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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There's more than just school pride and bragging rights to all that bellyaching over who might be in and who might be out of college football 's first 12-team playoff. Try the more than $115 million that will be spread across the conferences at the end of the season, all depending on who gets in and which teams go the farthest. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a weekNEW YORK — A prolonged and closely watched copyright case involving an online library's unauthorized offering of free e-books has ended after the defendant, Internet Archive, decided not to challenge an appeal's court's ruling against it. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a Manhattan federal court's decision that found the Archive in violation of copyright law and granted a permanent injunction. The Archive had until this week to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but declined to do so. In 2020, four major publishers — Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons and Penguin Random House — sued the Archive, alleging that it had illegally provided free copies of more than 100 books, including fiction by Toni Morrison and J.D. Salinger. The Archive had contended that its program of scanning and sharing books, “controlled digital lending,” was protected by fair use law. “After five years of litigation, we are thrilled to see this important case rest with the decisive opinion of the Second Circuit, which leaves no room for arguments that ‘controlled digital lending’ is anything more than infringement," Maria A. Pallante, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, said in a statement. The Archive’s director of library services, Chris Freeland, posted a brief statement on the Archive's web site saying that “While we are deeply disappointed with the Second Circuit’s opinion,” they would “continue to honor” an agreement to “remove books from lending at their member publishers’ requests.” This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of material from 11 contributing columnists , along with other commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• Moving to a new neighborhood often comes with some apprehension, but when I moved into my neighborhood a little more than a dozen years ago, I felt at home right away. The neighborhood was new and I was surrounded by others who wanted to build a special culture. I became friendly with many of them. I never knew who was going to drop by to share an intriguing point of view or a laugh. As neighbors, we looked out for each other and lifted each other up. Of course, I didn’t see eye-to-eye with everyone in the neighborhood. But we were all able to smile, nod or wave to each other in passing, like good neighbors do. When I refer to this neighborhood, it is not the home where I physically live with my family — but shoutout to the folk who live on my street in Cottage Grove: Traci, Mike, Phil, Jeannine. Y’all have always been terrific. No, I’m talking about the neighborhood where I’ve lived virtually — my Twitter community. (I know it was renamed X, but it’ll always be Twitter to me.) It’s where I engaged in intellectual debate and discussion with lawyers, professors, activists, celebrities and above-average Joes from all over the world. On Twitter, I found my voice and created content that built my career and buttressed my business. But lately, a new crew has muscled its way into my Twitter community, let in by new owner Elon Musk, who allows and even encourages them to dump daily loads of toxic waste. That changed the rules, spoiled the atmosphere and violated every norm of my precious neighborhood. It’s not healthy to live in this polluted space any longer. So I thought about packing up and leaving. My WCCO Radio colleague Chad Hartman advised me against it, saying, Don’t let them win. Use your voice and use the platform. But I kept hearing the words a wise old gambling man told me many years ago: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” I loved Twitter so much. I would wake up extra early every morning, and before I grabbed a cup of coffee, said my prayers or got my kids ready for school, I’d grab my phone and scroll through posts for hours to get news updates, see celebrity stories and read political commentary, all while laughing at jokes and viral videos. It was always a beautiful day in the Twitter neighborhood, until suddenly it wasn’t. I woke up one morning and all my favorite social media sidekicks were gone, replaced by renters who didn’t care anything about following the rules or junking up the place. When you see that things have changed for the worse and they can’t or won’t ever go back to the good ol’ days, the smart money lands on running away and not looking back. It’s against my nature to walk away from a good fight. But under X’s current incarnation, set in motion by Musk and his minions, Twitter’s intelligent and thought-provoking commentary is not celebrated, it’s attacked. The guardrails are off. It’s become common for threats and slurs — yes, the whole alphabet soup, the B-word, the C-word and the N-word — to be leveled. I’ve even experienced insults mocking my children with autism — yes, the R-word. It used to be when bad neighbors got downright disgusting, I could block them. Under Twitter’s new homeowner’s association rules, anyone I had blocked could now see my posts and find a way to respond with their sickening, predictably nasty comments. My friend Paul Douglas calls me Hurricane Sheletta because of the way I energize a room. But honey, I’m not Storm and there is no way my blood pressure will allow me, without medication, to hang around with these X-men and women. So with a heavy heart and itchy trigger finger, I deactivated my Twitter account this week. That meant that my timeline was lost, and with it a big chunk of my own history and great memories. No one can go back and read my viral posts, which have run from heartbreaking to hilarious. Even I can’t scroll back and relive some of the high points in my life that happened on Twitter. Here are just a few times Twitter flipped my script: In 2020, when Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis posted that he was looking for a worthy family to give a camper to, I suggested that he could do no better than my fabulous brood. Pretty soon my Twitter neighbors jumped into the conversation, explaining that if our family had a camper, we would be able to go on vacation with our special-needs children who, at the time, found most other travel options overstimulating. Lemonis was impressed and not only upgraded the camper to a Class A RV (which we quickly named The Brundidge Bus), but also signed me and my children to an endorsement deal with a contract to travel and produce content for his billion-dollar company. Two years later, our family was camping in our RV when my son Brandon saw “Let’s Go Brandon!” signs at a Texas campsite and regarded them as personal signs of encouragement. That inspired me to write a children’s book, “Brandon Spots His Sign,” about the importance of building confidence in kids with autism. One of my tweets about the book was seen by NASCAR driver Brandon Brown, the source of the original “Let’s Go, Brandon” chant. Over Twitter, Brown introduced himself and soon our whole family was invited to join him at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., where an imprint of my book was plastered on the hood of his car and my son got to take a thrilling first lap around the track with another confident Brandon. This winter, I posted a video on Twitter of my oldest son, Andrew, dancing while shoveling snow during a winter storm and it quickly went viral. His fancy footwork landed him a segment on Good Morning America and a pretty cool friendship with the show’s host, NFL great Michael Strahan. I also had a productive talk with Toro about a possible partnership. Every day I wake up and say the prayer of Jabez found in 1 Chronicles 4:10, asking the Lord to enlarge my territory and make my name great. That prayer was answered time and time again on Twitter. So it wasn’t easy to leave, but as I packed my things and planned to deactivate my account, I saw that many of my neighbors were packing up and leaving for the same reason. Now we’re looking for each other on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. I even found Nancy Lyons, CEO of consulting firm Clockwork, on TikTok. It’s like I’m still lost in these new neighborhoods, though. I’m looking for groups with my shared, lived experience — where are my autism moms? I’m a newbie on these other platforms, going from 7,000 followers on Twitter to seven on TikTok. I’m having to build my new social media house from scratch. Let’s hope this time that the new homeowner’s association president, Mark Zuckerberg, will make sure everyone follows the rules, so it’ll be more like Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood on PBS and less like the parody Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood that Eddie Murphy created for “Saturday Night Live.” Please, former Twitter friends and followers, as I search for you, come look for me. Let’s start over and build great social media neighborhoods again. Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor?By TRÂN NGUYỄN SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, home to some of the largest technology companies in the world, would be the first U.S. state to require mental health warning labels on social media sites if lawmakers pass a bill introduced Monday. The legislation sponsored by state Attorney General Rob Bonta is necessary to bolster safety for children online, supporters say, but industry officials vow to fight the measure and others like it under the First Amendment. Warning labels for social media gained swift bipartisan support from dozens of attorneys general, including Bonta, after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to establish the requirements earlier this year, saying social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people. “These companies know the harmful impact their products can have on our children, and they refuse to take meaningful steps to make them safer,” Bonta said at a news conference Monday. “Time is up. It’s time we stepped in and demanded change.” State officials haven’t provided details on the bill, but Bonta said the warning labels could pop up once weekly. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 say they use a social media platform, and more than a third say that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center. Parents’ concerns prompted Australia to pass the world’s first law banning social media for children under 16 in November. “The promise of social media, although real, has turned into a situation where they’re turning our children’s attention into a commodity,” Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored the California bill, said Monday. “The attention economy is using our children and their well-being to make money for these California companies.” Lawmakers instead should focus on online safety education and mental health resources, not warning label bills that are “constitutionally unsound,” said Todd O’Boyle, a vice president of the tech industry policy group Chamber of Progress. “We strongly suspect that the courts will set them aside as compelled speech,” O’Boyle told The Associated Press. Victoria Hinks’ 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, died by suicide four months ago after being “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glamorized eating disorders and self-harm. Hinks said the labels would help protect children from companies that turn a blind eye to the harm caused to children’s mental health when they become addicted to social media platforms. “There’s not a bone in my body that doubts social media played a role in leading her to that final, irreversible decision,” Hinks said. “This could be your story.” Related Articles National News | Biden creates Native American boarding school national monument to mark era of forced assimilation National News | ‘Polarization’ is Merriam-Webster’s 2024 word of the year National News | Supreme Court rejects appeal challenging Hawaii gun licensing requirements under Second Amendment National News | Supreme Court rejects appeal from Boston parents over race bias in elite high school admissions National News | Supreme Court rejects Wisconsin parents’ challenge to school guidance for transgender students Common Sense Media, a sponsor of the bill, said it plans to lobby for similar proposals in other states. California in the past decade has positioned itself as a leader in regulating and fighting the tech industry to bolster online safety for children. The state was the first in 2022 to bar online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could harm children. It was one of the states that sued Meta in 2023 and TikTok in October for deliberately designing addictive features that keep kids hooked on their platforms. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, also signed several bills in September to help curb the effects of social media on children, including one to prohibit social media platforms from knowingly providing addictive feeds to children without parental consent and one to limit or ban students from using smartphones on school campus. Federal lawmakers have held hearings on child online safety and legislation is in the works to force companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. The legislation has the support of X owner Elon Musk and the President-elect’s son, Donald Trump Jr . Still, the last federal law aimed at protecting children online was enacted in 1998, six years before Facebook’s founding.California to consider requiring mental health warnings on social media sites
