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The secret life of gift cards: What happens to the billions that go unspent each year

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

(AP) - Gift cards make great stocking stuffers — just as long as you don't stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays.Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, making up one-third of those sales.Most of those gift cards will be redeemed. Paytronix, which tracks restaurant gift card sales, says around 70% of gift cards are used within six months.But many cards — tens of billions of dollars’ worth — wind up forgotten or otherwise unused. That’s when the life of a gift card gets more complicated, with expiration dates or inactivity fees that can vary by state.Here’s what to know about the gift cards you’re giving — or getting:LOVED, BUT LOSTAfter clothing, gift cards will be the most popular present this holiday season. Nearly half of Americans plan to give them, according to the National Retail Federation.But many will rema...

Dean's A-List Interviews: Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins in 'The Color Purple'

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

WGN's Dean Richards sits down with Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins, two of the stars in the new film adaptation of "The Color Purple." Dean’s A-list Interviews: Fantasia, Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson in ‘The Color Purple’ Get Dean’s reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean’s Downloads weekly newsletter. You’ll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

By the numbers: What the stats say about the Texas-Washington matchup in the Sugar Bowl

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — When the Texas Longhorns and Washington Huskies meet on the gridiron this year, a little bit more is on the line than an Alamo Bowl championship.The teams face off in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, one of the College Football Playoff semifinals, and while the Huskies have the nation's most prolific passing attack, the Texas offense as a whole is better in terms of average yards gained per game. Texas Longhorns’ 2024 recruiting class jumps to No. 3 after early signing period Led by Heisman Trophy finalist Michael Penix Jr., the Huskies sling the ball down the field better than any FBS offense this season. They average 343.8 yards per game through the air while Penix is responsible for an FBS-leading 324.46 yards per game, and as the Longhorns saw in the Alamo Bowl last season, Penix can stretch the field seemingly whenever he wants.Rome Odunze, Penix's favorite target, averages over 100 receiving yards per game at 109.8, third-most in FBS, and that combination has led th...

A paradox in paradise: Ski towns see high rates of suicide, mental health challenges

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

The image of Western ski towns as glamorous, fun-filled and carefree gets a reality check in a new documentary film focusing on disproportionally high suicide rates in Rocky Mountain states, sometimes described by mental health experts as the Suicide Belt.Called “The Paradise Paradox,” the film explores how party culture, addiction, isolation, loneliness, the high cost of mountain living and inadequate public health resources in ski towns contribute to higher suicide rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the six states with the highest suicide rates in 2021, four were in the Rockies. Wyoming led the list with Montana ranked second, New Mexico fourth and Colorado sixth.Brett Rapkin, left, co-director of new documentary on mental health in mountain communities called The Paradise Paradox, poses with former Olympic ski racer Bode Miler, who was involved as an executive producer. (Provided by Podium Pictures)But the film also highlights effor...

Colorado weather: Blizzard conditions continue on northeast plains as snow falls on Denver metro

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

A blizzard that developed overnight across most of the northeast plains is expected to drop another two to seven inches of snow Tuesday.Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Boulder expect the snow to continue on the plains during the day and into Tuesday night before eventually diminishing overnight.Blizzard conditions continue over parts of NE Colorado. At 5 AM, the worst conditions were from just east of Denver to Burlington, with better conditions further NE. Improvement is expected this morning, then more snow later today. #cowx pic.twitter.com/rEL7iMlseS— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) December 26, 2023The worst conditions are along the Interstate 70 corridor near Limon, where forecasters said winds were reaching the 90th percentile near 60 mph.The snowfall and strong winds have caused poor visibility on most eastern highways, less than a quarter mile in some areas, and forecasters said there could be impossible driving conditions in some areas.The plains aren’...

