By ANITA SNOW

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Nothing makes Brad Lancaster happier than a monsoon downpour.

The tall 58-year-old jumped like a kid in the puddles on the sidewalk one recent August afternoon after a half inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain suddenly fell in Tucson, Arizona, during an especially dry summer.

“Sweet!” Lancaster exclaimed, beaming when he saw how the water pooled in a basin he had dug earlier in dirt planted with native vegetation along the public walkway.

“It’s really important that you are ready to plant the rain when it comes, even if it is a small amount,” he said, referring to a simple type of rainwater harvesting that involves digging a hole to allow rainwater to sink underground and be held like a sponge. “The key is to collect every drop of it.”

In the U.S. Southwest and beyond, home gardeners and landscapers are increasingly using collected rainwater to nourish their rose bushes and cactus gardens amid worsening drought and rising temperatures fueled by global warming.

Lancaster and other rainwater harvesting specialists say home gardeners anywhere can benefit from collecting raindrops and runoff from buildings and other surfaces to irrigate plants, even in wetter regions where the practice is less common.

Rainwater collecting is widespread in many of Earth’s driest regions. In Australia, it’s often used for drinking water, bathing and flushing toilets. And in Africa — where Lancaster said he learned more about the practice — it helps communities survive.

Saving the rain is also useful in southern Arizona, which is under pressure from a long-running drought. It’s drier than ever, with Tucson receiving less than half of the about 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain it usually sees by the first week of September.

A new collection tank stands alongside a poster of a rainwater harvesting system outside The Rain Store in Tucson, Ariz., on June 27, 2025. (Anita Snow via AP)

Some of the heaviest rainfalls in Arizona and other parts of the U.S. Southwest occur in the summer, during the annual North American monsoon season.

As much as two-thirds of residential water in the desert city is used outdoors, said Adriana Zuniga, an associate research professor in environmental policy programs at the University of Arizona.

“The idea is to use less water from the tap to irrigate,” she said.

Rainwater harvesting is by no means a modern revolution.

Zuniga, who has researched water use of the Maya people who lived in what is now Central America and southeastern Mexico, noted that the ancient civilization captured rainwater to survive dry, hot summers.

“It should be fundamental to how we live in the Southwest and ultimately everywhere else in the coming years in the face of climate change,” said Tucson landscaper Eli Nielsen, who co-owns a store that sells rainwater harvesting products including rain chains that guide water from atop buildings.

A pitcher of rainwater appears for visitors touring the nonprofit Watershed Management Group in Tucson, Ariz., on July. 19, 2025. (Anita Snow via AP)

Looking to create a rain collection system of your own? Here’s how to start:

Educate yourself

Find out if your state has restrictions on rainwater harvesting or requires a permit due to environmental or health and safety considerations. A tool created by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in collaboration with the Federal Energy Management Program can help.

See if your city or county water department has a program that encourages rainwater harvesting or has other resources. Your local community college or cooperative extension office may have educational programs offering guidance.

A water collection tank appears alongside an enclosure for chickens at the nonprofit Watershed Management Group site in Tucson, Ariz., on July. 19, 2025. (Anita Snow via AP)

In the case of Tucson, the city water department offers rebates of up to $2,000 for residential rain collection systems. It works with the local nonprofit Watershed Management Group to provide free 2½-hour classes residents must take to design a collection system that qualifies for a rebate.

One class anyone can attend virtually is the Essential Rain Water Course, offered for free on YouTube. It is co-hosted by water harvesting authority Peter Coombes, an honorary professor at the Australian National University and managing director of the independent think tank Urban Water Cycle Solutions, and Michelle Avis, co-founder of the Canadian organization Verge Permaculture.

Many proponents of collecting precipitation say the most authoritative book on the subject is Lancaster’s “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond,” along with a second volume published later. Lancaster also offers free resources to the public on his website.

Make a plan

Decide how ambitious you want to be.

Rain chains that direct water from atop buildings into storage containers, hang from the wall of The Rain Store in Tucson, Ariz., on June 27, 2025. (Anita Snow via AP)

Few people are going to be as dedicated to collecting the rain as Lancaster, said Hsin-I Chang, an assistant research professor in hydrology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona. She gives Lancaster credit for the practice’s popularity in Tucson.

Active harvesting systems use storage tanks, pipes and sometimes pumps. But simpler passive systems are low-tech and work by shaping the landscape with basins and other contouring alongside trees and other foliage. That allows rainwater to gather and then sink underground to recharge aquifers and nourish thirsty plants nearby.

“It’s very easy to get started with contouring,” Chang said, noting that active systems can be more expensive to set up and maintain.

Looking for more help?

A rainwater sign is displayed on an outdoor sink at the home of harvesting expert Brad Lancaster in Tucson, Ariz., on Aug. 1, 2025. (Anita Snow via AP)

If you need assistance, consider hiring a landscaper with experience in harvesting systems. You can also seek out master gardeners at local nurseries or home improvement stores.

