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Steidler: Keep the Postal Service out of the booze business

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

The Postal Service is facing formidable challenges, and there are plenty of bad ideas to fix it. At the top of the list is legislation in the House of Representatives to allow the service to deliver beer, wine and spirits to homes.This new “service” will do nothing to fix the service’s finances and will result in a host of liabilities and added costs.It is far from clear that the service even supports this legislation. One special interest that will benefit from the measure is the members of Congress who represent alcohol producers and have introduced the bill.The Postal Service should ask that the legislation be tabled. Otherwise, tech-savvy, rabble-rousing teenagers, particularly those at home while Mom and Dad are at work, will have vastly increased opportunities to create mischief with severe consequences.America’s mental health crisis is especially punishing for the young. One indication is the large number of deaths and related calamities from alcohol abuse. The National Insti...

Editorial: U.S. presidential race needs new blood

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

President Biden announced his choice of headquarters for his 2024 re-election campaign Tuesday, and it’s not a good look.Biden will be working from home, running his campaign from his Wilmington, Del. residence.Biden picked Philadelphia as HQ for his 2020 campaign, but the pandemic saw him spending a lot of time at his Wilmington digs. The pandemic is over, and yet the president is staying put.He put a great spin on it: “My family’s values, my eternal optimism and my unwavering belief in the American middle class as our nation’s backbone comes from my home — from Delaware,” Biden said in a statement. “That’s why there is no better place for our reelection campaign to have its headquarters,” Politico reported.Perhaps his basement represents the country’s strong foundation.It’s hard not to see the hand of his White House team at play here: a literal home base means fewer opportunities to take a header up the stairs of Air Force One, or stumble over a sandbag, or othe...

Switch up summer cocktails with a fizzy Frisco 49

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

Light, fresh and fizzy cocktails seem tailor-made for warm evenings. Some cocktails get their effervescence from sparkling wines. as bellini or mimosa devotees can attest.This summer also may be a great time to try a Frisco 49, which is not to be mistaken with a similarly named drink, The Frisco.The Frisco 49 was created by mixologist Brandon Chandlor and it was inspired by fruit cocktail dessert cups and a French 75 cocktail. The drink has a few hands-on steps, but the result can show off your mixology skillsTAG GOES HEREFrisco 49INGREDIENTSFor Pear-Infused Gin:1 Bartlett pear1 DÕ\’Anjou pear1 750 ml bottle gin, like CitadelleDIRECTIONSCut the pears into slices and place in a mason jar. Add gin to cover the pears. Allow to steep for one to three days (according to taste) in a cool, dark place. Strain out the pears and bottle the gin under a tight seal. It will retain the shelf life of normal gin.For Roasted Honey Peach Syrup:2 peaches2 to 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon3/4 cup ...

‘Devastating’: 4-year-old boy killed in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood hit-and-run

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

A 4-year-old boy was struck and killed in a hit-and-run in Hyde Park Tuesday night.“On a warm, summer day, this is just a horrible tragedy that has taken place,” Mayor Michelle Wu, her voice clearly wavering with the weight of the moment, said during a press conference at the scene at around 11:40 p.m. “We urge everyone just to be vigilant, whether you are driving, whether you’re out and about, of how much can change in just a split second.”Boston Police Superintendent Gregory Long said the child was in the area of 165 Wood Ave., near the intersection with Tacoma Street, at around 9:30 p.m. “when the suspect motor vehicle struck him, did not stop, and fled the area.”An off-duty Boston firefighter ran to the boy’s body and did all he could to render first aid before Boston EMS arrived and then transported him to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Long said. Police were canvassing the area for any possible witnesses or security footage that could provide investigator...

‘Barbie’ & ‘Oppenheimer’ go head to head at the box office

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

This weekend pits a doll turned improbable movie star opposite an epic three-hour deadly serious biography of the scientist who created the atom bomb.  With little in common, both pictures – “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — are expected to be hits.Both features boast all-star casts.But for “Oppenheimer,” despite having A-listers like Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey, Jr., the biggest “star” is its British writer-director Christopher Nolan who remains most famous for his Batman trilogy with Christian Bale and another  Oscar-nominated historical piece “Dunkirk.”Nolan’s well-known passion for telling this complex story accurately and in such detail easily marks “Oppenheimer” – played with an uncanny resemblance by Ireland’s Cillian Murphy – as this summer’s most serious moviegoing alternative.That it arrives as a global release from Universal Pictures is a story in itself:  Nolan had always been supported through his Hollywood career by Warner Bros.  Until the pandemic arriv...

