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Cyber Monday: how to find the best deals

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

Cyber Monday is still one of the best days of the year to shop online. Retailers typically try just a little bit harder with their discounts to get you to press that "buy" button.To uncover Cyber Monday deals, I turned to you! On my social media, I asked what your favorite strategies are. Here's what you came up with.Working on a story about holiday shopping resources. What are your favorite sites, tools, price-checkers, extensions and other shopping helpers?— Rich DeMuro (@richontech) November 17, 2023Visit a website, but don't buy just yetOne top strategy you mentioned is to go directly to the website of the retailer selling the product you want. Then, add it to your cart and wait. The algorithms might notice your interest and send you a discount or price drop alert. I've definitely had this happen to me, especially if I leave my email address with the online site.Use a shopping assistantThere are tons of shopping assistants out there. You seemed to like one called Karma. It...

Rare Hearts and Radioheads

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

RadioheadIn Rainbows (Self-released/XL)Rare Hearts and Radioheads: Rare Hearts told us about their love for a Radiohead classic.(Radiohead/XL)Rare Hearts: My favorite album is one of the hardest questions to answer! It can change on any given day between, Mac Millers Circles or Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly or Radioheads In Rainbows.And still the list can go so much deeper. From classic rock to modern hip hop to soul and R&B — believe me when I say I’m struggling to choose just one!But for today, if am choosing one, I’d have to go with. In Rainbows by Radiohead! From all of the instrumentation and vocals — it’s an album I can turn on and listen through completely anytime and anywhere!Rare Hearts and Radioheads: Rare Hearts’ single “Good Mantra” is out now.                               &nbs...

Got Questions About CBD Kief? — Check Out This Guide To Hemp Kief

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

Kief is the crown jewel of the cannabis plant. This ultra-potent powder from the tips of marijuana nugs has played a central role in many cannabis products, especially hash blocks. While kief is still widely associated with THC-containing weed, it has become more fashionable in CBD circles. Indeed, it’s getting easier for hemp fans to find CBD kief in many pre-made products.So, how does CBD kief compare with cannabis kief? Will hemp-derived kief significantly alter a CBD user’s experience?What Does “CBD Kief” Mean?In cannabis culture, “kief” refers to the tips of the cannabinoid-rich trichomes on a marijuana strain’s buds. Since these squiggly & sticky trichomes contain all of the chemicals cannabis smokers want, weed fans have always valued them highly. Long ago, extractors in the Middle East developed advanced sifting methods for breaking off these delicate trichomes and forming ultra-potent “hashish” blocks.The only difference between “traditional” kief and CBD kief is that t...

TasteFood: A hot pink hummus makeover

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

It’s time to dress up for the holidays. While this certainly applies to our wardrobes, here we are talking about hummus. Hummus is a party favorite, easy to make in advance and unfailingly popular. It’s also very beige in color. This recipe gives the dependable Levantine chickpea-and-tahini dip a holiday makeover, infusing it with a jolt of color and a sprinkle of bling to usher in the festive season.For that task, look no further than the humble beet root. Beet roots are sweet and earthy, packed with fiber, vitamins and nutrients, and, for the sake of a party, they are decidedly not beige. Their brilliant fuchsia flesh lends vibrance and extra depth of flavor (not to mention healthy antioxidants) to the hummus, elevating it to take center stage in your appetizer spread.Other sweet and colorful root vegetables, such as carrots or sweet potatoes, can be substituted for the beets. Roast the sweet potatoes until tender, then peel. If using carrots, peel them first and then ...

Are male calico cats akin to unicorns? Oakland reader wants the real story

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

DEAR JOAN: I’m planning on adopting a cat next year. I’ve always wanted a calico cat, so I’ll be looking for one. I just think their coloring is so pretty and unique.My friend and next door neighbor told me that if I get a calico, it will be a female. I wasn’t looking specifically for a male or female, just a happy, beautiful cat, but now I’m wondering – are all calico cats really female?My friend said if anyone ever found a male calico, they’d be rich because they could use it to breed more male calicos. That didn’t sound quite right to me.Can you tell me the real story?— Natalie, OaklandDEAR NATALIE: Your friendly neighbor is sort of right, but since you asked, here’s the full story, explained by someone who only got a B+ in biology. I would have gotten an A, but I couldn’t bring myself to collect any more insects for the class project.Part of the calico-ness of calico cats is dependent on the sex. Like in humans, females have two XX chromosomes, and males have the XY. A cal...

