In the polar bear capital of the world, a community lives with the predator next door and loves it

CHURCHILL, Manitoba (AP) — Sgt. Ian Van Nest rolls slowly through the streets of Churchill, his truck outfitted with a rifle and a barred back seat to hold anyone he has to arrest. His eyes dart back and forth, then settle on a crowd of people standing outside a van. He scans the area for safety...

The November Project gets people outside to exercise and socialize together all winter long

The sun had yet to come up in Edmonton, Alberta, and it was more than 20 degrees below zero. Tanis Smith layered up anyway, ready to run up and down hundreds of stairs among the trees in the Saskatchewan River Valley. When she arrived at 6 a.m., 10 other people joined her. It...

Forget downtown or the ’burbs. The far-flung exurbs are where people are moving

HAINES CITY, Fla. (AP) — Not long ago, Polk County’s biggest draw was citrus instead of people. Located between Tampa and Orlando, Florida’s citrus capital produces more boxes of citrus than any other county in the state and has devoted tens of thousands of acres to growing millions of trees....

First batch of Boy Scout art raises over $3.7 million for those abused while scouting

DALLAS (AP) — The first batch of artwork from the Boy Scouts of America's collection raised over $3.7 million at auction Friday to help pay the compensation owed to those who were sexually abused while in scouting. The 25 works that sold are among over 300 from the Boy Scouts that...

What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Disgruntled X users are again flocking to Bluesky, a newer social media platform that grew out of the former Twitter before billionaire Elon Musk took it over in 2022. While it remains small compared to established online spaces such as X, it has emerged as an alternative for...

Hundreds of hospitality workers are on strike at a casino near the Las Vegas Strip

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Hundreds of hospitality workers at a casino near the Las Vegas Strip walked off the job just before dawn Friday amid a long and highly contentious fight for a new contract. The work stoppage at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas marks the first open-ended strike in 22 years...

Jeff Beck was one of rock's greatest guitarists. Now his instruments are up for auction

LONDON (AP) — Musicians, collectors and fans have a chance to own a guitar god’s tools of the trade — instruments owned by the late Jeff Beck are going up for auction. Christie’s announced Friday it will sell more than 130 items, including 90 guitars, from the collection of...

A lion cub evacuated from Lebanon to a South African sanctuary escapes airstrikes and abuse

BEIRUT (AP) — When Sara first arrived at her rescuers' home, she was sick, tired, and was covered in ringworms and signs of abuse all over her little furry body. After spending two months in a small Beirut apartment with an animal rights group, the four-and-half-month-old lion cub...

Walkout at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas marks first open-ended strike in over 20 years for Nevada's largest labor union

Australia's plan to ban children from social media proves popular and problematic

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — How do you remove children from the harms of social media? Politically the answer appears simple in Australia, but practically the solution could be far more difficult. The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms...