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Editorial: Biden dumps border crisis in states’ laps

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

President Biden has a message for city and state leaders around the country who are struggling to provide housing and care for the unending influx of migrants in their communities.Not my problem.New York got the message loud and clear from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who responded to criticism that the government wasn’t doing enough to help with the massive humanitarian undertaking by saying, essentially, that New York was dropping the ball, not the feds.Two letters obtained by Politico were sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams Monday from  Mayorkas, who mentioned structural and operational issues found during a week-long assessment of the city’s operations starting on Aug. 7.“The structural issues include governance and organization of the migrant operations, including issues of authority, structure, personnel, and information flow,” Mayorkas wrote. “The operational issues include the subjects of data collection, planning, case management, commun...

Sausage Breakfast Biscuits with Fruit Jam delicious start to the day

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

My husband and I often lock horns when it comes to choosing seasonal fruit for me to make jam with; he’s a 100% peach or cherry person while I will always go for the raspberry. But you don’t stay married for 40 years without learning to compromise.This super-easy breakfast biscuit recipe brings together the two summer fruits in the best possible way in an easy refrigerator (no cook) jam. All it takes to create the harmonious blend of sweet and sunny flavors is some chopped or crushed fruit, granulated sugar, a splash of lemon juice and a saucepan. Simply cook the ingredients over a low flame until it’s thick and jammy.The homemade sausage patty that gets tucked into a simple drop biscuit along with a slice of cheddar is nearly as simple. If you’ve got a mixing bowl and a hot frying pan, it’s a cinch to pull together in about 15 minutes, and it tastes so much fresher than the mass-produced one in your grocer’s freezer.You can either divide the bisc...

‘This is what we sign up for’: Chicago Cubs lefty Justin Steele outduels Milwaukee Brewers ace Corbin Burnes in 1-0 win

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

Chicago Cubs left-hander Justin Steele is methodical.Even when he might not be working with his best stuff or getting drilled by a 100.2 mph liner just above his left knee, as was the case Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, Steele stuck to his game plan. A heavy dose of his four-seam fastball that he can cut or rise as needed and a slider he can manipulate as a put-away pitch or a harder variation with less sweeping action.The Brewers had no answer against Steele on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field as the Cubs eked out a 1-0 victory. Steele tossed six shutout innings on a career-high 111 pitches. He scattered six hits, walked one and struck out eight.The Cubs scored their lone run off Brewers ace Corbin Burnes in the first inning on Cody Bellinger’s one-out ground out.“Two good horses, two good No. 1s, in my opinion, this year and you’ve got them going out and playing for the division — shoot, this is what we sign up for,” manager David Ross sai...

Cowen: Harvard can learn a lot from Olive Garden

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

The evidence continues to accumulate that America’s nonprofit sector is failing the country in some basic ways. Specifically, it is not doing enough to break down unjust inequalities and barriers to opportunity.Consider nonprofit hospitals. According to the data, nonprofit hospitals barely behave differently than for-profit hospitals. They do not charge systematically lower prices or somehow do more to help people. Some studies show slight differences, but it’s hard to argue that non-profit hospitals are more charitable or have more altruistic priorities.Another example: prestigious universities. At Harvard, for example, more than two-thirds of the undergraduates come from the top 20% of the income distribution, while only 4.5% come from the bottom 20%. Given that Harvard has an endowment of roughly $50 billion and enjoys tax-free status, it might be expected to distribute its benefits more evenly — if only to avoid the bad publicity. (Disclosure: I work at a nonprofit university an...

