5 mins read

Will Red Grooms’ whimsical, wonderful Tennessee Fox Trot Carousel ride again?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. | For a few years at the turn of this century, Nashville was home to a remarkable carousel. Described by its artist-creator Red Grooms as a sculpto-pictorama, the “horses” were 36 whimsical figures related to Tennessee. Legendary country musician Chet Atkins rode the neck of a guitar. Davy Crockett wrestled a bear. You […]

4 mins read

How the White House Rose Garden and its plantings have changed over the past century

President Donald Trump’s two makeovers of the White House Rose Garden, including converting its lawn into a patio, have drawn recent attention to one of the nation’s most iconic gardens. The garden has seen many changes over the years; presidents and first ladies have planted, removed, redesigned and even fully revamped it. Here’s a look […]

8 mins read

Trump Accounts launch July 4, giving newborns $1,000. Here’s what to know

WASHINGTON | On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s administration plans to launch Trump Accounts, tying the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to an effort to boost financial independence for American kids. Under the program, parents can open investment accounts for any child born during Trump’s second term and automatically receive $1,000 […]

7 mins read

What’s the perfect American hot dog? Depends where you grew up

Few foods feel more American than the hot dog, a mainstay at ballparks, street carts and Fourth of July barbecues. But to simply call hot dogs “American” is to miss a whole lot of nuance, and potentially offend local connoisseurs across the country. How to prepare and eat a hot dog is a matter of […]

3 mins read

After helping the US win the Cold War, the all-you-can-eat buffet is fading. Thanks, COVID

LAS VEGAS | On a cool fall evening after the end of World War II, Las Vegas watched “officialdom and ‘cafe society’ turn out for the opening of America’s first all-you-can-eat buffet,” a local paper wrote. It was a big night in a small town that dreamed of hungry visitors. The glazed ham and prime […]

3 mins read

Heat forces yodelers at annual Swiss festival to sing in fountains

BASEL, Switzerland | City fountains became impromptu rehearsal spaces this weekend as yodelers at a festival in Basel, Switzerland, squeezed in last-minute practice while cooling off during Europe’s June heat wave. At one fountain, a folk band dipped their toes in the water on Saturday, as festivalgoers clapped along or cooled their hands under the […]

9 mins read

How some in Palestinian diaspora find connection, identity and resilience in traditional embroidery

Decades later, Samar Kabouli still fondly recalls gathering with women in her family and sipping cardamom-spiced coffee as they embroidered fabric with colorful threads in traditional Palestinian patterns. Born in Lebanon to Palestinian refugees, Kabouli had never seen her parents’ homeland. But more than just making pretty designs, the threads in her needle were stitching […]

5 mins read

This Stars and Stripes Pie is designed to wow on the Fourth of July

For the Stars and Stripes Pie in my cookbook, “50 Pies, 50 States,” I wanted something that would be a showstopper at any Fourth of July barbecue. I got fancy, using foil as a divider when filling the pie to mimic the color blocking of the flag. I used two fillings — strawberry and blueberry […]

7 mins read

Gender-bending is now part of menswear. Paris runways show how mainstream it has become

PARIS | This was men’s fashion season. The women were everywhere. They walked the coed Paris runways at Amiri and Ami. At Vetements, women modeled many of the “menswear” looks, and Sharon Stone closed the show in thigh-high boots. Inside fashion, none of this was eyebrow-raising. The gender blur was not happening on the margins. […]

3 mins read

Get a load of this: Humans and great apes share similar giggles

NEW YORK | Humans and great apes have been giggling in similar ways since branching off the evolutionary tree, a new study suggests. How do we know this? Researchers tickled 13 captive apes — including gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos — and recorded the results. The new research reexamined those decades-old recordings and compared them […]