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Americans love guacamole and avocado toast. Are they ready for avocado brownies?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

Jonathan Roeder, Leslie Patton | Bloomberg News (TNS)Avocados’ rise to stardom in the U.S. may seem improbable: It’s a relatively expensive fruit that’s delicate and has a limited shelf life.That’s proven little obstacle, however, as avocados’ popularity is only growing. U.S. imports of fresh Hass avocados from Mexico climbed to $2.7 billion last year, up about 38% from 2018, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the fiscal year ended in June, Mexico exported nearly 2.5 billion pounds of the fruit — a record high. It’s a testament to the enduring appeal of guacamole and avocado toast — and an unorthodox arrangement between Mexican growers and packers and U.S. importers.Avocados From Mexico, created about 10 years ago to market the fruit to U.S. consumers, works with companies including Potbelly Corp., Walmart Inc. and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. to get more avocados into restaurants and onto dinner tables. It buys up Super Bowl ads, operates a kitchen to test...

Investigator and Author Says People Are Mysteriously Missing in National Parks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

People are going missing in national parks and North American wilderness areas. A 2019 documentary, Missing 411: The Hunted, reports as many as 1,200 individuals have disappeared, but also admits that number may be under-reported.David Paulides, a former police detective turned private investigator, is the author of the popular Missing 411 series and documentaries of the same name, as well as the CanAm Missing Project. He said, “We don’t know how many people go missing from these locations because the USFS [United States Forest Service] and NPS [National Park Service] refuse to release a list of these missing people.”Several Hundred Cases a YearPaulides is dedicated to investigating missing persons in national parks and forests. When asked how many cases he typically researches in a year, he responded, “We probably research several hundred people per year.”One thing is certain: people who hike and camp in national parks or hunt in national forests and wilderness areas have vanished....

United flights briefly grounded nationwide due to technology issue

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

United Airlines flights in Denver and nationwide were briefly grounded today due to a global problem with the airline’s computer system, according to Denver International Airport.The problem temporarily impacted at least 35 flights that were trying to land at the airport, said spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa.We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed. We’re working with impacted customers to help them reach their destinations as soon as possible.— United Airlines (@united) September 5, 2023The Federal Aviation Administration announced the ground stop was lifted for the United States and Canada at 11:50 a.m.Denver International Airport reported 175 delays and two cancelled flights as of 12:50 p.m., according to FlightAware. Of those, United Airlines had 78 delays and one cancellation. SkyWest, which operates flights for United and other airlines, reported 39 delays.This is a developing story.Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile...

New book details Biden-Obama frictions and says Harris sought roles ‘away from the spotlight’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new book about Joe Biden portrays the president as someone whose middle-class upbringing helped foster a resentment of intellectual elitism that shaped his political career and sometimes caused strain with his onetime boss, Harvard-educated Barack Obama. Biden, who spent eight years as Obama’s vice president, told a friend that Obama couldn’t even curse properly, according to “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future.” Released Tuesday and written by Franklin Foer, a staff writer for “The Atlantic,” the book says Biden said Obama was unable to deliver a “f—- you” with “the right elongation of vowels and the necessary hardness of consonants; it was how they must curse in the ivory tower.”Now, as the president runs for reelection, the early frontrunner among Republicans is former President Donald Trump, whose supporters can sometimes resent the perceived elitism of Washington’...

Death of 50-year-old man in Vaughan being investigated as homicide: police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

Homicide detectives with York Regional Police are investigating the death of a 50-year-old man in Vaughan.Police were called to the man’s home on Laskin Drive near Major MacKenzie Drive West and Bathurst Street just before 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 1.Officers found the man dead inside the home. Investigators have identified him as Rakesh “Rick” Joshi.The cause of death is not yet known.Police don’t have any suspect information at this time, and are looking for witnesses as well as security camera of dash-cam footage that could help with the investigation.

TV anchor Ruschell Boone, who spotlighted NYC’s diverse communities, dies of pancreatic cancer at 48

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ruschell Boone, an award-winning reporter and anchor for New York City TV station NY1, has died after battling pancreatic cancer over the past year, the station announced Tuesday.Boone, 48, died Sunday, NY1 said in a news release.Boone joined the all-news station as a reporter covering the borough of Queens in 2002 and moved to the anchor desk with a noon slot in 2021.The station, now owned by Charter Communications, said Boone “had a unique ability to connect with New Yorkers — through the screen and in person — in a way that made her feel like a trusted friend.”A native of Jamaica, Boone was known for her coverage of the city’s diverse immigrant communities. She reported on big stories like Superstorm Sandy and protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, and she also was a fixture at celebrations including Brooklyn’s annual West Indian American Day parade and the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop.Boone was the only TV reporter...

At least 5 people die as severe rainstorms trigger flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Fierce rainstorms battered neighboring Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria on Tuesday, triggering flooding that caused at least five deaths, including two holidaymakers swept away by a torrent that raged through a campsite in northwestern Turkey.Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said four other people were missing after the flash flood swept over the campsite in Kirklareli province, near the border with Bulgaria. He said about 12 vacationers were at the site when the waters hit.Search teams had located two bodies, he said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “The search and rescue efforts for the missing (four) continue uninterrupted,” he added.Television footage showed rescuers carrying a young girl and an adult to safety from waters reaching waist-high in some areas. The rains also damaged and forced the closure of a main road, HaberTurk television reported.In Greece, police banned traffic in the central town of Volos, the nearby mountain ...

A Georgia redistricting trial begins with a clash over what federal law requires for Black voters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Challengers to Georgia’s voting district maps told a federal judge Tuesday that the state is legally required to provide more political opportunities to Black voters, while the state suggested plaintiffs are trying to impose illegal racial gerrymanders of congressional and legislative districts.Opening statements began in what’s expected to be a two-week trial. If the challengers win, Democrats could gain one of Georgia’s 14 U.S. House seats, as well as multiple state Senate and state House seats.The case is a part of a wave of litigation progressing after the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year stood behind its interpretation of the Voting Rights Act, rejecting Alabama’s challenge to the law. Section 2 of the federal law says voting district lines can’t result in discrimination against minority voters, who must be given a chance to elect candidates of their choosing. A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that Alabama’s attempts to redraw its cong...

Aid group official warns the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine risks becoming “normalized”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A major aid group is concerned that there is not enough international attention given to Ukraine and is bracing for fewer donations used to finance operations in the battle-scarred country, its president warned on Tuesday.The head of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband said, his central concern is that the 19-month war and the resulting humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion and continued attacks on civilian infrastructure are becoming “normalized” by the international community while the needs brought about by the war show no signs of diminishing, he said. “We know that the 2022 figures for humanitarian aid in Ukraine are not going to be repeated,” he told the Associated Press. Miliband said they don’t expect the donations received from Europe and North America last year to be matched. The IRC received $40 million in funding for Ukraine operations in 2022. In 2023, the aid group received almost less than half of that sum, wit...

Toy poodle ‘Pinot’ stolen from parked car in Toronto’s east end: police

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:10 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a seven-year-old toy poodle allegedly stolen from a parked car in the city’s Riverdale neighbourhood over the weekend.Officers were called to a Green P parking lot in the area of Broadview Avenue and Erindale Avenue near Danforth Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 3.Police say a dog was inside a black fabric carrier crate in the vehicle, when around 8:20-8:50 p.m. a suspect broke into the vehicle and removed the dog and the crate, and the fled in an unknown direction with the dog.The dog, known as ‘Pinot,’ is brown in colour, and at the time was wearing an orange collar with a flower charm and a pink harness.Anyone with information on the dog’s whereabouts can call police.