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A slow cooker is the help you need for this year’s holiday dinner

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

Meredith Deeds | Star Tribune (TNS)Some of the best and most comforting dishes take a long time to cook. With time more precious than ever during the holiday season, meals can add an extra level of pressure. But smart hosts know that a make-ahead plan, with a slow-cooker assist, can be the key to a memorable, relaxing meal.Slow cookers don’t get the respect they deserve. You just put the food in, and the slow cooker does the heavy lifting while you go about your day. Well, almost. To get the best results from a slow cooker, you often need to add a step or two before you hit the power button.In the case of a braise, like this Slow Cooker Spiced Pomegranate Beef Brisket, simply throwing everything into the pot can leave you with a piece of tender but flavorless meat swimming in a watery sauce. This happens because the cooking environment is sealed, and the liquid doesn’t evaporate during the cooking process. So as the beef cooks, and exudes liquids of its own, the flavors ...

Chelmsford native Dan Curran named head football coach at Holy Cross

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

Holy Cross Associate Vice President for Athletics Kit Hughes announced on Friday that Dan Curran has been hired as the Crusaders’ head football coach.Curran replaced Bob Chesney, who took the head coaching position at James Madison after guiding the Crusaders to unprecedented success over six seasons. Chesney was 44-21 overall and 28-4 in the Patriot League, including six straight conference titles.“Holy Cross is truly a special place, one where student-athletes can have an elite academic experience and compete for championships,” said Curran.Curran was an All-Scholastic from Chelmsford who played collegiately at New Hampshire. He spent the last 11 seasons at Merrimack, guiding the program’s transition from Division II to FCS in the Northeast Conference.Curran is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 53 wins while leading the Warriors to the NE title game the past two seasons.RICH THOMPSON

Boston’s ‘electeds of color’ party table posted by mayor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

Here’s the official photo of the no-whites-need-apply Christmas party at the Parkman House Wednesday night.Related ArticlesPolitics | Boston City Hall roiled by email party invitation for ‘electeds of color’ sent to all By my count, the table includes one jailbird ex-con, at least three hacks who’ve been fined by the State Ethics Commission and one who’s been jammed up with OCPF.From left, clockwise: Rep. Samantha Montano; Rep. Russell Holmes (the organizer); Mrs. Holmes; fiance of lame duck City Councilor Ricky Ricardo Arroyo; Ricky Ricardo himself; Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden, who Arroyo tried to fix the 2022 election against with disgraced ex-US atty Rachael Rollins; Mrs. Hayden (woman in blue who covered her face going into Parkman House); City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune; Ayanna Pressley’s ex-con husband Conan Harris, strangely sitting at the head of the table instead of the mayor; Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins; retiring C...

House of Commons rises after tumultuous fall sitting, begins six-week winter break

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

OTTAWA — The House of Commons has wrapped up its work for 2023 after an intense fall sitting, with MPs returning to their ridings for a six-week holiday break.A gun-control bill that enshrines a handgun freeze and a bill that lifts GST charges off rental developments and amends the country’s competition law both crossed the finish line in Parliament this week. The minority Liberal government also passed a suite of bail reforms, launched a dental-care program demanded by the NDP and concluded its standoff with Google, which agreed to pay Canadian news publishers $100 million a year in compliance with the Online News Act.Conservatives, enjoying a major boost in the polls, made their presence known in the Commons with a series of procedural tactics that culminated in a marathon 30-hour voting session last week to show their opposition to federal carbon pricing.In September, Anthony Rota stepped down as Speaker after he lauded a man who had served in a unit created by the Nazis to...

Column: Time for Belichick to leave on his terms (sort of), before he’s shoved out the door

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

This is starting to feel like Tom Landry’s final days as an NFL coach, just before he was ingloriously put out to pasture. Or maybe it will be more akin to Don Shula, who trudged into a retirement that seemed forced on him.Athletes rarely know when it’s time to go, and that unwillingness to face reality certainly applies to coaches, too.Which brings us to Bill Belichick.He’s stubborn and ornery and downright defiant about his future, insisting that he’s looking no farther than New England’s upcoming game against the Chiefs.“I’m getting ready for Kansas City,” Belichick droned over and over and over again when the subject of his future came up this week.But the Patriots coach needs to start thinking about his legacy. Secure as it is, Belichick’s obstinance is starting to look more like delusion as the game clearly passes him by.Time for the 71-year-old grumpy lobster boat captain to call it a career, with some degree of dignity, before the Pa...

