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  • Day passes at hotels and resorts offer downtime, relaxation on the cheap

    Day passes at hotels and resorts offer downtime, relaxation on the cheap

    NEW YORK (AP) — As an independent business consultant, Jen Ford in Austin, Texas, is the master of her own schedule. Twice a month, she blocks out “me” time. In the sweltering summer, that means poolside at one of her hometown’s many hotels and resorts.

    Rather than check in, Ford relies on day passes, an increasingly popular option for locals and travelers alike in popular destinations around the U.S., the Caribbean and a range of other countries.

    She enjoys the experience so much she now books “daycations” with her two teenage daughters, out-of-town visitors and groups of friends.

    “It’s like being a tourist in my own city,” said the 46-year-old Ford.

    Vista Encantada Spa Resort & Residences in Cabo San Lucas. (ResortPass via AP)

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    A lazy river at Tidal Cove Waterpark in Miami. (ResortPass via AP)

    Spa amenities without the travel

    The pandemic saw the day pass industry leap to life at resorts, spas, water parks and hotels, from luxury to lower end, as more people craved a way to break the isolation monotony while trying to maintain social distance.

    The passes are a win-win-win. Locals soak up some rest time on the cheap, travelers don’t have to commit to an overnight stay, and properties make use of available spaces knowing day passers spend freely at restaurants and bars while on site for pool or spa time.

    Flyers with long layovers also use day passes to wait out the time, especially if they have young children who need naps. So do travelers with late flights who are forced to check out of their rooms at 11 a.m. or noon.

    This article is part of AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.

    Among the more popular third-party bookers, ResortPass lists about 1,600 hotels and other properties in 27 countries, from the five-star Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego to the trendy French Leave Resort on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas.

    The bulk of the site’s users are locals, said CEO Michael Wolf. The company, which launched in 2016, has sent about 3 million people out on day passes, most in the last two years.

    “The hotel industry looks a lot at the airline industry and has seen that it has successfully monetized so many different parts of traveling,” Wolf said. “Hotel amenities are dramatically underutilized.”

    An economical way to recharge

    About 70% of the day passes ResortPass offers are under $65. In addition to locals, users include cruise ship guests and even cruise ship workers looking for some downtime while in port.

    Cole Stanbra, 39, is an ice skater who performs on cruise ships. He also has toured the U.S. with the Disney on Ice show.

    “I look for places where I can chill and not really have to worry about doing a vigorous hike or a lot of walking. I just want to relax on my days off,” he said.

    He’s turned many a fellow crew member on to day passes.

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    The Pool Club at Virgin Hotels Dallas. (ResortPass via AP)

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    The Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. (ResortPass via AP)

    Day passes cover pool time, spas and, sometimes, fitness centers. Add-ons for an additional cost might include a poolside day bed, a cabana or a day room. Some passes offer food and drink credits. Day passes may or may not include a guaranteed beach chair and parking.

    Travel experts suggest a good look at cancellation policies. ResortPass allows for cancellation with a full refund as late as midnight the night before.

    Other companies include DayPass, Daycation, Resort for a Day, which caters to cruise ship guests, and Swimply, which includes bookings at private pools by the hour.

    A day pass seeker can also simply call a property directly.

    A nice setting for remote work

    Aaron Sutherland curates bespoke luxury travel. He has also seen a surge in day pass use, including business travelers looking to work while experiencing swanky amenities, without the hefty cost of an overnight stay.

    “The work-from-home society has grown exponentially. Now, instead of just working from home, I can go to a gorgeous property and I can just set up there all day long and work from there,” Sutherland said.

    He urges users to touch base with the properties themselves just before heading out to make sure all promised amenities are available day of.

    “The pool may be under maintenance. There may be a private event at the beach. It’s always good to double check.”

    Day passes aren’t just for low-traffic periods like mid-week off-season, Wolf said. They can be booked six months to a year in advance at some hotels with no blackouts for holidays.

    “July Fourth was our busiest day in company history. We sent well over 20,000 people to hotels,” he said.

    For the properties, day passes go a long way in filling gaps, said Mary D’Argenis-Fernandez, president and founder of industry training and strategic consulting firm MDA Hospitality Solutions.

    “For example, the resort may be occupied by guests attending a conference. These guests will likely not spend time at the pool, beach or areas where the resort pass could be used,” she said.

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  • Australian state orders public servants to stop remote working after a newspaper campaign against it

    Australian state orders public servants to stop remote working after a newspaper campaign against it

    WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The government of Australia’s most populous state ordered all public employees to work from their offices by default beginning Tuesday and urged stricter limits on remote work, after news outlets provoked a fraught debate about work-from-home habits established during the pandemic.

    Chris Minns, the New South Wales premier, said in a notice to agencies Monday that jobs could be made flexible by means other than remote working, such as part-time positions and role sharing, and that “building and replenishing public institutions” required “being physically present.” His remarks were welcomed by business and real estate groups in the state’s largest city, Sydney, who have decried falling office occupancy rates since 2020, but denounced by unions, who pledged to challenge the initiative if it was invoked unnecessarily.

    The instruction made the state’s government, Australia’s largest employer with more than 400,000 staff, the latest among a growing number of firms and institutions worldwide to attempt a reversal of remote working arrangements introduced as the coronavirus spread. But it defied an embrace of remote work by the governments of some other Australian states, said some analysts, who suggested lobbying by a major newspaper prompted the change.

    “It seems that the Rupert Murdoch-owned Daily Telegraph in Sydney has been trying to get the New South Wales government to mandate essentially that workers go back to the office,” said Chris F. Wright, an associate professor in the discipline of work at the University of Sydney. The newspaper cited prospective economic boons for struggling businesses.

    The newspaper wrote Tuesday that the premier’s decision “ending the work from home era” followed its urging, although Minns did not name it as a factor.

    But the union representing public servants said there was scant evidence for the change and warned the state government could struggle to fill positions.

    “Throughout the New South Wales public sector, they’re trying to retain people,” said Stewart Little, the General Secretary of the Public Service Association. “In some critical agencies like child protection we’re looking at 20% vacancy rates, you’re talking about hundreds of jobs.”

    Little added that government offices have shrunk since 2020 and agencies would be unable to physically accommodate every employee on site. Minns said the state would lease more space, according to the Daily Telegraph.

    The change is a “game-changer” for languishing central city businesses, said Katie Stevenson, Executive Director of the Australian Property Council’s NSW branch. “More workers mean more life, more investment, and more business for our cities.”

    Individual agencies could devise their own policies, the order added, but should ensure employees “spread attendance across all days of the working week.” Requests to work from home on some occasions should be formally approved for a limited period only and reasons for the request should be supplied, the directive said.

    Minns said workplace culture and opportunities for mentorship would improve, in remarks echoing other business leaders worldwide who have questioned the productivity of remote workers. Most public workers, such as teachers and nurses, could not work from home anyway, he added.

    The order set New South Wales apart from other Australian states, one of which sought to capitalize on the move Tuesday. A spokesperson for Jacinta Allan, the premier of neighboring Victoria, told reporters the state’s remote work allowances would remain undisturbed and disgruntled NSW public servants should consider moving there.

    Wright said the change not only overturned increased flexibility during the pandemic but also erased a decade of moves by Australia’s federal government encouraging remote working to reduce barriers to workforce participation, lower carbon emissions and reduce traffic jams.

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been broadly supportive of remote working. His government will enact a “right to disconnect” law later this month that will allow employees to refuse work communications outside their agreed hours.

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  • In many regions, it’s time to start turning some of the garden over to fall vegetables

    In many regions, it’s time to start turning some of the garden over to fall vegetables

    As I was digging up my golden beets last week, I realized it’s time to plant more, both here in my Zone 7, suburban New York garden and just about anywhere with at least three seasons and no freeze until after September.

    It’s time to harvest not just beets, but any remaining cool-season vegetables and greens. Dig up mature root crops and cut down leafy vegetables before they bolt, or flower, which turns edible foliage bitter. Then put that newfound real estate to good use.

    Fewer pests, diseases and weeds in cooling weather makes late-season plantings easier to care for than spring-planted crops. But some might need protection from the late-summer sun, depending on where you live. If that’s the case, lightweight row covers or even opened rain umbrellas balanced around them can serve the purpose.

    Beets generally take 50 to 70 days to reach maturity, so planting more now will yield another crop by the last official day of summer. As a bonus, late-season beets tend to grow sweeter and more vibrantly hued than spring-planted ones, benefitting from the season’s gradually dropping temperatures.

    Most lettuces will be ready to eat in 55 to 65 days, but because they don’t germinate well in the heat, it’s best to start seeds indoors or buy starter plants at the nursery.

    Asian greens, arugula, spinach and mustard greens are among the fastest maturing cool-weather crops; planted today, they could be ready to harvest by the end of the month.

    Radishes are even faster, taking just three weeks to go from seed to salad.

    Brassica or cole crops, a family of vegetables that includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale and kohlrabi, take longer (60 to 90 days) but taste better after getting nipped by a light frost (defined as 32 degrees Fahrenheit), so there’s little concern about early-fall overnight chills killing your crop.

    Second crops of chards (50 to 75 days), peas (60) and even beans (45 to 70) can also be planted in late summer. Check the dates to maturity on their seed packets to determine if they’ll mature before frost hits your region. If not, plant or start seeds indoors earlier next year.

    While you’re at it, try crispy choi, a crisp, fast-growing Chinese green that matures in just 45 days. Harvest before side shoots develop.

