Hamas surprise attack out of Gaza stuns Israel and leaves hundreds dead in fighting, retaliation

• October 7, 2023

By JOSEF FEDERMAN and ISSAM ADWAN | Associated Press

Under cover of a barrage of rockets, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing hundreds and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday Saturday. A stunned Israel said it is now at war with Hamas and launched airstrikes in Gaza, vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”

Also see: Los Angeles and other police agencies step up patrols after deadly Hamas attack

In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. In some places, they roamed for hours, gunning down civilians and soldiers as Israel’s military scrambled to muster a response. Gunbattles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns.

Israel’s national rescue service said at least 200 people were killed and 1,100 wounded, making it the deadliest attack in Israel in decades. At least 198 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and at least 1,610 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The conflict threatened to escalate to an even deadlier stage with Israel’s vows of greater retaliation. Previous conflicts between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers brought widespread death and destruction in Gaza and days of rocket fire on Israeli towns. The situation is potentially more volatile now, with Israel’s far-right government stung by the security breach and with Palestinians in despair over a never-ending occupation in the West Bank and suffocating blockade of Gaza.

After nightfall, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza intensified, flattening several residential buildings in giant explosions, including a 14-story tower that held dozens of apartments as well as Hamas offices in central Gaza City. Israeli forces fired a warning just before, and there were no reports of casualties.

Soon after, a Hamas rocket barrage into central Israel hit four cities, including Tel Aviv and a nearby suburb, where two people were seriously injured.

The strength, sophistication and timing of the Saturday morning attack shocked Israelis. Hamas fighters used explosives to break through the border fence enclosing the long-blockaded Mediterranean territory, then crossed with motorcycles, pickup trucks, paragliders and speed boats on the coast.

Bodies of dead Israeli civilians and Hamas militants were seen on streets of Israeli towns. Associated Press photos showed an abducted elderly Israeli woman being brought back into Gaza on a golf cart by Hamas gunmen and another woman squeezed between two fighters on a motorcycle. Images showed fighters parading captured Israeli military vehicles through Gaza streets.

“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address, declaring a mass army mobilization. “Not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but at war.”

“The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” he added, promising that Israel would “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.”

The shadowy leader of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, said the assault was in response to the 16-year blockade of Gaza, Israeli raids inside West Bank cities over the past year, violence at Al Aqsa — the disputed Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews as the Temple Mount — increasing attacks by settlers on Palestinians and growth of settlements.

“Enough is enough,” Deif, who does not appear in public, said in the recorded message. He said the attack was only the start of what he called “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” and called on Palestinians from east Jerusalem to northern Israel to join the fight. “Today the people are regaining their revolution.”

The Hamas incursion on Simchat Torah, a normally joyous day when Jews complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll, revived painful memories of the 1973 Mideast war practically 50 years to the day, in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, aiming to take back Israeli-occupied territories.

Comparisons to one of the most traumatic moments in Israeli history sharpened criticism of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who had campaigned on more aggressive action against threats from Gaza. Political commentators lambasted the government over its failure to anticipate what appeared to be a Hamas attack unseen in its level of planning and coordination.

Asked by reporters how Hamas had managed to catch the army off guard, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli army spokesman, replied, “That’s a good question.”

The abduction of Israeli civilians and soldiers also raised a particularly thorny issue for Israel. Israel has a history of making heavily lopsided exchanges in order to bring captive Israelis home.

Their number was not immediately known. Videos released by Hamas appeared to show at least three Israelis captured alive, and AP photos showed at least three civilians brought in Gaza, including the two women. Israeli television showed images of a young man stripped down to his pants being led on foot in a chokehold and reported that elderly women with dementia as well as workers from Thailand and the Philippines were among the captives.

The Israeli military confirmed that a number of Israelis had been taken captive. A spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, Abu Obeida, said the group was holding dozens of Israeli soldiers captive in “safe places” and tunnels in the Gaza Strip. If true, the claim could set the stage for complicated negotiations on a swap with Israel, which is holding thousands of Palestinians in its prisons.

