By Laurie Baratti, TravelPulse

A recent survey conducted by the Global Rescue Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey highlights the influence of the recent U.S. elections on Americans’ international travel plans for 2025. The findings show a mix of enthusiasm and caution among travelers regarding their future global itineraries.

Approximately 30% of respondents indicated they expect to increase their international trips next year, while 7% foresee scaling back on foreign travel. However, the majority — 55% — anticipate no significant changes to their plans despite the election outcome.

The reasons behind increased international travel are varied. Some respondents cited dissatisfaction with the election results as a driving factor, expressing a strong desire to spend more time abroad. One traveler remarked, “I want to spend as much time as possible outside the U.S. over the next four years.”

For others, optimism about a potential post-election economic boost played a pivotal role. “The economy should show signs of improvement, and if the new administration can make peace deals around the world, then travel will be as good or better next year,” shared another participant.

Conversely, those who reported no change in their travel plans pointed to stable financial conditions. With inflation at its lowest point in three years, many travelers have already secured their 2025 travel arrangements. “I have a general feeling of being better off and secure. I anticipate increased disposable income available, and I’m already booked for 2025,” stated one respondent.

Economic factors appear to be bolstering travel confidence overall. Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies and a U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board member, explained: “With inflation at a three-year low, fewer travelers are canceling or postponing trips. In 2024, travelers embarked on their long-postponed dreams of global travel, fueled by a stabilizing economy and a renewed focus on meaningful experiences over material possessions.”

Still, a small proportion of respondents (7%) plan to travel less internationally in the coming year, citing personal safety concerns tied to the U.S. elections. “The change of U.S. administration makes me more apprehensive about being in a foreign country with the risk of anger and animosity toward Americans being higher,” one participant admitted. Others attributed their hesitance to ongoing geopolitical tensions, including conflicts and terrorist threats worldwide.

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©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Nicole Hvidsten, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Brunch has a special seat at the table: It bridges savory and sweet and breakfast and lunch, and appeases both early birds and late risers.

It’s a meal with very few rules, which is especially welcome to cooks as we head into a season filled with tradition and culinary expectations. Want to serve pancakes alongside prime rib or burgers with doughnuts? No problem. Gooey mac and cheese and quiche? Why not?

Brunch is also a chance to try new flavors and dishes or put a different spin on tried-and-trues — like these recipes from recent cookbooks.

Let’s start with biscuits. A good biscuit recipe should be in every cook’s repertoire, and we found one in America’s Test Kitchen’s “When Southern Women Cook.” In addition to including more than 300 recipes, it tells the stories of women who have helped shape the cuisine of the American South. The ATK drop biscuit recipe features two variations — chocolate chip and bacon, cheese and black pepper — inspired by Bomb Biscuits restaurant in Atlanta that would be a fine addition to any meal.

Joey Maggiore’s debut cookbook, “Brunch King,” caught our attention with its fun boozy drinks made with breakfast cereal, but the Italian American chef’s inventive breakfast bruschetta and over-the-top breakfast burger made us true fans. For the bruschetta, batons of brioche are pan-toasted in butter, topped with crème brûlée custard and brown sugar and then broiled, garnished with strawberries and, if you’re in a playful mood, strawberry cotton candy.

Maggiore’s brunch burger starts with a bacon/ground-beef patty, and then stacks all your brunch favorites between two buns: hash browns, eggs, cheese and hollandaise. It’s a natural pairing with a Bloody Mary, and a post-brunch nap would not be out of the question. The chef, who runs a family of restaurants in the Phoenix area, is not shy about making a culinary statement.

The traditional breakfast dish shakshuka, eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, is reimagined as a breakfast sandwich thanks to Owen Han, whose passion for sandwiches has made him a sensation on TikTok, where he’s amassed more than 4 million followers. His new book, “Stacked: The Art of the Perfect Sandwich,” will provide plenty of creative brunch options — and lunch and dinner, too.

Cooking for a crowd? Another social media standout, Heather Bell, can help. Bell chronicles her life with eight kids as@justthebells10, and her slow-cooker Denver omelet from “Mama Bell’s Big Family Cooking” goes together quickly. It keeps the oven open for other morning brunch duties, but is hearty enough to pinch hit for a make-ahead supper, too.

Whether you follow these recipes or use them to spark ideas of your own, just remember the most important rule of brunch: There are no rules.

Drop Biscuits

Makes 12 biscuits.

One of the best starting recipes for new biscuit bakers is drop biscuits — and they’re just as soul satisfying as any. Unlike rolled and stamped biscuits that typically call for carefully cutting cold fat into flour before liquid is added, drop biscuits are simply stirred together, dropped onto the baking sheet, and baked. For a drop biscuit with buttery flakes, stir together warm melted butter and cold buttermilk before incorporating the dry ingredients. This causes the butter to clump up; it looks like a mistake, but it produces pockets of steam in the oven for light, fluffy — and easy — stir-and-drop biscuits. The flavor variations are inspired by flavors at Erika Council’s Bomb Biscuits restaurant in Atlanta. From “When Southern Women Cook,” from America’s Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen, 2024).

INGREDIENTS

2 c. (10 oz.) all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. sugar

¾ tsp. table salt

1 c. buttermilk, chilled

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tbsp. unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, ­baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt together in large bowl. Stir buttermilk and melted butter together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup until butter forms clumps.
2. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula until just incorporated. Using greased ¼-cup dry measuring cup, drop level scoops of batter 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared sheet. Bake until tops are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.
3. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and brush on biscuit tops. Transfer biscuits to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
4. Bacon, Cheese and Black Pepper Biscuits: Add 4 slices cooked, crumbled bacon, ¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, and 1 teaspoon pepper to flour mixture and stir to combine before adding buttermilk mixture.
5. Chocolate Chip Biscuits: Increase sugar to ½ cup. Add ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips to flour mixture and stir to combine before adding buttermilk mixture.

Crème Brûlée Bruschetta

Serves 4.

From “The Brunch King: Eats, Beats, and Boozy Drinks,” by Joey Maggiore, who writes: “Bruschetta is one of those dishes we always eat. So naturally, I had to make it part of an Italian breakfast. With the creamy crème brûlée topping, crispy sugar and sweet strawberries, bruschetta doesn’t get much better than this. And don’t forget the cotton candy! It gives the palate that sweet kiss at the end. Note: Store extra custard in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. If using frozen custard, defrost in the fridge for 2 days. (Figure 1, 2024).

INGREDIENTS

For the crème brûlée custard:

4 egg yolks

¼ c. granulated sugar

1 ¾ c. heavy cream

1 Madagascar vanilla bean, split lengthwise

For the bruschetta:

1 tbsp. butter

6 slices brioche bread, each cut into 3- by 3- by 1-inch batons

1 ½ c. crème brûlée custard

3 tbsp. brown sugar

12 strawberries, sliced

½ c. strawberry cotton candy, torn, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the crème brûlée custard: Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
2. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl large enough to fit over the pan. Whisk until smooth and pale yellow. Set aside.
3. Pour cream into a small saucepan. With the tip of a knife, scrape seeds from the vanilla bean into the pan, add the bean and stir. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, making sure not to burn the mixture. Simmer gently for 3 minutes. Remove bean and scrape any more seeds into the pan. Stir and simmer for 3 more minutes.
4. Ladle a small amount of cream into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. (This tempers the eggs. If hot cream is added at once, the eggs will scramble.) Keep adding ladles of cream, whisking continuously, until incorporated.
5. Place the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water and whisk vigorously, occasionally scraping the sides to prevent eggs from scrambling. Whisk until the mixture forms a smooth custard. Remove from heat, then transfer to a container (or spread in a baking pan to cool faster).
6. To make the bruschetta: Preheat broiler over high heat.
7. Melt butter in a hot griddle or large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add bread and toast for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet.
8. Top each baton with a layer of crème brûlée custard, then sprinkle with brown sugar. Broil for 2 to 3 minutes, until sugar is caramelized. (Or use a kitchen torch and treat your guests to a show.) Arrange strawberries over the caramelized sugar and top with cotton candy, if using.

Shakshuka Breakfast Sandwich

Makes 4 sandwiches.

Shakshuka (or one of its derivations) is a popular breakfast throughout northern Africa, southern Europe and Turkey, which covers quite a lot of territory. It is quite simple, consisting of eggs poached in a spicy vegetable sauce. Served on a toasted roll, it becomes a more substantial meal. If you wish, add sliced avocado to your sandwich. From “Stacked: The Art of the Perfect Sandwich,” by Owen Han (Harvest, 2024).

1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

½ large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½-in. dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. sweet or smoked paprika

⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 large eggs

½ c. (50 g) crumbled feta cheese

2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro

4 crusty round sandwich rolls, such as kaiser rolls, split, brushed with olive oil, and toasted

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the spicy tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, paprika and cayenne and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a brisk simmer, stirring often, until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Using the back of a large spoon, make 4 evenly spaced wells in the sauce. Crack an egg into each well. Cover the skillet and simmer over medium-low heat until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny, 4 to 5 minutes. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the cheese and parsley (feta cheese does not melt). Remove from the heat.
3. For each sandwich, place a roll on a dinner plate. Use a large spoon to transfer an egg and a serving of the sauce onto the roll bottom. Cap with the roll top, cut in half, and serve immediately with a fork and knife.

Brunch Burger

Serves 2.

From “The Brunch King: Eats, Beats, and Boozy Drinks,” by Joey Maggiore, who writes: “If I put a burger on a menu, it has to be the best burger I have ever eaten. Here, I have a half-pound beef and bacon patty stacked with crispy hash browns, pepper jack cheese, fried onions, hollandaise and a fried egg with an oozy yolk — and every bite pops. Pair this with one a Bloody Mary for the perfect hangover cure.” (Figure 1, 2024)

INGREDIENTS

For the hash browns:

4 russet potatoes

2 eggs, beaten

1 large white onion, finely chopped

½ c. all-purpose flour

Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

1 to 2 tbsp. canola oil

For the burger:

8 oz. ground beef (90% lean)

8 oz. bacon, finely chopped

1 tbsp. butter

2 brioche burger buns

2 tsp. olive or canola oil

2 eggs

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 slices pepper jack cheese

2 hash browns

Fried onions, for serving

½ c. hollandaise (see below), for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. To prepare the hash browns: Shred potatoes with a box grater. Place in a medium bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. Drain, then rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. (This helps to remove excess starch.) Drain and squeeze dry.
2. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, onion and flour. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, shape the potato mixture into golf-ball-sized balls. Flatten, then place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess moisture.
4. Add oil to the skillet. Carefully place potatoes in the hot oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. For crispier hash browns, press down with a spatula after flipping. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
5. Hash browns can be stored in an airtight container and frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat, defrost at room temperature on a paper towel-lined plate.
6. To prepare the burgers: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. In a large bowl, combine ground beef and bacon and mix thoroughly. Form into 2 (8-ounce) patties.
8. Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add burger buns, cut sides down. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside and cover with paper towels to keep warm.
9. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add eggs, then break the yolks and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until the whites are set. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Generously season both sides of the patties with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. Flip, then cook for another 3 minutes. Place in the oven and cook for another 4 minutes for medium.
11. Top with cheese and return to the oven for another minute, until cheese has melted.
12. Top each toasted bottom bun with a burger patty, followed by a hash brown, fried egg and fried onions. Serve with a ramekin of hollandaise on the side.
13. Easy blender Chef Pierce hollandaise: Melt 2 sticks of butter and set aside. Place 6 egg yolks, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon hot sauce and ⅛ teaspoon paprika in a blender and blend on high speed for 30 seconds. With the motor still running, slowly pour in the warm melted butter in a thin and steady stream until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Season with salt to taste, and use immediately.

Breakfast Slow Cooker Denver Omelet

Serves 10.

From “Mama Bell’s Big Family Cooking” by Heather Bell, who writes: “We have made so many wonderful dinner recipes with the slow cooker that I had to try out breakfast. When I was growing up, my mom and dad made breakfast for dinner at least three times a week. Our family really loved breakfast foods. So to make a breakfast recipe and serve it to my family for dinner seemed like a super cool idea. They loved it!” (Adams Media, 2024)

INGREDIENTS

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 (16-oz.) pkg. sliced black forest ham, chopped

10 large eggs

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 c. whole milk

2 tbsp. avocado oil

4 c. (1-in. cubes) French bread

2 c. shredded medium Cheddar cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine red and green peppers, onion and ham. Stir together and set aside.
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, mustard and milk. Whisk together until lightly scrambled and set aside.
3. In a 10-quart slow cooker, spread oil on the bottom, then layer with 2 cups cubed bread, half of the vegetable and ham mixture, and 1⁄2 cup cheese. Repeat the layers (bread, vegetables and ham, 1⁄2 cup cheese) and then pour egg mixture over the top.
4. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, until egg is cooked through. When done, sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese on top and serve.

