レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

Officials at the University of Chicago Crime Lab's Policing Leadership Academy brought members of The Second City, Chicago's storied improv theater, to teach police leaders the more diverse skills found in improv exercises—like thinking on your feet, reserving judgment and fully listening. The academy, a workshop taught over five months, tackles some serious topics like how to make data-driven decisions or how to help officers handle on-the-job trauma. The skills might not apply to all policing situations in the field, but being a better listener or learning to take a breath before responding can make for better leaders, according to Tree Branch, a strategic client partner at The Second City Works. The Policing Leadership Academy's creators believe those skills can also help meet their goals to increase community engagement, improve officer morale and ultimately reduce violent crime. Capt. Louis Higginson with the Philadelphia Police Department said the academy provided a much broader training than the two weeks of police job training he got before being promoted to captain a little more than a year ago. “The big thing for me was thinking about the things we allow to happen because they've been that way before us,” he said. “And the ways we can change the culture of our district by changing the thinking around why we do things.” Albuquerque Police Department Commander Ray Del Greco said he's still thinking more about how he communicates weeks after the improv class. “When people talk to you and come to have you help solve their issues, to be able to push your ego out and worry less about your own agenda and listen, that's an understanding of leadership,” Del Greco said. “To me, that was the most valuable class we had.” Academy leaders stressed the learning doesn't stop at graduation. They create communication channels so classmates can continue to support each other, they encourage captains to put on training with their departments, and participants are required to implement a capstone project that lasts well past the last day of class and addresses a real problem in their district or department. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Varsity Spirit is starting a professional cheerleading league that promises to pay athletes, joining the crowded niche sports market that already includes softball, volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball, lacrosse, indoor football and more, clamoring for both fans' attention and their dollars. Pro Cheer League is billed as the first professional cheerleading league for athletes 18 and older, designed to give cheerleaders the chance to keep competing after college. Bill Seely, president of Varsity Spirit, based in Memphis, Tennessee, sees plenty of opportunity for all these sports to succeed. This cheer league's advantage comes from the sport's growth since the 1970s, along with Varsity's own fan base through its cheerleading, dance team camps, events and shows. “That's going to help us really kind of build this out in a way that is sustainable and will continue to grow not just domestically but globally," Seely said. Varsity Spirit has had more than 80,000 people attend its events. The Pro Cheer League will try to tap into that fan base by competing the same night as other events starting in January in Indianapolis, when competition begins. Each match will feature three periods of competition, with two focusing on cheerleading skills, stunts, basket tosses and tumbling in bracket-style rounds. The final period will feature choreography and music. “We hope a media deal, which we're working on right now, will help kind of bridge beyond the existing fan base," Seely said. “And we're trying to build something that entertains families, friends and gives everyone just a great show that they want to come out to." Best for the cheerleaders will be money for their athleticism. Compensation will include pay, money for travel, lodging and uniforms along with bonuses and prizes. Seely noted stunt is on track for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship status for women by spring 2027 after being designated an emerging sport in 2023. The International Olympic Committee recognized cheerleading as a sport in 2021. “We just felt like it was the right next step for the activity and to really kind of magnify it to help inspire young people to participate in it,” Seely said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A high-tech breakthrough could speed up the restoration of centuries-old paintings using a digital mask. Scientists say the method, tested on a 15th-century work, took hours instead of months, and leaves the original untouched. The method, published in Nature on June 11, uses a digitally printed mask to repair damaged images. Researchers tested it on a 15th-century oil painting that had suffered heavy damage. Instead of months of cleaning, analysis and touch-ups, this process took just three and a half hours. It works by digitally reconstructing the missing parts of the painting. That digital image is then printed onto a color-accurate laminate. The printed mask is laid directly over the damaged artwork, restoring the image without altering the original. "This is a multilayer film that is made of very thin polymer membranes that are bound with conservation-grade varnish, and this mask it is a color-accurate printed mask of just the regions that need to be restored in the painting and is otherwise transparent everywhere else," explains Alex Kachkine, a mechanical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who has led the study. The process used more than 57,000 unique colors and covered over 66,000 square millimeters. Crucially, the mask is removable, so no permanent changes are made to the painting itself. The method only works on smooth, varnished surfaces for now. But experts say it could help museums restore more works, especially those lower on the priority list. And it may be a step toward bridging the gap between digital tools and physical restoration. And Kachkine says it will not replace traditional, human conservators. "A conservator needs a huge amount of background knowledge, skill, and resources to preserve the work and ensure it's maintained for future generations. This technique changes none of that," he says. "What it gives conservators is more tools, more precision, and more flexibility. It also enables them to work on more pieces than they were previously able to." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

At VivaTech in Paris, artificial intelligence is taking center stage, reshaping how global brands in fashion and beauty create, sell, and connect. An AI-powered scanner, developed in collaboration with Danish imaging specialists Rigsters and creative agency OKCC, captures detailed visuals that are transformed into highly realistic 3D models. These models are then processed using generative AI, with the aim to automate the creation of digital assets, enabling luxury brands to generate tailored content for online retail, advertising and social media, while remaining true to their brand identity. Louis Vuitton is part of the LVMH group, which stands for Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and is one of the world's largest luxury goods groups. The French multinational owns more than 75 prestigious brands across fashion, jewelry, cosmetics, wines and spirits, including Dior, Bulgari, Fendi, Givenchy and Sephora. At its Bulgari stand, innovation is showcased again, but this time, focused on security and provenance. Displayed behind glass is the Serpenti Baroque necklace: a platinum showpiece set with eight baroque emeralds. A Bulgari smartphone app attempts to scan the necklace, but the protective screen, Bulgari says, gets in the way. Bulgari says the system strengthens the fight against counterfeiting and theft, which is a growing issue in the luxury market. Artificial intelligence is also aiming to support Bulgari staff behind the scenes. The brand has developed an internal AI assistant that helps teams communicate in line with the company's values and heritage. The AI chat tool provides instant access to Bulgari's internal knowledge base—from sustainability commitments to design history. For LVMH, artificial intelligence is a strategic investment aimed at protecting market share and driving performance in a rapidly evolving global luxury landscape. Across the exhibition floor, L'Oréal is taking a different approach, using AI to look beneath the surface of the skin. The company's Spotscan Plus tool uses microfluidic technology and artificial intelligence to analyze protein biomarkers that offer insights into a person's biological age and future skin health. It's a shift from traditional diagnostics, designed to offer consumers more personalized and scientifically grounded skincare routines without the need to see a specialist. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

WhatsApp said that users will start seeing ads in parts of the app, as owner Meta Platforms moves to cultivate a new revenue stream by tapping the billions of people who use the messaging service. Advertisements will be shown only in the app's Updates tab, which is used by as many as 1.5 billion people each day. However, they won't appear where personal chats are located, developers said. "The personal messaging experience on WhatsApp isn't changing, and personal messages, calls and statuses are end-to-end encrypted and cannot be used to show ads," WhatsApp said in a blog post. It's a big change for the company, whose founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, vowed to keep the platform free of ads when they created it in 2009. Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014, and the pair left a few years later. Parent company Meta Platforms Inc. has long been trying to generate revenue from WhatsApp. WhatsApp said ads will be targeted at users based on information like their age, the country or city where they're located, the language they're using, the channels they're following in the app, and how they're interacting with the ads they see. WhatsApp said it won't use personal messages, calls and groups that a user is a member of to target ads to the user. It's one of three advertising features that WhatsApp unveiled as it tries to monetize the app's user base. Channels will also be able to charge users a monthly fee for subscriptions, so they can get exclusive updates. And business owners will be able to pay to promote their channel's visibility to new users. Most of Meta's revenue comes from ads. In 2024, the Menlo Park, California-based company's revenue totaled $164.5 billion, and $160.6 billion of it came from advertising. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A New York man is laying claim to the record for most consecutive hours playing golf—a 35-hour stint on a course on Long Island that began early evening of June 8 and ended early morning of June 10. Kelechi Ezihie initially planned to play 24 hours to set a Guinness World Record, only to learn hours into his effort that a British golfer had played for 32 straight hours on a course in Norway at the end of May. His sister had called him after seeing the 32-hour record while searching the internet, he said. Surprised but determined, he plodded on through rain, fatigue and drenched and aching feet to outlast the Brit, Isaac Rowlands. “I feel proud to be able to say I am a world champion,” he said. “This is an opportunity that not many people have. It's definitely something I will definitely be telling my kids and my grandkids moving forward in the future.” Armed with friends, flashlights and glow-in-the-dark golf balls, the 27-year-old Ezihie teed off at Huntington Crescent Club at about 6:30 p.m. on June 8 and sank his last putt shortly after 5:30 a.m. on June 10—playing the 18 holes seven times for a total of 126 holes, he said. Along the way, friends took video of the entire outing and other people served as witnesses so Guinness could verify the record, he said. He was allowed a five-minute break per hour, under Guinness rules, and ended up taking 20-minute breaks at the end of each round while still following the rules. Ezihie, an assistant manager at an organization that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism, said he wanted to set the record to promote diversity in golf. “People become intimidated when they hear about golf and they think it's for the wealthy,” he said in a phone interview. “I see how much golf has taught me, and I just believe that golf is a game that everybody should be able to get a chance to play and they could definitely learn life lessons from this game.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

