Googly eyes have been appearing on sculptures around the central Oregon city of Bend, delighting many residents and sparking a viral sensation covered widely by news outlets and featured on a popular late-night talk show.

On social media, the city shared photos of googly eyes on installations in the middle of roundabouts that make up its so-called “Roundabout Art Route.” One photo shows googly eyes placed on a sculpture of two deer, while another shows them attached to a sphere. It's not yet known who has been putting them on the sculptures.

While the googly eyes placed on the various art pieces around town might give you a chuckle, it costs money to remove them with care to not damage the art, the city said in its posts.

The Facebook post received hundreds of comments, with many users saying they liked the googly eyes. “My daughter and I went past the flaming chicken today and shared the biggest laugh, one user said, using a nickname for the “Phoenix Rising” sculpture. We love the googly eyes. This town is getting to be so stuffy. Let’s have fun!”

Others said the city should focus on addressing more important issues, such as homelessness, instead of spending time and money on removing the googly eyes.

Over the years, the city’s sculptures have been adorned with other seasonal decorations, including Santa hats, wreaths, and leis. The city doesn’t remove those, and views the googly eyes differently because of the adhesive, Bend's communications director, Rene Mitchell, told The Associated Press.

“We really encourage our community to engage with the art and have fun. We just need to make sure that we can protect it and that it doesn’t get damaged,” she said.

The city has so far spent $1,500 on removing googly eyes from seven of the eight sculptures impacted, Mitchell said, and has started treating some of the art pieces, which are made of different types of metal, such as bronze and steel. The Phoenix Rising sculpture might need to be repainted entirely, she said.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

For Nigeria’s poorest communities, finding the money for school fees can sometimes seem like an impossible task. But some parents are collecting plastic waste to pay for their children’s education.

Fatimoh Adeosun scours the streets of her Lagos neighborhood for plastic waste. It has a value which means it can be cashed in to pay school fees.

“One day, I saw people picking plastic, I approached (the school) and asked if I could pick it and they converted it for my son’s school fees and I was given the go-ahead,” she explains.

But rooting around in the trash does mean she has to deal with other people’s judgmental attitudes.

“There are several challenges I encounter in this line of work but the motivation of seeing my son finish his education and in flying colors is what drives me. Sometimes, when we are moving the plastic waste to go sell, some folks use very derogatory statements about us,” says Adeosun.

In the impoverished area of Ajegunle, many parents don’t earn enough to pay school fees. But the initiative by My Dream Stead School is closing that education gap. The organization says accepting plastic waste as payment for school fees has enabled hundreds of children to return to school and receive a basic education.

“Lagos generates over 800,000 (metric) tons of plastic waste annually. And having these parents bring in their waste, they are not only protecting the environment, they are also securing the future of their children through an education,” says Isaac Success, the school’s founder and the man who started the plastic waste for school fees initiative.

He understands the struggles of accessing education first-hand. Isaac sees this as an opportunity to give back to the community that helped shape his journey.

Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children globally, a situation that poses significant challenges to the country’s socio-economic development. This alarming statistic highlights a crisis that affects both rural and urban communities.

They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. For Adeosun, one man’s trash is another’s education.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

From answering questions from cabinet ministers, academics and students on climate change, substance abuse and the law to children's inquiries about her birth and links to God, Sophia, the world-famous robot, won hearts at an innovation fair in Zimbabwe.

Boasting the ability to mimic facial expressions, hold human-like conversations with people, and recognize their gestures, Sophia is a global icon of artificial intelligence, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which brought her to the southern African country. She was created by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics in 2016 and granted Saudi Arabian citizenship in 2017, becoming the world's first robot citizen.

It was the first time Zimbabwe hosted a robot of her kind, and she wowed the old and the young alike at the University of Zimbabwe in the capital, Harare. She was there as a special guest at a week-long Artificial Intelligence and Innovation event.

She smiled, frowned, used hand gestures to drive home certain points, made eye contact in various one-on-one interactions and gave some unnatural pauses. She assured people that robots are not here to harm or take over from humans.

But she was quick to differentiate herself from humans when conversations appeared to become too personal.

I don't have romantic feelings towards humans, my purpose is learning, said Sophia.

But she did apologize when one participant chided her for seemingly avoiding looking at him.

Sophia also appeared patient as both adults and children mobbed her for selfies and bombarded her with questions, although she would also fire back with inquiries of her own about what locals were doing to solve the problems besetting them.

On the event’s last day, she exhibited her fashion sense. She smiled and expressed appreciation for being clothed in the country's national dress, a black, long slit number complemented by chevron stripes in red, green and white.

UNDP said it hoped Sophia's engagement would inspire Zimbabwe's youth to explore careers in AI and STEM fields.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

As outside temperatures grow chilly, weighted blankets can be a popular choice to warm up. Some people say the added pressure helps them soothe the worries of the day and get to sleep faster.

But research on the effectiveness of weighted blankets is limited. Here’s what to know.

Weighted blankets come with extra heft in the form of glass beads, pellets, cotton or another filling. Scientists haven’t studied exactly how the blankets work, but they have a few ideas. The blankets’ firm touch may calm the brain’s fight-or-flight response, said Dr. Neal Walia, a sleep medicine expert at UCLA Health.

