Anniversary: Gmail is turning 20

Anniversary: Gmail is turning 20

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin loved pulling pranks, so much so they began rolling outlandish ideas every April Fool’s Day not long after starting their company more than a quarter century ago. One year, Google posted a job opening for a Copernicus research center on the moon. Another year, … Read more

French bulldogs remain the most popular US breed in new rankings. Many fans aren’t happy

French bulldogs remain the most popular US breed in new rankings. Many fans aren’t happy

NEW YORK — French bulldogs. U.S. dog owners. C’est l’amour. Frenchies remained the United States’ most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday. The club calls the Frenchie the most popular breed, though other canine constituencies may beg to differ. Is it a coup to be celebrated? Au … Read more

A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumor mill. That’s a tall order

A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumor mill. That’s a tall order

LONDON (AP) — Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported — the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago. The newspaper published a short clip late Monday that appeared to show William … Read more

St. Patrick’s Day: America is getting green and giddy for its major parades

St. Patrick’s Day: America is getting green and giddy for its major parades

NEW YORK (AP) — People across the United States celebrated Irish heritage at several major St. Patrick’s Day parades Saturday, marking the holiday a day early at events that included a big anniversary in Savannah, Georgia, and honored a pioneering female business leader as grand marshal in New York. The holiday commemorates Ireland’s patron saint … Read more

A pioneering bill to slow fast fashion gets approval from France’s lower house. Next stop the Senate

A pioneering bill to slow fast fashion gets approval from France’s lower house. Next stop the Senate

PARIS (AP) — A pioneering bill to curb the rampant pace of fast fashion won unanimous approval in the lower house of the French Parliament, making France one of the first countries worldwide to target the influx of low-cost, mass-produced garments predominantly from China. The fashion industry is among the world’s biggest producers of greenhouse … Read more

For Navajo and Hopi tribes, daylight saving is a time of confusion

For Navajo and Hopi tribes, daylight saving is a time of confusion

TUBA CITY, Ariz. (AP) — Melissa Blackhair is not eager to spring forward Sunday. “I’m dreading it. I just don’t want to see how much we have to adjust,” Blackhair said while sitting in her home office in Tuba City on the Navajo Nation, the only area in Arizona that follows daylight saving time. With … Read more

Kyoto’s geisha district fights back against over-tourism

Kyoto’s geisha district fights back against over-tourism

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, long a popular destination for tourists, is closing off some private-property alleys in its famous geisha district because of complaints about misbehaving visitors. Tourists crowd the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion, often following tour guides who show people around and lecture for long hours, … Read more

Like Banksy, France’s mystery ‘Invader’ marks cities with art. He could surprise the Paris Olympics

Like Banksy, France’s mystery ‘Invader’ marks cities with art. He could surprise the Paris Olympics

PARIS — For the Paris Olympics, it could almost be a new sport: Score points by hunting down mosaics that a mystery artist who calls himself “Invader” has cemented to walls across France’s capital, the world and even had carried aloft to the International Space Station. Vincent Giraud, one of the artist’s Parisian fans, is … Read more

Scandinavian Airlines medevac plane lands in Malaysian island where Norwegian king is hospitalized

Scandinavian Airlines medevac plane lands in Malaysian island where Norwegian king is hospitalized

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) — A Scandinavian Airlines medical evacuation plane arrived on Friday in Malaysia’s northern resort island of Langkawi, where the Norwegian king is in hospital and being treated for an infection. King Harald V, Europe’s oldest monarch at 87, was hospitalized after he fell ill during a vacation, the royal palace in Oslo … Read more

Europe’s oldest monarch remains hospitalized on a Malaysian island after falling ill on vacation

Europe’s oldest monarch remains hospitalized on a Malaysian island after falling ill on vacation

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) — King Harald V of Norway remained hospitalized with an infection on Malaysia’s northern resort island of Langkawi on Wednesday as officials said that his condition was improving. Harald, Europe’s oldest monarch at age 87, became ill while he was on vacation. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, said in Norway that his … Read more