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Book Review: ‘SNL’ star Leslie Jones drops raw memoir mixed with life advice

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

Leslie Jones wants to set one thing straight in her memoir: She is undeniable. The word pops up 11 times in the book. Indefatigable is another good word to describe a comic whose career didn’t really take off until she joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” at the age of 47, though perhaps it’s too many syllables for a standup routine.Jones’ memoir, “Leslie F(asterisk)cking Jones,” which takes the name on her Memphis, Tennessee, birth certificate, Annette Leslie Jones, and drops the first name she never liked while adding her favorite adjective in the middle, is like her comedy — no-holds-barred. The focus is not on how Jones survived child abuse or racism or sexism, just that she did, she’s here now, and the world better shut up and listen to her. Even if they don’t, she’s not going to stop speaking her truth, even when it sometimes paints her in an awful light.“One day, when I was probably around five,” writes Jones, “I was walking through the trailer park… and I saw a puppy jus...

Inside scientists’ mission to save America’s wine industry from climate change

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

ALPINE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. West Coast produces over 90% of America’s wine, but the region is also prone to wildfires — a combustible combination that spelled disaster for the industry in 2020 and one that scientists are scrambling to neutralize.Sample a good wine and you might get notes of oak or red fruit. But sip on wine made from grapes that were penetrated by smoke, and it could taste like someone dumped the contents of an ashtray into your glass.Wine experts from three West Coast universities are working together to meet the threat, including developing spray coatings to protect grapes, pinpointing the elusive compounds that create that nasty ashy taste, and deploying smoke sensors to vineyards to better understand smoke behavior. The U.S. government is funding their research with millions of dollars. Wineries are also taking steps to protect their product and brand.The risk to America’s premier wine-making regions — where wildfires caused billions of dollars in l...

Why you may want to keep artificial sweeteners around

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

This content is sponsored by MedStar Washington Hospital Center.In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned against using non-sugar sweeteners to lose weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases. The organization said evidence showed that consumption of sweeteners like Splenda and stevia doesn’t carry any long-term benefits in weight management and could pose a health risk.However, Megan Ramaika, a registered dietician with MedStar Health, said these guidelines don’t necessarily apply to people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes. In the U.S., where diabetes and obesity are more common than in other countries, cutting out non-sugar sweeteners could be problematic.“The studies completely excluded anybody with diabetes, which is a huge demographic in the United States. And this is where we really do have a lot of strong evidence supporting the use of non-nutritive sweeteners,” she said.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38% of adult...

US imposes sanctions on former Sudanese minister and 2 companies backing the paramilitary force

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on a former Sudanese government minister and two companies tied to the African country’s paramilitary force that is locked in monthslong fighting with the Sudanese army.The sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury will block all property in the U.S. and entities owned by Sudan’s former Foreign Minister Ali Karti, Sudan-based information company GSK Advance Company Ltd, and the Russia-based military company Aviatrade LLC. Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Force paramilitary, or RSF, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, escalated into open warfare.The Treasury said both sanctioned companies have been supporting the RSF in its fight against the military. It said the two have worked together to procure parts and supplies, as well as training for unmanned aerial vehicles and monitoring equipment...

Photos: Construction starts to revamp area near South Platte River in RiNo

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Seventeen acres of green space and public amenities are coming to the South Platte riverfront in the River North Art District, and construction starts on Thursday. The project is coined the Denargo Market. The construction site sits along the South Platte River to the north, Brighton Boulevard to the south, the light rail to the west and 31st Street to the east. Ice Castles returning to Colorado with new location Right now, it's no more than a fenced-in, grassy area. Once construction is finished, the space will be filled with sports courts, an improved dog park, lawn space, a plaza, community gardens and an art installation.Renderings of Denargo Market (Courtesy of Sidecar PR)Renderings of Denargo Market (Courtesy of Sidecar PR)Renderings of Denargo Market (Courtesy of Sidecar PR)Renderings of Denargo Market (Courtesy of Sidecar PR)Renderings of Denargo Market (Courtesy of Sidecar PR)This project is the only urban infill project of this scope and scale taking plac...

