US – Thursday, March 18

Final push is on for health care reform

Democrats in the House of Representatives on Thursday predicted weekend passage of a sweeping health care overhaul that budget analysts said would cut the U.S. deficit over 10 years and dramatically expand health coverage.

Pakistan charges U.S. 5 with terror

A Pakistani court formally charged five young Americans of plotting terrorism in the country yesterday, their lawyer said, in a case that has raised alarm over the danger posed by militants using the Internet.

Bullock gets ‘Blind Side’d by alleged affair

It seemed too crazy to be true — America’s sweetheart Sandra Bullock fell for Jesse James, a heavily tattooed former bodyguard for Slayer turned custom motorcycle maker who was once married to a porn star.

My Entertainment

Flash-fried finger-lickin’ chicken

Here, “un-fried” really means flash fried. Flash frying is a high-heat deep-frying technique used to rapidly brown small pieces of quickcooking food such as tiny calamari or small shrimp to avoid overcooking them before the crust browns. Flash flying requires an oil temperature of at least 400°F — which means you have to use an oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed oil. By poaching the chicken first and then flash frying it, I was able to eliminate 20 grams of fat and at least 250 calories from traditional fried chicken. Because the chicken is already cooked, it only has to spend enough time in the hot oil to brown the crust, which means it absorbs less oil.

Taken from “Now Eat This!” by Rocco DiSpirito.

‘Free’ ad leads to fraud suit

NEW YORK. A Wisconsin college student is suing credit firm Experian — the brains behind the ubiquitous FreeCreditReport.com jingles — for fraudulent advertising after she inadvertently signed up for a monthly $14.95 monitoring service.

The key to Kyoto

Kyoto’s temples and Geisha culture are legendary, but this city is no slouch when it comes to mixing in a large slice of contemporary, too.

Published 19:08, August the 5th, 2009

Woman: I love carnival ride

PHILADELPHIA. A Pennsylvania woman claiming objectum sexuality — a medical condition that causes a person to become physically attracted to inanimate objects — plans to marry a magic carpet carnival ride, which she fell in love with at age 13, the Telegraph reports. Amy Wolfe, 33, claims to have courted the 80-foot gondola ride some 3,000 times in the past decade. “I love him as much as women love their husbands and know we’ll be together forever,” she said. Wolfe said she will change her name to Weber, in honor of the manufacturer of the “1001 Nachts” ride.

METRO