It turns out our furry best friend might be our sleep enemy. Lots of pet owners let their animals sleep on the bed with them, which usually disrupts sleep. But many would say it's worth it. And researchers don't necessarily disagree. Melissa Milanak, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina specializing in sleep health, said most people at her clinic say their pets disturb them often at night. "You can't say that hands down, it's bad for every single person, but there is a lot out there saying it negatively impacts your sleep," she said. Generally speaking, having a pet is good for many people's health. Pets have been shown to lower their humans' stress levels, get them to exercise and more. Many pet owners also say they feel an immeasurable amount of comfort by having their pets close as they sleep. But dogs' and cats' natural sleep cycles aren't the same as those of humans. Dogs tend to be light sleepers and wake up multiple times at night. Some display instinctual behavior like scratching at bedding, which can prevent deeper phases of sleep, even if it doesn't wake you up. As many cat owners know, "the zoomies" often happen before they are ready to get out of bed. Cats evolved to hunt in low light, meaning they are particularly active at dusk and dawn. Milanak also said allergens such as pet dander and microbes brought into the house can affect owners' breathing, preventing them from getting enough deep sleep. Brian Chin, a professor of social and health psychology at Trinity College in Connecticut, said his research has found that sleeping with pets was associated with poor sleep, "particularly those dimensions of sleep quality and insomnia symptoms." That's even accounting for the fact that pet owners may be less inclined to report problems in a survey because they don't believe their beloved pets cause problems. Despite many problems, many pet owners feel that the bonding and emotional benefits outweigh the minor sleep disruption. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The head of Japan's meteorological agency dismissed widespread rumors of a major earthquake in Japan this summer as unscientific and a “hoax,” urging people not to worry because even the most advanced science still cannot predict any quake or tsunami. “At the moment, it is still impossible to predict an earthquake with specific timing, location or its magnitude,” Japan Meteorological Agency Director General Ryoichi Nomura told reporters. “Any such prediction is a hoax, and there is absolutely no need to worry about such disinformation.” Nomura was referring to rumors in Hong Kong and other Asian cities that a major earthquake or a tsunami in July in Japan had led to flight cancellations and reductions in service, affecting tourism. He said it was “unfortunate” that many people are affected by the disinformation, though he sympathized with the sense of unease that the people tend to develop toward something invisible. The rumor originates from a 2022 Japanese comic book “The Future I Saw,” which features a dream foreseeing a tsunami and is also available in Chinese. The chatter began spreading earlier this year through social media, mainly in Hong Kong. The author previously gained attention for allegedly predicting the 2011 quake and tsunami in northern Japan. Japan, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is one of the world's most quake-prone countries. Last summer, a panel of seismologists noted a slight increase in the probability of a megaquake on Japan's Pacific coasts. The government organized an awareness-raising week but only triggered panic buying, beach closures and other overreactions and complaints. While it is important to inform people about the science, Nomura said, it is also necessary for everyone in this quake-prone country to take early precautions. “In Japan, an earthquake can occur anytime, anywhere,” Nomura said. “So I ask everyone to take this opportunity to ensure your preparedness for a major quake.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

As the owner of a marina, Kate Gervais is used to seeing boats in the water. But for the last couple of days, she's been seeing them in the air. The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) used one of its firefighting helicopters to haul abandoned boats off an uninhabited island in the southernmost reaches of Puget Sound, where the vessels had come to rest after drifting with the currents, and fly them to the mainland to be deconstructed later. With 14 vessels removed, it was the agency's largest operation of its kind, officials said. "It was a very, very weird sight," said Gervais, who owns Boston Harbor Marina, just north of Olympia. "The sailboat with the mast was the weirdest one to see." A boat removal by helicopter is typically done by a private pilot, but for this operation, which was funded by a federal grant, the DNR opted to use one of its firefighting helicopters. It was cheaper and helped stretch the $1 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant, said Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove. The state agency opts to airlift boats when towing them would disrupt the marine bed or the surrounding environment too much. The aquatic lands where the boats land often include kelp beds, which are critical for supporting the forage fish that salmon rely on. Vessels for this operation were found in hard-to-reach coves, at the tree line or in mud that rendered an airlift a better option, agency staff said. Since the boat removal program began in 2002, the department has hauled out more than 1,200 derelict vessels. There are at least 300 more out there, with more found all the time, Upthegrove said. "It's a real challenge impacting the Puget Sound when people essentially dump their old boats into the water because they don't want to deal with disposing of them," he said. "That burden then falls on all of us." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Inside a bakery at a New Jersey Walmart, Melissa Fernandez assembles and decorates cakes. “The Cupcake Bouquets are number one right now. It's the biggest seller,” said Fernandez. “So it's twelve cupcakes set up to look like a flower bouquet.” Across the country, cake decorators at the nation's largest retailer collectively decorated more than a million cakes during the May and June graduation season. Fernandez promotes her skills on social media. A TikTok of her making the cupcake bouquet has almost half a million views. Fernandez said, “Well, TikTok helps me to stay up to date. A lot of trends that I see on there, within that week or within that month, customers will come asking about it.” The 6,200 Walmart cake decorators in the U.S. are the highest-paid non-managerial hourly workers in a typical Walmart store. There's no sugar-coating the importance Walmart places on this part of its business, which drives sales, excitement and repeat customers. “That's one of the most important things, and that's price point. Walmart has the best price point out of everybody else in the business,” said Michael DeMarco, Walmart coach at the North Bergen store. The company says its custom cake business is currently increasing at double-digit percentages year to date. “What we are seeing is the consumer entering into an era of “dups”—duplications—less expensive versions of the original,” said Marshal Cohen, Circana Chief Retail Advisor. “Walmart offering up decorated cakes that would normally cost hundreds of dollars, offering them up for a fraction of the price. And in many cases, they may be almost as good, or in the consumer's mind, just as good as the original upper-end product.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

From the ruins of war to the pages of Marvel and DC, Croatian artists have built stories as powerful as the ones they illustrate. They have now built a reputation within the popular world of comic books. Few fans are aware that some of these iconic characters originate from a small Balkan nation with a limited comic book market of its own. For years, Croatian illustrators have quietly made their mark at top publishers like Marvel and DC Comics, crafting the visual worlds of heroes known and loved by millions. It's an unlikely success story born not in flashy studios, but amid the upheaval of war and economic uncertainty. Before the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, comics were a staple of youth culture in the region. From that era emerged a generation of Croatian artists who would later earn international acclaim in an industry far from home. “We've always had great talent. But as the market declined significantly in our country, these talented individuals—thanks to their skill and excellence—were forced to seek opportunities abroad. … There's no secret to their success, these are simply top-notch cartoonists,” explains Marko Šunjić, founder of Fibra, a Croatian comic book publisher. Dalibor Talajić, a former clarinet teacher, traded music for illustration and never looked back. Today, his résumé includes titles such as Deadpool, X-Men, Avengers, and The Hulk. “Ever since I was a kid, I was dreaming about superhero comics, about doing superhero comics. Marvel, DC, that was eventual goal. Unless you're a genius, which I'm not, you start small. So, I was firstly published in a couple of small publishers, but I was persistent… And it took me, let's say, 15 years to break the ice, to appear in the foreign market, in the American market. But after that, only two years, it took to get to Marvel,” says Talajić. Being a comic book artist, he says, is a dream come true—a rewarding but extremely demanding job. Behind every issue are weeks or even months of work, sleepless nights, and a constant run with deadlines. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

To attract the brightest minds to America, President Donald Trump proposed a novel idea while campaigning: If elected, he would grant green cards to all foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. "It's so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, from the greatest schools," Trump said during a podcast interview in June 2024. "That is going to end on Day One." That promise never came to pass. Trump's stance on welcoming foreign students has shifted dramatically. International students have found themselves at the center of an escalating campaign to kick them out or keep them from coming, as his administration merges a crackdown on immigration with an effort to reshape higher education. An avalanche of policies from the Trump administration—such as terminating students' ability to study in the U.S., halting all new student visa interviews and moving to block foreign enrollment at Harvard—has triggered lawsuits, countersuits and confusion. Foreign students say they feel targeted on multiple fronts. Trump himself took the latest action against international students, signing a proclamation barring nearly all foreigners from entering the country to attend Harvard. A federal judge temporarily blocked the order the following day. In interviews, students from around the world described how it feels to be an international student today in America. Their accounts highlight pervasive feelings of fear, anxiety and insecurity that have made them more cautious in their daily lives, distracted them from schoolwork and prompted many to cancel trips home because they fear not being allowed to return. For many, the last few months have forced them to rethink their dreams of building a life in America. This spring, the Trump administration abruptly revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of international students before reversing itself. A federal judge has blocked further status terminations, but for many, the damage is done. The Associated Press provided this article.

