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TV review: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s still got it, but, otherwise, Netflix’s ‘FUBAR’ lacks the goods

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

For the first time, Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a television series.The longtime action star — and former California governor — hasn’t exactly leaped out of his comfort zone with the one-hour action-comedy “FUBAR,” the eight-episode debut season of which has just dropped on Netflix.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series created by Nick Santora is “loosely inspired” by “True Lies,” an action-comedy movie from writer-director James Cameron. In that well-received romp, Schwarzenegger portrays Harry Tasker, who hides the fact he is a U.S. spy from his family.In “FUBAR,” Schwarzenegger portrays Luke Brunner, who, well, hides the fact he is a U.S. spy from his family.The “Lies”-like premise isn’t the problem with “FUBAR,” which, in a fun nod to the film, brings in one of Schwarzenegger’s costars, Tom Arnold, for a guest-starring role in the fifth installment.What is the problem? It simply isn’t very good.Let’s be clear about one thing, however: Arnold “I’ll be back” Schw...

BBQ recipe: Marcus Bawdon’s Ember-Cooked Baba Ganoush

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

Marcus Bawdon, a top outdoor cooking expert in England, offers numerous recipes that elevate vegetables via the grill or smoker in “BBQ for All: Year-Round Outdoor Cooking for Meat-Eaters, Vegetarians and Pescatarians.”“Aubergines/eggplants are just made for cooking direct in the embers; their taste and texture totally transform,” he writes. “The soft flesh makes the most wonderful dip for a few crackers or crisp flatbreads. Like all the best things, it is simple and delicious.”Ember-Cooked Baba GanoushServes 2INGREDIENTS1 large eggplant2 tablespoons tahini1 clove garlic, crushedFreshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil1 teaspoon cumin powder1 teaspoon Aleppo chile flakes or hot red pepper flakes1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat-leaf parsleyCoarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepperDIRECTIONSSet up your barbecue for direct cooking in the coals at a moderate heat (around 320 degrees Fahrenheit). Use best-quality lumpwood charcoal or hardwood/fruitwood ...

Two Massachusetts residents indicted for allegedly robbing USPS postal workers in Boston

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

Two Massachusetts residents have been indicted for allegedly robbing United States Postal Service letter carriers in Boston last year, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Myesha Lewis, 22, of Boston, and Kenneth Demosthene, 22, of Stoughton, were indicted by a federal grand jury for the armed robberies on Thursday.USPS has seen a rise in the use of arrow keys to steal mail out of blue USPS collection boxes. These arrow keys are the property of USPS, and it’s a federal offense for an unauthorized person to possess one.Since last July, there have been at least 13 assaults on USPS letter carriers in Boston and in surrounding cities and towns. Of these 13 incidents, at least 10 of them included the suspect trying to rob USPS arrow keys from letter carriers. Also, the suspects in six of the robberies were reportedly armed with a knife, firearm, or both.In Mattapan on Nov. 29, Lewis and Demosthene are accused of following and robbing a USPS letter carrier of an arrow key. ...

Debt ceiling explained: White House, Republicans scramble for deal as default looms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, LISA MASCARO and COLLEEN LONG (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Thursday that “every hour matters” as his team scrambles to finalize a budget deal with the White House that would enable the government to avoid a potentially catastrophic default. The two sides have to strike a deal in a matter of days before the country runs out of cash to pay its bills. McCarthy’s team visited the White House on Wednesday for what both sides said was a productive session — but it still failed to produce an agreement as time runs out. House Republicans left town ahead of the holiday weekend while waiting for leaders to produce a bill.Republicans are insisting on spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit. Biden has come to the negotiating table after balking for months but says the GOP lawmakers will have to back off their “extreme positions.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the co...

Red Sox notebook: Offense’s disappearing act fueling recent roller coaster run

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

Following the Red Sox over the past two weeks, it’s often felt like you’re watching two different clubs. One is a masher capable of piling on runs and crushing opponents under its boot, and the other a punchless outfit that seemingly can’t hit its way out of a wet paper bag.Unfortunately for Boston, we’ve seen a lot more of the latter lately.Since returning home from Atlanta, the Red Sox have gone 4-8 in their last 12 games, sandwiching a pair of four-game losing streaks around a four-game win streak. Though pitching has been the dominant narrative throughout that stretch — between Kenley Jansen’s uncharacteristic struggles and the intrigue surrounding the future of the starting rotation — the offense has ultimately driven the Red Sox recent success and failure.During Boston’s first four-game losing streak, the Red Sox scored five runs in their last three games, including just one run in their series finale against St. Louis and the following nigh...