Dear Abby: She says ‘not tonight,’ he flies into a rage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m a 37-year-old stay-at-home mother of two teens. I’ve been in a relationship with a guy I’ll call “Doug” for four years. I feel he only wants me here for sex. If I say no, he either tries to force it or verbally abuses me.He tells me if I don’t give him sex, I need to leave so he can bring another woman to do it. He will destroy my belongings or call me names. He says it’s my fault that he does that to me. I’m not sure what to do here. Is it my fault? — Bad Scene in the MidwestDear Bad Scene: When a boyfriend (or husband for that matter) forces their partner to have sex, it isn’t foreplay; it is RAPE. That Doug emotionally abuses you or destroys your property if you refuse to accommodate him is not your “fault.” (“You MADE me do it” is something abusers say when they want to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.)What you need to do now is get out of there as safely as you can. ...

Northwestern hazing scandal puts school in company with schools such as Penn State

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.A former Wildcats football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership on Tuesday, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job.More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the private school.The private, Big Ten institution now has another thing in common with other schools in the conference, including Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota, with a scandal tied to sexual abuse.And, connection may be costly.At least eight former Northwestern football players have retained attorneys following recent revelations that led to Fitzgerald’s firing and sharp ...

Chinese livestreamers set their sights on TikTok sales to shoppers in the US and Europe

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese livestreamers have set their sights on TikTok shoppers in the U.S. and Europe, hawking everything from bags and apparel to crystals with their eyes on a potentially lucrative market, despite uncertainties over the platform’s future in the U.S. and elsewhere.In China, where livestreaming ecommerce is forecast to reach 4.9 trillion yuan ($676 billion) by the year’s end, popular hosts like “Lipstick King” Austin Li rack up tens of millions of dollars in sales during a single livestream. Many brands, including L’Oreal, Nike and Louis Vuitton, have begun using livestreaming to reach more shoppers.But the highly-competitive livestreaming market in China has led some hosts to look to Western markets to carve out niches for themselves. Oreo Deng, a former English tutor, sells jewelry to U.S. customers by livestreaming on TikTok, delivering her sales pitches in English for about four to six hours a day. “I wanted to try livestreaming on TikTok becau...

Officials see promise in a South Carolina prison unit where ‘restorative justice’ has boosted safety

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

TURBEVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina prison unit where older men with lengthier sentences mentor young adults preparing to reenter society is giving officials hope that a different approach to living conditions will reduce violence behind bars.The special housing facility known as a Community Opportunity Restoration Enhancement (C.O.R.E.) unit emphasizes an unorthodox method of prisoner reform called “restorative justice” that prioritizes open communication and self-correction through group engagement and one-on-one meetings.That atmosphere resulted in fewer violent incidents, according to a study of the units inside two state detention centers by the Vera Institute of Justice. Even more, participants who inhabit the unit that features walls covered in colorful murals and natural light commended the new initiative for allowing greater freedom in personalizing their spaces and developing trusting relationships alongside correctional officers.“These guys need to be able to let loo...

Voting fraud claims spread ahead of Spanish election

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:12:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Days before Spain holds a pivotal election, misleading claims about mail ballots and election fraud are spreading on social media and casting doubts about the results even before the votes have been counted. The allegations, amplified by supporters of the center-right Popular Party and the far-right Vox Party, bear striking similarities to the baseless claims spread by then-President Donald Trump ahead of his 2020 U.S. election defeat, and offer a reminder that the distrust of elections that has marred U.S. politics has taken root in Europe, too.Sunday’s general election could tilt Spain in favor of the populist right, as the Popular Party looks to take power away from the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party and its far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos (“United We Can”).Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his left-leaning coalition lost big in this year’s local and regional elections that were also marked by...