Amazon has pledged to beef up the fight against fake reviews, Britain's competition regulator said after an investigation into whether big online platforms are doing enough to crack down on phony online ratings for products and services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it secured the “undertakings” from Amazon, after getting a similar agreement earlier this year from Google to clamp down on rogue reviews plaguing the internet. The company promised to strengthen its existing systems for fighting fake reviews. It will also tackle catalog abuse, which involves sellers boosting star ratings for a product by hijacking good reviews from a completely different one. As an example, a shopper might come across a pair of headphones with a five-star rating. But, after looking closer, most of the reviews are for a mobile phone charger, the watchdog said. As part of its commitments, Amazon has agreed to sanction anyone caught using these tactics. Businesses could be banned from selling on the Amazon website, and users posting fake reviews could be banned from posting them, the CMA said. The watchdog's chief executive, Sarah Cardell, said that so many people shop on Amazon and “star ratings and reviews have a huge impact on their choices.” Amazon's pledges “mean people can make decisions with greater confidence—knowing that those who seek to pull the wool over their eyes will be swiftly dealt with.” The pledges apply to Amazon's U.K. website. The company said in a statement that it has zero tolerance for fake reviews and that the measures build on Amazon's existing efforts to tackle them. “We invest significant resources to proactively stop fake reviews ever appearing on our store, including on expert human investigators and machine learning models that analyze thousands of data points to detect risk,” the company said. The CMA opened its investigations into Amazon and Google in 2021 to examine whether the two companies broke U.K. consumer law by failing to protect shoppers. It began looking into phony reviews on some big websites amid the boom in online shopping fueled by the coronavirus pandemic. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) opened June 9 amid rising pressure for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea. The weeklong summit came as just 2.7 percent of the ocean was effectively protected from destructive, extractive activities, according to the ocean advocacy nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That's far below the target agreed upon under the global “30x30” pledge to conserve 30 percent of land and sea by 2030. Atop this year's agenda was a diplomatic race to ratify the High Seas Treaty. Adopted in 2023, the treaty would, for the first time, allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely ungoverned. The ocean is critical in stabilizing Earth's climate and sustaining life. It generates 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs around 30 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and captures more than 90 percent of the excess heat caused by those emissions. Without a healthy ocean, experts warn, climate goals will remain out of reach. The treaty will only come into force once 60 countries ratify it. As of June 8, just 32 countries had done so. Advocates hope UNOC can build enough momentum to cross the threshold, which would allow for the first official Oceans Conference of Parties. South Korea, France and the European Union have championed the treaty, but most large ocean nations have yet to ratify it, including the rest of the G20. Beyond new commitments, the conference cast a spotlight on the growing gap between marine protection declarations and real-world conservation. The conference featured 10 panels on topics such as blue finance, sustainable fisheries and plastic pollution. Deep-sea mining was expected to feature in broader discussions, while small island states were likely to use the platform to advocate for increased climate adaptation funding. The outcome of these discussions was expected to form the basis of the Nice Ocean Action Plan—a declaration of voluntary commitments to be adopted by consensus and presented at the United Nations in New York this July. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Digital price labels, which are rapidly replacing paper shelf tags at US supermarkets, haven't led to demand-based pricing surges, according to a new study that examined five years' worth of prices at one grocery chain. But some shoppers, consumer advocates and lawmakers remain skeptical about the tiny electronic screens, which let stores change prices instantly from a central computer instead of having workers swap out paper labels by hand. Social media is filled with warnings that grocers will use the technology to charge more for ice cream if it's hot outside, hike the price of umbrellas if it's raining or to gather information about customers. Lawmakers have introduced bills to limit the use of digital labels. In Arizona, Democratic state Rep. Cesar Aguilar recently introduced a bill that would ban them altogether. Aguilar said he's determined to start a conversation about digital labels and how stores could abuse them. Researchers say those fears are misplaced. A study published in late May found “virtually no surge pricing” before or after electronic shelf labels were adopted. The study also determined that discounts were slightly more common after digital labels were introduced. Economists have long wondered why grocery prices don't change more often. Here's one reason: Shoppers watch grocery prices closely, and stores don't want to risk angering them. Companies say electronic price labels have tremendous advantages. Walmart says it used to take employees two days to change paper price labels on the 120,000 items it has in a typical store. With digital tags, it takes a few minutes. The labels can also be useful. Some have codes that shoppers can scan to see recipes or nutrition information. Aguilar, the Arizona lawmaker, said he also opposes the transition to digital labels because he thinks they will cost jobs. But Relex Solutions' Amanda Oren said she doesn't think cutting labor costs is the main reason stores deploy digital price tags. “It's about working smarter, not harder, and being able to use that labor in better ways across the store rather than these very mundane, repetitive tasks,” she said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

More than 1,000 people gathered in a scenic Minneapolis neighborhood for an annual ritual—the sharpening of a gigantic No. 2 pencil. The 20-foot-tall (6-meter-tall) pencil was sculpted out of a mammoth oak tree at the home of John and Amy Higgins. The beloved tree was damaged in a storm a few years ago when fierce winds twisted the crown off. Neighbors mourned. A couple even wept. But the Higginses saw it not so much as a loss, but as a chance to give the tree new life. The sharpening ceremony on their front lawn has evolved into a community spectacle that draws hundreds of people to the leafy neighborhood on Lake of the Isles, complete with music and pageantry. Some people dress as pencils or erasers. In the wake of the storm, the Higginses knew they wanted to create a sculpture out of their tree. Given the shape and circumference of the log, they came up with the idea of an oversized pencil standing tall in their yard. “Why a pencil? Everybody uses a pencil,” Amy Higgins said. “Everybody knows a pencil. You see it in school, you see it in people's work, or drawings, everything. So, it's just so accessible to everybody, I think, and can easily mean something, and everyone can make what they want of it.” John Higgins said they wanted the celebration to pull the community together. “We tell a story about the dull tip, and we're gonna get sharp,” he said. “There's a renewal. … And that chance for renewal, that promise, people really seem to buy into and understand.” Like a real pencil, this one is ephemeral. Every year they sharpen it, and it gets a bit shorter. They have taken anywhere from 3 to 10 inches (8 to 25 centimeters) off a year. They haven't decided how much to shave off this year. They are okay knowing that they could reduce it to a stub one day. The artist said they will let time and life dictate its form—that is part of the magic. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A cheap, eco-friendly flooring system is helping to improve health and bring down construction costs in Uganda. The clay-based earthen floors use local earth instead of cement, helping to reduce carbon emissions, and when replacing traditional mud floors, help reduce dust as well as disease-causing pests. The Ugandan company racing to install it is EarthEnable, which specializes in this sustainable, affordable system. The flooring is a better option than more rudimentary materials used by those living in poverty, which tend to attract a lot of dust and pests that can damage health. “In the villages, people use cow dung to maybe take away the dust, but within the shortest time, like in two days, you see that the dust has come. And basically, this floor will help that person come out of the dust,” explains Alex Wanda, a construction officer at EarthEnable. The raw components are easily available, even here in Jinja, which is 130 kilometers from the capital Kampala. All they need to do is dig the murram, which makes up the majority of the flooring and is right there. It's mixed with sand and water and then compacted. Then it's left to dry out for two weeks before more material is applied, and it's topped off with a sealant made from clay and varnish. It is cheaper and responsible for far fewer carbon emissions than cement flooring. “For the cement floor, it is expensive. Why? The client will have to buy cement, will have to buy the gravel, will also have to buy sand and in big quantities, and all that is money, vis-a-vis earthen floor. For us, we need only murram, and you find out that the client doesn't feel like maybe you are oppressing him. It's very easy. He directs you where the murram is, you dig it and bring it to the site, and you start construction,” says Wanda. EarthEnable says their flooring system is also more hygienic—it's easier to keep homes clean and pests out. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Everything from rusty typewriters to vintage cameras can be found at anthropologist Aditya Vij's home in New Delhi. In an age of new technology and innovative products, walking into his home is like stepping into a time machine. Vij is an avid collector of artifacts, and over the decades, the self-proclaimed “history hunter” has gathered thousands of items that span centuries and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectible he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij says, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual's attempts can quietly resist their erasure from people's memory. “I try to write that unrecorded history through my collections, through the products, and through whatever relevance and impacts it has had on the society. Every product, or any of its aspect that has existed, has played a role,” Vij says. Over the years, he has collected a wide variety of items. “Every time around that I lay my hands on a product, that is the first thing that comes to my mind—today I managed to save a piece of history which perhaps was never recorded," says Vij. “That is the thing that keeps me going because I try to keep or try to save a piece of history every time that I step out.” Through the preservation of such items, Vij hopes to educate future generations. “I get in a lot of requests from parents that they want to bring in their kid to showcase them that—come we will show you how we used to type a letter, or come we'll show you how we used to click a picture, or how we used to dial a phone, and kids are shocked,” he says. Vij aspires to create a physical space where youngsters can learn about innovations from the past. “My hope is that I can actually create a proper, bigger-sized museum where I can actually cater to schools,” he says. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Snack food maker Mondelez International is suing the Aldi supermarket chain, alleging the packaging for Aldi's store-brand cookies and crackers "blatantly copies" Mondelez products like Chips Ahoy, Wheat Thins and Oreos. In a federal lawsuit filed in Illinois, Chicago-based Mondelez said Aldi's packaging was "likely to deceive and confuse customers" and threatened to irreparably harm Mondelez and its brands. The company is seeking monetary damages and a court order that would stop Aldi from selling products that infringe on its trademarks. Aldi didn't respond to messages seeking comment. The U.S. branch of Aldi, which is based in Batavia, Illinois, was named in the lawsuit. In the lawsuit, Mondelez displayed side-by-side photos of multiple products. Aldi's Thin Wheat crackers, for example, come in a gold box very similar to Mondelez's Wheat Thins. Aldi's chocolate sandwich cookies and Oreos both have blue packaging. The supermarket's Golden Round crackers and Mondelez's Ritz crackers are packaged in red boxes. Aldi, which was founded in Germany, keeps prices low by primarily selling products under its own labels. It's one of the fastest-growing grocery chains in the U.S., with more than 2,500 stores in 39 states. The company announced that its current chief operating officer, Atty McGrath, would become Aldi's U.S. CEO on September 1. The chain has faced lawsuits over its packaging before. Last year, an Australian court found that Aldi infringed on the copyright of Baby Bellies snack puffs for young children. In that case, Aldi's packaging featured a cartoon owl and similar colors to the name-brand packaging. Earlier this year, a U.K. appeals court ruled in favor of Thatchers, a cider company, which sued Aldi over design similarities in the packaging of its lemon cider. Mondelez said in its lawsuit that the company had contacted Aldi on numerous occasions about "confusingly similar packaging." Mondelez said Aldi discontinued or changed the packaging on some items but continued to sell others. The lawsuit also alleges that Aldi infringed on Mondelez's trade dress rights for the packaging of Nutter Butter and Nilla Wafers cookies, and its Premium cracker brand. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