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©2024 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

EAST LANSING — The Michigan State football season is over.

Needing a sixth win in their final game to be bowl eligible, the Spartans (5-7, 3-6) fell short in a 41-14 loss to Rutgers (7-5, 4-5). The loss eliminates Michigan State from postseason play. And it largely happened by the hand of the same mistakes that have plagued the Spartans much of the season.

“We didn’t play well enough to earn a win or earn a chance to continue on playing,” Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith said, ending his first season in East Lansing.

Michigan State knew the stakes heading into the game. It was a must-win for myriad reasons — bowl eligibility, a winning record, a send-off for its seniors. And at the start, the Spartans played like a team leaving it all on the table.

The Spartans started with the ball and put together a strong opening drive. Running back Kay’ron Lynch-Adams broke off a 36-yard run, which set up his tandem partner Nate Carter for a 26-yard touchdown.

As Carter did snow angels on the field — for which he earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that helped Rutgers start its first drive from midfield — Michigan State showed that it was friendly with the ground game. Carter and Kayron Lynch-Adams combined for 86 rushing yards on 12 carries in the first half, then added 30 yards in the second.

But with a win vital, struggles reappeared in so many areas the Spartans have experienced them. Poor pass protection showed up in two first half sacks. Special teams miscues spotted Rutgers a field goal after a high punt snap turned the ball over on downs at the 2-yard line. And too many Michigan State drives were short-lived, with five of the six first-half drives fizzling within five plays and four of them lasting less than three minutes. The one long drive they did string together ended in a failed fourth-and-1 conversion.

“It definitely is frustrating that it’s still happening in Game 12,” tight end Jack Velling said of the miscues, on the heels of his own season-high 77 yards on five catches. “It’s frustrating that it’s every room, and there’s guys in every room doing it.”

Even with all that hanging in the balance, progress did not arrive in time for Michigan State’s final game and final chance.

Michigan State’s defense played stout for most of the first half, but it gave up big plays. Out of 213 first-half yards allowed, 140 came on seven big plays. The pass rush shouldered much of the blame, allowing Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis ample time in the pocket. Again, this was an issue facing Michigan State all season. And again, a lack of resolution came back to bite the Spartans.

Kaliakmanis queued up both of his team’s first-half touchdowns with big passing plays. Running backs Kyle Monangai and Antwan Raymond punched in the scores, part of 129 yards on the ground in the first half. Those scores, plus 25-, 42- and 30-yard field goals by kicker Jai Patel, gave Rutgers a 23-7 lead at the half.

With 3:33 left in the first half, defensive back Jaylen Thompson was carted off the field with his head and neck stabilized by the trainers. After the game, Smith said that Thompson was OK and was placed in concussion protocol.

Heading into the second half, Michigan State needed to come out with a response to put its season back within reach. It needed its defense to stiffen and force a stop.

Instead, Rutgers churned 75 yards down the field on a 14-play drive that killed more than half of the third quarter. And after a 9-yard receiving touchdown by Ian Strong extended the gap, a two-point conversion on a pass to KJ Adams only made it more drastic. Michigan State’s same issues with pass rush persisted, while Kaliakmanis picked apart a depleted secondary.

“That really changed the thing,” Smith said. “And that’s what Rutgers is about. They’re leading the league in time of possession for a reason. And so they really separated the thing at that point.”

Lynch-Adams put together a few strong runs on the ensuing response drive — his own college playing career coming to a close with this game — and yet it wasn’t enough. The Spartans left the field with their third turnover on downs of the game.

As Rutgers ran down the clock on both the game and Michigan State’s season with another seven-minute drive resulting in Patel’s fourth field goal, there just wasn’t enough time to mount a comeback.

Velling made things interesting with a walk-in touchdown — his first of the season — with 7:21 left in the game, but Rutgers recovered an onside kick attempt and bled the clock. Raymond punched in his second touchdown of the day, the eighth out of nine drives in which his team scored points.

With one more chance to answer, Michigan State sent out freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic, who threw an interception that allowed Rutgers to kneel out the clock.

Everything hung in the balance of this game, but the Spartans didn’t seize the opportunity. Too many familiar issues proved costly in the end, leaving the program with its third straight losing season and fourth in the past five years.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Despite everyone counting them out, and the oddsmakers installing them as three-touchdown underdogs, Michigan players said early in the week their intention was to play loose and have fun.

The Wolverines entered the 120th meeting against arch-rival Ohio State on the heels of reaching six wins and bowl eligibility, while the Buckeyes (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) were ranked No. 2 and on a roll.

This was supposed to be a mismatch. Michigan had other ideas in a 13-10 win over Ohio State on Saturday before 106,055 at Ohio Stadium with kicker Dominic Zvada making a winning 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left.

“I felt really calm,” said Zvada who had a 54-yarder in the second quarter and finished the regular season 7-of-7 on attempts of 50 yards or more. “I just felt really good especially going into that last kick. I knew I was going to put it through, as cocky as that sounds. You’ve got to be confident.”

Michigan has now won four straight in the rivalry and two straight in Columbus. OSU coach Ryan Day is now 1-4 against the Wolverines. This was the first win in the rivalry for Sherrone Moore as Michigan’s head coach, but Moore was acting head coach last season when then-head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended and beat Ohio State in Michigan Stadium.

“We’re not listening to what other people picking or who they think’s gonna win or what they thought we were going to do or not do,” Michigan quarterback Davis Warren said, when asked if the Wolverines heard about being such enormous underdogs.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to win the football game. When you get in a game like this, it doesn’t matter what anyone else is saying. Maybe (the Buckeyes) were listening to it too much, because I know we were prepared, more than ready to go out there and play our best football, stay focused on what we had to do to win the football game. Man, we did that.”

Michigan outrushed Ohio State 172-77 in the game and was paced by Kalel Mullings’ career day with 116 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown. The Wolverines held Ohio State’s offense, which was averaging 439.1 yards to 252 yards. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 10 nationally in scoring, averaging 37.8 points. The Wolverines’ intercepted Will Howard twice, one each by Aamir Hall and Makari Paige, and held the Buckeyes scoreless in the second half.

“We struggled to run the ball,” Day said. “We’ve talked about this many times that we have to run the ball, especially in this game. It was a little windy, and to win the game, you’ve got to be able to run it. We weren’t able to do that. We tried a couple different schemes, (but) couldn’t quite get into a rhythm on that. That ultimately, along with the turnovers and the missed field goals, was the difference in the game.”

The Michigan defense came through in the third quarter when Warren was intercepted at the goal line. Michigan held Ohio State to a three and out. Warren was intercepted a second time in the fourth quarter and the defense again held the Buckeyes to a three and out.

“They won us this football game, no doubt,” Warren said of the defense. “The way they played against that offense, they did an incredible job. All the credit goes to them. The interception at the goal line can’t happen, it’s inexcusable by me and they bailed me out. They stepped up in key moments.”

In the fourth quarter, Michigan dominated and outgained OSU 101-10, including 77-9 rushing. The Wolverines were 4-of-5 on third down and had possession for 13:03.

“We’re just more physical. The film doesn’t lie,” edge Josaiah Stewart said when asked how Michigan was able to slow Ohio State’s rushing. “We attacked it all game. We took the fight to them. We didn’t wait or let them get in a rhythm, which is most important. I always say, when you stop the run, you can really keep a team one-dimensional.”

Even without starting tight end and leading receiver Colston Loveland and cornerback Will Johnson, both out with injury, and with running back Donovan Edwards out for the second half after suffering an injury, the Wolverines found a way, mostly because of strong defensive play, some miscues by Ohio State, including the two interceptions and two missed field goals, and the tough performance by Mullings.

Mullings keyed they winning drive that started with 6:13 left and the score tied, 10-10. On third and 6, Mullings ran 27-yards to the Ohio State 17 and appeared to cramp briefly — after the game his left foot was in a boot and he said he had his ankle rolled on that long run. Freshman Jordan Marshall came in for a carry, but Mullings returned to the game and ran 5 yards to make it third and 2. But Ohio State, coming out of a timeout, was penalized for too many men on the field and gave Michigan a first down.

Three straight runs by Mullings yielded 4 yards and Zvada came out for the kick.

Moore said he knew in the fourth quarter that Michigan had the advantage in every sense.

“We got it up in the fourth quarter, and I told everybody to listen, listen to the sounds, and there was nothing,” Moore said of the Ohio Stadium crowd. “So we knew at 10-10 (at halftime), we had them, and that was the goal. We wanted to just keep them on the ropes, keep fighting, and our guys did that. But it wasn’t really about what anybody else thought. We didn’t talk about belief. We just talked about trust. Trusting each other, trusting yourself, trusting what you can do, and then go win the game.”

By Queenie Wong and Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times

Lars Dennert paid $100,000 for a forest green Rivian R1S, an electric SUV he enjoys driving on family road trips to the beach, snow and desert.

This year, he raised his wager on Rivian’s future, spending at least $10,000 on Rivian stock, which has hardly been a winner.

“I’m hoping for another Tesla, that down the road [Rivian] will prosper and their stock price will reflect that,” said the Pasadena resident, 56, who works in real estate development and property management.

It’s fans like Dennert that the Irvine company is counting on as it tries to navigate a rough road to profitability.

Rivian Automotive Inc. sold about 50,100 vehicles last year, boasting that its R1S is the best-selling SUV in California in the above $70,000 price category. The company also makes pickups and delivery vans.

Still, Rivian’s stock has plunged about 50% this year as production forecasts missed Wall Street estimates. Rivian also has been piling up big losses, including a net loss of $1.1 billion, or $1.08 a share, in the third quarter.

Amid the investor unease, the company is wrestling with supply chain woes, consumers wary about spending and, now, potential changes in EV policy under a second Donald Trump administration.

It didn’t help that Fisker, a Southern California competitor, filed for bankruptcy protection this year.

A $5.8-billion joint venture with Volkswagen Group that closed this month extended a lifeline for the EV maker, giving it capital to develop cheaper vehicles beyond its pricey SUV and R1T pickup truck, which starts at nearly $70,000.

Rivian also is expanding its only factory in Normal, Ill., which it acquired from Mitsubishi, and where it will build the R2, a smaller and more affordable SUV that starts at $45,000 and is set to launch in 2026.

Additionally, VW will benefit from Rivian’s expertise in technology as the two automakers work together on vehicle software, analysts said.

“The good news is [Rivian’s] got… a runway ahead of them. They’re not about to drive off a cliff in terms of financials. So they’ve certainly got some time to continue working against all these forces,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com, an automotive research website.

In an interview, Rivian’s Chief Executive and founder RJ Scaringe described a company in its “awkward teenage years.”

“I’ve never been more optimistic since the very first day I started the company around our ability to drive impact,” said Scaringe, 41, referring to Rivian’s influence in the EV market. “I’ve never felt as strong as I do…today around the importance of our existence.”

Growing pains

Scaringe, the son of an engineer and who was obsessed with cars as a kid, knew early he wanted to start his own business. The MIT engineering doctorate turned his dream into a reality in 2009 when he founded what would become Rivian, whose name stems from the Indian River in Florida where Scaringe spent his youth.

Back then, the company was based in Florida and focused on making a fuel-efficient sports car, but Scaringe yearned to leave a bigger mark on sustainability. The ambitious entrepreneur started working on electric pickups and SUVs and moved to Michigan to be closer to the auto industry.

At the 2018 LA Auto Show, Rivian finally showed off its debut vehicle, a premium electric pickup truck that wowed the industry with its technology. The earth tones, boxy design and oval headlights of the vehicle also contrasted sharply with Tesla’s sleek design.

A year later, Rivian scored a coup when Amazon invested $700 million into the company and ordered 100,000 delivery vans. In 2020, the company moved to Irvine, with its rich talent pool of engineers.

Rivian became a publicly-traded company in 2021 amid a stock bubble. Its stock briefly reached $170 per share on expectations that EV sales would take off, with the company’s valuation surpassing $150 billion, topping auto giants such as Ford.

But after its public debut, Rivian’s fortunes changed. Pandemic-related supply shortages slowed production and shook investor confidence as the company was unable to fill thousands of customer orders.

