Consultant behind AI-generated robocalls mimicking Biden goes on trial in New Hampshire

• June 5, 2025

By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A political consultant who sent voters artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden last year goes on trial Thursday in New Hampshire, where jurors may be asked to consider not just his guilt or innocence but whether the state actually held its first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

Steven Kramer, who faces decades in prison if convicted of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate, has admitted orchestrating a message sent to thousands of voters two days before the Jan. 23, 2024, primary. The message played an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president’s that used his phrase “What a bunch of malarkey” and suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November.

“It’s important that you save your vote for the November election,” voters were told. “Your votes make a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

Kramer, who owns a firm specializing in get-out-the-vote projects, has said he wasn’t trying to influence the outcome of the primary election but rather wanted to send a wake-up call about the potential dangers of AI when he paid a New Orleans magician and self-described “digital nomad” $150 to create the recording.

“Maybe I’m a villain today, but I think in the end we get a better country and better democracy because of what I’ve done, deliberately,” Kramer told The Associated Press in February 2024.

Ahead of the trial in Belknap County Superior Court, state prosecutors sought to prevent Kramer from arguing that the primary was a meaningless straw poll because it wasn’t sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee. At Biden’s request, the DNC dislodged New Hampshire from its traditional early spot in the nominating calendar, but later dropped its threat not to seat the state’s national convention delegates. Biden did not put his name on the ballot or campaign there, but won as a write-in.

The state argued that such evidence was irrelevant and would risk confusing jurors, but Judge Elizabeth Leonard denied the motion in March, saying the DNC’s actions and Kramer’s understanding of them were relevant to his motive and intent in sending the calls. She did grant the prosecution’s request that the court accept as fact that the state held its presidential primary election as defined by law on Jan. 23, 2024. Jurors will be informed of that conclusion but won’t be required to accept it.

Kramer faces 11 felony charges, each punishable by up to seven years in prison, alleging he attempted to prevent or deter someone from voting based on “fraudulent, deceptive, misleading or spurious grounds or information.” He also faces 11 misdemeanor charges that each carry a maximum sentence of a year in jail accusing him of falsely representing himself as a candidate by his own conduct or that of another person.

He also has been fined $6 million by the Federal Communications Commission, but it’s unclear whether he has paid it, and the FCC did not respond to a request for comment earlier this week.

The agency was developing AI-related rules when Donald Trump won the presidency, but has since shown signs of a possible shift toward loosening regulations. In April, it recommended that a telecom company be added back to an industry consortium just weeks after the agency had proposed fining the company for its role in illegal robocalls impersonating the FCC.

Half of all U.S. states have enacted legislation regulating AI deepfakes in political campaigns, according to the watchdog organization Public Citizen.

But House Republicans in Congress recently added a clause to their party’s signature “big beautiful” tax bill that would ban states and localities from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade, though it faces long odds in the Senate.

​ Orange County Register 

Supreme Court makes it easier to claim ‘reverse discrimination’ in employment, in a case from Ohio

• June 5, 2025

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court made it easier Thursday to bring lawsuits over so-called reverse discrimination, siding with an Ohio woman who claims she didn’t get a job and then was demoted because she is straight.

The justices’ decision affects lawsuits in 20 states and the District of Columbia where, until now, courts had set a higher bar when members of a majority group, including those who are white and heterosexual, sue for discrimination under federal law.

The court ruled in an appeal from Marlean Ames, who has worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for more than 20 years.

Ames contends she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted because she is heterosexual. Both the job she sought and the one she had held were given to LGBTQ people.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars sex discrimination in the workplace. A trial court and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ames.

The 6th circuit is among the courts that had required an additional requirement for people like Ames, showing “background circumstances” that might include that LGBTQ people made the decisions affecting Ames or statistical evidence of a pattern of discrimination against members of the majority group.

The appeals court noted that Ames didn’t provide any such circumstances.

​ Orange County Register 

Cal State Fullerton players, teams make their marks, promise even more

• June 5, 2025

Ava Arce spent much of the spring imposing her brutish will on what was a conga line of overmatched pitchers sprinkled around the Big West Conference. Kathryn Hosch spent much of her spring imposing her understated, but firm, will on a group of talented, but largely untested golfers.

