Graham Platner, the once Democratic nominee for Senate from Maine, said he was taking time to “reflect” on his political path forward as his support swiftly eroded after a woman accused him of rape.
Graham Platner’s wild ride through national politics started as a charmed fairy tale and ended in a screeching halt Wednesday night. Basically, stopped by a pile-up of allegations ranging from unsavory to potentially criminal.
But the end of Platner’s campaign was a massive relief to Democrats who saw their tough road to retake control of the Senate crumbling if he continued on against Collins in one of the most critical races on the map.
By the time Platner dropped out, his former ally and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, who had frequently campaigned alongside Platner and was also backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), had already filed the paperwork to run.
You would hope this would be a lesson for Democrats: You cannot build a political career on vibes alone.
His fall came two days after ex-girlfriend Jenny Recicottold Politico that, in 2021, Platner came to her home and forced her to have sex against her will.
Following that claim, many of the high-profile names — including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer — who had backed him for the US Senate race in Maine disavowed Platner, urging the Democrat to drop out.
Not sure where to get started with losing weight? Fat-loss coach Carter Good (@cartergood on Instagram) shared this simple fat-loss plan in a recent Instagram post. He said not to stress about how many carbs to eat, how many meals per day, if you should eat fruit, or whether bread is good or bad. Just focus on these three steps:
Step 1: Find Your Calorie Deficit Target
Carter said that no matter what diet you choose, whether it’s vegan, keto, or Paleo, “The ONLY WAY you’ll lose weight is through consistently being in a calorie deficit. For a ballpark daily calorie amount, he suggested multiplying your goal weight in pounds by 10 or 11. So if your goal is to be 150 pounds, you’d aim for 1,500 calories (if you’re sedentary) or 1,650 calories (if you’re somewhat active).
He noted that “if you have over 70 lbs. to lose, or you’re already light, these calories might feel a bit low. If this is you, don’t be afraid to start with a higher calorie goal.” His method is a good place to start, but it is just a guideline. So in order to determine your exact calorie needs, speak with your doctor or a registered dietitian. If you’re not losing weight after a few weeks, and you’re accurately tracking your calories, adjust your calorie intake.
Step 2: Find Your Protein Target
Protein is a key macronutrient to satiate your hunger and help you build and maintain calorie-burning muscle. Aim for 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of goal body weight. If your goal weight is 150 pounds, get between 105 and 150 grams of protein a day. Carter noted that if you are vegan or vegetarian, it may be easier to decrease that target number.
Step 3: Make Whole Foods the Focus
Carter said, “If roughly 80 percent of your diet is coming from nutritious foods, then it’s absolutely-positively okay to have ‘fun’ foods for the other 20 percent.” Make sure your diet is made up of healthy foods including lean protein, veggies, healthy fats and carbs, but also allow yourself some treat foods to satisfy your cravings and keep you on track.
There’s your simple plan. You can decide how you want to implement it, based on the foods you like and how many times you like to eat a day.
By Jenny Sugar for msn.com/en-us/health/weightloss
There are many verbs that sound similar and it’s easy to get confused between them. Here is a list of some of the most common confusing verb pairs, their meanings and examples of how they should be used in a sentence.
How long has that bottle of ketchup been sitting on the table? How fresh is the bread in that basket? From drastically overpriced to downright dirty, there are some menu items to never order at a restaurant, no matter how much you love the place. We spoke to food safety experts, dietitians, and chefs and compiled a list of things you should completely avoid on your next meal out.
1. Drink Garnishes
Kimberly Barnes, founder of Might Be Vegan and a private, plant-based chef in Atlanta, GA, recommends avoiding lemon and lime slices and other drink garnishes at bars and restaurants. Why? A study of 76 lemons at 21 different restaurants in The Journal of Environmental Health found that 53 of them contained microbial growth. Of the positive culture results, seven were E. coli.
Food blogger and editor of Eat, Drink, Be SD Michelle Stansbury strongly warns against eating or using the garnishes at the bar because bartenders often aren’t held to the same sanitary standards as the kitchen. It’s likely that the fruits in drinks are unwashed and that they sit out for days without being refrigerated. Do you recall your bartender washing their hands between sorting cash and dropping a cherry in your cocktail? We figured.