And you can look to Lancaster for inspiration, tapping into the joy he expresses every time the rain falls.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

By Jake McMahon, Lexington Herald-Leader

In a small building tucked in a quiet Fort Mitchell neighborhood, more than 1,200 retirees have found a home.

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But they aren’t people — at least, not when they’re not on stage. They are dummies and dolls that serve as the largest collection of ventriloquism memorabilia in the world.

The Vent Haven museum in Northern Kentucky claims to be the only ventriloquism museum in the world. Open since 1973, it has grown from 500 dummies in founder William Shakespeare Berger’s collection to its current size of 1,242 dummies.

The museum was in Berger’s house until three years ago, when the collection was moved to a neighboring building. Lisa Sweasy, curator of the Vent Haven Museum, described the collection as the “Mecca of ventriloquism.”

“Every ventriloquist, whether they’re a hobbyist, amateur, paraprofessional or professional, has been here. This is their home,” Sweasy said. “There are lots of puppetry museums, but for ventriloquists, this is that narrow slice of the puppetry community where we focus strictly on ventriloquism.”

Sweasy said a common reason people visit the museum is the scare factor. She said guests are often made uneasy by the dolls’ uncanny valley effect — a phenomenon where objects become repulsive as they approach realistic, human-like features.

Lisa Sweasy, the museum curator, explains that the head is the main part off a doll during a tour on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. (Christian Kantosky/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS)

“When a face is static, like it is here, you perceive that you’re being stared at when you’re not,” Sweasy said.

That unease tends to dissipate, though, after the first exhibit, when the “brain becomes saturated of the normalcy of what you’re seeing,” Sweasy said.

The collection at Vent Haven stretches from the Civil War era to modern-day ventriloquism. Dummies used by popular modern ventriloquists like Jeff Dunham and Darci Lynne sit alongside dolls voiced by classic artists like Edgar Bergen and Paul Winchell.

Some of the older dummies in the museum, mostly in the vaudevillian era section spanning from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, portray racist stereotypes, which Sweasy said was common for ventriloquism acts of the time. Sweasy said ventriloquists often emphasized the stereotypes to showcase their “vocal gymnastics.”

The dolls take up spots in the exhibit and are viewable to guests in the museum. Sweasy said it was important for Vent Haven not to hide the history.

A wall of ventriloquial figures during a tour on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. (Christian Kantosky/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS)

“Most museum guidelines are to tell the truth about the pieces and tell them within context,” Sweasy said. “Hiding it is worse.”

Sweasy said the museum draws people of all ages, and sees people visiting the museum for many reasons. Some groups come with no knowledge of ventriloquism, and some come to reminisce on memories of watching popular ventriloquists of the past.

Along with the collection, Vent Haven hosts the annual VentCon, the International ventriloquism convention, and the Vent Haven 5k “Dummy Run.” Both events have already been held this year.

Sweasy said Vent Haven is a must see attraction because of its “uniqueness.”

“I think a lot of people like one-off attractions. You can go to an art museum in any city that you visit,” she said. “There are places in our country that are just these great little niche museums … I think we’re in that crowd.”

If you go

Vent Haven Museum

Where: 33 West Maple Ave, Fort Mitchell, KY, 41011

When: May-September, tours by appointment only

Online: https://www.venthaven.org/

©2025 Lexington Herald-Leader. Visit kentucky.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By SETH BORENSTEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming in the United States is amping up the country’s sweet tooth, a new study found.

When the temperature rises, Americans — especially those with less money and education — drink lots more sugary beverages and a bit more frozen desserts. That amounts to more than 100 million pounds of added sugar consumed in the nation a year, compared to 15 years earlier, according to a team of researchers in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

When temperatures go between 54 and 86 degrees, the amount of sugar the average American consumes goes up by about 0.4 grams per degree Fahrenheit per day, based on researchers tracking of weather conditions and consumers’ purchases. At 54 degrees, the amount of added sugar for the average American is a little more than 2 grams. At 86 degrees, it’s more than 15 grams.

Beyond that, appetites lessen and added sugar falls off, according to the study in Monday’s Nature Climate Change.

“Climate change is shaping what you eat and how you eat and that might have a bad effect on your health,” said study co-author Duo Chan, a climate scientist at the University of Southampton.

“People tend to take in more sweetened beverages as the temperature is getting higher and higher,” Chan said. “Obviously under a warming climate that would cause you to drink more or take in more sugar. And that is going to be a severe problem when it comes to health.”

A little added sugar every day adds up

The daily difference from higher temperatures doesn’t amount to even a single candy bar for the average person. But it adds up over time and has a big effect, said University of California San Francisco endocrinology professor Dr. Robert Lustig, a specialist in pediatrics and obesity who wasn’t part of the study.