    Gai lohn, sometimes called Chinese kale or Chinese broccoli, is easier to grow than standard broccoli. Its stems and yellow or white flower buds can be harvested as they grow, generally in as little as 45 days.

    And if you’re really short on time, consider Mizuna, a Japanese mustard green that makes a wonderful addition to salads. You’ll be able to start harvesting the plant’s outer leaves in as little as 3 weeks and the whole plant in just 35 days.

    If you’re growing crops in the coastal or tropical south, it’s time to get tomatoes, peppers and eggplants into the ground and set your sights on a late fall harvest.

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    Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

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    For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

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  • What investors should do when there is more volatility in the market

    What investors should do when there is more volatility in the market

    NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are bouncing back after the market experienced its worst day in two years on Monday, but the average investor may still be understandably spooked. Over a three day losing streak, the S&P 500 dipped more than 6% before rallying again Tuesday, up 1.6% in midday trading.

    “This is what an emotion-driven market looks like,” said Mark Hackett, head of investment research for Nationwide. “You had a three day period that was really very challenging. But the drop was not justified by the data that was out there, which is why you then have a day like today.”

    For everyday people, what are the best ways to handle market volatility? The top advice is to do nothing, but ultimately your response depends in part on your circumstances and financial goals.

    What to do in general

    “It’s important to remember that investing in the stock market is a long game. There’s going to be volatility, so be wary of having a knee-jerk reaction and pulling your money out at the first sign of a drop,” said Courtney Alev, consumer advocate for CreditKarma. “Selling stocks frequently or incrementally can come with fees for each transaction and those can add up fast.”

    Caleb Silver, editor in chief of Investopedia, echoed this, cautioning that sellers may also end up owing taxes on any gains.

    “For everyday investors, volatility is the price you pay to be invested in the stock market,” Silver said. “But it’s very unsettling when we see big market drops of two to three percent… It’s a little unnerving for people who have their money in 401(k)’s or IRA’s or retirement funds to watch this magnitude of volatility.”

    Silver urged investors to remember that “a market falls into a correction, ten percent or more, once a year on average,” and that “usually the market reverts to the mean, and the mean is an average annual return of eight to ten percent a year going all the way back to the 1950s.”

    What to do if you’re a young or new investor

    For younger people just beginning to invest, declines in the stock market are an opportunity to add to your portfolio at cheaper prices, by buying in when the market is falling or has fallen a lot, according to Silver.

    “You’re reducing the average price you pay for the securities, stocks, mutual funds, or index funds that you own (when you buy in a down market),” he said. “So when the market itself reverts to the mean and rises again, you take advantage of having bought at cheaper prices, and that adds to the value of your portfolio.”

    In terms of selling, though, he said the best advice for most investors is to do nothing and wait for the volatility to cool down.

    What to do if you’re near retirement

    “Whenever you invest in stocks it’s important to be mindful of your time horizon,” said Alev. “For instance, do you expect you’ll need to liquidate in the near future? In that case, you’re likely better off opting for a less volatile and more risk-averse mode of growing your money, such as a high-yield savings account.”

    Silver agreed.

    “I don’t believe it when people say, ‘Don’t look at your 401(k),’” he said. “You should absolutely look and see what you own and see that it matches your risk appetite.”

    If it doesn’t, you can move your investments to products that can shield you from the ups and downs of the market or unforeseen events. Silver said that High Yield Savings Accounts, Certificates of Deposit, and money market accounts are all currently seeing returns of about 4% to 5% for the more cautious or conservative investor.

    Nationwide’s Hackett said it makes sense to periodically rebalance the exposure one has in their portfolio in general – whether quarterly or annually – to make sure there isn’t more risk than one would want related to, say, technology stocks or another sector.

    “If your exposures get out of line with your long-term plan, get them back in line,” he said. Even so, Hackett added that he sees the trend of tech stocks outperforming as one that may extend further into the future.

    What to do if you have debt

    Experts agree that, for investors with debt, it’s important to focus on paying off loans, especially high-interest ones, before making major investments. That said, “if you are able to simultaneously pay off your loans and invest a little bit at the same time, you are effectively paying your future self for being responsible about your debt while growing your investments over time,” Silver said.

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    The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

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  • Parisians once scoffed at hosting the Olympics. Now, here come the conga lines

    Parisians once scoffed at hosting the Olympics. Now, here come the conga lines

    PARIS (AP) — Like most self-respecting Parisians, Mathilde Joannard and Franck Tallieu had been training for the Olympic sport of Olympics-bashing.

    Of course the Olympics were going to be a mess, the couple had reasoned when they learned the Games were coming to town. Like so many Parisians, the human resources executives assumed it would be crowded, or beastly hot, or chaotic, or a pain in the derrière to navigate. Or all the above.

    So how did they end up dressed in rented “Three Musketeers” costumes with painted-on goatees, waving the tricolor flag gleefully for the cameras at the fencing competition?

    They’re not really sure.

    “We just decided to have fun with it,” said Joannard, engaging in some Gallic understatement as the couple enjoyed ice cream pops outside the majestic Grand Palais during a break in fencing on a brilliant summer day. She herself seemed a bit shocked by what she was saying.

    “We’re really, really enjoying it,” she repeated. “I’m so glad we’re here.”

    It seems many Parisians have undergone the same happy metamorphosis. At first pooh-poohing the audacious plan to turn the capital into one big Olympic venue — launched by an even more audacious opening ceremony along the Seine River — many have come to think it was a pretty cool idea after all.

    And they’re taking it all in. Those who stayed, that is. As for those who left, some are sorry to have missed the fun.

    Where’s the evidence of fun, you ask? How about a conga line? At beach volleyball, in the absurdly photogenic stadium nestled under the Eiffel Tower, a crowd of volunteers began just such a line Sunday night. A gaggle of fans joined in, following them around an upper tier of the stadium.

    How about street dancing? The marquee cycling event a day earlier brought countless Parisians into the streets to cheer riders on, a mini-Tour de France showcasing the glittering capital. To the barricades, Parisians went — setting up speakers and dancing, even doing the wave with police officers at one spot.

    Catch up on the latest from Day 15 of the 2024 Paris Olympics:

    Sure, many international visitors were among them, replacing some of the residents who purposely left early on summer holiday. But there have been countless local fans, displaying French pride with painted flags on their cheeks as they flocked to favored events like judo, featuring French star Teddy Riner, and swimming, where France’s hero of these Games, Léon Marchand, was holding court.

    If you were around in 1998, you might have recalled a similar mood enveloping the city when France captured its first World Cup. For days afterward, briefcase-toting office workers rode the Metro with the tricolor on their cheeks. One could often hear spontaneous chants of “Et un, et deux, et trois-zéro” — a nod to the 3-0 score against Brazil in the final.

    So perhaps it wasn’t surprising that at fencing last weekend, the crowd suddenly launched into the very same chant. To one longtime Parisian, that didn’t sound like an accident — and not just because these Games have seen a stellar French performance, with the country’s medal haul currently third after the United States and China.

    “That 1998 World Cup was when we French realized we could be world champions,” said Dan-Antoine Blanc-Shapira, an event planner. “Maybe that’s also when we learned as a country that we could pull off something like this.”

    Blanc-Shapira stayed in Paris for much of the Games. He and his family went to watch women’s rugby and track events, and simply wandered the Champs-Elysées, delighted to see the smiling faces on the famous boulevard.

    “This may not be the real world right now, but it’s a very pleasant one,” he said. “Maybe we should do this more often.”

    Even some of those who’ve eschewed the often-pricey Olympic competitions — and many Parisians have indeed been priced out — say they’ve experienced an unexpectedly pleasant, even relaxed feeling in the city.

    “It’s unusually calm,” said writer Cathy Altman Nocquet. She chose not to attend Olympic events, but was delighted to stay in town. “It’s as if the entire city took a pill.”

    Others noted the contrast between the current mood and the tense atmosphere just weeks earlier, as the country went through elections and political turmoil.

    “This is such a nice distraction,” said Craig Matasick, a policy analyst who’s lived in Paris for 10 years. He and his family left for part of the Games because they thought things would be a mess, but found the city pleasant and much more relaxed than anticipated upon return.

    Matasick’s family of four has taken advantage of the offerings, visiting the Olympic cauldron in the Tuileries gardens, the Club France fan hangout, table tennis and cycling so far. “This vision of the city as backdrop for the Games could have been a total logistical nightmare,” Matasick noted, “but it hasn’t been.”

    Give Elodie Lalouette a medal — this Parisian had faith from the start. Lalouette, who works in communications for a national radio network, applied a year ago to be a volunteer. Now she’s taking two weeks’ annual leave to work at the field hockey venue.

    “I was sure it would be super,” she said during a break this week. “And it has — it’s been incredible.” Most valuable are the interactions she’s had with people from around the world. And, perhaps even more, with fellow Parisians.

    “They see me on the Metro, and they say ‘Salut’ and tell me it’s great that I’m doing this,” she said.

    Some who left have had regrets. Teacher Judith Levy surprised herself by watching the competition on TV nonstop for the first few days. Then she had to leave for Italy, a trip booked months in advance.

    “At the time, I felt like everything was going to go wrong,” she said of her travel plans. “Now I feel like I’m missing the party.”

    Claire Mathisjen, too, has watched it all from afar — on holiday in Brazil. The Paris-based psychologist lengthened her usual August holiday to avoid the Games. But watching for hours on TV, she has found herself transfixed. And while she isn’t necessarily consumed with regret, she does feel something else: pride.