DOJ expands anti-profiling rules to cover thousands more who work in justice system

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department issued new guidance Thursday emphasizing that investigations must be free from bias involving race and gender or against people with disabilities. Anti-profiling rules were also expanded to include thousands more people who work in the justice system. The guidelines obtained by The Associated Press are the first updates in nearly a decade and now cover thousands more people than before, including prosecutors, lawyers, analysts and contractors. They already applied to agents for Justice Department agencies such as the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration and local officers who work with them on task forces. Released on the third anniversary of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, the update also requires, for the first time, more extensive data collection measures that are intended to ensure the guidance is being followed.“We recognize that we have a responsibility to lead by example,” Attorney General Merrick G...

DeSantis pushes past embarrassing campaign start, outlines travel schedule for early state visits

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday sought to push past an embarrassing beginning to his presidential campaign, outlining an aggressive travel schedule as his allies insisted they remain well funded and well positioned for a long Republican primary fight ahead.While DeSantis supporters privately acknowledged the bungled announcement was an unwelcome distraction, there was a broad sense — even among some Republican critics — that it would likely have limited long-term political consequences, if any at all.“Do they wish they could do it over again? Probably,” said David Oman, who managed two top-tier presidential campaigns in Iowa. “Will we be talking about it in 10 days? Probably not.”DeSantis formally launched his campaign Wednesday night during an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. But the audio stream crashed repeatedly, making it difficult for most users to hear the announcement in real time.On Thursday, the Republican governor announced plans ...

Johnston was already set to testify at committee before opposition demanded he appear

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s foreign interference watchdog David Johnston was already scheduled to testify before opposition MPs demanded his appearance in a letter this week, a parliamentary committee chair said Thursday.Liberal MP Bardish Chagger said at a hearing the House of Commons procedure committee invited Johnston to appear two months ago, and he is already scheduled to appear in less than two weeks. Opposition members of the committee wrote a letter this week demanding Johnston’s testimony after his first report on alleged foreign meddling was published Tuesday. The Conservative, NDP and Bloc Québécois MPs said they want the former governor general to explain why he decided against recommending a public inquiry on foreign meddling.Liberal MPs accused Conservatives of being irresponsible by implying that there was any reluctance on Johnston’s part to talk to the committee. “There is no lengths the opposition will not go to tarnish an individual’s reputati...

Debt limit talking: Biden mostly quiet in public, while McCarthy keeps making his case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — There was Kevin McCarthy, saying the White House was refusing to give on spending as the speaker returned to the Capitol one morning this week. Just a few hours later, there was McCarthy again, this time telling reporters that the sole concession that Republicans were making to the White House on the debt limit was in fact, simply to raise the debt limit, nothing else. As representatives from the White House and the GOP-controlled House labor toward a deal that would pave the way for lawmakers to lift the debt limit, one side has been eager to speak publicly about the closed-door talks — trying to shape public perceptions of the negotiations. It’s not the side that typically holds the bully pulpit. President Joe Biden has made a deliberate decision to go quiet as his team gets down to the wire in the debt-limit talks, according to White House officials. It’s his view that speaking in public about negotiations does nothing to produce an outcome. The volu...

Art professor arrested after threatening NY Post reporter with machete

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:16:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City artist and college professor who held a machete to a journalist’s neck and threatened to chop him up was arrested Thursday on charges of menacing and harassment, police said.The confrontation with a New York Post reporter at professor Shellyne Rodriguez’s apartment building on Tuesday came after the newspaper published a story about an earlier episode in which Rodriguez had cursed at anti-abortion activists at Hunter College, where Rodriguez was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Art and Art History.A widely circulated video of the May 2 Hunter College incident shows Rodriguez cursing at the anti-abortion activists and accusing them of “triggering” her students. In the video, Rodriguez asks, “What are you going to do, like anti-trans next?” and sweeps some of the anti-abortion pamphlets off the literature table.The Post ran a story about the incident Monday and sent a reporter and a photographer to Rodriguez’s Bronx ...