Muskets crack, as Boston marks 250 years since British evacuation

BOSTON (AP) – Reenactors in 18th-century military coats and tricorn hats filled the pews of one of the nation’s oldest Catholic Churches on Tuesday before firing muskets outside and marching through neighborhood streets, marking the 250th anniversary of the day British forces evacuated the city.

A red fox stows away on a cargo ship, traveling from England to the US

NEW YORK (AP) – This stowaway truly was sly as a fox.  A red fox somehow slipped onto a cargo ship that traveled from Southampton, England, to New York, where the animal is now in the Bronx Zoo’s care. The zoo said Wednesday that the 11-pound (5-kilogram) male fox appears healthy after early examinations.

 

Paris Hilton launches recovery fund for women business owners

The pop culture star, advocate and entrepreneur Paris Hilton launched an initiative Monday to support female small-business owners impacted by disasters, a nationwide expansion of her philanthropic support for women entrepreneurs after the 2025 Los Angeles fires.

Punch the orphan macaque is outgrowing his plushie

ICHIKAWA, Japan (AP) – Punch the baby orphan macaque is outgrowing the orangutan plushie that comforted him through early rejection from his mother and other monkeys. Images of Punch dragging around the toy bigger than him drew attention to the residents of a zoo near Tokyo. When other monkeys shooed the baby away, Punch rushed back to the toy orangutan.

Challenging your brain helps keep it healthy. Here's how to do it

WASHINGTON (AP) – “Exercise your brain,” experts advise people hoping to stave off dementia. But how? Stretching your brain might be the better description.Do a crossword puzzle a day and you may just get good at crosswords. Instead, research increasingly shows that a variety of habits and hobbies are like a cognitive workout.

Sleepy owl found resting among items on a New York antique store shelf

DURHAM, N.Y. (AP) – Shoppers in upstate New York earlier this month turned up a rare find while perusing a local antique store this month: tucked next to a cookie jar made in the shape of a chicken was a live owl resting peacefully on a shelf.

With only 3 women left, an Amazon tribe faced extinction

SAO PAULO (AP) – Pugapia and her daughters Aiga and Babawru lived for years as the only surviving members of the Akuntsu, an Indigenous people decimated by a government-backed push to develop parts of the Amazon rainforest. As they advanced in age without a child to carry on the line, many expected the Akuntsu to vanish when the women died.

Galápagos park releases 158 juvenile hybrid tortoises to restore the ecosystem

FLOREANA ISLAND, Ecuador (AP) – Nearly 150 years after the last giant tortoises were removed from Floreana Island in Ecuador’s Galápagos archipelago, the species made a comeback Friday, when dozens of juvenile hybrids were released to begin restoring the island’s depleted ecosystem.

Black fathers embrace resources to support pregnant partners through birth

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Cradling his newborn daughter in his lap in their Indianapolis home, JaKobi Burton’s love for the new lady in his life is evident with each caress. The first-time dad’s commitment started months earlier. Burton attended every medical appointment and took classes with Dads to Doulas.