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Global Hand Hygiene Monitoring System Market Set For 13.1% Growth, Reaching $9.87 Billion By 2028INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There's more than just school pride and bragging rights to all that bellyaching over who might be in and who might be out of college football 's first 12-team playoff. Try the more than $115 million that will be spread across the conferences at the end of the season, all depending on who gets in and which teams go the farthest. According to the College Football Playoff website , the 12 teams simply making the bracket earn their conferences $4 million each. Another $4 million goes to conferences whose teams get into the quarterfinals. Then, there's $6 million more for teams that make the semifinals and another $6 million for those who play for the title. Most of this bonanza comes courtesy of ESPN, which is forking over $1.3 billion a year to televise the new postseason. A lot of that money is already earmarked — more goes to the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference than the Big 12 or Atlantic Coast — but a lot is up for grabs in the 11 games that will play out between the opening round on Dec. 20 and the final on Jan. 20. In all, the teams that make the title game will bring $20 million to their conferences, all of which distribute that money, along with billions in TV revenue and other sources, in different ways. In fiscal 2022-23, the Big Ten, for instance, reported revenue of nearly $880 million and distributed about $60.5 million to most of its members. The massive stakes might help explain the unabashed lobbying coming from some corners of the football world, as the tension grows in advance of Sunday's final rankings, which will set the bracket. Earlier this week, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark lit into the selection committee, which doesn't have a single team higher than 15 in the rankings. That does two things: It positions the Big 12 as a one-bid league, and also threatens to makes its champion — either Arizona State or Iowa State — the fifth-best among conference titlists that get automatic bids. Only the top four of those get byes, which could cost the Big 12 a spot in the quarterfinals — or $4 million. “The committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” Yormark said this week, while slamming the idea of teams with two losses in his conference being ranked worse than teams with three in the SEC. The ACC is also staring at a one-bid season with only No. 8 SMU inside the cut line of this week's projected bracket. Miami's loss last week all but bumped the Hurricanes out of the playoffs, a snub that ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said left him “incredibly shocked and disappointed." “As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field," Phillips said in a statement. The lobbying and bickering filters down to the campuses that feel the impact. And, of course, to social media. One of the most entertaining episodes came earlier this week when athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU went back and forth about whose team was more deserving. There are a few stray millions that the selection committee cannot really influence, including a $3 million payment to conferences that make the playoff. In a reminder that all these kids are going to school, after all, the conferences get $300,000 per football team that meets academic requirements to participate in the postseason. (That's basically everyone). Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballTottenham boss Ange Postecoglou explained what he said during an angry confrontation with Spurs fans following Thursday night's defeat away to Bournemouth . Spurs slumped to 10th in the Premier League table following the loss, with Bournemouth leapfrogging their north London opponents in the process. Just 12 days ago Postecoglou's men dismantled Premier League champions Manchester City , but have since dropped points in their following two league fixtures. They were second-best throughout the contest against Bournemouth and understandably the Spurs faithful were frustrated with their side's showing at the Vitality Stadium. Postecoglou walked over to the travelling support and appeared to start demonstrating with one individual particularly, before walking away to leave the pitch. Opening up about the confrontation, the Aussie boss said: "The fans were disappointed and rightly so. They gave us some direct feedback which we'll take on board." When pushed on what the fans were saying to him, Postecoglou responded: "It's not something to be said in here." Consistency has plagued the capital club this term, with Spurs having managed back-to-back victories just once in the league all season. Having spent big in the summer transfer window, optimism was high heading into the season, but approaching the halfway mark, Spurs already face an uphill battle to get into the Champions League positions. man-utd On his side's lax showing against Bournemouth, Postecoglou told BBC Sport: "We started well and conceded a really poor goal. It's a difficult place to come when giving the opposition the opportunity to play in the manner they want. "It's disappointing. It's something we've done consistently and we always pay the price for it. "We started the second half with more conviction. Always be a tough game here. Don't want to give the opposition a leg up. We've done that in other games this year and paid the price. "It comes down to us as a collective being a lot more determined to control a game of football and not let the opposition take control." Postecoglou wasn't the only downtrodden voice in the Spurs camp, with Dejan Kulusevski also upset about the 1-0 loss. He told Amazon Prime: "It is not good enough. We conceded again on a corner and then everything gets much more difficult. Too many times this year we have conceded easy goals on corners. "Second half we came out much better and made some chances but we did not score and then lost the game. We are so disappointed to lose again. "We are not good enough in certain aspects, especially as I said on corners. We concede a lot that way and then it is difficult to play when you are 1-0 down. Three days and then we have another game against Chelsea , so we focus on that and move on." Things don't get much easier for Spurs, given their next match this weekend is against high-flying Chelsea .
Politics Our political journalists are based in the Maine State House and have deep source networks across the partisan spectrum in communities all over the state. Their coverage aims to cut through major debates and probe how officials make decisions. Read more Politics coverage here . A former state lawmaker and brewery owner is set to succeed Public Advocate Bill Harwood as Maine’s utility and consumer watchdog after Harwood retires next month. Gov. Janet Mills plans on appointing Heather Sanborn, a Portland native who served in the Maine House of Representatives and Maine Senate between 2016 and 2022, to the position after Harwood retires when his term ends Jan. 31, 2025. The Senate will need to confirm the Democrat’s nomination. Harwood, 72, said earlier this week he was retiring after more than 40 years of work on energy and utility issues to spend more time with family and friends. Mills appointed Harwood to the ratepayer and consumer advocate role in 2022. Sanborn and her husband, Nathan, founded Rising Tide Brewing in 2010 as one of the first breweries in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood. Oxbow Brewing Company announced Wednesday it would acquire Rising Tide in the coming weeks. Mills said in a news release Thursday that Sanborn, as a small business owner, knows “just how important it is to have stable, affordable energy costs for Maine people and businesses, and, as a lawmaker, she has championed bipartisan legislation to make energy costs more affordable and to improve energy efficiency across the state.” Sanborn, who served on the Legislature’s energy committee, would take over from Harwood after he upset lawmakers at times on both sides of the aisle for seeking to limit new natural gas pipelines in Maine and warning about how the state’s community solar program will result in high costs to ratepayers . Help us raise $100,000 to fund trusted journalism for your community. Make a tax-deductible donation now . One of the more public and noteworthy parts of the public advocate’s job is challenging Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power to justify their requests for rate increases in a state that has seen rising energy costs while also seeking to meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. “My experiences as a small business owner and as a legislator have made me acutely aware of the burden of high energy prices on Mainers,” Sanborn, who practiced law and taught at Cape Elizabeth High School earlier in her career, said in Thursday’s release. More articles from the BDN
France's government has fallen. Germany can't expect a new one until June. Just as Donald Trump prepares to take office in the US, the EU powerhouses face political disarray and economic contraction. Wednesday was a long day for France's shortest-ever serving prime minister. In the evening, 73-year-old Michel Barnier's minority government was toppled in a no-confidence vote in the French lower house, the National Assembly, that saw sworn enemies from the left and the far-right team up against him. "This no-confidence motion will make everything more serious and more difficult. That's what I'm sure of," Barnier said ahead of the vote. On Thursday morning, he officially tendered his resignation. He will continue as acting prime minister until a new government is formed. French President Emmanuel Macron wasted no time seeking a replacement; within hours he was seeing candidates. Not for the first time Macron, whose second and final presidential term expires in 2027, is batting away calls to resign himself. What's next for France? Macron appointed Barnier out of the blue in September to end months of political uncertainty. The president had called snap legislative elections that in July left the National Assembly divided into three camps, none strong enough to govern alone. A broad left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, won the polls, but the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen won the most votes as a single party. French PM Barnier toppled in no-confidence vote To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Macron's pro-business centrist Ensemble group did not want to work with either. So instead, they formed a minority government with Barnier's right-wing Republican party despite its historically poor performance in the parliamentary polls. In office, old-hand conservative Barnier made France's finances one of his top priorities. At 6.1% this year, the French gross domestic product-to-debt ratio is twice as high as EU rules allow; the country is among several EU states to be officially reprimanded by the European Commission. Barnier proposed a 2025 budget and social security reform that would have brought down public debt but necessitated tax hikes and spending cuts which the left and far-right slammed as austerity measures neglectful of citizens' needs. He presented parliament with a choice: vote for this budget or the government falls. They chose the latter, triggering the no-confidence motion that toppled him. Headcount is unchanged in National Assembly It is unclear what lies ahead for France, which is in an era of political volatility unprecedented since the end of the World War II. The balance of power in the National Assembly remains the same. It is divided into three blocs that are reluctant to enter coalition with each other. Government formation looks just as difficult as it did in July. Macron has made clear he will stay, and fresh legislative polls can't be called until mid-2025. Whoever follows Barnier as prime minister will be in a similarly weak position, struggling to get their political vision approved by the French parliament. Under the country's presidential system, most power is concentrated in Macron's hands, though he appears to have an ever-loosening grip. Tough times ahead for Paris and Berlin For Europe, all this likely means a more preoccupied France, and a potential slowdown of important collective decisions. "We need a French government that works for European legislation to also pass through, so the quicker we get a government the better," Sophie Pornschlegel of the Jacques Delors Centre, a think tank in Berlin, told DW. France's three-month stint without a