MEXICO CITY (AP) — Legend has it the axolotl was not always an amphibian. Long before it became Mexico’s most beloved salamander and efforts to prevent its extinction flourished, it was a sneaky god. “It’s an interesting little animal,” said Yanet Cruz, head of the Chinampaxóchitl Museum in Mexico City. Its exhibitions focus on axolotl…

NEW YORK (AP) — While traveling in Europe, Margaux Lantelme noticed something different about the store cashiers: they did their work sitting down. It was a stark contrast to Chicago, where Lantelme works the register at REI and cashiers typically spend eight hours a day on their feet. For Lantelme, a former kayaking instructor, prolonged…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will celebrate Black History Month at the White House on Thursday, preserving a tradition at the same time that President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the federal government’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs has disrupted its observance elsewhere. The ceremony comes as Trump has called DEI programs “discrimination” and…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joyce Yip, a 39-year-old entrepreneur in southern China’s Guangzhou, has a new celebrity crush: Melania Trump. The two-time first lady has become an online celebrity in China, especially among women. That may be surprising, given her husband’s hostility toward China, but social media posts reflect an admiration for her independence, her taste…

Until a few weeks ago, the biggest news to come out of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was its annual celebration of notable American artists. That has changed since the return of Donald Trump. In the first month of his second term, the president has ousted the arts institution’s leadership, filled the board of…