A New York woman is challenging Miss America, Miss World rules banning mothers from beauty pageants

A New York woman is challenging Miss America, Miss World rules banning mothers from beauty pageants

NEW YORK — A New York woman is challenging the longstanding rules of Miss America and Miss World that disqualify mothers from their beauty pageants. Danielle Hazel said Monday that she’s always dreamed of entering the competitions but was devastated to learn that she’s no longer eligible because she had a son when she was … Read more

Georgia official seeks more school safety money after Apalachee High shooting

Georgia official seeks more school safety money after Apalachee High shooting

ATLANTA — Georgia’s state school superintendent says he wants the state to spend more money to guarantee security officers and wearable panic alert buttons after a school shooting killed four at Apalachee High School northeast of Atlanta. Richard Woods, a Republican elected statewide, also said Monday that he wants to expand a state-sponsored program to … Read more

Bryce Young benched by Panthers after QB’s rough start; Andy Dalton will start vs. Raiders

Bryce Young benched by Panthers after QB’s rough start; Andy Dalton will start vs. Raiders

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers have benched 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after the second-year quarterback’s rough start to the season. Andy Dalton will take over as the starter for Carolina’s next game on Sunday at Las Vegas. Panthers head coach Dave Canales said he made the decision after watching game film … Read more

Control of the Murdoch media empire could be at stake in a closed-door hearing in Nevada

Control of the Murdoch media empire could be at stake in a closed-door hearing in Nevada

RENO, Nev. — A probate court in Nevada is set to begin reviewing evidence behind closed doors in a case that could determine who will control Rupert Murdoch’s media empire after his death. Murdoch, 93, arrived at court Monday for the hearing. Last year, he moved to change the terms of his irrevocable family trust … Read more

Scientists show how pregnancy changes the brain in innumerable ways

Scientists show how pregnancy changes the brain in innumerable ways

Neuroscientist Liz Chrastil got the unique chance to see how her brain changed while she was pregnant and share what she learned in a new study that offers the first detailed map of a woman’s brain throughout gestation. The transition to motherhood, researchers discovered, affects nearly every part of the brain. Although the study looks … Read more

Book Review: Raymond Antrobus transitions into fatherhood in his poetry collection ‘Signs, Music’

Book Review: Raymond Antrobus transitions into fatherhood in his poetry collection ‘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. The book is split between before and after, moving from the hope and trepidation of shepherding a new life into the world to the sleeplessness and shifted perspective of being a … Read more

AP Top 25 Reality Check: SEC, Big Ten grab 16 spots in poll, monopolizing rankings like never before

AP Top 25 Reality Check: SEC, Big Ten grab 16 spots in poll, monopolizing rankings like never before

The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten occupy 64% of this week’s AP Top 25, with 16 ranked teams combined, the most ever by two conferences in one poll. The third Top 25 of the regular season had a new No. 1 in Texas on Sunday, one of nine SEC teams in the poll. That’s one … Read more

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 22-28

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 22-28

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Sept. 22-28: Sept. 22: Singer-dancer Toni Basil is 81. Actor Paul Le Mat (“American Graffiti”) is 79. Singer David Coverdale (Whitesnake, Deep Purple) is 73. Actor Shari Belafonte is 70. Singer Debby Boone is 68. Country singer June Forester of The Forester Sisters is 68. Singer Nick Cave is … Read more

The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says

The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the U.N. said Monday. Afghanistan is one of two countries in which the spread of the potentially fatal, paralyzing disease has never been stopped. The other is Pakistan. News of the suspension was relayed to U.N. agencies right before the September … Read more

How Connie Chung launched a generation of Asian American girls named ‘Connie’ — and had no idea

How Connie Chung launched a generation of Asian American girls named ‘Connie’ — and had no idea

NEW YORK — Some public figures are honored with namesake buildings or monuments. Veteran broadcaster Connie Chung has a strain of marijuana and hundreds of Asian-American women as legacies. Chung was contacted five years ago by a fellow journalist, Connie Wang, whose Chinese immigrant parents gave her the chance as a preschooler to pick an … Read more