If more tennis players find themselves breathing easier, it might just be thanks to Carlos Alcaraz. The four-time Grand Slam champion has often worn a nasal strip in matches since last season and the sport's other athletes took note. After all, if Alcaraz finds something useful on the court, their thinking goes, maybe it makes sense to give the adhesive bands a shot. Once associated with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, the bands, which essentially look like a Band-Aid worn across the bridge of the nose, are popping up on tennis courts—sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of curiosity. They are designed to open the nostrils slightly, making it easier to breathe through the nose. Originally marketed to reduce snoring, they're being embraced to enhance air intake during physical exertion. The idea is simple: Better breathing could mean better oxygen intake. In practice, the science is less convincing. In 2021, Brazilian academic Ricardo Dinardi reviewed more than 600 studies on nasal strips and found they didn't make a real difference in how much air athletes took in, their heart rate or how strenuous exercise felt. “The effect on athletic performance is mostly placebo,” Dinardi said. “But in elite sports, even perceived benefits can count.” For other players, like Nicolás Jarry, the strips are more than a trend—they're a necessity. After nasal surgery in 2020, the Chilean still needed help to draw air into his nose, so he puts them on for every practice and every match he plays. Jarry definitely has noticed a recent spike in interest among players. He said that even though he's worn the strips for years, including at this French Open, other competitors on tour never asked about them—until Alcaraz started wearing one last year, sometimes in black, sometimes in pink. There are those, like 2024 US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula, who are tempted to try. “I have a horrible deviated septum. I can't really breathe out of one side of my nose,” said Pegula. “Maybe I should start wearing one.” She admits, though, that the aesthetic aspect might be a deal-breaker. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

In Japan's spiritual heartland, tradition meets craftsmanship in miniature form. Artisans in Ise are preserving centuries-old shrine-making by handcrafting sacred replicas for modern homes. At the family-run factory Miyachu, the craftsmen produce Ise no Shinden—miniature shrines that faithfully replicate the main sanctuary of Ise Jingu, known for its unique construction technique called Yuiitsu Shinmei-zukuri. Its simple architectural design is said to have originated from ancient raised-floor granaries. The wooden structure is built with Hinoki cypress trees without using any nails, employing a traditional joinery method. Another distinguishing feature is a thatched roof made of Susuki grass, which craftsmen at Miyachu carefully hand-prune using a pair of shears. Miniature shrines are often made to be used as kamidana—small altars enshrining Shinto deities that are commonly found inside Japanese homes or shops. Typically hung high on a wall, the altar often consists of various religious objects and offerings together with a small-scale shrine and is used as part of daily worship. The making of miniature Ise shrines dates back to the Edo period (1600–1868), when Ise Jingu was a major pilgrimage destination. “Many people came to Ise to worship and to receive sacred talismans or ofuda. Naturally, this created a need for kamidana—household altars to enshrine the ofuda. That's when the kamidana we make today began to spread across the country,” explained Yosuke Kawanishi, the third-generation head of his family business Miyachu. But like many other traditional crafts, Miyachu faces the challenge of a possible drop in demand as traditional customs fade. To survive, the company is trying to appeal to younger generations by producing a new line of kamidana shrines with a modern twist. Their latest designs are minimalist but retain the key features of Ise Shrine, such as a thatched roof. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A three-year exercise program improved survival in colon cancer patients and kept the disease at bay, a first-of-its-kind international experiment showed. With the benefits rivaling some drugs, experts said cancer centers and insurance plans should consider making exercise coaching a new standard of care for colon cancer survivors. Until then, patients can increase their physical activity after treatment, knowing they are doing their part to prevent cancer from coming back. “It's an extremely exciting study,” said Dr. Jeffrey Meyerhardt of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who wasn't involved in the research. It's the first randomized controlled trial to show a reduction in cancer recurrences and improved survival linked to exercise, Meyerhardt said. Prior evidence was based on comparing active people with sedentary people, a type of study that can't prove cause and effect. The new study—conducted in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States—compared people who were randomly selected for an exercise program with those who instead received an educational booklet. “This is about as high a quality of evidence as you can get,” said Dr. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). “I love this study because it's something I've been promoting but with less strong evidence for a long time.” The findings were featured at ASCO's annual meeting in Chicago and published by the New England Journal of Medicine. Academic research groups in Canada, Australia and the U.K. funded the work. Researchers followed 889 patients with treatable colon cancer who had completed chemotherapy. Half were given information promoting fitness and nutrition. The others worked with a coach, meeting every two weeks for a year, then monthly for the next two years. Coaches helped participants find ways to increase their physical activity. After eight years, the people in the structured exercise program not only became more active than those in the control group but also had 28% fewer cancers and 37% fewer deaths from any cause. There were more muscle strains and other similar problems in the exercise group. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A jury convicted a woman who sneaked onto a flight from New York to Paris without a boarding pass by slipping past security and airline gate agents at John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport last year. The short trial of Svetlana Dali concluded with a guilty finding on a stowaway charge by jurors in federal court in Brooklyn. Jury selection and opening statements were both held on May 20, and Dali took the stand on May 21. The judge did not immediately set a sentencing date. Dali faces up to six months in prison, according to her sentencing guidelines. To date, she has been in custody for more than six months. Dali's lawyer, Michael Schneider, declined to comment to The Associated Press following the verdict. Surveillance video shows Dali, a 57-year-old Russian citizen with U.S. residency, glomming onto a group of ticketed passengers as they pass two Delta Air Lines staffers who were checking tickets and didn't appear to notice Dali. She then strolls with the group onto an air bridge to a plane bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. In court, Dali said she walked onto the plane without being asked for a boarding pass, though she acknowledged she did not have one. Prosecutors said Dali had initially been turned away from a security checkpoint at JFK by a Transportation Security Administration official after she was unable to show a boarding pass. But she was able to join a special security lane for airline employees and, masked by a large Air Europa flight crew, made it to an area where she was screened and patted down. Then she went to the Delta gate. On the plane, prosecutors said she hid in a bathroom for several hours and wasn't discovered by Delta crew members until the plane was nearing Paris. Dali told the court she went in there because she was feeling sick. Crew members notified French authorities, who detained her before she entered customs at the Paris airport, according to court documents. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The City of Greater Geelong is converting the municipality's green waste into compost, which is then used to grow produce at the botanical gardens. This produce is donated to a local social supermarket to help feed those in need. Every month, Hamdieh Mohmmadi buys food from this Geelong social supermarket by exchanging vouchers for groceries. “We save money for electricity, fuel and gas and home and kids,” explains Mohmmadi. Each year, across 57 of Victoria's 79 councils, around 750,000 tons of organic material are collected from green bins. By turning green waste into compost locally, the City of Greater Geelong is leading the way. “The waste that we're creating, rather than going into landfill, is actually creating nutrients, going into food supply, and going back to the residents that we have that are most in need in Geelong,” explains Emma Sinclair of the City of Greater Geelong. First, it's manually sorted to remove any contaminants. Next, it's ground into smaller pieces before a machine is used to mix and irrigate the material. It's then piled up to mature, after which it's broken down further and bagged. “Landfill space is really expensive. We also don't want to send organic matter to landfill because it generates methane,” explains Andrew Lucas of the City of Greater Geelong. The Geelong Botanic Gardens is provided with about 2,000 tons of material. “Those garden beds that have it in it have performed a lot better than the ones that don't,” says horticulturist Liam Kelly. Approximately four crates of produce are donated to Geelong Foodshare every two weeks. Geelong is one of the Victorian councils that received funding from Sustainability Victoria to boost the use of compost made from green waste within the community. The goal is to expand this initiative to other local government areas to help feed those in need. “The more we can invest in turning those resources back into new products, like composts and like mulch, the better value we get out of those,” concludes Matt Genever of Sustainability Victoria. The state government's goal is to divert 80% of waste from landfills by 2030. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The beauty of the Scottish islands in the UK is world-renowned. The unspoiled nature of the islands is what draws many tourists here, but for some locals on Shetland, the sheer weight of visitors is beginning to take a toll. It's putting pressure on local services such as transport and leaving residents unable to access other amenities. Many are fully aware of the financial benefits the visitors from the cruise ships bring, but it's a double-edged sword. The ships are a constant presence, and residents believe a balance needs to be struck. The Scottish government says it's considering giving local councils the powers to impose a levy on cruise ships after a consultation with the industry and other stakeholders, to maintain local infrastructure. A quick poll of people near the port of Lerwick, the main town for the Shetland Islands, shows there is support for a levy. Although the ships arriving here vary in size, some anchored in Lerwick Harbour carry 3,000 passengers, that's almost half the town's population. Local businesses say the tourists have disadvantages as well as financial benefits. Ross Manson, No88 Kitchen and Bar owner, says local customers are often deterred from coming to his restaurant because they think they won't be able to get in because of visitors from the cruise ships. He says, “... a lot of people don't come into town on cruise boat days. So if you don't have cruise booked passengers eating in the restaurant, then you're absolutely dead.” Other businesses say they're able to expand and offer services off-season because of dependable cash brought in by tourists from the cruise ships. Captain Calum Grains, the Chief Executive of the Lerwick Port Authority, says there is concern that a levy will deter ships from stopping at the island. Grains believes a levy might also convince operators to reduce the number of Scottish island ports they stop at. He also says if the cruise ships pass on the cost to passengers, they might be put off visiting altogether, impacting the industry as a whole. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