    “I watched that opening ceremony and truly felt proud to be French, and a Parisian,” she said. “We pulled it off!”

    Jean-Pierre Salson would not dispute that. What he’s discovered, though, is that what’s good for the national soul may not be good for the bottom line.

    Salson, who owns a clothing store in the tourist-frequented Marais neighborhood, calculated just before the Games opened that business had tanked by 30-40% — a result of Parisians leaving and non-Olympics tourists staying away. He hoped things would improve after the opening ceremony, when security loosened.

    Contacted again, he said they had not. Tourists had already spent too much on tickets and such, and weren’t focused on clothes.

    Still, Salson will take no part in Olympics-bashing.

    “I have nothing bad to say, I think it’s great,” he said of his country’s successful Games. “But for business, I think we will have to wait.”

    He doesn’t have long to wait — the Olympics are closing in on their grand finale. For their part, Joannard and Tallieu, the temporary Musketeers, plan to keep enjoying events — including at the Paralympic Games.

    The couple are grateful now for a dinner they had sometime before the Games with a few American friends, which helped transform their attitudes.

    “We were doing the bashing,” says Tallieu. “But they were optimistic. You know what? They were right.”

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    Associated Press journalist Tom Nouvian contributed reporting.

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    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • New York City’s freewheeling era of outdoor dining has come to end

    New York City’s freewheeling era of outdoor dining has come to end

    NEW YORK (AP) — Outdoor tables saved thousands of New York City restaurants from ruin when they were forced to close their dining rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    But four years into an experiment that transformed New York’s streetscape — briefly giving it a sidewalk cafe scene as vibrant as Paris or Buenos Aires — the freewheeling era of outdoor dining has come to an end.

    Over the weekend, restaurants hit a deadline to choose between abiding by a strict set of regulations for their alfresco setups or dismantling them entirely — and thousands chose to tear down the plywood dining structures that sprouted on roadways in the pandemic’s early days.

    Fewer than 3,000 restaurants have applied for roadway or sidewalk seats under the new system, a fraction of the 13,000 establishments that participated in the temporary Open Restaurants program since 2020, according to city data.

    Mayor Eric Adams said the new guidelines address complaints that the sheds had become magnets for rats and disorder, while creating a straightforward application process that will expand access to permanent outdoor dining.

    But many restaurant owners say the rules will have the opposite effect, dooming a vestige of the pandemic that gave them unusual freedom to turn parking spaces into rent-free extensions of their dining rooms with minimal red-tape.

    “They’ve found a middle ground to do one thing while saying another thing,” said Patrick Cournot, the co-founder of Ruffian, a Manhattan wine bar. “They’ve managed us out, essentially.”

    Ramshackle plywood dining structures seemed to sprout from New York City’s streets almost overnight in the early days of the COVID pandemic.

    With its crowded sidewalks and traffic-choked streets, the city had never really been known previously for an outdoor dining scene. But with customers banned from congregating indoors for months, the city gave restaurants a green light to expand dining areas onto public sidewalks and roadways.

    Simple sheds for outdoor seating were soon replaced or expanded into more elaborate constructions, which have remained standing long after the days of social distancing and disinfected groceries. Restaurants added planters, twinkling lights, flowers and heating lamps so people could dine outdoors well into the cold weather. Other outside dining spaces appeared inside heated igloos, or with open fire places and under tiered rooftops.

    Now, these structures must conform to uniform design standards, with licensing and square footage fees that could total thousands of dollars a year, depending on size and location.

    But the most significant change, according to many restaurants, is a requirement that the roadside sheds be taken down between December and April each year.

    That’s a deal-breaker for Blend, a Latin Fusion restaurant in Queens that once won an Alfresco Award for its “exemplary” outdoor set-up.

    “I understand they want to keep it consistent and whatever else, but it’s just too much work to have to take it down every winter,” said manager Nicholas Hyde. “We’re not architects. We’re restaurant managers.”

    Blend’s 60 outdoor seats “kept us alive” during the pandemic and remained well-used with diners who “since COVID just want to be able to enjoy themselves outside,” Hyde said. But after looking over the application, they decided to remove the curbside structure, opting instead to apply for sidewalk seating that can remain year-round.

    Of the 2,592 restaurants that have applied for the new program, roughly half will forgo roadway set-ups in favor of sidewalk-only seating, according to the city.

    Karen Jackson, a teacher, was going to lunch indoors Tuesday at Gee Whiz diner in Tribeca, one of the restaurants that took its outdoor shed down ahead of the deadline.

    Jackson said she has mixed feelings, recalling how having coffee outside in a shed was one of the few entertainment options available early in the pandemic.

    “Some of them were really cute,” but others were unattractive and rat-infested, Jackson said.

    “Unfortunately I think the places with more money were able to build the cute sheds and the places that were struggling couldn’t,” she said.

    Andrew Riggie, the executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, said the city should examine why so few eligible restaurants have applied, and consider how costly it will be to take down, store and rebuild the structures each year.

    Applications for roadway dining structures must also undergo a review from local community boards, where some of the fiercest debates over outdoor dining have played out. Opponents have complained that the sheds eliminate parking, contribute to excessive noise and attract vermin.

    On the Lower East Side, a row of sheds owned by a sushi counter, a coffee shop, a Mexican eatery and a Filipino restaurant stand side-by-side.

    Paola Martinez, a manager at Barrio Chino, the Mexican restaurant, acknowledged the trash headaches and neighborhood conflict — on one particularly busy night, an angry neighbor hurled glass at the structure from an upstairs window, she said. But her restaurant has applied to stay in the roadway.

    “It attracts a lot more people to the area,” she said. “It’s been great for business.”

    City officials say restaurants who missed the deadline are welcome to apply in the future, while those that haven’t will soon be fined $1,000 each day their set-ups remain.

    Watching contractors take a crowbar to his once-vibrant dining shed, Cournot described a sense of relief. He said the sheds had come to symbolize an incredibly challenging period when a coworker died from the virus and a drop in sales nearly ended his East Village wine bar.

    “When people say it’s the end of an era, I think it’s the end of a uniquely awful era for restaurants in New York,” Cournet said. “Like going through any kind of extended group trauma, the positives that we feel collectively are a little bit of a mirage.”

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  • Marathon swimmer who crossed Lake Michigan in 1998 is trying it again

    Marathon swimmer who crossed Lake Michigan in 1998 is trying it again

    GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — The Shark is back in the water, trying to repeat his 1998 feat of swimming across Lake Michigan.

    Jim Dreyer entered the lake at Grand Haven, Michigan, on Tuesday and began swimming to Wisconsin. The route to Milwaukee is expected to cover roughly 83 miles (134 kilometers), though it could be more, depending on lake conditions.

    “Even with all the extensive training and planning, I understand the inherent dangers of this self-sufficient swim,” Dreyer, who nicknamed himself The Shark before his first historic swim, said last month.

    Dreyer, 60, is towing supplies in an inflatable boat attached to him. Satellite communications will allow him to contact a crew for help if necessary.

    “I hope this calculated risk captures the imaginations of adventurous souls everywhere as I find my way across the seemingly endless expanse of Lake Michigan,” said Dreyer, who is also trying to raise money for the nonprofit U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association.

    Dreyer swam across Lake Michigan, from Two Rivers, Wisconsin, to Michigan’s Ludington State Park, in 1998, a grueling feat that lasted nearly 41 hours.

    He tried last year to cross the lake but gave up after 10 hours because of bad weather.

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  • Edmunds compares: 2024 Ford F-150 versus 2025 Ram 1500

    Edmunds compares: 2024 Ford F-150 versus 2025 Ram 1500

    The Ford F-150 has consistently been a top-rated truck at Edmunds. Thanks to the many available engines and configurations, the F-150 can be anything from a basic work truck to a leather-lined luxury machine that’s capable of trailering sizable campers and boats. Ford has also updated the 2024 F-150 with fresh styling and new technology features.

    But its success doesn’t mean the F-150 has the full-size truck market all to itself. The Ram 1500 is another Edmunds favorite. Known for its smooth ride and outstanding cabin quality, the 2025 Ram 1500 presents an equally impressive résumé for truck shoppers who want a do-it-all truck. This year’s truck also receives two new powerful turbocharged engines.

    Which full-size light-duty truck is the better buy? Edmunds’ test team experts compare the F-150 and Ram 1500 to find out.

    Engines and MPG

    The F-150 offers six engine choices for its expansive lineup. They are a trio of turbocharged V6s; a naturally aspirated V8; a V6-based hybrid version; and a thunderous 720-horsepower supercharged V8 reserved for the off-roading Raptor R.

    The hybrid powertrain is perhaps the most compelling. It makes a strong 430 horsepower and also delivers the best fuel economy. The EPA estimates the hybrid can get up to 23 mpg in city/highway combined driving.

    Most notable for the 2025 Ram 1500 is Ram’s decision to discontinue the truck’s V8 engine in favor of a turbocharged six-cylinder engine. The standard variant produces 420 horsepower, while the high-output engine churns out a thumping 540 horsepower. The best fuel economy you can get with one of these engines is 23 mpg combined.

    During testing, Edmunds found the Ram is quicker. A Ram 1500 fitted with the high-output version needed just 4.7 seconds to sprint to 60 mph compared to the F-150 hybrid’s 5.9 seconds. That’s a compelling case for the Ram, though the F-150 counterpunches with its better mpg and broader engine lineup.

