Plant lovers have long gotten together to trade seeds and growing advice, and the latest generation is following suit with modern plant swaps.

The swaps (sometimes called plant exchanges) for amateur horticulturalists are popping up in homes, parking lots, trendy gardening stores and online. They’re about exchanging advice and meeting like-minded people, says 35-year-old Ana Carlson, who has attended several plant swaps in New York City and Los Angeles, where she lives.

“People just talk and it is fun,” she said. “I don’t go looking for plants because I have more than enough.”

Carlson, who owns an online “plant decor” shop, Sill Appeal , and has nearly 200 houseplants, initially learned about the swaps through social media a few years ago, when plants became a hobby.

“They’re very social events,” she said. “Every time I go, I meet people.”

While plant swaps can include outdoor varieties, many people trade houseplants, which are back in style thanks in part to social media. Instagram has been flooded with “Plantstagrammers” or “plant influencers,” who post daily photos of houseplants under a variety of hashtags, including #plantcommunity (559,000 posts) and #houseplantlove (118,000 posts). On Pinterest, plant devotees display a plethora of photos, blog posts and articles chronicling unusual, colorful and pet-friendly houseplants.

“Right now, the plant world is kind of insane,” says Sue Eggen, the creative director at Urban Jungle , a plant shop in Philadelphia. “It’s like the 1970s all over again — the coolest thing millennials can do is care for plants.”

Last month, Eggen and the Urban Jungle team organized a plant swap for some 50 customers who purchased tickets. There were snacks and beverages, and attendees listened to a live recording of Bloom and Grow radio , a podcast from Broadway actress Maria Failla that’s all about houseplants.

Some plant lovers come to swaps for expensive and rare finds. A full-size pink princess philodendron or a variegated monstera, two fashionable plants not readily found in gardening stores, can cost upward of $150 retail. At a plant swap, however, someone might bring in a cutting that can be propagated.

“People blew me away with what they brought in,” Eggen said.

Bala Rathinasabapathi, a professor in the horticultural sciences department at University of Florida, says the produce found in grocery stores today is a result of ancient plant swaps.

Humans domesticated plants about 10,000 years ago, and plant exchanges followed shortly after,” Rathinasabapathi said. “People used plants like currency.”

Today, however, swaps are mostly characteristic of urban areas, he said.

Philadelphia resident Christina Tessaro, 37, learned of a local plant exchange group on Facebook with more than 7,000 members. She originally joined the group to learn more about plants after she took a job at the Philadelphia Horticultural Society. Soon, houseplants became a hobby.

A couple members of the group have organized plant pop-up nights throughout Philadelphia for people to meet in person and socialize.

“I got to meet a few people I recognized online,” Tessaro said. “It’s been really nice to put a face to a name.”

Online swaps have also expanded social circles for long-time plant lovers.

“We started out swapping plants as teens,” said Stan Miklis, 62, of Dallas, who studied horticulture in high school in Texas. He said he attended plant parties as a teen and young man.

Now, as a farmer, he learns of new plant swaps via the Internet.

“My whole life is and has always been plants,” Miklis said. “All my friends are from the plant circle.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift are the top contenders at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, each scoring 10 nominations.

MTV announced Tuesday that Grande and Swift will compete in eight of the same categories, including video of the year. Swift’s gay pride anthem “You Need to Calm Down” and Grande’s breezy hit about her breakups “thank u, next” are nominated for the top prize alongside Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road,” 21 Savage and J. Cole’s “A Lot,” and Jonas Brothers’ “Sucker.”

Eilish, 17, came in second with nine nominations, including artist of the year. Other nominees are Grande, Cardi B, Shawn Mendes, Halsey and Jonas Brothers.

Lil Nas X, whose “Old Town Road” tied the record for most weeks at No. 1 with 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week, earned eight nominations.

The 2019 VMAs will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Aug. 26. Post Malone was surprisingly snubbed: He received zero nominations despite dominating on streaming services, radio and the Billboard charts in the last year.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Oscar- and Grammy-winning hit “Shallow” picked up two nominations: song of the year and best collaboration. Boy band BTS earned four nominations, including a bid in the new best K-pop category.

And late rapper Nipsey Hussle, who posthumously won best male hip-hop artist and the Humanitarian Award at last month’s BET Awards, picked up a nomination for best hip hop for “Higher,” his song and video with DJ Khaled and John Legend.

Swift will drop her album, “Lover,” three days before the VMAs on Aug. 23, making it likely that she will attend and possibly perform at the show. Scooter Braun, who now owns Swift’s music catalog, will likely be in attendance, too: He manages top nominee Grande as well as Justin Bieber, who earned a nomination for best collaboration with Ed Sheeran for “I Don’t Care.”

Comedian and actor Sebastian Maniscalco will host the 2019 VMAs. Fan-voting begins Tuesday at vma.mtv.com.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Gordon Ramsay has harsh words for chefs who reject Michelin stars.

The famously profane Ramsay used an expletive to describe giving back a star rating. He said the guide’s mark of distinction belongs to a restaurant, not a chef.

It’s an insult to Michelin and a mark against those who claim that stars impose fiscal and creative burdens on an eatery, the British celebrity chef said Tuesday.

Ramsay said a chef’s failure to parlay the hard-won recognition into greater success is on them.

It pains him to see the accolade denounced because someone is “tired and bored” by it, Ramsay said. The stars are a useful consumer guide, he said.

Ramsay said he prizes the three Michelin stars, the top ranking, long held by his self-named London restaurant.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The deep-sea explorer who discovered the wrecked Titanic is tackling an aviation mystery: Amelia Earhart’s disappearance.

Robert Ballard and a National Geographic expedition will search for her plane next month near a Pacific Ocean atoll that’s part of the Phoenix Islands.

Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan were attempting an around-the-world flight when their aircraft disappeared in July 1937, spawning years of searches and speculation.

Ballard and his team will use remotely operated underwater vehicles in their search, the National Geographic channel said Tuesday. An archaeological team will investigate a potential Earhart campsite with search dogs and DNA sampling.

The channel will air a two-hour special on Oct. 20. “Expedition Amelia” will include clues gathered by the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery that led Ballard to the atoll, named Nikumaroro.

LAKE LURE, N.C. (AP) — A wanted Tiki bar cook tried to flee authorities by swimming away in a North Carolina river, but was caught by officers waiting downstream.

A Lake Lure Police statement says 38-year-old Jesse Lee Boyd was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service on warrants accusing him of forgery or counterfeiting in Iowa.

Investigators said they made a plan over the weekend to arrest him at the management office of the Geneva Riverside Tiki Bar. But they say Boyd was warned as he walked to the office and fled on foot before dashing into the Rocky Broad River.

Officers positioned themselves downstream along the banks, and Boyd eventually gave himself up.

A police statement Monday said department officials didn’t know if Boyd has an attorney.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Art Neville, a member of a storied New Orleans musical family who performed with his siblings in The Neville Brothers band and founded the groundbreaking funk group The Meters, died Monday. The artist nicknamed “Poppa Funk” was 81.

Neville’s manager, Kent Sorrell, said Neville died at his home.

“Art ‘Poppa Funk’ Neville passed away peacefully this morning at home with his adoring wife, Lorraine, by his side,” Sorrell said in an email.

The cause of death was not immediately available but Neville had battled a number of health issues including complications from back surgery.

“Louisiana lost an icon today,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a news release.

The Neville Brothers spent some of their childhood in the now demolished Calliope housing project in New Orleans and some at a family home in uptown New Orleans.

In a 2003 interview with Offbeat magazine, Art Neville described going to a Methodist church as a child where he had his first encounter with a keyboard.

