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In Mexico, piñatas are not just child’s play. They’re a 400-year-old tradition

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

ACOLMAN, Mexico (AP) — María de Lourdes Ortiz Zacarías swiftly cuts hundreds of strips of newsprint and colored crepe paper needed to make a piñata, soothed by Norteño music on the radio while measuring pieces by feel.“The measurement is already in my fingers,” Ortiz Zacarías says with a laugh.She has been doing this since she was a child, in the family-run business alongside her late mother, who learned the craft from her father. Piñatas haven’t been displaced by more modern customs, and her family has been making a living off them into its fourth generation.Ortiz Zacarías calls it “my legacy, handed down by my parents and grandparents.”Business is steady all year, mainly with birthday parties, but it really picks up around Christmas. That’s because piñatas are interwoven with Christian traditions in Mexico.There are countless designs these days, based on everything from Disney characters to political figures. But the most traditional style of piñata is a sphere with seven spiky co...

Post-flight feast: Study suggests reindeer vision evolved to spot favorite food

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer may have millions of carrots set out for him on Christmas Eve, but what about the rest of the year?Finding food in a cold, barren landscape is challenging, but researchers from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland report that reindeer eyes may have evolved to allow them to easily spot their preferred meal. It’s further evidence that while reindeer are famous for pulling Santa’s sleigh, it’s their vision that really sets them apart, says Nathaniel Dominy, a Dartmouth anthropology professor and co-author of a recent study published in the journal i-Perception.“They’ve been sort of obscure and unheralded in the annals of visual neuroscience, but they’re having their moment because they have a really fascinating visual system,” he said in an interview.Scientists have known for years that mirror-like tissue in reindeer eyes changes color from a greenish gold in the summer to vivid blue i...

Isaiah Stevens breaks career scoring record for No. 16 CSU Rams in win over Loyola Marymount

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Isaiah Stevens scored 19 points to break the career scoring record for No. 16 Colorado State, which remained perfect away from home with a 76-67 victory over Loyola Marymount on Friday night.Nique Clifford led Colorado State with 23 points, going 9 of 10 from the floor. Patrick Cartier added 14 points for the Rams (11-1), who won their second consecutive game since their only loss — a home defeat against Saint Mary’s on Dec. 9 — and improved to 5-0 in away and neutral-site games.Stevens broke the record previously held by Pat Durham (1985-89) and now has 1,986 points in five seasons with the Rams. He also went 8 of 13 from the floor to break Durham’s school record for field goals.With seven assists, Stevens also surpassed 700. As a team, Colorado State had 21 assists on 30 baskets.Will Johnston scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half for Loyola Marymount (7-6), which dropped to 1-1 to begin a stretch of six consecutive home games.Keli Leaupepe scored 13 poi...

Behind Curry’s 30, Warriors beat Wizards comfortably in Jordan Poole’s return

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — For as sour a note Jordan Poole left Golden State, his return to Chase Center was every bit the warm reunion prior to the Warriors’ blowout 129-118 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.The Warriors have won four in a row and are back to .500 with a 14-14 record.No only was there some mystery around how Warriors fans would react to Poole’s return, but questions about how Poole would act in his first time back around the organization that shipped him off in his prime for 38-year-old Chris Paul. A lot of the tension was lifted with Draymond Green, who punched him last year, serving an indefinite suspension and not in the building.Everything Poole has not answered about the controversial end to his Warriors career showed in the way he interacted with all his other former teammates and coaches. He came to the court hours early, throwing a few shots up as he patrolled the sidelines to greet his former teammates he won a championship with. He ga...

Web portal allows people to search for towed cars in Oakland

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

(BCN) -- A newly available online portal helps people to find out if their vehicles were towed in Oakland. City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said she discovered that the city was already supposed to have such a portal while looking into existing problems with Oakland's beleaguered 911 dispatch system.Instead of an online system, the tow company's website directed people to call the Oakland Police Department when making inquiries about their vehicles, which took dispatchers' attention away from handling actual emergency calls. Person stabbed outside of Oakand City Hall "We are committed to taking action to improve the 911 dispatch, including by funding staff and equipment and reducing other calls so they can focus on urgent needs," Kaplan said in a news release.Kaplan said she worked with OPD and the Oakland Department of Transportation to make the portal available. The portal can be found at www.oaklandautoplustowing.com/copy-of-vehicle-towed.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Stephen Curry outduels former teammate Jordan Poole to help Warriors beat Wizards, 129-118