    Winner: tie

    Towing and Payload

    This pickup dogfight also takes into consideration maximum towing and payload capacities. The F-150 has a clear lead with its maximum tow rating of 13,500 pounds and max payload 2,445 pounds. Both maximums are with the 400-horsepower version of the truck’s turbocharged V6.

    No one would accuse the Ram 1500 of being a pushover, however. When properly equipped it can tow 11,550 pounds and haul 2,370 pounds. The Ram’s best towing number is achieved with its turbo straight-six while the standard V6 delivers the most payload capacity. Both trucks can be optioned with advanced driver aids to make attaching, transporting, and reversing a trailer safer and easier.

    Few truck buyers tow or haul things that will fully push the limits of these trucks. Still, there’s something to be said for barstool bragging rights, and that’s where the F-150 holds the advantage.

    Winner: F-150

    Driving and Comfort

    Momentum swings in favor of the Ram 1500 for driving refinement and ride composure. Credit Ram’s coil-sprung rear suspension versus the more common, bumpier-riding leaf-spring arrangement found in most pickups. An optional self-leveling air suspension provides an even better magic-carpet-like ride.

    Though the Ford’s ride isn’t as smooth as the Ram’s, Edmunds found it very adaptable to all types of driving environments. The truck feels smaller than it is when navigating snug parking lots and city traffic.

    Equipped with their largest available cabins — SuperCrew with the Ford, Crew Cab with the Ram — there’s stretch-out space and storage nooks aplenty. Niceties like heated and ventilated seats with massage functions are available too.

    Overall, Edmunds found the Ram holds a narrow lead in comfort, particularly when fitted with 24-year power-adjustable front seats found in the new-for-2025 Tungsten trim.

    Winner: Ram

    Features and Value

    The value part of this comparison depends on what a truck shopper needs most in his or her vehicle. The basic work truck-like versions start in the low to mid $40,000s. From there, the sky’s the limit when you’re looking at more expensive trim levels and options. The priciest Ram 1500 is the super luxe Tungsten trim at approximately $89,000. The most loaded-up F-150 is the King Ranch at about $76,000, though the bonkers Raptor R rings in at around $114,000.

    You’ll find the best values for these trucks in the middle of the pricing lineup. Standard features in both the F-150 and Ram 1500 include big infotainment touchscreens, smartphone connectivity and ventilated front seats. They also offer many of the latest driver assist features such as surround-view camera systems and hands-free driving capability on the highway.

    Winner: tie

    Edmunds says

    The F-150 and Ram 1500 end up statistically tied in Edmunds’ full-size truck rankings. As such, picking a winner here comes down to your top priorities. The F-150 is more customizable and has higher limits for towing and hauling. The Ram 1500 counters with a smoother ride and a more luxurious interior.

    ____________

    This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. Nick Kurczewski is a contributor at Edmunds.

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  • Dolce & Gabbana launches a new perfume for dogs, but some vets and pet owners are skeptical

    Dolce & Gabbana launches a new perfume for dogs, but some vets and pet owners are skeptical

    ROME (AP) — Fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has launched a new alcohol-free perfume for dogs called ‘Fefé’ in honor of Domenico Dolce ’s poodle, but not all vets and pet owners agree it’s safe or appropriate.

    The perfume costs 99 euros ($108) for 100 milliliters (3.4 ounces) and has been certified suitable for animal use. It follows a Safe Pet Cosmetics protocol designed to ensure a degree of safety of cosmetic products for animals comparable to that required for humans, Dolce & Gabbana said.

    “Through a compliance recognition to this protocol granted by Bureau Veritas Italia, participating companies demonstrate their sensitivity in creating products that ensure the safety and respect of the animal, in accordance with established standards,” the company said in the statement issued for the launch of the perfume.

    The new Dolce and Gabbana dog perfume called “Fefe” in honour of Domenico Dolce’s dog and released earlier this month is displayed on the shop window of the fashion brand boutique in Rome, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Bureau Veritas Italia is a publicly held company that provides inspection, laboratory verification and certification services.

    All of the dog owners consulted agree that the fragrance is “gentle and well accepted by their pets,” and veterinarians approve of the product, according to the company web page dedicated to ‘Fefé’, which cites performance reviews by veterinarians and customers.

    But not all veterinarians agree on the use of perfumes for dogs, as they may interfere with the animal’s sense of smell and cover up bad odors that could be a symptom of diseases.

    “Dogs recognize themselves by smells, they recognize a person by a smell,” said Federico Coccía, a veterinarian in Rome who holds a doctorate from the University of Teramo.

    “When the dog arrives, he sees you, wags his tail, but first smells you and then recognizes you because you are stored in one of his ‘smell drawers.’ Therefore, this world of smells should not be changed,” Coccia added.

    Coccia said becoming aware of an ongoing dermatological disease can be problematic if dogs’ natural odors are covered up. “In the case of sebaceous dermatitis, for instance, the smell somehow completes my diagnosis.”

    “The smell of breath, the smell of earwax are disguised by the perfume. So, it could be a problem even for us vets,” Coccia said.

    Among the enthusiastic users of pet fragrances are groomers who take care of the hair and aesthetics of dogs.

    Aliof Rilova Tano, a dog groomer at Morgana Carpentieri’s La Boutique delle Birbe parlor in Rome, said that in general he is in favor of using fragrances for pets.

    “Our dogs live with us, so a little dog at home on the couch next to us with a perfume is always pleasant,” he said.

    Grooming customers often feel the same way, so much so that customer Mariarita Ricciardi said she is in favor of “anything that has to do with a natural scenting … and that can also help the quality of the hair.”

    However, there are also pet owners who would never use perfumes on their animals.

    “Especially brand perfumes, it seems to be a very exaggerated process of humanization,” said Francesca Castelli, a dog-owner strolling in Rome’s Villa Borghese.

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  • Midwest sees surge in calls to poison control centers amid bumper crop of wild mushrooms

    Midwest sees surge in calls to poison control centers amid bumper crop of wild mushrooms

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The warm, soggy summer across much of the Midwest has produced a bumper crop of wild mushrooms — and a surge in calls to poison control centers.

    At the Minnesota Regional Poison Center, calls from April through July more than tripled over the same period last year, said Samantha Lee, the center’s director. The center took 90 calls for potential exposures over that period, compared to 26 calls for the same months in 2023. Exposures include people who have had actual or suspected contact with potentially poisonous mushrooms and who may or may not develop symptoms, she said.

    The cases can include kids who didn’t know what they were doing and foragers who make mistakes, she said. But those numbers don’t include people who are merely curious about whether the mushrooms popping out of their yards are good to eat.

    “Fortunately the majority of the time these tend to be mild symptoms,” Lee said. “A lot of these are mushrooms that were in the yard or nearby parks. Many of these cause upset stomachs, vomiting and diarrhea, but every year we do get some cases with serious outcomes.”

    The situation appears to be similar throughout wetter areas of the country this spring and summer. Kait Brown, clinical managing director of America’s Poison Centers, said calls were up 26% across all states and territories for April through June.

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    “There are probably a couple areas in the country that are experiencing large case volumes that could be related to different weather patterns,” Brown said. However, she said her office doesn’t have state-by-state data to pinpoint exactly where.

    The Minnesota poison center issued a warning this month that wild mushrooms can be hard for untrained people to identify. Common ones that typically cause milder symptoms include the little brown mushrooms that grow in yards and the small white mushrooms that can form “fairy rings,” Brown said. But some deadly species also grow in the area, including one popularly known as the “death angel” or “destroying angel.” They can cause liver failure.

    Foraging for edible wild mushrooms has become increasingly popular in recent years, even before the pandemic, said Peter Martignacco, president of the Minnesota Mycological Society.

    “The metro area of Minneapolis-St. Paul itself is having a huge year for mushrooms due to the previous few years of severe drought followed by this year’s extremely wet and cool spring, with consistent moisture thereafter,” said Tim Clemens, a professional forager and teacher who consults for the Minnesota poison center.

    The best way to learn what’s safe is to go out with an experienced mushroom hunter, said Martignacco, whose group organizes frequent forays throughout the state. Although there are good guide books, identification apps can be inaccurate and there are guide books generated by artificial intelligence that are “notoriously useless,” Clemens said. The misleading information can cause people to make very serious mistakes, he added.

    “I’m not sure what motivates them to eat something when you don’t know what it is, but some people do that,” he said.

    ___

    This story was corrected to reflect that calls to the Minnesota Regional Poison Center about potential exposures to poisonous mushrooms from April through July more than tripled over the same period from the previous year, not that they were up by 150%.

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  • From the opening ceremony to DiscOlympics, Cerrone still reigns nearly 50 years on

    From the opening ceremony to DiscOlympics, Cerrone still reigns nearly 50 years on

    PARIS (AP) — As the Eiffel Tower shimmered with laser lights, a tune from the man known as the French Disco King set the stage for the final leg of the Olympics opening ceremony.

    As Cerrone’s “Supernature” pulsed through Paris, sports legends like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal glided down the Seine, with deaf choreographer Shaheem Sanchez grooving to the beat through American Sign Language dance. This 1977 classic proved that disco’s glittering charm still reigns supreme on one of the world’s grandest stages.

    For Cerrone, 72, this moment once again proved his cross-generational music has staying power.

    “The sounds changed every decade, but for my part I never lose the movement,” the music producer told The Associated Press on Sunday night before he hit the stage as the headliner at DiscOlympics, which brought out more than 3,000 energic concertgoers to a riverfront nightclub.

    The event paid homage to the roots of dance music and Cerrone, who shaped the disco genre in France in the mid-1970s with jams such as “Supernature,” “Give Me Love” and “Je Suis Music.”

