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Double-baked sweet potatoes great marathon fuel

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

Like a lot of runners, I ate a lot of sweet potatoes back when I was training for distance events that required a diet full of healthy carbs and muscle-loving antioxidants. Even now that I don’t run so long or so far, I still love the orange-fleshed tubers because they’re so easy to prepare, play well with other ingredients and are a relatively inexpensive source of stuff that’s good for the body such as beta carotene and vitamin C.Usually, it’s enough to simple-slice them into fat wedges and then roast in a hot oven with a little salt and paprika. When I’m in the mood for something a little more filling but still vegetarian, I mash the insides after baking and slicing the potatoes in half, add some spices and other ingredients, and then spoon the mashed filling back inside the shells for a second bake.Maybe you’re training for the Boston Marathon event on April 17 or simply like the idea of eating vegetarian on occasion. This double-baked sweet p...

Classic sandwich gets vegan twist

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

The bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, commonly known as the BLT, is a classic. People who avoid meat for health or other reasons can enjoy the essence of a BLT in a wholesome sandwich full of tasty ingredients all their own. A Tempeh, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich (TLT)  is a worthy stand-in for the traditional BLT.Toasted bread and tempeh add bite to the sandwich and tangy mustard gives it an extra kick. Try this recipe, courtesy of “The Contented Vegan” (Head of Zeus) by Peggy Brusseau. Tempeh,TAG GOES HERETempeh, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich (TLT)INGREDIENTS1 tablespoon untoasted sesame oil3 1/2 ounces tempeh, cut into slices no more than 1/2 inch thick2 slices favorite bread1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil1 teaspoon favorite mustard2 lettuce leaves1 tomato, slicedDash of tamari and/or hot sauceDIRECTIONSHeat the oil in a frying pan (skillet) set over medium heat. Add the tempeh slices to the pan and cook for about 7 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown, ...

Cornerback Trayvon Mullen returning to Ravens on one-year deal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

Trayvon Mullen will be returning to the Ravens next season.The 25-year-old cornerback — who was claimed off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys in January and is a cousin of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s — has agreed to a one-year deal, his agent Kevin Conner confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. No other terms were disclosed.“Baltimore know what time it is, my journey not finished” Mullen tweeted Tuesday night.Mullen, a second-round draft pick out of Clemson by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019, did not appear in any games for Baltimore last season. He did, however, play in eight games for the Cardinals after being traded by the Raiders to Arizona before the season.The Cardinals released Mullen in December and he was claimed off waivers by the Cowboys, suiting up for Dallas in Week 18. He had a combined 16 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defended between the two teams.Mullen, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound corner who was the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the 2019 Co...

Moore: Death taxes are immoral – and they don’t work

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

“I have no respect for the passion of equality,” Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., one of America’s great jurists, once declared, “which seems to me merely idealizing envy.”But envy, and its sister vice, greed, are very much back in fashion today when it comes to the progressive Left. Just listen to President Joe Biden, who wants $2 trillion of new taxes, mostly paid by millionaires, so that the rich will “pay their fair share.” In seven blue states, including California, Illinois and New York, new wealth taxes and higher income tax rates on people such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Taylor Swift have been proposed by liberal lawmakers.Biden said billionaires aren’t “paying their fair share” and shouldn’t be paying a lower tax rate than a firefighter. That’s a ridiculous claim. The richest 1% of Americans pay 42% of the income taxes in America. That’s near an all-time record high.The Tax Foundation reports tha...

Silverglate: A proposal for simple, effective police reform

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

The current avalanche of proposals for police reform, in the wake of tragic deaths of civilians, often racial minorities, at the hands of law enforcement officers got me thinking back to a proposal that I devised during the Vietnam War (1955-75).Back then, I represented many conscientious objectors – those who refused induction into the military (at that time there was military conscription, or “the draft”) on a ground not recognized as supporting an exemption from service, ordinarily granted only to religiously-based conscientious objectors. That exemption was later broadened, but it never covered mere political objections to a particular war. Those refusing induction without a qualifying exemption were indicted.When it came time for sentencing, most federal judges were hesitant to incarcerate these men. I, and other defense lawyers, kept many of our clients out of prison by proposing to judges that, in lieu of military service, and instead of incarceration, our clients be sentence...

