Many of us fall back on the standard openers when starting a conversation — “What’s up?”, “How’s it going?”, and the like — but those are often a dead-end, leading to an automatic response like “Good, and you?” There are ways to kick off a chat that might lead to a livelier exchange, though: Get some conversation-starting inspiration from a recent edition of The New York Times’ Well newsletter.
Hot rotisserie chicken may soon be on the menu for more Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, thanks to bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate last week. Aptly dubbed the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act, the bill would add the beloved grocery staple to the list of SNAP-eligible foods. Currently, the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 excludes hot, prepared items, meaning supermarkets often must refrigerate cooked chickens specifically to comply with federal regulations. While other hot foods would still remain ineligible, this bill carves out an exception for the ready-to-eat meal. “Allowing folks on SNAP to buy hot rotisserie chickens is truly just common sense,” West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice said in a statement. “It’s as basic as you can get to help busy parents or grandparents put something as simple as this on the table to feed their families. We have to give people the option to put a healthy, protein-dense choice on the table that actually tastes good and doesn’t take an hour and a half to cook.” Justice introduced the legislation alongside a group of fellow lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, including Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, John Fetterman, and Michael Bennet. “Congress should be making it easier, not harder, for families to put food on the table,” Bennet said in his statement. “This bill fixes an unnecessary barrier.”
Together With FinanceBuzz
25 Things to Cut When Money Gets Tight
Prices are going up. Your money is getting tight. And figuring out what to cut back on can feel overwhelming. Thankfully, there are resources out there that can help. The experts over at FinanceBuzz compiled a list of 25 money-saving strategies, from making sure you’re not overpaying for car and home insurance to losing those mindless recurring expenses for services you may not actually need (no. 11 on the list often gets overlooked). You don’t have to change everything overnight — even doing just one can help you breathe a little easier.
At Oxford University, a Beloved Library Cat Comforts Distressed Students
Emma Trimble / SWNS
Meet Isambard Kitten Brunel: the beloved Oxford University library cat who keeps students company during their studies. Also known as Issy, the fluffy Siberian forest cat commutes by bus to the library at Lady Margaret Hall, one of the colleges at Oxford, alongside his owner, librarian Jamie Fishwick-Ford. Fishwick-Ford, 43, began bringing Issy to work immediately after adopting him as a kitten six years ago. The kitty spends most of his time there relaxing in his owner’s office, only leaving when people want to pet him or when he’s taken outside for some exercise and tree climbing. Issy wears a harness and leash outside and mostly travels on Fishwick-Ford’s shoulder. Issy also serves as an unofficial welfare animal, and is particularly favored by resident students who miss their family pets, Fishwick-Ford shared. “It can be really tough being away from home for the first time and away from pets you’ve known all your life, and it’s a lot easier to phone up your parents if you miss them than to phone up your cats,” she said. See more pics of the kitty around campus and learn why Fishwork-Ford chose the Siberian forest cat breed specifically.
Environment
Young Citizen Scientists in Alaska Provide “Fresh Eyes on Ice” to Keep Communities Safe
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Frozen rivers and lakes are vital transportation corridors for many Alaskans, but climate change is making it increasingly difficult to know when they’re safe to cross. Student citizen scientists are helping to change that. Once a month, hundreds of students involved in the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Fresh Eyes on Ice program head outside with ice augers to measure ice thickness and snow depth, buoys to collect temperature data, and drones to track open water and look out for hazards. Their data is shared via a Facebook page to help determine optimal crossing times, predict flooding, and verify satellite information. Katie Spellman, an ecologist at the university, told Smithsonian magazine the initiative also helps kids in remote areas see themselves as a part of something bigger, making them feel that “they’re needed, and that they’re learners and scientists.” Teacher Amanda Aloysius added the program is sometimes a student’s first hands-on experience with their surroundings: “In the past, I’ve had kids not have any [lake or river] ice experience. The only ice that they’ve dealt with is having ice in their drinks.” See the young citizen scientists in action.
In Other News
The first gene therapy for children with a rare form of hearing losswas approved by the FDA — and it’s free (read more)
An enigmatic “golden orb” found in the Gulf of Alaska was identified following three years of research (read more)
Cricket will return to the Olympics in 2028 after 128 years, and it’ll be hosted in a brand-new LA stadium (read more)
Scientists mapped a comet that flew past Earth last year, finding it originated in a cold corner of our galaxy (read more)
A 2,000-year-old chunk of bread was unearthed from a former fortress in Switzerland: See the charred piece (read more)
Inspiring Story
Keep blooming
A flowery torch has been passed. Genki Katata, an environmental biophysicist based in Tokyo, will take over maintenance of a 1,200-year-old database tracking cherry blossom peak bloom dates in Kyoto. “Making sure the Kyoto data lives on is a very important job,” Katata said. “I want to carry this forward for as long as I can.”
Photo of the Day
Michael Chisholm/Getty Images
Goalie scores! For the first time in nearly 16 years (and only the third time in history), a goalkeeper scored in a Major League Soccer match. Toronto FC’s Luka Gavran achieved the feat during a game against the Philadelphia Union last week. “I can’t even remember what happened,” the 25-year-old athlete said in an interview after his 96th-minute header secured a 3-3 draw. Luckily, he — and the rest of us — can watch the epic moment on replay.
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