    Cerrone performs at Wanderlust during the DiscOlympics (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

    Cerrone said he still has indescribable emotions after watching the opening ceremony segment featuring his song, released nearly a half-century ago. He was surprised when the ceremony’s composer and music director, Victor le Masne, approached him nine months ago. Le Masne proposed updating it with a more symphonic sound, featuring orchestral arrangements.

    Cerrone said the creative process was like witnessing a woman enduring months of pregnancy before giving birth.

    “I think it’s my best work of my career,” said the producer, who has released 23 albums and sold more than 30 million records worldwide.

    Along with Cerrone, the 12-hour DiscOlympics had several performers such as Agoria, He.She.They., and Kartell. The diverse lineup showcased disco’s evolution into a foundation for subgenres such as hip-hop, house music and electronic dance music.

    Disco initially made a splash in the early 1970s in New York City with various musical influences from funk, soul and Latin music. Cerrone, along with other French artists including Dalida and Amanda Lear, were a part of the Euro disco movement in the mid-1970s.

    European artists with disco influences, like Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder, have found success in the U.S.

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    The crowd dances as Cerrone performs (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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    Apolline Wolak dances (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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    A bar at the DiscOlympics (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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    People dance as Cerrone performs (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

    “Everybody knows the real disco has never left,” Cerrone said. “It never stopped. Sometimes it was bigger then lower. … With the young people, it’s funny. I performed at a big festival. I see 60,000 people in front of me. I stop the music and (they’re singing) ‘Supernature.’ It’s never changed. Sometimes, it’s like that.”

    Waël Mechri-Yver, a French-Tunisian musician, said Cerrone is deserving of high recognition, calling him a disco musical savant. After he first heard about the legendary producer’s involvement with the opening ceremony a few months ago, he reached out to Cerrone’s manager about being a headliner at DiscOlympics.

    “He’s the father of disco. He’s the king of disco music,” said Mechri-Yver, who performs under the stage name WAÏ. His culture collective company BABËL and Silencio hosted the DiscOlympics.

    When Mechri-Yver heard Cerrone’s song during opening ceremony, he knew it was perfect timing for his event.

    “Disco is coming back really strong and we really want to be the champion of that music,” said Mechri-Yver. Along with Kosmo Kint and Cerrone’s son Greg Cerrone, Mechri-Yver recorded the song “Are You Ready,” which was performed for the first time publicly Sunday and received a favorable response from the crowd.

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    Cerrone (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

    “It’s very joyful, celebratory, inclusive, grateful music that is about giving praise to the Lord, giving praise to nature. That’s why ‘Supernature’ was such an incredible performance. The Eiffel Tower lit up. The whole world started to sing. It was absolutely beautiful,” Mechri-Yver said.

    DiscOlympics attendee Alexia Charles was extremely pumped up about the event. The Parisian, who’s in her mid-30s, rarely frequents the nightclub scene but felt compelled to see Cerrone perform — especially after the opening ceremony.

    “It’s amazing to see,” she said. “You can hear the people screaming for him. That’s a good representation of electro music in France.”

    Cerrone said seeing people cheer him on in his 70s fuels him.

    “That’s the best deal to live a long time,” he said. “It makes me happy to sing about that.”

    ___

    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • Meet the Olympics superfan who spent her savings to get to her 7th Games

    Meet the Olympics superfan who spent her savings to get to her 7th Games

    PARIS (AP) — Covered with pins and adornments, Vivianne Robinson is hard to miss in the streets of Paris.

    The Olympics superfan has attended seven Summer Games over the span of 40 years. But this trip to Paris came at a hefty price — $10,000 to be precise.

    Robinson, 66 and from Los Angeles, maxed out her credit cards and worked two jobs to afford the trip and the 38 event tickets she purchased. She worked on Venice Beach during the day, putting names on rice necklaces, and bagged groceries at night. She said she has to work two more years to make up for the money she spent following her passion for the Summer Olympics to Paris.

    Miniature Eiffel Towers hang from Vivianne Robinson’s hat (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

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    Vivianne Robinson lets a passerby choose one of the pins she collected from the 1984 Olympics (AP Photo/Lujain Jo)

    “It was hard to save up and it’s a big budget, but it’s a thousand times worth it,” she says.

    Even still, she was disappointed to pay $1,600 for the opening ceremony only to end up watching a screen on a bridge. “You know how long that takes to make that much money?” she asks, eventually adding: “But things happen in life and life goes on and you win if you lose a few.”

    During her interview, a passerby suggests Robinson use her fame to open an account and ask people to help fund her passion.

    “That doesn’t matter. I can make the money eventually,” she responds.

    Robinson’s fascination with the Olympics started when her mother worked as a translator for athletes at the University of California, Los Angeles, during the 1984 Olympics in the city. Her mother would come home after work with pins from athletes that she passed to her daughter.

    Her newfound hobby of collecting pins led her to Atlanta 1996, where she made rice necklaces for athletes in exchange for their pins.

    “I got all the pins and I got to meet all the athletes. And in those days, it wasn’t high security like now,” she recalls. “Now you can’t even get near the athletes’ village.”

    From there: Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, London 2012 and Rio 2016. She secured a visa for Beijing 2008, but couldn’t ultimately afford the trip. Tokyo was similarly doomed: She bought tickets, but got refunded as COVID-19 soared and the Games were held without spectators.

    Robinson’s outfits started simply but have become more complex over time. She spent a year working on her Paris outfit, decorating it with hundreds of adornments. Tens of Eiffel Tower ornaments hang from her hat, just above her Olympic ring earrings. Affixed to her clothes are patches, pins and little flags.

    Her outfit attracts attention. Not a minute goes by before someone stops Robinson to take a photo with or of her. She does it with a smile on her face but admits that it can get too much.

    “It is a little bit overwhelming. I can’t really get anywhere because everybody stops me for pictures. It takes a long time to get to the venues, but it’s OK,” she says.

    And she says she feels a little like the celebrities she’s so excited to have seen — like Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg at gymnastics.

    As soon as these Olympics end, she will start working on the next Summer Games, from working on outfits to saving up for tickets, no matter what it costs — though it is on her home turf, in Los Angeles.

    “Oh, I’m going to do it forever. I’m going to save all my money and just concentrate on Olympics,” she said.

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    Vivianne Robinson shows the flag pole she carries with all the countries who have hosted an Olympics (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

    ___

    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • What to stream this week: Matt Damon on a heist, ‘Dance Moms’ jazz it up and J Balvin parties

    What to stream this week: Matt Damon on a heist, ‘Dance Moms’ jazz it up and J Balvin parties

    Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” premieres its final season and a Boston heist movie starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

    Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: a new “Dance Moms” series, a “Yo Gabba Gabba” reboot for younger audiences and J Balvin promises an album that hits like a house party.

    NEW MOVIES TO STREAM

    — A poorly planned heist goes terribly wrong in “The Instigators” (Friday, Aug. 9, on Apple TV+), a loosely amiable Boston-set caper starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. The movie, directed by Doug Liman (“Go,” “The Bourne Identity”), returns Damon and Affleck to familiar hometown terrain. They play a despondent pair who try to steal money from a corrupt mayor (Ron Perlman) but end up on the run, with a therapist (Hong Chau) in tow. In my review, I called it “a rudderless but winningly shaggy action comedy.”

    — Jeff Nichols (“Mud,” “Take Shelter,” “Loving”) extends his survey of classically American dramas with “The Bikeriders,” a chronicle of a Chicago motorcycle club in the 1960s. In the film (Friday, Aug. 9, on Peacock), Austin Butler and Tom Hardy star as riders with an antiauthoritarian streak who help found the Vandals, but watch as their club grows beyond their control. In a male-populated film, though, Jodie Comer, as the heavily accented narrator, is closer to the main character. In my review, I called it “a vivid dramatization of the birth of an American subculture.”

    — This month, the Criterion Channel is running two overlapping series: one of movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, one of films starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman was a mainstay in Anderson’s films from the start (he steals “Hard Eight” with one scene) and a central presence in films like “Magnolia,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and “The Master.” The Hoffman series includes plenty other highlights, too; look especially for the exquisitely tender 2010 drama “Jack Goes Boating.” The Anderson series also includes an exclusive streaming of the director’s radiant 2021 coming-of-age tale “Licorice Pizza,” which poignantly starred Hoffman’s son, Cooper.

    — AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

    NEW MUSIC TO STREAM

    — Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Opus” — the posthumous album and documentary of the same name — was captured while the Japanese film composer was dying of cancer. Across 20 songs, Sakamoto performs a collection of his biggest songs on piano, like the memorable themes for Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor” and “The Sheltering Sky.” The album also includes the first ever recorded version of “Tong Poo,” from his early days with techno-pop trio Yellow Magic Orchestra.

    — On Friday, Aug. 9, Colombian reggaetónero J Balvin will release a new full-length project, “Rayo.” Across 15 tracks, he’s promised an album that hits like a house party — just in time for the hottest summer month of the year. “Rayo” is stacked with good time collaborations — reggaetón superstar Fied, regional Mexican musician Carín León, Bad Gyal, Zion, Dei V, Ryan Castro, Blessd and Luar La L among them. The previously released singles, “Gaga” with SAIKO, “Polvo de tu Vida” with Chencho Corleono, and “En Alta” with Quevedo, Omar Courtz and YOVNGCHIMI, embody that spirit. At his party, everyone is invited.