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry made a season-high eight 3 points and had 30 points and seven assists, outdueling Jordan Poole in the Washington guard’s return to Chase Center, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Wizards 129-118 on Friday night.Poole, traded to the nation’s capital on draft day for Chris Paul, made the first basket of the game following a video tribute with highlights on the big screen and finished with 25 points on 7-for-21 shooting but just 3 of 12 on 3s.Curry and Poole shared a hug before the game, when Poole made the rounds of embraces, hellos and greetings with former teammates, Warriors security, staff members and other friends.Poole hit the first basket of the game on an 18-foot jumper then missed his next five attempts before a driving layup at the 9:39 mark of the second quarter. He went 0 of 5 from from deep before connecting.Curry also overcame a slow start.The two-time MVP began 1 for 6 but had five assists in the opening quarter. He wa...

Domantas Sabonis has triple-double, Kings beat struggling Suns 120-105

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his fourth triple-double of the season and the Sacramento Kings beat the short-handed Phoenix Suns 120-105 on Friday night.Sacramento has won six of eight to improve to 17-10. Kevin Durant scored 28 points for Phoenix. The Suns have lost four of five to fall to 14-14. The Kings made their first 11 shots in the third quarter, with De’Aaron Fox capping the streak by breaking the Sacramento-era assists record assists (2,581) on Harrison Barnes’ shot. Fox finished with 23 points and seven assists.Devin Booker had 24 points and seven assists for the Suns. Durant, Booker and coach Frank Vogel were all issued technical fouls in the first half. Suns guard Bradley Beal (ankle), forward Josh Okogie (hip strain) and center Jusuf Nurkic (personal reasons) were all missing from the lineup. Beal has appeared in only six games this season because of injury after being dealt from the Washington Wizards in...

McCullar scores 34 as No. 2 Kansas gets past Yale after trailing at halftime

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kevin McCullar Jr. scored a career-high 34 points, taking over during a second-half run that gave Kansas the lead, and the No. 2 Jayhawks eventually pulled away from Yale for a 75-60 victory Friday night.Nicolas Timberlake came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and score 13 points for the Jayhawks (11-1), who trailed by as many as 11 in the first half and by a point at the break.Yale (7-6) shut down Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, kept the Jayhawks from getting into transition and held its own on the glass. It also got 13 points apiece from guards August Mahoney and Bez Mbeng, who kept the Bulldogs in the game.NO. 6 MARQUETTE 81, GEORGETOWN 51MILWAUKEE (AP) — David Joplin scored 20 points and Marquette beat cold-shooting Georgetown, bouncing back from a loss in its Big East opener.Marquette (10-3, 1-1) won its 18th straight home game, returning to form three nights after a 72-57 loss at Providence. The Golden Eagles have won 19 consecutive Big East home co...

Juraj Slafkovsky scores as Montreal Canadiens rally past Chicago Blackhawks 5-2

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and David Savard each had a goal and an assist, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Friday night.Mitchell Stephens and Josh Anderson also scored for Montreal, which trailed 2-0 early in the second period. Cayden Primeau made 19 saves.With their second win over the Blackhawks this season, the Canadiens roll into the NHL’s Christmas break with points in five straight games (3-0-2).“We weren’t happy with our start for sure,” said Suzuki, who scored his team-leading 10th goal. “We know that style that we play and that we can come back in games just with our relentlessness and hunting on the forecheck.“Turn a lot of pucks over, got a lot of chances and (Stephens) got us started with a big tip.”Montreal coach Martin St. Louis credited his players’ direct, physical style with allowing them to take charge.“We just got back to playing our game so to speak,” St. Louis said. “I thought we had some big plays, som...

AP PHOTOS: Estonia, one of the first countries to introduce Christmas trees, celebrates the holiday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:40:23 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Christmas trees started appearing in Central Europe and the Baltic States, including Estonia, as early as the Middle Ages and have now become traditional across much of the world.Dec. 22 is the shortest day of the year and in Estonia, as in many parts of the world, trees covered with lights brighten up homes and town squares during the Winter Solstice and Christmas festivities afterward.In order to grow a 2.5-meter (8-foot) Christmas tree, Arvo Palumäe, co-owner of a Christmas tree farm he started 14 years ago, waits 8 years before carefully selecting it, shaping it during the summer months and cutting it for delivery. But while some Estonians buy trees directly from him, they are also able to cut their own.The State Forest Management Centre provides Estonians with a map of forests showing locations of trees they can cut down themselves. They advise people to avoid trees near power lines and encourage Estonians to plant spruces in the forests to make sure the...