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Lifelong toy maker offers his take on what inspires children

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

Rocket shoes.Plastic teeth that go Yakity-Yak.A monkey that flings banana scented poo. It’s obvious toymakers have a great sense of humor but even the most imaginative person would have trouble coming up with an idea for a toy every child might like for Christmas.So, how do they do it?“I wish I could tell you more about the creative process but so much that I do I’ve been doing for so long,” said Eddy Goldfarb, who invented more than 800 iconic toys during a career that spans 80 years and is now the subject of a new award-winning short documentary “Eddy’s World.”As he explains in the film airing on PBS stations throughout the country and streaming on PBS.org and the PBS App starting Dec. 2., when he sees something, an idea pops into his head or when he sees a need, he will invent something to fill that need.  His Merry Go Sip is a good example. In 1949, when mothers were having trouble getting their children to drink their milk Goldfarb came up with the idea for a drinking-cup-and-s...

‘Barbie’ and other hit movies inspire a spike in toy sales

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

Red and green might be the traditional colors for the holidays but this year toyland will be lit up in pink.Barbies.Care Bears.Moosh-Moosh plush buddies, miniature cats and pink slime.The blockbuster hit movie starring Margot Robbie as America’s iconic doll has not only been a smash hit for Mattel but has helped to boost the sales for other toymakers offering something in Barbie pink.“It’s always that way with toys,” said Julie Everette, co-owner of the Whistle Whistle Stop Hobby and Toy shop in St. Clair Shores. “If they really love the movie they want to immerse themselves in it.”Related ArticlesEntertainment | Dear Abby: Woman wants all the gifts that can’t fit Entertainment | Music bridges differences in ‘The Band’s Visit’ Entertainment | Dear Abby: Son’s unstable ex tries blackmail Entertainment | American Repertory Theater moving to Allston Entertainment | Artist Bashi resp...

Disneyland guest hospitalized, others injured after lamp post falls due to high winds

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

Multiple Disneyland guests were injured and one was taken to the hospital after a lamp post on Main Street U.S.A. fell over due to high winds, a Disneyland official confirmed to KTLA.Anaheim Fire and Rescue responded to the scene just before 8:30 a.m. and discovered that three people were injured due to the lamp post falling down. Personnel treated three patients at the scene. The person who was transported to the hospital sustained serious injuries, according to Anaheim Fire and Rescue. The incident occurred after strong winds moved into the Southland on Sunday. They are expected to stay until Tuesday.The lamp post was located in the flowerbed around the Disneyland flagpole and is used for stage lighting during parades and shows along Main Street U.S.A., the Orange County Register reported.Disney blog, WDW News Today, reported that the lamp post was removed just after 10 a.m., and Disneyland used vehicles to block off half of the Town Square area at the park.The park remains open a...

Colleges ask Ontario for 5% tuition hike, funding boost

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

Ontario’s colleges want the province to immediately end its five-year-long tuition freeze.Colleges Ontario says it would like the province to allow for a five per cent tuition increase for next September.It is also calling for a 10 per cent increase in operating grants and the lifting of a cap on “high-demand” programs to allow for more student enrolment.Last week, an independent panel found that colleges and universities across the province were struggling financially.It recommended the province lift the tuition freeze that it implemented in 2019 and increase per-student funding to post-secondary institutions.Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop says the government is reviewing the report and asking the institutions to be as efficient as possible.

Rosalynn Carter’s tiny hometown mourns a global figure who made many contributions at home

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Linda Campbell decorated the Lions Club Christmas tree in her small hometown just as she would any other Thanksgiving week, but this was no ordinary Monday in late November.All around the town of Plains, neighbors mourned the death of their matriarch, former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, while worrying about their patriarch, former President Jimmy Carter.“We’ve prayed for them every day for a long time,” said Campbell, 75, as another lifelong Plains resident, Lee Johnson, lowered the U.S. and Georgia state flags that fly in front of the downtown commercial district.Rosalynn Carter died at home Sunday after her physical health declined rapidly as she lived with dementia in recent months. She was 96. The former president, who is 99, has been in home hospice care since February. It was not immediately clear Monday whether Jimmy Carter will be able to attend the public services for his wife next week in Sumter County and Atlanta.For months, townspeople anticipated ...