    — Also on Friday, Aug. 9, “Not Not Jazz,” a documentary following the avant-garde, acid jazz-fusion band Medeski, Martin & Wood, becomes available to stream via video on demand. The film follows the improvisational trio as they endeavor to record a new album at the Allaire Studio in Woodstock, New York. It is a peek behind the curtain of their processes, and a celebration of music that is far too often underserved.

    — AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

    NEW SHOWS TO STREAM

    — The dramatic world of “Dance Moms” returns with a new coach, dancers and, of course, invested moms. In “Dance Moms: A New Era,” mothers hover as eight girls are trained by instructor Glo Hampton, a.k.a. Miss Glo, to compete nationally. The original “Dance Moms” ran for eight seasons and featured breakout stars Jojo Siwa and Maddie Ziegler. It also introduced the world to coach Abby Lee Miller, who was often criticized for being too harsh on her students. Miller was sentenced to a year in prison in 2017 for bankruptcy fraud. “Dance Moms: A New Era” debuts Wednesday, Aug. 7.

    — Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” premieres its final season on Thursday, Aug. 8. The show follows a family of adopted superheroes — who were stripped of their powers in season three — who must work together to stop the apocalypse. Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and David Cross are new faces in season four alongside regulars that include David Castañeda, Tom Hopper and Elliot Page.

    — The musical cartoon for preschoolers called “Yo Gabba Gabba!” is also getting a reboot called “Yo Gabba GabbaLand!” on Apple TV+. The 10-episode series premieres Friday, Aug. 9. It’s hosted by Kamryn Smith as Kammy Kam and brings back other characters from the original.

    — Michael Imperioli, who played Tony Soprano’s protégé Christopher on “The Sopranos,” can’t shake the mob. He’s the executive producer and narrator of a three-part docuseries on five Italian American families who were selected by Charles “Lucky” Luciano in 1931 to rule the organized crime world. “American Godfathers: The Five Families” debuts Sunday, Aug. 11 on The History Channel. It will also stream on The History Channel app, history.com and major TV video on demand platforms.

    — A four-part docuseries adapts historian Donald Bogle’s 2019 book called “Hollywood Black” for MGM+. Executive produced by Forest Whitaker, the series examines the history of cinema through the Black perspective. Creatives including Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Issa Rae, LaKeith Stanfield, Gabrielle Union, Lena Waithe are interviewed. “Hollywood Black” premieres Sunday, Aug. 11.

    — Alicia Rancilio

    NEW VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

    — People who love collecting cute monsters and making them fight have long been drawn to Pokémon. This year’s Palworld upped the ante by adding guns to the mix. But what if you just want to cuddle? That’s where 11 Bit Studios’ Creatures of Ava comes in. You’re an explorer on a planet bustling with wildlife — but the creatures are being threatened by an infection called “the withering.” It’s your mission to tame the beasts with your magic flute and help them heal. It’s a cozier take on the old “gotta catch ’em all” formula, and it comes to Xbox X/S and PC on Wednesday.

    — Lou Kesten

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  • French museum network hit by ransomware attack, but no disruptions are reported at Olympic events

    French museum network hit by ransomware attack, but no disruptions are reported at Olympic events

    PARIS (AP) — A ransomware attack has targeted the central data systems of Paris’ Grand Palais and other museums in the Réunion des Musées Nationaux network, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday. Some venues in the network are hosting competitions for the Summer Olympics.

    The attack, detected on Sunday, hit data systems used by around 40 museums across France. Paris authorities and the Grand Palais-RMN network said there has been no disruption to the Olympic events.

    “To date, no data extraction has been detected,” the Grand Palais-RMN said in a statement, adding its technical teams are “fully mobilized” to fix the incident “as best as possible.”

    The Grand Palais is hosting fencing and taekwondo competitions, while the Château de Versailles, also part of the RMN network, is the venue for equestrian sports and the modern pentathlon.

    AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports a French museum network has been hit by a ransomware attack.

    The Paris prosecutor’s office has assigned the investigation to a subdivision, the Brigade for Combating Cybercrime, to determine the extent and perpetrators of the attack. Efforts are ongoing to secure and restore the affected systems.

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  • Focused amid the gunfire, an AP photographer captures another perspective of attack on Trump

    Focused amid the gunfire, an AP photographer captures another perspective of attack on Trump

    BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Gene Puskar has been with The Associated Press for 45 years. Based in Pittsburgh, his career has spanned a wide range of events including the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the Sept. 11 attack that downed Flight 93, Stanley Cups and World Series, many presidential and campaign events and, his favorite, the Little League World Series. Here’s what he had to say about making this extraordinary photo.

    Why this photo

    It was a political rally assignment like hundreds before that I’ve covered over 45 years with The Associated Press – until it wasn’t.

    I arrived at the Butler Farm Show at 8 a.m. for hopefully – most don’t start on time – a 5:30 p.m. appearance by former President Donald Trump and the traffic was already backed up to get into the parking lot.

    A fairway of Trump merchandise tents were in place and business was boomin’. At 8 a.m.!

    The Secret Service designated 10:30 a.m. as the pre-set time for photographers to stake out their spot on the back riser camera stand. I was to be stationed right in the center, 100 feet from the podium. We marked our spots with a tripod or ladder, mine with a giant AP in bright green tape on it.

    By 11:30 the pre-set was over, and the Secret Service locked down the site for a security sweep. We were allowed to return, this time through security, at 1 p.m.

    A steady stream of local, state and federal politicians riled up the crowd from 1-6 p.m. as they waited for Trump. I stood shoulder to shoulder with three other photographers and cameramen, hot, dehydrated, hungry – waiting for the main attraction to appear at center stage.

    How I made this photo

    Finally – shortly after 6 p.m. – Trump made his entrance. He stopped every few feet to point to folks in the audience and pump his first and smile. This is often the time photographers have a chance to make a picture, with the candidate or president gesturing and interacting with supporters. The end of remarks is a good time, too, when the subject also works the crowd.

    I had my trusty Sony A1 attached to a Sony 400mm f2.8, with a 1.4x telextender on it, sitting on a carbon fiber mono-pod resting on my shoulder. I also had a Sony A9 III with a 28-200mm lens on it.

    After turning to supporters who lined the grandstand behind the podium, Trump began his comments.

    The microphone on the podium was too high. I was right in his face. So, unless he looked up or to the side, making a worthwhile photo was impossible. After an initial frenzy of shooting photos once he started speaking, I settled down to look for expressive gestures.

    These speeches can go on a long time, sometimes over an hour and a half.

    Relatively early into Trump’s remarks, he was explaining a graph that showed the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S., he looked to his right, my left, at the giant screen projection when …

    a CRACK! CRACK! rang out. I knew it wasn’t a firecracker.

    I knelt down on the riser, which still left me about 5 feet in the air, and I looked to the Secret Service snipers on the roof to the right of the stage, my left, whom I had photographed taking their positions nearly four hours earlier.

    A few more reports of gunfire. Trump ducked out of frame, then there was a scramble of Secret Service. The agents swarmed the downed candidate, who was still hidden behind the podium.

    This image is one of the first I shot once the Secret Service deemed it safe to move Trump after being assured the shooter was down.

    It was a few frames later when Trump insisted that his Secret Security detail allow him to pump his fist and yell “fight!” to the crowd, captured by colleague Evan Vucci.

    I then followed Trump as he was assisted in a swarm of Secret Service to his SUV.

    Why this photo works

    The photo speaks for itself. The old saying goes; Question: What does it take to make a great picture? Answer: F11 and be there.

    I was there because the AP assigned me there. This is a great responsibility. To those who much is given, much is expected. I simply did what was expected of me as a AP photographer. What tells me I got the shot are the many people at the AP who tell me that I got it. And what makes me feel good/proud is that the AP feels good about the job I did that day.

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    For more extraordinary AP photography, click here.

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  • USDA moves to limit salmonella in raw poultry products

    USDA moves to limit salmonella in raw poultry products

    The Agriculture Department on Monday announced plans to limit salmonella in poultry products in the U.S., a proposal that officials say will keep contaminated meat off store shelves and lead to fewer illnesses.

    Under the proposed new rule, poultry companies would have to keep salmonella levels under a certain threshold and test for the presence of six particularly sickening forms of the bacteria, three found in turkey and three in chicken. If the bacteria exceeds the proposed standard and any of those strains are found, the poultry couldn’t be sold and would be subject to recall.

    The poultry industry has made progress in reducing the amount of salmonella in its products over the past three decades, said Dr. Emilio Esteban, USDA undersecretary for food safety.

    “However, there’s not been a similar decline in people in the number of illnesses,” he said.

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates salmonella causes 1.35 million infections annually, most of them through food, and about 420 deaths. The Agriculture Department estimates 125,000 infections from chicken and 43,000 from turkey each year.

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    Under the proposal, poultry companies would also have to establish monitoring programs that would identify contamination throughout the slaughter system. The proposal includes guidelines for lowering the chance of salmonella spreading through flocks before harvest, including vaccinating birds against the bacteria.

    The proposed rule, three years in the making, would be finalized after a public comment period.

    In April, the department told poultry producers to reduce salmonella in certain frozen poultry products as a first step. It was the first time the agency labeled salmonella as a contaminating “adulterant” in food, alongside certain types of E. coli.

    The National Chicken Council, which lobbies for the U.S. broiler chicken industry, opposes additional requirements.

    Ashley Peterson, a senior vice president for the group, questioned if the proposal was “demonstrated to positively impact public health” and said it could significantly raise prices. She said the council is committed to further reducing salmonella and looked forward to reviewing the full USDA proposal.

