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This foolproof tart is ready to feed a party

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

By Genevieve Ko, The New York TimesIt’s been a hard year, and finding small joys feels particularly important right now around the holidays. When I considered which treat could deliver that happiness in this season (aside from cookies, of course), I remembered the first pastry I learned as a restaurant cook. In the basement corner of a little French bistro, we turned out chocolate tarts, the elegant little black dress of desserts.Fashioned in the style of renowned chef Joël Robuchon’s recipe, the filling was as creamy as pudding and as silky and softly set as crème brûlée. With a buttery, crisp crust, the tart made the diners feel special and the cooks feel empowered by their baking prowess.This big chocolate tart does the same and requires no professional training to guarantee stunning results.In a significant departure from most tarts, it’s made in a rectangular cake pan. The speed bump edges of a fluted tart pan, and even the smooth lines of a tart ring, necessitate stressful dou...

Bay Area rainfall chart: Totals for this week’s storms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

Below are the Bay Area precipitation totals for this week’s rainfall, starting at 8 a.m. Sunday.The National Weather Service figures are in inches, for two-, three- and four-day accumulations. They are raw numbers, meaning they haven’t been quality-checked for accuracy.The next few days are expected to be dry, with a possible return of rain on Tuesday, Dec. 26.8 a.m.8 a.m.8 a.m.LocationTuesWedsThuPeninsula & South BayLa Honda1.883.463.9Woodside (Wunderlich Park)1.853.423.82Spring Valley1.953.093.52Uvas Reservoir1.692.643.5Calero Reservoir2.132.753.47Foothills Park, Palo Alto1.962.993.46Stevens Canyon2.322.913.42Edgewood Road/I-2801.592.483.1San Francisco (Duboce Triangle)1.822.333.08Mt. Hamilton1.622.133.07Anderson Reservoir1.31.892.88Morgan Hill1.381.892.83Rancho San Antonio1.852.482.75San Francisco airport11.672.36Belmont1.141.732.32San Bruno Mountain1.31.732.29Sunnyvale1.51.812.2Vasona Lake1.341.572.05Redwood City0.931.461.96Mountain View1.221.421.81San Jose Lynbrook1.1...

Vallemar Elementary School in Pacifica on lockdown

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

(KRON) --Vallemar Elementary School in Pacifica is on lockdown Thursday morning due to police activity. The school is located at 377 Reina Del Mar Avenue and is part of the Pacifica School District. Serial Bay Area shoplifter arrested 90 times No other details are available at this time.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

1 killed in fatal accident on I-80 in Vallejo early Thursday morning

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

(BCN) -- A person was killed in a vehicle collision on westbound Interstate Highway 80 in Vallejo early Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.A blue Lexus sedan and a white pickup truck were involved in the collision, the CHP said.The crash occurred near the Georgia Street off-ramp and was reported approximately 12:55 a.m., according to the CHP.There were no further details about the case immediately available.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Live updates | Gaza sees more airstrikes and UN says half a million people are ‘starving’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

A report released Thursday by the U.N. finds that more than half a million people in Gaza are “starving” because of not enough food entering the territory since the outbreak of war more than 10 weeks ago. Tens of thousands of people are crammed into shelters and tent camps amid shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies. A World Health Organization official who visited two hospitals in northern Gaza said they were doing more amputations because of staff, electricity and supply shortages. As diplomatic efforts to secure aid deliveries and another cease-fire in the conflict, Israel carried out more strikes and other operations across Gaza, but a territory-wide communications outage made it difficult to confirm details about the fighting. Hamas, meanwhile, fired a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv, underscoring the militant group’s resilience in the face of Israel’s blistering campaign to destroy it.Roughly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared w...