3 girls charged for assaulting female police officer at Brampton high school

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

Three teenage girls were arrested after they allegedly assaulted and injured a female police officer at a Brampton high school.Peel Regional Police were notified of an incident at Cardinal Leger Secondary School just before 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 9.The high school’s principal called 911 to report that a group of students had assaulted an officer. The investigation revealed that a youth investigative officer was called to the high school at the principal’s request over an unrelated matter.Authorities said an altercation broke out in the school’s cafeteria. After the officer identified herself as a member of Peel Regional Police and attempted to break up the fight, several students struck the officer multiple times. Three students were identified and taken into custody. No other injuries were reported.Two 15-year-old girls from Brampton were charged with the assault of a peace officer causing bodily harm. They will attend court at a later date.A 17-year-old gi...

3 teen girls plead guilty, get 20 years in carjacking, dragging death of 73-year-old woman

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three teenage girls involved in the dragging death of a woman whose arm was severed during a carjacking in New Orleans last year pleaded guilty Monday to reduced charges and were sentenced to 20 years in prison. New Orleans news outlets report that the three were convicted of attempted manslaughter in the death of Linda Frickey, 73. A fourth suspect, a male who is now 18, still faces a second-degree murder charge, which carries a life sentence.All four had been slated for trial Monday. Jury selection for the lone remaining suspect, who prosecutors said was behind the wheel when Frickey died, got underway after the three girls’ guilty pleas were entered. The four ranged in age from 15 to 17 when they were charged as adults in the March 2022 killing. Authorities said Frickey died of blunt force injuries after she became entangled in a seatbelt as carjackers sped away with her car on the afternoon of March 21. She was dragged while neighbors watched helplessly....

Boston Bruins forward Lucic to be arraigned on assault charge after wife called police to their home

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic is scheduled to be arraigned on an assault charge in connection with his arrest this weekend after his wife called police to their home and said he tried to choke her.A Boston Police Department report released Monday said Lucic, a member of the Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup championship team, appeared intoxicated when they arrived at his North End apartment early Saturday. According to the police report, Lucic was arrested on suspicion of assault and battery on a family member, which carries a maximum penalty of 2 1/2 years in prison; he is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.Lucic’s agent did not reply to an email seeking comment over the weekend, and did not immediately respond to text message seeking comment Monday.The police report said Brittany Lucic told police on the telephone that her husband tried to choke her. When officers arrived, she said Milan Lucic had pulled her hair but did not try to strangle her. She declined an offer ...

Las Vegas Grand Prix drives record betting at BetMGM for a Formula One race

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Grand Prix, which Max Verstappen won Saturday night, blew past BetMGM betting handles for previous Formula One races.Trading manager Seamus Magee said BetMGM took three times the number of bets than any other previous F1 race.Westgate Las Vegas and Red Rock Resort reported on Saturday this race was the most-bet Formula One event at those sportsbooks.Formula One’s most expensive and hyped race that included the lure of drivers competing on the famed Las Vegas Strip drove the betting action.Verstappen, who has won three series championships in a row, took the lead with 13 laps left to win for an 18th time this season.One BetMGM bettor wagered $200,000 at minus-200 to win $100,000 when Verstappen cruised past the start/finish line. He opened at minus-350 at that sportsbook, and the number moved down throughout the week before finally reaching minus-185.Rather than try to find value, many bettors went for the near sure payoff with 28.7% of money goin...

Key Fed official sees possible ‘golden path’ toward lower inflation without a recession

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 10:59:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, suggested Monday that the economy appears to be on what he calls the “golden path,” another term for what economists call a “soft landing,” in which the Fed would curb inflation without causing a deep recession.“Any time we’ve had a serious cut to the inflation rate, it’s come with a major recession,” Goolsbee said in an interview with The Associated Press. “And so the golden path is a … bigger soft landing than conventional wisdom believes has ever been possible. I still think it is possible.”At the same time, he cautioned: “I haven’t moved so far as to say that that’s what my prediction is.”Goolsbee declined to comment on the likely future path for the Fed’s key short-term interest rate. Nor would he say what his thoughts were about the timing of an eventual cut in interest rates.But Goolsbee’s optimistic outlook for inflation underscores why analysts increasingly thi...