2. Raw Sprouts
A staple in vegan and Asian cuisine, raw sprouts are often added to salads and sandwiches for extra crunch. But this crunch can come at a cost. According to Barnes, the humid temperatures that sprouts need in order to grow can also be the perfect breeding ground for Salmonella, Listeria, and E.coli. After a foodborne illness outbreak at Jimmy John’s, the company decided to remove sprouts from their menu.
3. Tap Water
Barnes also warns against tap waters, suggesting you stick to the bottled stuff despite the price tag. “Tap water, while under federal regulations from the EPA, can still contain trace amounts of harmful contaminants, including lead, chlorine, mercury, and herbicides. And it is our personal responsibility to limit our own exposure to these trace elements, as the long-term health effects of chronic exposure are questionable.”
4. Raw Oysters
Candess Zona-Mendolla, a food safety advocate and editor of MakeFoodSafe.com, says raw oysters are one of the riskiest choices on the menu at even the best fresh seafood joints. “These mollusks are carriers of two scary foodborne illnesses—Norovirus and Vibrio. Ever heard about flesh-eating bacteria? That’s Vibrio. We see a rise in cases during the summer months, as Vibrio loves warm waters. If oysters have been cooked, they are a-ok to eat.” Google a picture, and we promise raw seafood won’t be on your dinner plate for a long time.
5. Buffet Food (What !)
Is that dinner salad bar calling your name? Just walk away. Any dish that’s been sitting out for too long is a recipe for food poisoning. Although recent regulations have improved buffet food quality, foods served in buffets are at risk for contamination from other customers and restaurant employees. Zona-Mendolla says to look for buffets that have food warmers and to remember that hot food should be hot, and cold food should be cold. Be sure to also avoid dishes that use serving spoons from other dishes to keep cross-contaminating bacteria at bay.
6. Hollandaise Sauce
Anthony Bourdain once said eggs Benedict is the least favorite dish to prepare among chefs, so it’s likely you’re eating a premade, and oftentimes old, sauce.
7. Fresh-Squeezed Juices
Thinking of pairing your eggs Benedict with some freshly squeezed orange juice? You may want to rethink that decision for the same reason you pass on adding garnishes to your drink. Freshly squeezed juices are often teeming with bacteria, unlike pasteurized juices.
8. Raw Flour Products
Some pizza places will give customers with kids raw pizza dough to play with and use to prepare their own mini pies. Zona-Mendolla warns against this practice, noting that raw flour products were connected to an outbreak of E.coli a few years ago. Since raw flour products haven’t been treated to kill harmful germs, playing with or handling raw dough can increase your risk of foodborne illness.
Moreover, the eggs in the raw dough may contain Salmonella, which can make you sick if they’re lightly cooked. Be sure that any foods that involve using dough, eggs, and batter are handled with care and fully cooked.
9. The Bread Basket
We already know it has empty calories—but there are other reasons to skip the bread basket when you’re dining out. According to a former server and author Debra Ginsburg’s Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress, bread baskets tend to circulate from table to table. Yes, you heard that right.
The bread in your basket could likely be the scraps from your neighbors’ table. Bar snacks call for even more unwanted sharing. Many hands have passed over your popcorn or peanuts, which may have been sitting out for days by the time you eat it.
10. Never Order Fish on a Monday
In Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, he wrote that it’s likely that your Monday fish special can include fillets that are three days old. Bourdain, who spent most of his culinary career in New York City kitchens, said in the book that since most seafood markets aren’t open on weekends, Monday’s fish is old and, well, fishy.
11. Bottled Ketchup on the Table
Former server Aaron Norris says condiments, especially ketchup in glass jars, is always something to avoid. The restaurant staff often spends hours at the end of long shifts marrying partially empty bottles, so there’s no way to tell how long the stuff at the bottom has been there…leading to sour and sometimes even explosive ketchup.
12. Unpasteurized Cheeses
In a process called pasteurization, milk is heated at a high temperature for a certain amount of time in order to ward off bacteria and kill harmful organisms. Certain soft cheeses like brie, queso fresco, and camembert aren’t pasteurized, though. Therefore, you run a high risk for Listeria. According to the CDC, listeria is 50 to 160 times more likely to infect unpasteurized cheeses than pasteurized cheeses.
13. The Soup Special
A soup special is a perfect way to disguise the scraps from yesterday’s leftovers as a new and fresh dish today…and tomorrow.
