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A dozen fresh-picked holiday gift ideas for gardeners

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

The best holiday gifts for gardeners are the ones that keep their minds in the dirt, even during the off-season.These gardening and garden-themed gifts will sow the seeds of anticipation for greener days to come and spread a little sunshine just when it’s needed most.SMART VIDEO CAMERA BIRD FEEDER: This device not only feeds your feathered friends but also identifies and records them as they visit. Mount it outdoors, then download the free app to your iPhone (iOS 11 or later) or Android (OS 5.0 or later) and connect it to your Wi-Fi network. When a bird lands on the solar-charged feeder, AI identifies its species and sends alerts, ultra-wide HD images, live stream video with sound, and species details to your smartphone. Includes 8 GB memory card. $219.99 at sharperimage.com.HYDROPONIC SMART GROWER: This award-winning grow system allows you to grow fresh food indoors year-round without sunlight or soil. The 16-plant unit has 86 LED lights and 10 smart sensors that monitor plants rem...

Jordan Fisher goes into ‘Hadestown’ on Broadway, ‘stretching every creative muscle’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jordan Fisher is going to hell this winter and he’s very happy about it.The actor and singer star enters Broadway’s “Hadestown,” the brooding 2019 Tony Award-winning musical about the underworld, which intertwines the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone.The actor, whose Broadway credits include “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Hamilton,” will step into the role of Orpheus beginning Monday night at the Walter Kerr Theatre, succeeding original cast member Reeve Carney.Fisher, also known for his work in the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and winning “Dancing With the Stars,” chatted with The Associated Press on the eve of his new gig, revealing how he might have manifested the role.Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.___AP: Have you been a fan of “Hadestown” a long time?FISHER: I saw the show right after they opened. I think it was like the second week of it being up and I was absolutely blown away, right? I grew u...

Youth stabbed, seriously injured after meet-up to sell headphones in Pickering

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

A male youth was seriously injured in a stabbing after a public meet-up to sell a pair of headphones that police say resulted in the victim being ambushed in an attempted robbery.Durham Regional Police were called to a plaza in the area of Kingston Road and Whites Road just before noon on Monday, Nov. 13, following reports of an armed person.A male youth allegedly planned to meet another male to sell a pair of headphones. Police said the victim was at the meet-up point and was surrounded by four males who attempted to rob him at knife-point.The male victim suffered a stab wound to the hand before all suspects fled the area. Police said the youth was transported to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.Three of the four male suspects wore a face mask or covered their faces at the time of the incident. They remain wanted by investigators.

Pop art to ballet, reach for a nonfiction read when choosing holiday gifts

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A good book packs power. A good book thoughtfully chosen as a gift can add a layer of joy.The holidays are a great time to track down just the right coffee table reads for loved ones. There’s a wide array this time of year. Some options:“Slim Aarons: The Essential Collection,” photographs by Slim Aarons, text by Shawn Waldron. The World War II photographer turned Hollywood insider had incredible access to the uber rich, from the pools of Palm Beach to the ski slopes of Gstaad. But he was so much more, shooting war orphans in Rome to tailgaters in Aiken, South Carolina. This hefty career-spanning collection has meaty text and includes more than 100 previously unpublished photos. Getty Images purchased his archive in 1997. Abrams. $175.“The Christmas Book,” by Phaidon editors, with essays by David Trigg, Sam Bilton and Dolph Gotelli. The holiday, in festive cultural imagery. This is a jolly look at Christmas via design and artifacts. There’s a history of Ch...

Movie Review: Disney’s musical fairy tale ‘Wish’ is beautiful, but lacking magic

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

Walt Disney Animation’s “Wish” is stunning to look at with textured and rich watercolor-inspired animation and easter egg treasures for audiences nostalgic for the classics. But it is also more concept than story: A strained and forgettable attempt to pay homage to the studio’s 100 years. The origin of the wishing star is as fine a motivation as any for a jumping off point, but “Wish,” directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, seems to have been drawn not from someone’s earnest imagination and dreams, but a corporate board trying to reverse-engineer magic and charm.Case in point: In one of the awfully generic songs, “I Am a Star,” a cute, talking rabbit chirpily sings to our heroine Asha that “when it comes to the universe, we’re all shareholders.” Ugh.I’m probably not alone in having learned several vocabulary words from Disney songs as a child, but there is something so dispiriting about hearing the word “shareholders” in what is supposed to be a rallying, i...

