NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no easy way to bridge the political divides that have created rifts in communities, families and friendships. But workplace morale and productivity can take a hit when ideological differences are left to fester, affecting teamwork and feelings of mutual respect. Finding a safe space to process emotions while remaining civil…
NEW YORK (AP) — After weeks of plugging increasingly inviting discounts, retailers in the United States and several other countries are preparing for prime time: Black Friday, the bargain bonanza that still reigns as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season even if it’s lost some luster. Department stores, shopping malls and merchants —…
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Senate Thursday and will soon become a world-first law. The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children…
PARIS (AP) — The bells of Notre Dame are chiming again, but scaffolding still clinging to the cathedral’s exterior is puzzling some Parisians, who question whether its grand post-blaze reopening is more symbolic than substantive. When French President Emmanuel Macron inspects the rebuilding work on Friday, in his final tour of the construction site, he’ll…
Black Friday has become something of an anachronism in the e-commerce era. The day after Thanksgiving marks the official start of the holiday shopping season, but retailers already have spent weeks flooding their websites and customers’ email inboxes with early Black Friday offers. If history is any guide and advertisers are to be believed, the…
NEW YORK (AP) — A century after the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the annual holiday tradition kicks off Thursday in New York City with new Spider-Man and Minnie Mouse balloons, zoo and pasta-themed floats, performances from Jennifer Hudson and Idina Menzel, and more. This year’s star-studded lineup is a far cry from the parade’s…
PEACHAM, Vt. (AP) — The last thing John and Jenny Mackenzie saw as they fled their Vermont home with their daughters, dog and two guinea pigs last summer was their cars upended and propelled away by rushing flood waters. Minutes earlier they had abandoned their 19th-century wood-frame house as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl turned…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — In the remotest reaches of Alaska, there’s no relying on DoorDash to have Thanksgiving dinner — or any dinner — delivered. But some residents living well off the grid nevertheless have turkeys this holiday, thanks to the Alaska Turkey Bomb. For the third straight year, a resident named Esther Keim has…
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Senate was debating a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media Thursday after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction. The bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian…
NORTH WILDWOOD, N.J. (AP) — A decadelong conflict over the condition of a New Jersey resort town’s beaches, involving tens of millions of dollars in litigation and fines, could come to an end soon. Patrick Rosenello, the mayor of North Wildwood, says his town has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental…