Hikers find missing Bernese mountain dog in Colorado mountains after nearly two months

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

A 14-month-old Bernese mountain dog that was missing for seven weeks was found by hikers near a trail in western Jefferson County this week and reunited with her owner.Hikers, open space marshals and an animal control officer used a tarp to carry Nova Riley, a 14-month-old Bernese mountain dog whose leg was broken, down to a trailhead north of Conifer. (Courtesy Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office) Two hikers spotted Nova Riley near a trail in Meyer Ranch Park on Sunday, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. The park is approximately three miles north of Conifer along U.S. 285.Nova Riley, a service dog in training to help her owner safely move around, was able to slip out of her harness and run away when she became spooked in a Safeway parking lot, her owner Robynne Simons-Sealy said.Simons-Sealy, who is disabled, said community members and neighbors tirelessly helped her search for Nova Riley. The dog was spotted several times, but was too scared to come near peopl...

Cupertino sees its first “builder’s remedy” project

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

A Bay Area developer is invoking the “builder’s remedy” in Cupertino with plans to demolish three commercial buildings and erect a five-story apartment complex in its place.Acclaim Companies submitted its application in late September through the provision of a state housing law that allows developers to build projects larger than local zoning laws typically allowed in cities that haven’t received approval on state-mandated housing plans.Located at 20015 Stevens Creek Blvd., the project will include 141 units — with 20% of them affordable as dictated by the “builder’s remedy” — and two floors of underground parking. The development is estimated to be 70 feet tall, which is 25 feet higher than what the lot is zoned for.“The city reviews and responds to applications in a timely manner, and is committed to responding to this project just as efficiently,” Deputy City Manager Tina Kapoor said in a statement. “The cit...

NYPD Paid Out $30 Million in Misconduct Cases Before Litigation in First Half of 2023

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

The New York Police Department has been making headlines for the huge settlements paid out by the city in misconduct cases. In the first half of 2023, New York City paid more than $50 million in lawsuits alleging misconduct by members of the NYPD. That figure is on track to exceed $100 million by the end of the year — but even that total doesn’t capture how much the city has to spend in cases where its cops are accused of everything from causing car accidents to beating innocent people.The $100 million figure does not include lawsuits settled by the city prior to litigation, which reached $30 million in the first nine months of this year, according to data obtained from the office of the New York City Comptroller through a public records request. Pre-litigation settlements from July 2022 through September of this year totaled $50 million — meaning the city’s payouts in such suits since July 2022, including those settled after litigation — rose to a total of around $280 million....

Powerful storm pounds the Black Sea region, leaving more than a half-million people without power

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

A weekend storm that pounded the Black Sea region toppled trees, tore down power lines and flooded coastal areas of southern Russia and Ukraine, leaving more than a half-million people without power Monday, officials and media reports said.The Moscow region, meanwhile, was blanketed with snow that piled drifts up to 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches), three times heavier than normal, the Tass news agency said.The storms were part of a weather system that created blizzard-like conditions in Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and Serbia on Sunday, dumping snow and causing power outages and fatal traffic accidents.Emergency conditions were declared in several regions of the Crimean Peninsula, Tatyana Lyubetskaya, a Russia-installed official at the Crimean environmental monitoring department, told Tass.With strong winds forecast to continue Monday, Crimean officials told people to stay home as government facilities, including schools and hospitals, were closed.The storm was one of the most power...

Guardiola praises the late Terry Venables’ ‘incredible’ impact on Barcelona and Spanish soccer

Published Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:00:02 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — There’s a photograph doing the rounds of Pep Guardiola, then a wide-eyed 15-year-old ball boy, looking up to Terry Venables after the grinning English coach had been hoisted onto the shoulders of two Barcelona players at the Camp Nou.Venables had just guided Barcelona to the European Cup final in 1986, adding to his popularity after leading the Catalan team to its first Spanish league title in 11 years the previous season.Guardiola was in Barcelona’s storied La Masia academy at the time and he could sense the impact Venables was having around the club. More than bringing some typically English elements — physicality, strength at set pieces, hard pressing and organization — to the team, Venables also added tactical acumen to Barcelona and to Spanish soccer as a whole. Plenty of excitement, too, as Barcelona finally started to compete again with the likes of Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad for the league title.Guardiola was in reminiscent mood...