By Morayo Ogunbayo, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)

ATLANTA — Many Southerners have at one point in their lives taken a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. With its views of the Atlantic, boardwalks and ample seafood restaurants, it’s no wonder the area draws big crowds.

For some people, the area conjures images of spring break craziness, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With these travel tips, you can have a glitzy beach vacation just a few hours away from several major East Coast cities.

Stay at a nice beachfront hotel

The first step to an upscale beach vacation is making sure you’re not far from the whole point of the trip: the beach. The difference between being walking distance and needing a car can make or break your trip.

Island Vista Resort is farther from downtown than the typical accommodations there. The resort is known for its spacious rooms with views of the ocean, as well as three onsite dining options. If restoration and relaxation are the priorities of your trip, there are also an onsite fitness center and spa treatments available.

The Hilton Grand Vacation Club Ocean 22 is also a comfy escape from possibly rowdy beach town habitations. The resort has one-, two- and three-bedroom suites overlooking the ocean. The high-rise hotel is only eight blocks from the boardwalk, meaning you are not too far from the fun of the city. This Hilton hotel also boasts complimentary green fees to nearby golf courses for guests.

Rent a condo

North Myrtle Beach includes all the oceanfront fun of Myrtle Beach, just a few miles away. Vacation condos in this area give visitors the fun of a beachfront high-rise, without much of the hassle expected to come with it.

Airbnb is one place to begin your search, with a website that makes finding the exact accommodations you need easy. Many of the condos also have pools, so you won’t have to give up this hotel perk.

Try these restaurants

The thing that often makes a vacation good is the food, and a trip to Myrtle Beach can be no exception.

Hook & Barrel is a Myrtle Beach mainstay known for cooking local seafood and serving it alongside a large list of wines and spirits.

If you’re willing to drive a bit outside of Myrtle Beach, try Root in Georgetown, a waterfront restaurant with an ambience Eater calls a “coastal speakeasy.”

Clive Blossom in nearby Pawleys Island is perfect for an intimate dinner, with its grilled East Coast halibut or celebrated charred-octopus small plate.

For brunch, check out Winna’s Kitchen, known for its creative comfort food creations and friendly staff.

No vacation is perfect, but with this list you might get close. Stop passing over this beachfront gem the next time you’re planning a getaway, and reacquaint yourself with Myrtle Beach.

©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Beth Dooley, The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

This time of year, as the light slants and temperatures drop, all I really want for dinner is pasta. It’s the key to a luxuriously easy meal when tossed with the robust vegetables of autumn.

As much as I love winter squash, I have often resisted using it, not wanting to deal with removing the tough peel and the messy seeds. But right now, delicata squash is at its best. The skins are so tender that you can eat the whole thing (after removing the seeds). Delicata is super easy to cook. It’s smaller in size so one easily feeds two. It’s nicknamed “sweet potato squash” for its lush, velvety texture and the way it caramelizes in a hot pan.

To prepare delicata, simply slice it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh and cut the seeded squash halves into half-moon slices for the prettiest effect. Now it’s ready to roast on a sheet pan (first drizzled with a little oil and salt) in a high-heat oven.

I like delicata best when it’s butter-steamed with a little sage tossed in. Butter steaming cooks the vegetables directly in the butter and is one of the easiest techniques for concentrating flavors. The butter and vegetable juices meld into a wonderful sauce when a little pasta cooking water and wine or stock is added to the pan. It’s best when the butter has begun to brown and the squash starts to caramelize and turn nutty. Toss in cooked pasta, scatter the whole thing with fresh herbs and cheese, and you have a satisfying vegetarian dinner or a hearty side, a taste of our gorgeous fall.

Delicata Squash, Spinach and Sage-Butter Pasta

Serves 4.

This easy pasta dish shows off delicata’s greatest qualities. The slices turn tender, sweet and nutty as they caramelize in butter that becomes the base for a luscious sauce. No need to peel the squash first, as the skin is soft and adds texture to the final dish. A handful of fresh spinach adds color and taste; kale or broccoli would work equally well. Vary the cheese as you please. From Beth Dooley.

• 8 oz. pasta
• Coarse salt
• 4 tbsp. (¼ c.) butter, cut into chunks
• 1 lb. delicata squash, halved and seeded, cut into ¼-inch slices
• ¼ c. peeled, sliced shallot
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
• Generous pinch red pepper flakes, to taste
• ¼ c. pasta cooking water
• ¼ c. white wine (or more pasta cooking water)
• 6 to 8 oz. fresh spinach leaves, torn
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
• 2 to 3 oz. chèvre or mozzarella

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Drop in the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 to 12 minutes. During the last couple of minutes of cooking, remove about 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta, cover and set aside.

Set a large skillet over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter starts to foam, add the squash slices and shallot and cook, tossing, until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cover the pan and allow the squash to cook a little more until it becomes tender, about 1 minute. Remove the cover, add the sage and red pepper flakes, ¼ cup of the pasta water and wine (or more pasta water). Stir and add the spinach and cook until wilted. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding pepper and more salt. If it seems dry, add a little more wine or pasta water. Toss in the pasta and before serving, drizzle with the balsamic and dot with the cheese.

Beth Dooley is the author of “The Perennial Kitchen.” Find her at bethdooleyskitchen.com.

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

ALLEN PARK — After enduring a run of several critical injuries to the team’s defense, the Detroit Lions had a positive injury update to begin Week 10.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell on Wednesday said the team is starting the 21-day acclimation windows for cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (pec) and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle/Achilles).

The Moseley news comes as a bit of a surprise, as it doesn’t seem that long ago that the 28-year-old veteran suffered a torn pec. Moseley was placed on injured reserve during joint practices with the New York Giants in early August.

Campbell said at the time of the injury that he expected Moseley to return at some point in the season, but it could be argued his return is a bit ahead of schedule. It’s possible the Lions will have him back by Week 13.

Campbell provided a handful of other injury updates yesterday, noting that defensive end Josh Paschal (illness) should be available to play this Sunday against the Houston Texans after missing the last two games.

Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who briefly left Sunday’s win against the Green Bay Packers with a shoulder injury but returned a few plays later, “really didn’t do anything today,” Campbell said. Campbell said linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, who was knocked out of Detroit’s Week 8 win against the Tennessee Titans, “is better.”

“We’ll have to see what he looks like tomorrow, if he’s able to go out there and practice,” Campbell said.

For both Melifonwu and Moseley, the Lions have until Nov. 27 — one day before the team’s Thanksgiving Day showdown against the Chicago Bears — to decide whether to activate them or place them on season-ending injured reserve.

Melifonwu was one of Detroit’s best playmakers down the stretch last season but has yet to see the field in 2024. He aggravated an injury during the team’s Week 2 preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs and has not returned to action.

Moseley, meanwhile, was forced all but two plays of his first season in a Lions uniform. Back in 2022, he tore an ACL that ended his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers.

After signing with the Lions in 2023 free agency and working his way back for a Week 5 debut, Moseley tore his other ACL on his second play. He completed his rehab a bit sooner the second time around and was competing with veteran Amik Robertston for a role as the team’s nickel corner in training camp before suffering yet another devastating injury.

Moseley and Melifonwu join another defender, second-year defensive tackle Brodric Martin, as players who have had their 21-day practice clocks started.

Martin was knocked out of the team’s preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a knee injury and had his acclimation window started last Wednesday.

Amara Omeokwe | (TNS) Bloomberg News

Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s presidential contest injects deep uncertainties into the U.S. economic outlook that could alter the Federal Reserve’s policy calculus in the months ahead, while renewing questions about how fiercely he might pressure the central bank during his second term in the White House.

In his campaign, Trump promised to wield tariffs more aggressively against U.S. trading partners, deport millions of undocumented immigrants and extend his 2017 tax cuts. Those policies, if enacted, could put upward pressure on prices, wages and the federal deficit, according to many estimates.

That would complicate the Fed’s job as officials seek to lower inflation to their 2% objective while protecting the labor market. Amid that delicate task, the central bank could fall under an uncomfortable political spotlight should Trump follow his previous pattern of publicly attacking Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Fed officials on Thursday are widely expected to lower their benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, a move that will come on the heels of a half-point cut in September. They have projected one more quarter-point cut this year, in December, and an additional full point of reductions in 2025, according to the median estimate released in September.

Policymakers, however, may now approach the question of when and how much to cut more cautiously as they assess how Trump’s economic proposals will be turned into actual policies, said Derek Tang, an economist at LH Meyer/Monetary Policy Analytics.

“On the margin, they might think we might get higher inflation risk over the next few years with tariffs or lower immigration,” Tang said. “Their psychology might be, ‘By cutting a little bit more slowly, that gives us a little bit more time to observe what’s actually happening with inflation expectations and the labor market.’”

Powell will almost certainly face questions about how the election affects the Fed’s outlook when he holds a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Thursday following this week’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

The Fed chair frequently drew Trump’s ire during his first presidential term. Those barbs have continued, with Trump saying as recently as August that Powell had been “a little bit too early and little bit too late” on policy decisions.

Having a ‘Say’

Trump has also said he believes presidents should have “say” on the Fed’s interest-rate policy, and suggested policymakers acted for political reasons when they lowered rates by a larger-than-usual half percentage point in September.

In an October interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, Trump subsequently said he doesn’t think he should be able to order the Fed what to do, but has the right to comment on the direction of interest rates.

The totality of his rhetoric has nonetheless stoked speculation he could seek to curb the Fed’s autonomy and upend a decades-long practice of allowing the central bank to conduct monetary policy independently of the executive branch. During Trump’s first term, he explored firing Powell, a move that would have been unprecedented and legally questionable, according to legal scholars.

The Fed has guardrails surrounding it that could protect it against presidential interference. A president’s appointees to the Fed’s Board of Governors must be confirmed by the Senate, and Congressional committees maintain oversight of the central bank, for example. Powell and other officials have repeatedly assured the public they aim to stay out of partisan politics and don’t take political considerations into account when setting monetary policy.

Sowing Doubt

Still, a president’s public and vocal criticisms of the Fed can sow doubt, said Sarah Binder, a professor of political science at George Washington University.

“There’s certainly that structural independence,” Binder said. But “no degree of structural insulation can protect it if people begin to doubt that it’s going to do what it says it’s going to do.”

Some of Trump’s advisers have pushed back against concerns he could seek to meddle with the Fed.