The Hamas assault into southern Israel left a trail of civilians’ bodies where they had encountered the advancing gunmen.

On the road outside the town of Sderot, a bloodied woman slumped dead in the seat of her car. Inside the town, bodies of at least six people gunned down at a bus shelter were laid out on stretchers on the street, their bags set nearby on the curb. Elsewhere, a woman knelt in the street and embraced a dead family member whose body was stretched out next to a pink motorcycle that lay on its side. The rider’s hand with a glove and a foot in a racing boot extended out from under the sheet.

In the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, just 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Gaza Strip, terrified residents who were huddled indoors said they could hear constant gunfire echoing off the buildings as firefights continued.

“With rockets we somehow feel safer, knowing that we have the Iron Dome (missile defense system) and our safe rooms. But knowing that terrorists are walking around communities is a different kind of fear,” said Mirjam Reijnen, a 42-year-old volunteer firefighter and mother of three in Nahal Oz.

In a televised address, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas had made “a grave mistake” and promised that “the state of Israel will win this war.”

Israel’s military was bringing four divisions of troops as well as tanks to the Gaza border, joining 31 battalions already in the area, the spokesman Hagari said. A major question now was whether Israel will launch a ground assault into Gaza, a densely populated enclave of more than 2 million people, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties.

Hamas said it had planned for a potentially long fight. “We are prepared for all options, including all-out war,” the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, told Al-Jazeera TV. “We are ready to do whatever is necessary for the dignity and freedom of our people.”

U.S. President Joe Biden condemned “this appalling assault against Israel by Hamas terrorists from Gaza.” He spoke with Netanyahu and said Israel “has a right to defend itself and its people.” according to a White House statement.

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Saudi Arabia, which has been in talks with the U.S. about normalizing relations with Israel, released a statement calling on both sides to exercise restraint. The kingdom said it had repeatedly warned about “the dangers of the situation exploding as a result of the continued occupation (and) the Palestinian people being deprived of their legitimate rights.”

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group congratulated Hamas, praising the attack as a response to “Israeli crimes.” The group said its command in Lebanon was in contact with Hamas about the operation.

The attack comes at a time of historic division within Israel over Netanyahu’s proposal to overhaul the judiciary. Mass protests over the plan have sent hundreds of thousands of Israeli demonstrators into the streets and prompted hundreds of military reservists to avoid volunteer duty — turmoil that has raised fears over the military’s battlefield readiness and raised concerns about its deterrence over its enemies.

It also comes at a time of mounting tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, with the peace process effectively dead for years. Over the past year Israel’s far-right government has ramped up settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violence has displaced hundreds of Palestinians there, and tensions have flared around a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site.

Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then.

___

Adwan reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

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Susan Shelley: The revolt in the House

• October 7, 2023

The most revealing thing that occurred in the House of Representatives last week was the eviction of former Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Democratic majority leader Steny Hoyer from their “hideaway” offices in the Capitol.

It happened within hours of the vote to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. After all Democrats joined eight Republicans in voting McCarthy out, interim speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina, declared the House to be in recess, angrily slamming the gavel with such force that if he had been at a carnival he would have won a giant stuffed panda.

According to reporting by Politico, McHenry informed Pelosi’s office via email that she had to have all her belongings moved out of her office by the next day. The email said the “room will be re-keyed” and reassigned.

The New York Post reported that Hoyer was also told on Tuesday that he had to vacate his Capitol hideaway office by Wednesday.

It’s not uncommon for party leaders to use the loss of preferred office space as a tool of party discipline, but it’s usually in their own parties.

Nancy Pelosi was not in the Capitol for the vote to remove McCarthy because she was in California for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s funeral. She complained in a statement that McHenry’s order was a “sharp departure from tradition.”