Today, Rivian’s stock is priced around $10 per share, as the company continues to be battered by the slowdown in the EV market, which has been squeezed by higher interest rates and ongoing anxiety from potential buyers over where they can get their vehicles recharged.

Another challenge: With list prices that start about $70,000, the company also faces stiff competition from industry leader Tesla, whose cheapest car, the Model 3, can be purchased for less than $45,000.

To stem the losses, Rivian cut 10% of its 16,700-plus workforce earlier this year (it employed about 2,200 locally in 2023, according to the Orange County Business Journal). And last month, Rivian lowered its 2024 annual production esimates to 47,000 to 49,000 vehicles, citing a supply chain issue that was reportedly due to an ordering mix up that left the company without adequate copper windings to build its electric motors.

Javier Varela, chief operations officer, downplayed the issue, telling analysts recently that Rivian faced a “short-term constraint” and was “ramping up a new capacity in record time.”

Meanwhile, policy changes still loom ahead and could have a longer term impact on the EV market.

President-elect Donald Trump has been critical of electric vehicles and could roll back tax credits and policies that fuel EV sales.

On the chopping block: a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle buyers — a move that could benefit Tesla, which is already able to sell its cars at a lower price point and make a profit, but could harm rivals such as Rivian. Elon Musk, who leads Tesla, has been a vocal supporter of Trump and poured millions into his presidential campaign.

While Rivian buyers are affluent and generally don’t qualify for the tax credit, drivers who lease the vehicles are more often able to take advantage of it. Scaringe minimized the importance of the credit, noting Rivian needs to build cars that don’t rely on government policy.

Chris Pierce, an analyst at Needham & Co., disagrees, saying every sale counts. “If less people are going to be able to get that credit through leasing, that’s less demand for Rivian,” he said.

Rivian also must contend with potential tariffs under a Trump administration that could raise the costs of imports. Scaringe told analysts during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that its sourced foreign suppliers won’t be subject to large tariffs.

The road ahead

Perhaps Rivian’s biggest challenge is to build vehicles that are competitively priced compared with gas-powered cars and trucks — even as it recorded a gross loss of $39,100 for every vehicle it sold during the third quarter. And those losses came despite its ability to sell emissions credits to other auto manufacturers, which it expects will total about $300 million this year.

The company recently upped its projected adjusted annual loss to as much as $2.88 billion for the year, but it has taken steps to cut costs through the introduction of a second generation of R1 SUVs and pickups. The redesigned vehicles have longer ranges and better performance, while using fewer and lower-cost parts.

Electric vehicles have circuit boards called ECUs, or electronic control units, that manage systems in the car, allowing the engine, brakes and other features to run smoothly. The new generation of vehicles cut the number from 17 to seven, which reduces costs while easing software updates.

“It’s like if you had an apartment complex and everybody had a toaster and a microwave versus an apartment complex with one really…nicely done professional kitchen,” Scaringe said.

The second-generation models include a tri-motor option that splits the difference between the company’s base SUV and truck models with two motors and its top-of-the line four-motor option, which produces more than 1,000 horsepower. The sticker prices of the new models range from about $70,000 to more than $100,000.

Unlike Fisker, which could not forge a strategic alliance with an auto manufacturer, Rivian has already benefited from its relationship with Volkswagen.

Rivian has received $1 billion from the German carmaker that Scaringe said the company can spend as it sees fit. In exchange, VW will be able to use Rivian’s electrical architecture and software as the foundation for any model it chooses to make.

“I think people were skeptical Rivian had this tech,” Pierce said. “Volkswagen wants to compete. They need to get their costs of selling cars lower, and this is how they think they can do that.”

In the past, Rivian had deals with major automakers, including with Ford, to make electric vehicles that didn’t pan out. So far, some of the early results of the new joint venture have been promising.

“This is one of the world’s largest car manufacturers with a portfolio of really exciting and interesting brands that’s making the decision to move their software architecture and their electronics architecture to Rivian’s platform,” Scaringe said.

Among Rivian’s top priorities is not only expanding its Normal, Ill., but also restarting construction of a plant in Stanton Springs, Ga. that it halted earlier this year after losing $5.4 billion in 2023. The company has plans to produce several other models, including a smaller SUV called the R3 that will be cheaper than the R2.

As it ramps up vehicle production in Illinois, Rivian has faced allegations from former workers who say it is not doing enough to protect employee safety, Bloomberg reported. Some of the injuries workers reported included a cracked skull and bone fractures.

Scaringe said the company prioritizes the safety of its workers and that the plant is safer compared with the average factory. “Unfortunately, there can be accidents, but we’ve taken all the precautions to make sure that when those happen there, they’re not severe,” he said.

For now, Rivian relies on enthusiasts of its current line up such as Dennert and Travis Vocino, who not only bought its luxurious three-row, seven seat R1S but also acquired shares in the company.

Vocino, a 42-year-old product design director, and his wife were searching for a hybrid electric vehicle, but they also wanted a car that was large enough to fit their two boys and their friends.

They looked at a cheaper seven-seater from Volvo, but the design and technology of the Rivian won out.

Posting a photo of him and his family picking up the car in San José, Vocino expressed his excitement for their new wheels in a Rivian Facebook group. The family spent more than $100,000 for the Gen 2 version of the 2025 R1S and paid extra for the storm blue color.

“We’re not big car spenders,” he said. “It’s pretty crazy for us to buy it.”

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©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times

Your heart is racing, your arms are tingling and your breathing is shallow. You’re having an anxiety attack. And you’re in a public place, to boot. A crowded restaurant, say, or at the office. Not a space where you can comfortably lay on the ground and do some deep breathing exercises to calm yourself.

What if there were a pill that would instead induce that kind of calm breathing for you? That scenario might be possible after a new scientific breakthrough.

Neuroscientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla have identified a brain pathway that instantly deflates anxiety. The new study, which published earlier this week in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, lays out how the aforementioned brain circuit regulates voluntary breathing — meaning conscious breathing as opposed to automatic breathing that happens without your having to think about it — allowing us to slow our breath and calm our mind.

The discovery opens up the potential for the creation of new drugs that would mimic the relaxed state common during breath work, meditation or yoga. Sung Han, senior author of the study, says he’d like to one day see a “yoga pill,” as he calls it, on the market to ease anxiety. It would likely be useful for the more than 40 million adults in the U.S, who, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, suffer from an anxiety disorder.

Han says the new discovery is a real scientific breakthrough.

“As a scientist, finding something never known before is always exciting,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “This top-down breathing circuit has been a longstanding question in the neuroscience field. It’s exciting to find the neural mechanism to explain how the slowing down of breathing can control negative emotions, like anxiety and fear.”

We’ve long known that we can control our breathing patterns to alter our state of mind — when we get stressed, we might take a deep, slow breath to feel calmer. But scientists didn’t understand how that worked — which parts of the brain were actually slowing our breath and why that activity makes us calmer. Now they know that there is a group of cells in the cortex, the higher part of the brain responsible for more conscious, complex thought, that send messages to the brain stem, which in turn sends information to the lungs. That’s the aforementioned “circuit.”

The discovery validates soothing behavioral practices such as yoga, mindfulness and even “box breathing” — the latter a technique that involves repeatedly breathing in, then holding your breath, for four-second counts in order to relieve stress — because it grounds these behavioral practices in science.

But the practical applications is what makes the Salk discovery so important, Han says.

“It can, potentially, create a whole new class of drugs that can more specifically target anxiety disorder,” he says.

These would differ from common anti-anxiety medications by more specifically targeting areas of the brain. Common anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax and Lexapro target multiple areas of the brain that control multiple brain processes and behaviors. It’s why these drugs don’t work for everyone in the same way and may create unwanted side effects. More precisely targeting an individual brain circuit makes a medication more effective and reduces potential side effects. And, in extreme cases, such a pill might be more efficient for targeting anxiety than doing breathing exercises.

“If you’re in panic, breathing techniques alone may not be sufficient to suppress anxiety,” Han says.

Han’s team is now trying to find the opposite circuit — a fast breathing circuit — that increases anxiety.

“To target the slow breathing circuit, we need to understand the opposite circuit, so we can avoid targeting it,” Han says. “To relieve the anxiety.”

While Han hopes his findings will lead to a “yoga pill,” that’s likely a long ways off. The research, and ensuing clinical trials, could take as much as 10 years, he says. And nothing is for certain.

“I cannot say that this discovery is directly connected to the discovery of the new medication,” Han says. “But I can say it’s a stepping stone. We now know the pathway. That’s exciting. That is the first step.”

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©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOS ANGELES — Each day, an army of trucks delivers tens of thousands of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables to Mexico City’s Central de Abasto, one of the world’s largest wholesale food markets.

Most of the produce finds its way to people’s kitchens, and eventually their stomachs. But around 420 tons goes bad each day before it can be sold. It ends up, like so much food around the world, in a landfill.

Globally, a staggering one third of all food that is produced is never eaten. That waste — more than 1 billion tons annually — fuels climate change. As organic matter decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to warming the planet.

The United Nation estimates that up to 10% of all human-produced greenhouse gases are generated by food loss and waste. That’s nearly five times the emissions from the aviation industry.

For many years, scientists and policy makers have been largely focused on addressing other drivers of climate change, especially the burning of fossil fuels, which is by far the largest contributor to global emissions.

But food waste has recently been drawing more international attention.

The issue was on the agenda at this month’s United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan, where for the first time, leaders signed a declaration calling for countries to set concrete targets to reduce methane emissions caused by organic waste.

Only a handful of the 196 countries that have signed the Paris Agreement on climate change have incorporated food waste commitments into their national climate plans, according to the UK-based nonprofit Waste & Resources Action Program.

Many more nations are like Mexico, which is just beginning to assess how it can reduce the 20 million tons of food wasted annually here.

A recent report by the World Bank identified several waste hotspots in the country, including the Central de Abasato, which stretches across 800 acres on the south side of the capital.

In the dense warren of stalls, the best-looking produce is displayed prominently: ripe bananas, glistening limes and orderly rows of broccoli and asparagus. In the back are fruits and veggies that no longer look perfect: mushy papayas, wilting spinach and bruised tomatoes.

A few years ago, market organizers launched an initiative to collect the produce that looks too old to sell but is still perfectly usable. They donate it to food banks and soup kitchens. Organizers say they’ve reduced the amount of food that is thrown out by about a quarter since 2020 — and have provided meals to tens of thousands of hungry people.

“It’s much better to donate,” said Fernando Bringas Torres, who has sold bananas at the market for more than four decades. “This food still has value.”

Environmental activists say reducing food waste is one of the most attainable climate solutions, in part because its not politicized.

Asking companies and consumers to cut back on the food they send to landfills is far less charged than urging a reduction in meat consumption, energy use or the number of gas-fueled cars on the road.

“People on the left and the right both have a gut reaction to it because it is a waste of resources,” said Christian Reynolds, a researcher at the Center for Food Policy at City University in London. Reducing waste “is not a silver bullet” to stop global warming, Reynolds said. “But it’s up there with the things you’ve got to solve, and it’s a useful way to open doors around climate change.”

Scientists say cutting back on waste is valuable because methane traps heat at a much higher rate than carbon dioxide.

Methane emissions are to blame for about 30% of the recent rise in global temperatures. U.N. climate leaders say slashing them is a vital “emergency brake” that will help curb the extreme weather already seen across the world today.

About 20% of methane emissions come from food loss and waste, an umbrella term that describes all food that is produced but not eaten.

It includes crops destroyed by pests or extreme weather, produce or meat that spoils in transport because of faulty packaging and food that goes bad at market before it can be sold. It also includes all food purchased by individuals or served at restaurants that ends up in the trash.

The data on food waste are stunning:

• It takes an area the size of China to grow the food that is thrown away each year.
• Globally, around 13% of food produced is lost between harvest and market, while another 19% is thrown out by households, restaurants or stores.
• Food waste takes up about half the space in the world’s landfills.
• An estimated 316 million pounds of food will be wasted in the United States on Thanksgiving alone, according to the Chicago-based nonprofit ReFED. That’s the equivalent to half a billion dollars worth of groceries thrown away in a single day.

Experts say some food waste in inevitable. Humans need food to survive and it degrades quickly. Modern food systems are built around the transport of products across long distances, increasing the likelihood that some things will spoil.

But they say there are relatively pain-free ways to reduce waste at all stages — from producer to consumer.