These celebs are rumored to attend CU vs. USC game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — It has been 16 years since the University of Colorado Buffaloes beat an AP Top 10 team, and CU is looking to end that streak this weekend when they face No. 8 University of Southern California. The Buffs might be doing it in front of a star-studded audience. Deion Sanders and his Buffaloes will be back in the spotlight at Folsom Field this Saturday for a nationally televised game on FOX. Coach Prime asks Buffs fans to ‘keep the peace’ FOX's Big Noon Kickoff pregame will be in Boulder for the third time this year. On Friday, FS1's "Undisputed" and "Speak" will be airing live from Farrand Field on CU's campus. Aside from all the cameras, the rumored guest list for the CU vs. USC game is jam-packed with celebrities.Possible celebrity sightings for CU vs. USC gameMany A-list celebrities are set to travel to Boulder for Saturday's matchup.According to Sports Illustrated, notable names like LeBron James, Jay Z and Matthew McConaughey are rumored to be watching the game u...

Germany’s Scholz warns against protectionism in China electric car probe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced skepticism over the EU’s probe into potentially illegal subsidies for Chinese electric vehicles, saying Europe should not be protectionist and rather, should welcome global competition.“The economic model which I favor is to have global competition,” Scholz said during a panel debate at the Berlin Global Dialogue on Thursday, warning against a “protectionist way.”While the European Commission has launched a trade investigation backed by France into China’s support for local brands, there are concerns that such a probe — and the potential anti-subsidy duties that could be imposed — could lead to a full-blown trade war with China. That potentially could be dangerous for German companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes and BASF that are heavily invested in the Asian country.When asked about the risk of such a trade war, Scholz said: “Obviously this will not happen.” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck w...

Kosovo president blames Serbia for monastery attack: Report

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani blamed Serbia and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for the shootout in northern Kosovo that left a policeman and three gunmen dead over the weekend.“Kosovo is under attack,” Osmani told Reuters on Thursday. “The [armed] group simply exercised the intentions and the motives of Serbia as a country and Vučić as the leader.”A group of about 30 heavily armed Serbs stormed a village in an ethnic Serbian-majority region of Kosovo on Sunday, ambushing a police patrol and then taking refuge in a nearby Orthodox monastery. A deadly shootout between the group and police resulted in the death of a Kosovan policeman and three of the gunmen. Two other gunmen were arrested, while the rest fled.Kosovo’s leaders immediately pointed to Serbia, accusing its government of orchestrating the attack and arming the militia group. Vučić denied the accusations, but said the gunmen were local Kosovo Serbs who “do not want to suffer under Kurti’s terror...

Tax Accord Headed To Governor

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

Senators overwhelmingly approved the long-awaited tax relief and reform agreement Thursday, and Democrats then turned back a Republican attempt to amend it before shipping it to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk.The Senate accepted the conference report on a 38-1 vote with Sen. Jamie Eldridge of Marlborough casting the lone vote of dissent. President Karen Spilka of Ashland voted “yes,” which can sometimes be an emphatic sign of support from the chamber’s leader, who often does not cast votes.The House approved of the package 155-1 on Wednesday and kept its informal session open Thursday so that it could take its final enactment vote, ensuring that the bill could reach the governor’s desk by the afternoon.Senate Democrats then rebuffed a Republican attempt to suspend a joint rule and amend the conference report before the last vote necessary to enact it. The bill was enacted and put en route to Healey at 1:30 p.m.The roughly $1 billion tax bill is amon...

Remains found in 1996 identified after New Hampshire officials use modern DNA testing tech

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:57:50 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The remains of a 78-year-old man with dementia who left his home to go for a walk in 1991 and never returned have been identified after New Hampshire authorities used modern DNA testing technology, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday.Benjamin Adams left his home in Canaan that June. After search efforts were unsuccessful, he was listed as a missing person.In November 1996, a hunter discovered some skeletal remains in the woods in Hanover, nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) away. Additional bones were discovered after the area was searched. Due to the vicinity of Adams’ last known location, investigators suspected the remains might be his, the attorney general’s office said in a news release.An out-of-state forensic anthropologist examined the remains in 1997. The examination indicated that the biological characteristics were not inconsistent with those of Adams, but a positive identification could not be made, the news release said.The New...