From arm stretches to gentle Pilates, a group of pensioners in Croatia are keeping active well into their later years. At the heart of it all is 95-year-old fitness trainer Djurdja Vukovic—still leading the way, and showing no signs of slowing down. Twice a week, she guides elderly women through a mix of light aerobics, stretching and Pilates—movements she's honed herself over more than five decades. A former pharmaceutical engineer, Vukovic's passion for movement began in 1964. She says she has made friendships that have endured beyond the gym. “For me, I found a haven here. … Because it's not just about physical exercise, it's just as much about talking to people and mingling. There are invitations to go to the theater, there are book recommendations for this author or that one. … Outside of very close friends, you can't share your problems with anyone else, like you can here. So, it works as an emotional outlet, which helped me a great deal in my private life,” she says. For Vukovic, these sessions are more than fitness. They're a lifeline, weaving together community, healing, and resilience. “This is also great because it allows people to stare at TV screens much less, and spend less time with this disastrous daily news, which actually makes you ask yourself what's living about. But life is merely a blink of an eye. We get born, we live through some period, one way or another—and then you disappear from the world, like you were never here in the first place.” The classes are small, but the impact is large. For many here, it's a space to care for their bodies, and their spirits. Bozica Birin, a class attendee, says, “I decided to do this because of health problems, that was my number one reason. But also, spending time together is also important. After our training, we like to go have coffee, hang out together, we sometimes go on day trips together. So, this kind of continues outside of the gym, and it allows us to have an active lifestyle.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

No Mow May encourages homeowners to stash the lawn mower each spring and let flowers and grass grow for pollinators and water retention. And if your neighbor's lawn already looks like a wildflower field most of the time, it could be more intentional than passersby might assume. The movement has expanded to “Let It Bloom June” and the fall version: “Leave the leaves.” Conservation and horticulture groups say year-round low-mowing while selectively leaving native plants to grow can save huge amounts of drinking water and lead to lasting and impactful ecological changes. The movement is popularized by groups such as Plantlife, a conservation organization based in England. American lawns, based on English and French traditions, are increasingly seen as a wasteful monoculture that encourages an overuse of pesticides, fertilizer and water. Outdoor spraying and irrigation account for over 30% of a U.S. household's total water consumption, and can be twice that in drier climates, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The No Mow effort does encourage people to think more about biodiversity in their yards, and many local nature organizations provide guidance on picking noninvasive plants that fit each region's climate and precipitation levels. Reducing mowing encourages longer-rooted native grasses and flowers to grow, which breaks up compacted soil and improves drainage, “meaning that when it rains, more water is going to be captured and stored in lawns versus being generated as a runoff and entering into our stormwater system,” said Jason Sprouls, urban waters program manager for the Cumberland River Compact. Nashville homeowner Brandon Griffith said he was just tired of mowing when he decided years ago to wait and see what comes up. Then he consciously added flowering plants to attract bees and bugs. Now he sees so many insects and pollinators all over his garden that the neighbors' kids come over to look for butterflies. He said he's never heard a complaint—in fact, some of his neighbors also stopped mowing for a month each spring. “I just enjoy coming out and walking around,” said Griffith. “And looking at it, it's kind of peaceful. It's kinda relaxing.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Two border collies named Hercules and Ned have quite the spacious office at West Virginia's busiest airport. The border collies and their handler make daily patrols along the mile-long airfield to ensure birds and other wildlife stay away from planes and keep passengers and crew safe. Hercules is also the chief ambassador, soaking in affection from passengers inside the terminal while calming some nervously waiting to board a flight at West Virginia International Yeager Airport. Chris Keyser, the dogs' handler and the airport's wildlife specialist, said preventing a bird from hitting a plane "can make a difference for someone's life." Collisions between wildlife and planes are common at airports nationwide. With that in mind, Yeager management in 2018 bought Hercules at the recommendation of a wildlife biologist. Hercules spent the first 18 months of his life training to herd geese and sheep around his birthplace at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Flyaway Geese, which teaches border collies to help businesses address nuisance wildlife problems. When Hercules stepped onto Charleston's airfield for the first time, "I held my breath," Flyaway Geese owner Rebecca Gibson said. "But boy, he took hold of the reins. It was his place." "He's done an amazing job and has just been a great dog for them. We're very proud of him." Now 8, Hercules has some help. Ned was 2 when he was welcomed into the fold last year from another kennel where he trained to herd goats and geese. Ned has shadowed Hercules, following commands from Keyser and learning safety issues such as not venturing onto the runway. About 19,000 strikes involving planes and wildlife occurred at U.S. airports in 2023, of which 95% involved birds, according to a Federal Aviation Administration database. From 1988 to 2023, wildlife collisions in the U.S. killed 76 people and destroyed 126 aircraft. At the Charleston airport, wildlife-plane incidents vary each year from a few to a couple of dozen. "Anytime a plane hits a bird, it has to be inspected, and it causes a delay in the flight," Keyser said. "And sometimes you don't make your connecting flights. So, that's how important it is to keep everything going smooth." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Mayor Eduardo Paes issued a decree in mid-May establishing new rules for the city's waterfront, saying he wants to preserve urban order, public safety and the environment, as well as promote peaceful relations between tourists and residents. The new measures came into force on June 1, and they outlaw food and drink sales, chair rentals, loudspeakers and even live music in kiosks without official permits. Also, beach huts are only allowed to have a number rather than the often-creative names many are currently known by. Some have welcomed the move to tackle what they perceive as chaotic activity on the beach, but others say the decree threatens Rio's dynamic beach culture and the livelihoods of many musicians and local vendors who may find it difficult or impossible to get permits. The move to regulate music on Rio's beachfronts has particularly struck a nerve. “It's difficult to imagine Rio de Janeiro without bossa nova, without samba on the beach,” said Julio Trindade, who works as a DJ in the kiosks. The restrictions on music amount to “silencing the soul of the waterfront. It compromises the spirit of a democratic, musical, vibrant, and authentic Rio,” Orla Rio, a concessionaire who manages more than 300 kiosks, said in a statement. Some are seeking ways to stop the implementation of the decree or at least modify it to allow live music without a permit. But so far, to little avail. Local councilwoman Dani Balbi lashed out against the bill on social media. “What's the point of holding big events with international artists and neglecting the people who create culture every day in the city?” she said on Instagram, in reference to the huge concerts by Lady Gaga in May and Madonna last year. For Rebecca Thompson, 53, who hails from Wales and was again visiting Rio after a five-week trip last year, the frenzy is part of the charm. “There's vibrancy, there's energy. For me, there's always been a strong sense of community and acceptance. I think it would be very sad if that were to go,” she said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Naqi Rizvi loves the “absolute freedom” he feels on the tennis court. The 34-year-old blind tennis champion is on a mission to not only raise awareness but also elevate the sport into the Paralympics. The London resident, fully blind from the age of 7 because of congenital glaucoma, only took up the sport a decade ago and is now the No. 1-ranked men's player in the world for his category. Also an avid runner, Rizvi has completed two marathons, and although jogging with a guide is great, tennis offers more. "On a tennis court, I have absolute freedom because I know where the boundaries are. No one needs to tell me which way to turn. I don't need to have a cane or anything of this sort," he told The Associated Press during a practice session at the National Tennis Center in southwest London. The rules are basically the same as mainstream tennis, just with smaller dimensions and a slightly lower net. Tactile lines are taped onto the court so players like Rizvi can feel the boundaries. Depending on the level of visual impairment, you are allowed up to three bounces of the ball. The foam ball contains a bell so players can audibly track it. Rizvi didn't even know that tennis was an option until he visited Metro Blind Sport in London a decade ago. He was hooked right away. "I can almost assure you that if you did a survey of blind and partially sighted people," he said, "the majority of them wouldn't have any idea because it's not televised, it's not in any other mainstream events, so how are people supposed to find out?" Rizvi noted that there's not much financial backing in the sport. There's no prize money at tournaments, and players often fund their own travel. "Unless you obviously have the visibility and the money behind it, it's really hard," he said. "Governing bodies need to take a more active role and try and give parity to all forms of disability tennis, not just the ones that have made it big, like wheelchair tennis, for example." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Bees are an essential part of our food chain, with more than three-quarters of global crops depending on pollinators. A new report for World Bee Day has highlighted emerging threats that mean the insects could struggle to survive. Without them, most of our crops would not grow. But the humble bee has been on the decline for decades. Pesticides and climate change have taken much of the blame for that downward trend. "If the decline in pollinators continues, we are going to see significant food insecurity, because the amount, the quality and the quantity of yield will reduce. But also, pollination plays a huge role in the nutritious value. So, micronutrients in the food are dependent on having good pollination. So not only will we have a reduction in the food quantity that we eat, the quality will also be seriously affected," says the report's co-author, Deepa Senapathi, who is head of the Department of Sustainable Land Management at the University of Reading. Experts identified the top 12 new threats facing bees. Some relate to pollution—artificial light at night has reduced flower visits by nocturnal pollinators by 62 percent. Antibiotic pollution in hives could be affecting bee behavior, such as reducing how often they forage for flowers. Pesticides, air pollution and microplastics also made the list. "We talk about how pollution is a big issue, right? But what we may not really focus on is the actual specifics of what type of pollution. So, for example, diesel and exhaust fumes, for instance, when they pollute the air, they can also disrupt pollinator plant interactions. So, the bees may not be able to kind of identify their best foraging resources. If there's heavy metal pollution in the water or the soil, that may impact behavior of bees. It may even impact their reproductive success survival," says Senapathi. Other problems facing bees are more frequent and fierce wildfires destroying habitats, which can't recover quickly enough afterwards. The report titled Emerging Threats and Opportunities for Conservation of Global Pollinators was commissioned by Bee:wild, a global campaign to save pollinators. World Bee Day is May 20. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Charlie Chaplin, Miss Piggy, grand opera spectacles and circus clowns—countless Showtime-inspired sand sculptures are emerging from the sand at the Hundested Sand Sculpture Festival in northeast Denmark. Launched in 2012 as a creative way to put the small seaside town of 8,000 on the tourist map, the Hundested Sand Sculpture Festival is now in its fourteenth year. Organizer Christian Warrer says, with so much going on in the world that is “not to laugh about,” they chose to explore a “funny” theme like Showtime. The sculptors have just days to complete their sandy masterpieces, but the festival runs till late October, so durability is key. The annual event, which opened to visitors on May 23, attracts every year an array of top international sand sculptors, from Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Latvia, the UK, the United States and more. Sixteen international artists are attending this year, most crafting two sculptures over the course of a fortnight. Italian sand sculptor Michela Ciappini, from Bologna, is finishing this graceful figure of an elderly woman mid-dance. “I imagine that now the very important person is the old generation who represent their entire life and actually our roots. So, I give them the dance and the freedom and the attention,” explains Ciappini. Elsewhere, British sand sculptor Nicola Wood is finishing this Picasso-esque strongman-themed sand sculpture. “I've just taken all the elements of a strong man, a woman, and pieced them all back together in a Picasso style, using his iconic parts,” she explains. “The weights, the strong arm, the bit of leopard print, some circus stripes, some circus lettering.” Wood says sand sculpting has evolved a lot over the past 20 years. “People are really testing the limits of sand. They're testing its capabilities. The texture, the strength of it. People are really taking it somewhere,” she adds. “People are pushing those boundaries and using sand to tell different stories and to make political messages. That's something that has definitely increased and evolved.” Over 60,000 visitors are expected to gaze on these daring creations over the festival's six-month run. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Spain has ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 holiday listings on its platform for having violated rules, the Consumer Rights Ministry said. The ministry said that many of the 65,935 Airbnb listings it had ordered to be withdrawn did not include their license number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company. Others listed numbers that didn't match what the authorities had, it said. Spain is grappling with a housing affordability crisis that has spurred government action against short-term rental companies. In recent months, tens of thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets protesting rising housing and rental costs, which many say have been driven up by holiday rentals on platforms like Airbnb that have proliferated in cities like Madrid and Barcelona and many other popular tourist destinations. "Enough already with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing," Consumer Minister Pablo Bustinduy told reporters. Airbnb said that it would appeal the decision. Through a spokesperson, the company said it did not think the ministry was authorized to rule on short-term rentals—and that it had utilized "an indiscriminate methodology" to include Airbnb rentals that do not need a license to operate. Last year, Barcelona announced a plan to close down all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028 to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents. The ministry said it had notified Airbnb of the non-compliant listings months ago, but that the company had appealed the move in court. Spain's government said Madrid's high court had backed the order sent to Airbnb. Bustinduy said it involved the immediate removal of 5,800 rental listings from the site. Two subsequent orders would be issued until the nearly 66,000 removals are reached, he said. Spain's government said the first round of affected properties was located across the country, including in the capital, Madrid, as well as in the regions of Andalusia and Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Midway while sailing across the Pacific with just his cat named Phoenix, Oliver Widger reflected on why he thinks his many followers—more than a million on TikTok and Instagram—are drawn to his story of quitting his 9-to-5 job and embarking on a journey from Oregon to Hawaii. “The world kind of sucks and, like, I don't think I'm alone in how I felt with my work,” Widger, 29, told The Associated Press via Zoom. “You can be making $150,000 a year and you still feel like you're just making ends meet … And I think people are just tired of that and working really hard for nothing and want a way out." People are inspired by someone who found a way out, said Widger, who is among a growing number of people who have undertaken such voyages in recent years. Being diagnosed four years ago with a syndrome that carried a risk of paralysis made him realize he hated his job as a manager at a tire company. He heard about people who sailed from California to Hawaii and decided that was the life for him. He abruptly quit his job with “no money, no plan” and $10,000 of debt. He liquidated his retirement savings, taught himself to sail mostly via YouTube and moved from Portland to the Oregon coast, where he spent months refitting the $50,000 boat he bought. Now, Widger is harnessing the power of social media to fund his round-the-world sailing dream. Since he set sail in April, followers have been tuning into his “Sailing with Phoenix” social media posts to view videos of him and his feline first mate battling the waves and bouts of seasickness, enjoying dazzling sunsets, recounting tricky boat repairs or just reflecting on life at sea. He credits it all to his neck issue, which “shook up my world and it changed my perspective on everything.” He also hopes he can be an inspiration for anyone who's in a rut. “Everything I've done I thought was impossible,” Widger said. “Sailing around the world is such a ridiculous dream. Whatever your dream is, just go, just do it.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