“My grandmother used to clean the pulpit. She was in there cleaning it one day and I guess she was babysitting me ’cause I was in there with her. She went to one side and all of a sudden I was on the side where the organ was,” he said. “Something told me to turn it on. I reached up and pressed a bass note and it scared the daylights out of me!”

That experience helped kick off a lifelong career as a keyboardist and vocalist.

The Neville Brothers — Art, Charles, Cyril and Aaron — started singing as kids but then went their separate ways in the 1950s and ’60s. In 1954 Art Neville was in high school when he sang the lead on the Hawketts’ remake of a country song called “Mardi Gras Mambo.”

He told the public radio show “American Routes” how he was recruited by the Hawketts. “I don’t know how they found out where I lived,” he said in the interview. “But they needed a piano player. And they came up to the house and they asked my mother and father could I go.”

More than 60 years later, the song remains a staple of the Carnival season, but that longevity never translated into financial success for Art Neville who received no money for it.

“It made me a big shot around school,” Art said with a laugh during a 1993 interview with The Associated Press.

In the late ’60s, Art Neville was a founding member of The Meters, a pioneering American funk band that also included Cyril Neville, Leo Nocentelli (guitar), George Porter Jr. (bass) and Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste (drums).

The Meters were the house band for Allen Toussaint’s New Orleans soul classics and opened for the Rolling Stones’ tour of the Americas in 1975 and of Europe in 1976.

They also became known for their session work with Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer and Patti LaBelle and recordings with Dr. John.

The Meters broke up in 1977, but members of the band have played together in groups such as the Funky Meters and the Meter Men. And in more recent years The Meters have reunited for various performances and have often been cited as an inspiration for other groups.

Flea, the bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, paid homage to The Meters when he invited members of the group onstage to perform with the Chili Peppers during a 2016 performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

“We are their students,” Flea said.

As The Meters were breaking up, The Neville Brothers were coming together. In 1978 they recorded their first Neville Brothers album.

Charles died in 2018.

For years, The Neville Brothers were the closing act at Jazz Fest. After 2005′s Hurricane Katrina, the four brothers — like many New Orleanians — were scattered across the country while the city struggled to recover. They returned to anchor the festival in 2007.

“This is how it should be,” Art Neville said during a news conference with festival organizers announcing their return to the annual event. “We’re a part of Jazz Fest.”

He shared in three Grammy awards: with The Neville Brothers for “Healing Chant,” in 1989; with a group of musicians on the Stevie Ray Vaughn tribute “SRV Shuffle in 1996; and with The Meters when they got a lifetime achievement in 2018.

“Art will be deeply missed by many, but remembered for imaginatively bringing New Orleans funk to life,” the Recording Academy, which awards the Grammys, said in a news release.

Neville announced his retirement in December.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — In 2016, Iowa State University accused an employee of fraud and theft in a dispute over the unusual but lucrative campus assets she managed: popular outdoor sculptures made of thousands of Lego bricks.

Three years later, the school has withdrawn its allegations against Teresa McLaughlin under a settlement reached last month. The university paid McLaughlin $225,000 in wages and attorneys’ fees, will offer her health insurance until 2022 and has given her a glowing letter of recommendation from its president calling her an honest employee who made major contributions over 17 years. Iowa State will also dedicate a bench for McLaughlin in Reiman Gardens, the campus landmark that she spent much of her career building as its director.

Those steps end a dispute that derailed the Lego art program conceived by McLaughlin, called Nature Connects. The traveling exhibits featured sculptures of plants and animals, were displayed at zoos and gardens nationwide and brought in revenue for Iowa State.

McLaughlin said she wants to restore her reputation, which she believes was unfairly sullied by her alma mater. She said the university made claims of wrongdoing against her without evidence and while in possession of records that exonerated her.

She said the dispute hurt her finances and “took a great toll on me and my family.”

“I did not think Iowa State would do this to me,” she said in an interview in Coralville, where she lives. She called the experience “confusing, unfair and unfortunate.”

