6 mins read

How do you make vampires fly effortlessly on Broadway? Strong wires, harnesses and lots of practice

NEW YORK | For their third Broadway show, husband-and-wife choreographing team Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher “Cree” Grant faced a high-stakes challenge: They were asked to make vampires fly. Not just fly, but also fight and hang upside-down, 60 feet off the stage. Not just that but also make it effortless, like gliding. And, of course, […]

3 mins read

Flower gardens endure hot, dry summers better if you choose these plants

When summer temperatures soar, we humans can take shelter indoors. Our garden plants, however, have no such respite. Some may droop, wilt or get crispy, while others may simply refuse to bloom. Although there’s not much we can do to counter extreme weather, we can equip our gardens to stand up to it better by […]

6 mins read

Steampunk festival creates an unlikely capital for Victorian style and sci-fi oddity in New Zealand

ŌAMARU, New Zealand | The woman in the pink frock coat announced herself as steam curled from a strange brass contraption on her back. “I am Lady Sarsaparilla Ovabyte, of the Coventry Ovabytes,” she said. “We are purveyors of fine cordials.” Her companion peered through glasses made from fused-together forks. “Captain Bob McSpoon, inventrepreneur,” he […]

4 mins read

Lawyers for Lively and Baldoni battle in a New York court despite settling claims weeks ago

NEW YORK | The legal battle between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni isn’t quite over yet. Just a month ago, the two announced a settlement that avoided a trial over Lively’s claims that Baldoni led a campaign to smear her reputation after she accused him of sexually harassing her on the set of their […]

3 mins read

In farm country, an old American pickup truck becomes more than a workhorse

EFFINGHAM, Illinois | In Illinois farm country, there’s a 70-year-old pickup truck waiting on a fresh coat of canary yellow paint. It’s the first vehicle my dad learned to drive, as a young boy helping with farm chores during the day and adventuring with friends at night. At the time, the 1956 International Harvester S-130 […]

7 mins read

In a city with an iconic skyline, the Obama presidential museum aims to reshape Chicago architecture

CHICAGO | The granite monolith soars above a leafy stretch of Chicago’s South Side, a nearly windowless exterior more suited to a sci-fi film set than the state-of-the art presidential museum held within. Crews are putting the finishing touches on the Obama Presidential Center ahead of the official public opening on Juneteenth, more than a […]

6 mins read

A robot is helping an ailing couple stay in their home. Are more to come for an aging population?

DURHAM, N.H. | After outliving Booker T. Bones, their second service dog, Brenda and Brian Marquis still needed help with some of the more difficult parts of daily life. They found Robbie, a robot that rolls out of a hallway into their living room several times a day. “Do you want to exercise now? Please […]

2 mins read

Ayesha Curry’s Cast-Iron ‘Fruit Cake’ is foolproof when dessert time is tight

While I’m not sure how or when it started, there is no denying that I have an extremely mean sweet tooth. It shows up all the time in the way I cook savory food — but it goes bananas when I get to dessert. None of this means that I need my sweets to be […]

6 mins read

What to Stream: ‘Hoppers,’ ‘Love Island,’ Lizzo and Death Cab for Cutie albums

New albums from Lizzo and Death Cab for Cutie and the streaming service debut of animated hit “Hoppers” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: the new season […]

2 mins read

8 crested ibises released in Japanese town decades after extinction in Japan

TOKYO | Eight crested ibises were released into the wild in a north-central Japanese town, decades after the birds went extinct in the country. The endangered birds took off from each of their wooden cages at a ceremony Sunday in Hakui city in the Noto region, where they were last seen in the wild. Residents […]