The simplest thing is to reduce the amount of extra food being produced in the first place.

But other solutions include fixing inefficient machinery that makes it hard to harvest all of a crop, bettering poor roads that prevent food from making it from farm to table and improving packaging, so food stays good for longer.

At the end of the chain, restaurant workers can be better trained to prepare food in a way that avoids waste. Retailers can be encouraged to avoid over-buying and to stop the practice of stocking only perfect-looking produce and discarding the rest. And consumers can be encouraged to eat all of what they buy and lower the temperatures on their refrigerators to delay food from going bad.

There has also been a major push to get retailers to change how they label foods, given that many consumers throw out products if they are past their sell-by date. “We should be making sure that our food safety policies are not getting in the way of our climate goals,” Reynolds said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill, AB 660, that would bar food-sellers from using the term “sell by” on packages, requiring them to switch to “use by” or “best if used by.” Advocates say it would dissuade Californians from throwing away food that is still good.

Other efforts are focused on recovery and redistribution — getting food that is about to spoil into the hands of hungry people. Each year 783 million people around the world go hungry, with a third of the global population facing food insecurity.

World leaders “are starting to make the connection between the the climate impact and social impact,” said Ana Catalina Suárez Peña, an advocate with the Global FoodBanking Network, which works with food banks in more than 50 countries.

Her organization recently developed a calculator for food banks and businesses that allows them to measure the volume of methane avoided by curbing food waste.

The group found that six community-led food banks in Mexico and Ecuador prevented a total of 816 metric tons of methane over a year by redistributing food that would otherwise have gone to landfill. That is the equivalent of keeping 5,436 cars off the road for a year.

Tools to measure food waste — and the savings generated from avoiding it — are an important part of tackling the problem, said Oliver Camp, a food systems adviser at the COP summit.

Though he was heartened by the summit declaration calling on countries to set targets for avoiding food waste in their climate plans, he said there was still much progress to be made. Countries need to implement a “comprehensive, costed national strategy based on data as to where food loss and waste is occurring, and evidence-based interventions to avoid it,” he said.

The World Bank analysis of Mexico found that most of the country’s emissions come from the energy and transportation sectors, but that the food wasted here is the fifth biggest contributor.

“There is an overproduction by farmers,” said Adriana Martínez, 48, who runs a stall at the Central de Abastos that she inherited from her late father. She said customers “only want food that looks perfect.”

Each week, about 30% of her product begins to go bad. In the past, she would have sent it to the overflowing dumpsters that sit behind the market. But now she calls up a market organizer who connects her with a local food bank.

Martínez said her father, who grew up poor, would be happy knowing that food from the stand is helping other people instead of decomposing in a dump. “He knew hunger,” she said. “And he hated waste.”

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nathan Solis | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — A 31-year-old man was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after trying to check two suitcases filled with clothing caked in methamphetamine — including a cow pajama onesie, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Authorities say Raj Matharu of Northridge checked two bags before his Nov. 6 flight to Sydney. But screening officers who X-rayed the pink and gray suitcases noticed an anomaly and flagged them for a second inspection.

Inside the suitcases, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found “white or light-colored clothing items dried stiff and covered in a white residue,” according to a criminal complaint filed in the Central District of California.

The residue — which was found on items including socks, boxers, tank tops, sweatpants, jeans, hoodies, underwear and a pair of cow onesie pajamas — tested positive for methamphetamine, federal prosecutors say.

All the light-colored clothing in the suitcases was caked in the residue, while other clothing items were not, authorities said. The clothing caked in residue weighed roughly 71 pounds, federal prosecutors said, and investigators estimate more than 30 pounds of methamphetamine solution had been soaked into the items.

The clothing was likely “washed” in white methamphetamine and left to dry, according to a federal affidavit.

Authorities stopped Matharu at his United Airlines boarding gate, where he admitted to owning the suitcases and followed officers to an inspection area, officials say. He had used his personal credit card to pay $100 to check a second suitcase, according to prosecutors.

Matharu was taken into custody Nov. 7 and charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California.

According to court records, he was released on a $10,000 bond secured by a relative.

“Drug dealers are continually inventing creative ways of smuggling dangerous narcotics in pursuit of illicit profit — as alleged in the facts of this case,” U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said in a statement.

The U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment on this particular tactic, but Matharu is not the first person arrested on suspicion of trying to fly with methamphetamine-soaked items.

On Nov. 2, customs officers at LAX found 13 white T-shirts caked in a powdery white substance in a suitcase. The substance tested positive for methamphetamine.

The owner of the suitcase, whom authorities identified as a British student named Myah Saakwa-Mante, said she purchased the items from Target and provided receipts to prove it, but “claimed to have no knowledge” of the powder, according to an affidavit filed in that case. Saakwa-Mante’s ultimate destination was Brisbane, Australia.

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Karen Kaplan | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

It’s been two weeks since Donald Trump won the presidential election, but Stacey Lamirand’s brain hasn’t stopped churning.

“I still think about the election all the time,” said the 60-year-old Bay Area resident, who wanted a Kamala Harris victory so badly that she flew to Pennsylvania and knocked on voters’ doors in the final days of the campaign. “I honestly don’t know what to do about that.”

Neither do the psychologists and political scientists who have been tracking the country’s slide toward toxic levels of partisanship.

Fully 69% of U.S. adults found the presidential election a significant source of stress in their lives, the American Psychological Association said in its latest Stress in America report.

The distress was present across the political spectrum, with 80% of Republicans, 79% of Democrats and 73% of independents surveyed saying they were stressed about the country’s future.

That’s unhealthy for the body politic — and for voters themselves. Stress can cause muscle tension, headaches, sleep problems and loss of appetite. Chronic stress can inflict more serious damage to the immune system and make people more vulnerable to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, infertility, clinical anxiety, depression and other ailments.

In most circumstances, the sound medical advice is to disengage from the source of stress, therapists said. But when stress is coming from politics, that prescription pits the health of the individual against the health of the nation.

“I’m worried about people totally withdrawing from politics because it’s unpleasant,” said Aaron Weinschenk, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay who studies political behavior and elections. “We don’t want them to do that. But we also don’t want them to feel sick.”

Modern life is full of stressors of all kinds: paying bills, pleasing difficult bosses, getting along with frenemies, caring for children or aging parents (or both).

The stress that stems from politics isn’t fundamentally different from other kinds of stress. What’s unique about it is the way it encompasses and enhances other sources of stress, said Brett Ford, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto who studies the link between emotions and political engagement.

For instance, she said, elections have the potential to make everyday stressors like money and health concerns more difficult to manage as candidates debate policies that could raise the price of gas or cut off access to certain kinds of medical care.

Layered on top of that is the fact that political disagreements have morphed into moral conflicts that are perceived as pitting good against evil.

“When someone comes into power who is not on the same page as you morally, that can hit very deeply,” Ford said.

Partisanship and polarization have raised the stakes as well. Voters who feel a strong connection to a political party become more invested in its success. That can make a loss at the ballot box feel like a personal defeat, she said.

There’s also the fact that we have limited control over the outcome of an election. A patient with heart disease can improve their prognosis by taking medicine, changing their diet, getting more exercise or quitting smoking. But a person with political stress is largely at the mercy of others.

“Politics is many forms of stress all rolled into one,” Ford said.

Weinschenk observed this firsthand the day after the election.

“I could feel it when I went into my classroom,” said the professor, whose research has found that people with political anxiety aren’t necessarily anxious in general. “I have a student who’s transgender and a couple of students who are gay. Their emotional state was so closed down.”

That’s almost to be expected in a place like Wisconsin, whose swing-state status caused residents to be bombarded with political messages. The more campaign ads a person is exposed to, the greater the risk of being diagnosed with anxiety, depression or another psychological ailment, according to a 2022 study in the journal PLOS One.

Political messages seem designed to keep voters “emotionally on edge,” said Vaile Wright, a licensed psychologist in Villa Park, Illinois, and a member of the APA’s Stress in America team.

“It encourages emotion to drive our decision-making behavior, as opposed to logic,” Wright said. “When we’re really emotionally stimulated, it makes it so much more challenging to have civil conversation. For politicians, I think that’s powerful, because emotions can be very easily manipulated.”

Making voters feel anxious is a tried-and-true way to grab their attention, said Christopher Ojeda, a political scientist at UC Merced who studies mental health and politics.

“Feelings of anxiety can be mobilizing, definitely,” he said. “That’s why politicians make fear appeals — they want people to get engaged.”

On the other hand, “feelings of depression are demobilizing and take you out of the political system,” said Ojeda, author of “The Sad Citizen: How Politics is Depressing and Why it Matters.”

“What [these feelings] can tell you is, ‘Things aren’t going the way I want them to. Maybe I need to step back,’” he said.

Genessa Krasnow has been seeing a lot of that since the election.

The Seattle entrepreneur, who also campaigned for Harris, said it grates on her to see people laughing in restaurants “as if nothing had happened.” At a recent book club meeting, her fellow group members were willing to let her vent about politics for five minutes, but they weren’t interested in discussing ways they could counteract the incoming president.

“They’re in a state of disengagement,” said Krasnow, who is 56. She, meanwhile, is looking for new ways to reach young voters.

“I am exhausted. I am so sad,” she said. “But I don’t believe that disengaging is the answer.”

That’s the fundamental trade-off, Ojeda said, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

“Everyone has to make a decision about how much engagement they can tolerate without undermining their psychological well-being,” he said.

Lamirand took steps to protect her mental health by cutting social media ties with people whose values aren’t aligned with hers. But she will remain politically active and expects to volunteer for phone-banking duty soon.

“Doing something is the only thing that allows me to feel better,” Lamirand said. “It allows me to feel some level of control.”

Ideally, Ford said, people would not have to choose between being politically active and preserving their mental health. She is investigating ways to help people feel hopeful, inspired and compassionate about political challenges, since these emotions can motivate action without triggering stress and anxiety.

“We want to counteract this pattern where the more involved you are, the worse you are,” Ford said.

The benefits would be felt across the political spectrum. In the APA survey, similar shares of Democrats, Republicans and independents agreed with statements like, “It causes me stress that politicians aren’t talking about the things that are most important to me,” and, “The political climate has caused strain between my family members and me.”

“Both sides are very invested in this country, and that is a good thing,” Wright said. “Antipathy and hopelessness really doesn’t serve us in the long run.”

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nada Hassanein | (TNS) Stateline.org

Houston OB-GYN Dr. Hillary Boswell says she has seen how abortion bans affect teenage girls: More of them are carrying their pregnancies to term.

“These are vulnerable girls, and it’s just heartbreaking to see the number of pregnant 13-year-olds I’ve had to take care of,” Boswell said, referring to the change since Texas prohibited abortions after six weeks in September 2021. In June 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Texas enacted a total abortion ban.

“They would come in, and they would be very distressed,” said Boswell, who spent the past decade treating underserved women and girls at community health clinics. Not being able to help them get an abortion when they wanted one, she said, “was so hard — and so against everything that I trained for.”

In the year after Texas began implementing its six-week abortion ban, teen fertility rates in the state rose for the first time in 15 years, according to a study released earlier this year by the University of Houston.

Overall, the increase in teen fertility in Texas was slight: only 0.39%. But the University of Houston researchers said the change was significant, because it reversed a 15-year trend and because the national teen fertility rate declined during the same period. They also noted that the increases were larger for Hispanic teens (1.2%) and Black teens (0.5%), while the rate for white teens declined by 0.5%.

So far, the Texas data is the first evidence that abortion bans might lead to an increase in teen births. But as abortion restrictions have spread post-Roe — 13 states now have total bans — some providers and other experts predict that other states will see increases. If so, the nation’s nearly 30-year trend of declining teen births could be in jeopardy.

Boswell and other providers note that teens are having a harder time accessing contraception and abortions — and they fear the incoming Trump administration could make it even more challenging for teens, whose pregnancies are riskier and who disproportionately sought abortions before the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

“In a lot of ways, Texas is sort of a microcosm of what we’re going to see in other parts of the country,” said Dr. Bianca Allison, a pediatrician and assistant professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. “Historically, it has always felt like young people — those who are minors but of reproductive potential — are left out of the conversation of reproductive autonomy and rights.”

Access to pills

People seeking abortions have been relying on the broader availability of telehealth for medication abortions, which now account for nearly two-thirds of all abortions. The number of abortions in the U.S. has increased since the fall of Roe, largely because more people are using the easier-to-access method, according to the Society of Family Planning.