The university does not admit wrongdoing in the settlement, which avoided a June trial.

McLaughlin envisioned the sculptures as a way to draw visitors to Reiman Gardens, a 17-acre (7-hectare) space on the Ames campus. McLaughlin began working there in 1999 and built one of the “finest and most unique public gardens in the country,” according to university President Wendy Wintersteen’s recommendation letter.

Iowa State hired Brooklyn artist Sean Kenney to build the sculptures, which went on display at Reiman Gardens in 2012. Seeing demand to market them nationwide, the school reached agreements with Kenney to build four more.

McLaughlin stepped down as gardens director in 2014 to become director of Nature Connects. Dozens of institutions from Hawaii to Chicago agreed to pay between $70,000 and $150,000 to display the exhibits for several weeks. Directors of zoos and gardens raved about how they boosted attendance.

But by 2016, an aide to Roy Reiman, a top university donor who helped fund the exhibits and for whom the gardens are named, was questioning the costs, including payments to Kenney and McLaughlin, who received a 10% commission on exhibit sales under her university contract.

Emails show that a top aide to then-President Steven Leath pushed to change the formula for splitting the profits with the artist so the school could get a larger “administrative fee.” McLaughlin objected to the request, noting the contracts had been signed after reviews by Iowa State officials and could not be changed unilaterally.

A school-ordered restructuring then laid off McLaughlin’s assistant and transferred oversight of the program’s finances to the administration. Kenney began complaining that the university took away support that was critical to making the exhibits successful and wasn’t paying him what he was promised. A frustrated McLaughlin announced she would take an early retirement but agreed to stay a few months to finalize several pending sales. Things soon got worse.

She received a surprise letter from a law firm hired by Iowa State. The letter ordered her to stop working and telling her she was under investigation for alleged conflicts of interest related to her outside work with Kenney’s company.

Iowa State stopped paying commissions McLaughlin was owed, and she filed a lawsuit seeking payment. The university filed counterclaims accusing McLaughlin of breaching her fiduciary duty and committing fraud and unjust enrichment. It alleged that she was profiting at the university’s expense by secretly helping Kenney market competing exhibits.

McLaughlin said the claims were false, noting that Iowa State approved her limited work for Kenney’s company. She denied ever putting Kenney’s interests ahead of Iowa State’s and she earned little from the arrangement. Iowa State settled its dispute with Kenney in 2017. McLaughlin, 62, said she doesn’t understand why the school fought her for two more years.

On the bench honoring her, McLaughlin has asked the school to enshrine a Dalai Lama quote: “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marvel’s push for more women and people of color in its immensely popular film franchise is extending to behind the camera as it launches its next round of films after the massive success of “Avengers: Endgame.” Of the five films the superhero studio announced at Comic-Con on Saturday, only one is set to be directed by a white man.

“It’s about fresh voices and new voices and great filmmakers who can continue to steer the (Marvel Cinematic Universe) into new places,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in an interview after the studio’s explosive Hall H panel. “And I am as proud of that lineup of directors as you saw today as any.”

In addition to a slew of women and people of color at the helm of the upcoming Marvel films, the weekend’s announcements promised more diversity on screen.

First up for release is the long-awaited solo film starring Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, the lethal assassin she has played for nearly a decade. The film is set for release in May 2020.

Johansson said the search for “Black Widow” director Cate Shortland wasn’t easy.

“It’s really interesting because when we were looking for a director, you start to see some of the systemic problems,” Johansson said. “Even looking for a female director who has had enough experience — who has had the opportunity to have the experience to sit at the helm of something huge like this, you know, choices are limited because of that. And it sucks.”

Scarlett Johansson explains why the search for an experienced female director for ‘Black Widow’ highlights a Hollywood problem. (July 21)
The actress added that she was proud to see the diversity on stage during Marvel’s Hall H panel.