“The evenly distributed weight on you tells your body, ‘Hey, you’re in a calm environment,’” he said.

The extra pressure also may signal the brain to release what’s called the love hormone, also known as oxytocin. It’s produced during bonding and cuddling, and can also lower anxiety, Walia said.

How do I use a weighted blanket? For most healthy adults, experts say to choose a blanket that is about 10% of their body weight. So, a 150-pound person may opt for a 15-pound blanket.

Weighted blankets are not recommended for babies or toddlers since they can hinder movement and breathing. People with sleep apnea, sleep-related disorders or respiratory problems should check with a doctor before using a weighted blanket.

The blankets aren’t for everyone, and each person gets the best out of their blanket differently. For example, some may find them too hot to use during warmer months.

And the extra swaddling comes at a cost: quality weighted blankets can range from $50 to over $300 depending on the size, weight and material.

Can weighted blankets improve sleep? There are some hints that weighted blankets can help with anxiety, chronic pain and sleep. But the research isn’t conclusive.

Even though there’s not yet strong evidence to back up the benefits of weighted blankets, sleep experts say there’s no harm in giving them a try if you’re willing to splurge.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

As it gets harder to locate specialist clinics with available slots, Australian doctors are turning to social media to help book appointments for their patients. Thousands of doctors have joined Facebook referral groups created to link healthcare providers and secure appointment times.

In 2020, while she was on maternity leave, Adelaide General Practitioner Caitlin Sum launched a social media page directed at doctors only. What was a hobby for Sum has now become the main resource for doctors looking for appointments with specialists.

The “Adelaide GP Referral Network,” as the Facebook page is called, counts more than 2,000 South Australian doctors. And it’s all about saving time. As a lot of specialists have stopped taking new patients, using social media to find one instead of doing endless internet searches or asking around makes a lot of sense.

“I think it bridges that gap and allows us to communicate with each other better and get to know each other and communicate directly,” says General Practitioner Alex Main.

“We would all love to spend less time doing admin, and more time seeing our patients,” says Dr. Sum.

In the state of Victoria, 800 members have joined a similar social media page.

According to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, there’s more and more pressure on general practitioners (GPs). The costs they face are increasing and waiting times for patients are growing. In this context, social media has become crucial for doing things like booking a specialist.

“GPs in the medical profession are hyper-connected, and social media and those discussion spaces, just like everyone, is a really important resource that we use to connect,” says Royal Australian College of GPs president Dr. Nicole Higgins.

These social media groups can only be joined by registered doctors. In order not to breach the Medical Board’s code of conduct, members can’t upload clinical photographs and patients can’t be identified. Sum says that because of the clear value of the service offered by the page, doctors have been abiding by the rules.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A lawsuit filed by a pair of Massachusetts families is adding to the backlash against an approach to reading instruction that some schools still use despite evidence that it’s not the most effective.

States around the country have been overhauling reading curricula in favor of research-based strategies known as the “science of reading,” including an emphasis on sounding out words.

The lawsuit takes aim at approaches that do not emphasize phonics. Among them is the long-established “three-cueing” strategy, which encourages students to use pictures and context to predict words, asking questions like: “What is going to happen next?,” “What is the first letter of the word?,” or “What clues do the pictures offer?”

Families of Massachusetts students who have struggled to read filed the lawsuit against authors and publishers endorsing that approach, including Lucy Calkins, a faculty member at Columbia University’s Teachers College. It seeks damages for families allegedly harmed by the material.

Thousands of schools once used three-cueing as part of the “balanced literacy” approach championed by Calkins and others that focused, for example, on having children independently read books they like, while spending less time on phonics, or the relationship between letters and sounds. Over the last several years, more than 40 states have enacted bills emphasizing instead materials grounded in evidence and scientific research, according to the nonprofit Albert Shanker Institute.

It’s unknown how many school districts still use the contested programs because the numbers aren’t tracked—but there are many, according to Timothy Shanahan, a professor emeritus in education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Many teachers have been trained to teach three-cueing so it may be used even in classrooms where it’s not part of the curriculum, he said.

He said research does show benefits from teaching phonics, but there is less information about the three-cueing method.

The suit asks the court to order the authors, their companies and publishers to provide an early literacy curriculum that incorporates the science of reading free of charge.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The sale of The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper and a bastion of liberal values in Britain’s media landscape, was approved despite two days of strike action from journalists.

The Scott Trust, the owner of the Guardian Media Group, which includes The Observer and its sister paper The Guardian, said the sale to Tortoise Media was expected to be signed in December.

The Scott Trust said it would invest in Tortoise Media, becoming a key shareholder, and take a seat on both its editorial and commercial boards.

Tortoise has also committed to safeguarding journalistic freedom and the editorial independence of The Observer, undertaking to honor the “liberal values and journalistic standards” of the Scott Trust in its editorial code.

Tortoise was launched in 2019 by James Harding, a former editor of The London Times and director of news at the BBC, and the former U.S. ambassador to London, Matthew Barzun.