Lustig wrote in an email that among poorer Americans, just one added can of sugary soft drink per day increases diabetes risk by 29% — and temperature-related thirst plays a big part in America’s obesity epidemic.

The United States’ average annual temperature has gone up about 2.2 degrees since 1895, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

To chart the impact on sugar consumption, researchers compared it to the American Heart Association recommendations: limiting daily intake to 36 grams for men and 25 grams for women.

The team then compared wind, precipitation and humidity records to the detailed purchase records of 40,000 to 60,000 American households from 2004 to 2019, not using any data after the pandemic hit. Then they looked at the nutritional information of the items bought. That allowed them to eliminate other factors to make a causal link and come up with a calculation for how much extra sugar is consumed per person per degree, said lead author Pan He, an environmental scientist at Cardiff University.

Researcher He said she started thinking about the study when she noticed that people in the U.S. tend to grab sugary soda when they are thirsty: “From a perspective of nutrition science or environmental science, that could be a problem,” she said.

Sugar consumption can vary with gender, income and education

The researchers found that men consumed more sugary soft drinks, and that the amount of added sugar consumed during hot weather was several times higher for low- and very low-income families than for the wealthiest, the study found.

NEW YORK CITY – JULY 25: A man buys cold drinks at a deli on a day where the heat index is expected to top 100 degrees on July 25, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Much of the East Coast is experiencing days of relentless heat in what is turning out to be another summer of record-breaking temperatures across America. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

People who work outside drank more sugary drinks than those who work inside, and the same went for families where the head of the household was less educated. White people have the highest added sugar effect, while Asians showed no significant change in added sugar in the heat.

Lustig said sugary drinks are marketed and priced in a way to attract the poor, and in many disadvantaged communities the water tastes funny because of chemicals in them. Poor people are also less likely to have air conditioning and are more likely to work outside and need more hydration, Lustig and He said.

“It should concern us that the rate of the impact is larger in households where people make less money or are less educated,” said Dr. Courtney Howard, vice chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. “These groups tend to have lower baseline health status, so this is an area where climate-related changes appear to magnify existing health inequalities.”

Howard, an emergency room physician, was not part of the study.

The amount of sugar consumed is likely to soar in the future with more warming, Chan said.

But University of Washington health and climate scientist Kristie Ebi, who wasn’t part of the research, said as temperatures increase with human-caused climate change “there will be other issues of more importance than a small increase in sugary beverages.”

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By Linda Gassenheimer, Tribune News Service

Savor the flavors of France with this classic Chicken Chasseur, also known as poulet chasseur. This French dish is celebrated for its rich and aromatic sauce, made from a blend of mushrooms, shallots, tomatoes, and a splash of wine.

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While there are many variations, this particular version is simple and can be prepared at home in just minutes. The recipe features shallots, a type of onion prized for their subtle sweetness and mild flavor, which perfectly complement the savory elements of the sauce.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Sliced onion can be used instead of shallots.

If you prefer not to use wine, add 1/2 cup broth instead of 1/4 cup.

1 tablespoon tomato paste is needed, freeze extra tomato paste for another time.

COUNTDOWN:

Prepare all ingredients.

Start chicken.

While chicken cooks, microwave the rice.

Complete the chicken recipe.

SHOPPING LIST:

To buy: 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 2 shallots, 1 container sliced button mushrooms, 1 bottle white wine, 1 container fat-free, no-salt-added chicken broth, 1 small can tomato paste, 1 bunch fresh parsley, 1 package microwaveable brown rice.

Staples: olive oil, flour, salt and black peppercorns.

Chicken Chasseur (Chicken with Mushrooms and Wine)

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs about 1/4-1/2 inch thick

1 cup sliced shallots

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

1/2 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup fat-free, no-salt-added chicken broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 package microwaveable brown rice to make 1 1/2-cups cooked rice

Heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs and brown 3 minutes. Add the shallots and continue to cook 2 minutes stirring as the cook. Turn chicken over and add the mushrooms. Continue to cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Divide the chicken in half and remove the chicken to two dinner plates. A meat thermometer should read 160 degrees. Cook a minute longer if needed. Add the flour to the skillet and mix with the vegetables until dissolved, for a few seconds. Add the wine. Cook 1 minute. Add broth and tomato paste. Stir all of the ingredients together and cook 1 to 2 minutes until sauce is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. While sauce cooks, add the rice to the microwave and cook following package timing. Measure 1 1/2 cups and save any remaining rice for another meal. Divide in half and add to the plates with the chicken. When the sauce is ready, spoon it over the chicken and sprinkle parsley on top.

Yield 2 servings.

Per serving: 561 calories (30 percent from fat), 18.6 g fat (2.7 g saturated, 8.8 g monounsaturated), 156 mg cholesterol, 40.4 g protein, 50.7 g carbohydrates, 3.3 g fiber, 181 mg sodium.

©2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC