Houseplants are quick to tell you when they need help. They display discolored leaves, drooping stems, and little or no growth. That usually gives you enough time to make things right.

SAN FRANCISCO — When is a photograph of nude bodies artistic or titillating? A woman’s exposed nipple a political statement or erotica?

SILVERTHORNE, Colo. — Simon Beck carefully plots his course before shuffling through a windswept snowfield high in the Rocky Mountains.

NEW YORK — Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition was enacted. What’s more, it’s been rising for two decades, and it’s not clear when it will fall again.

By almost any measure, meat alternatives are rapidly gaining in popularity.

A social media campaign backed by a Japanese seasonings company is targeting the persistent idea that Chinese food is packed with MSG and can make you sick.

CONCORD, N.H. — Kyla Gill had never so much as touched a sewing machine or picked up a crochet hook two weeks ago. Now, she’s hooked on crafting for critters 10,000 miles (16,000 km) away, to the point of temporarily putting aside her floor refinishing business in Pittsburgh.

When home designer and builder Marnie Oursler talks with clients about building their dream homes along the Delaware coast, their No. 1 request is having bright spaces with lots of natural light.

PASADENA, Calif. — The brief farewell that Alex Trebek says will close his final “Jeopardy!” episode isn’t on the horizon.

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers are looking to toughen the penalties stores face for selling tobacco products to underaged customers as they raise the state’s minimum age for smoking and vaping from 18 to 21 to conform with the new federal law.

BETHESDA, Md. — Researchers hooked Zach Ault to medical monitors as he slowly climbed onto a gym bike. An invisible disease is sidelining this once avid athlete and he knew the simple exercise would wipe him out — but Ault was pedaling for science.

From early December through Jan. 1 (or beyond, depending on how fervently you hang on to the holidays), the pop of a Champagne or sparkling wine cork is a welcome and frequent sound. Fizzy wine is just the most festive of drinks, whether sipped straight up in a flute or mixed into cocktails.…

SALT LAKE CITY — When Nalini Nadkarni was a kid, she’d run home from school, climb into one of the eight maple trees in her parents’ backyard and spend an afternoon there with an apple and a book.

LONDON — Sustainability in fashion is a hot button topic, with retailers large and small racing to prove their green credentials, but the desire for new attire churns and the industry remains one of the world’s largest polluters as climate activists and watchdogs sound alarms.

PARIS — The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there’s a “50% chance” the structure might not be saved, because scaffolding installed before this year’s fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument.

LOS ANGELES — California prosecutors found no evidence of animal cruelty or other crimes during an investigation into a spike in horse deaths at Santa Anita Park racetrack over the past year, according to a report issued Thursday.

Health officials now blame vitamin E acetate for the “vast majority” of cases in the U.S. outbreak of vaping illnesses and they say doctors should monitor patients more closely after they go home from the hospital.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Drug overdose patients rushed to some emergency rooms in New York’s Hudson Valley are asked a series of questions: Do you have stable housing? Do you have food? Times and location of overdoses are noted, too.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The rumors swirled for decades: A dark history long lay buried under the grassy knolls and manicured lawns of a country club in Florida’s capital city.

PARAMUS, N.J. — Jaelyn Farrell climbed into a tree fort, played in fake sand and pushed around a “Paw Patrol” toy car.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — Depending on which country they’re from, the kids may ask about Father Christmas, Papa Noel, Saint Nick or Santa Claus.

Queen to admit ‘bumpy’ year in Christmas speech

NEW YORK — Would you put down that bag of chips if you saw it had 170 calories? What if the label said it would take 16 minutes of running to burn off those calories?

The widely held image of professional darts on television screens as a beer-fuelled pub game typically played by out-of-shape men has been shattered by the barrier-breaking exploits of a young Englishwoman.