government before Barnier's appointment didn't cause too many issues, she pointed out, but that period was less crucial because the new European Commission had not yet taken office. But Pornschlegel also warned against being too alarmist: "There's also possibility that it's not that much of a huge political crisis because they relatively quickly form a new government." At the same time, Germany is also somewhat out of action . Chancellor Olaf Scholz called time on his uncomfortable coalition government last month, with elections set for February. A new government should take office in Berlin by June. Until then, the government is likely to refrain from bold policy decisions. "It's bad news. What we need in times of crisis and times of geopolitical turmoil is to have strong and stable leadership," Pornschlegel said. Germany and France also face a bleak economic outlook . In November, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted that both countries ― the two largest economies in the Eurozone ― would contract economically in 2025, though the closely interlinked single market as a whole would swerve recession. "Despite those challenges, economic activity data for the euro area indicates modest but positive growth," economist Sven Jari Stehn wrote. Trump 2.0 on the horizon Paris and Berlin are normally deemed the key axis of power in the European Union, driving policy and setting the main contours of the 27-member bloc's agenda. Their preoccupations at home come at a critical moment. In January, Donald Trump will return to the White House a for a second term as US president. For the EU, that likely means a return of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs, which spell bad news for the German auto industry in particular. Within NATO, European states can expect regular blasting from Washington for lower defense spending that amounts to perceived free-riding on US military might. Trump has previously threatened to leave NATO members under attack to fend for themselves if they hadn't spent enough on their militaries. The "America First" Republican president-elect has also said he will quickly wrap up the Ukraine war by pushing Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow. If Trump withdraws US military support for Ukraine, the EU will be under pressure to dig very deep to fill the gap. For Pawel Zerka of the European Council on Foreign Relations, regardless of what's going on in Paris and Berlin, Trump's return means others must step up. "Europeans simply need to take a greater share of the burden when it comes to defending Europe and supporting Ukraine," he told DW. "Surely, a weakened French participation in these discussions will be felt. But this simply means other countries will need to take a greater role, leave the shade and their comfort zones." Edited by: Carla BleikerWhy C3.ai Stock Surged Higher Today
“Cassoulet, that best of bean feasts, is everyday fare for a peasant but ambrosia for a gastronome.” ~ Julia Child When winter heads our way, bringing chilly temperatures and close, dark nights, my thoughts turn to Cassoulet, the iconic comfort food from southwestern France. It has it all – juicy beans, duck leg confit, sausages and sometimes pork or lamb, slowly simmered in well-seasoned broth, then baked in a wide-mouthed, glazed terra-cotta dish called a cassole . Like any truly traditional dish, there are multiple versions, all claiming to be the “authentic one.” Cassoulet originated in southwestern France. Toulouse claims it — and so does Castelnaudary and Carcassonne — and the recipes vary. Toulouse adherents eschew adding cubed pork. Castelnaudary purists add a bit of lamb, while Carcassonne’s adds partridge. In most restaurants, cassoulets are served in an individual cassole , bubbling with hot juices,and with a bit of duck leg peeking through the top. But at Hostellerie Etienne , a vast indoor- outdoor restaurant on the edge of a forest near Castelnaudary, the cassoulets come to the table in family-size cassoles , big enough to serve two, four, six or even 10 people, so you can share the dish with your dining companions. I don’t know if Etienne’s even has a single-serving bowl size. I didn’t see one, when I was there as the guest of a bean trader from Castelnaudary. According to him, Etiennne’s has the best cassoulet anywhere, and they use the Lauragais lingot beans known as the Castelnaudary bean. Copious doesn’t begin to describe the cassoulet scene there, with stacks of cassoles lined up in Etienne’s kitchen, next to caldrons of simmering beans, ready to be filled and popped into the vast ovens. Here in the Bay Area, we have our own go-to restaurants for cassoulets. Some, like the Left Bank Brasseries in San Jose, Menlo Park, Oakland and Larkspur, and Reve Bistro in Lafayette, only serve it during the winter months as a special. (Reve will be serving cassoulet Dec. 10-14, for example, and Jan. 7-11; reserve it when you reserve your table.) Others, such as Bistro Jeanty in Yountville and Le Central in San Francisco, always have it on the menu. Both Reve Bistro and Bistro Jeanty use cassoles made by potter Kathy Kernes at her Crockett Pottery in Crockett, and they are every bit as beautiful and as practical as those you’ll find in southwestern France. Kernes’ makes cassoles in six sizes ($38-$210), ranging from individual to “extra large plus,” which is very large indeed. (Browse the possibilities at www.crockettpottery.com.) Reve Bistro offers take-out cassoulets if you pre-order the week the dish is on the menu. Pick it up — in a takeout container, not a cassole! — then heat it at home. Just note that chef-owner Paul Magu-Lecugy only makes a limited number of portions. “It’s time consuming,” he says, noting for him, it is a two-day process. Le Central’s cassoulet is one of the more elaborate around, with lamb, pork shoulder and boudin blanc, as well as the all-important duck leg confit and slightly garlicky Toulouse sausage. Left Bank uses chef-owner Roland Passot’s recipe (see below) and keeps it simple, limiting the meats to duck leg confit and Toulouse sausages. (Don’t panic. If you’re making this at home, some specialty markets sell duck confit.) The beans are key to cassoulet. Once cooked, they should not be mushy, but hold their shape after the long cooking. In France, tradition calls for either Tarbais beans, a plump, white bean, or lingot beans — a strain of cannellini beans — in making cassoulet. As Passot suggests in his recipe below, you can substitute cannellini beans or Great Northern beans. Rancho Gordo produces a variety called cassoulet , a West Coast-grown bean from the Tarbais strain. Cassoulet isn’t difficult to