But the Trump administration could make it harder to procure the pills by reversing a current U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy that allows them to be sent through the mail. Some anti-abortion groups want the Trump administration to enforce the Comstock Act, a long-dormant 1873 law they believe could be used to make it a federal crime to send or receive abortion medication.

States also could require in-person physician visits for abortion medication, effectively barring patients from accessing it via telemedicine.

And Louisiana last month began classifying mifepristone and misoprostol — the two medications used in nonsurgical abortions — as controlled substances, making it a crime to possess them without a prescription. A Texas state lawmaker has proposed similar legislation in his state.

“I would absolutely predict that we will see a reversal in our progress of reducing teen pregnancies,” said developmental psychologist Julie Maslowsky, an associate professor at the University of Michigan who studies adolescent reproductive and sexual health.

“If someone does not want to be pregnant, they should have all the options available to them to prevent pregnancy,” Maslowsky said. “And the majority of teens do not desire a pregnancy.”

Teenage girls tend to have less money, less access to transportation and less independence than adult women. That makes it harder for them to cross state lines for abortion care, or to obtain and pay for abortion medication. A medication abortion can cost as much as $800, according to Planned Parenthood.

Many teens have trouble ordering abortion medication online because they don’t have credit or debit cards or a safe place where the pills can be mailed, said Rosann Mariappuram, senior reproductive rights policy counsel at the State Innovation Exchange, a nonprofit that advocates for progressive policies. Abortion funds that help people who can’t afford the care have been struggling to keep up with demand.

Thirty-six states require parental consent or notification before a minor can get an abortion, creating another barrier. And teens are more likely to have irregular menstrual cycles, which makes them less likely to notice a missed period. Overall, about a fourth of women might not realize they’re pregnant at six weeks, which is the gestational time limit for abortions in Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina.

In addition, a law in Texas that went into effect in April mandates that family planning clinics get parental consent for minors seeking birth control. Lawmakers in Oklahoma and Indiana have argued that IUDs and emergency contraceptives are types of abortions, and thus should not be covered by insurance or shouldn’t be available, said Mariappuram.

“That conflation of contraceptives with abortion care is just evidence that they’re coming for contraception,” she said.

Health risks, diminished prospects

Teenage girls from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to become pregnant. There have been persistent racial disparities in the national teen birth rate, with rates at least twice as high among Black, Hispanic and Native American girls. And while the average age of a girl’s first menstrual period has been declining for all girls, the trend is particularly pronounced among racial minorities.

“These downstream impacts [of abortion restrictions] are not the same for everyone,” said Mayra Pineda-Torres, an assistant professor of economics at Georgia Tech who specializes in gender and inequality. “The reality is that, still, there is a racial component here that may be exacerbating racial inequalities or this inability to access abortion services.”

Teenage motherhood often derails a girl’s education and diminishes her long-term financial prospects. And pregnancy poses particular health risks for teens: They are more likely to experience serious complications, including blood pressure-related disorders such as preeclampsia, and their babies are more likely to be born underweight. For those reasons, the American Academy of Pediatrics says teens should have access to legal abortion care.

But to abortion opponents, teen pregnancies and births are preferable to teen abortions. Joe Pojman, founder and executive director of the Texas Alliance for Life, said the state has programs designed to help families, including teen parents, take care of their children.

“[The program] teaches them a variety of things, like how to manage a budget, how to apply for a job, how to basically make that child self-sufficient to be able to function,” Pojman told Stateline.

“We don’t want to encourage a child to be responsible for taking the life of her own unborn child,” he said.

Last month, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a lawsuit with fellow Republican attorneys general in Kansas and Idaho that asked a Texas judge to order the FDA to reinstate restrictions on mifepristone. They argued that lower teen birth rates harmed their states by shrinking their population, costing them federal money and congressional representation.

But some studies suggest the opposite. The federal government cites research showing that teen pregnancy costs taxpayers about $11 billion per year because it leads to more public spending on health care, foster care, incarceration rates of teen parents’ children, and lower education and income.

“Pregnancy is not benign,” said Allison, the North Carolina pediatrician. “It’s not a joyful, welcome thing for a lot of people across the country.”

©2024 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By TravelPulse (TNS)

While 2024 was a year that brought about significant, continued post-pandemic recovery for the travel industry, it was also a period of time marked by instability in some locations around the world.

From attacks on the rail lines during the Paris Olympics to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, not to mention the war in Ukraine, the global travel realm in 2024 was fraught with challenges.

It is against this backdrop that the international security and medical services provider Global Guardian recently released its 2025 Global Risk Map.

Published annually, the map is meant to help travelers better understand the current global risk landscape. In order to develop its guidance, experts at Global Guardian assess a long list of country-specific security risk factors and indicators, including crime, health, natural disasters, infrastructure, political stability, civil unrest and terrorism.

For 2025, Global Guardian’s assessment results underscore the reality that disruption globally and domestically continues to increase, and now more than ever travelers need to be prepared when exploring the world.

As part of the latest assessment, Global Guardian highlighted a handful of specific global regions that are at particular risk of destabilization over the next year and beyond.

Here’s a closer look at those regions, along with insights from Global Guardian CEO Dale Buckner, who recently spoke with TravelPulse at length about the risks travelers may face in 2025.

Here are the regions at risk of destabilization in 2025:

Middle East/North Africa

Israel’s existential battle against Iran is set to continue into 2025, says the Global Guardian report.

“In July 2024, Israel assassinated Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) safehouse in Tehran, and Iran has pledged revenge,” the report explains.

“This comes as Iran and its web of regional proxies took their war on Israel out of the shadows and into the open following October 7, 2023, with seven live fronts.”

Global Guardian also predicts that Israel’s regional war will shift from Gaza to the West Bank and Lebanon in the year ahead, heightening tensions with Hezbollah, while Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean will persist.

The report adds that as “we enter 2025, Israel may assess that its strategic window to prevent a nuclear Iran is rapidly closing and choose to act.”

The ongoing civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is also of concern, according to Global Guardian’s risk analysis. The conflict “has created a dire humanitarian situation with ethnically motivated violence on the rise,” says the report.

Latin America

Some of the areas of concern in the Latin American region include Venezuela and Mexico, according to Global Guardian.

The risk in Venezuela is tied to the country’s long-standing territorial dispute with neighboring Guyana, says the report.

“Since 2019, the U.S. Department of State withdrew all diplomatic personnel from U.S. Embassy Caracas and suspended all operations,” explains Buckner. “Violent crimes, such as homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, and carjacking, are common in Venezuela. Shortages of gasoline, electricity, water, medicine, and medical supplies continue throughout much of Venezuela. Simply put, Venezuela is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Western travelers and should be avoided.”

In Mexico, meanwhile, the problems include drug cartel-related violence and theft, among other issues, says the report.

Mexico recently inaugurated its first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, and like her predecessors she will face challenges “reining in cartel violence, corruption, extortion, theft and kidnapping,” says the report.

“As such, security continues to be a top concern in Mexico’ ” says the report, which categorizes Mexico as “high risk” when it comes to travel for 2025.

Countries classified as high risk experience regular conflict, criminal activity or civil unrest — and have not effectively managed those risks.

The Global Guardian report also suggests there may be heightened risks in Mexico now that Donald Trump has been reelected U.S. president.

“Bilateral relations between the U.S. and Mexico could dramatically deteriorate. Trump has promised a mass deportation operation, which could sour relations between the U.S. and Mexico, increasing risks to businesses operating in Mexico,” the report adds.

Asked to comment on Mexico’s high-risk designation, Buckner stressed that the situation in the country is extremely nuanced, adding that it’s a vast oversimplification to call the entire country high risk.

“There are pockets of Mexico that are wildly safe and wonderful to visit and people shouldn’t hesitate to go,” Buckner told TravelPulse. “And there are also pockets that are unsafe and dangerous.”

The good news, added Buckner, is that Mexico’s new president is focusing a great deal of effort and energy on addressing the problems surrounding drug cartels, which are the source of a great deal of the risk.

Buckner was quick to add however, that as long as there’s demand for drugs, the drug cartel situation is likely to remain problematic.

“The U.S. is driving the drug demand — we consume more drugs then the rest of the world,” explained Buckner. “It’s really overly simplified to paint Mexico as the bad guy, because if there wasn’t demand, we wouldn’t need the supply. But the demand is real and violence comes with that.”

Representatives for Global Nexus, a government and public affairs consultancy that advises travel and tourism companies and interests in Southern Mexico, told TravelPulse that while drug-related violence has been known to occur, it involves members of the drug cartel targeting each other, they’re not targeting tourists.

“There is an ongoing battle between small drug vendors who use the beach to sell product to tourists hanging out on the beach,” explained Ruben Olmos, Global Nexus president and CEO, in reference to the Quintana Roo region, which is popular with tourists. “There have been cases where gunfire has been exchanged between these groups. They are targeting themselves. They are fighting over ‘This is my beach’ and they initiate a shootout.”

However, added Olmos, that the U.S. State Department’s risk categorization for Quintana Roo (which is separate from the Global Guardian risk assessment) has not changed.

Located on the State Department’s Mexico page, the risk assessment for Quintana Roo remains in the “Exercise Increased Caution” category, which is below the top risk categories of “Do Not Travel” and “Reconsider Travel.”

The Exercise Increased Caution designation means “Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security,” explains the State Department’s website.

Olmos also pointed out that Mexico is the only country that has a map on the U.S. State Department website that covers every single state in the country, providing details for travelers about which states are safest.

Sub-Saharan Africa

In June 2024, thousands of young people took to the streets in Kenya to protest a controversial tax bill. The protesters were met with heavy-handed policing, including the use of live fire and mass arrests, says the Global Guardian risk report.

Despite the local security response, protests continued. The success and tenacity of the Kenyan movement has triggered similar protests or dissent in other countries including Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Nigeria, says Global Guardian.

That is just a portion of the risk Global Guardian sees for Sub-Saharan Africa over the course of 2025.

“With multiple conflicts escalating across the continent, aging leaders leaving behind unclear successions, and entrenched regimes with dissipating legitimacy, Sub-Saharan Africa now looks much like the North African and Arab world in the early 2010s,” says the report. “While the dynamic unfolding in Africa might not yet merit the label of “African Spring,” a significant change to the continent’s political status quo is coming.”

A complete list of extreme and high-risk designations

Several countries received an extreme or high-risk designation on the new Global Guardian risk map for 2025, including more than a few that are popular with leisure travelers or tourists.

Extreme risk countries are those that Global Guardian says are “actively engaged in conflict, while also experiencing severe criminal activity and civil unrest.These countries are insecure; state institutions are too weak to manage militant groups or large-scale disasters.” They include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Ukraine, West Bank, Gaza and Yemen.

The current list of high-risk countries, which are countries that experience regular conflict, criminal activity or civil unrest and have not effectively managed those risks, includes Bangladesh, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Libya, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Uganda, Venezuela

Officials from the Jamaica Tourist Board provided a statement to TravelPulse in response to Global Guardian’s designation of the country.

“Last month, Global Guardian, a private security provider, released its 2025 Global Risk Map, which included Jamaica, amongst other destinations,” said the Tourist Board. “It is important to note that the crime rate against visitors is notably low at 0.01% and the majority of Jamaica’s tourism product remains unaffected.”

The country’s tourism officials added that Jamaica has welcomed 3 million visitors this year and boasts a high repeat visitor rate of 42%.

“The island is consistently ranked among the top destinations for international travel and visitors continue to come with confidence to enjoy all that Jamaica has to offer,” the statement adds.

When it comes to Jamaica, Buckner offered similar comments to those of Mexico, noting that the situation is impacted by drug-related violence and the experience on the ground is nuanced and cannot be painted with a broad brush.

“In the same vein as Mexico — Jamaica can be a wonderful place to visit,” says Buckner. “There are pockets of beauty and low crime and as long as you are careful, it’s a very low threat.”

Bottom line on travel risks for 2025

Buckner, a retired Army colonel, maintains that the world is indeed a more risky place heading into 2025. The challenges in the Middle East and Ukraine are at the forefront of the instability, but are hardly the only cause for concern.

“Israel has now gone to Gaza and cleaned out Hamas, they’re now moving north into Lebanon, and we are convinced Israel will strike Iran,” Buckner said during an interview that took place prior to Israel’s strike on Iran. “If that occurs you are going to see violence across the Middle East.”