“My impression: He doesn’t want to be in the room. He just wants to be a voice that’s heard,” said Scott Bessent, a top Trump economic adviser and chief executive at the hedge fund Key Square Group. “He understands that central bank independence anchors long-term inflation expectations, which anchors long-term rates,” he said in an October interview with Bloomberg News.

Kevin Hassett, who served as the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers during Trump’s first term, said in an interview with Goldman Sachs released in October that suspicions of coordination between the Fed and the executive branch “should be taken seriously, and the next administration should choose a neutral Fed leadership.”

Trump’s most direct way to influence the Fed will come through appointments of key personnel in coming years. He has already said he won’t reappoint Powell, whose term as chair ends in May 2026. Fed Governor Adriana Kugler’s term expires in January 2026, while Powell’s governor slot opens up in January 2028. Trump will have the opportunity to name appointees for each of those positions.

Multiple sources close to the Trump campaign, including Bessent, have said Hassett could be Trump’s eventual choice for chair.

The president-elect will also be able to nominate a vice chair for supervision — a powerful regulatory role that oversees the nation’s largest banks. President Joe Biden filled the post with Michael Barr, whose term ends in July 2026. Barr has drawn sharp criticism from the banking industry and Republicans over an initial proposal to boost the capital banks must hold. The Fed and other regulators are now revising the plan.

Recent holders of Barr’s position have resigned shortly after the election of a president from the opposite party, Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., wrote in an October research note.

If Barr “follows this precedent after a Trump victory then the new president could quickly influence regulatory policy, even if his influence over monetary policy is less immediate,” Feroli said.

With assistance from Reade Pickert.

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

Dana Hull | (TNS) Bloomberg News

No billionaire did more to help Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential election than Elon Musk. The Tesla Inc. and SpaceX boss will now find out whether it pays off or he ends up getting burned.

Musk, whose growing political apparatus has already proved its mettle, will gain more than just an ally in the White House. Trump has floated giving him an official role cutting government spending — and with it the power to influence policy and the federal agencies that oversee his vast empire of companies.

“He’s a character. He’s a special guy. He’s a super genius,” Trump said of Musk while addressing his supporters overnight. “We have to protect our geniuses. We don’t have that many of them.”

Already, shares in Tesla are surging. The stock climbed as much as 15% in early U.S. trading as investors look to cash in on a Trump return to the White House. Musk also posted a chart early Wednesday morning the he said showed record usage of X, his social network.

“Let that sink in,” he said on X, posting a fake photo of himself carrying a sink into the White House’s Oval Office — a nod to when he brought a sink to Twitter headquarters after taking over the social media company.

In the last few months, Musk was Trump’s most aggressive surrogate. The world’s richest man propped up Trump on X, hosted town halls in the critical state of Pennsylvania and appeared at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally with even higher billing than the Republican’s own running mate, JD Vance.

Musk spent more than $130 million on Trump and down-ballot Republicans in competitive House races, vaulting him to the highest echelons of donors this election cycle. On Election Day, Musk voted in Texas and then flew on his private jet to Florida to watch returns with Trump and his family at Mar-a-Lago. His PAC posted a photo of him sitting shoulder to shoulder with Trump and Dana White, the chief executive officer of UFC, at the festivities.

“Musk is new to politics, but it means a lot for a billionaire and a tech mogul to go all in for President Trump,” said Jondavid Longo, the Pennsylvania state director of Early Vote Action, an organization dedicated to registering Republican voters. Trump’s win in Pennsylvania was key to his victory, helping him flip battleground states he had lost in 2020 but won in his first run for president in 2016. Musk donated $1 million to the group.

Musk has much to gain financially from the incoming administration. He oversees an empire of six companies, several of which are highly entangled with the U.S. federal government. SpaceX has become an increasingly vital partner to NASA and the U.S. Defense Department, with contracts worth billions. Tesla has staked its financial future on a pivot to autonomous robotaxis, a risky pursuit facing serious regulatory hurdles. X remains hugely influential.

Musk’s personal fortune swung wildly during Joe Biden’s four years in office, reaching as high as $340 billion and as low as $124 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Still, it has largely trended upward. As of Election Day, his net worth was $263.8 billion.

During the campaign, Musk pitched a job for himself running an agency in charge of cutting government bureaucracy and waste. Trump heartily embraced the idea and regularly mentioned it on the campaign trail.

“I’m going to get Elon. And he’s great at this. He’s going to be our cost cutter,” said Trump at a campaign rally in Michigan in late September. Trump calls the new position the “Secretary of Cost Cutting,” while Musk has joked that he’ll lead a DOGE, what he calls the Department of Government Efficiency, in a nod to the cryptocurrency he’s long promoted.

In that role, Musk has vowed to help cut an unprecedented $2 trillion from the federal budget. He hasn’t specified the agencies he’d go after, but regularly rails against the regulators with oversight of his own companies. In a long diatribe on the Joe Rogan podcast this week, he described a SpaceX rocket that sat on a launchpad for two months waiting for regulatory approval.

“We could build the rocket faster than they could approve the paperwork,” he said. “It’s like Gulliver being tied down by a million little strings. It’s not like any one string is the problem but you’ve got a million of them.”

A broad remit would give the Tesla, SpaceX and X boss leverage to reshape federal agencies that both regulate — and have the power to investigate — his many companies. He has already said he would use whatever power he gets to push for a federal approval process of fully autonomous vehicles. Current rules prevent manufacturers from putting more than a couple thousand cars on the road per year without steering wheels or other controls.

It’s not uncommon for U.S. presidents to tap executives and business leaders to fill their administrations, but none quite like Musk. During his first term, Trump appointed Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive who had been his campaign’s finance chair, to be Treasury Secretary. The role cutting government spending is not expected to be a Cabinet level position, meaning Musk wouldn’t be required to step away from his CEO duties.

Already Musk’s support has influenced the president elect. After the billionaire’s endorsement in July, Trump changed his tune on electric vehicles. Trump went from entirely railing against what he called “crooked Joe’s insane electric vehicle mandate” to, at times, praising EVs.

“I’m for electric cars. I have to be, you know, because Elon endorsed me very strongly, Elon. So I have no choice,” Trump said during an August rally.

Trump also embraced Musk’s ambitions of reaching Mars — using SpaceX rockets — by 2028, or by the end of the Republican’s term. “We will land an American astronaut on Mars. Thank you, Elon. Thank you. Get going, Elon,” Trump said at an October rally.

Musk’s policy interests go beyond those that benefit his companies. Like Trump, he has pushed conspiracy theories and misinformation about immigrants to his more than 200 million followers on X.

But it’s one thing to campaign together. It’s another to work together. The president-elect is known for turning on even his most loyal friends and colleagues. Musk and Trump may be aligned for now, but tension points could arise between two men known for their egos.

On EVs, for example, Tesla has received billions from President Biden’s policies, which Trump has vowed to dismantle. The two own rival social media companies and not too long ago, Musk was calling for Trump to “hang up his hat and sail into the sunset.”

Whatever happens between the two men, Musk will leave this election cycle with a robust political machine that he can use to not only bolster his businesses but his pet policy desires.

“America PAC is going to keep going after this election,” Musk said on an X Spaces Tuesday. Musk said the group is “preparing for the midterms and any intermediate elections at the district attorney and sort of judicial levels.”

Musk’s America PAC, which spent $153 million on behalf of Trump, now has contact information from scores of voters, which it can use going forward.

Democrats are painting Musk as their billionaire foil, echoing a Harris campaign warning that Trump’s “buddy Elon Musk is spending huge sums of money on his own ads hammering the Vice President.” They had pleaded with voters not to let the richest person on the planet buy the election.

But, in many ways, he did.

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

By Jim Rossman, Tribune News Service

I’ve been working with a laptop as my main computer for more than a decade.

I used to travel quite a bit for work, and being able to take my main computer with me on the road was very helpful.

At my desk, I’d connect that laptop to a full-size keyboard and mouse and one or more monitors so I’d be more comfortable and productive. When I traveled, I’d have to live and work with only the laptop’s single screen, but it was not a huge hardship.

Fast forward 10 years and now we have the ability to travel with external monitors that are the same size (or smaller) than the laptops we carry.

I’ve been reviewing an external monitor from Acer called the P163Q dual screen portable monitor. This is actually two LED panels connected by a hinge that folds up like a laptop.

The screens are meant to be placed horizontally, so that one is above the other. The bottom screen has a flip out stand that adjusts so you can adjust the height and view angle.

The stand is quite sturdy, and the screens don’t weigh all that much (3.4 pounds), so they stay where you put them. There are also four VESA mounting screws on the back, so you can mount these monitors on a wall mount or arm if you like.

Each screen measures 15.6 inches diagonally and they are really thin. The entire thing is less than one inch thick when its folded up. Putting this in your bag next to your laptop is a no-brainer. Each screen has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, with a refresh rate of 60Hz, a contrast ratio of 100 Million:1 and a brightness of 250 nits.

The screens are nice, and fairly bright, but I’m not sure I’d be using them for color-accurate photo retouching or gaming, but for normal office tasks, they are great. Oh, also, they are not touch screens.

The connectors are simple. There are two USB-C ports and one mini-HDMI port.

How you connect them to your computer will depend on what type of video outputs you have available.

The easiest way is if you have Thunderbolt 3 or 4, which is a port that uses a USB-C connector, but it can pass through all kinds of data, including video and power.

A single cable from Thunderbolt 3 or 4 to the screens is all you need.

You do need to install some Acer-specific drivers before you can get them both going from one cable. When you connect the monitors to your Mac or Windows computer, there is a small amount of USB storage built-in and you’ll notice them as a mounted flash drive, where you’ll find the driver installers. You’ll need the drivers to get both screens working.

If your computer lacks Thunderbolt, you can use USB-C and/or the HDMI port. One of the USB-C cables in the box is a power-only cable. This cable is needed if your laptop can’t output enough juice through USB to power the screens.

It might take a little trial and error with cables and power to get both screens working if your laptop is older.

The screens also have built-in speakers, along with a headphone jack. The speakers are tiny and won’t be winning any awards for sound quality, but they work. I tried the P163Q with a Macbook Air and a Dell Latitude 9430 laptop and both laptops’ built-in speakers were had better sound.

So, how easy is it to pack up, set up and use the P163Q?

Once you know how things are going to connect and get the right cables in place, set up is straight forward and fairly simple. You do need a good bit of extra desk space, so I’m not sure I’d be taking these along to work at my neighborhood coffee shop.

Where these monitors shine would be on a business trip, where a person might be able to set them up on a hotel room desk or other work area. They’d also be good during a presentation in a small conference room, where you could call up a slide presentation on your laptop and turn the screens to the audience.

The P163Q lists for $329 on Acer.com, but when I wrote this, the Acer had it on sale for $279.99. They are also available on Amazon.

I want to mention Acer sells other portable monitors, including a larger dual display with two 18.5-inch screens for $399. They also have single panel portable displays sized at 15.6 inches for $149.99 and at 17.3 inches for $179.99. As always, these prices are subject to change by the manufacturer.

Even though this is a review of a dual panel monitor, I want to encourage potential buyers to take careful consideration in determining if you really need three screens in your workday, or if two would be sufficient. Almost everyone I know uses two screens on their desk, but very few use three or more.

I’m a freak. I have four screens on my desk for daily work. Your needs will be different.

Jim Rossman is a tech columnist for Tribune News Service. He may be reached at jrossmantechadviser@gmail.com.

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©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Queenie Wong | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

Search giant Google wants people to use its navigation app for more than just finding directions and avoiding traffic.

The tech giant is adding generative AI features to Google Maps so people can easily get recommendations for places to go and activities to do.

With 2 billion people using Google Maps every month, the company envisions people also will turn to the navigation app for inspiration, executives said at a press event at the company’s Street View Garage in Palo Alto on Wednesday.

Miriam Daniel, vice president and general manager of Google Maps, said the search giant has the ability to combine billions of pieces of information the company collects about the world and user reviews with generative AI.

“When we bring all this together, we will transform the way users interact with maps,” she said.

Rather than just finding directions or asking Google Maps to find the nearest gas station, users will be able to type out queries such as “things to do with friends at night in Boston” and get answers through the app. Curated with the help of Google’s generative AI chatbot and model known as Gemini, users then will see results that may include speakeasies or live music. Once the user taps on results for a business, for example, they’ll see a summary of reviews by users in addition to photos and videos of the place.

The AI-powered tools are rolling out this week on Apple and Android devices in the United States.

Google’s latest AI-powered updates underscore how the tech giant is responding to challenges to the company’s dominance in search. As the battle for the future of search heats up, the rise of AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can quickly summarize search results has the potential to reshape how people find and sift through information online.

Tech companies such as Meta, Apple and Microsoft have been responding to this change by infusing more generative AI tools into their products.

Google is no exception. At the company’s press event, a giant Google Map location icon, a blue Rivian vehicle and Google’s Street View cameras used to capture images of various locations filled the space.

As tech titans gather a trove of data about their users to power new generative AI tools, concerns about privacy, misinformation and copyright are some of the top issues companies have had to address.

Google also has faced scrutiny from regulators on its power over people’s lives, with a federal judge ruling in August that the company has an illegal monopoly on the online search market.

Daniel said when Google Maps provides users answers to their questions, the company isn’t using individualized information to provide personal results but contextual ones. For example, if a user asks Google Maps for things to do this weekend and it’s October, some of the suggestions might include seasonal activities such as pumpkin picking and going to a haunted house.

“We really take this seriously in making sure we’re using generative AI responsibly,” she said.

Google also is testing more AI-powered tools in another one of its popular navigation apps: Waze. Users will be able to tap a reporting button and tell the app that there’s a car accident ahead simply by speaking. Waze also will alert users when they’re near a school zone so they can be more careful about driving.

Developers are using Google’s AI technology to build new features in other products. Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian used Google data so people can see summaries of restaurants, shops and supermarkets from the car’s infotainment screen, a tool that will be rolled out starting next month.

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

Za’Darius Smith got his wish, and the Lions got their edge rusher.

Detroit added the three-time Pro-Bowl defensive lineman on Tuesday from the Cleveland Browns in a swap that included a 2025 5th-round pick and a 2026 6th-round pick going back to Cleveland, according to reports by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Lions will also receive a 2026 7th-round pick in the deal.

Smith, 32, is in his 10th NFL season and is a crucial add ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, as the Lions try to replace some of the production lost when Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport went down due to season-ending injuries.

Smith has five sacks and 22 tackles with 24 pressures over nine games this season for a Cleveland team that is off to a 2-7 start and is already looking ahead to next season. In March, Smith signed a two-year, $23 million extension with the Browns that will now put him under contract in Detroit through the end of the 2025 season.

He recently opened up to The Chronicle-Telegram about his interest in being the Lions’ solution at edge rusher. Part of the appeal would be competing against his former clubs and Detroit’s NFC North foes, the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, multiple times per year.

“If I was to go to Detroit, I would like it because I get to play Green Bay twice a year and the Vikings twice a year. So, yeah, that’ll be big,” Smith told The Chronicle-Telegram.

Smith already missed one of Detroit’s contests against Minnesota, where he spent one Pro Bowl season in 2022. He just missed the Lions’ win on Sunday at Lambeau Field against Green Bay, where he went to two Pro Bowls and had one second-team All-Pro honor over three seasons (2019-21) — the last of which was ended after one game due to a back injury.

The Lions will host the Packers in Week 14 and the Vikings in Week 18.

The Baltimore Ravens selected Smith out of Kentucky in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent four years with Baltimore before turning into one of the league’s premier players at his position with Green Bay in 2019 (13½ sacks) and 2020 (12½).

Smith returned from his back injury on a one-year deal with the Vikings in 2022 and recorded 10 sacks. He had 5½ sacks last season, his first in Cleveland.

With Josh Paschal (illness) missing from the lineup in the last two games, Detroit relied heavily on Al-Quadin Muhammad, a practice-squad player who was elevated for the first time this year. He impressed in his season debut, totaling six pressures, but the Lions clearly need more proven, reliable talent as they look to uphold their Super Bowl aspirations in the back half of the season amid a 7-1 start.

Smith’s run defense is not as renowned as his pass rushing, but he’s been plenty involved in both phases during his career; 104 of his 295 defensive snaps (35.3%) this season have come on run plays.

The first domino in the edge-rusher trade market fell last week, when the New England Patriots traded former Michigan defender Josh Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2026 sixth-round pick.

As much as the Lions might believe in their back-end depth guys, they’re still one or two injuries away from being in another crisis. Early-season injury woes have proven just how quickly things can change.

It’s still unclear whether Lions general manager Brad Holmes is satisfied with his haul or if there’s more to come before the closing bell rings.

By Lacey Pfalz, TravelPulse

Residents of Wisconsin refer to it fondly as a place to converge, relax and spend quality time with one another within a pristine natural environment. Add that to Door County’s International Dark Sky Park and endless lake views, and you have a few of the many reasons to put this region on the map for your next Midwest adventure.

What, and where, is Door County?

Imagine yourself surrounded on all sides by some of the freshest water on planet Earth, where arborvitae, maples, oaks and pines grow to enormous heights above clear, blue-green bays.

That’s Door County.

Geographically, it’s the county located in the small protrusion of northern Wisconsin called the Door Peninsula. The peninsula and the county both derive their names from the nearby region of Lake Michigan the French named Port de Mort, or Death’s Door, for its dangerous waters. But don’t let the name scare you.

Some of the county’s most popular towns include Egg Harbor (legendarily named so for an egg fight that may or may not have occurred in the harbor around 2 centuries ago), Ephraim, Fish Creek and Sister Bay. Its largest airport hub is in Green Bay, Wisconsin, though it’s a perfect destination for a summer or autumn road trip.

While Door County is most often visited in the summer and autumn, it’s becoming a more popular winter destination, too, home to ample snowfall and great opportunities for winter activities from ice fishing and snowmobiling to viewing the northern lights.

The peninsula offers views of the scenic, green-tinged Green Bay on one side and the vast blue waters of Lake Michigan on the other — offering a unique opportunity to watch both the sun rise and the sun set over the water in a single day, simply by visiting both sides of the peninsula.

The tricky part will be choosing whether the sunrise or the sunset was prettier.

Where art hides beneath the trees

While the whole population of Door County is only about 30,500, and its largest city, Sturgeon Bay, numbers under 10,000, it’s attracted artists from all walks of life. The region is home to several theater companies and a bevy of artists offering their own art galleries and studios for art lovers to enjoy.

Sturgeon Bay is home to a burgeoning arts district, called the Steel Bridge Creative Arts District. This once-industrial area of town is now home to several galleries and workshops travelers can visit.

Art lovers can learn about glassblowing techniques directly from glassblowing masters Jeremy Popelka and Stephanie Trenchard at Popelka Trenchard Gallery & Glass Studio. The married couple offers lessons to beginners and sells their creations in their studio.

A short walk down the street from Popelka Trenchard takes one to the M. Anderson Gallery, filled with landscapes both local and far afield. A stop inside brings travelers to meet the artist himself, and discover how he finds his inspiration in many of the area’s most beautiful natural landscapes.

“As a landscape painter, I’ve found Door County to be a treasure trove of inspiration,” said Anderson. “The scenery is quite diverse for being a relatively small area. We have a beautiful shoreline along Lake Michigan, smaller inland lakes, rural farmland, woodlands, charming villages, the list goes on. For me, however, it’s not just the subject matter. There is such an energetic and creatively stimulating atmosphere within the artist community here. It’s hard not to be inspired!”

The most special part of the arts culture in Door County is its connection to nature, but it’s not only the region’s artists that are inspired.

It also inspires actors and musicians alike.

Door County might have a small population, but it’s home to several incredible theater companies, all offering something different for residents and travelers.

Northern Sky Outdoor Theater offers a summer series of plays and musicals in an outdoor setting, nestled between the tall pines within Peninsula State Park. I watched a locally written musical called Hell’s Belgians during my time there, and it was the most magical setting for a theater performance I’ve ever experienced.

Peninsula Players Theatre offers a similar, yet different, experience. It’s the nation’s oldest resident summer theatre, offering a creative, outdoor space for new actors to hone their craft, many of whom move on to prestigious careers on Broadway and elsewhere.

Nestled within the trees along the scenic lakefront, guests can mingle and sip beverages in the theater’s waterfront beer garden area before entering the theater, which hosts performances all summer through October.

Lastly, one of the best-kept secrets in Door County is Fishstock. A play on the popular musical festival, Woodstock, Fishstock has been offering professional-style folk concerts in a humble, century-old barn for over 20 years.

Musicians from around the country such as the Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble, Stas and Misha and Mark Edgar Stuart were part of this summer’s music season, proving that great music can be performed anywhere music lovers gather.

Food for thought

It shouldn’t be surprising that a place as wondrous as Door County also inspires the chefs, bakers, brewers, distillers and vintners in the region. Driving through the peninsula, you’ll find no lack of family-run farm stores selling everything from seasonal cherries and blueberries to homemade pies, fudge and cheeses — all crafted, brewed and baked with love.

Travelers will find no lack of locally owned restaurants, either. Of the many that are around, my favorite (and a must-visit for any bread lover, gluten intolerant or not), is the MacReady Artisan Bread Company in Egg Harbor.

A former lawyer-turned-baker, Jenny MacReady and her husband bake some of the best breads on the planet using all-natural and locally sourced ingredients. A pop into their cute yellow cottage isn’t complete without at least one of their signatures: their cherry loaf or, for a bigger meal, a chicken salad sandwich.

And no visit to Door County is complete without a meal at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant, “the place with the goats on the roof,” located in Sister Bay. Travelers will love the Swedish cuisine and ambience of the restaurant, which does indeed have goats on the roof, thanks to a joke that began 75 years ago with owner Al Johnson. Today, it’s the most famous restaurant in the region, and for good reason: goats and good food.

For the adult beverage lovers, the region supports several wineries, like Anchored Roots Vineyard & Winery, which uses sustainable winemaking methods to produce the Ledge Blanc, the new Wisconsin Ledge American Viticulture Area wine.

Hatch Distilling Co. makes use of the region’s natural bounty in a different way by utilizing locally produced honey to make mead and foraging for items like spruce tips to distill in some of their products. Viking’s Blood, a cherry-flavored mead, is just one of their locally inspired specialties.

Tips for visiting Door County

If you’re considering visiting Door County, here are some insider tips.

First, get a car. If you’ll be flying into Wisconsin from elsewhere, make sure to pick up a car rental, as this remote destination does not have a public transit system. If you’re heading there during the winter, I also recommend a car that drives well in snow.

While it’s easy to make the lake your focus of a trip to Door County, make sure to look up once in a while. It’s home to some of the best views of the stars in the entire state, and routinely welcomes the northern lights overhead.

Accommodations options include different styles and types, and many with scenic lake views. The Landmark Resort is the region’s largest resort and is perfect for families, while the newly opened Dörr Hotel offers a more romantic location for couples.

No matter how you choose to visit, you’ll find plenty to love in Door County, where nature and art prevail.

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

By Chris Hewitt, The Minnesota Star Tribune

Everything old is old again in Richard Osman’s latest comic mystery, “We Solve Murders.”

It’s not part of Osman’s “The Thursday Murder Club” series, but his fifth book to feature detectives who are old enough to collect pensions and read Modern Maturity. And it’s part of a wave of mysteries with sleuths who are more likely to pore over clues while clicking away at their knitting than to race down an alley after a maniac.

Many current series feature older detectives, so it’s a legit trend. But it’s not exactly new.

These contemporary books, including beloved series by Jesse Q. Sutanto and Alexander McCall Smith, follow in the footsteps of the legendary Agatha Christie. Her Hercule Poirot (”And Then There Were None”) was already a retiree when he made his debut in the 1920s. And Miss Marple was described as quite elderly when she appeared in her first novel, “The Murder at the Vicarage,” in 1930. (Both continued to detect for more than four decades, barely aging in the process.)

New, older detectives are popping up all the time: Brothers Ian and Will Ferguson just released “Mystery in the Title,” which features a has-been TV actor who keeps stumbling over corpses. And next June a series debuts with a Jamaican-British woman who’s retired from nursing but not from solving crimes, “A Murder for Miss Hortense.”

Here are five series, in order of preference, with gumshoes who, like Miss Marple and “Murder She Wrote”’s Jessica Fletcher, are lifelong learners. Because these characters have so much character, the books often de-emphasize crime solving and pump-up humor and human interaction. So, we’ve included a ratio to help you determine how much mystery to expect:

The Great Hippopotamus Hotel

Alexander McCall Smith

Who’s detecting? Precious Ramotswe, a “traditionally built” Botswanan who operates the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, along with assistant Grace Makutsi. They’re self-taught detectives, so it’s a good thing this sweet, humane series finds them investigating not murders but why a daughter is suddenly ill-behaved or a small business’ ledger no longer balances. (Due Oct. 15.)

Ratio: 20% mystery/80% African life.

Why age is a plus: Precious has a ton of experience evaluating human nature, which has proved useful in the series’ 24 previous books, with a new one almost annually since “The No. Ladies Detective Agency” debuted in 1998. We’re not sure how old she is, but she already was middle-aged in 1998 and she seems to age roughly in real time. That means she has developed a broad network of distant relatives that reaches to the corners of her small African nation, so she almost always knows somebody who knows somebody who can help solve her latest case.

The Thursday Murder Club

Richard Osman

Who’s detecting? Like the “Mission: Impossible” gang, it’s a group of people, each with a specific skill set. Former special agent Elizabeth enlists three neighbors to help solve the murder of a property developer at the retirement village where they live: Elizabeth has detecting know-how developed over many decades; Joyce is a talker who sometimes elicits surprising information from suspects; Ibrahim is a silent type whose psychiatry background often comes in handy; and tough guy Ron, a former union activist, never trusts anyone or backs down from a challenge. “Thursday” appeared in 2020 and Osman produced a sequel in each of the next three years (”The Last Devil to Die” is the most recent). The next one is due in 2025.

Ratio: 70% murder/30% chess and tea.

Why age is a plus: Collectively more than 300 years old, the Thursday Murder Club members are underestimated by virtually everyone they meet — and they’re good at using that to their advantage.

We Solve Murders

Richard Osman

Who’s detecting? First the bad news: Osman’s latest is not a “Thursday” book. The good news? It’s almost as much fun, and it’s not all that different. Instead of the four “Thursday” retires, “We Solve Murders” has three sleuths: a randy, 80ish romance novelist who’s a bit like an American Joan Collins and two Brits, a retired police officer and his daughter-in-law, a security expert. All three get involved in a string of murders at which clues are planted to cast suspicion on the daughter-in-law.

Ratio: 50% mystery/50% comic character stuff.

Why age is a plus: The police officer has practice at fading into the background so he can observe, a quality that comes in handy, and the novelist has accrued a lifetime of cash, private planes and influential friends, all of which play a part in solving the murders.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Jesse Q. Sutanto

Who’s detecting: Vera, who’s 60 and bored, is a widow. She has lots of time on her hands because business is slow and her adult son, rebelling against her meddling, ignores her. She operates a tea shop at the beginning of “ Advice for Murders,” but when it is trashed and a body is left behind, she shifts from brewing tea to hunting clues.

Ratio: 60% mystery/40% matchmaking.

Why age is a plus: Vera doesn’t know much about detecting (she often makes wildly inaccurate guesses), but she’s learned a lot about mixing teas to create exactly the blend a customer needs. That tea savvy turns out to be a metaphor for an uncanny insight into human behavior. Vera thinks she knows what’s best for everyone — and she might be right. A sequel, “Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man),” is due in April 2025.

Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime

Leonie Swann

Who’s detecting? Agnes, an 80ish British woman, gets help from a handful of elderly boarders, some of whom — like Agnes — have a police background. “Trip of the Lifetime” is the second in the series, following “The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp.”

Ratio: 70% mystery/30% chit-chat.

Why age matters: One of the most compelling things about “Trip of a Lifetime” is that it explicitly pays homage to Miss Marple. Agnes gets an unexpected trip to a deluxe resort, where a victim is found clutching a copy of “A Caribbean Mystery,” a Christie book in which Marple is given a trip to a deluxe resort. That feels like both a hat tip to Christie and an acknowledgment that senior sleuths have a superpower: six (or more) decades of life experience. The “Agnes” books would be more satisfying if Swann told us more about her characters, especially the victims. It is compelling, though, how Agnes meets her fellow crime solvers: Strapped for cash, she must take in renters, who form a sort of sleuth commune. And that she has had trouble sleeping as she has aged, which gives her lots of time to hunt for clues.

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

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Fall is when many of us start to slow down, and at the same time get a hankering for foods that warm us up on a crisp and chilly day while filling the kitchen with wonderful, comforting aromas.

If it’s easy to prepare, even better. And when said meal doesn’t cost a proverbial arm and leg? That’s a definite win in these economic times, when chasing down bargains in your local grocery store or farmers market has become both a sport and a necessary evil.

In this week’s Dinner on a Budget, the goal is once again to create a filling three-course meal for two — hopefully with some tasty leftovers for lunch the next day — for around $15, or what I paid for a glass of wine at the airport while waiting for a flight recently.

Cooking to the season, we decided to build the meal around a classic fall dish: a small-batch pot of beef and bean chili.

Ground beef, like everything else, has gone up in price the last few years but it’s still among your more affordable proteins. Usually you can find it for about $5.99 a pound, which isn’t too bad considering a 16-ounce package can easily be stretched into four servings with the equally budget-friendly addition of canned tomatoes and beans.

Chili is the perfect dish for economical cooks because it’s so user-friendly (seriously, it’s pretty tough to make a bad pot of chili) and versatile, lending itself all different kinds of vegetables and proteins.

While ours is made with a can of fire-roasted tomatoes, chopped green pepper and red kidney beans along with the requisite garlic and onions, you can throw in anything you might happen to have sitting on a pantry shelf or tucked into your fridge’s vegetable cooler — think lentils, canned corn, squash, celery and even sweet potatoes.

It tends to taste even better the next day, once the flavors have really melded, and leftovers can be used as a topping not just on hot dogs or french fries but also enchiladas, tacos and baked potatoes. You also can bulk up a bowl of mac ‘n cheese with a few generous spoonfuls.

I tend to have a heavy hand with chili powder and cumin, which adds a nutty, smoky flavor, but that’s the beauty of chili. You can tame it by dialing down the spices, or crank it up to five-alarm level by adding a sprinkle or two of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and/or chipotle in adobo sauce.

