PORTLAND, Maine — There's no smoke and mirrors about it — Americans are eating a lot more smoked seafood than they used to.

New figures show the state's economy continues to plug along.

You wouldn’t know it from all the parking lots and shopping centers in our immediate vicinity, but out on the fringe of suburbia, acres of peaches are growing fat and juicy in the warm spring sunshine.

ROME — The U.N. has new weapons to fight hunger, boost nutrition and reduce pollution, and they might be crawling or flying near you right now: edible insects.

Life is peachy-keen at Schnepf Farms where this annual festival fills the orchards with smiling children and families in search of $2 a pound fresh, ripe peaches, family friendly entertainment and hot-off-the-griddle peach pancakes, served from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. The festival begins May 18 and runs through Memorial Day and includes hay rides, peach pit spitting contests, live music May 18 and 19, roller coaster and other fair-type rides, as well as a “Peachy Sampling Tent,” where you can purchase a panorama of peach-related products. Other food options, including burgers and hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwhices, salads and kettle corn are also available.

The placemat is a favorite at many dinner tables: The often-whimsical plastic version catches the slip of spaghetti from a youngster's fork, while a nice cotton placemat elevates the dining experience just a little without having to set down a whole tablecloth.

Soar into Spring Kite Festival; Fiesta de la Primavera; Prescott Highland Games; Payson Wildlife Fair

“Despicable, unconstitutional, ridiculous, immature, idiotic, and mendacious.” And that’s just how Tennessee newspapers characterized the state’s “ag-gag” bill now awaiting governor’s signature.

HEALDSBURG, Calif. — Sometimes visitors to MacMurray Ranch, the 1,500-acre (600-hectare) spread owned by movie and TV actor Fred MacMurray for a half-century, want to know: Where's the heliport? Where's the screening room?

A judge on Thursday threw out charges of violating campaign finance laws against Attorney General Tom Horne and a political ally.

NEW YORK — Bodies tensed and noses twitching, the dogs sniff the hunting ground before them: a lower Manhattan alley, grimy, dim and perfect for rats. With a terse command — "Now!" — the chase is on.

A bid by Attorney General Tom Horne to escape campaign finance charges could upend all state laws limiting how much candidates can take.

It all started in 1961 in Jean Nidetch's living room in New York City. A few overweight friends met each week to talk and troubleshoot their way through a sensible but strict diet from the health department's obesity clinic.

When Arizona voters approved the use of medical marijuana in 2010, Steve Cottrell saw a way to combine his laboratory background and his interest in the plant he’d been studying since his 11-year-old son died of cancer more than a decade before.

The road to Florence isn’t long when country music stars are in town. People flock from the East Valley to the Country Thunder music festival, spurring the question: What else is there to see in Florence? It didn’t take long to find an answer — alpacas.

The silky petals of a fragrant pink shrub rose; the crunchy texture of a gravel path; a nook where grass rustles and a stream runs. What we smell, see, hear, touch and taste can make a garden walk a wonderful sensory experience.

About 15 years ago I had what I believed to be the solution to our incredibly poor record of electing government officials of — how do the appliance makers refer to it? — quality and reliability:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Coachella is over and Lollapalooza is sold out. Bonnaroo's nearly there, too. But eager fans need only be patient: Wait a few years and chances are you'll have a star-studded music festival of your own within driving distance.

One-pot chicken that is a blast of savory goodness

This one-pot chicken dinner by Kentucky chef Edward Lee blends a staple of Southern cooking — fried chicken — with two deliciously savory Asian ingredients, salty miso and a half pound of shiitake mushrooms. Together they produce a chicken that is tender and wildly flavorful with a thick sauce that is good enough to eat by the spoonful.