Both Arce, the Big West Softball Field Player of the Year, and Hosch, Cal State Fullerton’s women’s golf coach, could go lightly on the imposition part of the equation because the talent was there for all to see and admire. When you have Arce’s raw power and incandescent skill set, or when you have the peanut-butter-and-jelly chemistry and clutch abilities of Hosch’s team, you do not need to go to the whip.

Baseball coach Jason Dietrich and men’s golf coach Jason Drotter did not have that luxury. Their will imposition left nothing to the imagination, taking on a Darwinian quality that wouldn’t be out of place at an SEC or Big Ten program. After last year’s collapse, Dietrich invited a good portion of his team to investigate other programs. Drotter, meanwhile, put his golfers through a boot camp featuring 10-mile runs and obstacle courses, a boot camp brought to you by CSUF’s ROTC program with the goal of building mental toughness.

It worked.

The Titans’ men’s golf team finished second in the Big West, which was better than Drotter expected after CSUF finished 14th out of 15 in an early March tournament. And the Titans’ baseball team — the Ferrari of the athletic department’s program and the primary athletic focus and concern of CSUF alums across the country — rebounded nicely from that nightmarish 2024 to make the Big West’s inaugural postseason tournament, finishing third with a 19-11 conference record.

Whatever imposition of will Drotter and Dietrich employed squeezed every ounce of talent out of the talent at their disposal. Drotter coached up freshman Will Tanaka and junior Giacomo Comerio to top-five finishes at the Big West Tournament, their best finishes of the season.

Dietrich brought out the best in senior shortstop Maddox Latta, who was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Titans with a .362 average, .486 on-base percentage, .503 slugging percentage and .989 OPS to go with a .977 fielding percentage. Latta was one of three Titans earning First-Team All-Conference honors, along with third baseman and Big West Freshman of the Year Carter Johnstone (.341, 47 runs, 40 RBIs) and sophomore closer Andrew Wright (1.59 ERA, 10 saves).

But back to Arce, who put together one of the most complete and dominant softball seasons in program history. She pounded 12 home runs, two shy of Hawaii’s Jamie McGaughey’s 14, which denied Arce the Big West Triple Crown. She led the conference in average (.405), RBI (63), hits (68), slugging (.690) and total bases (116). She finished second in home runs and OPS (1.121).

Arce’s 63 RBIs broke Jenny Topping’s 24-year-old mark of 59 — one of the most cherished records in the storied history of the program. She eclipsed the mark with a two-run, go-ahead homer on May 3 against Cal State Bakersfield.

Arce’s imposition of her will led the Titans to their second consecutive regular season conference title and an unprecedented haul of postseason honors. She was one of 18 players or coaches earning All-Conference honors. CSUF swept both Freshman Field Player of the Year (Nataly Lozano) and Freshman Pitcher of the Year (Eva Hurtado).

It also brought first-year head coach Gina Oaks Garcia Big West Coach of the Year accolades, a no-brainer considering the Titans went 37-15 overall and 22-5 in conference. Oaks Garcia became the fourth coach in program history to earn the honor, and she has a serendipitous tie to the other three. Judi Garman, who started the chain in 1981, recruited Oaks Garcia from Rancho Cucamonga High to CSUF. Michelle Gromacki, who coached Oaks Garcia, received the honor twice, and Kelly Ford, who brought Oaks Garcia back to CSUF last year, won the award five times, the last in 2022.

That brings us to Hosch, who won her first Big West Coach of the Year for guiding the Titans to waters heretofore uncharted. Not only did CSUF win its first Big West Women’s Golf Championship, but it finished fifth in the NCAA West Regionals to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time. It was the first time a No. 10 seed emerged from the regionals to claim a chair at the nationals, and the Titans pulled it off with a final-day flurry that edged Auburn by a stroke for the fifth and final spot.

That highlighted a season that featured four individual tournament victories, two team titles and the crowning of Kaitlyn Zermeno Smith as the Big West Golfer of the Year, following this year’s conference runner-up, Davina Xanh, who won that honor in 2024.

When it came to imposing will on the track, the Titans’ usual complement of sprinters did what they usually do under sixth-year coach Marques Barosso — win races and break records. The Titans’ men’s track and field team finished second after winning conference titles in the 4-by-100-meter relay team and the 4-by-400 relay team, along with Abel Jordan winning the 110 hurdles, Isaiah Emerson winning the 400 and Hawkin Miller capturing the shot put.