The timing would seem to indicate that Republican party leadership expected something of former speaker Pelosi, and rage was the reaction when it wasn’t delivered.

McCarthy himself seemed to confirm this in a post-removal press conference. He mused about his life, starting with his childhood in Bakersfield, and he related a story about something that happened in 2022, after Republicans had won the majority but before he had become speaker.

“Nancy Pelosi came to me, she was speaker at the time on the way out, and I told her I was having issues with getting enough votes. She said, ‘What’s the problem?’ I said they want this ‘one person can rule you out,’” McCarthy said. “And she said, ‘Just give it to them. I’ll always back you up. I made the same offer to Boehner, and the same thing to Paul, because I believe in the institution.’”

McCarthy concluded, “I think today was a political decision by the Democrats.”

It sounds as if he thought they had a deal — Pelosi would deliver the votes of enough Democrats to defeat the motion to remove McCarthy.

But then nobody on the Democratic side lifted a finger to save him.

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Montana, one of the Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy as speaker, described another reason that McCarthy may have thought he had an understanding with Democrats.

Speaking to Jan Jekielek on the American Thought Leaders interview program, Rosendale explained that the agreement McCarthy made in order to become speaker required single-subject bills to fund the government, as required by the Budget Act of 1974, instead of “continuing resolutions” and “omnibus” bills that are thousands of pages long and stuffed with earmarks for pet projects.

Rosendale said McCarthy broke his word on that and instead “completely orchestrated” a delay in bringing appropriations bills to the floor for a vote so that the House would be up against the September 30 end-of-the-fiscal-year deadline. Then, with everyone talking about the shutdown of government, McCarthy negotiated a continuing resolution that “extended Nancy Pelosi spending levels and Joe Biden’s policies.”

That continuing resolution, Rosendale said, “was passed with 209 Democrat votes and only 125 Republican votes.” He said McCarthy was allowing the Democrat minority to “dictate the policies leaving the House. And that’s what we witnessed. When you see more Democrats voting for these major spending measures than Republicans, clearly that wasn’t a compromise, that was selling out the Republican party.”

And there was more. “On top of that, we heard that he negotiated a separate deal with the president to tie border security funding to Ukraine funding,” Rosendale said, “and that was it.”

The fight over the budget process may seem arcane but it affects all of us. We’re experiencing high inflation as a result of the U.S. government printing money to the tune of about $2 trillion per year to cover federal overspending. The national debt is now up to $33 trillion. Interest rates are rising, which could cause a real estate crash and a severe recession. Fiscal insanity in Washington hurts regular people. It’s not unreasonable for lawmakers to go to war for a transparent, responsible budget process. The regularly scheduled cliff-hangers of debt ceilings and shutdowns have led to massive deficit spending and wrecked the value of your currency.

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In August, the leaders of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — met to discuss the creation of a new joint BRICS currency in an effort to reduce their reliance on the dollar. The world is not “de-dollarized” yet, but it’s a bright red flashing warning sign that U.S. influence in the world is threatened by our government’s reckless fiscal policies. That has implications for national security.

The battle over the budget process is a serious debate, or should be. Unfortunately, legitimate concerns are being drowned out in name-calling.

But at least there’s this: the lawmakers who want to vote for unlimited spending for Ukraine and those who want to vote on transparent budget bills do agree on one thing. Some wars just have to be fought.

Write [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @Susan_Shelley

​ Orange County Register 

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Dante Moore, UCLA football live updates vs. Washington State

• October 7, 2023

Follow along for live updates from UCLA football reporter James H. Williams before, during and after UCLA’s game against the Washington State Cougars.

Viewing on a mobile device? Click here

Tweets by JHWreporter https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The UCLA Bruins will be tasked with trying to contain junior quarterback Cameron Ward, who leads one of the country’s top offenses. https://t.co/tdcuLfs0Sx

— James H. Williams covers UCLA football (@JHWreporter) October 6, 2023

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​ Orange County Register 

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Angel City FC facing difficult must-win situations

• October 7, 2023

The goal for Angel City Football Club this week and next week is simple.