“But there are over 100 conflicts across the globe,” continues Buckner. When you combine that reality with other challenges the world is currently grappling with, including the destabilizing influences of climate change, there are plenty of risks for travelers to bear in mind when planning a journey for the coming year.

He wraps up by offering a few tips for travelers, a check-list of sorts, to work through when planning or considering travel to a specific country in 2025:

— If you don’t know who to call or how you are going to negotiate if someone is kidnapped, you shouldn’t go there.

— Consumers need to read the fine print on travel insurance because it does not cover war zones, terrorism or natural disasters, says Buckner. And travelers are often surprised and find out too late that these types of events are not covered.

— If you get stuck or stranded, if you don’t know who you are going to call to get you out of that situation, know what organizations locally or internationally are available to help you.

©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nearly six years after Rana Abbas Taylor’s world was destroyed in an instant by a drunken driver, she is urging the federal government to make good on its so-far unfulfilled promise to require lifesaving technology in all new vehicles.

“It’s been six years, and it doesn’t get any easier,” said the Northville resident at a candlelight vigil recently on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for drunken driving victims. “Our roads are extremely violent, and we can fix that.”

A drunken driver killed Taylor’s sister, brother-in-law and the couple’s three children on the morning of Jan. 6, 2019. The Abbas family was traveling home from a vacation in Florida when they were struck head-on by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 75 in Kentucky at 2:30 a.m. — a fatal crash that sent shockwaves through their hometown of Northville.

The crash killed Rima, 38, Issam Abbas, 42, and their children: Ali, 13, Isabelle, 12, and Giselle, 7. The driver, Joey Lee Bailey of Georgetown, Kentucky, who also died in the crash, had a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit, police said.

 

The vigil led by Mothers Against Drunk Driving — in addition to honoring the lives of the Abbas family and the more than 10,000 people killed in the U.S. annually by drunken drivers — was meant to push the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to adopt a rule mandating anti-drunken driving technology be equipped in all new vehicles.

Congress passed a law requiring such a rule three years ago and set a Nov. 15, 2024, deadline for the agency. That deadline came and went without action.

Taylor said she blames all parties involved for the persistence of drunken driving as a major killer on America’s roads. Of the roughly 40,000 traffic fatalities in the U.S. each year, drunken driving is responsible for about one-third of them.

“We don’t need to wait for NHTSA,” Taylor said. “The automakers can do this today. If they wanted, they could.”

Progress inches forward

After the Abbas family was killed, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell quickly became an advocate in Congress to prevent similar horrors.

She retold the story of attending a memorial service for the Abbas family five years ago, recalling that young friends and classmates of the slain children ask how something like that could happen with so much technology inside modern-day cars and trucks.

“If kids can say this to me,” the Democrat said, whose 6th District includes Northville, “as adults, we’ve got to do something. So we do, and we did. I came back and I called Ford Motor Co. — because they were in Dearborn — and I said, ‘This is our family. This is our community. We got to get this done.'”

Dingell sponsored the HALT Act, which required the Department of Transportation to prescribe a motor vehicle safety standard for mandatory, in-vehicle technology capable of passively detecting and stopping drunken or impaired driving. The measure was designed to be technology-neutral, meaning it would not require one particular type of vehicle addition to meet new safety standards.

The bill’s full title was the Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving Act, which Taylor said in 2021 was a meaningful symbol that made sure her family’s “legacy gets to live on forever.”

Congress passed the act as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in November 2021 under President Joe Biden. NHSTA, which operates within the Department of Transportation, made a preliminary regulatory filing in January 2024 seeking feedback from the public about the eventual standard it will set.

The filing received more than 18,000 public comments but has not yet resulted in a standard that automakers will have to follow.

In response to an inquiry, NHTSA said it does not expect to issue a final rule this year. If necessary, it can extend the time period for the final rule for three years but must provide annual status reports to Congress in the meantime.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation — the top automotive lobbying group in Washington — announced Monday it would establish a new consortium of automakers and other businesses to pool resources and fund studies related to questions raised by public comments earlier in the year.

“Automakers are making major investments in research, development and testing of drunk and impaired driving technology using sensors, cameras and warning systems. But anytime the government requires vehicle technology, important questions should be asked. Like how does this technology work in the real world?” said John Bozzella, president and CEO of the alliance.

“Answering those questions is essential. Otherwise, the technology may be rejected by drivers,” Bozzella added. “That’s a result nobody wants. Our research consortium will help NHTSA fill those knowledge gaps.”

Stephanie Manning, the head of government affairs for MADD, said her organization was aware of the consortium and would have further discussions with the alliance.

“We want the same amount of resources and conviction dedicated to drunk driving that the auto industry dedicated to increasing seat belt use and making sure the kids weren’t being killed by airbags in the front seat,” Manning said in an interview. “The auto industry solved those problems. They came together. They put a lot of resources toward those issues, and they got it done. That’s what we’re asking for.”

Rana Abbas Taylor was more skeptical of the auto industry taking major action on its own.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said.

‘Less lonely in Northville’

Taylor still lives in Northville, where she and her sister used to live four blocks apart.

“My sister Rima and I grew up in Northville. My uncle always had a home in Northville, so we spent every Sunday in that area,” she said.

“There’s a park at the end of our block with a memorial bench, which is where we used to go,” added Taylor, holding back tears. “There are a lot of memories. There’s a lot of pain. But there is a sense of community that this loss was for all of us, and so it’s definitely less lonely in Northville.”

Still, she said this time of year is particularly difficult with the holidays — Thanksgiving being a longtime family favorite — and a string of birthdays. Her nephew, Ali, would have turned 19 years old a month ago, she said. Her niece, Isabelle, would have turned 18 on Nov. 21, and Giselle would have turned 13 in early 2025.

Shortly after Rima and her family were killed, thousands paid respects at the funeral at Dearborn’s Islamic Center of America, which was founded by Rima Abbas’ grandfather. Hundreds also attended a candlelight vigil for the family in Northville.

Some six years later, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, spoke during the National Mall event about her friendship with Rima.

“I was there when Rima and Issam were falling in love,” Tlaib recalled fondly. “It took a little while for Rima. … Issam didn’t let up, and they fell in love, got married and had three beautiful children.”

Tlaib spoke of how beloved the family was in their community, how much their loss still resonates in Northville and Dearborn, and the need for further action on preventing drunken driving. Tlaib was a co-sponsor of the HALT Act.

“We know how crucial legislation like this is for survivors sharing their stories again today,” the congresswoman said. “And we must act now to prevent these deaths and devastating injuries that continue to tear our families apart.”

Gretchen McKay | (TNS) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Beans are kind of like the your best friend from high school — nearly forgotten but always ready to step back into the limelight and help out an old pal when needed.

As gorgeously (and tantalizingly) demonstrated in Rancho Gordo’s new cookbook, “The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans” (Ten Speed, $35), beans are indeed a magical fruit, though not in the way you heard as a kid.

Classified as both a vegetable and a plant-based protein in the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, beans and other legumes can be the ingredient you build an entire vegetarian or veggie-forward meal around. Or, they can help an economical cook stretch a dish twice as far with nutritious calories.

A healthful and shelf-staple plant food — they last for years when dried — beans have been among a home cook’s most reliable pantry items for a very long time. (Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are thought to have been grown in Mexico more than 7,000 years ago.)

That’s why, for some, they’re often something of an afterthought, especially if the only time you ate them as a kid was when your mom tossed kidney beans into a pot of beef chili or made baked beans (with brown sugar and bacon, please!) for a family cookout.

Vegetarians have always appreciated their versatility and nutritional punch, and because they’re cheap, they also were quite popular during the Great Depression and World War II as C rations. Sales also peaked during the coronavirus pandemic, when shoppers stockpiled long-lasting pantry essentials.

It wasn’t until Rancho Gordo, a California-based bean company, trotted out its branded packages of colorful heirloom beans that the plant began to take on cult status among some shoppers.

Unlike the bean varieties commonly found in even the smallest grocery stores, heirloom beans are mostly forgotten varieties that were developed on a small scale for certain characteristics, with seeds from the best crops passed down through the generations.

The result is beans that are fresher and more colorful than mass-produced beans, and come in different shapes and sizes. They also have a more complex and intense flavor, fans say.

“The Bean Book” dishes up dozens of different ways to cook Rancho Gordo’s 50 heirloom bean varieties, which include red-streaked cranberry beans, mint-green flageolets, black and classic garbanzos and (my favorite) vaquero — which wear the same black-and-white spots as a Holstein cow.

Other gotta-try varieties (if just for the name) include eye of the goat, European Soldier, Jacob’s Cattle and Good Mother Stallard, a purple bean with cream-colored flecks.

“The very good news is that you have to work extra hard to mess up a pot of beans, and it’s not difficult to make an excellent pot,” Steve Sando writes in the book’s foreword. “The even better news is that you become a better cook with each pot you make.”

Not convinced? Here are five reasons to jump on the bean bandwagon:

They’re easy to find

Even the smallest grocery store will have a selection of dried and canned beans. Common varieties include black, cannellini (white kidney), Great Northern, pinto, navy, kidney, Lima and garbanzo (chickpea) beans.

They’re affordable

Even when they’re not on sale, beans are a bargain at the supermarket. Many varieties cost less than $1 a can, and dried beans are an economical way to build a menu. I paid $1.25 for a one-pound bag of cranberry beans, a smooth and velvety bean with a slightly nutty flavor, at my local grocery store.

Rancho Gordo’s heirloom beans cost substantially more. (They run $6.25-$7.50 for a one-pound bag, with free shipping on orders over $50.) But they are sold within a year of harvest, which makes them more flavorful and tender. A bag also comes with cooking instructions and recipe suggestions, and the quality is outstanding.

Plus, after cooking their beans with aromatics, “you are left with essentially free soup,” Sando writes in the cookbook. “If you drain properly cooked and seasoned beans, the liquid you are left with is delicious.”

They’re nutritious

Beans are a great source of plant-based protein and both soluble and insoluble fiber, and they include essential minerals like iron, magnesium and potassium. If you’re watching your weight or following a particular diet, beans are naturally free of fat, sodium and cholesterol and are rich in complex carbohydrates. They also contain antioxidants and folate. And if you’re vegan or vegetarian, most types of dry beans are rich sources of iron.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating 1-3 cups of legumes, including beans, per week

They’re a cinch to cook

Dry beans have to be soaked overnight, but cooking them is easy. They can be cooked on the stovetop, in a slow cooker, in the pressure cooker and in the oven. Canned beans are even easier — just rinse and drain, and they’re ready to go.

They’re versatile

Beans can be used in so many different dishes. They can be made into soup, salad or dips, top nachos, add some heft to a casserole or be mashed into the makings of a veggie burger. You also can add them to brownies and other baked goods, toss them with pasta, add them to chili or a rice bowl or stuff them into a taco or burrito.

Check out these four recipes:

White Bean Soup with Shiitake Bacon

PG tested

This light and creamy vegetarian soup benefits from a surprising garnish, roasted shiitake mushrooms, which taste exactly like bacon.

For soup

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 medium carrot, scrubbed and chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely grated or pressed

2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 cups vegetable broth

2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

For bacon

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, caps cut into 1/8 -inch slices

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt

To finish

Plant-based milk

Chili oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Make soup: In large pot, heat oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are fragrant and tender, 8-10 minutes.

Add vegetable stock and beans, increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until thickened, 12-14 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the bacon: Spread shiitake mushrooms into a single layer on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Bake until browned and crispy, 18-20 minutes, rotating pan front to back and tossing mushrooms with a spatula halfway through. Let cool in pan; mushrooms will continue to crisp as they cool.

To finish, add some milk to the soup and use an immersion blender to puree it in the pot, or puree in a blender. (Cover lid with a clean kitchen towel.) Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Divide soup among bowls and top with shiitake bacon. Garnish with thyme sprigs and a drizzle of chili oil.

Serves 4-6.

— “Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking” by Joe Yonan

Polenta with Cranberry Beans and Tomato Sauce

PG tested

Velvety cranberry beans simmered with tomato and the punch of red wine vinegar are a perfect match for a soft bed of cheesy polenta. This is a filling, stick-to-your-ribs dish perfect for fall.

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups canned chopped tomatoes, juice reserved

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

4 fresh sage leaves

Salt and pepper

4 cups cooked Lamon or cranberry beans

2 cups uncooked polenta

6 ounces pancetta, diced

Chopped fresh basil or parsley, for garnish

Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

In large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until onion begins to soften, about 3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and red wine vinegar.