The CSUF women, who finished sixth, won the 4-by-100 relay, along with Brooklyn Davis winning the 100.

Amid all of that will imposition happening on the field, track and course, the Titans made news off the field, announcing the hiring of two new coaches: John Bonner takes over the women’s basketball program and Nicky Cannon returns to helm the women’s volleyball team.

Bonner takes over from Jeff Harada, who did not have his contract renewed after a 7-23 season. The Titans poached him from Cal State Dominguez Hills, where Bonner spent the last nine seasons transforming the Toros into one of the premier Division II programs in the country.

This past season, the Toros were 36-2, losing to Grand Valley State in the national championship game. That marked the second time Bonner and the Toros reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, joining a 31-3 season in 2022-23. He took CSUDH to five postseason appearances, earned CCAA Coach of the Year twice and compiled a 127-82 record in his nine seasons.

Cannon served as an assistant coach to Ashley Preston in 2019 and 2020 and to Nicole Polster in 2021, coaching defense, outside hitters and overseeing recruiting. She spent the past three years at UC Riverside, where she led the Highlanders to their first 10-win season since 2017 last year.

When Cannon was at CSUF, she instituted a defensive mindset that not only produced one of the region’s best liberos in Savanha Costello (5.31 digs per set) but put the 2019 Titans among the nation’s top-20 defenses with 17.44 digs per set. Cannon also coached freshman Julia Crawford to the most kills (368) and total points (398.5) by a Titan player since 2014.

We’ll see next season how Bonner and Cannon impose their will on two programs displaying recent struggles that left nothing to the imagination.

​ Orange County Register 

Wall Street is on hold as the countdown ticks toward Friday’s jobs report

• June 5, 2025

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street remains listless on Thursday, as the countdown ticks toward Friday’s highly anticipated jobs report.

The S&P 500 was edging up by 0.1% in early trading. After sprinting through May and rallying within a couple good days’ worth of gains of its all-time high, the index at the center of many 401(k) accounts has lost momentum as financial markets wait for the next big trigger to move, up or down.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 10 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher.

Trading activity in options markets suggests investors believe the next big move for the S&P 500 could come on Friday, when the U.S. Labor Department will say how many more jobs U.S. employers created than destroyed during May. The expectation on Wall Street is for a slowdown in hiring from April.

A resilient job market has been one of the linchpins that’s propped up the U.S. economy, and the worry is that all the uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s on-and-off tariffs could cause businesses to freeze their hiring.

A report on Thursday said that more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. It still remains relatively low compared with history, but it hit its highest level in eight months.

A separate report said that U.S. workers overall produced less stuff per hour during the start of the year than economists expected. The drop in productivity is a potentially discouraging trend for inflation.

On Wall Street, Five Below rallied 9.9% after the retailer, which sells products priced between $1 and $5, reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Winnie Park credited broad-based strength across most of its merchandise.

MongoDB jumped 16.6% after the database company likewise delivered a stronger profit than analysts expected.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Brown-Forman, the company behind Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve. Its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of Wall Street’s expectations, and the company said it expects its upcoming fiscal year to be challenging because of “consumer uncertainty, the potential impact from currently unknown tariffs” and other potential challenges. Its stock fell 15.7%.

The CEO of PVH, the company behind the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, likewise cited challenges from “an increasingly uncertain consumer and macroeconomic backdrop.”

Its stock fell 16.3% even though it reported stronger revenue and profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company cut its profit forecast for its full fiscal year, saying it will likely be able to offset only some of the potential hit it will take because of tariffs.

Hopes that Trump would lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries have been among the main reasons the S&P 500 has rallied back after dropping roughly 20% below its record two months ago. But talks are still ongoing, and nothing is assured. In the meantime, many companies have been cutting or withdrawing their forecasts for profit this upcoming year because of all the uncertainty.

Trump spoke with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Thursday as the world hopes for progress between its two largest economies. The conversation was confirmed by the Chinese foreign ministry, which said Trump initiated the call. The White House did not immediately comment.

