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What animal is stealing the soap from an Aptos backyard shower, and what are they doing with it?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

DEAR JOAN: I have an outdoor shower in my backyard. Until recently, I always kept a bar of soap in the shower. Lately, the bar of soap has been disappearing.I’ll put a new bar out, and in a day or two, it will be gone. Any idea what is taking the soap and what they are doing with it? Not eating it, I hope!— Stephanie Beck, AptosDEAR STEPHANIE: No need to envision tiny little bathtubs and showers. They’re eating it. The most likely culprits are rats, but skunks, opossums, foxes, raccoons and squirrels have all been known to chow down on a bar of soap, which also dispels the common belief that a bar of Irish Spring will keep critters away.Animal fats — lard or tallow — once was a standard ingredient in soaps, although many soaps these days are made with synthetic ingredients. If you see the words “sodium tallowate” or “sodium lardate” on your soap label, it contains animal fats.Many animals can detect the aroma of the fat, even over perfume-y scents, and ...

TasteFood: Make a squash blossom and chile pepper pizza

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Don’t miss the fleeting season for zucchini flowers or squash blossoms. These floppy flowers are easy to spot at farmers markets in the summer. Sunny orange in color and delicate as tissue, they are hard to overlook. The fragile blossoms are best when fresh and unpackaged, so they’re less commonly found in supermarkets.If you are lucky to access squash blossoms, there are many ways to prepare them. A traditional Italian method is to stuff them with a soft cheese, such as mozzarella, ricotta or goat; a few aromatics, such as chopped herbs and garlic; and a pinch of seasoning. The flowers are then deep-fried in oil or pan-fried in a skillet. The results are crisp, golden and oozing with melty cheese.A lighter, easier option is to simply saute them in butter or olive oil and serve with pasta, or layer them in cheesy quesadillas and egg dishes. The blossoms can also be served raw; their flavor is mild and vegetal. Toss them into salads, or chop and sprinkle as a garnish over...

Wish You Were Here: Atop Sugarloaf on a Brazilian cruise

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Globetrotting readers have been exploring the far corners of the world this year, taking in such sights as the Azores,  Northern Ireland’s spectacular Giant’s Causeway and Kauai’s Napali Coast. And they’ve been sharing practical travel tips and memorable experiences along the way.Today, a San Jose professor shares his recent shipboard travels in Brazil.Wish You Were HereRelated ArticlesTravel | Wish You Were Here: A trek through Portugal BRAZIL: This spring, San Jose State professor emeritus of history Michael Conniff and his wife, Anne Fountain, traveled from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro on Seven Seas Voyager, where Mike served as destination lecturer for the cruise. Rio’s legendary Sugarloaf was among the many sights they enjoyed — Mike, right, is seen here with fellow passenger Trip Kloser and Botafogo Bay and Corcovado mountain in the background.TRAVEL TIPS: “Rio has greatly improved cruise ship facilities since my last...

Travel Troubleshooter: My brother died. Can I get a refund for my airline tickets?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I had tickets on United Airlines to fly from San Jose to Anchorage, Alaska, last summer. In August, my brother died unexpectedly, so we canceled our travel plans.I reserved my airline flights through Booking.com and followed all their instructions regarding a refund. I sent my brother’s death certificate and obituary. Booking.com asked for more proof that we were related, and finally, they asked for his birth certificate. They kept asking for more documentation. Then, they denied our claim.Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter I appealed to United Airlines, and it graciously agreed to refund our tickets, even though we booked through a third party. Shortly after that correspondence from United, Booking.com also agreed to refund our tickets.As of now, I still have not received the refund to my credit cards, even though they say they have refunded me. I have sent numerous emails to all the people listed on your consumer advocacy site, an...

Man convicted in California for felony hit-and-run faces vehicular homicide charges in Minneapolis for crash that killed 5

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

By Andy Rose | CNNA Minnesota man faces 10 counts of criminal vehicular homicide for a crash in Minneapolis that killed five people last Friday.Derrick John Thompson, 27, faces two charges for each victim, one for operating a vehicle in a grossly negligent manner and one for causing a collision and leaving the scene of the crime.A Minnesota State Police trooper testified in an affidavit he followed the SUV Thompson was allegedly driving, and witnessed the vehicle speeding and moving erratically on Interstate 35W when the driver suddenly crossed all the lanes and exited onto Lake Street.Thompson did not heed a red light at the end of the off-ramp and “collided violently” with a Honda Civic, the trooper’s testimony alleges, crushing the car and pinning it against the wall of a bridge.All five people inside the Civic were killed. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner released the names of five female passengers in a fatal collision at that address on that date: Salma Mohamed Abdikadir, ...