make. It just requires time and patience. You can make it a couple of days ahead, refrigerate it and then slowly reheat it. That way, there’s nothing to do on the day of but sip a glass of wine while the beans and meats slowly heat to bubbling. Add a green salad and some crusty bread, and you’ll have the perfect winter meal. Or put your coat on and head to one of our local restaurants, where the cooking is done for you. All you need is a reservation. Left Bank Brasserie Cassoulet Serves 6 to 8 INGREDIENTS Beans: 4 cups dried lingot beans (white kidney, cannellini or Great Northern, will all work) 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped 1 small onion, diced (about 3⁄4 cup) 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 pound slab bacon or extra thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 sprigs of thyme 1 bay leaf Cassoulet: 1⁄4 cup duck fat (lard will do in a pinch) 2 pounds pork butt cut in 2-inch cubes 1 cup onions, diced small 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1⁄4 cup tomato paste 1 small can diced tomatoes 11⁄2-2 cups reserved bean water 6 Toulouse sausages 1 small garlic sausage 4 confit duck legs, purchased or homemade (see note below) 1 cup panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Note: If you are making your own duck confit, start the night before by rubbing the duck legs with a “green salt” mixture — kosher salt, parsley, a couple of bay leaves and thyme ground together. The next day, rinse the duck legs well, pat dry and place in an oven-safe cooking vessel with enough duck fat to cover the legs. Roast in a 225-degree oven for 21⁄2 to 3 hrs. DIRECTIONS The night before, place the beans in a deep pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Let beans soak overnight. The next day, rinse the beans well. Add the rinsed beans, carrots, onions, garlic, bacon, thyme and bay leaf to cold water and cook, over low heat, until the beans are tender. Strain the beans, saving the water, and set aside the beans. In a large braising pan, melt the duck fat over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, brown the pork butt pieces without stirring. When beginning to brown, start stirring, making sure you scrape the bottom if it starts to caramelize. The pork doesn’t need much color, but it does need to cook in the duck fat for a while. Add lots of salt and pepper. This is not a shy dish. When the pork is nice and brown on all sides, add the 1 cup onions and garlic, and sauté until the onions are soft and cooked through. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and reserved liquid from the beans. Stir, using a rubber spatula to clean the side of the pot. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Bring the heat under the braising pan up to high. Once at a rolling boil, turn down to low heat and add all the sausages. When they are cooked through, remove and set aside. Slice the garlic sausage in half and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return the whole and sliced sausages back to the pot along with the cooked beans. Continue to cook on low heat until the pork is cooked through. Taste for seasoning; add more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the beans and pork to a heavy, wide mouth, earthenware, clay or cast iron baking dish that can hold 5 to 6 quarts. Bake at 250 degrees for about 11⁄2 hours, checking at least every 30 minutes. It may require a bit more time. If the dish is starting to look too dry, add a small amount of reserved bean broth or chicken stock. Add warmed duck legs to the cassoulet and make a breadcrumb topping by combining the panko, garlic, parsley, thyme and extra virgin olive oil. Return the dish to the oven and continue baking until the crumbs brown on the top. — Courtesy Roland Passot, Propriétaire, Chef Culinary Officer, Vine HospitalityQualcomm Investor Day Highlights Success Via Increased Diversification“Cassoulet, that best of bean feasts, is everyday fare for a peasant but ambrosia for a gastronome.” ~ Julia Child When winter heads our way, bringing chilly temperatures and close, dark nights, my thoughts turn to Cassoulet, the iconic comfort food from southwestern France. It has it all – juicy beans, duck leg confit, sausages and sometimes pork or lamb, slowly simmered in well-seasoned broth, then baked in a wide-mouthed, glazed terra-cotta dish called a cassole . Like any truly traditional dish, there are multiple versions, all claiming to be the “authentic one.” Cassoulet originated in southwestern France. Toulouse claims it — and so does Castelnaudary and Carcassonne — and the recipes vary. Toulouse adherents eschew adding cubed pork. Castelnaudary purists add a bit of lamb, while Carcassonne’s adds partridge. In most restaurants, cassoulets are served in an individual cassole , bubbling with hot juices,and with a bit of duck leg peeking through the top. But at Hostellerie Etienne , a vast indoor- outdoor restaurant on the edge of a forest near Castelnaudary, the cassoulets come to the table in family-size cassoles , big enough to serve two, four, six or even 10 people, so you can share the dish with your dining companions. I don’t know if Etienne’s even has a single-serving bowl size. I didn’t see one, when I was there as the guest of a bean trader from Castelnaudary. According to him, Etiennne’s has the best cassoulet anywhere, and they use the Lauragais lingot beans known as the Castelnaudary bean. Copious doesn’t begin to describe the cassoulet scene there, with stacks of cassoles lined up in Etienne’s kitchen, next to caldrons of simmering beans, ready to be filled and popped into the vast ovens. Here in the Bay Area, we have our own go-to restaurants for cassoulets. Some, like the Left Bank Brasseries in San Jose, Menlo Park, Oakland and Larkspur, and Reve Bistro in Lafayette, only serve it during the winter months as a special. (Reve will be serving cassoulet Dec. 10-14, for example, and Jan. 7-11; reserve it when you reserve your table.) Others, such as Bistro Jeanty in Yountville and Le Central in San Francisco, always have it on the menu. Both Reve Bistro and Bistro Jeanty use cassoles made by potter Kathy Kernes at her Crockett Pottery in Crockett, and they are every bit as beautiful and as practical as those you’ll find in southwestern France. Kernes’ makes cassoles in six sizes ($38-$210), ranging from individual to “extra large plus,” which is very large indeed. (Browse the possibilities at www.crockettpottery.com.) Reve Bistro offers take-out cassoulets if you pre-order the week the dish is on the menu. Pick it up — in a takeout container, not a cassole! — then heat it at home. Just note that