions often come without explanations of the justices’ reasoning. Decisions released today will […]
1 year ago
Seattle summer activities...
Paul Holden

Pride, pirates, and car shows: Seattle summer activities in full swing

Discover the best Seattle summer activities as June wraps up and the fun begins.
1 year ago

Supreme Court meets Friday to decide 6 remaining cases, including birthright citizenship

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is meeting Friday to decide the final six cases of its term, including President Donald Trump’s bid to enforce his executive order denying birthright citizenship to U.S.-born children of parents who are in the country illegally. The justices take the bench at 10 a.m. for their last public session […]
1 year ago
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appears on stage with his family including his wife, Ra...

Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji is an animator, illustrator and ceramicist. And they met on Hinge

NEW YORK (AP) — Rama Duwaji’s Election Day post on Instagram was only four words long, but said all it needed to say: “couldn’t possibly be prouder.” It was accompanied by a photo-booth strip of happy poses with her husband, Zohran Mamdani, and a voting selfie that would presage a momentous night: The 33-year-old state […]
1 year ago
This April 2016 photo provided by Rick Hodges shows Jim Obergefell, left, and Rick Hodges posing fo...

Once named opponents in the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage, now they’re friends

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The case behind the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide a decade ago is known as Obergefell v. Hodges, but the two Ohio men whose names became that title weren’t so at odds as it would seem, and are now friends. One year after the Supreme Court’s June 26, […]
1 year ago
Sarah McDonner, a volunteer for Wild Tunes, which aims to soothe stressed shelter animals with live...

Volunteers use the universal language of music to soothe stressed shelter animals

DENVER (AP) — It is often said music is the universal language of humanity. Now a 12-year-old Houston boy is putting that to the test among an unlikely audience — man’s best friend. Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard when he was 4 and several years ago noticed his playing soothed his family’s restless golden doodle, […]
1 year ago
FILE - The logo for OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, appears on a mobile phone, in New York, Tuesday, ...

AI tools are helping teachers with grading and lessons. They say it makes them better educators

For her 6th grade honors class, math teacher Ana Sepúlveda wanted to make geometry fun. She figured her students “who live and breathe soccer” would be interested to learn how mathematical concepts apply to the sport. She asked ChatGPT for help. Within seconds, the chatbot delivered a five-page lesson plan, even offering a theme: “Geometry […]
1 year ago

In line with Trump, North Carolina legislature takes aim at transgender rights

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Legislation much in line with President Donald Trump’s political agenda on transgender rights squeezed through the North Carolina Senate this week, as state lawmakers prepare for their anticipated summer recess by the week’s end. A measure approved Tuesday — despite heightened tensions in the Senate — offers protections for women and […]
1 year ago
FILE - A woman looks at products in the aisle of a store as her daughter naps in the shopping cart ...

Texas will put warning labels on some foods, but its additives list has inaccuracies

DALLAS (AP) — A new Texas law promoting the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda requires first-ever warning labels on foods like chips and candies that contain dyes and additives not allowed in other countries. It could have far-reaching effects on the nation’s food supply, but a review of the legislation shows it also […]
1 year ago
FILE - A Waymo minivan arrives to pick up passengers for an autonomous vehicle ride, April 7, 2021,...

Waymo’s robotaxis to start carrying passengers in Atlanta, expanding Uber partnership

Waymo’s robotaxis will begin carrying passengers through parts of Atlanta on Tuesday in an expansion of a partnership with Uber that began earlier this year in Austin. Waymo’s driverless march into Atlanta comes just days after Tesla finally launched a limited robotaxi service in Austin, more than five years after CEO Elon Musk brashly promised […]
1 year ago
FILE - In this, Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, photo a woman types on her laptop, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfr...

How to take care of yourself and your finances when you’ve experienced a layoff

NEW YORK (AP) — Recent layoffs from technology and media companies and government agencies might have you thinking about job security. Losing your job is a difficult thing to process and you might feel the impact in several parts of your life. But there are things you can do to alleviate some of the stress […]
1 year ago