Woman challenges Miss America, Miss World ban on mothers

NEW YORK (AP) - A New York woman is challenging the longstanding rules of Miss America and Miss World that disqualify mothers from their beauty pageants.

Maligning a culture via its foods is a longtime American habit

NEW YORK (AP) - It’s a practice that’s about as American as apple pie - accusing immigrant and minority communities of engaging in bizarre or disgusting behaviors when it comes to what and how they eat and drink, a kind of shorthand for saying they don’t belong.

Young women increasingly likely to identify as liberal

WASHINGTON (AP) - Young women are more liberal than they have been in decades, according to a Gallup analysis of more than 20 years of polling data.

Book Review: 'Signs, Music'

Becoming a parent is life changing. Raymond Antrobus' third poetry collection, "Signs, Music,” captures this transformation as he conveys his own transition into fatherhood.

This Brazilian dog is a star footvolley player

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Rio de Janeiro's main beaches bustle with commotion on sunny weekends. But activity ground to a near standstill on one stretch of sand. People held up their phones to record athletic feats they'd never before witnessed, or even imagined.

Rare 1787 copy of US Constitution up for auction

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It’s in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it’s just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.

China halts foreign adoptions for its children

BEIJING (AP) - The Chinese government is no longer allowing foreigners to adopt its children, a spokesperson said Thursday.