Editorial: Another minimum wage hike bad for biz

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

Raising the minimum wage is either a great idea or a terrible one, depending on which side of the paycheck you’re on.For workers and their advocates, the minimum wage can’t be high enough. As State House News reported,  polling suggests statewide support for another minimum wage hike. A whopping 59% of Bay State voters said they would support raising the minimum wage here to $20 an hour compared to 33% who are opposed and 7% who are undecided, according to the results of a new poll shared first with MASSterList.Considering that the current minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15 an hour (the fourth-highest in the country), that’s a 33% raise. Who wouldn’t want that, especially as costs are rising?It takes nearly $18 as of November 2022 to buy what $15 bought in June 2018, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.You know who’s also impacted by rising costs? Businesses, especially small ones, restaurants, and virtually anyone who has payroll cost...

Dear Abby: A reminder for parents – words matter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

Dear Abby: While shopping at the mall, I have seen too many stressed-out parents ignore or yell at their children. It certainly isn’t helpful. It isn’t how I was raised or how I raised mine. Years ago, I saw a poem in your column that addressed the ramifications of bad parenting versus good parenting. From what I’ve been seeing, you should print it again. Thank you. — Janet F. in MinnesotaDear Janet:  I know the poem you are referring to and I agree it sends an important message for parents. It’s one of many profound poems and essays included in my “Keepers” booklet, which was compiled because so many readers requested reprints of their favorites. Read on:Children Learn What They LiveBy Dorothy Law NolteIf a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemnIf a child lives with hostility, he learns to fightIf a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shyIf a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guiltyIf a child lives with tolerance, h...

Honduras will seek ties with China, spurning Taiwan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras President Xiomara Castro announced Tuesday that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China, which would imply severing relations with Taiwan. The switch would leave Taiwan recognized by only 13 countries as China spends billions to win recognition for its “One China” policy.Castro said on her Twitter account that she instructed Honduran Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Reina to start negotiations with China and that her intention is “expand frontiers freely in concert with the nations of the world.”Castro said during her presidential campaign in 2021 that she would look for ties with China if elected, but once in power, her government backtracked on those comments. In January 2022, the foreign affairs minister told The Associated Press that Honduras would continue strengthening ties with Taiwan and that establishing a diplomatic relationship with China was not a priority for Castro.Reina, the Foreign Affairs Minister, ...

Clashes erupt in Pakistan as police try to arrest Imran Khan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Clashes between Pakistan’s police and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan persisted outside his home in the eastern city of Lahore on Wednesday, a day after officers went to arrest him for failing to appear in court on graft charges.The police operation triggered clashes between Khan’s supporters and police in the country’s major cities, including Karachi, Islamabad, the garrison city of Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta and elsewhere in Pakistan.For the past 18 hours, police were firing tear gas at the house as the 70-year-old opposition leader’s supporters hurled rocks and bricks at the officers. The upscale area of Zaman Park where Khan lives was under siege since Tuesday. The government was sending additional police to tackle the situation after hundreds of Khan’s supporters showed unexpected perseverance.Early Wednesday, Khan emerged from his house to meet with his supporters, who faced tear gas and police batons the w...

New Mexico enacts law to keep guns away from children

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:51 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill Friday that makes it a crime to store firearms in places that children could access.The new law takes effect on June 16. Earlier this year, a 6-year-old student in Virginia shot his teacher, which added to debates across the country about gun control and school safety.The New Mexico bill would make it a crime to store a firearm in a way that negligently disregards the ability of a child or teenager under age 18 to access it. Criminal charges could be brought only if the minor later brandishes or displays the firearm in a threatening way, or uses it to kill or injure someone. The proposal would establish both misdemeanor and felony crimes, with penalties of up to 18 months in prison.Criminal provisions do not apply if a child accesses a gun with authorization of a parent or guardian for lawful purposes including hunting and recreation. The law also includes exceptions when a child accesses a gun for self-defen...