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LONDON (AP) — The Princess of Wales has a suggestion for parents: Please put down the phone.Kate, as she is commonly known, collaborated with adult development researcher Robert Waldinger to warn that technology is contributing to an epidemic of disconnection that is hurting family relationships. Devices that promise to keep us connected often do the opposite, they say in an essay posted on the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood website.“We sit together in the same room while our minds are scattered across dozens of apps, notifications, and feeds,’’ the authors wrote. “We’re physically present but mentally absent, unable to…

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Amid the constant blare of car horns in southern Mexico City, it’s hard to imagine that Cuicuilco was once the heart of a thriving ancient civilization. Yet atop its circular pyramid, now surrounded by buildings and a shopping center, a pre-Hispanic fire god was revered.“This is incredible,” said Evangelina Báez, who spent a recent morning at Cuicuilco with her daughters. “In the midst of so much urbanization, there’s still this haven of peace.”Her visit was part of a monthly tour program crafted by the National Institute of Anthropology and History, known by its Spanish initials as…

LONDON (AP) — iPhone users have a new tool to combat the scourge of nuisance phone calls: a virtual gatekeeper that can screen incoming calls from unknown numbers. It’s among the bevy of new features that Apple rolled out with last month’s release of iOS 26. The screening feature has been getting attention because of the ever-increasing amount of robocalls and spam calls that leave many phone users feeling harassed. Here’s a run-through of the new function: How to activate call screening First, you’ll need to update your iPhone’s operating system to iOS 26, which is available to the iPhone…

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — Century-old wreaths made from human hair fill the walls of Leila’s Hair Museum, and glass cases overflow with necklaces and watch bands woven from the locks of the dead. There also are tresses purported to come from past presidents, Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe and even Jesus. For about 30 years, this hair art collection in the Kansas City suburb of Independence attracted an eclectic group of gawkers that included the likes of heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne. But the museum’s namesake, Leila Cohoon, died last November at the age of 92. Now her granddaughter, Lindsay Evans,…

Gautam Adani.Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of India’s Richest 2025. See the full list here. India’s hopes of being on friendly terms with Trump 2.0 were dashed when the U.S. slapped 50% tariffs on the country. To soften the blow, the Indian government announced sweeping reductions in the goods and services tax in September to boost consumption by making a range of items, including cars, cheaper. But a weaker rupee and a 3% decline in the benchmark Sensex since we last measured fortunes resulted in a 9% erosion in combined wealth to $1…

More car buyers are finding themselves in a tough spot financially. According to a recent report from Edmunds, more than 26% of new-vehicle trade-ins in the second quarter of 2025 had negative equity — the highest share in more than four years.Negative equity refers to a situation in which you owe more on your vehicle than it’s worth, leaving you “upside down” or “underwater” on your loan. Negative equity is an acute problem when you trade that vehicle for another new one because you’ll have to pay off what you owe while simultaneously taking on the new loan payments. The…

NEW YORK (AP) — As the end of 2025 approaches, a viral TikTok trend is helping people achieve their wellness goals: “The Great Lock In” encourages participants to finish the year strong by fully focusing on their life goals from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. Many people focus on exercise or eating healthier. But the trend can also help you achieve your financial goals. There are no set rules for “The Great Lock In.” The phrase “lock in” is popular on social media and it means to focus intensely on a task. “Something I like about this particular trend is…

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Grotesque makeup, menacing props and intimidating costumes are just one part of a Michigan haunted house’s 25-year-old formula to terrify guests.It starts by educating the actors looking to provide the most horrifying experience to its visitors. At Scare School, they learn all the tricks of the trade. Lessons begin weeks before the four-level walk-through scream factory opens to visitors, introducing fresh talent to the get-ups, face paint and unnatural body movements proven to petrify thousands of customers since the turn of the century. The actors’ report card of sorts is the “Wimp Out Score Board” in…

KAJIADO, Kenya (AP) — This year, less than a kilometer from where I live, a girl named Peace Mwende was killed by a lion. The news hit me hard: She was 14, the same age as my youngest daughter, and the lioness responsible may have been one of the animals we see in our neighborhood almost weekly.Our children are growing up in a part of Nairobi where lions roam free. We see them while taking our kids to school. We’ve lost pets and livestock. Neighborhood WhatsApp groups share warnings when big cats come close — and feature CCTV footage of…

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The white sandy beaches along a swath of Florida’s Gulf Coast were battered by three hurricanes last year, leading to a multimillion-dollar effort to repair a coastline that is the region’s economic engine.Crews are working with dredges, trucks and pipelines along the 35-mile (56-kilometer) stretch of beach in Pinellas County that includes cities such as Clearwater Beach, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Beach and Redington Beach. It’s a prime tourist destination that is still recovering from hurricanes Helene, Milton and Debby.Helene was the most destructive for the beach towns, even though it made landfall far…