A Republican proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin is coming soon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans plan to unveil a proposal soon to legalize medical marijuana in the state and could vote on it sometime in 2024, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.Republicans have been working behind closed doors for years on a medical marijuana bill. Along the way, they have rejected calls from Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats to legalize all uses of marijuana, including medical and recreational.Vos, in an interview Wednesday, said the proposal will be limited and modeled after the medical marijuana law that had been in place in neighboring Minnesota before it moved to full legalization.“It is not going to be widespread,” he said. “We are not going to have dispensaries on every corner in every city.”He said Assembly Republicans are on board in concept, but no one has seen the actual proposal yet. He expected to unveil it in January. Vos had said in April that he hoped to have the bill by the fall of 2023, but he said it took more time to find consensus.“...

Baumgart out as Cologne coach with team stuck in Bundesliga relegation zone

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Relegation-threatened Cologne is parting ways with coach Steffen Baumgart because of the team’s difficult start to the season.The Bundesliga club said Thursday that the 51-year-old coach had jointly agreed with managing director Christian Keller and sporting director Thomas Kessler not to continue.“After the current unsatisfactory start to the season, we were very open, direct, factual and respectful in the last days and weeks, as to whether or not the strength and conviction are there in the required amount,” Keller said. “For that reason, it is to be fully respected that Steffen questioned his own personal conviction. As a result, we collectively decided to end our working relationship — even when that hurts, personally.”Baumgart’s last game in charge was a 2-0 loss at his ex-club Union Berlin on Wednesday. Both teams had been level on just 10 points going into their last game before the winter break. Cologne remained in the relegation zone after the defeat...

Congo conducts a 2nd day of voting after delays and closed polls keep people from casting ballots

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo entered a second day of voting Thursday after a chaotic rollout and lengthy delays forced officials to extend the balloting in the general election, drawing criticism from some opposition candidates as concerns mount that the logistical hurdles could affect the credibility of the results. At stake is the future of one of Africa’s largest nations and one whose mineral resources are increasingly crucial to the global economy. Congo has a history of disputed elections that can turn violent, and there’s little confidence among many Congolese in the country’s institutions. President Felix Tshisekedi, who is seeking his second and final five-year term, has spent much of his time in office trying to gain legitimacy after a disputed 2018 election. Some 44 million people — almost half the population — were expected to vote in this year’s presidential contest and in legislative and provincial elections held simultaneously. Tshisekedi is the likely winner of ...

Grammy nominee Gracie Abrams makes music that unites strangers — and has Taylor Swift calling

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The year 2023 was good to Gracie Abrams. She released her debut album. She opened for Taylor Swift. She sold out a U.S. tour, and took that tour to Europe. She started writing new music. And to cap it all off, she got her first Grammy nomination: best new artist.When the nominations dropped in early November, Abrams, 24, was at home, alone. “I just couldn’t have anticipated it less, you know. And so it was kind of this really, extremely exciting honor and a really sweet cherry on top to a year of so many gifts.”Abrams immediately called her mom. But the first person to call her was fellow best new artist and first-time nominee, Noah Kahan. (They were “screaming on the phone,” she says.) The two are joined in the category by Ice Spice, Victoria Monét, Fred again.., Jelly Roll, Coco Jones and The War and Treaty.Looking ahead to the Feb. 4 Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles, Abrams said: “I’m really stoked to just cheer really loudly for everyone.”Her debut album, “ Good Ri...

Man indicted in tourist stabbing death at DC hotel

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:54:15 GMT

A D.C. man was indicted Wednesday on five counts stemming from the March 2023 stabbing murder of a 31-year-old Virginia woman in Northeast D.C.George Sydnor Jr., a 44-year-old from D.C., was indicted by a D.C. Superior Court on charges of first-degree murder while armed, burglary, kidnapping and other charges. The indictment included an aggravating circumstance enhancement on all five counts, which found the offenses to be “especially heinous, atrocious or cruel.”On March 31, 2023, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department responded to a 911 call at the Ivy City Hotel in Northeast D.C., where they found Christy Bautista dead on the floor at the foot of the first bed. Sydnor was found sitting on the second bed covered in blood with cuts to his right hand, alongside a bloody knife, according to court documents.An autopsy determined that Bautista, who was visiting D.C. from Harrisonburg, Virginia, for a concert, had been stabbed approximately 30 times. Bautista had been stabbed ...