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Virginia is for lovers … of wine and autumn leaves

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

Gretchen McKay | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — Virginia has long been a favorite destination for travelers, thanks to its beautiful beaches, breathtaking mountainous scenery and storied American history. (It was home to four of the first five U.S. presidents.)It’s also a great place to see spectacular fall foliage and drink a glass of wine, whether your prefer a full-bodied red, a crisp white or simply want a taste of Norton, America’s oldest native grape.In the 1980s, the entire state had only six wineries. Today, there are more than 300 wineries and 4,000 acres under vine in eight distinct American Viticultural Areas, says Anne Boyd, director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Board,Virginia’s $1.73 billion wine industry has created more than 10,000 full-time jobs and has been a boon for tourism, drawing about 2.6 million visitors a year, according to Boyd.Chrysalis Vineyards has the largest single planting of Norton, a native American grape, in the world, with 40...

20 books we’re looking forward to reading in the fall and winter of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

Whether you’re in a rush to fulfill your New Year’s resolution or you just want something to keep you company as the weather gets cooler, it’s not too late to pick up some books to read before 2023 comes to a close. This season has several titles to keep you interested and educated, and give you something to talk about holiday parties (they’ll be here before you know it). Related: Sign up for our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and moreWhether your interests are cryptocurrency or the Roman Empire, video games or true crime, you’re bound to find something exciting to curl up with this fall — here are 20 books you might want to add to your shopping list.“Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon”Author: Michael LewisWhat It’s About: The “Big Short” author turns his eye to Sam Bankman-Fried, the Stanford-born cryptocurrency exchange CEO whose arrest and trial on fraud charges have been dominating headlines this year. Lewis has a gift for making difficult s...

Shonda Rhimes to bring ‘Black Barbie’ documentary to Netflix

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

Karu F. Daniels | New York Daily News (TNS)Netflix uber-producer Shonda Rhimes has snapped up the rights for “Black Barbie: A Documentary,” which chronicles Mattel’s 1980 introduction of the first Black doll, bringing some much-needed diversity to the iconic brand.The film, first shown at SXSW earlier this year, was written and directed by filmmaker Lagueria Davis, whose aunt Beulah Mae Mitchell worked at Mattel and was one of three Black women who advocated for the groundbreaking toy.According to the documentary’s logline, “Black Barbie” examines “the importance of representation and how dolls can be crucial to the formation of identity and imagination.”Cultural commentators, historians and consumers also weigh in on the impact of the doll. Mitchell and other Black women share their own stories of not seeing themselves represented, and how Black Barbie’s arrival affected them.“Telling Black Barbie’s story has been such a personal journey and it warms my heart to celebrate the legac...

What’s that sound? A heart murmur can be innocent or serious

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

Mayo Clinic Staff | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkLubb-dupp. Lubb-dupp. Those are the words that health care professionals often use to mimic the sound of your heartbeat. That steady, regular sound is made by your heart valves opening and closing as blood circulates through your heart.You may have heard the term “heart murmur.” A murmur is an extra heart sound that can be heard by a stethoscope. Sometimes, the murmur sounds like a humming, which can be faint or loud. It might be temporary or persistent. Heart murmurs may be present at birth or develop later in life during pregnancy, phases of rapid growth like adolescence or from a fever or anemia.The murmur may disappear as quickly as it comes if it has a temporary cause. However, a murmur also could be persistent and loud, easily heard and sound like a churning mill wheel or cooing seagull. This might indicate a serious heart problem.What causes a heart murmur?Multiple factors can cause a murmur. It could be a heart va...

Bruins notebook: Brad Marchand weighs in on Pride tape controversy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

There has been a brewing controversy since the NHL has banned the use of rainbow-colored tape some players had put on their sticks in warmups to show support for the LGBTQ+ community. The restriction has come under the league’s new restriction on “cause messaging” on equipment in practices or games.The move came after several players across the league last season declined to wear Pride-themed sweaters in warmups.Brad Marchand, who has spoken out against homophobia in the past, was asked about it after the morning skate and said people should be able to hold their own beliefs.“My beliefs are that you treat everyone with respect, treat people how you want to be treated and you support who and what you want to support. But also, I don’t think that we need to be used to push political agendas as well,” said Marchand.“So if there’s something you feel like supporting, you support it. I think where a lot of it comes from is the backlash that the players got in the previou...