Mother charged with 1st-degree murder in deaths of 2 children at Scarborough apartment

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

A woman recovering in hospital with serious injuries is facing two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her two boys, who were found unconscious at a Scarborough apartment last weekend.Emergency crews were called to the building on Glamorgan Avenue near Kennedy and Ellesmere Roads just after 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10, after getting reports a woman had fallen from a balcony.When police arrived, they found a woman on the ground outside the building in critical condition. Two young boys were found inside an apartment unit several floors up with no vital signs.The children, aged four and five, were rushed to separate hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.The boys had no visible signs of trauma when they were found, and investigators are still trying to determine the cause, calling the deaths “suspicious.”On Thursday, police charged 25-year-old Vanessa Collias with two counts of first-degree murder. Police said she appeared in court via telephone and was rem...

US returns to Greece 30 ancient artifacts worth $3.7 million, including marble statues

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The United States on Friday returned to Greece 30 ancient artifacts, including marble statues, armor helmets and breastplates, found to have been illicitly removed from the country, authorities said. The pieces handed over to Greek officials in New York date back from as long as 4,700 years ago to the Middle Ages. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the “exquisite” works were collectively valued at $3.7 million (3.39 million euros).Nineteen of the artifacts were voluntarily surrendered from New York gallery owner Michael Ward, the DA’s office said in a statement.Three others were seized from British art dealer Robin Symes, the statement said, while one was seized from a storage unit belonging to an unspecified New York-based private collector.“This is an exquisite set of 30 antiquities that represents the extraordinary depth and beauty of Greece’s cultural heritage,” Bragg said.The works include a Roman-era headless marble statue of Aphrodite, th...

‘Militia enthusiast’ gets over 4 years in prison for attacking police with baton during Jan. 6 riot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Michigan man described by prosecutors as a self-professed militia leader was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison for attacking law enforcement officers with a stolen police baton during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.Matthew Thomas Krol, 65, of Linden, Michigan, assaulted at least three officers, injuring one of them, with the baton that he took from police. A prosecutor said Krol was one of the worst instigators of violence that ultimately forced officers to retreat from the mob of rioters who stormed the Capitol’s West Plaza.Videos captured Krol’s attacks on officers, including Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell. Krol swung the stolen police baton at Gonell and struck his outstretched right hand, leaving it bloody and swollen.Krol apologized to Gonell, who was in the courtroom, before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced him to four years and three months in prison. He’ll get credit for the time he has spent in ja...

‘I want to live’: Whitby woman struggling to pay for life-saving cancer treatment after being denied OHIP coverage

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

A Whitby woman receiving treatment for Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer is struggling to pay for a new life-saving drug after being denied coverage by OHIP. She is calling for change so other women don’t fall into what she calls a loophole.Gabriela Fiorini was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 before it returned as metastatic cancer in 2021.“It came to the liver, the lungs, and the bones. And I started treatment immediately and then all of a sudden they discovered that it went to my brain too,” she explained.The 62-year-old, who came to Canada from Argentina 30 years ago and volunteers to help newcomers, is HER2 positive and there are few treatment options. She was put on a drug called Kadcyla but stopped in Nov. 2022 after it was discovered the treatment wasn’t working. Shortly after, her oncologist informed her of a new drug called Enhertu that had just been approved in Ontario. Studies show it has had greater success and offers what every cancer p...

Mississauga basketball coach charged for sexually assaulting female player

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:36:54 GMT

A basketball coach from Mississauga has been charged for allegedly sexually assaulting one of his female players.Peel Regional Police said that between the spring of 2022 and the summer of 2023, a 16-year-old female was a player on a local basketball team and alleged that her coach sexually assaulted her.On Wednesday, police arrested 35-year-old Richard Chong of Mississauga. He’s been charged with sexual assault and sexual exploitation.He has been held on bail. Authorities said Chong has worked as a basketball coach for the last 13 years in multiple areas within the GTA and is currently employed as a basketball coach and volunteer within Peel Region.Investigators are concerned that there may be more victims.