MINNEAPOLIS -- Dressed in “Team Lisa” T-shirts, two friends posing as savvy business-minded “Sharks” ran through a tight presentation of why any potential investor in the audience would be smart to date their friend.

“When you invest in Lisa you invest in your own future,” they said, as part of their “Shark Tank”-themed ...Read more

The constant pop pop pop of the plastic ball was simply too much to take.

Kimberly Edwards, who lives near the tennis-turned-pickleball courts at Forest Hill Park in Carmel-by-the-Sea, could hear the resonant sound everywhere she turned — outside in her garden, even through her bedroom window.

“It is very annoying,” she told the City ...Read more

CHICAGO -- William McNiff has been a vocal critic of the recent immigration crackdown in Chicago on his TikTok profile. So when he heard about the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which provides gifts for children and families in need, he wondered if he could do something similar for children of immigrant families affected by Operation ...Read more

It’s easy to feel like you don’t recognize your own country when cruelty and chaos ooze daily from the White House, leaving a murky film over so much of what we cherish.

It’s easy to feel like the hard-won progress toward making this place a more welcoming, more inclusive, more equitable home is being rapidly, gleefully rolled back.

It�...Read more

In the middle of summer, Georgia can heat it up with the best of them. So when you are a little pink petunia and get a Plant of Distinction Award, that is saying something. Such is the case with Supertunia Mini Vista Pink Cloud petunia.

This rings true for all of the Supertunia Mini Vista petunia varieties. But Pink Cloud is new, making its ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — For Angel Romero, every detail of her car is a reflection of her history. The shining purple paint job accents sleek gleaming chrome that flashes bright in the light of golden hour. Pinstripes adorn the hood and the roof of the car — which hovers mere inches from the road, floating on white-wall tires — and the trunk is ...Read more

Once you spot the telltale signs of writing generated by artificial intelligence, you can’t unsee them.

They appear in the chipper press releases that crash my inbox, opening with “I hope this note finds you well!” The perfectly crafted text from your friend who typically has awful grammar. The barrage of self-promoting LinkedIn ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m 28 and have been seeing a guy around my age for a few months. We clicked fast in conversation — texting every day and even saying good night, sharing long voice notes, that kind of early-stage excitement — but because of work and conflicting schedules, we’ve only managed a handful of actual dates.

Last week was my ...Read more

Today, let’s look at two different questions from two different clients. As always, if one person asks, I can only assume it is applicable to a larger audience.

And, interestingly enough, you’ll see that these questions are applicable to any gender and any age.

Q: I wanted to have a conversation with (him) about his more long-term goals ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Inside a dim New Orleans-style bar in Hollywood, dozens of strangers mingle under the thump of pop music while nursing complimentary cocktails. Each person is sporting a name tag along with a personality sticker, or a few, that best captures their vibe. Neat freak. Plant parent. Night owl. Craft beer aficionado.

The scene reads ...Read more

There are days I feel like the last surviving gatekeeper to tradition. My mission is to keep the holidays from crashing into one another.

In my rich fantasy world, Labor Day is followed by Halloween, Halloween is followed by Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving is followed by Christmas. Never do they meet, mix or mingle. Welcome to dreamland.

The ...Read more

Q. My daughter comes home from her dad’s house telling me that her father lets her stay up until 10 o’clock at night and doesn’t cook dinner. She’s 6. She needs her sleep and nourishing food. I get so worked up; I don’t want her to go. And I don’t know exactly what to say to her when she tells me these things. What’s good ex-...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I can’t believe I am doing this, but I am actually writing to you to ask about dealing with my boyfriend’s behavior. I have been with him for 10 months and our relationship is not the best, and not the worst, but I really don’t like the way he treats my 9-year-old son. Some background: My son was a real handful in the ...Read more

CHICAGO — Claudia von Thrift — which is not her real name, but we’ll get to that — wants to make something clear. She is not one of those don’t-buy-anything-this-Christmas people. She is not looking to take an activist stance against conspicuous consumption. “I am as bougie as they come,” she said, reaching into her utensil drawer ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A wheel cranks on the machine at the Independence Visitor Center, slowing with every turn until: CLINK! A reward drops out the bottom waiting to be collected.

It’s a familiar, elongated penny. In its new form, Honest Abe’s head is swapped for an illustration of Rocky — naturally.

Philadelphia — along with other cities ...Read more

I may not be the chief cook in my house (that would be my wife, Sue, without whom I would have starved to death long ago), but I am the chief bottle washer.

And I don’t wash only bottles. I also clean glasses, mugs, cups, saucers, bowls, plates, pots, pans, tongs, whisks, spatulas, ladles, forks, knives, spoons and, most important, ice cream ...Read more

How did Skims grow to become worth more than Victoria’s Secret and Under Armour combined? A good portion of Skims devotees look past Kim Kardashian, the reality-TV megastar and face of the brand, for an answer.

Instead, those customers say it’s the product itself that has them on board. Given the label’s success, it’s hard to write it ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Under the harsh overheard lights of a small theater stage, the comedian commandeered the microphone and unfurled a short set laced with jokes about poop anxiety and penis size.

"My preschool had these communal restrooms — just five toilets lined up ... no barriers, no doors. It was like a Roman bathhouse," the performer said, ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’m a 29-year-old guy and I’ve been with my girlfriend for about a year and a half. We’ve always had what I thought was a solid, committed relationship. We live separately but spend most nights together, talk about future plans, the whole thing. I trusted her completely. Last week, while she was showing me something on her ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- I spent part of Halloween hanging out in a cemetery.

I wasn’t there to commune with the dead. Instead, I was getting reacquainted with the dying art of driving a stick shift car.

In Roselawn Cemetery in Roseville, Minnesota, I met a stranger who agreed to let me drive around the quiet tombstone-lined roads in his personal ...Read more