From saving elephants to pleasing football fans, here are some holiday gift ideas for all

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Staring down a hefty holiday gift list? There’s something for everybody out there. Artisan gifts can be a hit. Head to Etsy.com to tap into the global handmade marketplace’s trends for the season. This year, they include “grandpa chic,” a counterpoint in home decor to the “granny chic” and “coastal grandma” vibes of recent years. In homage to gramps, think rich tones of burgundy, olive green and tobacco brown, and lots of dark woods, plaid textiles and leather. “The interest in adding more texture and depth to the home is more important than ever,” said Etsy trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson.If you haven’t got time for that or any other gift hunt, consider one or more of these:SAVE AN ELEPHANT: The women founders behind The Elephant Project donate 100% of their proceeds from the plush elephants they sell to organizations that help fight poaching and care for injured and orphaned elephants. A choice of four different stuffies or a bundle of three...

Carlton Pearson, influential Oklahoma megachurch founder who rejected hell, dies at age 70

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The founder of a former megachurch in Oklahoma who was branded a heretic and lost one audience — but gained a new one — after he rejected the idea of hell and supported gay rights has died, his agent said Monday.Bishop Carlton Pearson died Sunday night in hospice care in Tulsa due to cancer, said his agent, Will Bogle. Pearson was 70.Early in his ministry he was considered a rising star on the Pentecostal preaching circuit and frequently appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, bringing him to an international audience.From a ministry he started in 1977, Pearson in 1981 founded Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa — later known as New Dimensions Church, whose membership numbered about 6,000 by the turn of the century.Membership plummeted to a few hundred by 2008 after Pearson began teaching what he called “the gospel of inclusion,” a form of universalism, which does not recognize hell.Bogle said Pearson told him that he did not believe he had made a mis...

USPS shipping changes coming in January

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

(WHTM) - The U.S. Postal Service's recently announced pricing changes for shipping will take effect on Jan. 21, 2024.According to the USPS, the following changes, which were announced Nov. 15, will be made:USPS Ground Advantage prices would increase by 5.4%Priority Mail service prices would increase by 5.7%Priority Mail Express service prices would increase by 5.9%"The Postal Service has upfront pricing and does not add surcharges for residential and regular Saturday delivery, nor fuel," the USPS said in a release.The USPS is also seeking price adjustments for such products as post office box rentals and international mail services. The Postal Regulatory Commission will review the prices. This Pennsylvania roller coaster turns 100 next year Pricing for USPS Connect Local, which provides businesses with local same-day and next-day delivery, will stay the same.The current pricing for USPS Shipping Services is as follows:Priority Mail Express - The item you ship should arrive within...

2 women critical, 2 kids injured in North suburban crash; alcohol found

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — Two women are in critical condition and two children were injured following a head-on crash Monday morning in unincorporated Round Lake.Officers responded to the area of Fairfield Road and Nippersink Road at around 6:30 a.m. Police at the scene found a Chevrolet Equinox, driven by a woman, and a Acura MDX, driven by a 39-year-old Wauconda woman. The Acura had two middle-school-aged children in the vehicle, police said.Following a preliminary investigation, police believe the driver of the Equinox veered into southbound lanes of traffic and struck the Acura head-on. Both women were transported in critical condition.The children suffered serious but non life-threatening injuries.An open container of alcohol was found inside the Chevrolet, police said.The crash is under investigation.

You can order more free COVID tests ahead of the holidays: Here's how

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can order more free COVID-19 tests online for home delivery.The U.S. government is offering to send another round of four at-home virus tests ahead of the typical surge in cases during the winter holiday season.Anyone who did not order a batch of four COVID-19 tests in September can secure up to eight of them this time around starting Monday at COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver them for free.The government is mailing out the coronavirus tests as the flu season kicks off and a spike in RSV cases has been reported in some spots around the country. Hospitalizations for COVID-19, which has killed more than 1 million people in the United States, were on the rise this fall but have stayed steady in recent weeks. Immunity from previous vaccinations and infections has kept case counts lower compared with other years. The flu is spiking in 7 states – see where cases are rising The new release of free COVID-19 nasal swab tests also comes ahead ...