Expectations are also building that the Federal Reserve will need to cut interest rates later this year in order to prop up the economy. Yields took a sharp turn lower on Wednesday after reports came in weaker than expected on the U.S. job market and on activity among U.S. services businesses.

The Fed has yet to cut interest rates this year after slashing them through the end of 2024. Part of the reason for the pause is that the Fed wants to see how much Trump’s tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation. While lower interest rates could boost the economy, they also tend to give inflation more fuel.

In the bond market, Treasury yields were a bit steadier on Thursday ahead of Friday’s jobs report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.35% from 4.37% late Wednesday and from 4.46% the day before that.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across much of Europe and Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.5% for one of the biggest moves after the country’s new president and leading liberal politician Lee Jae-myung began his term, vowing to restart talks with North Korea and beef up a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

​ Orange County Register 

Why lychee fans might want to try the more water-conscious longan

• June 5, 2025

Five things to do in the garden:

Fruit. Longan (Dimocarpus longan) is related to lychee. While the peel of lychee is pinkish-red and bumpy, that of the longan is brown and smooth. In both cases, however, the interior aril, or pulp, of the fruits is white and grape-like in texture. While lychee fruit is noted for its fragrance and sweet-tart flavor, the longan’s flavor is more musky but often preferred by fruit connoisseurs . Longan is more cold-tolerant than lychee, exhibiting hardiness down to 22 degrees. Longan is also less water-needy, having the same irrigation requirement as a lemon tree. In Southern California, longan makes an attractive, heavily foliated tree reaching 15-25 feet in height and spread, yielding hundreds of fruit from summer into fall. You can find four longan varieties at Papaya Tree Nursery in Granada Hills (papayatreenursery.com). Longan trees are also available by mail order from vendors who sell their trees on Etsy.com.

Vegetables. Now is the time to plant pumpkin seeds for a Halloween harvest. Enrich soil with a copious quantity of compost and, to be safe that your soil drains perfectly, create mounds that are several inches tall and a foot wide. Plant six seeds to a mound and thin to the three most robust seedlings that develop. Vines can spread to 20 feet, so make sure you allow sufficient room for them to roam. Pollination is critical so bring in bee-attracting plants which include anything in the daisy family, from sunflowers to yarrow to coreopsis to cosmos, as well as lavender, borage, Salvia species, and mints. Pumpkins do require regular watering, although you can ease up on irrigation as your pumpkins begin to reach full size in early fall.

Herbs. Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is highly sought as a culinary herb. It grows in full sun, even if the tips of the stalks may burn. This is not a concern, however, when it comes to cooking since it is only the bottom of each stalk that is meant for this purpose. After removing a stalk, peel away the fibrous layers to reveal the inner white stalk or heart. Cut off the root end, then mince several inches of heart above it, utilizing the chopped pieces in soups, sauces, and stir-fries. You can still use the rough, unpeeled upper portions of lemon grass stalks for making tea. When working in or cutting lemon grass, make sure to wear gloves since the stalk surfaces are sharp and can easily cut through your skin. Due to its somewhat drab appearance, you won’t find lemon grass at nurseries, although it is widely available through Internet vendors.

Flowers. Sunflower seeds can be germinated either in or out of the shell, although shelled seeds will sprout more quickly. You can germinate store-bought sunflower seeds as long as they are not roasted, and you can sprout sunflower seeds from birdseed mix, but in this case, they should still be in the shell. Attached to the mother plant, an individual sunflower lasts for two to four weeks before it fades. But bushier, usually dwarf varieties, will produce sunflowers throughout the growing season, from spring into late summer. These are often grown in containers and used as cut flowers. When detaching a sunflower for a vase arrangement, cut the stem at an angle for maximum water absorption. Before placing the stem in ample water, to prevent desiccation, make sure to remove all leaves that would be submerged and would invite water mold. Daily, cut off a small piece at the bottom of the stem, always at an angle, and change the water to extend your sunflower’s vase life.