Win.

First up is a tough trip to face the Houston Dynamo (CBSSN, 4 p.m.), owners of the NWSL’s worst offense (only 15 goals scored) and stingiest defense (only 15 goals allowed).

The last meeting between the teams June 25 ended in a scoreless draw. With two games left and currently out of the playoff picture, Angel City has entered must-win territory.

“We felt like that for the last few games actually, especially against Orlando,” ACFC forward Claire Emslie said. “That was a must win for us in our eyes. It puts a bit more pressure on us because it’s only two games now and it’s crunch time.

“This is a real test to see if we can do it when it matters. It’s a good pressure to have.”

With OL Reign’s scoreless draw against Washington on Friday, Angel City (6-7-7, 25 points) will need a victory to move within one point heading into next week’s season finale. The only problem is ACFC, currently in 10th, has company in vying for the sixth and final spot. Behind the OL Reign (29 points) are Orlando (28), Racing Louisville (27) and Sunday’s opponent, the Dash (26).

“They have a little different style and have made themselves really hard to beat, which credit to them defensively,” ACFC interim coach Becki Tweed said of Houston. “We need to make sure that we make the most of our opportunities. When I reflect and look back at Orlando, it’s a game that we should have walked away with the three points based on the performance.

“Ultimately, you’ve got to put the ball in the back of the goal and Jane Campbell has been huge for Houston this year. She’s made some really good saves. Jane’s probably one of the most informed goalkeepers in the league and we’re aware of that. We know that we have to be more clinical in order to test her in and make her work.”

Monday’s 2-1 home loss against the Orlando Pride was the first for Angel City since Tweed took over as interim coach. Angel City outshot Orlando 21-8, created 11 corner-kick opportunities compared to none for Orlando, and dominated possession at a 63.7% clip.

“It wasn’t a game where we’ve been outplayed,” Tweed said. “It wasn’t a game where we can walk away from it saying we were beaten by the other team.

“We beat ourselves. We weren’t clinical in the box, didn’t finish our opportunities and didn’t test enough on goal. Ultimately, it’s come down to one moment, but again, togetherness is now important. We move on from it and into the next game. This league is wild, who knows what happens in the next two games. We’re just going to do what we can to be in control of what we can control.”

Angel City’s regular-season finale is Sunday at home against Portland (32 points).

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Contract extensions

Angel City has already started the process of building for next season, with contract extensions for forward Syndey Leroux and defender M.A. Vignola.

Leroux’s contract was extended through the end of next season and Vignola’s contract was extended for two more seasons, through the end of 2025.

Angel City FC at Houston

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston

How to watch: CBS Sports

​ Orange County Register 

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Orange County football standings: Through the Week 7 games

• October 7, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Orange County football standings through games of Friday, Oct. 6:

