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Bingo and Tickle Me Elmo nominated for Toy Hall of Fame. Will Care Bears also make it this year?
NEW YORK | Tickle Me Elmo dolls, the game of chance Bingo and the humble playground slide are among the finalists to get into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year, a lineup that also includes cuddly Care Bears, the dice game Yahtzee, the ancient game Mahjong and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The […]
Scenes from a colonial resurrection: First-person interpretations of history draw America 250 crowds
PHILADELPHIA | Betsy Ross is a dynamo with a T-shirt cannon. America’s 250th birthday has been a banner year for the actors of Historic Philadelphia, Inc. who immerse visitors in Colonial history via first-person interpretations and true stories. In the last few months, Betsy, played by Carol Spacht, has waved the checkered flag at a […]
Iran hesitates to clamp down on defiance of headscarf rules as war and economic pressures mount
Women sit at outdoor cafes without headscarves and wearing crop tops. Men in shorts and women in leggings exercise together in parks. At sidewalk concerts, women stop to dance and literally let their hair down. The scenes from the Iranian capital of Tehran, shared in social media videos, point to how dramatically enforcement of social […]
Buckingham Palace hits back at claims in a book by Princess Diana’s brother
LONDON | Buckingham Palace has forcefully denied a claim by the brother of the late Princess Diana that King Charles III said she would soon be forgotten after her death. In a new book, Charles Spencer recounts the traumatic days after Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at the age […]
DoorDash and Uber Eats to offer delivery from US Costco stores
Costco said Thursday it’s partnering with DoorDash to offer delivery from its U.S. warehouse stores. DoorDash already offers Costco delivery in a few markets, including Australia, Sweden and Puerto Rico. But the nationwide partnership is a first for the San Francisco-based delivery company, which said Costco was among the most-searched retailers not yet on its […]
Movie Review: The Korean thriller ‘Hope’ is a creature feature to the tilt
Na Hong-jin makes chase movies and it can be incredible where they go. His latest, “Hope,” is his biggest and wildest movie yet. But despite its heft in scale and run time, it rarely pauses to take a breath. Though some of Na’s contemporaries are better known in the West, the South Korean writer-director has […]
A childhood rite moves indoors as kindergartners learn to ride bikes in school gyms
For generations, kids have learned how to ride a bike — a quintessential childhood milestone — in driveways, on sidewalks and in neighborhood streets. Now, they’re learning in school gyms and playgrounds. On a recent September day, kindergarteners at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, were fitted with helmets and assigned a black-and-white […]
Which small SUV wins? Kia Seltos edges out Honda HR-V
Crossovers have become a popular choice for buyers who want the practicality of an SUV without the size and expense of a larger vehicle. For many shoppers, that means finding a vehicle that’s easy to live with, offers enough room for everyday duties, keeps fuel costs in check, and provides the versatility to be useful […]
Nick Reiner avoids death penalty over his parents’ killings but still faces life in prison
LOS ANGELES | Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner ‘s son will not face the death penalty on charges he fatally stabbed his parents after lying in wait at their home in Los Angeles late last year, prosecutors said Tuesday. If convicted, the maximum sentence 33-year-old Nick Reiner could get is life without the possibility of parole, […]
Centenarians living in Japan exceed 100,000 for the first time
TOKYO | The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan surpassed a record 100,000 this year, the latest government figures show, underscoring the country’s rapidly aging and declining population. The Health and Welfare Ministry statistics released Tuesday show Japan now has 107,677 centenarians, up 7,914 from the previous year and exceeding the 100,000 […]