Comment on U.S. report card: Scores up, but not all news good

Gretchen McKay | (TNS) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Beans are kind of like the your best friend from high school — nearly forgotten but always ready to step back into the limelight and help out an old pal when needed. As gorgeously (and tantalizingly) demonstrated in Rancho Gordo’s new cookbook, “The Bean Book: 100 Recipes for Cooking with All Kinds of Beans” (Ten Speed, $35), beans are indeed a magical fruit, though not in the way you heard as a kid. Classified as both a vegetable and a plant-based protein in the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, beans and other legumes can be the ingredient you build an entire vegetarian or veggie-forward meal around.

By BRIAN MELLEY, Associated Press LONDON (AP) — If life imitates art, a vandal in the English countryside may be haunted by The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Police in the town of Shrewsbury are investigating how a tombstone that marked the fictional grave of Ebenezer Scrooge was destroyed. The movie prop used in the 1984 adaption of “A Christmas Carol” was kept in place and became a tourist attraction. In this picture, provided by the West Mercia Police on Monday, Nov.

By JONEL ALECCIA Ready or not, the holidays are here. It’s a time when many Americans accustomed to preparing simple meals find themselves responsible for safely serving multi-dish feasts. It’s no easy task. Outbreaks of some types of food poisoning tend to rise in November and December, according to the U. S.

Julie Appleby | KFF Health News Unauthorized switching of Affordable Care Act plans appears to have tapered off in recent weeks based on an almost one-third drop in casework associated with consumer complaints, say federal regulators. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the ACA, credits steps taken to thwart enrollment and switching problems that triggered more than 274,000 complaints this year through August. Now, the annual ACA open enrollment period that began Nov.

Thousands of Microsoft 365 customers worldwide reported having issues with services like Outlook and Teams on Monday. In social media posts and comments on platforms like outage tracker Downdetector, some impacted said that they were having trouble seeing their emails, loading calendars or opening other Microsoft 365 applications such as Powerpoint. Related Articles National News | Thanksgiving travel live updates: Airport strikes, winter storms expected to cause delays National News | Special counsel moves to dismiss election interference, classified documents cases against Trump National News | Joe Biden begins final White House holiday season with turkey pardons for ‘Peach’ and ‘Blossom’ National News | Warren Buffett gives away another $1.1B and plans for distributing his $147B fortune after his death National News | Republicans push back against Democrats’ claims that Trump intelligence pick Gabbard is compromised Microsoft acknowledged “an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar” earlier in the day.

Nobody can outrun time — not even UCF‘s RJ Harvey. There’s no shaking off the seconds, minutes and hours chasing the Knights’ running back toward his final collegiate game. Inevitably, time always finds a way to cover the spread. “It feels like I just got to college yesterday, but it’s coming to an end,” Harvey said on Monday. With UCF (4-7, 2-6 Big 12) eliminated from postseason contention, Harvey’s final game as a Knight will be Black Friday’s showdown with visiting Utah. The redshirt senior has rushed for 3,673 yards, more than any other player in school history except for Kevin Smith (4,679), wrapping up a stellar career. His name is dotted throughout the program’s record books: rushing attempts (559), longest run from scrimmage (92 yards), average yards per carry (6.6), rushing touchdowns (42), total touchdowns (46) and 100-yard rushing games (16). He became the first Knight to rush for back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since Marquette Smith (1994-95). Harvey will finish among the best of the best in UCF history when it’s all said and done. “He’s a true blessing to coach,” said coach Gus Malzahn.