The heads of two pups (can we call them pups if they’re full-grown?) are about to get a lot heavier as they are to be crowned the canine king and queen of the 2026 St. Paul Winter Carnival.

Queen Pumpkin, a 2-year-old toy poodle, and King Bruno, an 11-year-old boxer-shar pei mix, will receive their royal titles at the official Doggie Depot ceremony Sunday at Union Depot in downtown St. Paul. They will be crowned by the 2026 St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Family. The public is invited to join in the free fun, shop from local pet vendors and even participate in dog yoga (this way you can learn downward dog from a true master).

Out of 2,645 total votes, Pumpkin received 325 votes for queen, and Bruno had 271 votes for king.

According to Doggie Depot, Queen Pumpkin is a “rescue ambassador who brings joy to kids and seniors alike.” King Bruno is a “former Texas street dog who is learning to embrace the cold of his new home in Minnesota.”

Meet King Bruno

King Bruno (Courtesy of Doggie Depot)

In 2020, in Texas, Rebecca Zerlin would take her 6-year-old, three-legged St. Bernard- Lab mix, Trillie, for walks around town. As the two walked, a street dog mix would follow the two. The dog followed Zerlin and Trillie around for a couple of months.

“One day, he followed us home and kind of never left,” Zerlin said.

Trillie has since passed, and Zerlin moved to St. Paul with Bruno, the friendly street dog, in 2023.

“He’s a really sweet dog,” Zerlin said. “He’s got a wonderful personality. Sometimes he can be a little dense, but I think that’s the boxer in him. He loves affection; he loves attention.”

This year is Zerlin’s first time participating in the St. Paul Winter Carnival. She said coming from Texas, she’s tried to be aware of what’s going on around town, and doing so has helped her meet new friends and find community. When she got word of Doggie Depot, she said she knew Bruno had to compete.

Zerlin said her friends flipped through many photos with her in attempts to find the ones where Bruno looked like “his most handsome and regal self.” She said she did not at all expect him to win.

“I’m very excited,” Zerlin said. “I hope Bruno is. I’ve been telling him about it, and he’ll wag his tail, but I don’t think he fully knows what he’s in for this weekend.”

King Bruno succeeds Goldendoodle Grover, who served as 2025’s king.

Meet Queen Pumpkin

Queen Pumpkin (Courtesy of Doggie Depot)

Queen Pumpkin was adopted in 2023 by Elena Lindemann, who is originally from Ukraine, and has lived in Minnesota since 1992. Lindemann and her 10-year-old daughter, Nola, live in Woodbury with their three toy poodles, Lily, Macy and Pumpkin.

Lindemann has been a dog foster mom for 14 years, and Pumpkin was born from one of the dogs she fostered. Betsy, Pumpkin’s mom, was rescued by Coco’s Heart Dog Rescue from a breeding facility, Lindemann said. The rescue organization didn’t initially know Betsy was pregnant, but Lindemann decided to take her in, along with the four puppies she birthed a couple of years ago.

“One of them was Pumpkin,” Lindemann said. “She was the only girl.”

Lindemann’s daughter, leader of “the foster naming committee of one,” gave all four puppies fall-themed names as they were born in November: Acorn, Spice, Turkey and Pumpkin.

This is Lindemann and her daughters’ second time participating in Winter Carnival festivities, she said. Last year, Nola was welcomed to the Royal Family and crowned Little Miss Woodbury Ambassador. Lindemann said her family enjoys all the events, but most importantly, the people behind them.

Nola Lindemann, 2024 Little Miss Woodbury Ambassador, holds her toy poodle, Pumpkin, who will be crowned Queen during Doggie Depot, the 2026 Winter Carnival royal canine event, at 11 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 at Union Depot in downtown St. Paul. (Courtesy of Elena Lindemann)

“Behind all of the glitz and glamour are people who really want to give back to the community and bring joy,” Lindemann said.

Pumpkin is a very sweet dog, Lindemann said. She has been an “informal ambassador” for Coco’s Heart rescue, as Lindemann has taken her to schools to teach kids about compassion and kindness, as well as nursing homes, she said. Though she’s a very kind dog, Lindemann said she’s also good at disciplining the rambunctious foster puppies that come into their home.

“But yet she’s super, super sweet,” Lindemann said. “Her favorite place in the whole world is your lap, and if the lap is available, she’ll sit there all day.”

While a lap is her favorite place, Pumpkin also has a favorite thing and that’s cheese, according to Lindemann.

“That is something that will wake her up from the deepest sleep,” Lindemann said. “She does love cheese. In fact, we use that word for basically any treats. That is her code to activate.”

Lindemann said she’s excited for people to come and meet Pumpkin for the first time. She said she knows they will find her “little five-pound self” adorable. She said she’s also looking forward to being in community with others, especially in Minnesota, at a time when it’s needed most.

“Mostly, I’m excited to be around dog lovers and rescue-minded people,” Lindemann said. “I find that, personally, the days are very sad and everything else, but there’s that bond that you have in common with rescue people, that you can be on the opposite end of the spectrum politically or otherwise, but this is what unites you, and that warms my heart.”

Queen Pumpkin succeeds canine Kairi, an American Pit Bull who served as 2025’s queen.

Doggie Depot

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2026 St. Paul Winter Carnival Royal Family announced

What: A free public celebration of two of St. Paul’s most beloved dogs. Watch as they receive their crowns, shop around from local pet vendors and pet some of the pooches present.

When: All are invited to meet the two royals following the ceremony at 11 a.m. Those interested in “doga,” AKA dog yoga, must sign up early for spots, which are limited, and attendees will have to arrive at Union Depot at 9 a.m.