This spring I have seen dozens of slime molds growing on the mulch around my fruit trees. Slime molds may appear white, yellow, or orange with the unfortunate, if justifiable, names of scrambled egg slime and dog vomit slime mold (Fuligo septica). Formerly classified as fungi, slime molds have the capacity to actually ambulate like slow-moving snails in their plasmodium stage of development. Slime molds are now classified as protists, placing them in the same category as most algae. While they are decomposers like bacteria and fungi, slime molds may also feed on these organisms. Although standoffish, slime molds actually facilitate breakdown of mulch into minerals that are essential for plant growth. When it comes to plant health, slime molds are completely benign and may even control soil-dwelling, pathogenic micro-organisms in addition to improving drainage through their soil aeration capacity. Without your doing anything, slime molds completely disappear within a few days of their appearance.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the U.S. Here’s what to know

• June 5, 2025

By MONIKA PRONCZUK, Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Citing national security concerns, President Donald Trump on Wednesday banned citizens of 12 countries, primarily in Africa and the Middle East, from entering the United States and restricted access for citizens of seven other nations, resurrecting and expanding a hallmark policy of his first term.

The travel ban applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The policy change restricts entry for citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and do not hold a valid visa.

The policy takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. and does not have an end date.

Here’s what to know about the new rules:

How Trump justified the ban

Since returning to the White House, Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him.

The travel ban results from a Jan. 20 executive order Trump issued requiring the departments of State and Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to compile a report on “hostile attitudes” toward the U.S.

The aim is to “protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” the administration said.

In a video released on social media, Trump tied the new ban to a terror attack Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. The Department of Homeland Security says he overstayed a tourist visa.

Who is exempt from the ban

1. Lawful residents: citizens of designated countries who have obtained legal residency in the U.S.

2. Dual citizens: U.S. citizens who also have citizenship of one of the banned countries.

3. Some athletes: athletes and their coaches traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the U.S. secretary of state.

4. Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or its allies in Afghanistan and are holders of Afghan Special Immigrant Visas.

5. Iranians belonging to an ethnic or religious minority who are fleeing prosecution.

6. Certain foreign national employees of the U.S. government who have served abroad for at least 15 years and their spouses and children.

7. Refugees: Those who were granted asylum or admitted to the U.S. as refugees before the ban entered into force.

8. Individuals with U.S. family members who apply for visas in connection to their spouses, children or parents.

9. Diplomats and foreign government officials on official visits.

10. Those transiting the U.S. to the U.N. headquarters solely for official business related to the U.N.

11. Representatives of international organizations and NATO on official visits in the U.S.

12. Children adopted by U.S. citizens.

Which countries are affected

Trump said nationals of countries included in the ban pose “terrorism-related” and “public-safety” risks, as well as risks of overstaying their visas. He also said some of these countries had “deficient” screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their own citizens.

His findings rely extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of visa overstays of tourists, business visitors and students who arrive by air and sea, singling out countries with high percentages of remaining after their visas expired.

“We don’t want them,” Trump said.

The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban makes exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade war there.

The list can be changed, the administration said in a document circulated Wednesday evening, if authorities of designated countries make “material improvements” to their own rules and procedures. New countries can be added “as threats emerge around the world.”

Early reactions to the ban

International aid groups and refugee resettlement organizations roundly condemned the new ban.

“This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.

The African Union Commission expressed concern Thursday about the “the potential negative impact” of the ban on educational exchanges, business ties and broader diplomatic relations.

“The African Union Commission respectfully calls upon the U.S. administration to consider adopting a more consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned,” the commission said in a statement.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, called the order “unnecessary, overbroad and ideologically motivated.”

How the ban is different from 2017

During his first term, Trump issued an executive order in January 2017 banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights to the U.S. or detained at U.S. airports after they landed. They included students and faculty, as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family.

The order, often referred to as the “Muslim ban” or the “travel ban,” was retooled amid legal challenges until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

The ban affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

​ Orange County Register 

The top tie-dye kits for vibrant color fun

• June 5, 2025

Which tie-dye kits are best?

Tie-dye is a creative way to add a splash of color to your wardrobe or hearken back to the flower power fashion of the 1960s. Tie-dye kits come with everything you need to create this vibrant look at home, but when faced with so many similar products, which kit should you choose?

Before making your purchase, there are several factors to consider, but for a simple starter kit with easy-to-follow instructions, the Tulip One-Step 12-Color Tie Dye Kit is the top choice.

What to know before you buy a tie-dye it

What clothes can I tie-dye?

