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Build-A-Bear celebrates 25 years with 'Unstuffed' documentary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A company based out of St. Louis, Build-A-Bear, is celebrating its anniversary by releasing a documentary called “Unstuffed,” which debuted this October. The documentary explains the company's start, its development into a chain store, and the nation's fascination with creating their own bears.On that October Sunday in 1997, when Maxine Clark opened the first Build-A-Bear Workshop at the St. Louis Galleria Mall, guests lined up outside the door. Bear by bear, store by store, market by market, and country by country, Build-A-Bear Workshop has expanded to locations worldwide. Their toys made appearances on Oprah, South Park, and were part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, becoming a cherished family tradition. Local cops unmask international suspects’ clever crime tricks Originally, the business catered to children, offering them the chance to create their own special teddy bear through a step-by-step process, including the heart ceremony where customers could kiss the...

Missouri HC Dennis Gates sees Tigers' 1st Final 4 not too far away

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Dennis Gates has only spent one season at Missouri yet has a deep and profound respect for the history of the program.When he's asked about the success he had turning around the Tigers, and leading them back to the NCAA Tournament, he talks first about his players. Mizzou cruises to Homecoming win over South Carolina Then, Gates talks about the support of athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois, the joy felt by Missouri fans starved for a winner and even the coaches who came before him, from Norm Stewart to Cuonzo Martin.Gates almost never talks about himself.But the historian in him also knows this: The Tigers still have never been to a Final Four. And it eats at all those he mentioned.“Is this year's team a Final Four team? I don't know,” Gates said, "but I guarantee you at some point we're going to act as if that is our destination. We're going to try to make sure everything that we do is for that reason.“It's not for the stats. Not for anything else," he ...

Bear attacks St. Regis Aspen Resort security guard in hotel kitchen

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

A bear attacked a security guard Monday night in the kitchen of the St. Regis Aspen Resort.The guard was treated for scratches on his back and later released from the hospital, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were unable to safely capture the bear, according to a Tuesday news release.About 11 p.m., the security guard had been investigating reports of a bear in the hotel when he suddenly came upon the bear in the kitchen.He was rounding the corner to another part of the kitchen and surprised the bear, and the bear attacked the guard, swiping at him and knocking him to the ground, the news release stated.CPW officers arrived just after midnight to investigate and search for the bear. They learned the bear entered the hotel through a series of doors near the courtyard.Officers searched the area Tuesday morning and found the bear near the hotel but were unable to tranquilize and capture it due to public safety, the news release stated.Officers were set to return Tuesday evening...

Opinion: The U.S. must unite against evil wherever it may arise

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

I am heartbroken. As an American, an elected state representative, and as a Jew, my heart aches for the people of Israel and the Jewish community around the world. This is a moment for all free people to unite in one voice and say, “No, we will not allow this barbarism – ever again!”Some, even among members of the Colorado legislature, argue that these attacks are a result of frustration and despair over the ongoing conflict in the region. However, that does not justify the targeting of innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the political tensions. It is the duty of every decent human being to reject violence against innocent people, regardless of their faith or beliefs.We have seen the devastating effects of terrorism in our own country with the attacks on 9/11. The pain and suffering caused by these acts is something that we can never forget or justify. Just as we stood united against terrorism then, we must stand united against it now — no matter where i...

Opinion: Human rights for Palestinians should not be controversial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

The wake of conflict leaves permanent loss and devastation. I condemn the violent and hateful actions of all sides and pray for a sense of shared humanity to end the bloodshed.Being Palestinian American informs a lot of my perspective, and is part of why I root my policy, and decades of work, in human rights, as an academic and as a legislator.Every morning I wake up to a slew of text messages sending love and support. My immediate reaction is to check the news. How could it get worse? Has the ground invasion begun? Will I hear, again, that another relative’s home was destroyed? But regardless of the news, my response has been the same, “please, publicly tell people that you support Palestinians.”I always make this ask because we cannot continue to conflate the millions of Palestinian peoplewith Hamas.And while no group of people is a monolith, the Palestinian voice is so critical at this junction.The already muffled Palestinian voice is vital and speaks to a wealth of essential det...

