Author: Reporter

Amanda Porretto isn’t sure she’ll ever have children. At 27, she is the average age of new mothers in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She’s feeling the pressure as an only child. Her father wants to be a grandfather and her mother, before she died, always told Porretto that she would eventually want to be a mom. “Some people think it’s a bad thing” not to have a child, said Porretto, who works in advertising. “I just don’t think I need to bring more people into (the world) when there’s so much...

The United States has informed its NATO allies that it will scale back its troop presence along Europe’s eastern border with Ukraine, as it claims to focus on security priorities elsewhere in the world. The U.S. Army denied it was a sign of lessened commitment to NATO, but offered no further details. Depending on operations and exercises, around 80,000 to 100,000 U.S. troops are usually present on European soil. NATO allies have expressed concern that the Trump administration might drastically cut their numbers and leave a security vacuum as European countries confront an increasingly aggressive Russia. The administration has...

Federal funds could begin running dry on November 1, that helps tens of millions of Americans to buy food for their families and send their toddlers to preschool if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by then to end the U.S. government shutdown. Funding for another program that helps mothers care for their newborns could run out within days. Barring a resolution to the shutdown, the U.S. will have a gaping hole in its safety net, particularly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. Benefits under the program known as SNAP run...

Pop Mart has struck it rich. The Chinese company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers said in July that its profit for the first six months of this year had jumped by 350% compared with the prior-year period, largely because of its smash hit plush toy, the Labubu. Pop Mart joins a small list of companies that have tapped into the zeitgeist, drawing in millions of buyers who, for one reason or another, simply must get their hands on a toy or gadget of the moment. But what makes the Labubu a must-have, or any toy for that...

Danilo Yavhushyshyn left his native Ukraine 3 1/2 years ago, just after Russia launched a full-scale invasion, and has risen rapidly to stardom in Japan as one of the top sumo wrestlers. He’s so good that in August, the 21-year-old defeated one of the sport’s top wrestlers. This was not just any top wrestler. He beat Mongolian-born Hoshoryu who, with Japanese-born Onosato, is one of the two highest-ranked wrestlers in Japan. They both carry the title of grand champion — or yokozuna. Yavhushyshyn now goes by the Japanese ring name of Aonishiki Arata and, at a news conference in...