In a small bowl, dissolve tomato paste in the broth and add to pan. Stir in sage and season with salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, 15-20 minutes.

Add beans to tomato sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare polenta according to package instructions.

Place pancetta in a small saucepan over low heat.

Cook, stirring frequently, until the pancetta is brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pancetta to a paper towel to drain.

To serve, spoon polenta into serving dishes. Ladle the beans over the polenta and top with the pancetta. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with grated Parmesan.

Serves 6.

— “The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans” by Steve Sando

White Beans with Clams and Chorizo

PG tested

Beans and seafood might seen like an unusual pairing, but in this recipe, mild white beans take on a lot of flavor from clams. Spanish chorizo adds a nice contrast.

4 cups cooked white beans, bean broth reserved

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 white onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 cup finely chopped Spanish-style cured chorizo

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 pounds small clams, scrubbed well

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Country-style bread and butter, for serving

In large pot, heat beans in their broth over medium-low heat.

In large lidded saucepan, warm olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic and salt and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add chorizo and cook gently until some of the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and wine and cook to allow the flavors to mingle, 5-6 minutes.

Increase heat to medium and add clams. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.

Uncover the pan and cook until all of the clams open, another few minutes. Remove pan from heat, then remove and discard any clams that failed to open.

Add clam mixture to the bean pot and stir very gently until well mixed. Simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to mingle but not get mushy.

Ladle into large, shallow bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Set out a large bowl for discarded shells and encourage guests to eat with their fingers.

Pass plenty of good bread and creamy butter at the table

Serves 4-6.

— “The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans, from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen” by Steve Sando with Julia Newberry

White Bean Dip

PG tested

So easy to pull together for your next party!

1 1/2 cups cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 small garlic clove, minced

Generous pinch of salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 or 3 tablespoons water, if needed

2 fresh basil leaves, chopped, optional

1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves chopped, optional

In a food processor, pulse cannellini beans, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt and several grinds of pepper until combined.

If it’s too thick, slowly add the water with the food processor running until it is smooth and creamy. Blend in the basil and/or rosemary, if using

Serve with veggies, pita or bruschetta.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

©2024 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Imelda García, The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

DALLAS — Frying a turkey on Thanksgiving is a tradition that has gained traction in recent years, but preparing it correctly is vital.

Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires in the U.S., with nearly three times more fires than the daily average, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

“Turkey fryers that use cooking oil are generally unsafe; they use large amounts of oil at high temperatures, which can cause serious burns,” said Jason Evans, spokesman for the Dallas Fire Department. “If you want a fried turkey for your Thanksgiving meal, it is recommended that you purchase one from a store or restaurant or buy a fryer that does not use cooking oil.”

So what are some tips for safely frying a turkey at home?

The Dallas Fire Department has some ways to reduce risk of a fire or burn injuries when it comes to deep-frying a turkey this Thanksgiving:

• Never leave your fryer unattended.
• Place your fryer on a level, non-flammable surface, such as a concrete patio. Deep fryers can be easily tipped over and the open flame combined with cooking oil can easily ignite nearby combustibles.
• Never use a fryer in a garage.
• Do not overfill the fryer. An overfilled pan will cause the oil to spill when the turkey is placed inside, increasing the fire risk.
• Always wear protective cooking gear to include covering your hands up to your elbows and eye protection.
• Ensure your turkey is thawed out before placing it in the deep fryer. Frying a frozen turkey will cause the oil to splatter.
• Turkey fryers overheat easily, so check the temperature with a thermometer to verify it is at the correct temperature.
• Gently place your turkey in the deep fryer – never toss or drop it in.
• Keep children and pets away from your fryer.
• Turn off the burner when finished cooking.
• Always keep a grease-fire-approved extinguisher nearby in case of fire.

U.S. Fire Administration data indicate that each year between 2017 and 2019, there was an average of 2,300 residential fires on Thanksgiving caused by cooking accidents. These fires caused an estimated annual average of 5 deaths, 25 injuries and $26 million in property loss.

The most common cause of these fires was leaving the stove unattended while cooking.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, Christmas, the day before Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas Eve are the other peak days behind Thanksgiving for cooking fires in any given year.

©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Magdalena Del Valle | (TNS) Bloomberg News

NEW YORK — Cheating on your spouse is no longer a crime in New York.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill Friday repealing an obscure and rarely-enforced law that made adultery punishable by up to three months in prison.

“While I’ve been fortunate to share a loving married life with my husband for 40 years — making it somewhat ironic for me to sign a bill decriminalizing adultery — I know that people often have complex relationships,” Hochul said. “These matters should clearly be handled by these individuals and not our criminal justice system.”

Adultery had been a crime in New York since 1907, and it was a class B misdemeanor to engage in sexual intercourse with another person while having a living spouse or with another person who has a living spouse. But only 13 people had been charged with adultery since 1972 and just five were convicted, according to Assemblymember Charles Lavine, who sponsored the bill.

“This outdated statute criminalizes sexual behavior between consenting adults,” Lavine, who represents parts of Long Island, said earlier this year.

The most recent case of adultery in New York appears to have been filed in 2010 when a woman was caught in a public park engaging in a sexual act, but it was dropped as part of a plea bargain, according to the Associated Press.

There are several other states in the U.S. where adultery is illegal. It’s even considered a felony in Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin.

During the floor vote for the bill in April, 57 state senators voted in favor of abolishing the adultery law, while only four voted against.

Among the dissenters was Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. who represents parts of Queens.

“I thought it was horrible timing,” he said by phone, adding that the state was in the middle of budget negotiations when the bill tackling adultery reached the floor. “Let’s get the budget done and then we can deal with these issues.”

(Zach Williams contributed to this report.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Darius Tahir | (TNS) KFF Health News

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the sprawling government agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace — celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz — recently held broad investments in health care, tech, and food companies that would pose significant conflicts of interest.

Oz’s holdings, some shared with family, included a stake in UnitedHealth Group worth as much as $600,000, as well as shares of pharmaceutical firms and tech companies with business in the health care sector, such as Amazon. Collectively, Oz’s investments total tens of millions of dollars, according to financial disclosures he filed during his failed 2022 run for a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat.

Trump said Tuesday he would nominate Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency’s scope is huge: CMS oversees coverage for more than 160 million Americans, nearly half the population. Medicare alone accounts for approximately $1 trillion in annual spending, with over 67 million enrollees.

UnitedHealth Group is one of the largest health care companies in the nation and arguably the most important business partner of CMS, through which it is the leading provider of commercial health plans available to Medicare beneficiaries.

UnitedHealth also offers managed-care plans under Medicaid, the joint state-federal program for low-income people, and sells plans on government-run marketplaces set up via the Affordable Care Act. Oz also had smaller stakes in CVS Health, which now includes the insurer Aetna, and in the insurer Cigna.

It’s not clear if Oz, a heart surgeon by training, still holds investments in health care companies, or if he would divest his shares or otherwise seek to mitigate conflicts of interest should he be confirmed by the Senate. Reached by phone on Wednesday, he said he was in a Zoom meeting and declined to comment. An assistant did not reply to an email message with detailed questions.

“It’s obvious that over the years he’s cultivated an interest in the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry,” said Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a watchdog group. “That raises a question of whether he can be trusted to act on behalf of the American people.” (The publisher of KFF Health News, David Rousseau, is on the CSPI board.)

Oz used his TikTok page on multiple occasions in November to praise Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including their efforts to take on the “illness-industrial complex,” and he slammed “so-called experts like the big medical societies” for dishing out what he called bad nutritional advice. Oz’s positions on health policy have been chameleonic; in 2010, he cut an ad urging Californians to sign up for insurance under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, telling viewers they had a “historic opportunity.”

Oz’s 2022 financial disclosures show that the television star invested a substantial part of his wealth in health care and food firms. Were he confirmed to run CMS, his job would involve interacting with giants of the industry that have contributed to his wealth.

Given the breadth of his investments, it would be difficult for Oz to recuse himself from matters affecting his assets, if he still holds them. “He could spend his time in a rocking chair” if that happened, Lurie said.

In the past, nominees for government positions with similar potential conflicts of interest have chosen to sell the assets or otherwise divest themselves. For instance, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland agreed to divest their holdings in relevant, publicly traded companies when they joined the Biden administration.

Trump, however, declined in his first term to relinquish control of his own companies and other assets while in office, and he isn’t expected to do so in his second term. He has not publicly indicated concern about his subordinates’ financial holdings.

CMS’ main job is to administer Medicare. About half of new enrollees now choose Medicare Advantage, in which commercial insurers provide their health coverage, instead of the traditional, government-run program, according to an analysis from KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Proponents of Medicare Advantage say the private plans offer more compelling services than the government and better manage the costs of care. Critics note that Medicare Advantage plans have a long history of costing taxpayers more than the traditional program.

UnitedHealth, CVS, and Cigna are all substantial players in the Medicare Advantage market. It’s not always a good relationship with the government. The Department of Justice filed a 2017 complaint against UnitedHealth alleging the company used false information to inflate charges to the government. The case is ongoing.

Oz is an enthusiastic proponent of Medicare Advantage. In 2020, he proposed offering Medicare Advantage to all; during his Senate run, he offered a more general pledge to expand those plans. After Trump announced Oz’s nomination for CMS, Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, said he was “uncertain about Dr. Oz’s familiarity with health care financing and economics.”

Singer said Oz’s Medicare Advantage proposal could require large new taxes — perhaps a 20% payroll tax — to implement.

Oz has gotten a mixed reception from elsewhere in Washington. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, the Democrat who defeated Oz in 2022, signaled he’d potentially support his appointment to CMS. “If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude,” he said on the social platform X.

Oz’s investments in companies doing business with the federal government don’t end with big insurers. He and his family also hold hospital stocks, according to his 2022 disclosure, as well as a stake in Amazon worth as much as nearly $2.4 million. (Candidates for federal office are required to disclose a broad range of values for their holdings, not a specific figure.)

Amazon operates an internet pharmacy, and the company announced in June that its subscription service is available to Medicare enrollees. It also owns a primary care service, One Medical, that accepts Medicare and “select” Medicare Advantage plans.

Oz was also directly invested in several large pharmaceutical companies and, through investments in venture capital funds, indirectly invested in other biotech and vaccine firms. Big Pharma has been a frequent target of criticism and sometimes conspiracy theories from Trump and his allies. Kennedy, whom Trump has said he’ll nominate to be Health and Human Services secretary, is a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

During the Biden administration, Congress gave Medicare authority to negotiate with drug companies over their prices. CMS initially selected 10 drugs. Those drugs collectively accounted for $50.5 billion in spending between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, under Medicare’s Part D prescription drug benefit.

At least four of those 10 medications are manufactured by companies in which Oz held stock, worth as much as about $50,000.

Oz may gain or lose financially from other Trump administration proposals.

For example, as of 2022, Oz held investments worth as much as $6 million in fertility treatment providers. To counter fears that politicians who oppose abortion would ban in vitro fertilization, Trump floated during his campaign making in vitro fertilization treatment free. It’s unclear whether the government would pay for the services.

In his TikTok videos from earlier in November, Oz echoed attacks on the food industry by Kennedy and other figures in his “Make America Healthy Again” movement. They blame processed foods and underregulation of the industry for the poor health of many Americans, concerns shared by many Democrats and more mainstream experts.

But in 2022, Oz owned stakes worth as much as $80,000 in Domino’s Pizza, Pepsi, and US Foods, as well as more substantial investments in other parts of the food chain, including cattle; Oz reported investments worth as much as $5.5 million in a farm and livestock, as well as a stake in a dairy-free milk startup. He was also indirectly invested in the restaurant chain Epic Burger.

One of his largest investments was in the Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain Wawa, which sells fast food and all manner of ultra-processed snacks. Oz and his wife reported a stake in the company, beloved by many Pennsylvanians, worth as much as $30 million.

©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Less than 72 hours after a massive explosion destroyed six condo units in Orion Township and damaged 12 others, donations are still flooding into local churches, everything from clothing to food.

Volunteers at Woodside Bible Church sorted through some of what has already been dropped off Friday afternoon. Boxes and tables were covered with clothing and non-perishable food. The small crew had dozens of bags left to go, and already amassed a wide selection of clothes for men, women, and children of all sizes.

“The kindness of this community, you know, just really rallying — people just want to give,” said Drew Peters, engagement coordinator of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church, another local church that was accepting donations.

When it comes adversity, neighbors know how to come together for those in need, residents and officials say. It’s when the community “shines,” said Township Supervisor Chris Barnett.

