Comment on Flu deaths down in NC last week, but season toll unusually high

By GRETCHEN MCKAY, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh is a city of cookie lovers. As evidenced by the popular Facebook group The Wedding Cookie Table Community (which counts more than 325,000 members) and the dozens of entries to the Post-Gazette’s 2024 Holiday Cookie Challenge, Western Pennsylvanians also like to bake the sweet treats — especially during the holidays — both for gifts and to share after a meal with family and friends. Which begs a question for those traveling by air over the next week: Will your homemade cookies make it through a security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International and other airports? The answer is — whew!

MIAMI — Nikola Jovic had his takeoff point . . . and then he was shut down. Now back to solid footing, the third-year Miami Heat forward said Thursday the goal is to pick up where he left off — with the hope of receiving the opportunity to pick up where he left off. In the wake of being held out of eight consecutive games, six by coach’s decision, Jovic seized an opportunity in the Dec.

By TRAVIS LOLLER and LEAH WILLINGHAM NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — American farmers and small business owners are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid. The money is urgently needed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the southeastern United States one after the other this fall.

By JONEL ALECCIA, AP Health Writer Packaged foods in the U. S. will have to follow new rules in order to call themselves “healthy,” according to changes finalized Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration. It’s an update of the agency’s definition originally devised 30 years ago. The move is aimed at helping Americans navigate food labels at the grocery store and make choices that are aligned with federal dietary guidelines — in hopes of reducing rates of diet-related chronic disease, the FDA said. Under the rule, products that claim to be “healthy” must contain a certain amount of food from one or more food groups such as fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy and protein.

The holidays are a magical time for kids, filled with decorations, celebrations and a break from school. But during the fun and festivities, parents must remember that this season can also bring an increased risk to children’s safety. Amid all the activities and family gatherings, children may face an environment where the risk of abuse quietly rises.

For decades, Americans United for Separation of Church and State called its adversaries “religious extremists.” Today, the group has a more specific target: fighting Christian nationalism. The decision to sharpen the language was made by Rachel Laser, the group’s president for the last six years. A Jew and the first religious minority to lead Americans United since its founding in 1947, Laser wanted the group to be more clear-eyed about what she sees as a growing threat to religious pluralism in the United States: the belief that American laws should favor Christian values over those of other religions. But it was not an easy decision for her to make.