After a wildfire decimated a California high school's newsroom, destroying its cameras, computers and archived newspapers spanning six decades, one of the first offers of help that its journalism adviser, Lisa Nehus Saxon, received came from the other side of the country. Claire Smith, founding executive director of Temple University's sports media center, had known Lisa Nehus Saxon since they helped carve out a place for women journalists in Major League Baseball more than 40 years ago. They'd supported each other through the days of being barred from locker rooms, and now, with much of Palisades Charter High School damaged, Smith wanted to be there for her friend again. "I just thought, 'What can we do? How can we help with healing?'" Smith said. Smith traveled from Philadelphia to deliver the result of that offer: a university paper featuring the high school students' articles. Across nearly a dozen pages, the insert showcased articles on price gouging in the rental market after the wildfire and the school returning to in-person lessons, along with poignant firsthand accounts of losing everything to the fire. There were also poems and hand-drawn pictures by students from Pasadena Rosebud Academy, a transitional kindergarten through eighth-grade school in Altadena, California, that was destroyed in the fire. Wildfires in January ravaged the Los Angeles area, wiping out nearly 17,000 structures, including homes, schools, businesses and places of worship. The Palisades high school, made up of about 3,000 students in Los Angeles, saw about 40% of its campus damaged and had to move temporarily into an old Sears building. Nehus Saxon estimated that around a quarter of its newspaper staff members lost their homes, with some forced to move out of the community and switch schools. This project, she and Smith said, was a way to give students a project to focus on after the tragedy while also providing them a place to tell a larger audience the experience of their community. Smith said she thought the project would be healing for the students, "but also give them something that they could hold in their hands and, when they grow up, show their children and grandchildren." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Thai officials said they seized 238 tons of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States at the port of Bangkok, one of the biggest lots they've found this year. The waste, which came in 10 large containers, was declared as mixed metal scrap but turned out to be circuit boards mixed in a huge pile of metal scrap, said Theeraj Athanavanich, director-general of the Customs Department. It was found in a random inspection. A U.N. report last year said electronic waste is piling up worldwide. Some 62 million tons of electronic waste were generated in 2022 and that figure is on track to reach 82 million tons by 2030, the report said. It said only 22% of the waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022 and that quantity is expected to fall to 20% by the end of the decade due to higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, and inadequate management infrastructure. Theeraj said Thai authorities are looking to press charges, including falsely declaring imported goods, illegally importing electronic waste and planning to return the waste to its country of origin. “It's important that we take action on this kind of goods,” he said. “There are environmental impacts that are dangerous to the people, especially communities around factories that might import these things for processing, then recycling.” Electronic waste creates huge health hazards. Many components are laden with lead and mercury, cadmium and other toxins. Recyclers are after gold, silver, palladium and copper, mainly from printed circuit boards, but lax controls mean that facilities often burn plastics to release encased copper and use unsafe methods to extract precious metals. Thailand passed a ban on the import of a range of electronic waste products in 2020. The Cabinet in February approved an expanded list of the banned waste. Sunthron Kewsawang, deputy director-general of the Department of Industrial Works, said officials suspected at least two factories in Samut Sakhon province, which borders Bangkok, are involved in importing the waste. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans, long known as food stamps. The move, announced by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152,000 people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries. "There's absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks," Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement. "SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there's nothing nutritious about the junk we're removing with today's waiver." Six other states—Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia—have also submitted requests for waivers banning certain foods and drinks or, in some cases, expanding access to hot foods for participants, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The push to ban sugary drinks, candy and more from the SNAP program has been a key focus of Rollins and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Rollins called the move "a historic step to Make America Healthy again." Details of Nebraska's waiver, which takes effect January 1, weren't immediately available. Anti-hunger advocates criticized it, saying it adds costs, boosts administrative burdens and increases stigma for people already facing food insecurity. The waiver "ignores decades of evidence showing that incentive-based approaches—not punitive restrictions—are the most effective, dignified path to improving nutrition and reducing hunger," said Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group. SNAP is a roughly $100 billion program that serves about 42 million Americans and is run by the USDA and administered through states. The program is authorized by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which says SNAP benefits can be used "for any food or food product intended for human consumption," except alcohol, tobacco and hot foods, including those prepared for immediate consumption. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Potters from around the world showed off their latest creations at Ceramic Art London, the largest high-end ceramics show in the UK. Returning to the capital for its 21st year, more than 6,000 people were expected to visit to see some of the best ceramic creations on sale. Everywhere you look are beautiful ceramic creations, from functional vases, sculptural pieces, and abstract forms. One of the most striking artists to display this year was Lucy Baxendale, whose interactive display of fantastical monsters impressed the visitors. This friendly-looking ceramic tree monster has a surprise—if you dare to stick your hand inside its mouth (don't worry, he doesn't bite!). By tickling the tonsils at the back of the monster's throat, another head prints out a poetic and inspirational receipt for visitors to consider. Baxendale, originally from Durham in the northeast of England, explains, "Yeah. If you put your hand into the monster's mouth, it will print you out something that you can take away. And my hope is that that kind of spreads out into the world and maybe inspires something else." All of the riddle-like receipts were written by Baxendale, and she collaborated with her father (an electrical engineer) to produce her piece. "What would a broken vase dream about? Sketch the cracked pieces and reassemble them into something new," said one receipt. A show visitor from Peru was blown away by the tree monster and said it was, "Super fun. I think this is amazing. Because behind the complicated work and the kind of like graffiti, tattoo kind of work, you find something very soft." Ceramic Art London is organized each year by the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain and continues to grow in size and importance. It ran from May 9 to 11 at London's Olympia. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