14. Anything You Could Make Yourself
This one may go without saying, but we think it is a valid piece of advice when trying to get the best bang for your buck. Tanner Agar, CEO of restaurant Rye Mckinney, says that he recommends guests always try to order something that they could not have made themselves. “Eating out is a time to try something new or something very technically involved. By ordering something you can make, you make it impossible to have that thrill of a surprise that a great, unexpected dish can create.”
ER physician Dr. Travis Stork says that an open line of communication between a doctor and patient is key, but it can also end up saving your life. Here are three things you should always let your doctor know.
#1: If you take effervescent antacids
Before a procedure, doctors will tell patients to avoid any ibuprofen and aspirin-containing products because they can act as blood thinners. Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon explains that bleeding is the number one concern before elective procedures so they want to make sure clotting works. It turns out, many effervescent antacids contain aspirin. OB/GYN Dr. Nita Landry also says that if you accidentally take something, to be honest with your doctor so they can access the safety of still doing the procedure.
#2. If you have a belly button piercing (even if you no longer wear the ring)
Dr. Nita explains having a belly button piercing can lead to scar tissue. Anytime doctors do surgery, they may want to go in through the belly button. If there is scar tissue, it could increase the probability of damage to underlying organs. Dr. Nita clarifies that they still can do the surgery and possibly go through the belly button, but it’s nice to know beforehand so they can take proper precautions. Dr. Ordon adds that you are more likely to have bacteria with a piercing which could lead to infection so again, it’s important to inform your doctor about it.
#3. If you take nasal decongestants
Dr. Ordon explains that nasal decongestants are meant to be taken short-term. If you take them for too long the lining of the nose actually develops a dependence on the nose drops where you need to increasingly use more to keep congestion at bay. The minute you stop the drops, the blood vessels encourage and you get very congested. Dr. Ordon says he’s had people with excessive bleeding in surgery so it’s important to tell your doctor if you use nasal decongestants prior to any surgeries around the nose. The Doctors recommend weaning yourself off nasal drops before a surgery.
Dr. Ordon says nasal saline or steroid drops are not the same; anything that is just rinsing your nose is completely fine. Dr. Travis adds that this is another lesson that just because something is over the counter doesn’t mean you can take it as much as you want. Always use medications as directed.
The true definition of karma can vary depending on who you ask. Some people adhere to the traditional meaning grounded in Eastern religions, while others interpret it from more of a Western view of good and bad. As a result, this can lead to different views on how karma applies to life.
The Georgetown University Berkley Center says karma is the Hindu view of causality. This states that good thoughts, deeds, and words, may lead to beneficial effects. Conversely, bad thoughts, deeds, and words, may lead to harmful effects.
Everything is energy, including your thoughts and emotions, which are energy in motion. So, in essence, everything you do creates a corresponding energy that comes back to you in some form.
Simply, everything you do creates either a positive or negative consequence.
When a group of park rangers in Thap Lan National Park in Thailand became aware of six baby elephants trapped in a pit of mud, they immediately rushed out to the site to assess the situation. When they arrived, they found the six baby elephants all lined up in a row in the mud, entirely stuck and unable to get out on their own.
As they looked around the area, the park rangers realized the parent elephants were still close by and seemed to be waiting for their babies to climb out of the pit and join them before moving on. The rangers knew it was up to them to make that reunion happen for the baby elephants and their parents.
Unfortunately, the park rangers didn’t have the equipment to help the baby elephants right away, and so someone kept watch on them overnight until the equipment could be brought over the next morning.
Finally, they were able to start digging a sort of ramp into the mud pit so that the elephants would be able to climb out safely … … and one by one, the baby elephants slowly made their way out of the mud pit and back up to dry land.
All six of the baby elephants seemed just fine after their ordeal, and the park rangers watched them for a bit to make sure they were walking and getting around OK.
If the park rangers hadn’t dedicated their time to trying to help the six baby elephants, there’s a good chance they wouldn’t have made it. Instead, they were safely reunited with their family and will hopefully be careful around deep mud pits in the future. To help other elephants in need, you can make a donation to Elephant Nature Park.
A silent letter is a letter from a word which is not pronounced when the word is spoken aloud. They still however appear in the written word. They can make spelling tricky but often provide clues about a word’s origin and meaning.
Silent letters are a fascinating feature of the English language that often reflect its history and the influences of other languages. While they can be challenging to learn, understanding the patterns and reasons behind them can make them easier to master.