In 2021, when tragedy struck nearby Oxford when shooter killed four high school students and injured seven others, including a teacher, Orion Township came together to help.

“Our residents stood up, and they are doing that again,” Barnett said during a press conference Wednesday. “Our real heroes we’re going to see in the coming weeks of this tragedy, as we support those 18 families that have been displaced.”

The American Red Cross Michigan Region, meanwhile, on Friday said it’s providing assistance to residents in at least 18 households displaced by the explosion. Its staff interviewed residents at Christ the Redeemer.

“Our assistance includes mental health services, spiritual care, replacing lost items like prescription medications or medical equipment, or additional services,” David Olejarz, regional communications director of American Red Cross Michigan Region, said in an email.

Investigation status

The township’s fire chief, meanwhile, said on Wednesday it would take at least a week to complete the investigation into what caused the fiery explosion at Keatington New Town Association condominiums.

The explosion occurred around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in a two-story building on Pine Ridge Court just off Waldon Road, between Baldwin and Joslyn roads. Six units were destroyed and 12 others were severely damaged.

Fences now stand around the buildings where the units were damaged or destroyed but home siding, insulation and batteries still littered lawns Friday afternoon.

And even after multiple days of rain, a faint burnt odor still hung in the air. Cars slowed down as drivers gawked at the former condominiums, now reduced to piles of rubble. Neighbors did not escape the powerful blast’s impact either.

The next-door unit is partially collapsed and charred while the building across the street lost all front-facing windows. Neighbors said its front, load-bearing wall was displaced 6 inches off the foundation. A deformed black SUV sat parked in the street with its metal chassis folded like paper and a car seat was still visible through the broken windows.

Some neighbors have left out food hoping to find two still missing pet cats.

Destiney Beauvais, 45, usually walks her dog Poky all the way down the street past the blast site, but the pair turned back early Friday afternoon to avoid scattered broken glass. Poky, bundled up in a blue winter coat, does not want to go down there, Beauvais said.

Beauvais has lived in the neighborhood for just over a year and said everyone is still in shock, but they want to be there for each other.

“It’s a really tight-knit community here, a lot of amazing neighbors,” Beauvais said. “I’ve only been here a little over a year, and the neighbors are just, I love them.”

Beauvais is still shaken up and worried.

“The whole house shook like a bomb went off,” said Beauvais, who had just gotten home from work at the time of the explosion. “All I can do is pray, you know … it is a little traumatizing.”

Donations pour in

Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church on Waldron Road is only a third of a mile from Pine Ridge Court and served as a kind of community hub in the blast’s immediate aftermath, said Peters, the engagement coordinator. People came there to make phone calls, find food and water, or decompress in a quiet, safe space.

The explosion shook the building and Peters, 48, likened it to an earthquake aftershock. Soon after, the church opened its doors to the public and one displaced gentleman even spent Tuesday night there.

“Then stuff started coming in, like pizza, snacks, bagels, blankets, and water,” Peters, 48, said. “… The initial response was great. It was amazing. … Just being good neighbors, essentially.”

The church has served as a rendezvous point over the last few days for cats lost in the chaos on Tuesday and their owners, Peters said.

The donations, meanwhile, have kept coming, Peters said. Now, the public is encouraged to direct monetary donations for affected families to Love INC of North Oakland County, and food and clothing donations to Woodside Bible Church.

“The kindness of this community, you know, just really rallying — people just want to give,” Peters said.

DETROIT — An NHL power play typically will hit some rough spots. It’s extremely rare for it to stay hot for a lengthy period of time. Too much scouting is being done, tendencies are learned.

The Red Wings were sizzling for a good, long while. But going without a goal the last two games, seven power-play attempts, has raised a red flag. And especially after a difficult 2-1 loss Saturday to Boston, a divisional opponent who the Wings have to likely pass in the standings to have a shot playoff shot.

Heading into Monday’s game on Long Island against the New York Islanders, the Wings need to get the unit going again.

“You get into (a) period where the puck might go in,” forward Lucas Raymond said. “The last two games the movement we had before hasn’t been there, and retrievals off the shots (is missing), but we know what to do to be successful and it’s just about getting back to it.”

The Wings failed on four power-play attempts Saturday against the Bruins, including in the final minute with a chance to tie the game and at least earn a point in the standings. Moritz Seider hit a crossbar off a shot from the high slot, indicative of the tough luck lately.

Captain Dylan Larkin feels the Wings need to be more crisp.

“We’re moving the puck around too much,” Larkin said. “We have to get back to attacking the net, and we didn’t do enough to set up the next guy. It was all five of us on the ice where we kind of just threw garbage around and let someone else deal with the issues They (the Bruins) kill hard, they pressure really hard.

“We just have to be cleaner, set up the next play, and give someone a good pass so they can do something with it.”

The Wings ranked sixth in the NHL at 28.1% entering Sunday, so it’s not like the power play is, or has been, a major problem. But coach Derek Lalonde did sense a passiveness that needs to be erased.

“The power play was slow,” Lalonde said. “We had good momentum and then it got to the flanks and stopped, and all that does is that allows them (opponents) to get position. When we were clicking on the power play, it was tic-tac-toe and fast moving and we’ve gotten back to very slow.”

Familiar opponent

The Wings face the Islanders for the third and final time this season.

Goaltender Alex Lyon has earned both previous victories, allowing one goal in six periods of tight, defensive-minded hockey.

Lyon and the Wings expect more of the same.

“They play hard, they always play hard, and especially in that building,” Lyon said. “When you beat someone twice, they get a bad taste in their mouth. I’m sure it’ll be a another low-event, low-scoring game. We just have to be ready.”

Lyon doesn’t think about previous success over a team, as much as maybe aspects in the arena that could affect his play.

“For me, it’s more familiarity of the arena,” Lyon said. “You feel good in a place and it does impact (the way you play). Every arena is different in terms of what it looks like. You get better as as you gain experience.”

Lyon has stopped 52 of 53 shots against the Islanders, including 22 in Thursday’s 2-1 victory. Lalonde liked the way Lyon looked in that game, no matter who the opponent was.

“It’s more to do with his last performance, and it just happened to be against the Islanders,” said Lalonde, noting this likely will be another struggle against the defensive-minded Islanders. “It’s going to be hard, not of lot of ice available. The last two games have looked similar, two teams committed to being on top, and not beating themselves.”

Ice chips

Patrick Kane and Michael Rasmussen both didn’t practice Sunday, in what Lalonde termed “maintenance days.” Both are expected to play against the Islanders.

“Both are battling something upper-body (but), hope to have both (Monday),” Lalonde said.

… Joe Veleno was a healthy scratch Saturday, his third recently. Lalonde said Veleno will be in Monday’s lineup, but Veleno needs to improve his “assertiveness. (Being) hard to play against, win some battles. He gets a little passive in his game and there are times when he’s assertive with his game and he’s a very effective player. That’s his challenge when he goes back in there again and I would expect getting him back in no matter what the scenario is with Kane and Ras.”

… Saturday’s first-period assist on Raymond’s goal was Larkin’s 300th NHL assist. Larkin is the 15th Wings’ player and 12th Michigan-born NHL player to reach the milestone.

DETROIT — Can you imagine a better or more fitting birthday present for Tigers’ lefty ace Tarik Skubal? Or a better way to cap a sensational, breakthrough season?

On Wednesday, the day he turned 28 years old, Skubal was named the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2024 by a vote of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Happy birthday, indeed.

Skubal becomes the fifth Tigers pitcher to win the award. Denny McLain won it twice (1968 and 1969). Willie Hernandez (1984), Justin Verlander (2011) and Max Scherzer (2013) also won the prize while wearing the Old English D.

Full disclosure: I had a Cy Young Award vote this year and I did not put Cleveland’s dominant closer Emmanuel Clase on my ballot. I have been steadfast on every Cy Young vote I’ve cast over the years that it’s an award for starting pitchers. Relievers have their own award, as they should given the disparity between the two distinct roles.

The lines on this are getting blurrier as starter innings continue to shrink and bullpen roles expand. But this season, after comparing every candidate including Clase on a spreadsheet with every relevant statistical category — sabermetric and traditional — there were five starting pitchers who scored higher than Clase.

Thus, my ballot: 1. Skubal, 2. Kansas City’s Seth Lugo, 3. Seattle’s Logan Gilbert, 4. Kansas City’s Cole Ragans, 5. Baltimore’s Corbin Burnes.

Putting Skubal at the top of the ballot was a no-brainer. And not just because he became the 22nd player in MLB history to win the pitcher Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228).

He joins Hal Newhouser (1945) and Justin Verlander (2011) as the only Tigers to achieve the feat.

It was much more. When manager AJ Hinch said that Skubal was “everything for us,” this is what he meant:

After dealing away Jack Flaherty at the trade deadline, the Tigers were left with two starting pitchers — Skubal and rookie Keider Montero. The other three starting slots in the rotation were, for the final two months, covered by a creative and elaborate mix of openers and bulk relievers.

For that strategy to work, the Tigers needed Skubal, especially, to cover at least six innings in his starts. Here’s how Skubal responded to that challenge:

From Aug. 2 through Sept. 24, he went 6-1 and averaged 6.2 innings in 10 starts. He limited opponents to a .206/.252/.292 slash-line with 74 strikeouts and 11 walks.

He managed to be at his best exactly when his team needed him the most.

The Tigers were 21-10 in his 31 regular-season starts, a stat that held more value to Skubal than his 18 pitcher wins. He won two of his three postseason starts and threw 17 straight scoreless innings until the fatal fifth inning in Game 5 of the American League Division Series in Cleveland (see Lane Thomas homer).

Skubal limited opponents to two runs or less in 24 of his 31 regular-season starts, covering at least six innings in 21 of those.

Skubal day turned into win day for the Tigers. There is no better measure of greatness for a pitcher.

“He’s unbelievable,” said first baseman Spencer Torkelson after Skubal posted his 200th strikeouts of the season in a 2-1 win against Boston on Aug. 31. “It’s not only his stuff. It’s the conviction behind it. The intent and the confidence he has every single pitch he throws.

“You can really look up to somebody like that. He sets the tone. It builds character in our pitching staff and even in the position players.”

He set the tone for his season on the first day of live batting practice in Lakeland when he hit 99.6 mph with his four-seam fastball. He was asked about hitting 100 mph so early in camp.

“It wasn’t 100,” he said. “We don’t round up in the big leagues.”

He would hit and surpass 100 mph legitimately on May 11 against Houston, becoming the first Tigers starting pitcher to hit triple digits since Verlander in 2012.

He took the ball on Opening Day in Chicago and pitched six scoreless innings with six strikeouts. He got the start in the home opener, too, on April 5, making him the first Tigers pitcher to start both the regular-season opener and home opener since Mike Moore in 1993.

He struck out 12 in six innings at Yankee Stadium on May 5. But his most dominant strikeout performance came in Cincinnati on July 7 when he punched out 13 and got a remarkable 23 misses on 51 swings.

By the All-Star break he was 10-3 with a 2.41 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP (0.879) and earned his first All-Star berth. He threw a perfect second inning in the game, setting down Christian Yelich, Alec Bohm and Teoscar Hernandez.

“When you needed a big performance, he was our guy,” Hinch said in an interview with MLB Network earlier this month. “When you really needed a punch-out to get us out of an inning, he was our guy. We you needed someone to show incredible competitive emotion, he was our guy.

“We leaned on him for so much leadership and performance. And he delivered in all ways. He was the definition of dominant for us and across the league.”

The mantra for the Tigers’ pitching staff all season was “pound the strike zone,” and nobody pounded it more relentlessly and fearlessly than Skubal, evidenced by his 69% strike rate and 68.6% first-pitch strike rate.

To further amplify the point, he had a 30.3% strikeout rate and just a 4.7% walk rate.

Skubal’s 6.3 WAR (baseball-reference) led all big-league pitchers. His pitching run value of 40 (per Statcast) was best in baseball. His fastball run value of 26 ranked in the top 99 percentile.

Opponents hit .197 against his four-seam fastball and .207 off his two-seamer. They hit .216 off his changeup with a 46% whiff rate. His slider (.169) and knuckle curve (.158) rare got hit hard.

“Just Skub being Skub,” said Jake Rogers, who caught every one of Skubal’s starts. “I never get tired of talking about Skub. He’s been big for us all year, and every time he gets on the mound, he gives us a chance to win.

“I’m just really glad he’s on our team.”