Almost any article of clothing can be tie-dyed, from shirts and handkerchiefs to hats and even pillowcases. Fabrics like cotton and linen are commonly used with a tie-dye kit because they absorb most, but nearly any natural fiber can be dyed.

How to tie-dye clothes

Always follow the instructions included in your tie-dye kit, as exact application steps can vary.

1. Clean your work area: The dye found in tie-dye kits can easily stain tabletops and furniture, so take the kit outside or prepare your area by laying down newspaper or plastic bags. Gloves are also recommended to prevent the dye from staining your hands.
2. Presoak the garment: Most kits come with a soda ash solution used before dyeing to help set the ink. Read the instructions for exact presoak times.
3. Twist and tie: Once your garment is presoaked, twist the fabric tightly and secure it with rubber bands. The twisting is what produces the iconic tie-dye look.
4. Use the dye: Prepare the dye by following your kit’s instructions, and use an applicator to add color.
5. Allow your dye to set: The exact time needed to set the dye typically depends on the quality of your kit.
6. Rinse and enjoy: The final step is to rinse any excess dye and admire your colorful creation! For best results, air dry your finished garments.
7. Soak in vinegar (optional): Many fans of the craft recommend soaking your new tie-dye garments in a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water to lock in the color.

What to look for in a quality tie-dye kit

Items in a tie-dye kit

Tie-dye kits almost always have everything you need to make colorful clothing at home, but the exact accessories and tools can vary. Look for a kit that includes at least some of the following items:

• Dye: While every tie-dye kit should come with at least a few dye options, some products will specialize in certain fun colors like pastel or neon. The more you’re willing to spend on a kit, the more colors you’re likely to receive.
• Applicators: These small bottles hold the dye and usually have a pointed tip for design precision.
• Ties: Often found in the form of rubber bands, small ties are used to secure the twisted fabric during the dyeing process.
• Instructions: Every product is different, so make sure your kit contains detailed instructions to achieve the best results. Instruction booklets can also include fun design ideas and patterns.
• Soda ash solution: Also known as fixer, a soda ash solution is used to soak the fabric before the dyeing process begins. Many modern kits don’t require this solution, so don’t worry if your kit doesn’t have it.

How much you can expect to spend on a tie-dye kit

Tie-dye kits are usually affordable, but prices can vary slightly depending on accessories and how many dyes are included. Most people can expect to spend around $10-$30 for a solid kit with multiple colors of dye.

Tie-dye kit FAQ

How do I wash tie-dye clothing?

A. The first time you wash your tie-dye garment, run it through a cold cycle with no other items and hang it to dry. After that, you can wash the garment with your regular loads of laundry.

Can kids use a tie-dye kit?

A. Yes. Tie-dyeing clothes can be a fun activity for any kid over the age of eight. To avoid a mess, wear gloves and spread newspaper or a plastic tarp onto your work surface.

What’s the best tie-dye kit to buy?

Top tie-dye kit

Tulip One-Step 12-Color Tie Dye Kit

What you need to know: This popular kit comes with twelve dyes and easy-to-use applicator bottles.

What you’ll love: Perfect for small parties and gatherings, this simple tie-dye kit requires only water to activate. No soda ash presoak is needed. The instruction booklet also comes with eight design ideas.

What you should consider: The applicator bottles are a little small, and colors fade more quickly than advertised.

Top tie-dye kit for the money

DOODLE HOG Pastel Tie Dye Kit

What you need to know: Pastel dyes can be tricky to find, so if you like pastels, this affordable kit is just what you need.

What you’ll love: Including fun pastel colors like pink, orange and teal, this affordable kit comes with everything you need. It includes six colors, two refill bags for each color, three soda ash bags, gloves, rubber bands and an instruction book.

What you should consider: The pastel dye may produce darker colors than what some users expected.

Tie-dye kit worth checking out

Kool Krafts Tie Dye Kit

What you need to know: This versatile starter kit comes with a lot of dye and four cotton shirts.

What you’ll love: This easy tie-dye kit is huge, featuring twelve nontoxic dyes, including uncommon colors like black and light blue. There are tons of bonus accessories like two disposable tablecloths and a dozen gloves, and the instruction manual is loaded with tips and tricks.

