Why this Mexican American woman played a vital role in the US sacramental peyote trade

MIRANDO CITY, Texas (AP) — The late Amada Cardenas was called many things — the “angel of peyote,” the “peyote rose” or simply “Grandma Amada.” The beloved Mexican American peyotera — who was the first authorized dealer of peyote in the United States — not only...

Bill Clinton is out of the hospital after being treated for the flu

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton was discharged from a Washington hospital on Tuesday and will be home for Christmas after he was admitted the day before with a fever. Clinton is being treated for the flu, Angel Urena, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said in a...

Takeaways from AP’s reporting on young nuns

Less than 1% of nuns in the United States today are 30 or younger. That number has remained steady in the past decade but shows little signs of increasing. Between 100 and 200 young women enter into a religious vocation each year in the U.S., and not all of them will complete the...

Greece's only miniature therapy horses bring joy to many, but their charity is struggling

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, a smile spreads across the little girl’s face. Blinking behind her glasses, she inches her wheelchair forward and gently reaches out to stroke the tiny gray horse. Soon, 9-year-old Josifina Topa Mazuch is beaming as she...

Federal officials say South Carolina mental illness group homes leave little hope of independence

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The federal government has sued South Carolina, saying the state has not done enough to make sure people with serious mental illnesses are taken out of group homes and helped to get back into the community where they can work and lead independent lives. The...

China's aging population fuels 'silver economy' boom, but profits can prove elusive

HONG KONG (AP) — Every Wednesday, retiree Zhang Zhili travels an hour by bus to an education center, drawn by the pulsing rhythms of the African drum she plays there in a classroom filled with fellow retirees whose hands move in unison, every beat lifting her spirits. Zhang, 71,...

An Australia police officer who shocked a 95-year-old woman with a Taser is guilty of manslaughter

SYDNEY (AP) — A police officer who shocked a 95-year-old nursing home resident with a Taser was found guilty of manslaughter in an Australian court Wednesday. A jury found Kristian James Samuel White guilty in the trial in Sydney after 20 hours of deliberation. White, who is on...

NHL referee Mitch Dunning is home and expects to make a full recovery, league says

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NHL referee who was stretchered out of a game following a violent collision with Colorado defenseman Josh Manson was back home Tuesday and expected to make a full recovery. The league said that Mitch Dunning was home following a trip to the hospital for...

At least 10 killed in nursing home fire in Spain

New York nursing home operator accused of neglect settles with state for $45M

NEW YORK (AP) — The operators of four nursing homes in New York will pay $45 million to settle claims that they neglected and mistreated residents, including some who were forced to sit in their own urine and feces for hours, state Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday. ...