TRINITY LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Mater Dei
2-0

91
0
7-0

304
43

St. John Bosco
2-0

98
34
6-1

268
119

JSerra
1-1

24
56
4-3

158
122

Orange Lutheran
1-1

42
45
4-3

160
153

Santa Margarita
0-2

28
70
4-3

204
197

Servite
0-2

27
105
4-3

237
190

SUNSET LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Los Alamitos
2-0

111
24
5-2

308
152

Edison
2-0

68
27
4-3

175
134

Corona del Mar
1-1

48
28
4-3

165
132

Newport Harbor
1-1

73
83
3-4

189
222

Fountain Valley
0-2

17
90
3-4

188
229

Huntington Beach
0-2

41
106
3-4

175
228

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

Capistrano Valley

7-0

253
106

San Clemente

6-1

221
86

Mission Viejo

5-2

247
126

Tesoro

4-3

167
116

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

San Juan Hills

7-0

247
106

Aliso Niguel

5-2

196
92

Trabuco Hills

4-3

175
156

El Toro

2-5

111
192

CRESTVIEW LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

Villa Park

7-0

271
76

Yorba Linda

5-2

237
148

Brea Olinda

5-2

211
184

Foothill

4-3

242
209

NORTH HILLS LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

El Modena

3-4

183
176

El Dorado

3-4

240
209

Esperanza

3-4

212
227

Canyon

1-6

121
261

EMPIRE LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Tustin
2-0

89
0
7-0

288
130

Cypress
2-0

73
14
4-3

170
114

Crean Lutheran
2-0

91
35
6-1

267
101

Kennedy
0-2

7
68
5-2

207
117

Valencia
0-2

21
91
3-4

214
197

Pacifica
0-2

21
94
1-6

99
256

FREEWAY LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Sonora
2-0

63
26
6-1

198
125

Troy
2-0

62
55
4-3

250
216

Sunny Hills
1-1

41
48
4-3

160
135

La Habra
1-1

84
53
3-4

235
193

Fullerton
0-2

61
63
2-5

169
147

Buena Park
0-2

39
105
4-3

246
167

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Santa Ana
4-0

187
52
6-2

325
177

St. Margaret’s
2-1

118
77
3-4

206
206

Orange
2-1

80
57
3-4

175
197

Calvary Chapel
2-2

120
105
4-4

234
213

Estancia
1-2

73
94
4-3

202
126

Costa Mesa
1-2

52
105
2-5

100
212

Saddleback
0-4

6
146
0-7

22
269

PACIFIC  COAST LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

Laguna Hills

7-0

217
99

Dana Hills

4-2

195
139

Portola

4-3

159
124

Northwood

3-4

153
161

PACIFIC HILLS LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

Beckman

6-1

272
76

Irvine

4-2

174
123

University

3-4

169
152

Woodbridge

1-6

82
177

ORANGE LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Western
2-0

115
14
6-1

311
104

Santa Ana Valley
2-0

69
26
3-4

129
224

Anaheim
1-1

46
41
3-4

128
147

Century
0-1

7
27
1-5

83
192

Magnolia
0-1

7
63
0-6

34
328

Savanna
0-2

14
87
0-7

76
289

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Bolsa Grande
2-0

81
56
5-2

206
229

La Quinta
2-0

59
44
5-2

195
106

Los Amigos
1-1

34
40
3-4

126
199

Rancho Alamitos
1-1

33
25
4-3

132
141

Loara
0-2

51
78
0-7

85
255

Santiago
0-2

40
55
3-4

135
185

BIG 4 LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

Segerstrom

4-3

195
165

Marina

3-4

111
152

Garden Grove

2-5

118
247

Katella

1-6

54
288

PAC 4 LEAGUE

W-L

PF
PA

Laguna Beach

6-1

288
142

Westminster

5-2

214
61

Ocean View

4-3

146
122

Godinez

3-4

134
133

COTTONWOOD LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Maranatha
2-0

44
6
6-1

232
118

Whittier Christian
2-0

78
8
4-3

219
142

Santa Rosa Academy
2-0

107
18
5-2

293
96

Vasquez
0-2

8
47
0-7

35
248

Desert Christian
0-2

12
84
2-5

104
212

Hamilton
0-2

12
98
0-7

84
272

MESQUITE LEAGUE
W-L

PF
PA
W-L

PF
PA

Western Christian
1-0

61
14
5-1

241
135

Capistrano Valley Christian
1-0

24
22
4-1

133
89

Linfield Christian
1-1

42
24
4-3

185
110

Arrowhead Christian
1-1

48
34
6-1

220
102

Trinity Classical Academy
0-1

14
48
2-4

121
212

Riverside Prep
0-1

14
61
2-4

122
210

PREP LEAGUE (8-man)

W-L

PF
PA

Chadwick

5-0

188
92

Flintridge Prep

4-0

196
105

Sage Hill

4-1

265
125

Windward

1-3

82
95

​ Orange County Register 

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These common habits can sabotage a healthy diet. Here are strategies that can help

• October 7, 2023

Does it surprise you that most Americans’ diets are not as healthful as they think? In fact, most people are unable to accurately assess the quality of the food they eat and tend to overestimate the healthfulness of their eating habits. Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for those with the best intentions and access to nutritious food to struggle to eat well. At the same time, it’s never too late to improve the healthfulness of your diet.