With its warm temperatures and intricate history, the Moroccan capital Rabat is seeing growth in its luxury tourism sector, with five new luxury hotel projects under construction. One hotel boss says they're seeing an increase in guests from Asia, particularly Taiwan. Once the former palace of Sultan Moulay Slimane during the 18th century, then a military hospital from 1912, this grand property is now the Four Seasons Hotel Rabat. Spanning two hectares, the hotel boasts an architectural design that reflects Moroccan heritage. The hotel's buildings preserve design elements dating back to the sultan's era, such as carefully carved wooden ceilings. “The goal is to attract the largest number of international tourists,” says Noureddine Sridi, a regional tourism delegate in Rabat. The hotel has 200 rooms and suites. Some lucky guests may even get to sleep where a sultan once slept. “We are very proud of the history of the place … the team is all aware of what it used to be and share the history of the place with all the guests checking in,” says general manager Gregory Viaud. Some 23 kilometres from Rabat, in Harhoura, the Conrad Rabat Arzana Hotel overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. General manager Jean Yong Pittion says they're seeing an increase in guests from Asia, particularly Taiwan. "In particular, Taiwan, for example, there's a tour operator and they show a great interest to Morocco, looking for a new destination, something new that a lot of people are actually looking at now." And regional tourism delegate Noureddine Sridi says guests don't just visit Rabat for the luxury, they're looking for a slice of rich history too. “The goal is to discover Rabat through its history, as it offers them a range of historical monuments, such as the Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Chellah site, the Oudayas, and the old city,” he says. Morocco, whose beaches, exotic cities and pristine mountains are popular among Europeans, relies on tourism for about seven percent of its GDP. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

With Utah's first-in-the-nation ban on fluoride in public drinking water having taken effect May 7, dentists who treat children and low-income patients said they're bracing for an influx of tooth decay among the state's most vulnerable. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed the law against the recommendation of many dentists and national health organizations who warned removing fluoride would harm tooth development, especially in young patients without regular access to dental care. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. applauded Utah for being the first state to enact a ban and said he plans to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending fluoridation nationwide. As of May 7, communities across the state were no longer able to decide whether to add a low dose of the cavity-preventing mineral to their water supply. Before the ban became law, a majority of Utah water systems did not add fluoride. The state in 2022 ranked 44th in the nation for the percentage of residents who received fluoridated water, with about two in five receiving it, according to CDC data. The law impacts about 1.6 million Utah residents who live in Davis and Salt Lake counties, and Brigham City, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. In communities like Salt Lake City—the largest city removing fluoride from its water supply—dentists over the past weeks said many patients were unaware of the fast-approaching ban, and most did not realize the city had been adding fluoride to their drinking water for nearly two decades. Fluoride fortifies teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the CDC. It's especially important for children whose teeth are still developing. For some low-income families, public drinking water containing fluoride may be their only source of preventative dental care. At Salt Lake Donated Dental Services, providers expect their monthslong waitlist for children's procedures requiring sedation to grow and their need for volunteer dentists to skyrocket. The effects of the ban on children's teeth will likely be visible within the next year, said Sasha Harvey, the clinic's executive director. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

House Republicans want to set aside up to $5 billion a year for scholarships to help families send their children to private and religious schools, an unprecedented effort to use public money to pay for private education. The proposal, part of a budget reconciliation bill released in May, would advance President Donald Trump's agenda of establishing “universal school choice” by providing families nationwide the option to give their children an education different from the one offered in their local public school. Nearly all households would qualify except those making more than three times the local median income. Supporters of private school vouchers say they want to give families assigned to low-performing schools more choices. “Giving parents the ability to choose the best education for their child makes the (American Dream) possible,” said Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who sponsored a similar proposal in the Senate. The program would be funded by donors who could contribute money or stock. In turn, they would receive 100% of the contribution back in the form of a discount on their tax bills. It would allow stockholders to avoid paying taxes that would be levied if they donated or transferred the stock. Critics decried the proposal, saying it would aid the wealthy at the expense of the public school systems that serve the overwhelming majority of students. They said it would set up a tax shelter allowing savvy investors to make money under the guise of a donation. All of this comes as the Trump administration downsizes the Education Department and cuts resources to public schools, including $1 billion in mental health grants and funding for teacher training. “This is a significant threat,” said Sasha Pudelski of AASA, the School Superintendents Association. She added that states that have voucher programs often end up assisting families that were already paying for private school. “It's opening the door even wider to what has already plagued voucher programs around the country, which is rampant waste, fraud, and abuse.” Public school advocates worry the programs hurt enrollment and per-pupil funding, ultimately leaving fewer resources for families that choose public schools. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum described as "unfair" the decision by the Trump administration to suspend imports of Mexican beef cattle for 15 days due to the detection of screwworm in shipments. Sheinbaum, who has spent the past few months scrambling to offset tariff threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, said she hoped the suspension would not result in another economic blow for her country. "We do not agree with this measure," she said at her press conference. "The Mexican government has been working on all fronts from the very first moment we were alerted to the screwworm." The U.S. restricted Mexican cattle shipments in late November following the detection of the pest, but lifted the ban in February after protocols were put in place to evaluate the animals prior to entry into the country. But there has been an "unacceptable northward advancement" of the screwworm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement. "The last time this devastating pest invaded the U.S., it took our livestock industry 30 years to recover," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on the X social media platform. "This can never happen again." The screwworm is a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly that can invade the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans. The parasite enters the skin, causing serious and life-threatening damage and lesions. Mexico's Health Ministry issued an epidemiological warning this month after the first human case of screwworm myiasis, or parasitic infestation, was confirmed on April 17 in a 77-year-old woman living in the southern state of Chiapas. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