The accompanying baked dessert — individual chocolate cakes made in 5-ounce ramekins and painted with a sweet coffee glaze — was almost ridiculously cheap and easy to pull together. One of the main ingredients, cocoa powder, costs only about 8 cents per tablespoon. And because the recipe makes just two servings, you don’t need a lot of sugar, flour or confectioners’ sugar (all pantry staples) either.

The most expensive ingredient, in fact, is a single egg yolk that cost 29 cents. Plus, chocolate cake is just plain delicious, especially if you eat it warm and use coffee for the frosting.

What was most surprising and also a bit of a challenge when pricing out this week’s recipes was working fresh fruit and veggies into the menu. A single, baseball-sized apple will still put you back at least $1 these days at most grocery stores, and onions — a workhorse kitchen staple for many home cooks — are nearly as expensive, especially if a recipe calls for more-delicate red onions.

Small packages of salad greens also tend to be pricey since you’re not getting the same economies of scale as when you purchase a family-sized container. The 5-ounce package of spinach I used with a green apple and a red onion I already had in my refrigerator crisper cost $2.99 on sale, or almost double the cost per ounce of a 16-ounce container priced at $5.99 (37 cents per ounce).

The takeaway: If you have room in your fridge and like to plan meals a couple days in advance, it’s probably always better to spend a little more on a bigger box or package to save yourself some money in the long run.

The total tally for the chili dinner, using some ingredients already on hand, a half-can of beans and store-brand tomatoes instead of the fancy organic name brand I really wanted: $15.05, or just a nickel over.

Insist on rounding out the meal with some carbs? If you add a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix to your shopping list, you’ll add another buck to the cost of dinner, which you can offset by using a little less ground beef or opting to go bean-free.

Spinach and Apple Salad

Serves 2. PG tested.

This simple salad is adaptable for every taste. I added slices of green apple and also threw in some of the raisins I always have in my fridge, but you could also add sliced pear or go a little sweeter with dried cranberries. Or, top the salad with toasted nuts or homemade croutons made with stale bread and Italian seasonings — whatever you’ve got in your pantry.

INGREDIENTS

For dressing

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For salad

5 ounces fresh spinach

1 apple, such as Honeycrisp, thinly sliced

1/4 red or sweet onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup raisins or craisins

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic and Dijon mustard until completely incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Add dressing, toss to combine and serve immediately.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Small-Batch Chili

Makes 4 servings. PG tested.

Chili can either be moderately spicy or very spicy, so add chili powder to your liking. I sometimes will also stir in a couple of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for extra heat.

If you have some shredded cheddar in the fridge, throw that on top with the chopped onions for a cheesy finish. Grated Parmesan also works for a flavor boost. Leftovers can be served for lunch the next day, or use to top hot dogs, spoon with rice into hallowed-out bell pepper halves or stir into mac ‘n cheese to make chili mac.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons neutral oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced (about 1/2 cup), plus more to serve

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 green pepper, diced (about 1/2 cup)

1 pound ground beef

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1/2 15 1/2 -ounce can pinto or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes

2 heaping tablespoons chili powder, or more to taste

1 tablespoon ground cumin, or to taste

Dash cider vinegar, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Add oil to a large sauce pot set over medium heat. When it sizzles, add chopped onion, garlic and green pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until veggies are tender, about 2 minutes.
2. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go, until meat is well browned.
3. Stir in kidney beans and fire-roasted tomatoes; if you prefer a thinner consistency, you can add 1/2 can of water. Season to taste with chili powder, cumin and salt and black pepper. I always like to add a dash of cider vinegar for an extra kick, too, but that’s optional.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. When ready to serve, spoon into warmed bowls and top with diced onion.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Chocolate Cake for Two

PG tested.

Dessert for just two is easy when you bake it in a ramekin. This gooey chocolate cake with a hint of coffee flavor is the perfect example. It stirs together in seconds and only take about 20 minutes to bake.

Add less coffee to the confectioners’ sugar for a thicker icing and more for a thinner glaze.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 (heaping) tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons neutral oil

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon warm coffee

For glaze

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 (heaping) tablespoon cocoa powder

Milk (or leftover coffee), as needed, to make a glaze

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray 2 4-inch (6-ounce) ramekins well with cooking spray, and set them on a mini baking sheet. (I used butter to grease the ramekins.)
2. Preheat the oven to 350.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and pinch of salt. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolk, milk, oil, vanilla and coffee (or water).
5. Add dry ingredients in two batches to wet ingredients, and stir gently to combine.
6. Divide the mixture between the two ramekins.
7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool.
8. While the cakes cool, make the frosting: whisk together all ingredients, adding more coffee or milk to thin it out to a pourable consistency. Drizzle or spread on top of cakes and serve.

— dessertfortwo.com

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

By Erin Hudson and Skylar Woodhouse, Bloomberg News

With threats to election officials on the rise since 2020, local governments have been spending millions of dollars to increase protections for voters, poll workers, ballots and equipment.

About 92% of local election officials say they’ve taken steps since the last presidential cycle to increase security for voters, election workers or election infrastructure, according to a survey earlier this year by the Brennan Center for Justice. Those measures range from cybersecurity protections to physical enhancements for election office or polling sites. Everything from the cost of paper for ballot printing to technology upgrades to physical facility enhancements is hitting budgets.

“The cost for securing elections is only increasing day by day because of new threats,” said Isaac Cramer, a South Carolina elections official and one of the legislative chairs for the National Association of Election Officials.

Administering elections — from the ballot printing to the poll station security — is the responsibility of local authorities, and the decentralized nature makes it difficult to tally a total cost for the 2024 contest, but officials including those in swing states like Georgia and Wisconsin, agree that costs are climbing.

Although billions have been provided by Congress for election security in recent years, local governments say it isn’t enough and officials have spent heavily to upgrade various election aspects, like new facilities and worker training. While federal grants exist, the demand far outpaces the need and in some states — like South Carolina and Wisconsin — federal dollars aren’t distributed below the state level, so costs are borne by county and municipalities’ general funds.

Cramer, who is in charge of administering elections in Charleston County, South Carolina, said the county has spent more than $500,000 since 2020 in security, plus a new building that will ultimately cost upwards of $7 million.

“Counties cover the costs of administering federal elections,” he told a senate committee while testifying earlier this year. “The federal government should pay its fair share.”

Since 2020, the election budget for Durham County, North Carolina, has surged by $1 million to $3.3 million, according to Derek Bowens, the county’s elections director. New measures include an emergency alert button system so officials can discreetly call 911, GPS tracking of critical supplies and an escort arrangement where members of the opposite party follow appointed election officials as they drop off ballots each night.

Durham also just moved into a new $26 million elections facility that’s outfitted with cameras, secure parking, bulletproof glass, arrest buttons and a mail room with a separate exhaust system.

In Philadelphia, the election budget has tripled to nearly $40 million since 2019, according to Omar Sabir, the city commissioner. They’ve upped pay for poll workers, bought new equipment and hired more security among other measures, he said. And in Georgia, another swing state, local governments are spending more on elections, including new or refurbished offices for some counties, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in an interview.

“They’re spending county dollars to make sure that their election offices are fully staffed and fully resourced financially,” Raffensperger said. “Costs have gone up, but I think that people understand that it’s critical infrastructure.”

In Dane County, Wisconsin, the most significant elections-related cost is a $20 million new facility that’s still under construction. That’s coming out of the county’s general fund. Its election budget for 2024 is $1.2 million, up from $700,000 in 2020, said Scott McDonell, the clerk for the county which Biden won in 2020, after the Trump campaign paid for, and lost, a contentious recount.

“Some people have nice, secure places for their stuff and others — their machine’s in a broom closet,” said McDonell. “The new building would change all that. We’d have one secure facility for everything.”

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

By Rachel Christian, Bankrate.com (TNS)

If you’re retired or planning to retire soon, it’s important to have a plan for your retirement income. For most people, Social Security will play a significant role in this plan, so staying up to date on the latest benefits information is crucial.

The Social Security Administration recently announced several key changes to the program for 2025, including its annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). Here are some key changes to Social Security happening next year – and what you need to know.

Watch for these 5 changes to Social Security in 2024

More than 72.5 million people depend on one of Social Security’s benefit programs, so annual changes to the program and its payouts are always highly anticipated.

This year’s cost-of-living adjustment is lower than last year’s 3.2 percent increase. Still, any additional income is a welcome boost for beneficiaries who live on fixed incomes. (If you need help developing a plan for your retirement income, you may want to consider hiring a financial advisor.)

1. Cost of living adjustment rises

The SSA has announced that benefit checks will rise 2.5 percent in 2025. The 2.5 percent adjustment will amount to an average increase of $50 in monthly benefits for retired workers on Social Security beginning in January.

Specifically, the average check for retired workers will increase from $1,927 to $1,976. For a couple with both partners receiving benefits, the estimated payment will increase from $3,014 to $3,089.

The SSA has linked COLA adjustments to the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) since 1975. To determine the COLA, the SSA compares the third-quarter CPI-W of the previous year to the third-quarter CPI-W of the current year. The COLA is then adjusted based on the percentage change in CPI-W from one year to the next.

2. Maximum taxable earnings going up

In 2024, the maximum earnings subject to Social Security taxes was $168,600. This means workers paying into the system are taxed on wages up to this amount, typically at the 6.2 percent rate. In 2025, the maximum earnings will increase to $176,100, meaning more of a worker’s income will be subject to the tax. This adjustment is due to an increase in average wages in the U.S.

3. Maximum Social Security benefit also set to increase

The maximum Social Security benefit for a worker retiring at full retirement age will increase from $3,822 in 2024 to $4,018 in 2025. This maximum applies to those retiring at the full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born after 1960.

The maximum benefit will be lower for those who retire before the full retirement age because benefits are reduced in such cases. On the flip side, those who retire after the full retirement age can increase their maximum benefit by delaying retirement.

4. Average benefit for spouses and disabled workers is increasing, too

The average benefit will increase across the board in 2025, and that includes benefits for people such as widows, widowers and the disabled. Here’s how those figures break out:

• The SSA says the average widowed mother with two children will see an increase from $3,669 to $3,761.
• Aged widows and widowers living alone will see their benefits increase from $1,788 to $1,832.
• The benefit will increase for a disabled worker with a spouse and one or more children from $2,757 to $2,826.

Of course, those are averages, and individual situations may differ.