Harding said The Observer name represents “the best of liberal, pioneering journalism,” and promised readers that “we will do all we can to live up to its history as a defender of human dignity and to give it a new lease of life as a powerful, progressive voice in the world.”

Ole Jacob Sunde, who chairs the Scott Trust, said The Observer needed “an ally to be sufficiently funded, long-term in nature, and respect editorial independence and liberal values.”

Journalists at both The Guardian, which publishes print editions between Monday and Saturday and has a deep digital footprint around the world, and The Observer, have protested the sale and went on a 48-hour strike.

Giao Pacey, a partner at media and entertainment law firm Simkins LLP, said The Observer’s new leadership will have to be careful in safeguarding the value of the newspaper, which is intrinsically linked to its brand, established over centuries.

“Once the sale is completed, the leadership team will need to strike the right balance between preserving the legacy, culture, and integrity of the business while ensuring that it has sufficient resources and support to thrive in a rapidly evolving market,” said Pacey.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Much of Earth's land is drying out and damaging the ability of plant and animal life to survive, according to a United Nations report released at talks where countries are working to address the problem.

The report was released at the U.N. summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on combating desertification—once-fertile lands turning into deserts because of hotter temperatures from human-caused climate change, lack of water and deforestation.

It found that more than three-quarters of the world's land experienced drier conditions from 1970 to 2020 than the previous thirty-year period.

At the talks, nations discussed how better they can help the world deal with droughts—a more urgent lack of water over shorter periods—and the more permanent problem of degrading land.

If global warming trends continue, nearly five billion people—including in most of Europe, parts of the western U.S., Brazil, eastern Asia and central Africa—will be affected by the drying by the end of the century, up from a quarter of the world's population today, the report warned.

Sergio Vicente-Serrano, one of the lead authors of the report, said that as the atmosphere heats up because the burning of coal, oil and gas spews planet-warming emissions, it leads to more evaporation on the ground. That makes water less available for humans, plants and animals, making it harder to survive.

Farming is particularly at risk, with drier land being less productive and hurting both yields and the availability of food for livestock, the report said. That can lead to food insecurity for communities worldwide.

Aridity also leads to more migration, because erratic rainfall, degrading land and frequent water shortages make it harder for regions or nations to develop economically, the report said. It said the trend is especially noticeable in some of the world's driest areas such as southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and southern Asia.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

California, home to some of the largest technology companies in the world, would be the first U.S. state to require mental health warning labels on social media sites if lawmakers pass a bill introduced in December.

The legislation sponsored by state Attorney General Rob Bonta is necessary to bolster safety for children online, supporters say, but industry officials vow to fight the measure and others like it under the First Amendment. Warning labels for social media gained swift bipartisan support from dozens of attorneys general, including Bonta, after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to establish the requirements earlier last year, saying social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people.

“These companies know the harmful impact their products can have on our children, and they refuse to take meaningful steps to make them safer,” Bonta said at a news conference. “Time is up. It's time we stepped in and demanded change.

State officials haven’t provided details on the bill, but Bonta said the warning labels could pop up once weekly.

Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 say they use a social media platform, and more than a third say that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center. Parents' concerns prompted Australia to pass the world's first law banning social media for children under 16 in November.

“The promise of social media, although real, has turned into a situation where they’re turning our children's attention into a commodity,” Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored the California bill, said in December. “The attention economy is using our children and their well-being to make money for these California companies.

Lawmakers instead should focus on online safety education and mental health resources, not warning label bills that are “constitutionally unsound,” said Todd O’Boyle, a vice president of the tech industry policy group Chamber of Progress.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Thousands of giant panda sculptures greeted residents and tourists in December 2024 in Hong Kong, where enthusiasm for the bears has grown since two cubs were born in a local theme park.

The 2,500 exhibits were showcased in a launch ceremony of PANDA GO! FEST HK, the city's largest panda-themed exhibition, at Hong Kong's airport in December. They were publicly displayed at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, a popular shopping district, before setting their footprint at three other locations a few months ago.

One designated spot is Ocean Park, home to the twin cubs, their parents and two other pandas gifted by Beijing in 2024. The design of six of the sculptures, made of recycled rubber barrels and resins among other materials, was inspired by these bears.

The cubs—whose birth in August 2024 made their mother Ying Ying the world’s oldest first-time panda mom—may meet visitors in February.

The displays reflect Hong Kong’s use of pandas to boost its economy as the Chinese financial hub works to regain its position as one of Asia’s top tourism destinations.

Pandas are considered China’s unofficial national mascot. The country’s giant panda loan program with overseas zoos has long been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-power diplomacy.

Hong Kong's tourism industry representatives are upbeat about the potential impact of housing six pandas, hoping to boost visitor numbers even though caring for pandas in captivity is expensive. Officials have encouraged businesses to capitalize on the popularity of the bears to seize opportunities in what some lawmakers have dubbed the “panda economy.

The organizer of the exhibitions also invited some renowned figures, including musician Pharrell Williams, to create special-edition panda designs. Most of these special sculptures will be auctioned online for charity and the proceeds will be donated to Ocean Park to support giant panda conservation efforts.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.