Gretchen Eichenberg

When you picture a desert, it’s usually a hot, dry and desolate place with no water, smack dab in the middle of nowhere. What many don’t know is that there are actually deserts right here in Oklahoma — ones that have buildings and trees and are full of people. They are called food deserts, and like more traditional deserts, people might have to travel for miles and miles before finding sustenance to fulfill their nutritional needs. According to the Feeding America Network, 745,000 Oklahomans a...

A miniature dachshund named Valerie, who has spent almost a year and a half lost on a remote island in southern Australia, has been spotted in the wild — now rescue workers and islanders think they're finally close to catching the little pup."Fantastic news off the bat," Jared Karen, a staff member of Kangala Wildlife Rescue, said in an update video on the organization’s Facebook page."We have seen her, and we’ve narrowed down the search area to one specific point where we’ve got cameras in plac...

A whiskey river wasn't on Austin Contegiacomo's mind when he found an ocean of it — a Prohibition-era stash, to be exact — washed up on a New Jersey beach while he was walking his dog last month. Even for a guy who doesn't drink, it was a rare find. And it has made an even better story to tell."The history behind it is part of the mystery and really adds to the allure," Contegiacomo, 28, a Coast Guard helicopter rescue swimmer from Northfield, New Jersey, told Fox News Digital.

A stunning cosmic getaway is in store for residents of the United States on Friday evening as seven planets will align in a spectacular display — dubbed a planet parade — that can be seen without traveling far from home. Such a sight won’t be visible again until 2040."Seven planets will be visible in the evening sky," Bill Cooke, NASA astronomer based at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, told Fox News Digital. "And three of them are going to be easily visible.

Commercial truck drivers can be crucial to the country’s supply chain, but some serve as champions of safety on the road, acting as first responders in tough situations. Timothy VanNostrand, 64, an owner/operator of his own logging transport company in Northville, New York, found himself springing into action while driving along Interstate 88 in June 2023."It happened so fast," VanNostrand told Fox News Digital.

Hannah Crawford, an Alabama resident, called her husband to say she used special "Christmas gas" because it had a green pump and the other options were not available. It led him to panic, thinking she put diesel fuel in the car.You've heard of a Christmas tree, Christmas gifts and Christmas carols, but what about Christmas gas? That’s what holiday jokesters are telling their loved ones that they pumped into their cars as part of a viral TikTok prank."Hey, it’s Hannah," one prankster says to her...

.While Santa Claus is often pictured flying across the night sky on Christmas Eve, a team of archaeologists may have unearthed a sarcophagus containing the remains of the saint whose spirit of generosity is still celebrated in the modern world more than 1,600 years l...

Loving eyes, warm hugs and a happy life. That’s what Deborah Kalkoene remembers most about growing up with grandparents who were Holocaust survivors. But the arms that gave her those hugs were tattooed with numbers — 175399 and 81774 — marking them as the property of the Nazi regime, a subject that would never come up in conversation but one that Kalkoene later decided would be her life’s work to share. "They did not want to burden their children and grandchildren with their pain and sorrow,"

A Dallas-based pastor who traveled to Israel just days before war broke out is now safe in Jordan, along with a group of people from churches around Texas, after they had to shelter in their Jerusalem hotel for two days. "This is a terrible privilege to have been there in the midst of this," Rev. George Mason, founder of Faith Commons, a nonprofit interfaith group, and retired pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "I certainly would not have boarded a plane

A Pennsylvania K-9 named Rex is hanging up his leash after eight-and-a-half years of service, including over 100 suspect apprehensions and hundreds of pounds of marijuana, cocaine, meth and heroin seizures. Most recently, Rex helped search for convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante, who was captured after he escaped from the Chester County Prison on Aug. 31. "We’ve been able to assist in cases … all over the place and catch some very serious criminals, which I take a lot of pride in," Cpl. Chad

Animal control officers have removed an 8-foot alligator from a padlocked basement pen located inside a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home. "When we walked up to the padlock, there was this little window on the door, like you see in these prisons in movies," Sarah Barnett, executive director of ACCT Philly told Fox News Digital. "We all kind of peered in, and we just went, ‘Oh crap.’" The original call to ACCT Philly requested the removal of a 5-foot alligator, but Barnett said her team knew imm

Gritty and tough as nails, Beth Dutton, the ruthless businesswoman and daughter of rancher John Dutton in Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” has a softer side — her wardrobe. Her long, floral-print dresses and boots — and an occasional cowboy hat — have inspired the popularity of a Western chic style that has been dubbed “the Yellowstone look.” “Beth’s style has influenced designers from everywhere indeed, extending from Europe to Target,” said Johnetta Boone, costume designer for “Yellowstone” who is based in Washington D.C. “It’s incredible how her style has found its way to women of many diverse backgrounds. Women are using the opportunity to courageously pair western elements in their city life.” Some signature components of her costumes, Boone said, are the mini vintage style florals in the farm dresses which have now been paired with the power play of structured jackets and heeled ankle booties.

Whether they are advocating for children or providing food, clothing and essential services to the community’s most vulnerable, Waco volunteers are some of the most resolute warriors on the battleground of hunger, homelessness, abuse and loneliness. Five local volunteers share their stories of bringing light to darkness, and all agree that their own lives are illuminated in the process.

During what might have been the worst of times, two local visionaries spent the tumultuous past two years of the pandemic dreaming, planning, working and building vacation rental properties that they hoped would breathe new life into the local hospitality scene. One focused on remodeling older homes in urban Waco neighborhoods and transforming them into

Bright red. Deep purple. Powder pink. Fiery orange. Sunny yellow. Nothing signals the arrival of spring quite like the season’s quintessential flower — the tulip — in its many vibrant hues. But even though spring doesn’t officially begin until March 19, Central Texans can get a sneak peek of the milder season beginning this month through April by making a trip to Texas-Tulips in Pilot Point or Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Tulip lovers will experience a feast for th

With 155,000 followers on Instagram, entrepreneur and home stylist Jill Stout has an international audience. Through her business, GatheredGrace, she’s taken her talent for creating warm, welcoming spaces and made it a brand — a brand that has top home interior retailers wanting her to give their products a nod on social media. It’s those relationships, and ones she’s made with followers and fellow bloggers, Stout said, that make life sparkle. “The best part of my job is connecting with others

Character. Style. Livability. That’s what Duke and Steve Nelson were looking for in a home when they decided to move back to Central Texas from the Dallas-Fort Worth area with their growing family. They found all that — and the added bonus of welcoming, genuine and supportive neighbors who instantly made their house feel like a home — on a wooded lot in the Carriage Square neighborhood of Landon Branch in Waco. “We walked in and immediately fell in love with all of the windows and all of the tr

Innovation. It’s what drives the success and growth of any business, any industry. In education, innovation may be more critical than any other industry. After all, its product — students — will be the leaders and thinkers of tomorrow. From offering advanced degrees in high school and money-back guarantees for college tuition to empowering students to run high-profile STEM projects and conducting groundbreaking research on student engagement, five local institutions are on the cutting edge of ed

You might have to be a longtime Wacoan to know there are lakeview homes in Windmill Hill, a neatly manicured West Waco subdivision of mostly patio homes that was established in the early 1970s. But there are just a few, tucked way back along the far edge on a street by the same name. And when one of them went on the market last year, Phil and Edana Croyle discovered everything they were looking for in a new house. The retired cardiovascular surgeon and his wife, a former speech pathologist, sai