Here are the top six ways that people sabotage their healthful diets and easy strategies to make meaningful improvements:

Skipping Meals

Skipping meals and restricting food in general can lead to a starve-then-binge eating pattern. Instead, pace your meals evenly throughout the day to help maintain stable energy and focus. If you find yourself not hungry at breakfast, for example, it’s possible that you are overeating at night. You may need time to adjust to eating at regular intervals. If you are skipping meals because you are simply too busy at mealtime, plan ahead. Opt for easy, light meals that you can grab and take on-the-go. Create a meal schedule that takes into account your exercise, work and sleep habits to help avoid skipping meals.

Focusing Too Much on the Scale

Those focused on weight loss can too often react emotionally to changes on the scale. The emotional impact of the scale has the potential to negatively affect eating habits and body image. Instead, if you must track your weight, do so less frequently. Use only one scale to monitor your weight and check your weight at the same time and day of the week at each weigh-in for consistency.

Eating in Front of Screens

There’s no doubt that eating while watching television, scrolling social media or working on the computer reduces mindful eating. Practicing mindful eating, which includes using all of your senses and being in the present moment while eating, is an important step in fostering healthy eating habits. Plus, mindful eating is associated with more satisfaction, more healthful food choices and a reduction in overeating.

Bad Snacking Habits

Snacks can help keep energy levels up while staving off hunger between meals. However, in an environment where snacks high in fat, sugar and salt and low in fiber are easily accessible, snacking can too easily interfere with a healthful diet. Those with typical calorie and protein needs should reach for a snack with 100-200 calories when meals are more than about four or five hours apart or as needed. While snacks can help fill in nutritional gaps, they can also result in both intentional and unintentional weight gain. Smart choices for snacks include vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and lean proteins.

Focusing on Calories Instead of Balance

When using the Nutrition Facts food label to assess the healthfulness of foods, many people stop short by looking at calories only. Additional nutrient data like fiber, protein, added sugar, calcium, iron and more are important to consider when choosing foods. Foods that help achieve balanced nutrition are typically more satisfying and health-promoting than foods chosen just for being low in calories.

Negative Self Talk

When it comes to healthy habits, the biggest contributor to self-sabotage is negative self-talk. You can build confidence and consistency with your plan by using positive self-talk and visualization. Regard yourself the way you would a loved one. Avoid using damaging words like “lazy” or “fail” that take away from your capacity to believe in yourself. Instead, set measurable and achievable goals and celebrate your successes.

LeeAnn Weintraub, MPH, RD is a registered dietitian, providing nutrition counseling and consulting to individuals, families and organizations. She can be reached by email at [email protected].

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​ Orange County Register 

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‘The OC’ actor Ben McKenzie details crypto’s crash in new book: ‘Dumb idea that got dumber’

• October 7, 2023

Ben McKenzie Schenkkan, actor and author, speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on FTX in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. US prosecutors in Manhattan yesterday revealed eight criminal counts against the FTX founder and federal regulators said he committed a range of securities and derivatives law violations. Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg

It was the middle of the coronavirus lockdowns and actor Ben McKenzie was out of work and depressed.

So McKenzie – perhaps best known for his role as heartthrob Ryan in the early 2000s teen drama “The OC” – curiously becomes a journalist, at least temporarily, thanks to an old friend named Dave.