‘Like Duke giving up basketball’: This Bay Area district has dominated the high school Japan Bowl for years. Now, its vaunted program may be getting the ax

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Until the moment she stepped on the stage, Maya Swaminathan felt nauseous.The 17-year-old had been preparing for months to represent San Jose’s Lynbrook High School in April at The Japan Bowl, a high-pressure national competition where hundreds of gifted students spar over Japanese language, culture and history.She and her classmates coached each other on the flight from the Bay Area to D.C., then crammed into a hotel room to drill each other past midnight on all things Japanese. What is the name of the traditional square cloth used for wrapping gifts? (Furoshiki) Which city hosted the 1972 Winter Olympic Games in Japan? (Sapporo) What Japanese products are these regions — Shizuoka, Hokkaido and Niigata — known for producing? (Rice, tea and dairy)Reproductions of historical Japanese art pieces are on display in the class of Lynbrook High School Japanese language teacher Jeremy Kitchen on in San Jose. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group) Even though it was Maya’s t...

Women’s World Cup Guide: How to watch, schedule and betting favorites

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

The United States will be playing for an unprecedented three-peat at this year’s Women’s World Cup. It won’t be easy for the No. 1 team in the world.Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the quadrennial tournament for international soccer’s most coveted trophy kicks off July 20 and features an expanded field of 32 teams, up from 24. There are 64 matches during the tournament.That means more competition for the two-time defending World Cup champion U.S., which won the 2015 event in Canada and the 2019 tournament in France. The Americans have won four titles overall, most of any nation.WHAT’S THE WORLD CUP SCHEDULE AND WHERE IS IT LOCATED?The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four teams each. Each team plays a three-game, round-robin group stage, running from July 20 to Aug. 3.The top finishers advance to the round of 16 from Aug. 5-8. The quarterfinals are set for Aug. 11-12 and the two semifinal matches will be played Aug. 15-16. A third-place game ...

Carnival: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — MIAMI (AP) — Carnival Corp. (CCL) on Monday reported a loss of $407 million in its fiscal second quarter.The Miami-based company said it had a loss of 32 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 31 cents per share.The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 33 cents per share.The cruise operator posted revenue of $4.91 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.81 billion.For the current quarter ending in August, Carnival expects its per-share earnings to range from 70 cents to 77 cents.The company expects full-year results to range from a loss of 20 cents per share to a loss of 8 cents per share.Carnival shares have climbed 96% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P’s 500 index has increased 13%. The stock has climbed 46% in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by ...

Australia dismisses England before lunch to take lead in women’s Ashes series

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — England’s five remaining wickets fell on the final morning of the one-off women’s Ashes test and Australia seized the advantage in the multi-format series with an 89-run victory on Monday.England resumed its second innings on 116-5 in pursuit of a winning target of 268 on the last day at Trent Bridge. England collapsed to 178 all out despite 54 from Danni Wyatt.Off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner’s 8-66 in 20 overs saw her walk away with a 12-wicket haul as Australia collected four points ahead of the one-day internationals and Twenty20 games.England will have to win five of the six white-ball contests against the ODI and T20 world champions to retrieve the urn for the first time since 2015.Australia scored 473 in its first innings with Annabel Sutherland 137 not out. Tammy Beaumont (208) hit England women’s first double test century in reply.England had looked in control after dismissing Australia’s second innings for 257 and reaching 55-...

NATO chief makes last-ditch bid to bring Sweden into the fold before next month’s summit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that he will call an urgent meeting in the coming days to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military organization. It’s a last-ditch effort to have the Nordic country standing alongside the allies at a major summit next month.NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand. Turkey accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt.Stoltenberg said he has held fresh talks on Sweden’s candidacy with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as senior officials from Sweden and neighboring Finland, which became the 31st member of the world’s biggest security organization in April.“We agreed to convene a high-level meeting in Brussels before the summit” in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius beginning July 11, Stoltenberg told reporters. “The aim is to make...