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Here’s your new favorite asparagus recipe

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

For a long time, cooking asparagus any way other than the very simplest seemed like gilding the spear to me. Blanching it in boiling water for just a few minutes until just tender and bright green like a spring dream, then eating it as soon as possible — what could be better than this?If you’re going to eat all the local asparagus you can while you are on this earth — which you should — there’s plenty of time to try it different ways.The customizable approach here came about by way of messing around with a New York Times recipe for Butter-Braised Asparagus by David Tanis — his involves chives, parsley or chervil, tarragon and optional dill. But the chives may be substituted at will with shallot, green onion, spring onion, ramps or leeks; garlic seems too forceful in this application to me, but hey, do what you feel.Buttery Braised Asparagus With Fresh HerbsINGREDIENTS1 1/2 pounds asparagus6 tablespoons salted butterKosher salt and fresh-ground pepper2 tablespoons lemon j...

North Korea spy satellite launch fails as rocket falls into the sea

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG (Associated Press)SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s attempt to put the country’s first spy satellite into space failed Wednesday in a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to boost his military capabilities as tensions with the United States and South Korea rise.After an unusually quick admission of failure, North Korea vowed to conduct a second launch after learning what went wrong with its rocket liftoff. It suggests Kim remains determined to expand his weapons arsenal and apply more pressure on Washington and Seoul while diplomacy is stalled.South Korea and Japan briefly urged residents to take shelter after the launch.The South Korean military said it was salvaging an object presumed to be part of the crashed North Korean rocket in waters 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of the southwestern island of Eocheongdo. Later, the Defense Ministry released photos of a white, metal cylinder it described as a suspected rocket...

‘Smores get an upgrade in a decadent pie

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

S’mores have been a much-loved summer treat ever since the official recipe for the sweet but simple combination first appeared in a 1927 Girl Scout guidebook, “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts.”They’re often a hot, sticky mess, but roasted marshmallows just go so incredibly well with chocolate and graham crackers, right? The fact that you can make them over a campfire only adds to their crowd appeal.But what if you don’t have a fire pit in your backyard, or aren’t keen about letting your kids cook over hot coals with a pointy stick? Or maybe you just want to impress friends and family with a make-ahead, party-worthy dessert.This decadent pie recipe brings together all the familiar and sugary-sweet flavors of a s’more, only with a bit more flair, which makes it the perfect showstopper for a summer barbecue.S’more PieINGREDIENTSFor crust12 whole graham crackers, broken into pieces2 tablespoons sugar1/8 teaspoon salt6 tablespoon...

Dear Abby: Tempted to out cheating colleague to girlfriend

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

Dear Abby: A guy at work, “Leon,” is my age, very friendly and down-to-earth. When we’ve worked together, we have had great conversations, and he has told me a lot about his girlfriend who he’s been with for years. I feel guilty knowing this because Leon is having an affair with a girl here at work who’s almost a decade his junior, and they’ve started getting very brazen about it.He tells people he’s tempted by her but would not cross the line. The girl, however, tells very different, detailed and personal stories about their rendezvous. I’m not friends with Leon on Facebook, but I looked at his profile to read a tribute to his recently lost friend and saw his girlfriend’s name, and I’m tempted to reach out.This woman doesn’t know me, but I know that at my age, if my boyfriend of three years was messing around at work and everybody knew but me, I’d be livid at them almost as much as I would be at him. As someone...

Man accused in shooting outside Central Library pleads not guilty to murder

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The man accused of the shooting outside the San Diego Central Library made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.He is charged with shooting two people, killing one of them.Kenneth Chaney, 21, will remain in jail since a judge denied bail. Prosecutors said this case is the unfortunate end over a stolen backpack."He will be entering not guilty pleas to all charges and allegations," said the public defender representing Chaney.Appearing virtually, Chaney pleaded not guilty to three felony charges: assault with a semi-automatic gun, attempted murder and murder. Surveillance video shows armed man run from downtown shooting The Deputy District Attorney argued Chaney's friend stole someone's backpack downtown.The backpack owner then chased after Chaney. When the owner caught up to Chaney, Chaney pulled out a gun.The backpack owner begged him for just the car keys out of the backpack."The defendant put the firearm away and then took him to his friend who he believed ...

