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Raise a glass to bounty from N.E. distilleries

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

New England is at the center of the craft distillery revolution. A decade ago, homegrown vodkas and whiskeys were a rare find. Now you can make your favorite classic cocktails by shopping locally. So let’s do that.I took a deep dive into a dozen standout spirits from around New England to make batches of no-frills classics (and added a couple frills when called for). Combine these bottles of booze with your favorite recipes – unless noted, I mixed up these cocktails using standard recipes.GlenPharmer Bog CosmopolitanGlenPharmer’s cleverly titled cranberry vodka, Bog, may spur a new Cosmo craze. The drink most often associated with “Sex in the City” may actually have Cape Cod roots – popular myth links the tasty, tart creation to Provincetown and the Cape Codder cocktail. GlenPharmer only enhances the Mass. connection by using cranberries from Decas Farm in Carver to make Bog. Use the flavored vodka in place of citron vodka and cranberry juice in your favorite Cosmo recipe for a drin...

Grandma’s Apple Pie a delicious slice of Americana

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

The phrase “as American as apple pie” may lead one to believe that this classic dessert originated somewhere in the Americas. But this beloved dessert actually traces its origins to Europe. In fact, apples aren’t even native to North America, according to experts. Apple pie is categorized alongside baseball and Coca-Cola¨ as truly American, but even though it was brought over to the colonies with settlers, it wasn’t until the 20th century that the treat was established as a symbol of national pride. By then, this apple-filled pastry had cemented itself in popular cuisine, and has since been replicated and reimagined in more ways than one might imagine.Most families have an apple pie recipe that they love. This recipe for “Grandma’s Apple Pie,” courtesy of the Vancouver-based food recipe blog, Spend with Pennies, by Holly Nilsson is one to add to your culinary repertoire.TAG GOES HEREGrandma’s Apple PieINGREDIENTSDouble Crust Pie Pastry...

Dear Abby: He’s intimidated by lovers from her past

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m a 50-year-old man who has been divorced twice. The last one was two years and eight months ago. Last year, I met a wonderful woman, and we have been dating and building a beautiful relationship together. A month ago, I proposed to her, and she accepted.Everything is going great, but I’m intimidated by all the men she has been with prior to us. She had a lot of toxic relationships and was sexually active with a lot of different men. When we have sex, she tells me I’m not assertive enough and she wants me to be more aggressive. It makes me feel like she isn’t happy with me sexually and she will sooner or later look outside our relationship.Am I right to feel this way? I don’t want to be in a relationship that will end because of our sex life. What should I do? — Feeling Inadequate in UtahDear Feeling Inadequate: Good sex has everything to do with open communication between the partners. Your lady friend’s past isn’t a prob...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy: Any Russian victory could be perilous

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

ON A TRAIN FROM SUMY TO KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Tuesday that unless his nation wins a drawn-out battle in a key eastern city, Russia could begin building international support for a deal that could require Ukraine to make unacceptable compromises. He also invited the leader of China, long aligned with Russia, to visit.If Bakhmut fell to Russian forces, their president, Vladimir Putin, would “sell this victory to the West, to his society, to China, to Iran,” Zelenskyy said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.“If he will feel some blood — smell that we are weak — he will push, push, push,” Zelenskyy said in English, which he used for virtually all of the interview. The Ukrainian leader spoke to the AP aboard a train shuttling him across Ukraine, to cities near some of the fiercest fighting and others where his country’s forces have successfully repelled Russia’s invasion. The AP is the first news organization to travel ...

Takeaways from AP’s interview with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

ON BOARD A TRAIN FROM SUMY TO KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A team of journalists from The Associated Press spent two days traveling by train with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he visited the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, which still faces regular shelling from Russian forces, and northern towns in the Sumy region that were liberated shortly after the war began a year ago.The AP is the first news organization to travel extensively with Zelenskyy since the war began. Here are some takeaways from an interview with Zelenskyy as he returned to Kyiv late Tuesday.WESTERN WEAPONSThroughout much of the war, Ukraine’s military has been bolstered by billions of dollars of ammunition and weaponry from Western nations. Zelenskyy welcomed the help but said some of the promised weapons had not yet been delivered.“We have great decisions about Patriots, but we don’t have them for real,” he said, referring to the U.S.-made air defense system.Ukrainian soldiers have received training ...