Ozempic for weight loss is disrupting companies’ business model

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

Leslie Patton | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsAs sales of appetite-suppressing drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro skyrocket, corporate America is grappling with the question: How does a less-hungry, less-impulse-prone consumer affect my business model?Companies from Walmart Inc. to Conagra Brands Inc. are weighing how much to factor the diabetes drugs known as GLP-1s, increasingly being used for weight loss, into their strategies. Moves they make now could reverberate for years to come, so the pressure’s high to get it right.“Companies will overreact. The smart money will take action, but act slowly,” said Gary Stibel, chief executive officer of New England Consulting Group, which advises consumer and health care companies.John Furner, CEO of Walmart’s U.S. operations, recently said the retailer is seeing a “slight pullback in the overall basket” of food purchases as a result of the drugs, but added it’s too early to draw definitive conclusions. Conagra CEO Sean Connolly told investors recent...

Mac Jones bringing new attitude after two straight Patriots losses?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

FOXBORO — Bill Belichick delivered a message after Sunday’s loss to the Saints that the Patriots were “starting over” this week.Based on Mac Jones’ demeanor at Wednesday’s news conference, “starting over” might entail a new attitude for the starting quarterback.Jones seemed looser in Wednesday’s meeting with the press. He was smiling and joked around as reporters interrupted each other to ask him questions at the same time. He was asked where that came from.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots offense gets good news at practice ahead of Week 6 matchup vs. Raiders New England Patriots | Bill Belichick insists re-signing Jakobi Meyers was priority for Patriots New England Patriots | Bill Belichick: Mac Jones will start at QB, Patriots ‘not making any changes’ New England Patriots | Could Patriots CB J.C. Jackson start Sunday against the Raiders? ...

McConnell's Fine Ice Creams opens San Diego-area shop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Here's the scoop: there's a new ice cream shop in town.Santa Barbara-based McConnell's Fine Ice Cream has expanded to the San Diego area, opening its newest scoop shop in Carlsbad. The shop opened its doors last week at the Forum Carlsbad, an outdoor mall at 1935 Calle Barcelona. McConnell's is at Suite 175, next to Geppetto's Toy Store.McConnell's got its start in Santa Barbara in 1949 and has since opened up shops in San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Studio City, Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. Carlsbad is the brand's first location in San Diego County. There’s a dog-friendly speakeasy hidden in this Carlsbad corn maze With flavors like sea salt cream and cookies, s'mores, and sweet cream caramel brownie, the brand is known for making its ice creams from scratch using local and organic ingredients. McConnell's also offers a variety of dairy-free flavors, like coffee cookie crumble and mango sorbet.The shop serves up scoops in cups or cones, or you can try your chose...

Republicans nominate Steve Scalise to be House speaker but struggle to unite quickly and elect him

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise on Wednesday to be the next House speaker but struggled to quickly unite their deeply divided majority and elect the conservative in a public floor vote after ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the job.In private balloting at the Capitol, House Republicans narrowly pushed aside Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the firebrand Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Scalise, the current majority leader. The Louisiana congressman, who is battling blood cancer, is seen as a hero to some after surviving a mass shooting on lawmakers at a congressional baseball game practice in 2017. “We have a lot of work to do,” Scalise said afterward. A floor vote of the whole House could come as soon, but tensions are still running high among Republicans who have brought the House to a standstill with bitter infighting after McCarthy’s historic removal last week. Wednesday’s planned voting was uncertain.It’s an extraordinary moment of political chaos...

Huge rocket motors arrive at Los Angeles museum for space shuttle Endeavour display

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two giant rocket motors required to display the retired NASA space shuttle Endeavour as if it’s about to blast off arrived Wednesday at a Los Angeles museum, completing their long journey from the Mojave Desert.The 116-foot-long (35.3-meter) motors, which look like giant white cylinders, were trucked over two days from the Mojave Air and Space Port to LA’s Exposition Park, where the California Science Center’s Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is being built to display Endeavour.Donated by Northrop Grumman, the motors are the largest components of the two solid rocket boosters that would be attached to a space shuttle’s external tank to help the main engines lift the orbiter off the launch pad.Schoolchildren were among several hundred people who watched the move — the latest spectacle in the yearslong process of preparing to put Endeavour on permanent display vertically as if it was about to blast off.The massive shuttle was flown to Los A...