The best Colorado art exhibits of 2023 (including three you can still see)

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

There were great art exhibitions all around the Front Range in 2023, from big institutions (like the Denver Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art) to mid-size players (like the RedLine Art Center, Understudy and Black Cube), to small, hard-working commercial spaces (like David B. Smith and Leon galleries). They all deserve a hand.These are the ones to remember.“Colombia: The Corn, the River, and the Grave,” Museo de Las Americas, AprilThis was among the most ambitious art efforts in all of Colorado in 2023. The Museo set out to show us the best of contemporary art being made in the country of Colombia and exceeded its goal. The show was full of top names who define the current scene and emerging newcomers who will create its future. Curator Alex Brahim pulled it all together by connecting the natural beauty of his homeland to the decades of political upheaval that have taken place in it. It was a rare opportunity for local audiences to see another world, and a great ex...

Cowboy hats aren’t just a Western tradition in Colorado, they’re a booming business

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

Chris Christmas, a fourth-generation Black cowboy with Native American roots, considers the cowboy hat to be an indispensable part of his heritage.“I think I was born with a cowboy hat,” said the 57-year-old Denverite, whose family has resided in Colorado for 120 years. With dozens of hats in his collection today, “I buy them like sneakers,” he laughed.Christmas is pressing against the longstanding stereotype of a white-washed American West by working with hat shaper Parker Orms on a line of headwear stylized on “the untold legacy” of Black cowboy culture.“Because they had come from slavery, there wasn’t too much they had to represent their wealth except their horse, their hat and their scarf,” Christmas said in an interview. “Your identity was based on your hat.”An American renaissance of the Wild West and its traditions is putting the iconic cowboy hat back in the spotlight. In recent years, business has boomed for ...

Influx of migrants in Carbondale prompts $5 million in state emergency funding for local communities

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

An influx of Venezuelan migrants to Carbondale that received national attention has prompted state legislators to authorize $5 million in emergency funding to support local efforts across the state to aid migrants.Local nonprofit Voces Unidas de las Montañas in early November discovered about 80 adult migrants living under a bridge in the mountain town northwest of Aspen; that number has grown to about 150 people and now includes families with children, according to the organization. Local efforts to house all the newcomers have been met with financial and physical challenges.To support this and other communities receiving migrants across the state, the Colorado Joint Budget Committee in a four-to-two vote on Wednesday approved $5 million in emergency supplemental funding community groups can access through state Department of Safety grants, an effort spearheaded by Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs.Many of the migrants came to Carbondale to find work at ski resorts and in...

Woman killed, 1 arrested in violent 7-vehicle East L.A. crash

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

One person is in custody after a multi-vehicle crash in the unincorporated East Los Angeles area that left a woman dead and another injured Tuesday morning.California Highway Patrol officers responded to the collision around 12:15 a.m. near East Olympic Boulevard and South Vancouver Avenue.Investigators believe two vehicles were involved in the initial crash and then careened into as many as five others parked on the street.Emergency crews respond to a multi-vehicle crash in East Los Angeles on Dec. 26, 2023. (OnScene.TV)In one instance, video showed a pickup truck resting on top of another vehicle. An unidentified woman was pronounced dead at the scene, a CHP spokesperson confirmed. At least one other victim was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition. It was unclear if there were any other injuries resulting from the crash. One person was arrested at the scene, according to the CHP. Fatal Christmas Day train crash leaves passengers stranded for hours No details abou...

Rarest insect in world can now be seen at San Diego Zoo

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:28:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- Visitors to the San Diego Zoo are in for a real treat as they now have a chance to view the rarest insect in the world.San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s entomology team and Australia’s Melbourne Zoo have been working together for over a decade to help sustain populations of the critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insect.For the first time in North America, you can now view the rare insects in a specialized habitat at the zoo's Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced this week. The Lord Howe Island stick insect breeding program at the San Diego Zoo works to help sustain populations of the rarest insect in the world. Previously thought to be extinct on the Lord Howe Island Group -- a cluster of volcanic islands in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand -- and rediscovered in 2001, two pairs were taken to the Melbourne Zoo for breeding to help save the species. Since 2012, the two zoo's have been ...