chef-owner Paul Magu-Lecugy only makes a limited number of portions. “It’s time consuming,” he says, noting for him, it is a two-day process. Le Central’s cassoulet is one of the more elaborate around, with lamb, pork shoulder and boudin blanc, as well as the all-important duck leg confit and slightly garlicky Toulouse sausage. Left Bank uses chef-owner Roland Passot’s recipe (see below) and keeps it simple, limiting the meats to duck leg confit and Toulouse sausages. (Don’t panic. If you’re making this at home, some specialty markets sell duck confit.) The beans are key to cassoulet. Once cooked, they should not be mushy, but hold their shape after the long cooking. In France, tradition calls for either Tarbais beans, a plump, white bean, or lingot beans — a strain of cannellini beans — in making cassoulet. As Passot suggests in his recipe below, you can substitute cannellini beans or Great Northern beans. Rancho Gordo produces a variety called cassoulet , a West Coast-grown bean from the Tarbais strain. Cassoulet isn’t difficult to make. It just requires time and patience. You can make it a couple of days ahead, refrigerate it and then slowly reheat it. That way, there’s nothing to do on the day of but sip a glass of wine while the beans and meats slowly heat to bubbling. Add a green salad and some crusty bread, and you’ll have the perfect winter meal. Or put your coat on and head to one of our local restaurants, where the cooking is done for you. All you need is a reservation. Serves 6 to 8 Beans: 4 cups dried lingot beans (white kidney, cannellini or Great Northern, will all work) 1 small carrot, peeled and chopped 1 small onion, diced (about 3⁄4 cup) 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 pound slab bacon or extra thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 sprigs of thyme 1 bay leaf Cassoulet: 1⁄4 cup duck fat (lard will do in a pinch) 2 pounds pork butt cut in 2-inch cubes 1 cup onions, diced small 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1⁄4 cup tomato paste 1 small can diced tomatoes 11⁄2-2 cups reserved bean water 6 Toulouse sausages 1 small garlic sausage 4 confit duck legs, purchased or homemade (see note below) 1 cup panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Note: If you are making your own duck confit, start the night before by rubbing the duck legs with a “green salt” mixture — kosher salt, parsley, a couple of bay leaves and thyme ground together. The next day, rinse the duck legs well, pat dry and place in an oven-safe cooking vessel with enough duck fat to cover the legs. Roast in a 225-degree oven for 21⁄2 to 3 hrs. The night before, place the beans in a deep pot and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Let beans soak overnight. The next day, rinse the beans well. Add the rinsed beans, carrots, onions, garlic, bacon, thyme and bay leaf to cold water and cook, over low heat, until the beans are tender. Strain the beans, saving the water, and set aside the beans. Related Articles In a large braising pan, melt the duck fat over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, brown the pork butt pieces without stirring. When beginning to brown, start stirring, making sure you scrape the bottom if it starts to caramelize. The pork doesn’t need much color, but it does need to cook in the duck fat for a while. Add lots of salt and pepper. This is not a shy dish. When the pork is nice and brown on all sides, add the 1 cup onions and garlic, and sauté until the onions are soft and cooked through. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and reserved liquid from the beans. Stir, using a rubber spatula to clean the side of the pot. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Bring the heat under the braising pan up to high. Once at a rolling boil, turn down to low heat and add all the sausages. When they are cooked through, remove and set aside. Slice the garlic sausage in half and cut into 1-inch pieces. Return the whole and sliced sausages back to the pot along with the cooked beans. Continue to cook on low heat until the pork is cooked through. Taste for seasoning; add more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer the beans and pork to a heavy, wide mouth, earthenware, clay or cast iron baking dish that can hold 5 to 6 quarts. Bake at 250 degrees for about 11⁄2 hours, checking at least every 30 minutes. It may require a bit more time. If the dish is starting to look too dry, add a small amount of reserved bean broth or chicken stock. Add warmed duck legs to the cassoulet and make a breadcrumb topping by combining the panko, garlic, parsley, thyme and extra virgin olive oil. Return the dish to the oven and continue baking until the crumbs brown on the top. — Courtesy Roland Passot, Propriétaire, Chef Culinary Officer, Vine Hospitality
Imprisoned Proud Boys leader balks at answering a prosecutor's questions about Capitol attackAfter earning much-needed wins earlier this week, the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers hope to build on those performances Thursday when they face off in Pennsylvania. Detroit snapped a season-high five-game losing streak Monday with a 6-5 victory against the Buffalo Sabres. The Red Wings trailed 5-3 with under 10 minutes left in regulation before tying things up and eventually prevailing in a shootout. "It was a massive win for us," said Detroit's Dylan Larkin, who had two assists in regulation before netting the decisive goal in the shootout. "... It was good for our hockey team to score some goals, to be down and come back and win like that." Andrew Copp added two goals for the Red Wings, while Lucas Raymond scored once in regulation and again in the shootout. The headliner for Detroit, however, was Sebastian Cossa, who relieved Ville Husso in net after the first period and went on to earn the win in his NHL debut. It's been a grueling stretch for the Red Wings, who have played 11 straight games decided by two goals or fewer. During their five-game losing streak, each of those defeats came by a single goal, including twice in overtime. "We needed one to go our way," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said, adding that his team was "a little sloppy tonight, but we produced some offense. Give a lot of credit to the guys (for hanging) in there." The Red Wings' story actually sounds similar to what the Flyers have gone through in November. Philadelphia had lost three in a row prior to authoring a solid performance in Tuesday's 5-3 road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Travis Konecny had two goals and Owen Tippett tallied for the fifth time in as many games for the Flyers, who