Physicality and endurance win the World Series of perhaps the oldest game in North America
CHOCTAW, Miss. (AP) — Indigenous peoples have been playing stickball for centuries. Every summer since 1975, teams have competed in Mississippi to become champion of perhaps the oldest game in North America. A game of physicality and endurance, stickball is often called the grandfather of field sports. The annual tournament in Mississippi is the game’s premier event. In any tournament or exhibition game in the country, a team from Mississippi will almost certainly be the one to beat in the competition for glory, and a ceremonial drum.
Surprise blast of rock, water and steam in Yellowstone sends dozens running for safety
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A surprise eruption in Yellowstone National Park has shot steam, water and dark-colored rock and dirt an estimated 100 feet into the sky and sent people running for safety. The hydrothermal explosion happened Tuesday morning in Biscuit Basin, a group of hot springs a couple miles north of Old Faithful Geyser. Video posted online shows a couple dozen people watching from a boardwalk as the eruption sprayed and grew in front of them. They ran to get clear as water and debris began to fall. The eruption damaged the boardwalk but no injuries have been reported. The basin is closed for visitor safety.
John Mayall, tireless and influential British blues pioneer, dies at 90
LONDON (AP) — John Mayall, the British blues musician whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars,  has died. He was 90. He is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s. A statement on Mayall’s official Instagram page says he died Monday at his home in California. Though Mayall never approached the fame of some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s, pounding out his version of Chicago blues.
An Alaska veteran is finally getting his benefits — 78 years after the 103-year-old was discharged
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Louis Gigliotti just recently got his veteran benefits. They came 78 years after the 103-year-old World War II veteran was discharged from the U.S. Army. Even though he had a veteran card, his caretaker says he never knew there were veteran benefits like free healthcare. So the Alaska man has been paying his own medical bills out-of-pocket for nearly eight decades. That’s changed now, and his caretaker is talking to the Veterans Administration health facility in Anchorage to get everything set up. Family, friends and patrons at the Alaska Veterans Museum gathered last week to honor Gigliotti.
Wildfires send about 25,000 fleeing from Canadian Rockies’ largest national park and nearby town
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Multiple wildfires in the Canadian Rockies’ largest national park have sent up to 25,000 visitors and residents fleeing west over the last open mountain road. They navigated through darkness and soot Tuesday following a government alert during the area’s busiest tourist time of the year. Hundreds of wildfires are burning in western Canada, and those fleeing Jasper National Park and Jasper town in Alberta province were given the unusual order later to make a vast U-turn east if they needed a place to stay. That’s because to the west, British Columbia province already has more than 300 wildfires of its own.
Oscar Mayer Wienermobile flips onto its side after crash along suburban Chicago highway
OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) — An Oscar Mayer Wienermobile got into a pickle on a Chicago highway. Police say one of Oscar Mayer’s hot dog-shaped Wienermobiles ended up flipped onto its side after crashing on a suburban Chicago highway. Illinois State Police say the Wienermobile hit a car Monday morning along Interstate 294 and its driver lost control and overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll onto its side near the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook. No injuries were reported. The Wienermobile was later hauled away on a flatbed truck. A spokesperson for the Oscar Mayer brand, which has several Wienermobiles, tells the Chicago Sun-Times it’s “grateful that everybody involved is safe and there were no injuries.”
Colombian bullfighters decry new ban on the centuries-old tradition and vow to keep it alive
CHOACHI, Colombia (AP) — Sebastián Caqueza says that a new law to ban bullfighting in Colombia in three years will not dampen his passion for the tradition that he has been practicing since has was a small boy. Caqueza became a professional matador five years ago by taunting a fully grown bull for about 20 minutes and killing it with his sword. Now, the 33-year-old says he will struggle to make a living as a bullfighter, but vows to do his best to stay in the centuries-old tradition. He says he will continue to participate in bullfighting outside of Colombia. And once it becomes illegal in Colombia, he says supporters will continue to stage the events, because “this is our passion and our life.”
Florida’s population passes 23 million for the first time due to residents moving from other states
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s population crossed the 23 million residents mark for the first time this year because of the influx of people moving from other states. The state Demographic Estimating Conference says Florida added almost 359,000 people last year. Florida is the third most populous state in the U.S. It has been adding 350,000 to 375,000 people each year this decade. However, growth in the Sunshine State is expected to peak this year and get smaller with each following year for the rest of this decade. That is because the cohort of final baby boomers entering retirement will be getting smaller.
US is investigating Delta’s flight cancellations and faltering response to global tech outage
U.S. airline regulators have opened an investigation into Delta Air Lines, which is still struggling to restore operations on Tuesday, more than four full days after a faulty software update caused technological havoc worldwide and disrupted global air travel. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the Delta investigation on the X social media platform Tuesday “to ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during continued widespread disruptions.” Delta and its Delta Connection partners canceled about 500 flights on Tuesday, or about two-thirds of all cancellations in the United States.
Jon Stewart pushes VA to help veterans sickened after post-9/11 exposure to uranium
WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian Jon Stewart is pressing the Biden administration to fix a loophole in a massive veterans aid bill that has left out some of the very first troops who responded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. They got sick after deploying to a former Soviet base near Afghanistan that was contaminated with high levels of uranium. To understand what the troops were exposed at Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan, or “K2,” Stewart told The Associated Press to “imagine you’re stationed inside the meth lab on ‘Breaking Bad.’” But radiation-related illnesses at K2 weren’t covered by legislation that made care easier to get for millions of veterans exposed to contaminants during the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and other conflicts.
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