5. Social Security adjusts earnings test exempt amounts

If you receive Social Security retirement benefits before reaching full retirement age, the program may reduce your benefits if your earnings exceed certain limits. This is known as the retirement earnings test, and it can claim a serious chunk of your benefits if you are still working. In 2025, the retirement earnings test exempt amounts will be as follows:

If you start collecting Social Security before full retirement age, you can earn up to $1,950 per month ($23,400 per year) in 2025 before the SSA will start withholding benefits, at the rate of $1 in benefits for every $2 above the limit. In 2024, the maximum exempt earnings were $1,860 per month ($22,320 per year).

In the year you reach full retirement age, this rule still applies but only up until the month you hit full retirement age and with much more forgiving terms. In 2025, you can earn up to $5,180 per month ($62,160 per year) before benefits are withheld, at the rate of $1 in benefits for every $3 earned above the limit (instead of every $2). In 2024, the threshold was $4,960 per month ($59,520 per year).

Bottom line

The 2025 Social Security COLA provides retirees and others with an increase in their benefits. However, this isn’t the only change to the program. Other levels and thresholds have also been adjusted to reflect ongoing cost increases.

(Visit Bankrate online at bankrate.com.)

©2024 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

DETROIT — Free agency technically began Thursday, but the Tigers could skip the preliminaries.

They finished the 2024 season with no free agents, so there are no early negotiations or decisions on qualifying offers to tend to. The one player with an option — a team option — is pitcher Casey Mize, but that is a mere formality.

The Tigers won’t exercise that $3.1 million option for 2025. Instead, they will pay Mize a $10,000 buyout and retain control. Mize can either re-sign or head to arbitration.

That’s not to say team president Scott Harris and his staff don’t have some decisions to make. They have until Monday to either reinstate or remove four players from the 60-day injured list to or from the 40-man roster.

The four players are shortstop Javier Báez (hip), right-handed pitchers Alex Faedo (shoulder), Sawyer Gipson-Long (Tommy John surgery) and Brendan White (elbow). Báez, Faedo and Gipson-Long are expected to be put back on the 40-man.

White, who debuted in 2023 but has struggled to stay healthy, could be designated for assignment.

Players currently on the 40-man roster who may be vulnerable include pitchers Ricky Vanasco and Bryan Sammons, and utility players Ryan Vilade and Bligh Madris.

The Tigers also have until Monday to add any potential minor-league free agents to the roster. They did so last year with pitcher Keider Montero. There are no obvious candidates this year, but here is a partial list of soon-to-be minor-league free agents:

Pitchers: Miguel Diaz, Wilkel Hernandez, Jake Higginbotham, Garrett Hill, Freddy Pacheco, Angel Reyes, Devin Sweet, Andrew Vasquez, Troy Watson, Adam Wolf.

Catchers: Eliezer Alfonso, Anthony Bemboom, Tomas Nido.

Infielder: Riley Unroe.

Outfielder: Oscar Mercado.

Andrea Castillo | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump has promised that, if reelected, he will kick out millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Trump and his surrogates have offered sparse details for how he would carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” but have cemented the goal as a top priority. What is known: The strategy would rely on military troops, friendly state and local law enforcement, and wartime powers.

“No one’s off the table,” Tom Homan, Trump’s former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in July. “If you’re in the country illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.”

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said the administration would start by deporting immigrants who have committed crimes.

At a campaign rally earlier this month in Aurora, Colo., Trump said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 “to target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”

The ex-president went on to say that he would send “elite squads” of federal law enforcement officers to “hunt down, arrest and deport” every migrant gang member. Those who attempt to return to the U.S. would be served with 10-year prison sentences without parole, he said, adding that any migrant who kills a U.S. citizen or law enforcement officer would face the death penalty.

How many people would Trump go after?

It’s unclear.

In May, Trump told Time magazine he would target 15 million to 20 million people who he said are living illegally in the U.S. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center estimates the actual number to be about 11 million as of 2022. More than 2 million people have entered the country illegally since then.

“Let’s start with 1 million,” Vance told ABC News in August.

During his entire presidency, from January 2017 to January 2021, Trump deported about 1.5 million immigrants, according to a Migration Policy Institute analysis of federal figures — far fewer than the 2 million to 3 million he speculated about deporting in a 2016 interview as president-elect. The Biden administration is on pace to match Trump’s deportation numbers.

What powers would Trump invoke to justify deportations?

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 allows the president to arrest, imprison or deport immigrants from a country considered an enemy of the U.S. during wartime. Congress passed the law as part of the Alien and Sedition Acts — four laws that tightened restrictions on foreign-born Americans and limited criticism of the government, when the country was on the brink of war with France.

The law has been used three times in American history: during the War of 1812 and World War I and after the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

During WWI, federal authorities placed 6,300 “enemy aliens” — many from Germany — into internment camps.

By the end of WWII, more than 31,000 people from Japan, Germany and Italy, as well as some Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, had been interned at camps and military facilities — in addition to the more than 100,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly relocated to the same camps and detained under different legal grounds, said Gabriel “Jack” Chin, a UC Davis professor who studies criminal and immigration law.

Chin said he isn’t convinced that Trump would make the Alien Enemies Act the cornerstone of his immigration policy because the U.S. is not in a declared war with another nation.

“It would have to rest on an argument that random immigration — that is to say immigration based on individual decisions of individual people — is the equivalent of an invasion from a nation-state,” he said. “And that would have to be based on an idea that foreigners as a group are a nation.”

Trump has also said he would deploy National Guard troops under the orders of sympathetic governors.

“If I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military,” he told Time.

Federal law limits the involvement of military troops in civilian law enforcement.

In 2018, Trump sent 5,800 active-duty troops to the southwestern border amid the arrival of a caravan of thousands of migrants from Central America. Initially the troops performed support work such as laying razor wire as a deterrent to crossing, but later the White House expanded their authority to allow them to use force and provide crowd control to protect border agents.

Last year, President Joe Biden sent 1,500 Army and Marine Corps troops to fill critical “capability gaps” at the border as the administration lifted the Title 42 border expulsions policy that Trump had invoked to turn away asylum seekers and other would-be immigrants as the COVID-19 pandemic raged.

Trump has promised to go further during a second term by recalling thousands of troops from overseas to be stationed at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has also explored using troops to assist with deportations and confronting civil unrest.

Is it legal?

Using the Alien Enemies Act, Trump could conduct rapid deportations without the typically required legal processes. He could also circumvent federal law to use military troops in a broader law enforcement capacity to carry out arrests and removals.

But speeding up the deportation process could come with catastrophic consequences, Chin said. Scores of U.S. citizens are already mistakenly deported.

“If the point of this was a roundup, U.S. citizens would be rounded up,” he said.

Katherine Yon Ebright, an attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice, argued in an analysis of the law that courts would likely avoid opining on the presence or absence of an invasion, or whether the perpetrator of the alleged invasion is a foreign nation or government.

“The courts’ hesitance to weigh in on these questions heightens the risk that Trump will invoke the Alien Enemies Act despite its clear inapplicability,” she wrote. But she added that “courts may strike down an invocation of the Alien Enemies Act under modern due process and equal protection law, justiciable grounds for checking abusive presidential action.”

Tom Jawetz, deputy general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security from 2021 to 2022, said courts tend to give deference to the president for executive determinations. But he said this one could be difficult to uphold.

“There could be opportunities for legal attack,” he said. “It sounds like they would be stretching it beyond its capacity, beyond what the text [of the law] would allow.”

Is it feasible?

Deporting millions of people would be expensive and logistically complex.

Former President Obama, who in 2013 oversaw the most deportations in a year when his administration kicked out 438,000 immigrants, relied on local police turning people over to federal immigration agents. Trump has said he would similarly rely on state and local law enforcement. But many state and local governments, including California, have since limited their cooperation with immigration agents.

Immigration courts are already overwhelmed, and more deportation cases would add to the backlog of 3.7 million cases. Lengthy delays in immigration court proceedings mean immigrants often wait years before their case is completed.

Among the rights afforded to immigrants is a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that prohibits them from being indefinitely detained if their country won’t accept them back. Countries including Venezuela and China have previously refused to cooperate with U.S. authorities on deportations.

How much would it cost?

It would cost at least $315 billion to deport the roughly 13 million people in the country illegally, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Council, a group that advocates for policies that welcome migrants. The deportation effort would require building hundreds of new detention facilities, as well as hiring hundreds of thousands of new immigration agents, judges and other staff.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s budget last year was about $9 billion. Significantly increasing its funding would require the backing of Congress — an uphill battle given current political divisions.

Jawetz said Trump could redirect funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense, like he did for construction of the border wall, and could also reassign personnel from other agencies to perform immigration enforcement tasks.

An analysis by CBS News found that it cost an estimated average of $19,599 to deport one person over the last five fiscal years after apprehension, detention, immigration court processes and transport out of the U.S. were taken into account. The average cost of repatriation only increases as more migrants arrive from distant countries such as Cameroon and China.

How are people preparing?

Mass deportation could rip apart deeply rooted families that include citizens and noncitizens, worsen labor shortages and lead to economic upset. Discussion of mass deportation alone would also sow fear in immigrant communities, as happened during Trump’s first term.

Jawetz said advocates for migrants are beginning to consider potential legal action. During Trump’s presidency, informal Signal and WhatsApp networks emerged across the country in which advocates and community members communicated real-time responses to policy changes they were seeing on the ground.

“We would hope and expect to see much of the same this time around” if Trump wins, the former Homeland Security counsel said. “If you think about it, just the level of anxiety people [would be] living under on a day-to-day basis over a period of years is pretty extraordinary.”

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

Jenny Gold | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Every week, Caitlin Scuttio stops by Target and piles her cart with pureed food pouches for her 4-year-old and twin 18-month-olds sons.

In goes a 24-pack of unsweetened applesauce. Then a 24-pack of the fruit and veggie blend. And finally, the yogurt pouches for her oldest son’s breakfast. “He’d eat six apple sauce pouches a day if I let him,” Scuttio said.

Total monthly pouch budget: $200.

“They have such a choke hold on my family. I can’t imagine our grocery list without it at this point,” she said. “We are definitely a pouch family.”

And they aren’t alone. Sales of food pouches — soft bags with plastic spouts for easy consumption — have increased 900% since 2010, overtaking jarred purees as the predominant baby food on the market. Parents generally spoon-feed jars of pureed foods for a few months in the first year of life when introducing solids, but pouches marketed to parents of toddlers and older children have prolonged pureed food eating by years.

