Fortune struck one man in the bakery aisle at the supermarket. Two others were working the night shift at a Subway sandwich shop. Yet another was plucked from a list of 15,000 hopefuls.

SALISBURY, England (AP) — David Halls isn’t a doctor, nurse or ambulance driver, but he wanted to contribute in the fight against COVID-19. So he did what he does best: He sat down on the bench beside at Salisbury Cathedral’s historic organ and began to play.

FAIR HAVEN, Vt. (AP) — A goat and a dog who were each elected mayor have helped raise money to renovate a Vermont community playground.

Even before she sees the name on the return address, Nancy Sloane knows who sent the letter — the Snoopy sticker that seals the envelope is a dead giveaway.

Question: I have reduced fertilizer for my indoor plants in the winter because of the slower growth rate. I have not fertilized since early November. When should I begin fertilizing my indoor plants again? Do you recommend a particular indoor plant fertilizer?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department leaders under President Donald Trump knew their 2018 “zero tolerance” border policy would result in family separations but pressed on with prosecutions even as other agencies became overwhelmed with migrants, a government watchdog report released Thursday…

DENVER (AP) — Howard Jones, who’s 83, was on the phone for three to four hours every day trying to sign up for a coronavirus vaccine.

BORING, Ore. (AP) — A line formed out the door during the lunch rush at the Carver Hangar, a family-owned restaurant and sports bar, and waitresses zipped in and out of the kitchen trying to keep up with orders as customers backed up in the lobby.

Three new vegetables have been given awards by All-America Selections, the non-profit testing organization for new flowers and vegetables.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two days before Thanksgiving, on the eve of a turkey giveaway for dozens of jobless residents in an impoverished Miami neighborhood, Sherina Jones got word that one of the free community refrigerators she’d been stocking was stolen.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — In Zimbabwe, where girls as young as 10 are forced to marry due to poverty or traditional and religious practices, a teenage taekwondo enthusiast is using the sport to give girls in an impoverished community a fighting chance at life.

Needle-leaved evergreen conifers are the main source of green in most of our landscapes this time of year. However, there are a few broadleaf evergreens that are especially appreciated in mid-winter when most broadleaf plants are leafless.

ROSS, Calif. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is coming home to roost in America’s backyards.

We’re taking a look back at some of the top photos and moments that helped shape Idaho Falls over the last year. Whatever your opinion may be, 2020 is one for the books.

All-America Selections, a non-profit testing organization has announced awards for three new flowers for 2021 gardens. Test gardens with professional judges are scattered throughout the U.S. and Canada. Display gardens featuring All-America winners can be visited to view winners. The display…

Eileen Nagle sees her family in video chats and drive-by visits, but that hasn’t made up for the lack of warm hugs in the nine months since the pandemic led her nursing home to shut its doors to visitors.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Cindy Soule’s fourth graders in Maine’s largest city have studied pollination in a community garden. They solved an erosion problem that was damaging trees. They learned about bear scat.

Sixteen notable writers have created a combined list of places that they believe helped shape and define America, from coastal Oregon and Solvang, California, to Ellis Island and New Hampshire's Black Heritage Trail.

Question: We just moved into a new home. The developer will be planting a lawn and a few plants for the front. We need to landscape the back. The furnished front landscapes of other homes in this development are not very appealing. A few homes have done a more extensive planting in front. We…

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Zorik was never the tail-wagging or hand-licking type. But that didn’t stop the free-spirited vagabond dog from winning many hearts.

Associated Pres

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — In one of the most corrosive presidential campaigns in recent American history, amid the political denunciations and slanders of an excruciating year, Utah’s top candidates for governor made a television commercial together.

CHICAGO (AP) — From speculation that the coronavirus was created in a lab to hoax cures, an overwhelming amount of false information clung to COVID-19 as it circled the globe in 2020.

Question: I have a friend with many indoor plants. When I asked her why she had so many, she said plants cleanse the air and add oxygen. Do plants actually improve air quality?

NEW YORK (AP) — Corritta Lewis has a huge extended family. Her mom is one of 12 siblings. Usually, Christmas means that she, her wife and their 2-year-old son dig out their cold-weather gear for the schlep from home in sunny Southern California to Ohio and days of holiday chaos.

CHICAGO (AP) — Hayley Orlinsky has made so many bracelets, looping colorful rubber bands over her thumb and index finger again and again, that she no longer must watch her hands.

Question: I asked two of my gardening friends for help with my houseplants. One said I am watering too much, and the other one said I am not watering enough. I water all my house plants once a week. Do think that is too much or too little?

HONOLULU (AP) — Navy sailor Mickey Ganitch was getting ready to play in a Pearl Harbor football game as the sun came up on Dec. 7, 1941. Instead, he spent the morning — still wearing his football padding and brown team shirt — scanning the sky as Japanese planes rained bombs on the U.S. Paci…

MIAMI (AP) — Brad Six becomes Santa Claus, pulling his black boots over his red pants in the office of a Miami outdoor supply company. It’s hot, so he forgoes the traditional heavy jacket for a lightweight vest and grabs his Santa hat.

Without any in-school special education services for months, 14-year-old Joshua Nazzaro’s normally sweet demeanor has sometimes given way to aggressive meltdowns that had been under control before the pandemic.

Question: I have had mixed success with indoor plants. I don’t have the best light situation in my home. Could you suggest some indoor plants which would do better under my low light conditions?

HONOLULU (AP) — Line-Noue Memea Kruse lives on Oahu’s famed North Shore, where marveling at sea turtles, epic waves and sunsets that paint the sky orange and purple are a must for many tourists in Hawaii.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ani Sirois, a respiratory nurse, has spent months caring for coronavirus patients at a Portland, Oregon, hospital, and she’s only getting busier as infections — and hospitalizations — surge before the holidays.

When Chip Matthews heard the mail truck arriving on his sixth birthday, he rushed out — not knowing that he’d come back with a treasure.

LIBOURNE, France (AP) — Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the greeting card he sent to Santa and marked “I (heart) u.” Alina, 5, asked in her Santa letter written with an adult’s help that he please use the front door when he drops in, because the back door is reserved for Grandma…

(THE CONVERSATION) — Individuals and companies spent a record $14 billion trying to get politicians elected in 2020, according to the latest estimate, more than double the $6.5 billion expended in 2016.