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Dip into the holidays with these tasty spreads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

Beth Dooley | Star Tribune (TNS)Potlucks, cocktail parties, family gatherings and happy hours all require noshes and nibbles as well as libations. Now’s the time to make a plan.This year, I’m diving into dips and spreads, the kind that are ready in minutes, can be made in big batches and served on demand. It helps, too, if they can be repurposed into sauces for meats and roasted vegetables or spreads for sandwiches, flatbreads and pizzas — and they’re perfect for dressing up leftovers.For the most flavorful dips and spreads, look to the sunny cuisines of the Mediterranean. They’re bright with warm spices and comprise everyday ingredients you probably already have on hand. Based on contrasting flavors, colors and textures — sweet, tangy, spicy, creamy — these three dips taste surprisingly complex.Take hummus, a beloved staple throughout the Middle East (and ubiquitous in the United States). It shines when made from scratch using freshly cooked dried beans (gar...

New York’s high court orders new congressional maps as Democrats move to retake control of US House

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE (Associated Press)ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to draw new congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections, giving Democrats a potential advantage in what is expected to be a battleground for control of the U.S. House.The 4-3 decision from the New York Court of Appeals could have major ramifications as Democrats angle for more favorable district lines in the state next year. Republicans, who won control of the House after flipping seats in New York, sought to keep the map in place. The state’s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission will now be tasked with coming up with new districts, which will then go before the Democrat-controlled Legislature for approval. The court ordered the commission to file a map no later than Feb. 28, 2024. “In 2014, the voters of New York amended our Constitution to provide that legislative districts be drawn by an Independent Redistricting Commission,&#...

Lost in the mix of Medicaid ‘Unwinding’: Kentucky cut off her health care over a clerical error

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

Rachana Pradhan | (TNS) KFF Health NewsThe day her Medicaid coverage ended, Beverly Likens was in the hospital after a scary trip to the emergency room.The Kentucky resident was diagnosed with severe anemia and given a blood transfusion after her hemoglobin levels had plummeted. Likens, 48 at the time, was days from having surgery to treat chronic uterine bleeding that she said left her bleeding “constantly.”But soon a problem appeared: The hospital said she didn’t have Medicaid coverage, jeopardizing her procedure. Likens, who is disabled, was rocked by the news. She believed she’d done what was needed to maintain her eligibility. “I was just ready to fall to pieces,” Likens said, fearing she was “going to spend the rest of my life getting blood transfusions.”Millions of people nationwide have lost Medicaid benefits after a pandemic-era mandate for coverage expired in March — most of them for administrative reasons unrelated to their actual eligibility. Even the Biden administratio...

Patriots coach Troy Brown reacts to fellow assistant leaving midseason

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

Patriots wide receivers coach Ross Douglas left the team over the weekend to take a new role on the coaching staff at Syracuse.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots lose backup QB to AFC rival after minimal playing time New England Patriots | Will Taylor Swift be in Boston for the Patriots-Chiefs game? New England Patriots | Bailey Zappe credits Patriots O-line with fast start, takes blame for later struggles New England Patriots | Patriots defender has message for fans who want team to tank for draft pick New England Patriots | Bill Belichick gives detailed assessment of Patriots QB Bailey Zappe’s recent play Douglas spent the last two seasons working alongside fellow receivers coach Troy Brown, after originally joining the organization as a low-level defensive assistant in 2021. On Tuesday, Brown reflected on his time with Douglas and explained how he’ll be adjusting moving forwar...

Virginia sheriff’s office says Tesla was running on Autopilot moments before tractor-trailer crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

By TOM KRISHER (AP Auto Writer)DETROIT (AP) — Virginia authorities have determined that a Tesla was operating on its Autopilot system and was speeding in the moments leading to a crash with a crossing tractor-trailer last July that killed the Tesla driver.The death of Pablo Teodoro III, 57, is the third since 2016 in which a Tesla that was using Autopilot ran underneath a crossing tractor-trailer, raising questions about the partially automated system’s safety and where it should be allowed to operate.The crash south of Washington remains under investigation by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sent investigators to Virginia last summer and began a broader probe of Autopilot more than two years ago.Jeffrey Long, spokesman for the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday that investigators determined Autopilot was in use on Teodoro’s Tesla Model Y by downloading information from the vehicle’s event data recorder.Sheriff’s investigators used a search...

