Drought Making Comeback In Minnesota; 81 Pct. Of State Abnormally Dry

By LOUISE DIXON LONDON — Winter has set in, the Christmas lights have been switched on, and London’s top cocktail bars have added their seasonal favorites to bar menus. From a festive Old-Fashioned to a boozy hot chocolate, these after-dinner drinks might inspire your own menu of holiday cocktails, to be supped slowly by the fire or washed down with your Christmas pudding. Five bars share their recipes: ROASTED CHESTNUT OLD-FASHIONED, from Archive & Myth This hidden speakeasy, accessed by a password-protected door, has updated the traditional Old-Fashioned.

Traybakes are valued for their simplicity. Everything cooks at the same temperature for the same amount of time, which doesn’t always translate to complex flavor development. But convenience doesn’t have to be boring and bland. A mix of honey, paprika and roasted orange delivers deep sweetness balanced by tangy citrus and hints of smokiness in this ultra-easy chicken traybake. Even the knife-work is minimal in this recipe from our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year.” You’ll only need to trim the chicken, quarter an orange and cut the vegetables into wedges.

Travis Hunter is an undeniable star on the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team — and a current favorite for becoming only the second CU player to win the Heisman Trophy. But is he ready for Hollywood? A new promo for the Dec. 13 movie “Kraven the Hunter,” which depicts Spider-Man villain Kraven — minus Spider-Man — says an enthusiastic yes. “To promote the visceral, action-packed origin story starring Aaron Taylor-John (‘Bullet Train’), [Sony Pictures] partnered with Heisman Trophy favorite Travis Hunter to show he, too, is a skilled and cunning hunter,” according to a press statement. “I’m going to take down anyone who gets in my way,” Hunter warns in the 57-second video, which was released today on YouTube.

Jasper Löffelsend is headed to San Diego. San Diego FC, Major League Soccer’s newest club set to begin play in 2025, took the German Colorado Rapids midfielder in the MLS expansion draft on Wednesday night as one of its five picks. As compensation, the Rapids received $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). Löffelsend arrived in Colorado nearly a year ago in a trade with rival Real Salt Lake to bolster the defensive midfield in new coach Chris Armas’s system.

There’s a small wooden cabin at the top of Northwest Peak, a few miles from Montana’s borders with Idaho and Canada, and Chuck Manning, 79, believes lookouts like this one deserve a second chance at being useful. The fire lookout sits at about 7,700 feet above sea level and seems to be in good condition despite being abandoned since 1955, when the Forest Service last staffed the outpost. Manning leads the Northwest Montana Lookout Association, a nonprofit group that supports government agencies in restoring and maintaining lookout towers around Kootenai and Flathead national forests. The Forest Service began building fire-detection towers after the Great Fire of 1910, then added more after the Civilian Conservation Corps and other government agencies considered lookouts–particularly in the West—as New Deal investments. The result: State and federal workers built close to 8,800 lookouts throughout all 50 states.

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI A large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks, sparking speculation and concern over who sent them and why. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and law enforcement officials have stressed that the drones don’t appear to be a threat to public safety, but many state and municipal lawmakers have nonetheless called for stricter rules about who can fly the unmanned aircraft. The FBI is among several agencies investigating, and it has asked residents to share videos, photos and other information they may have about the drones. What has been seen in New Jersey? Dozens of witnesses have reported seeing drones in New Jersey starting in November. At first, the drones were spotted flying along the scenic Raritan River, a waterway that feeds the Round Valley Reservoir, the state’s largest aquifer, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of New York City. But soon sightings were reported statewide, including near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.