The pal suggested McKenzie invest in cryptocurrencies, technology’s new-fangled twist on money that was the hot bet of the early pandemic days. Due to a bad experience with a previous tip from Dave – an ill-fated medical company – research was in order, and it wasn’t like McKenzie had anything else to do.

‘THE OC’ 20 YEARS LATER: Was the TV show unfair to the ‘dirtbag’ Inland Empire? CLICK HERE!

That homework was an eye-opener for McKenzie, who got an economics degree from the University of Virginia before going into acting. He found crypto to be a wild industry filled with tall promises, crazy characters and a meek economic foundation.

This knowledge nudged the unemployed actor to team up with journalist Jacob Silverman on a quest to dig deeper into why an unproven and unregulated financial transaction system was creating immense wealth. The discoveries – including interviews with many of crypto’s leading proponents and critics – became a series of magazine stories, testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, and now “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud.”

This book is not simply a harsh criticism of crypto’s swift rise and sharp tumble. You see, McKenzie essentially sees no value in crypto. The book also puts this investment mania into its place among history’s grand economic bubbles. And it explores how the many inequities of the traditional financial world made crypto’s sales pitch alluring.

“You can manipulate people quite easily because they’re so predisposed to hate the regulated system,” McKenzie says.

This Q&A, edited for length and clarity, gives you McKenzie’s insight into the cryptocurrency rollercoaster.

Q. What do you think is wrong with crypto?

A. Crypto says they’re currency and they aren’t. You can’t buy anything with crypto. You can trade crypto and hope to cash out of crypto and then use the money to buy things. But that’s an investment.

So crypto is the future of money, even though it’s the past of money?  It’s private money, but we’ve tried private money and it failed. Why? Because when companies issue their own money, what’s to stop them from defrauding you?

 

We all might have gripes with the government. But would you rather the government issue the money or … pick your least favorite corporation?

Q: Crypto does fit the anti-government/anti-institution mindset.

A: The timing was perfect because the Bitcoin “white paper” came out amid the subprime crisis of 2008. At that point, we hated banks even more than we normally do.

The story of crypto’s “peer-to-peer currency” is compelling. But that doesn’t work. Trust is what money is.

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If I wrote down “20 dollars issued by Ben McKenzie Inc.” and gave it to you, you’d probably throw it back in my face. If it says the United States government on it, that gives the paper its value.

Q: Crypto is digital money, no?

A: Crypto fans talk about digital money. I got it right here (McKenzie points to his cell phone). I use Apple Pay. So you’re not talking about digital money.

You’re talking about pseudonymity, obscuring who is trading. I understand the appeal of secrecy, but that comes with a massive cost. If the good guys can use it, then the bad guys can use it.

Q: Isn’t what powers crypto – blockchain technology – a cutting-edge improvement on transactions?

A: Blockchain has been around since 1991. It’s just a distributed ledger, not revolutionary. You can’t name a single company that uses blockchain technology other than the ones in crypto.

This was the issue that I was most concerned about. That I had wrong. That I didn’t understand the technology. I’m not a cryptographer, I’m not a computer scientist. I came at it from economics. I came at it as an actor.

Q: Your acting career helped you understand crypto?

A: They’re just putting on a show. It’s just the emperor’s new clothes. The only person who can see these clothes is the person of the highest status. Jonathan, if you can’t understand crypto, then you’re stupid. It’s one of the world’s oldest cons. And it’s very successful.

Then just add on the trappings of things we know to be true – our financial system sucks. And crypto can fix it.

Q: It bothers you that top celebrities were pitching crypto.

A: It’s infuriating. The crypto companies made a bunch of money and bought the services of famous people. It culminates in the biggest advertising event of the year, the 2022 Super Bowl. You got the most famous people in the world selling it. You just get depressed.

Because if you think of crypto as a Ponzi scheme, you have to get more people in to keep the thing going.

Q: So what happened?

