LOS ANGELES (AP) – Will Smith’s box-office superpowers remain intact.Smith’s “Hancock” – the story of a boozing, foul-mouthed superhero who dresses like a street bum – led the Fourth of July weekend with a $66 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.That raised the total for Sony’s “Hancock” to $107.3 million since it opened Tuesday […]

Merriam-Webster Inc. has added more than 100 new entries to its new edition of the Collegiate Dictionary. Here are some, along with the year in which Merriam-Webster first found them used in an English-language publication:• Air quotes (1989): gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands, used to call […]

On Wednesday, July 8th at 9 A.M., the Blue Store, Lewiston’s good clothes shop will offer their entire stock of high grade suits, rain coats, top coats, boys and children’s clothes, hats, caps and all furnishing goods at greatly reduced prices. The old reliable Blue Store never does things by halves. When they announce a […]

NEW YORK (AP) – The image of Ted Koppel interviewing world leaders is so ingrained that it feels odd to see him wearing a hardhat for a nervous trip into a Chinese coal mine, or sitting in a Chongqing karaoke bar where teenage girls are hired to “entertain” male customers.Good thing he did, since the […]

NEW YORK (AP) – NBC is using the Olympics as a “billion-dollar research lab” to get a sense of how people are using different media platforms to experience the Beijing Games that begin Aug. 8.Besides giving advertisers a clearer picture of how much consumers are paying attention to the games, NBC hopes its research provides […]

DEAR MR. DAD: I’ve been reading more and more that baby bottles and sippy cups are made from harmful plastics. How do I know which ones are safe?Answer: You’ve probably been hearing about bisphenol A (BPA), which has been making headlines lately. Even if you haven’t heard of it, it’s all over your house – […]

LEWISTON – From Detroit to Little Rock to Kalamazoo, Alexander Pitarys spent 30 years quietly crossing the Midwest as a one-man detective agency.His only client: restaurant tycoon Howard Johnson.In a secretive deal that side-stepped big business bureaucracy, Johnson personally named Pitarys a “manager-at-large,” gave him unlimited expenses and an ID card that made waitresses and […]

DEAR ABBY: I am 12 and have bad problems at school. Whenever I’m behind, can’t figure out a problem or just want to get it done, I cheat.I’m home-schooled, and my mom is my teacher, which means the answer books are in my “classroom.” I have tried to stop, but some-times I can’t resist the […]

“Prune spending and you’ll harvest dollars,” my farm-reared grandmother used to say, which endures as a practical approach to gardening in this period of fast-rising fuel and food costs.There are scores of low-cost, no-cost steps you can take that will keep your garden just as attractive and productive as the more expensive versions scattered around […]

Good morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July and you got a chance to see family, friends, parades and fireworks and anything else that is your Independence Day tradition. And, I hope you had some strawberry shortcake. The strawberries seemed to have enjoyed their snowy blanket this winter and are producing some […]