While the occasional pouch can be part of a healthy diet, doctors and nutritionists are raising concerns that an overreliance on pouches can interfere with nutrition, long-term food preferences, dental hygiene and even speech and language development. And marketing practices can leave parents confused about what’s actually inside the packages.

“Pouches are highly processed foods,” said Dr. Steven Abrams, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. “They certainly serve as a quick snack, but we need to make sure that pouches don’t make up too much of a toddler’s diet. We want kids to learn to chew and eat foods like meat, and fruits and vegetables that are not processed.”

What’s inside varies greatly — some contain only fruit, while others have a mix of vegetables, grains, yogurt and even meat. Whereas many jarred foods contain a single ingredient like pureed peas or carrots, pouches are more often a blend that features a sweet fruit such as apple or pear as the primary ingredient.

A 2019 study found that infant and toddler food in pouches contained significantly more sugar per serving than foods available in other forms of packaging.

To be sure, there is not an epidemic of children who don’t know how to chew. But Dr. Mark Corkins, a pediatric gastroenterologist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on nutrition, said he sometimes sees children who are so reliant on the smooth, sweet taste of pouches that they have developed food and texture aversions and refuse to eat regular fruits or vegetables.

“In the long run we’re going to pay for it,” he said.

Why are baby food pouches so popular?

Pouches are convenient: Unlike glass jars, they don’t shatter when dropped and toddlers can suck down the slurry without help from a caregiver.

“It is so dang hard to be a parent of young children in the U.S. Having [pouches] on an airplane, having them in the car — it is so convenient that I would never take that away from parents. I used pouches with my children,” said Bridget Young, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

“The industry has gone from jars to pouches because it’s more cost-effective and convenient,” said Dr. Tanya Altmann, a pediatrician in Calabasas and author of the book What to Feed Your Baby. But it’s what’s inside that’s important, and “not all pouches are created equal.”

As a tool, she said, pouches “can be a contributor to a family’s nutrition,” but not a prime source. Those without added sugars or salt may even have advantages over other processed snacks.

Heidi Martinez, a mother of three in Pittsburg, Calif., said she always buys the pouches with at least one vegetable. As her oldest son goes through “picky stages, I like that he is still getting some kale and beets,” she said. “I don’t know that they’re actually healthier but I feel better about it.”

At the age of 7, he eats two to three pouches a day.

Manufacturers appeal to parents by marketing a pouch as “all natural,” “organic” or containing vegetables.

But the advertising on the front of a pouch doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s inside. A green pouch advertised as broccoli-pear might turn out to be little more than pear puree. And a pouch labeled something like turkey dinner “might be apple sauce with a whisper of turkey,” Young said. “And there’s nothing wrong with apple sauce. But there is something wrong when you think you’re feeding your child turkey.”

Parents of picky eaters may be particularly vulnerable to this kind of marketing.

“It’s kind of the perfect storm, when the child is transitioning to solids and trying new foods,” said Fran Fleming-Milici, director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut. “You’re not sure of the nutrition that the child is getting.

Martinez said the real appeal, however, is the pouch itself. She considers pouches to be in the same category as a smoothie or yogurt, but in an easy to-go form.

The slippery slope of sweet, smooth purees

The early years of a child’s life are crucial for developing lifelong healthy eating habits. Babies are born with a preference for sweet foods, said Jill Castle, a pediatric dietitian in Massachusetts and author of the book “Kids Thrive at Every Size.” Typically, a child must be repeatedly introduced to various foods to get them used to different textures and flavors, such as the taste of vegetables.

Fruit puree can disguise the taste of vegetables, reinforcing sweetness, Castle said.

If a child’s diet consists mostly of pouches, “when you actually give them chopped-up carrot and peas that roll around the plate, they’re not used to that at all,” and may refuse it, said Daisy Coyle, who researches pouches at the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, Australia.

Ideally, lumpy textures should be introduced as early as possible so the child can learn to use their tongue and jaw to manipulate and swallow food, a process that requires 30 different muscles to work together, said Susan Greenberg, a speech pathologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “We think it’s a natural process, but it’s like learning to walk,” she said.

A variety of textures is also crucial to developing a child’s long-term food preferences. “If you prolong purees and don’t introduce lumpy foods by 10 months, we have evidence that by 15 months and even 7 years, it influences food acceptance,” Greenberg said.

The full sensory experience of eating food is also important, she added — getting messy, using spoons, fingers and tiny fists to squish food and smear on a highchair and face.

Dentists also have concerns about what pouches mean for oral hygiene. Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez, director of the UCLA Center for Children’s Oral Health, said the way purees such as apple sauce stick to the teeth is different from eating an actual apple, and it sits on a child’s teeth before being washed. This prolonged exposure increases the acidity of the mouth, erodes the teeth and causes cavities.

But it’s all a matter of moderation, Greenberg said. “Pouches are easy, and we live in a world that’s really busy these days. I think we can all agree that it’s not a bad thing. It just can’t replace the other things.”

Do toddlers really need their own special food?

By about 12 months old, typically developing children do not need pureed food. “It was always a goal to get kids off of purees by 9 months and get them onto table food,” Castle said. “By 1 year, you’re sitting at the table with your family, and you’re eating what the whole family is eating.”

Toddlers and young children can eat most anything that an adult can eat, as long as it’s cut or prepared in a way that’s appropriate for their eating skills and doesn’t make it a choking hazard.

But brands have invented a whole new, lucrative category of toddler foods, from pouches and teething crackers to bars and puffs, Fleming-Milici said.

The major pouch manufacturers — including Gerber, Plum Organics and Happy Family Organics — did not respond to requests for comment from The Times.

In the last 12 months, American families have spent more than $466 million on baby food pouches, according to data from the market research firm NIQ.

The “Wild West” of the baby food aisle

As opposed to the tightly regulated U.S. infant formula sector, baby and toddler foods do not have their own special marketing and production rules; they are subject to the same requirements as adult foods.

“The baby food market is like the Wild West,” Castle said.

The World Health Organization came up with its own nonbinding set of standards for baby food, which included limits on fat, sugar and sodium. It also requires clear labeling of ingredients and prohibits the use of health, nutrition and marketing claims on the packaging.

A study by Coyle earlier this year published in the journal Nutrients found 60% of the baby or toddler food products for sale at the top 10 grocery stores in the U.S. failed to meet the WHO nutritional recommendations. Almost all packages included at least one prohibited marketing claim, and some had as many as 11.

Earlier this year, the FDA recalled 3 million cinnamon applesauce pouches that contained extremely high levels of lead, after dozens of children across the United States were found to be suffering from lead poisoning. The FDA does not currently set heavy-metal limits or require baby food manufacturers to test for them.

“We really need to have some U.S.-based regulations, or decide we’re following the World Health Organization’s regulations. But there needs to be more tight control,” Castle said. “These are some of our youngest, most vulnerable members of our population.”

Instead of blaming families for overusing pouches, she said, new regulations, healthier ingredients that target key nutrients, and more transparent advertising are needed. “Even just having more pouches that are predominantly veggie based and less sweet would be a really positive change,” she said.

How to see through marketing pitches

To select the healthiest pouches, nutritionist Young recommends ignoring the advertising on the front of the package — including the name of the product.

Instead, flip to the back, where the ingredients are listed in order of how much is in the package, and look for pouches that list the veggies first. A pouch that lists apple first probably will be mostly applesauce.

Beth Saltz, a pediatric dietitian in Woodland Hills, said a general rule of thumb is to make sure that all of the ingredients listed could be sold in the grocery store. If the ingredients include things such as “organic tapioca starch” or “pea protein isolate,” or even natural coloring, you might reconsider.

“A little toddler does not need those,” she said.

This article is part of The Times’ early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to latimes.com/earlyed .

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

Christi Carras | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

Former “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” staffers have filed employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation complaints against Sony Pictures Entertainment after the Culver City, California-based company allegedly laid off workers who spoke out against toxic working conditions.

Shelley Ballance Ellis, a former production executive on the game shows, and Monique Diaz, a former member of the series’ clearance and licensing department, each filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on Thursday. They previously filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board over similar issues.

Sony Pictures denied that any of its decisions were retaliatory, attributing the layoffs to a broader reorganization.

“Sony Pictures Entertainment takes all allegations of discrimination very seriously,” the studio said in a statement. “Earlier this year there was a broad reorganization of our game show group that resulted in the elimination of several roles to address redundancies and evolving business needs of a 40+-year-old operation. Those eliminations were business efficiency decisions and not retaliatory.”

Ballance Ellis identifies herself in her complaint as the highest ranking Black production executive at “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” as well as the head of the shows’ clearance and licensing department for 26 years. She has accused Sony of terminating her and “every diverse person” on her team because they repeatedly raised concerns about discrimination in the workplace.

Diaz was among the employees who were laid off in April. She alleges in her complaint that her employment ended after she complained about being paid significantly less than a white employee who was newly hired into a less senior role.

According to the filing, the white staff member’s annual salary was $125,000 while Diaz was making $75,000. Sony allegedly raised Diaz’s annual salary to $113,000 following her protests.

“Both workers allege they and their colleagues were terminated because they objected to racial discrimination in the workplace, the massive pay inequity Ms. Diaz experienced, the glass ceiling and other bias Ms. Ballance Ellis faced as an older Black woman,” the ex-employees’ attorneys, Hillary Benham-Baker and Peter Romer-Friedman, said Thursday in a press release.

Ballance Ellis further alleges in her complaint that after she, Diaz and their colleagues were let go, Sony replaced them with mostly younger white employees.

In addition to pay inequities and discriminatory employment practices, Ballance Ellis and Diaz also say that they and their colleagues objected to footage of Southern plantations aired on “Wheel of Fortune”; racist remarks made in the workplace and in the “Wheel of Fortune” control room about Black women on the show; and racially biased “Jeopardy!” clues, among other offensive things.

Ballance Ellis added in her unfair labor practice charge that those experiences caused her and her colleagues emotional and psychological distress, as well as economic harm.

“The past few years have been a time of significant transition and internal reorienting for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, driven by a new leadership team who are profoundly dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect,” Sony said in its statement. “We are anchored to these values as we usher in a new era for our game shows with tenacity and circumspection.”