Where: The event will take place in the Waiting Room of Union Depot, 214 Fourth St. E., St. Paul; “just follow the dogs,” as the Doggie Depot website says.

For more information on the event, visit uniondepot.org/doggiedepot.

By MIKE STOBBE, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024 — the highest mark in American history.

It’s the result of not only the dissipation of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also waning death rates from all the nation’s top killers, including heart disease, cancer and drug overdoses.

What’s more, preliminary statistics suggest a continued improvement in 2025.

“It’s pretty much good news all the way around,” said Robert Anderson, of the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the 2024 data on Thursday.

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Life expectancy, a fundamental measure of a population’s health, is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live, given death rates at that time.

For decades, U.S. life expectancy rose at least a little bit almost every year, thanks to medical advances and public health measures. It peaked in 2014, just shy of 79 years.

It was relatively flat for several years before plunging as the COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 1.2 million Americans. In 2021, life expectancy fell to just under 76 1/2 years. It has been rebounding since.

The data reflect not only a complete turnaround from the pandemic but also a lasting improvement in the drug overdose epidemic, said Andrew Stokes, a researcher at Boston University.

The bad news is that the U.S. still ranks below dozens of other countries, Stokes noted.

“There’s a lot more to be done,” he said.

In 2024, about 3.07 million U.S. residents died, about 18,000 fewer than the year before. Death rates declined across all racial and ethnic groups, and in both men and women.

Heart disease remained the nation’s leading cause of death, but the death rate due to it dropped by about 3% for the second year in a row. A combination of factors are likely at play, including advances in medical treatments and weight management, said Dr. Sadiya Khan, who treats and studies heart disease at Northwestern University.

Deaths from unintentional injuries — a category that includes drug overdoses — fell the most, dropping more than 14% in 2024. COVID-19, which only a few years ago was the nation’s No. 3 killer, in 2024 dropped out of the top 10.

COVID-19’s fall meant suicide moved into the top 10, even though suicides in 2024 declined. Homicides fell that year, too, this week’s report said.

Deaths statistics for 2025 are not finalized, but preliminary data suggest around 3.05 million deaths have been recorded. That number may grow as more death certificates are rounded up and analyzed, but Anderson said he expects last year will end up at least a slight improvement over 2024.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged up for the second week in a row, but remains just above its lowest level in more than three years.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.1% from 6.09% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.95%.

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Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also rose this week. That average rate inched up to 5.49% from 5.44% last week. A year ago, it was at 6.12%, Freddie Mac said.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

The 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.24% at midday Thursday, just below where it was a week ago.

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP National Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) — When American speedskater Erin Jackson won the 500 meters at the Beijing Games four years ago, she knew, of course, that it was her first Olympic medal. She also was aware that it had been a while — 28 years, to be exact — since a woman from the U.S. finished first in that event.

What she had no idea about until days later: Jackson was the first Black woman, from any country, to claim an individual gold medal, in any sport, at any Winter Olympics.

Jackson definitely does not want to be the last.

“It was just really surprising, I guess, because I felt like, ‘How could that be?’” she said in an interview with The Associated Press at the U.S. Speedskating trials ahead of the Milan Cortina Games. “When you think about how many Winter Olympics we’ve had, I just thought it was really strange. I hope people can see my story and the stories of other Black women in winter sports and then, hopefully, we’ll have more coming up soon.”

They’re not there yet.

The 33-year-old Jackson is the only Black athlete among the 21 speedskaters on the long track and short track squads for the United States at these Olympics, although this could be the most diverse Winter Games roster the country’s had overall.

“I can’t imagine being a younger kid watching the Olympic Games and never seeing somebody that looked like me do what I’m trying to do,” said U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe, a two-time bronze medalist. “For her to be able to do that, and she is now that face for young Black girls to be able to look up and say, ’She can do it? Now I can do it’ — it’s monumental.”

Bowe famously gave up her spot in the 500 four years ago to her longtime friend after Jackson slipped at the trials; an extra U.S. berth later opened up, allowing both to race in China.

Jackson, already the first Black woman to win a World Cup 500, took full advantage. She was focused on the piece of metal she wanted dangling from her neck, not the historical significance.

“We didn’t even think about that at the time. I didn’t even realize it until a day or two later,” U.S. Speedskating national team coach Ryan Shimabukuro said. “She’s proud of it, obviously. And I’m proud of her for it. But we didn’t really think about that, as much as: What is the best way to skate the fastest?”

These days, though, increasing the kinds of faces seen in her sport is one of Jackson’s goals, along with bringing home more hardware from Italy, where she’ll compete in the 500 and 1,000 after winning both distances at the trials despite being about a month removed from a torn left hamstring.

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“I just hope that I can help other people of color get involved in winter sports and speedskating. … It’s really important to see people like you achieving something, because then maybe that can inspire you to try the same things,” said Jackson, who grew up in Ocala, Florida, and was a top inline skater before switching to the ice four months before qualifying for the 2018 Olympic speedskating team.

“I just always want to be a good example,” she said, “or someone who other people can look to.”

When she’s done competing, Jackson intends to set up a foundation modeled after EDGE Outdoors, a group based in Washington state that helps provide scholarships for minority women to get into skiing and snowboarding. Jackson has worked with them, reviewing scholarship applications. She also has been involved with the Utah-based Sisters in Sports Foundation, which offers mentorship and funding for female athletes with disabilities.

“One of the biggest issues with winter sports is there is a really big barrier to entry around cost. They’re really expensive sports to get into,” Jackson said. “That kind of limits the talent we can have and the people who can give it a shot.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics