“It’s like a game of Whack-A-Mole. One time your leg hurts ... Now it’s just become part of my life.” Smith didn’t start exercising at a gym regularly until he was 74 years old.

As Minnesota works to suppress a rise in copper thefts affecting cities across the nation, recycling professionals say Houston’s metal theft unit is a shining example ... Whac-A-Mole is real, ...