As a Biden administration ban on so-called “junk fees” took effect in May, Ticketmaster said it would start displaying the full price of a ticket as soon as consumers begin shopping. Ticketmaster, long a subject of complaints about hidden fees and other issues, was among those targeted by the new rule, which was announced in December by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The rule requires ticket sellers, hotels, vacation rental platforms and others to disclose processing fees, cleaning fees and other charges up front. Ticketmaster said it agreed with the FTC's action. “Ticketmaster has long advocated for all-in pricing to become the nationwide standard so fans can easily compare prices across all ticketing sites,” Ticketmaster Chief Operating Officer Michael Wichser said in a statement. Ticketmaster said it will also tell customers where they are in line when they log in to buy tickets to an event. It will also give real-time updates to customers whose wait times exceed 30 minutes, letting them know ticket price ranges, availability and whether new event dates have been added. Ticketmaster, which is owned by Beverly Hills, California-based concert promoter Live Nation, is the world's largest ticket seller, processing 500 million tickets each year in more than 30 countries. Around 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the U.S. are sold through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster said the changes would bring North America in line with the rest of the world, where full ticket prices are typically displayed as soon as customers start shopping. SeatGeek, a platform for buying and selling original and resale tickets, said it also updated its features to make “all-in pricing the default” setting. “Fans deserve pricing that's clear from the start,” said SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger. “We're proud to roll this out across our platform and encouraged to see the industry move in this direction.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Liam and Olivia dominate. Still. The two names have, for a sixth year together, topped the list of names for babies born in the U.S. in 2024. The Social Security Administration annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in each state, with names dating back to 1880. In time for Mother's Day, the agency released the most popular names from applications for Social Security cards. Liam has reigned for eight years in a row for boys, while Olivia has topped the girls' list for six. Also, for the sixth consecutive year, Emma took the second slot for girls, and Noah for boys. The girls' name Luna slipped out of the Top 10 and was replaced by Sofia, which enters at number 10 for the first time. After Liam, the most common names for boys are, in order: Noah, Oliver, Theodore, James, Henry, Mateo, Elijah, Lucas and William. After Olivia, the most common names for girls are Emma, Amelia, Charlotte, Mia, Sophia, Isabella, Evelyn, Ava and Sofia. Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of Nameberry, a baby naming website, said the latest data showcases how American parents are increasingly choosing names that have cross-cultural appeal. Kihm's first name shows up in two variations on the annual list. "A trend we're tracking is that Americans are more likely to choose heritage choices," Kihm said, including names that work "no matter where you are in the world." "More families in the U.S. come from mixed cultural backgrounds, and I hear parents commonly request that they want their child to travel and have a relatively easy-to-understand name." The Social Security Administration's latest data show that 3.61 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2024. That's a slight increase from 2023's 3.59 million babies, representing an overall increase in the American birthrate. Social media stars and popular television shows are having some impact on the rising popularity of certain names, Social Security says. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Alcatraz Landing is where tourists take a boat to visit Alcatraz Island, which was once a notorious federal prison that housed infamous criminals like Al Capone. Today, it is a national park and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the San Francisco Bay. “As I'm here today, looking around it seems like this is a great tourist attraction and it's making a lot of money for San Francisco in the Bay Area and I'd hate to see that go away if... if there was a different option that might have been better than reopening this prison instead of closing it as a national park,” said Nick Pernell, who decided to go visit Alcatraz before it could be closed off to tourists. However, President Donald Trump wants to, again, turn it into a federal prison to house the nation's most violent criminals. Alcatraz Prison closed in 1963 because it was falling apart, and it was too expensive to transfer prisoners there and to bring in supplies by boat. President Trump has offered few details about the plan, which is likely to be costly and face local opposition. “I think it's a waste of money, way too expensive, hopefully it's just all talk and not serious. Infrastructure, it'd be too hard to get potable water, infrastructure, sewer there, employees there to build it. It just wouldn't be effective of use of the taxpayer's money,” Randy Doolittle, who was visiting San Francisco from Portland, Oregon, said. “I like tough on criminals, but I don't like wasting money on stupid ideas. Which is, I think, it would be a stupid idea to build out in the desert and be a little cheaper than building an island that people wanna use as tourist items.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Ethics Bowl may look superficially similar to debate—with two teams discussing a controversial or difficult topic—but they are actually very different. “So, Ethics Bowl more broadly describes an activity for students of varying ages to come together and approach these really challenging topics, ethical dilemmas,” says Leo Kirby, director of the National High School Ethics Bowl program, housed at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill. “And the goal is to help them learn how to talk about those challenging topics deliberately, collaboratively, reach consensus.” In Ethics Bowl, teams are not assigned a specific position on an issue that they have to defend, regardless of their beliefs. Instead, team members are given a set of cases to discuss and make their own decisions about what they believe to be the true or best position. Teams can, and often do, come to similar conclusions. It is OK for them to agree. Scoring is based on how deeply they explore the issues, including other viewpoints. One of this year's cases: “If it were possible to erase painful or distressing memories, would it be ethical to do so?” The high school program at UNC started in 2012. “We're trying to steer away from the type of crushing victory over your opponent that something like debate might encourage,” says Kirby, who discovered ethics bowl as a UNC undergraduate. “We absolutely do not reward putting down the other team.” Dr. Jenny Lyman watched her older daughter compete in debate and thinks ethics bowl is a kinder, gentler pursuit. “It's not about beating somebody … I think the judges care about how you present, how you respond, how you react to their questions, and I think all of that matters, which I like,” she says in between rounds at the UNC student union recently. “You know, politeness and civility and open discussion instead of just me convincing you I'm right and you're wrong. And I think we need a little bit more of that in the world these days. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Shares of Deliveroo, the food delivery service based in London, are hitting three-year highs after it received a $3.6 billion proposed takeover offer from DoorDash. Deliveroo announced the bid after markets closed in Europe. The company also said that it was suspending a $133.5 million share buyback it had announced last March. Deliveroo said that its board has informed DoorDash that if a firm offer is made at the financial terms provided, it will recommend the bid to its shareholders. Deliveroo added that its board has decided to engage in talks with DoorDash about the possible offer and has given the company access to due diligence. Deliveroo said DoorDash was expected to decide by May 23 whether it planned to make a firm buyout offer or not. The proposed deal comes a few months after technology investment company Prosus agreed to buy food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com for 4.1 billion euros ($4.29 billion). Acquiring Just Eat Takeaway.com will boost Prosus's food delivery portfolio in Europe, a move that DoorDash is also looking to make. DoorDash currently runs its business in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Deliveroo, which was founded in 2013, operates in ten markets worldwide, including the U.K., Italy and France. The company reported its first annual profit last year. In January 2024, Delivery Hero sold its minority stake in Deliveroo after holding it for less than three years. The two companies worked together earlier this year, with Delivery Hero buying some of Deliveroo's Hong Kong assets after the company decided to exit that market. Ronald Josey of Citi Investment Research can see a few reasons why DoorDash is interested in Deliveroo. "While we continue to believe that DoorDash is more focused on organic expansion, Deliveroo meets several of DoorDash's merger and acquisition criteria, including expanding geographies and total addressable market, whereby it would take DoorDash time to do organically while delivering long-term free cash flow," he wrote. Shares of Deliveroo jumped more than 17% on the London Stock Exchange. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Rebel groups in Colombia are using apps like Facebook and TikTok to recruit children and young adults, and social media companies must do more to moderate content, the United Nations says. The U.N.'s top human rights official in Colombia, Scott Campbell, in an interview with The Associated Press, said more investment is needed in both automated tools and human moderators to take down videos posted by gangs and rebel groups that are targeting youth from marginalized communities. Colombian rebel groups such as the FARC-EMC are increasingly posting videos that glamorize life in their ranks and urge youth to enlist. Campbell, who previously served as a human rights and technology specialist at the U.N.'s Geneva office, said he recently met with representatives from Meta, which owns Facebook, to discuss how rebel groups and gangs can be stopped from using the company's platforms to recruit young people. He said the company pledged to work on the problem, and added that he is also seeking a meeting with TikTok representatives. The recruitment of children has become a major problem in rural areas of Colombia that are disputed by the military, drug gangs and rebel groups. According to Colombia's Human Rights Ombudsman, 409 children under 18 were recruited into rebel groups in the South American nation last year, twice as many as in 2023. Anyi Zapata, a human rights specialist with ACIN, an Indigenous association in Cauca, said rebel groups there have long targeted vulnerable children, offering them money to do small favors and gifts like cellphones. Now they are posting videos on social media that show members with motorcycles, SUVs and adventurous lifestyles. One TikTok account recently featured a video of a man on a motorcycle wearing camouflage, with the caption: “Join me and you will know friendship without hypocrisy.” The images often show logos of rebel groups. Campbell said that even when accounts are taken down, they can be replaced by others. “It's difficult to get the balance right between freedom of expression and legitimate speech, while pulling down content that is clearly illegal and can cause harm,” Campbell said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A climber airlifted with altitude sickness from near the peak of Japan's Mount Fuji returned to the slope and was rescued for a second time just four days later, authorities said. Officials urged people to be aware of the harsh conditions at the country's tallest peak during its off-season. The climber was identified only as a 27-year-old Chinese student living in Japan. He made an emergency call on April 22 and was airlifted after developing symptoms of altitude sickness, police said, adding that his climbing irons were also damaged. On April 26, he returned to the mountain's Fujinomiya trail about 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level to look for his cell phone and other belongings left behind, Shizuoka prefectural police said. Another climber found him there, unable to move after he apparently developed altitude sickness for a second time, police said. The mountain's hiking trails are officially open only from July to early September, but there is no penalty for hiking off-season. There is also no charge or penalty when a climber needs to be rescued, but the Chinese student's case prompted an uproar on social media and generated calls for him to be charged, at least for his second rescue. The Shizuoka police urged all climbers to use caution, noting that the mountain has low temperatures and is covered in snow even in spring. The 3,776-meter-high (12,388-foot-high) mountain was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2013. A symbol of Japan, the mountain called "Fujisan" used to be a place of pilgrimage and is increasingly popular among hikers today. To control overcrowding and risks from rushed overnight climbing through rocky slopes to see the sunrise, local authorities last year introduced an entry fee and a cap on the number of entrants on the most popular trail and will introduce similar rules on other main trails this year. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Dr. Google is often on call for worried patients, but it may not give the best advice. Doctors say internet searches for medical information should be done cautiously, especially with artificial intelligence playing a growing role. Information from the right websites can teach patients about symptoms and prepare them for a doctor's visit. But a poorly done search might inflame anxiety well before someone reaches the waiting room. It's important to know the source of the information you find and to avoid trying to diagnose your health issue. “We've gotten so used to clicking on that first link,” says John Grohol, a psychologist who specializes in online behavior. “For your health information, especially when it is personal, you want to think about it.” Some companies pay to have their websites listed at the top of a results page. Those links may be listed as sponsored. Scroll for results that come from a source you can trust for medical information. That can include big health systems like the Mayo Clinic or sites run by government agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More people are using artificial intelligence to get quick answers pulled from a variety of internet sources. Some searches will also generate an AI summary at the top of the results page. But an AI answer may not say where it got the information. That makes it hard to judge credibility. Doctors say patients should search for information based on symptoms, not an expected diagnosis. Focusing on a diagnosis means you may miss other explanations, especially if you just click the first few links listed in the results. For some issues, you should skip the search altogether. If you are having chest pains, experiencing dizziness or showing signs of a stroke, seek help immediately. “You don't want to delay something that should be treated within a certain amount of time,” said Dr. Olivier Gherardi, medical director of Brown University Health Urgent Care. Some testing and a visit with a doctor who knows your medical history may be the best medicine in these situations. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Amazon's first batch of internet satellites rocketed into orbit, the latest entry in the mega-constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX's thousands of Starlinks. The United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar system beyond Neptune. Once released in orbit, the satellites will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers). Two test satellites were launched in 2023, also by an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version. The latest satellites are also coated with a mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight in an attempt to accommodate astronomers. Stargazers oppose the fast-growing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations. Others fear more satellite collisions. Founded by Jeff Bezos, who now runs his own rocket company, Blue Origin, Amazon aims to put more than 3,200 of these satellites into orbit to provide fast, affordable broadband service around the globe. Elon Musk's SpaceX has already launched more than 8,000 Starlinks since 2019. The company marked its 250th Starlink launch on the night of April 27. More than 7,000 Starlinks are still in orbit, some 300-plus miles (550 kilometers) above Earth. The European-based OneWeb satellite constellation numbers in the hundreds in an even higher orbit. Amazon has already purchased dozens of rocket launches from United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin for Project Kuiper, as well as others. "There are some things you can only learn in flight," despite extensive testing on the ground, said Rajeev Badyal, the project's vice president. "No matter how the mission unfolds, this is just the start of our journey," he said in a statement ahead of the evening liftoff. This article was provided by The Associated Press.