What you should consider: Some users felt that the included T-shirts were of poor quality.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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​ Orange County Register 

Stanley Cup Final: Oilers rally past Panthers in OT in Game 1

• June 5, 2025

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer

EDMONTON, Alberta — When the Stanley Cup was brought out onto the ice prior to Game 1 of the Final, just as it was last year, everything the Edmonton Oilers expressed about this time being different came into focus.

“Last year, I was kind of looking at it with googly eyes,” goaltender Stuart Skinner said. “This year seeing it, it’s: ‘I was here last year, I saw it. It’s time to get back to work and do my thing.’ It definitely felt completely different.”

The Oilers made the start of the best-of-seven series completely different, erasing a two-goal deficit to beat the defending champion Florida Panthers, 4-3, on Wednesday night on Leon Draisaitl’s power play goal in overtime. A year since falling behind three games to none, Edmonton has a lead in the rematch and is one step closer to flipping the script.

“It’s huge,” said Skinner, who made some big stops among his 29 saves. “The way that we showed up right from the get go and the way that we continued to keep on going, even though we were down by two, that shows a lot of character by us.”

Draisaitl provided the heroics, scoring on the power play with 31 seconds left in the OT period after Tomas Nosek’s penalty for putting the puck over the glass. The goal was his third in overtime this year in the playoffs, tying the record for a single postseason, after Draisaitl had six during the regular season.

“He’s invaluable,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who set up the tying and winning goals. “He does so many good things: clutch, faceoffs. You name it, he does it.”

For a while, it appeared the Oilers would lose Game 1 this year as well. Draisaitl’s goal 1:06 in was followed later in the first period by Sam Bennett deflecting a shot past Skinner after falling into him.

Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch unsuccessfully challenged for goaltender interference, with the NHL’s situation room ruling that the Oilers’ Jake Walman tripped Bennett into Skinner. The resulting penalty paved the way for Florida’s Brad Marchand to score the go-ahead goal on a power play.

Bennett scored his second of the night early in the second period to put the Panthers ahead, 3-1. They entered 31-0 over the past three playoffs since Coach Paul Maurice took over when leading at the first or second intermission.

“I mean, they pushed,” Marchand said. “They obviously are a very good team, and doesn’t take much for them to score. So, not surprising, the push they did. They’re a great team. We’ve just got to keep going.”

The Panthers blamed themselves for playing too conservatively.

“Just not let up. Don’t sit back,” Bennett said. “We’ve been really good all year at not sitting back with the lead, and for whatever reason we sat back tonight.”

Fourth-liner Viktor Arvidsson brought the crowd back to life early in the second, and fellow Swede Mattias Ekholm – playing in just his second game back from an extended injury absence – tied it with 13:27 remaining in regulation off a perfect pass from McDavid.

Florida counterpart Sergei Bobrovsky’s made some incredible saves, including one to rob Trent Frederic earlier in overtime. In between, he was greeted with derisive chants of “Ser-gei! Ser-gei!” that followed goals he allowed.

At the other end, Skinner made a handful of saves that were vital to keeping the Panthers from extending their lead or going back ahead late in the third, getting friendlier chants of “Stuuuu! Stuuuu!” every time he turned aside a difficult shot.

“He was great again,” McDavid said. “He gave us a chance.”

Florida dropped to 8-3 on the road this postseason and trails a series for the first time since losing the first two games of its second-round meeting against Toronto, which the Panthers rallied to win in seven games.

Game 2 is Friday night in Edmonton before the series shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4.

NHL, NHLPA HAPPY WITH PROGRESS OF CBA TALKS

Negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement are progressing well, though there is no timeline on reaching a deal, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said Wednesday.

Bettman, at his annual state of the league address prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, said the sides are “having very constructive, professional, cordial dialogue.” Talks did not begin until April, and there is still quite some time until the current CBA expires in September 2026.

“I don’t have an announcement to make today that we have a deal, but we have more than a year to go and I think we’re in really good shape, having really good discussions,” Bettman said. “That’s a testament to Marty Walsh and Ron Hainsey and people at the Players’ Association who have been working tirelessly with us.”

Walsh said the league and union were having good ongoing conversations, adding there are not major issues on the table to quibble over.