Lowry: Yes, President Harris is a legitimate issue

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

Kamala Harris is one of the most prominent people in the United States, with the potential that at any moment she could inherit some of the most fearsome powers on Earth, but no one is supposed to notice.Republicans are deemed unhealthily fixated on Harris for saying that a vote for the increasingly rickety President Joe Biden is a vote to make Kamala Harris president.“Why are Republicans so obsessed with Harris?” asked a Boston Globe columnist.Jemele Hill, the former ESPN journalist currently with The Atlantic, rapped Nikki Haley in lurid terms for warning of a President Harris: “So part of the reason racism is such a terrible sickness in this country is because politicians like this know they can rally a certain base with the fear of OH MY GOD A BLACK WOMAN MIGHT BE PRESIDENT IF YOU DON’T VOTE FOR ME.”Hill then connected Haley’s sentiment with racist violence. Q.E.D.It is simply a fact that, should Joe Biden win a second term, Kamala Harris has ...

Summer sips: Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

Do you ever want a drink that feels like you are sitting at the beach but don’t want to go through all the hassle of making one? Then you may welcome a simple can of Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai, made with two shots of rum (both white rum and barrel-aged) and the flavors of pineapple, coconut and citrus.Drink it right out of a can by the pool or on a float trip, or pour it in a glass with ice and garnish with pineapple and a little umbrella for that beachy feel.$12.49 for a 4-pack of 12-ounce cansTribune News Service

Business (almost) as usual at Venice Film Festival

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

For it’s 80th edition Wednesday, the Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest, has surmounted the complication of Hollywood’s ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes to have what looks remarkably like business as (almost) usual.In its 10-day run, Venice boasts an enviable first look line-up of the awards’ season’s most high-profile premieres. The buzz hopefully translates into awards bait as the calendar year ends and Oscars loom.Once it became apparent the strikes would not end before Venice began, the festival lost only one entry – “Challengers,” a tennis comedy with Zendaya, was pulled from its opening night slot and postponed until April 2024.That means this 80th edition is embarking on uncharted territory, for never has Venice been starless on its red carpet.However, because the Directors Guild of America settled a new contract last spring, boldface filmmakers can – and will — be here when the actors cannot.That means Sofia Coppola can offer “Priscilla,” her biopic of the te...

Dear Abby: Hubby’s wandering eye an open secret

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

Dear Abby: My husband and I have been married for 18 years. It’s a second marriage for both of us. He cheated on his ex with me. Soon after we were married, he told me that, given the chance, he would cheat on me, but that I shouldn’t worry because no really pretty woman would ever want him.Six years into our marriage, I needed to find something on his phone and saw he had signed up on a dating website for married people looking to cheat. We went to counseling. He said he wasn’t planning on following through; he just wanted to see what was out there.Not long afterward, I noticed he had checked a website for dating foreign women, but he needed a credit card, so he gave up. Off to counseling again. I told him that was strike two.Last month, I went on vacation with my daughter. Last week, he accidentally deleted something on his phone and asked me to find it. What I also found were emails from women offering their services, all of them sent while I was away. (“S...

Idalia predicted to hit Florida as Category 4 hurricane with ‘catastrophic’ storm surge

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas were ordered to pack up and leave as Hurricane Idalia gained steam in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and authorities warned of a “catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds” when the storm moves ashore Wednesday morning.Idalia grew into a Category 2 system on Tuesday afternoon, with sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph) by Tuesday night. It was projected to make landfall early Wednesday as a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. The result could be a big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.On the island of Cedar Key, Commissioner Sue Colson joined other city officia...

Stock market today: Asian shares boosted by Wall Street rise on consumer confidence and jobs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:40:42 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares rose Wednesday, boosted by a Wall Street rally that came on positive reports on consumer confidence and job openings. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.9% in morning trading to 32,529.72. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.6% to 2,567.44. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 18,563.39, while the Shanghai Composite inched up less than 0.1% to 3,137.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.4% to 7,310.60, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the monthly Consumer Price Index indicator rose 4.9% in the 12 months to July. That was lower than the expected 5.2%, marking the first time since February 2022 that the indicator fell below 5%. “But given that it is still a distance away from the RBA’s 2% to 3% target, the central bank may continue to maintain its hawkish-pause stance for some policy flexibility, although we are likely seeing the end of its tightening process,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG. On Wall Street, the...