play eight of their next 10 games on the road after Thursday's contest. "We needed that win," Konecny said. "We've been going in the wrong direction for a few games, so it was good to turn it around." Philadelphia, like Detroit, has had a long stretch of games decided by two goals or fewer -- nine in a row. "I felt it was an important game for us to get back to playing with energy," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. The Flyers and Red Wings have one other commonality in that they have not reached the postseason in several years. Detroit has missed the playoffs in each of the last eight seasons (and has an uphill battle to reach the postseason in 2025). Philadelphia, meanwhile, has a decent shot to end its four-year playoff drought. That said, the Flyers players are aiming to take things one game at a time. "I think it's still a little early to look at standings and movement and stuff, but, obviously, you know when the big games are, when you play in your conference and division," Tippett said. "Those are the points that matter coming down to the end." This is the first meeting of the season between the teams, who will face off again next week in Detroit and then once again in Philadelphia on Jan. 21. --Field Level Media
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ARLINGTON, Texas — No. 12 Arizona State (10-2, 7-2 Big 12, No. 15 CFP) vs. No. 16 Iowa State (10-2, 7-2, No. 16 CFP), at Arlington, Texas; Saturday, noon ET (ABC) BetMGM College Football Odds: Arizona State by 2 1/2. Series record: First meeting. What’s at stake? The Big 12 championship in the conference's first season as a 16-team league and a spot in the College Football Playoff. League newcomer Arizona State , which has never won an outright conference championship in any league, is looking for its first 11-win season since 1996. The Cyclones already have 10 wins for the first time in program history. This is their second Big 12 title game appearance after a loss to Oklahoma in 2020. Key matchup Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo vs. the Iowa State defense. Skattebo has rushed for 1,397 yards and 17 touchdowns, ranking third in the Big 12 and eighth nationally with 127.1 yards rushing per game. He is the only 1,000-yard rusher in FBS who also has 400 yards receiving (468). His 1,866 yards from scrimmage are 40 short of setting the single-season school record. The Cyclones have one of the league's best overall defenses, but rank 14th allowing 173.7 yards rushing per game. Players to watch Arizona State: Safety Xavion Alford has allowed only seven receptions for 76 yards while playing 424 snaps in coverage this season. Iowa State: Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel are the first set of Cyclones receivers to both have 1,000 yards in the same season, and the only receiving pair in the country to do that this season. Higgins has 80 catches for 1,068 yards and nine TDs, while Noel has caught 67 passes for 1,013 yards and six scores. Facts & figures Iowa State QB Rocco Becht has thrown a touchdown in 16 consecutive games, and his 17 wins the last two seasons are the best two-year stretch for a QB in school history. ... Arizona State, the preseason pick to finish last in the Big 12, already has set a school record with a seven-win improvement from last year. That is two more than the Wildcats' previous mark, with Indiana's eight-win improvement the only better by an FBS team this season. ... Iowa State scored at least 29 points in four consecutive Big 12 games for the first time since 2005.'Kid-preneurs' Partner with Community Businesses for Food, Toy DriveAfter earning much-needed wins earlier this week, the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers hope to build on those performances Thursday when they face off in Pennsylvania. Detroit snapped a season-high five-game losing streak Monday with a 6-5 victory against the Buffalo Sabres. The Red Wings trailed 5-3 with under 10 minutes left in regulation before tying things up and eventually prevailing in a shootout. "It was a massive win for us," said Detroit's Dylan Larkin, who had two assists in regulation before netting the decisive goal in the shootout. "... It was good for our hockey team to score some goals, to be down and come back and win like that." Andrew Copp added two goals for the Red Wings, while Lucas Raymond scored once in regulation and again in the shootout. The headliner for Detroit, however, was Sebastian Cossa, who relieved Ville Husso in net after the first period and went on to earn the win in his NHL debut. It's been a grueling stretch for the Red Wings, who have played 11 straight games decided by two goals or fewer. During their five-game losing streak, each of those defeats came by a single goal, including twice in overtime. "We needed one to go our way," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said, adding that his team was "a little sloppy tonight, but we produced some offense. Give a lot of credit to the guys (for hanging) in there." The Red Wings' story actually sounds similar to what the Flyers have gone through in November. Philadelphia had lost three in a row prior to authoring a solid performance in Tuesday's 5-3 road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Travis Konecny had two goals and Owen Tippett tallied for the fifth time in as many games for the Flyers, who play eight of their next 10 games on the road after Thursday's contest. "We needed that win," Konecny said. "We've been going in the wrong direction for a few games, so it was good to turn it around." Philadelphia, like Detroit, has had a long stretch of games decided by two goals or fewer -- nine in a row. "I felt it was an important game for us to get back to playing with energy," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. The Flyers and Red Wings have one other commonality in that they have not reached the postseason in several years. Detroit has missed the playoffs in each of the last eight seasons (and has an uphill battle to reach the postseason in 2025). Philadelphia, meanwhile, has a decent shot to end its four-year playoff drought. That said, the Flyers players are aiming to take things one game at a time. "I think it's still a little early to look at standings and movement and stuff, but, obviously, you know when the big games are, when you play in your conference and division," Tippett said. "Those are the points that matter coming down to the end." This is the first meeting of the season between the teams, who will face off again next week in Detroit and then once again in Philadelphia on Jan. 21. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.