Alabama police officer killed, another wounded

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama police officer was killed, and another critically wounded, after being shot Tuesday evening by a man who was captured after barricading himself inside an apartment, Huntsville Police Department officials said. Deputy Police Chief Michael Johnson told news outlets that a woman called 911 Tuesday afternoon and reported that she had been shot. Officers arriving at the scene found the shooting victim, whose injuries are not life-threatening. The suspect fired at the two officers, hitting them both, and barricaded himself inside an apartment. The officers were transported to a hospital where one died from his injuries and the other underwent emergency surgery and is in critical condition, city officials said in a news release. The suspect was apprehended a little more than an hour later and transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the city said. “This is a devastating loss for our department, the Huntsville community and the stat...

Poll: Cut federal spending – but not big-ticket programs

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the federal budget standoff, the majority of U.S. adults are asking lawmakers to pull off the impossible: Cut the overall size of government, but also devote more money to the most popular and expensive programs.Six in 10 U.S. adults say the government spends too much money. But majorities also favor more funding for infrastructure, health care and Social Security — the kind of commitments that would make efforts to shrink the government unworkable and politically risky ahead of the 2024 elections.These findings from a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show just how messy the financial tug-of-war between President Joe Biden and House Republicans could be. At stake is the full faith and credit of the federal government, which could default on its obligations unless there is a deal this summer to raise or suspend the limit on the government’s borrowing authority.Biden this month proposed a budget that would trim deficit...

Hawaii authorities say 33 swimmers were harassing dolphins

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii authorities on Tuesday say they have referred 33 people to U.S. law enforcement after the group allegedly harassed a pod of wild dolphins in waters off the Big Island. It’s against federal law to swim within 50 yards (45 meters) of spinner dolphins in Hawaii’s nearshore waters. The prohibition went into effect in 2021 amid concerns that so many tourists were swimming with dolphins that the nocturnal animals weren’t getting the rest they need during the day to be able to forage for food at night.The rule applies to areas within 2 nautical miles (3.7 kilometers) of the Hawaiian Islands and in designated waters surrounded by the islands of Lanai, Maui and Kahoolawe.The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a news release that its enforcement officers came upon the 33 swimmers in Honaunau Bay on Sunday during a routine patrol.Aerial footage shot by drone shows snorkelers following dolphins as they swim away. The department said its video and...

Predators motivated to bring joy to Nashville after shooting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Predators defenceman Ryan McDonagh and his teammates were motivated to do more than just beat the Boston Bruins in their NHL game Tuesday night.The Predators wanted to bring a brief bit of joy to the city of Nashville a day after a fatal grade school shooting that left six dead, including three children.McDonagh said it wasn’t just another game as the Predators beat the NHL-leading Bruins 2-1.“We felt like we needed to go out and do our job the best we could and sacrifice and leave it all out there and just try to maybe bring a little bit of inspiration to the city of Nashville,” McDonagh said.McDonagh has three daughters: Falan, Murphy and Nola — all under 9 years old. The whole incident hit hard.“Quite frankly there are really no words that you can say after what went on yesterday in Nashville,” he said. “Just a tragedy for those families and everybody affected. You don’t really realize it until you have kids of your own and the perspective. It hits you.”He didn’t fl...

Basic training without yelling: Army recruits get 2nd chance

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:23:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last August, Daysia Holiday decided to try one more time to join the Army.She’d taken the academic test and failed three times. So, when she was offered a slot in a new Army prep course to help improve her scores and qualify for basic training, she jumped at the chance.Seven months later, Pvt. 2nd Class Holiday is a proud graduate of Army basic training, and is finishing her advanced instruction at Fort Lee, Virginia, to become a power generation specialist who will maintain engines and other equipment for the service.Holiday is an early beneficiary of the new program, which gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards. In place for only eight months, it is already making a significant difference for both the Army and those who want to serve in it. So far, 5,400 soldiers have made it through the prep course since it started in August at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. That’s an important boost s...