    Martin Bucknavage, a Penn State food scientist, said tracking specific levels and types of the bacteria is “not an easy thing,” especially at the fast pace at which poultry hits store shelves.

    He expects the industry will need time to adjust and it would take a while to see if the new requirements actually slow food poisoning cases.

    “Certainly, lowering the level of salmonella lowers your risk of getting ill,” Bucknavage said.

    The USDA took similar action with E. coli bacteria in 1994 after deadly food poisoning outbreaks tied to ground beef, and the number of related foodborne illnesses have fallen by more than 50%.

    The agency didn’t set limits on salmonella levels until now because there weren’t good enough tools and technology to track the bacteria in this way, but now “it’s time to change our approach,” Esteban said.

    “One of my commitments to this mission, to USDA, has been that I would not do things without having science to back us up,” he said. “We have the tools. We have the technology. We have the knowledge.”

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Barcelona wants to get rid of short-term rental units. Will other tourist destinations do the same?

    Barcelona wants to get rid of short-term rental units. Will other tourist destinations do the same?

    BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Imagine planning a vacation and not being able to check Airbnb or another online booking site for an apartment in which to spend a few days walking, shopping and eating among the locals. Would a hotel do?

    That’s the future confronting visitors to central Barcelona in four years. To safeguard and expand the housing supply for full-time residents, local authorities want to rid the Spanish city known for its architecture, beaches and Catalan culture of the 10,000 apartments licensed as short-term rentals.

    Barcelona City Hall announced last month that it would not renew any tourist apartment licenses after they expire in 2028. Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet said the city wants tourism, which accounts for 15% of the local economy, but must help residents cope with skyrocketing rents and real estate prices.

    “Our housing emergency obligates us, forces us, to change the way we do things and to put the priority on housing above our policies for accommodating tourists,” Bonet told The Associated Press.

    Property owners plan to fight the decision, arguing that eliminating short-term rentals would threaten their livelihoods and leave the city without enough temporary lodging: Some 2.5 million tourists stayed in an apartment last year, according to the Association of Tourist Apartments of Barcelona, also known as Apartur.

    Residents of the city, which has a population of about 1.6 million, have campaigned against “overtourism” for several years, but the anti-tourism sentiment has grown more heated: During a protest in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas district this month, some participants shouted “Go home!” and squirted water pistols at people seated at outdoor tables.

    Residential real estate prices in Barcelona have increased by an average of 38% over the past decade, a period in which the average rent soared by 68%, according to the municipal government. Like in other popular urban areas, many young people who grew up there struggle to afford a place of their own. Authorities say a lack of supply is partly to blame.

    A global dilemma

    Other cities around the world also are struggling to reconcile the housing needs of year-round residents, the rights of landlords and the allure of the economic benefits that being a top tourist destination can bring.

    Measures to limit the free-for-all of investors converting apartments into holiday rentals have included partial bans, caps on the number of days units can be let out and registration requirements for frequent hosts.

    New York cracked down on short-term apartment rentals in September with rules requiring owners to remain in their residence when they host overnight visitors and capping the number of guests at two. Maui’s mayor said last month that he wants to end condo rentals to tourists to help deal with a housing shortage made worse by last year’s devastating fire on the Hawaiian island.

    In Italy, a 2022 amendment to national legislation allowed the lagoon city of Venice to limit short-term rentals, but the city administration has not acted on it.

    Before moving to eradicate tourist apartments altogether, Barcelona officials tried more limited approaches. Its previous mayor, a former housing activist, made several moves to regulate the market, including a ban on the rental of individual rooms in apartments for stays under 31 days in 2020. The city also has moved aggressively to get unlicensed tourist apartments removed from online platforms.

    “We have accumulated lots of know-how in Barcelona that we are ready to share with other cities that want to have this debate,” Bonet said.

    What’s at stake for owners

    The decision in Barcelona was made possible after the government of Catalonia, the northeast region of which Barcelona is the capital, passed a law year year stating that current licenses for tourist apartments would expire by 2028 in areas determined to have shortages of affordable housing.

    Local governments that want to renew the licenses must demonstrate that doing so is compatible with locals being able to find affordable housing. Barcelona City Hall said it wasn’t.

    Spain’s conservative opposition party is challenging the regional law in the country’s Constitutional Court, alleging that the law infringes on property rights and economic liberty. Apartur, which represents 400 owners of short-term rental units in Barcelona, argues the industry has become a scapegoat in a city that has not granted any new tourist apartment licenses since 2014.

    Bonaventura Durall runs a company that owns and rents out 52 apartments near Barcelona’s beachfront. Forty of the apartments are located in a building that his business and others built in 2010 to tap into the growing short-term rental industry. He says the municipal government’s plan to phase out vacation rentals is unfair and puts his business and its 16 employees at risk.

    “There is an investment behind this that has created jobs and tax revenues and a way of life, which will now have its wings clipped,” Durall said. “This is like you go to a bar and take away its liquor license or you take away a taxi driver’s permit to drive a taxi.”

    Critics also say the move amounts to Barcelona exercising eminent domain and will inevitably create a black market of unregulated vacation rentals. Bonet, the deputy mayor, denies that City Hall is expropriating anyone’s property.

    “We are not saying that these apartments will disappear and therefore the owners of these apartments can’t generate revenue from them,” Bonet said. “They will have the same assets, but they will have to put them to the use they were originally built for, which is to house families.”

    The limits of the sharing economy

    Ignasi Martí, director of the Observatory for Dignified Housing at Spain’s Esade business and law school, said that in addition to likely facing legal hurdles, the initiative would at most only dent rental costs.

    Most studies indicate that Barcelona needs about 60,000 new housing units to meet current demand, he said.

    But Martí thinks that removing tourists from residential buildings could improve the daily lives of people who call the city home.

    “Take the case of a mother who needs to leave her child with a neighbor. If she lives in a building with tourist apartments, she knows that she can’t count on them,” he said. “Tourist apartments undoubtedly have repercussions in the possibility of creating ties, solidarity or making friends, beyond the issue of noise and people coming and going at any hour.”

    Esther Roset, a 68-year-old retired bank worker, thinks so, too. She has spent years complaining about the tourist apartment above her home. Some guests have done things like vomit off the balcony, brought in prostitutes and opened a fire extinguisher in the stairwell.

    Apartur argues that such behavior is rare, in party because of Barcelona’s strict regulations.

    Roset has other tourist-related pet peeves, such as the expensive food joints catering to foreigners that have swept away the traditional bars where she could get a simple sandwich. She pointed to three nearby restaurants that specialize in brunch. Roset, like most Spaniards, doesn’t do brunch.

    “I shouldn’t have to leave. This is my apartment. If the tourists who came behaved, OK, but one out of every 10 doesn’t,” she said. “At the end, I will have to follow the advice of a lawyer and hang a sheet from my balcony with the message ‘Tourist go home.’”

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    Colleen Barry contributed to this report from Milan.

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  • Russian media throw shade at Paris Olympics, which TV won’t show

    Russian media throw shade at Paris Olympics, which TV won’t show

    TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Watching the Paris Olympics will be difficult for most people in Russia — and in the view of its media, it’s not really worth the effort.

    Only 15 Russian citizens will be competing in the Games and, in principle, they won’t be representing Russia. Because Russia and neighboring Belarus were banned from fielding national teams because of the war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes approved to compete will be doing so as neutrals.

    Russians have been intense Olympics fans since the days when the Soviet Union’s sports prowess was nicknamed “The Big Red Machine.” But with so few of their countrymen competing, Russia’s state TV channels aren’t broadcasting any of the events. Russians may find feeds online, but could need a virtual private network to circumvent the country’s block of some channels.

    The last time the Olympics weren’t on TV in Russia — which has won the second-largest number of medals, counting the Soviet era — was in 1984, when the Soviet Union boycotted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

    State news channel Rossiya 24 did broadcast a report from Paris on the opening ceremony Friday night, showing dancing and plumes of colored smoke rising over the Seine River. News agencies Tass and RIA-Novosti gave it glancing attention, with terse stories saying the opening ceremony had begun, but little detail other than noting the rain drove many spectators away.

    Newspapers aren’t ignoring the Olympics entirely, but their main approach has been to accentuate the negative, writing at length about crime in Paris, the inconvenience of barricades placed throughout the city and reported food shortages for athletes.

    “The Paris Olympics is an amazing event, if not to say a phenomenon: Competitions in individual disciplines have just just started, the opening ceremony has not even taken place, and so many scandals have already accumulated that they will be enough for several Games,” Sovietsky Sport newspaper reporter Alexander Shulgin wrote Thursday.

    “I think that this Olympics will go down in history with a completely negative result,” the newspaper Sport-Ekspress quoted Irina Rodnina, a three-time figure skating gold winner and now a member of the Russian parliament, as saying.

    A whiff of schadenfreude floats through many of the stories. Writing about the fences and barriers erected in Paris, Sovietsky Sport’s Andrei Tupikov said: “Once upon a time, everyone pointed their finger at the structure of sports competitions in Russia. Many did not like the fact that before any mass events there were too many different fences and barriers around the arenas and stadiums. … In our reality the practice is slowly fading away, but in Europe it is being actively adopted.”

    Shulgin, seemingly smarting from criticism about the facilities at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, suggested Paris may face an opening ceremony embarrassment similar to Sochi’s, when a display of the Olympic rings malfunctioned.

    “If the ring did not open in Sochi, it’s scary to imagine what could happen in Paris,” he wrote, but did not follow up after the ceremony.