“Looking out on that stage tonight, it was incredible. It was really moving, also just to see how incredibly diverse the universe is — and reflects what we see all around us. It’s incredible,” she said.

In terms of more diversity, “Black Widow” is just the beginning.

“The Eternals” will feature a cast full of actors of color, including Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, and Salma Hayek. Simu Liu will become Marvel’s first big screen Asian American superhero when “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is released in February 2021. Natalie Portman will play a female Thor in the new “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which will also feature Tessa Thompson’s character, Valkyrie, as the MCU’s first LGBTQ superhero.

“First of all, as new King (of Asgard), she needs to find her queen, so that will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted,” Thompson said during the panel. Feige later confirmed the news in an interview with the website io9.

The studio is also reviving one of Marvel’s most iconic black characters, Blade (previously played by Wesley Snipes), with the help of Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali. Feige told The Associated Press that right after winning his second Academy Award for “Green Book” earlier this year, Ali set up a meeting.

“Within 10 minutes, he basically was like, ‘What’s happening with ‘Blade’? I want to do it.′ And we went, that’s what happening with ‘Blade.’ Let’s do it,” Feige said.

“Captain Marvel,” released in March, was the first of Marvel Studios film to be centered entirely on a female character. It earned $427 million domestically, and along with the DC Comics film “Wonder Woman” has created momentum for more films with female heroes leading the way.

“Marvel is really focused on having very strong female characters at the forefront of their stories,” said actress Rachel Weisz, who also stars in “Black Widow.” ″And I think that’s great. This film has got three. It’s Scarlett, Florence Pugh, myself. So I think yeah, they are doing wonderful work to represent women, people of color, and tell different kinds of stories.”

The sliver of Hollywood still on the outside of the Marvel’s cinematic empire was paying close attention to the news.

Actress, writer and director Lena Waithe tweeted Sunday: “Captain America is black. Thor is a woman. the new Blade got two Oscars. 007 is a black woman. And The Little Mermaid bout to have locs. (Expletive). Just. Got. Real.”

NEW YORK (AP) — How much is too much for streaming video?

A dramatic slowdown in worldwide growth at Netflix — including the first quarterly drop in its U.S. subscribers since 2011 — is raising questions about just how much are people willing to pay for streaming services. Especially with a host of new ones from Disney, Apple and others on their way.

A recent price increase seems to have spooked Netflix subscribers. The company lost 126,000 subscribers in the U.S., less than 1% of its 60.1 million paid U.S. subscriptions, during the April-June period. Its most popular plan rose from $11 to $13 in a U.S. price hike announced in January and rolled out for many subscribers during the second quarter. Worldwide, the service picked up 2.7 million worldwide subscribers, far below Netflix’s forecast of 5 million.

“Netflix raising prices prompted people to think about whether they were getting value for money,” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.

While people are willing to shell out for several services to meet their streaming needs, he said, they’re also willing to cancel if they’re not using it enough, just as they would with a gym membership or a subscription to the New Yorker magazine.

Streaming services preparing to compete with Netflix appear to be taking note.

Disney Plus, set to debut in November, will already be cheaper than Netflix at $8 a month, though Disney Plus will also have a smaller video library. Hulu has cut prices to $6 from $8 for its main, ad-supported service. Services from Apple, due out this year, and WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal, out in 2020, don’t have announced prices yet, although the NBCUniversal service will be free and ad supported for traditional cable TV subscribers.

Of course, even if these individual services are cheaper than Netflix, it’s not clear how many consumers will be willing to pay for.

One way to make a service appealing is not through better prices but through exclusive shows and deep libraries, including shows that Netflix will be losing. Netflix’s two most popular shows, “Friends” and “The Office,” will be departing in the coming months for rival services.

Group M analyst Brian Weiser said that for now, other services shouldn’t be overly concerned by a weak quarter or two at Netflix. He said streaming content consumption is still growing rapidly, so the overall market has plenty of room for competitors. And the streaming arena is a growth area in the much bigger and more mature entertainment industry.

“I don’t think it follows that if Netflix has an underperforming quarter that tells you about others,” he said.

Some analysts also believe Netflix’s trouble is temporary.

Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Graham said the subscriber numbers will likely hit the stock in the short term — the stock was down 11% in midday trading Thursday — but overall the company’s growth remains on track, particularly overseas.

“We still see a strong content strategy and room to add large numbers of international subscriptions as key strengths going forward,” he wrote in a note to investors.

Similarly, Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said investors shouldn’t make a “mountain out of a molehill,” with the most recent quarterly figures.

The spring quarter is typically sluggish for the streaming service, and Netflix acknowledged a weak content slate could have been partly responsible for the drop. It expects to regain some momentum this summer, projecting that it will add 7 million subscribers from July through September. The optimism stems in part from the immense popularity of “Stranger Things,” whose third season attracted record viewership after its July 4 release.

Netflix has said it welcomes competition. It ended June with 151.6 million worldwide subscribers, far more than a current crop of video streaming rivals that includes Amazon and Hulu.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Leave the kids at home, “Terminator: Dark Fate” is getting an R-rating.

Director Tim Miller told the audience at San Diego Comic-Con that it wasn’t always going to be the plan, but the fans demanded it. The panel that kicked off the fan convention Thursday morning may also have gotten the same rating with the number of expletives thrown around by Miller.

Arnold Schwarzenegger even won $20 because Miller said one particular word more than 5 times.

“It was 10,” Schwarzenegger said. “I counted.”

Would you expect any less from the director of “Deadpool”?

Miller and Schwarzenegger were joined by Linda Hamilton, who is reprising her role as Sarah Connor, franchise newcomer Mackenzie Davis and other cast members on the Hall H stage.

This latest film fully ignores the events of the last Terminator movie, “Terminator: Genisys,” with Emilia Clarke which bombed with audiences and critics in 2015. Instead “Dark Fate” picks up where James Cameron left off with “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” in 1991.

Producer David Ellison even told Miller that he didn’t do Terminator as well as he’d wished the first time around with “Genisys” and wanted to try again.

Part of the strategy to “get it right” involved bringing Cameron back to produce.

Cameron chimed in via a live broadcast from the set of the “Avatar” sequels. He said he would have liked to have been in San Diego to kick off the 50th Comic-Con , but that he had to keep working.

“Everybody’s always whining about how long it’s taking ‘Avatar’ to get done,” Cameron said.

His requirements for a new “Terminator” film started and stopped with wanting to make sure Schwarzenegger came back. It wasn’t a problem, since Schwarzenegger himself said he’s addicted to these films.

″‘Terminator’ was the movie that really launched my action movie career,” Schwarzenegger said.

Then there was the Sarah Connor question. For Cameron and many fans, Hamilton is the one true Sarah. He sent her a “long rambling email with a lot of reasons why she should do it and a lot of reasons why she shouldn’t.”

The main point in the “pro column,” Cameron said, is that people love her as this character.

“The character is the same but time changes everything,” Hamilton said. “I felt there was a world of richness I could explore and then rock it as a woman of a certain age.”

Although the 62-year-old actress is in full fighting shape in the footage and trailers, Hamilton said she didn’t worry too much about getting back to her “T2” self.

“One day I woke up and realized I can no longer worry about being what I was because I am so much more than what I was,” she said. “The richness of my life experience is only going to enrich the character I play.”

But her 32-year-old co-star Davis still conceded that Hamilton would definitely win in a fight. Hamilton agreed.

“Mackenzie is stronger and younger, but I’m meaner,” Hamilton said with a smile.

Edward Furlong is also returning to play John Connor again.

The audience greeted the action-packed footage with enthusiasm, which reached a crescendo when Sarah Connor debuted on screen.

“Terminator: Dark Fate” opens in theaters Nov. 1 and Comic-Con runs through Sunday.