Donald Trump’s lawyers question Michael Cohen in the former president’s civil business fraud trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ and JAKE OFFENHARTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand Wednesday in his ex-boss Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial as the former president’s defense team tried to undermine the credibility and question the motives of his onetime personal attorney turned adversary.With Trump in court, his lawyer Alina Habba confronted Cohen with comments he had made on social media, in interviews and during congressional testimony praising Trump, before turning on him, when Cohen’s legal problems started in 2018.She tried to suggest that Cohen had angled unsuccessfully for a job in Trump’s White House — Cohen insisted he never sought one — and asked whether he had “significant animosity” toward Trump.“Do I have animosity toward him? Yes I do,” Cohen replied.“You have made a career out of publicly attacking President Trump, haven’t you?” Habba asked.Af...

‘The Art of War,’ Amy Schumer’s memoir and many other books are banned in US prisons. Here’s why

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

By HILLEL ITALIE (AP National Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Tens of thousands of books are being banned or restricted by U.S. prisons, according to a new report from PEN America. The list includes everything from self-help books to an Elmore Leonard novel.“The common concept underpinning the censorship we’re seeing is that certain ideas and information are a threat,” says the report’s lead author, Moira Marquis, senior manager in the prison and justice writing department at PEN, the literary and free expression organization.Timed to the start Wednesday of Prison Banned Books Week, “Reading Between the Bars” draws upon public record requests, calls from PEN to prison mailrooms, dozens of accounts from inmates and PEN’s struggles to distribute its guide for prison writing, “The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting A Writer’s Life in Prison,” which came out last year.Marquis said that the most common official reasons for bans are...

Studio City family targeted in home invasion; suspect shouts 'Free Palestine'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

A man who was arrested for a home invasion in Studio City early Wednesday morning shouted “Free Palestine” as he was cuffed and placed in a police cruiser, video shows.The break-in happened around 5:20 a.m. in the 3000 block of Lauren Canyon Boulevard, according to Los Angeles Police. Officers responded after a homeowner called 9-1-1 saying a man had broken in through the front door.According to Key News, a Los Angeles stringer service, two adults and four children were inside the home at the time, and the intruder threatened to kill the family.A suspect is taken into custody following a home invasion in Studio City, California on Oct. 25, 2023. (KNN)A suspect is taken into custody following a home invasion in Studio City, California on Oct. 25, 2023. (KNN)A suspect is taken into custody following a home invasion in Studio City, California on Oct. 25, 2023. (KNN)The husband eventually pushed the man out of the home and into the backyard where officers found him armed with a knife, K...

Workers protest alleged use of migrants to replace them during strike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

Hotel workers are continuing to publicly call for better pay and working conditions, and on Wednesday, they're taking to the streets of downtown Los Angeles to call out their employers.Unite Here Local 11, the workers' union, is assembling employees of 50 hotels at Hill and 6th streets Wednesday morning for a march."The march comes after a fruitless negotiation meeting last week in which a group of hotel employers presented hundreds of SoCal workers with a 'new' proposal to resolve the months-long labor dispute," the union said. "Enraging workers, the hotels did not meaningfully improve upon their prior position, offering no new money for wages, pension, or health insurance."In addition to demanding a living wage, workers are also hoping to raise awareness about how they claim their employers are filling in gaps created by striking workers: the "exploitation of migrant workers living in Skid Row," the union said in a news release.Some of those workers were among the migrants bused f...

Recipe: Fresh foraged seaweed chips with sesame oil and sea salt

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:54 GMT

Taku Kondo is a San Francisco sushi chef-turned expert forager from Northern California who runs the popular YouTube channel Outdoor Chef Life. (See our interview with him here.) This is Kondo’s recipe for seaweed chips (or seasoning) that you can make yourself using seaweed harvested right from the Pacific ocean.First, a couple of caveats. People who try this recipe “should definitely know what they’re eating,” Kondo says. “A couple easy-to-identify seaweeds would be sea lettuce and laver (nori). In California, there are two types of seaweed that are illegal to take: eel grass and sea palm. Although all seaweed is technically edible, they’re not all good to eat.”Also, you must have a fishing license to harvest seaweed legally. “The current seaweed limit is 10 pounds wet weight,” Kondo says, “You must avoid harvesting in Marine Protected Areas. All information is available on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife w...