DeSantis’ campaign interactions with super PACs raised internal legal concerns, AP sources say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis has visited each of Iowa’s 99 counties. He has the endorsement of the governor and boasts the largest get-out-the-vote operation in the state. And he has predicted victory in Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucuses.But as the Florida governor works to project strength in the Republican primary and cut into former President Donald Trump’s huge lead, DeSantis’ expansive political machine is facing a churn of leadership, stagnant polling numbers and new concerns about potential legal conflicts.Specifically, there has been concern in recent weeks among some within DeSantis’ operation that interactions between his campaign and his network of outside groups are blurring the lines of what’s legally permissible.Multiple people familiar with DeSantis’ political network said that he and his wife had expressed concerns about the messaging of Never Back Down, the largest super PAC supporting the governor’s campaign, in recent months as ...

What we know about the legal case of a Texas woman denied the right to an immediate abortion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

Last week, a Texas woman sued her home state for the right to obtain an abortion in a new kind of challenge to the bans that most Republican-controlled states have begun enforcing in the last year and a half since Roe v. Wade was overturned.The Texas Supreme Court denied Katie Cox’s request on Monday.But by then, her lawyers said, she had already traveled out of state for an abortion.Here’s what we know about her case.WHY DID COX SEEK AN ABORTION?The 31-year-old mother of two children — ages 3 and 1 — and her husband want additional children and they were glad to learn she was pregnant.But tests confirmed late last month that the baby she was carrying had a condition called trisomy 18, an extra chromosome that made it likely the baby would die in utero or shortly after birth.She had a hard pregnancy, with several trips to an emergency room. By the time she filed her lawsuit last week, she was 20 weeks pregnant.She said in court filings that delivering the baby at full te...

13 cold, stunned sea turtles from New England given holiday names as they rehab in Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

JUNO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — This Rudolph will not be leading his pals Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid through the Christmas Eve sky, but maybe he will lead them back out to sea one day. For now the seven Ridley’s sea turtles and six of their pals have been given holiday-themed names as they are treated at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. They were were among 52 sea turtles flown to Tampa last week from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts. They were suffering from a condition known as cold stun from the frigid waters in New England, which make them hypothermic. “They float at the surface, they can’t eat, they can’t dive and eventually wash up on shore,” said Marika Weber, a vet technician at Loggerhead.She said the New England Aquarium was overwhelmed with more than 200 sea turtles experiencing cold stun. That’s why 52 were sent to Florida.In addition to the 13 sent to Juno Beach in Palm Beach County, 16 were taken to Clearwater Marine Aquariu...

New police videos show broader view of violent encounter between woman and North Carolina officers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

Police released video on Tuesday from an arrest in North Carolina last month showing that before an officer repeatedly punched a Black woman while others held her down, the woman struck an officer in the face and he responded by hitting her back and knocking her off her feet.The newly released videos provide a broader view of the Nov. 13 encounter at a Charlotte bus stop than the initial bystander videos that were posted on social media. One of those bystander videos showed four officers kneeling and holding the woman down as a fifth repeatedly struck her with a closed fist. As it was happening, bystanders shouted at the officers to stop. After a few seconds, the officers stood and led the woman to a squad SUV with her arms behind her back.After the arrest, the department said that the officer who repeatedly struck the woman on the ground had been “intentional” about how he hit her in order to get her to comply. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer, who had responded to that day as bac...

AP PHOTOS: Moon, asteroids and new rockets topped the world’s space news in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:24 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The moon, asteroids and brand new rockets topped the world’s space news in 2023. Elon Musk’s monster rocket made it to space on the second test flight before exploding again. India landed successfully on the moon, outdoing Russia, which crashed. And NASA brought back its first samples of an asteroid. These are just a few of 2023’s cosmic hits and misses. And there’s more to come in 2024.MOON MANIAThe moon was the hottest ticket in town, with landing attempts in 2023 by Russia, India and a private Japanese company. Only India prevailed, becoming the fourth country to do so. Two U.S. companies, China and the Japanese Space Agency are targeting touchdowns, some as early as January. NASA kicked off 2023 by introducing the four astronauts who are slated to fly around the moon in late 2024 — three from the U.S. and a Canadian. Another crew will actually land, but the timing is uncertain.ROCKET DEBUTSThe biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, SpaceX’s Star...