A: Crypto hit the top — the Super Bowl with the most famous people on Earth. And interestingly enough, we now know a year later that as much money as crypto spent, not that many people entered.

‘THE OC’ 20 YEARS LATER: Did the TV show get Orange County correct? CLICK HERE!

Just a few months after the Super Bowl, the Fed started raising interest rates. It’s just insane how quickly crypto evaporated. Now correlation isn’t causality – so I’m not saying it’s directly the result of the Fed – but it makes perfect sense economically.

Q: We’ve had a harsh crypto price correction. Is it enough?

A: No. The business works much like the online casino business. You need regular people to set up an account and gamble on your website. But the charts don’t lie: People aren’t coming back because they lost.

The industry will slowly circle down the drain. Even for a bubble, this is falling apart so quickly. I mean we’re only talking about a year and a half? Maybe another six months or a year and see where we are.

Q: Is there a lesson here?

A: It’s a wonderful testament to the power of a story, but also the perils of a story. The power of a false story to manipulate and deceive. The takeaway here is not a good idea that was squandered. It was a dumb idea or deeply flawed idea, that got dumber and dumber as it went along.

The only positive of crypto is that it did shine a light on the actual problems in our system. The power of the banks. The power of legacy financial institutions. And the inequities in our system. That lent the story of crypto so much power.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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Pumpkins, gourds and squash: They may be edible, but that doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy eating them

• October 7, 2023

Q. What is the difference between squash, pumpkins, and gourds? Are some gourds edible?

Squash (both winter and summer types), pumpkins, and gourds are members of the cucurbit family (as are cucumbers and melons). Most produce vines and like to climb via tendrils, although some seem to prefer a sprawling growth habit.

Squash are edible and can be divided into summer and winter types. Summer squash, such as zucchini, pattypan, and crookneck, are best when harvested at 6-8 inches. Many gardeners have discovered that a day or two of inattention will result in a freakishly huge fruit that may still be edible but seedy and fibrous. Just because it’s edible doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy eating it.

Winter squash, including pumpkins, form hard shells when mature and can keep for a long time if stored properly. They are ready to harvest when the stem and nearest tendrils turn brown. After harvest, they should be cured (the outer shell is allowed to dry and harden). To prevent spoilage due to mold, I like to wipe down each squash with alcohol (usually an inexpensive brand of vodka). Store in a cool, well-ventilated area, preferably on a wire rack that allows air to circulate around the fruit.

Gourds are generally inedible, hard-shelled, and fibrous. Some, like the cucurbita-type, come in a variety of sizes, colors, and shapes. If they dry out completely without getting moldy, they can last several years.

Bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) are generally smooth-skinned and have a long neck. Swan, dipper, and penguin gourds are also bottle-type gourds. I’ve heard that they’re edible when very small and immature, but I haven’t had the chance to confirm this myself. (Experience has taught me that if something is described as “edible”, but there’s no mention of how it tastes, I’m probably not missing much.)

Snake gourds (Trichosanthes cucumerina) are – you guessed it – long, tubular, and somewhat resemble big green snakes. These are different from other cucurbits in that their flowers open after dark and are bright white. They rely on moths for pollination, so this habit serves them well.

Sponge gourds (Luffa aegyptica) should only be harvested after the entire vine dies out and turns brown. At this point, the gourd begins to turn brown at both ends. After harvest, peel the tough outer shell away to expose the spongy interior.

If you are interested in growing gourds, keep in mind that the vines can grow over 40 feet long in some cases. Trellising is recommended since they are avid climbers and vertical growing keeps the fruit off the ground. The long-neck varieties can be trained into interesting shapes. When the vine starts blooming, it will produce mostly male flowers near the base of the plant. Female flowers appear later. To increase the production of female flowers, clip the vine to a length of 10 feet. Hand pollination can also improve productivity.

Los Angeles County

[email protected]; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

[email protected]; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

[email protected]; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

[email protected]; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

​ Orange County Register 

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