“It’s moving steady, it’s moving forward and I feel good with where we are and we’ll see what happens,” Walsh said. “It gets complicated at certain times, any collective bargaining agreement, but it’s not where it was in the past here where you’re seeing national disputes between organized labor and companies.”

Hainsey, the NHLPA’s assistant executive director, expects the constant meetings to continue during the Final in Edmonton and South Florida.

“We’re all in the same place at the same time,” Hainsey said. “There are multiple days in between these games where we can find something for ourselves to do.”

NO RUSSIANS IN OLYMICS

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league does not expect Russian players to participate in the Olympics next year. That would be status quo for the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation, which has banned Russian teams since that country’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

Walsh said players he has spoken to are disappointed not to be able to participate in Milan, the first Olympics with NHL participation since 2014.

“It’s out of their control, and there’s not much they can do,” Walsh said. “There’s not much they can do with what’s happening in Ukraine and Russia, and they want to play best on best. We hear it all the time. They want to play best on best and we were hoping that by this point in time, the conflict or the war would not be where it is.”

EXPANSION?

Daly said the league is not engaging in a formal expansion process to go beyond 32 teams, but officials are listening to potential ownership groups about any proposals.

“If somebody wants to essentially apply for an expansion franchise and has all the requisite elements that we would look for in an expansion franchise, we would raise it with the Board of Governors and see if they have any interest in it,” Daly said. “There are some people we’ve talked to more than others, but there’s a lot of interest, which I think we’re gratified with.”

OILERS’ HYMAN DISLOCATED WRIST AGAINST STARS

Zach Hyman said Wednesday that his right wrist was dislocated late in the Western Conference finals, an injury that is sidelining one of the Oilers’ most valuable forwards for the Stanley Cup Final.

Hyman sported a brace on his right arm after undergoing surgery last week to repair the damage caused by a hit from Dallas’ Mason Marchment in Game 4 of that series.

“I knew it wasn’t good when I got hit,” Hyman said. “Right away, I just felt my wrist kind of go on me. … Quickly realized when I saw the doctors it’s something that needed surgery and something that I wasn’t going to be able to play through.”

Hyman memorably said after the Oilers’ Game 7 loss to Florida last year that he believed they would be back in the Final. In a cruel twist of fate, his teammates are, but the 33-year-old winger is not able to play in the series.

Win it for Hyman has quickly becoming a rallying cry for Edmonton.

“Missing him is big; he’s a huge piece of this team,” veteran Adam Henrique said. “His physicality, net-front presence, in the locker room – all those sorts of things. Just a great person, so we’re certainly going to miss him on the ice but he’ll be there and we’ll certainly fight for him.”

Oilers players video-called Hyman after beating the Stars without him in Game 5 of the West finals to move on to compete for the Stanley Cup again. He said that meant the world to him.

“It caught me off guard,” Hyman said. “I was crying. It was really emotional. You just feel so much a part of the team and for them to do that in that moment meant a lot.”

Hyman is expected to be around the team throughout the Final, flying to Florida and providing whatever insight and moral support he can without lacing up his skates. He called it “acting like I’m playing but obviously not.”

“Some things in life you can’t control,” Hyman said, “and this is one of them.”

GREER OUT

The Panthers are mostly healthy, but they ruled out A.J. Greer for Game 1 with an undisclosed injury. Jesper Boqvist took his place in the lineup.

“It’s important that, fortunately for us, it’s not his first time in the playoffs, so he hasn’t been sitting for a long time and he’s had some pretty good success when he’s come in,” Coach Paul Maurice said of Greer. “And he fits. He’s spent time with all of those players. There’s nothing new for him, so he can come in and just play.”

BROWN BACK

Edmonton is getting a key player back with Connor Brown expected to be back after missing two games because of injury. Coach Kris Knoblauch called the strong two-way winger a game-time decision, while Brown declared himself good to go and all signs pointed to nothing standing in the way of a return.

“He’s been playing great all playoffs,” linemate Trent Frederic said. “He brings a lot of energy, brings a lot of swagger, a lot of jam, so we’re excited to get him back.”

Jeff Skinner, who played more than 1,000 regular-season NHL games in his career before making his Stanley Cup playoff debut in the series opener in the first round and then got scratched until replacing Hyman against Dallas, appears to be out to make room for Brown.

​ Orange County Register