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

Max Kim, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

SEOUL, South Korea — You’d be hard pressed to find anyone here who had anticipated that Han Kang would be awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in literature, the world’s highest literary honor.

Although the South Korean novelist had already tallied up a number of other prestigious international accolades and is widely read here, she is 53, and the award traditionally favors writers in the twilight of their careers.

“I thought that she might win it one day, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon,” said Jeong Kwa-ri, a literary critic and former professor of Korean literature at Yonsei University, Han’s alma mater. “Most of the South Korean writers who have been seen as top contenders are in their 70s and 80s.”

Recognized last week by the Swedish Academy “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life,” Han is the first Asian woman to win the literature Nobel in its 123-year-old history and the second South Korean Nobel laureate. Then-President Kim Dae-jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his diplomacy with North Korea.

Han has kept a low profile following the win, reportedly refusing a celebration her father planned, citing the wars still raging in Gaza and Ukraine. But the rest of the country has been abuzz with “Han Kang Syndrome.”

As of Tuesday, the country’s book retailers have reported more than 800,000 sales of Han’s works and expect to hit the 1 million mark by the end of the week. Stores, dealing with long lines, are rapidly selling out, and printing presses have been working around the clock to produce more.

Han, who was born in 1970 in the city of Gwangju, comes from a literary family. Her father is Han Sung-won, a famous novelist who has cheerfully noted that his daughter’s stature has eclipsed his own.

“It used to be that Han Kang was known as Han Sung-won’s daughter, but now I’ve become Han Sung-won, the father of Han Kang,” he said in an interview in 2016.

Many of Han’s novels are intimate portraits of violence inflicted on ordinary lives, spanning both South Korea’s long history of authoritarian rule and the feminist struggles of the present.

Among her best-known works in South Korea is “Human Acts,” a novel about the Chun Doo-hwan military dictatorship’s massacre of civilians in 1980 following pro-democracy protests in the city of Gwangju.

Public debate about the massacre has long been an irritant for South Korean conservatives, who have at times sought to downplay the government’s role or promoted conspiracy theories that the protests were an act of North Korean subterfuge.

Under the conservative administration of former President Park Geun-hye, the daughter of another military dictator, Han was placed on a blacklist in 2014, barring her from receiving government support, along with other creatives deemed to be ideologically undesirable.

Told through multiple perspectives, “Human Acts” draws inspiration from real-life figures, including Moon Jae-hak, a high school student who was shot to death by junta forces deployed to Gwangju.

“I was so happy that I thought my heart would stop,” Kim Kil-ja, Moon’s mother, said of Han’s Nobel in an interview with local media. “Her book has managed to spread the truth about the incident to the world.”

Han’s own recommendation for those just diving into her work is “We Do Not Part,” a novel that explores a civilian massacre the South Korean government committed on the island of Jeju in 1948, a period of anti-communist paranoia. The English translation of the novel, which won France’s Prix Médicis award last year, is due in January 2025.

But the most famous — and notorious — of Han’s oeuvre is “The Vegetarian,” a darkly surreal tale about a woman who spirals into madness after vowing to give up meat. Lauded as a parable about female resistance against patriarchal South Korean society, the novel won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, an honor shared by Han and her British translator, Deborah Smith.

But the award placed the book at the center of a fierce debate about literary translations. Critics said the award-winning English translation by Smith, who had only started learning Korean a few years earlier, not only committed basic errors — such as confusing the Korean word for “foot” with “arm” — but altered the text far beyond the acceptable parameters of translation.

“Translations of Korean literature have long suffered from many obstacles, with more ‘pure’ translations failing to find success,” Jeong, the literary critic, said.

The question has long preoccupied the country’s literary scene, which has watched South Korea’s film and television industries produce worldwide hits like “Parasite” or “Squid Game” while wondering why South Korean books have failed to capture the same level of global interest.

“As a result of that, there has been an increasing tendency in translation to overlook disfigurations of the original text in favor of conforming to foreign readers’ tastes,” Jeong said. “‘The Vegetarian’ is a prime example of that.”

Writing for The Times in 2016, Charse Yun, a Korean American literary translator, acknowledged Smith’s “exquisite” sentences but said that the translation had “morphed into a ‘new creation.’”

“I find it hard to come up with an adequate analogy, but imagine the plain, contemporary style of Raymond Carver being garnished with the elaborate diction of Charles Dickens,” he wrote.

Defending her work in an essay for the Los Angeles Review of Books in 2018, Smith, who has translated two more of Han’s books, argued that, given the differences in any two languages, “there can be no such thing as a translation that is not ‘creative.’”

For many critics, the translation question is still an open one. But for better or worse, Han’s latest and most prestigious honor has now cemented the playbook for Korean literature’s global success.

Despite his doubts about Smith’s translation, Yun today sees plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

“The field was greatly opened and more people were able to access Korean literature,” Yun said of Han’s global rise.

“I’m just happy for my former students and other talented translators out there that now have an opportunity to bring other Korean voices to the field.”

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

Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

DIXON, Calif. — Deep inside one of the world’s largest corn mazes, where the tri-tip sandwiches and soft-serve ice cream purchased at the concession stand have become but a memory and all that can be seen in any direction are dirt paths and dead-end walls of green plants whispering in the breeze, people tend to reveal themselves.

From humble beginnings with a not-very-impressive pumpkin patch two decades ago, a farming family in this Solano County town decided to move into the corn maze game, hoping to have some seasonal fun and earn a little extra cash. And then, fueled by corny ambition and creative use of Excel spreadsheets, the Cooley family of Dixon went big. Really big.

Their Cool Patch Pumpkins corn maze has caused traffic back-ups on Interstate 80. It has prompted a frenzy of 911 calls to the Solano County Sheriff’s Department from people who find themselves lost in the labyrinth. It has twice earned a Guinness World Record as the world’s largest corn maze. And in doing so, it has become “a big part” of the farm’s revenue, according to Tayler Cooley, despite the vast acreage the family farms year-round.

Over the years, the maze has also served as a towering 60-acre experiment in human psychology.

“You can learn a lot” about a person from how they behave in a corn maze, said Brett Herbst, who said he built the first one west of the Mississippi in 1996, and now has a company, the Maize, that designs and builds them each fall for farmers around the country. (Cool Patch is not one of his customers.)

Some people, it turns out, approach a hokey seasonal activity as they would an Olympic race: Speed is the goal. They grip their paper maps with tight fingers and fierce concentration. They blast around corners of corn, barely dodging small children. Woe to anyone in their group who wants to take a rest.

Others like to wander. They turn this way and that through the rustling 10-foot stalks, laughing when they get lost, and pausing for chats, snacks and selfies atop the four elevated bridges that connect different parts of the maze.

Sit quietly amongst the ears of corn, and it becomes easy to spot who is who:

“Guys, pick up the pace,” a young woman from UC Davis screamed at her companions as they ran by on a recent afternoon, explaining that they were racing against another group and could not pause to talk.

Contrast that with Amari Moore, 22, of Sacramento, who was taking a nice long break at one of the bridges. “I’m getting a little tired,” she said.

And then — and there is no nice way to put this — there are the cheaters. These are the people who, despairing of finding their way out honestly, simply smash and bash their way through the corn willy-nilly.

Or, those who lose all hope of escape and in their panic call 911 to plead for rescue from sheriff’s deputies. (The dispatchers tend to counsel waiting for help from on site — or taking the cheater’s route out.)

Mazes and labyrinths have been around for thousands of years. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur — with the head of a bull and body of a man — was imprisoned at the center of a labyrinth in Crete and ate anyone who couldn’t find their way out. Theseus managed to kill the Minotaur, but still needed help from a princess to escape.

The farm town of Dixon, population 19,000, made its mark in mazes about 20 years ago — about the time corn mazes began to take off across the U.S. thanks to new computer programming that helps farmers plot out massive labyrinths with a sinuous web of passageways.

Matt Cooley, a second-generation farmer of walnuts, tomatoes, sunflowers, wheat and alfalfa, decided to grow a few pumpkins for Halloween and sell them by the side of the road. Then, someone gave him the idea to create a maze.

The Cool Patch maze, which rises from the flatlands near Interstate 80 just before the Sacramento Valley rolls up into the Vaca Mountains, got ever larger and more creative. Tayler Cooley, Matt’s daughter-in-law, is the designer. Each year, it has a theme. This year, the words “A House Divided Shall Not Stand” are carved into the corn, along with “God Bless America.” Is it a comment on the coming election, and the country’s profoundly divided electorate?

“This year we encourage our visitors and society as a whole to band together for the greater good of our nation,” the Cooley family explains on the Cool Patch website.

In recent years, the farm has also become famous for a symbol that people can get behind no matter their political persuasion: the minions of the “Despicable Me” film franchise. In recent years, one of the farm’s employees, Juan Ramirez, has crafted giant minions out of hay bales that are visible from the freeway.

Some scholars think mazes embody paradoxes. And it may be a paradox of modern agriculture that the Cooleys’ farm is not the only one that now brings in a substantial portion of its income from a maze that sprouts for only a few weeks each autumn. (The corn from the maze is harvested in November, Tayler Cooley said, and becomes animal feed.)

Farming is a tough business, especially for small- and medium-sized farms, which can be rocked by the weather and fluctuations in commodities pricing and fuel costs.

When it comes to agritourism, corn mazes once lurked in the shadows of pumpkin patches, U-pick berry operations and apple orchard hayrides. But, perhaps because of those mythic roots and their ability to test the human psyche, they’ve exploded in popularity.

Herbst, founder of the Maize, said the first commercial corn maze he knows of was grown by a farmer in the early 1990s. Herbst built his own in 1996. These days, his company prepares maze designs for hundreds of farms. For an additional charge, his crew will carve out the maze.

“Corn maze has become a staple word for October, just like pumpkins,” he said.

In 2023, according to Guiness, a farmer in Quebec usurped Cool Patch for the title to world’s largest maze. But for the thousands of people who now view a trip to Dixon as one of their autumn rituals, it hardly matters.

“I grew up coming here,” said Becca Invanusich, 32, who was visiting on a recent Saturday from Santa Rosa with her fiance and two friends.

As a child, her maze style was to cheat: “I would just shoot right through it,” she said, gesturing to the rows of corn.

But as an adult, she said, she savors the mental challenge. Her group planned to solve the puzzle, no matter how long it took.

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