    No such disaster occurred, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Saturday compared Paris unfavorably to Sochi.

    “The Western media did not like (stray) dogs at the Sochi Games. In Paris, they were smiled at by the rats that flooded the city streets,” she said in a statement. She also called the opening ceremony “ridiculous.”

    Commentary on the Paris Games also verged into ethical and philosophical questions, such as whether one should root for the few Russians participating despite the national team’s exclusion. To receive approval from the International Olympic Committee, the athletes cannot have demonstrated support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, among other stipulations.

    Sport-Ekspress commentator Oleg Shamonaev analyzed the connotations of each word in the Individual Neutral Athlete designation and concluded: “The 15 ‘neutrals’ with a Russian passport who did not change their flag, despite 2 1/2 years of sanctions … are worthy not of condemnation but of respect.”

    “It’s stupid to pretend we don’t care about what happens to them at the 2024 Games,” he said.

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    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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  • California date palm ranches reap not only fruit, but a permit to host weddings and quinceañeras

    California date palm ranches reap not only fruit, but a permit to host weddings and quinceañeras

    COACHELLA, Calif. (AP) — Claudia Lua Alvarado has staked her future on the rows of towering date palms behind the home where she lives with her husband and two children in a desert community east of Los Angeles.

    It’s not solely due to the fleshy, sweet fruit they give each year. Their ample shade and the scenic backdrop they form draw scores of families seeking an event space to host celebrations ranging from weddings to quinceañeras, traditional coming-of-age events for girls’ 15th birthdays that are observed in Latin American cultures.

    Lua Alvarado is one of several dozen owners of small ranches that produce dates and double as event venues catering to the Coachella Valley’s predominantly Latino community.

    “This is what sells our property,” said Lua Alvarado, a 42-year-old fashion designer who bought the 8-acre (3.2-hectare) plot seven years ago. “It feels like we’re in Hawaii or some other tropical place.”

    While the region is known for blistering heat and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that draws thousands of people each year, it’s also responsible for more than 80% of the country’s dates thanks to the arid climate and ample groundwater, according to the California Date Commission.

    Most dates are grown by large-scale producers that also pack and ship the fruit. Lua Alvarado and other small producers harvest dates from their land and sell them to big producers, but that’s not enough to make ends meet.

    Many have other jobs ranging from landscaping to horse training and run the ranches, or ranchos as they’re known in Spanish, as event venues providing large outdoor spaces for family gatherings at a more affordable price than posh hotels in the resort areas around Palm Springs.

    Ranchos have existed for decades in the Coachella Valley and have grown in number along with the region’s population and a desire by many in the Latino community and others to host more events outdoors, especially since the coronavirus pandemic.

    But the weekend parties began drawing complaints from some neighbors seeking rural quiet, which prompted local authorities to cite the venues for noise and code violations.

    Mounting fines drove rancho owners to organize and seek special rules authorizing them to host private events — much like other properties do for concertgoers to the annual music festival — and keep their date palms thriving.

    Riverside County’s board of supervisors voted in June for a plan that would allow ranchos at least 4.5 acres (1.8 hectares) in size that remain 40% dedicated to agriculture and 20% to dates to do so, and includes provisions for parking and safety.

    V. Manuel Perez, a county supervisor, compared the plan to efforts to develop wine country in a nearby community known for grapevines and hot air balloon rides. He said it’s vital in a region home to Latino farmworkers and their children who want to celebrate family milestones and their culture on a budget.

    About 70% of the area’s population is Latino and the median household income was $65,000 a year in 2022, about $20,000 less than in the county as a whole, U.S. Census Bureau data show.

    “In 10 years, the Coachella Valley will be seen as date country,” said Perez, who recalled attending parties at ranchos as a child. “We felt this would be a unique way to ensure the success and the continuance — the further expansion if you will — of having something accessible, an event space that is accessible, that is affordable for people.”

    Dates have been cultivated in the Coachella Valley for more than a century since offshoots were brought from the Middle East to see if they would grow in the Southern California desert due to similarities in climate. The valley is the top date-growing region in the country, and last year Riverside County had nearly 10,000 acres (4,046 hectares) of date palms that produced more than 38,000 tons (34,473 metric tons) of the fruit, according to the country agricultural commissioner’s office.

    Mark Tadros, who hosts educational events and grows dates at Aziz Farms, said ranchos aren’t the biggest growers but when you calculate the fruit they sell to packing houses, it makes a difference. He plans to apply for the new permit for his 10-acre (4-hectare) farm and hopes that requiring landowners to devote a set share of their properties to the trees will encourage those who may not have enough date palms to plant more of them.

    “I think the more people who have stake in this industry and in this game, the better off we’ll be,” Tadros said, adding he has seen many date growers get out of the business.

    Carlos Ulloa has come to appreciate date palms after buying land seven years ago in Thousand Palms. His vision was to create a place where he could keep his horses and have a working ranch with lambs and peacocks while hosting events where families could have ample space to invite their relatives to a celebration without going broke.

    Dates didn’t figure into the equation, so Ulloa had the prior landowner — a date farmer — take most of his 500 palms and leave only about 150 behind. Ulloa later learned that each tree sold for as much as $1,000. He enjoyed their shade so much that he’s now taking offshoots to grow more palms and repopulate his ranch with them, something he is especially eager to do since only date properties will qualify for the new permit.

    Ulloa, who previously worked as a hotel event coordinator, said the ranchos fill a niche by allowing families to pay a few thousand dollars for an event and bring their own food or make decorations to cut costs, and they do so beautifully.

    “We’re providing the opportunity to people that are not as well off to, you know, have their celebrations, and not just our celebrations, but to follow our traditions, because a quinceañera — it’s more Latino than no other,” he said.

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    This story has been updated to correct that Alvarado is 42, not 49.

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  • Drag queens shine at Olympics opening, but ‘Last Supper’ tableau draws criticism

    Drag queens shine at Olympics opening, but ‘Last Supper’ tableau draws criticism

    PARIS (AP) — In an unprecedented display of inclusivity, drag queens took center stage at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, showcasing the vibrant and influential role of the French LGBTQ+ community — while also attracting criticism over a tableau reminiscent of “The Last Supper.”

    Held along the Seine River, the spectacular four-hour event featured global stars such as Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, both considered queer icons. The ceremony blended historic and modern French culture with a touch of kitsch, culminating in a flotilla of barges carrying thousands of Olympians.

    Nicky Doll, known for competing on the 12th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and hosting “Drag Race France,” participated in a high-octane fashion runway segment along with “Drag Race France” Season 1 winner Paloma, Season 3’s Piche, and Giselle Palmer. Initially, they stood alongside the runway, gazing fiercely at the strutting models. Later, they joined in, showcasing their own style.

    Le Filip, the recent winner of “Drag Race France,” expressed their positive “surprise” and “pride” at the ceremony’s scale and representation.

    “I thought it would be a five-minute drag event with queer representation. I was amazed. It started with Lady Gaga, then we had drag queens, a huge rave, and a fire in the sky,” they said. “It felt like a crowning all over again. I am proud to see my friends and queer people on the world stage.”

    Among their bold performances was a scene that seemed to evoke Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” featuring the drag queens and other performers in a configuration reminiscent of Jesus Christ and his apostles. This segment drew significant attention — and mixed reactions.

    “The (French) government knows what it’s doing. They want to show themselves in the best way possible. They showed no restraints in expression,” Le Filip told The Associated Press.

    On the other hand, prominent far-right politician Marion Maréchal denounced the performance on social media.

    “To all the Christians of the world who are watching the Paris 2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” she posted on the social platform X, a sentiment that was echoed by religious conservatives internationally.

    “… because decapitating Habsburgs and ridiculising central Christian events are really the FIRST two things that spring to mind when you think of #OlympicGames,” Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, posted on X, also referencing a scene depicting the beheading of Marie Antoinette.

    Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the opening ceremony, afterward drew attention away from “The Last Supper” references, saying that hadn’t been his intention.

    Le Filip responded to the criticism of the scene with a touch of humor and sorrow.

    “It feels like the words of somebody who didn’t get on the guest list. We could all be laughing together. It’s sad to me, honestly,” they said.

    Inter-LGBT President James Leperlier was more circumspect, arguing that France still has significant strides to make in inclusivity.

    “We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There’s much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It’s terrible that to legally change their identity they are forced to be on trial,” Leperlier said.

    He also highlighted the disparity in acceptance, saying that the community is not visible in other official ceremonies and “has difficulty being heard.”

    “If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not. France tried to show what it should be and not what it is,” he said.

    The opening ceremony came as drag and the voguing nightclub scene in France has experienced a revival. The cabaret club Madame Arthur, founded in 1946 in the ashes of World War II, is one of the world’s oldest continually running LGBTQ+ theaters. It opened as Europe was only just beginning to understand the extent of the widespread murder of members of the queer community in WWII and is currently experiencing a massive renaissance.

    Drag is not just a pastime; for many minority French communities who feel alienated over tensions arising from divisive politics and scars from the anti-gay marriage protests a decade ago, it’s a statement of defiance. Many gay Black and Arab youths — especially those from Paris’ less affluent and religiously conservative suburbs — and others who feel a sense of disconnect with French society find voguing and drag events safe places where their identities can be expressed without fear of reprisal.

    Despite the backlash, Le Filip believes the opening ceremony will ultimately transcend controversy.

    “The message of the show is freedom, and it’s a good postcard for France,” they concluded.

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    Associated Press journalist John Leicester contributed reporting.

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    For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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