Ahead of House debt ceiling vote, Biden shores up Democrats and McCarthy scrambles for GOP support

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent.Biden is sending top White House officials to meet early Wednesday at the Capitol to shore up support ahead of voting. McCarthy is working furiously to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.Despite deep disappointment from right-flank Republicans that the compromise falls short of the spending cuts they demanded, McCarthy insisted he would have the votes needed to ensure approval. “We’re going to pass the bill,” McCarthy said as he exited a lengthy late Tuesday night meeting at the Capitol.Quick approval by the House and later in the week the Senate would ensur...

Victims of violent crime drive legislative change to state programs, pushing against barriers to aid

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

Vanessa Martinez was finishing preparations for her daughter’s second birthday in September 2021 when her ex-boyfriend broke into her Mesa, Arizona, condo and shot her in the head as she frantically tried to shield their three young children.Doctors had to remove a third of her skull, but Martinez survived.She left the hospital facing a fight for custody of her kids, who’d been placed in state care after the attack. She needed a new place to live after much of the house was damaged in a standoff between police and her shooter. Her 4-year-old son needed trauma counseling.Arizona has a state safety net — local victim compensation programs — for victims of violent attacks like Martinez. But she was denied help because she was behind on about $900 in court fines from unrelated incidents, including one dating back nearly a decade. Program officials told Martinez she could reapply if she got current with a payment plan, but every dollar she made was needed for things like finding a ...

Former Connecticut lawmaker to be sentenced for coronavirus aid thefts

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A former Connecticut state representative is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for stealing more than $1.2 million from the city of West Haven — most of it in federal coronavirus-related aid — and using a good chunk of it to fuel his gambling addiction.Michael DiMassa, 32, a West Haven Democrat, could get more than four years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. He is asking Judge Omar Williams for leniency.“Mr. DiMassa suffered from a debilitating gambling addiction at the time of the offense,” his lawyer, John Gulash, wrote in a court filing, “and his essentially unfettered access to a deep pool of federal funds and total lack of impulse control facilitated his precipitous downward spiral.”The lawyer compared DiMassa to Howard Ratner, the gambler played by Adam Sandler in the movie “Uncut Gems.” He said he bet on things as frivolous as how long the national anthem would take to perform at the Super Bowl, or what color Gatorade would be pour...

Amazon workers upset over job cuts, return-to-office mandate stage walkout

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A group of Amazon workers upset about recent layoffs, a return-to-office mandate and the company’s environmental impact is planning a walkout at the company’s Seattle headquarters Wednesday.The lunchtime protest comes a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect requiring workers to return to the office three days per week.“We respect our employees’ rights to express their opinions,” the company said in a statement.As of Tuesday night, more than 1,800 employees had pledged to walk out around the world, with about 870 in Seattle, according to Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a climate change advocacy group founded by Amazon workers. While some plan to gather at the Amazon Spheres — a four-story structure in downtown Seattle that from the outside looks like three connected glass orbs — others will participate remotely.Brad Glasser, an Amazon spokesperson, said there has been a good energy on the company’s South...

How and when to remove children from their homes? A federal lawsuit raises thorny questions

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:05:19 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — When child welfare workers and police knocked on Sarah Perkins’ and Joshua Sabey’s front door well past midnight one weekend last summer, the parents were shocked to learn the state of Massachusetts had come to take their two young sons.It’s the kind of harrowing scene that plays out daily across the country as social workers motivated by a desire to protect children run up against confused and concerned parents. What followed was emotional anguish, a bureaucratic battle, vindication for the parents and a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a legal advocacy group. The couple hopes for a favorable ruling that will increase oversight of child removals nationwide.The children were taken in Massachusetts because of a child abuse report stemming from a hospital visit. On July 13, 2022, Perkins whisked their 3-month-old son Cal to an emergency room. He had a 103-degree fever.An X-ray checking for pneumonia found a rib fracture the couple hadn’t noticed. After speaking ...