5 mins read

You should be dancing, yeah. Moving to music offers all kinds of benefits as you age

TUCSON, Ariz. | Carol Ross can’t stop smiling at dance practice as she shouts out the steps of a routine to members of her tap and jazz troupe for women age 50 and older. “I’ve been dancing my whole life, it’s the best,” said Ross, who founded the Rodeo City Wreckettes group 23 years ago […]

4 mins read

What tastes like a Korean pancake and is purple all over? An Oreo inspired by K-pop group BTS

Oreo is teaming up with K-pop supergroup BTS for a bit of marketing dynamite that capitalizes on consumers’ growing interest in global flavors. Mondelez, Oreo’s parent company, said Tuesday that BTS-themed Oreos will go on sale June 1 online and June 8 in stores. The cookies, which feature purple wafers in a nod to the […]

2 mins read

Limoncello, coconut oil and tequila combine for a margarita with tropical notes

The classic margarita from my book “Freezer Door Cocktails” calls for four things — tequila, orange liqueur, sugar and lime. This variation, inspired by a cocktail at Bitter & Twisted in Phoenix, keeps the key flavors, but gets to the finish line a little differently. Italian limoncello — a sweet, boldly lemony Italian liqueur — […]

7 mins read

Plastic bags don’t go in the recycling bin. What should you do instead?

NEW YORK | Soft, stretchy plastics can make up grocery bags, bubble wrap and more. They’re impossible to avoid and harder still to properly dispose of. If thrown in the trash, they can take up to hundreds of years to degrade in landfills and release harmful microplastics into the environment. Over 3 million tons (2.7 […]

5 mins read

How to mulch your garden beds without harming plants

When you look at your garden beds and borders, do you see any bare soil? If so, mulch is in order. Mulch is defined as a protective layer applied over soil to retain moisture, suppress weeds and moderate soil temperature around plants, as well as in uncultivated areas. But if used incorrectly, mulch can cause […]

10 mins read

Tiny patients, big fight: NICU parents win leave in 2 states and push for more

NEW YORK | As his daughter Olivia was born, Marlon White felt his wife’s hand slacken as she fainted. The baby, born at 29 weeks and weighing about 2 pounds, wasn’t making a sound as she was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit. Terrified, he waited in the hall while the doctors stabilized his […]

4 mins read

A Latino grocery store in Delaware turns its produce aisle into a music stage

NEW CASTLE, Del. | A neat stack of 79-cent bananas and rows of colorful fruit flanked the bilingual alternative pop band Luna Luna as they performed for a small audience at a Latino grocery store in northern Delaware. The show was part of the monthly Mercadito sessions put on by the Fiesta Fresh Market, a […]

2 mins read

The balikbayan box: The way Filipino Americans have sent love all the way back home

PHOENIX | Beginning in the 1970s, just about every Filipino household in America was either hauling balikbayan boxes in person or mailing them to relatives back in the Philippines. These care packages that held goodies from the U.S. were seen as an expression of support during hard economic times — as well as one of […]

2 mins read

Cambodian villagers honor guardian spirits to pray for rain and good fortune

PHUM BOEUNG, Cambodia | Hundreds of Cambodians on Thursday morning honored their village’s guardian spirits by holding a colorful centuries-old ceremony to pray for good fortune, rain and prosperity. The “He Neak Ta” ritual has been celebrated annually for several hundred years by the villagers in Phum Boeung, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of […]

5 mins read

Six tax tips you should start thinking about now

Here are six common ways taxpayers get off track and the questions they should ask themselves during the tax year. Don’t assume the answer is the same as last year Taxpayers often default to “same as last year” thinking. But tax outcomes depend on variables that shift constantly, like income, markets, tax laws, interest rates, […]