CEBU CITY, Philippines – Driving while under the influence of alcohol is not only perilous, but also punishable by law.
Regardless of whether a different traffic violation was made or not, the mere act of driving while intoxicated can send an individual to prison.
Moreover, drunk driving poses a danger to both the lives of the driver and of the people around them.
In Cebu, many individuals have lost their lives because of the recklessness of drunk drivers.
In order to prevent these tragic scenarios, authorities are constantly reminding the public to take their responsibilities as a motorist seriously.
READ MORE:
Daanbantayan accident: 2 men hurt after ‘drunk’ tricycle driver crashes into them from behind
One of the traffic rules that police are always highlighting is to refrain from driving after drinking alcohol.
The sad truth is that there are still many individuals who choose to ignore these warnings. These irresponsible actions often lead to tragic accidents.
On September 24, two brothers died after meeting an accident while driving home drunk in Daanbantayan, southern Cebu.
The victims, Mark John Gerbise, 27, and Declan Gerbise, 25, were residents of Sitio Tagasa, Brgy. Tominjao in Daanbantayan.
The fatal accident took place at around 2:10 a.m., while the brothers were on their way home from attending a drinking spree at a disco party in Brgy. Tinder, Medellin, Cebu.
Both men were believed to be drunk as they decided to go home with their friends tailgating them. When they reached Proper Bateria in Daanbantayan, however, their motorcycle crashed and both individuals were thrown to the cemented road.
By the time they were brought to the Daanbantayan District Hospital, they were pronounced dead by the attending physician.
The brothers were laid to rest last Saturday, September 28.
Police officers often emphasize that road accidents like what happened in Daanbatayan add up to the list of reasons why drunk driving should be strictly avoided.
What’s more is that it is considered illegal.
Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013
Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, and other similar substances is penalized under the Republic Act No. 10586, otherwise known as the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013.
This act prohibits a person from driving if he/she has consumed wine, beer, or any other intoxicating distilled spirits, or has used cannabis or marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine, or shabu.
Law enforcers determine if a person is found driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA)by testing the level of intoxication with the use of a Breathalyzer, or the Alcohol Breath Analyzer (ABA) test.
According to the Land Transportation Office (LTO), drunk drivers typically catch the attention of police when they commit traffic offenses like lane straddling, swerving, overspeeding, making sudden stops, and weaving.
When an officer finds probable cause, motorists are flagged down and made to go field sobriety tests such as the eye-test, walk-and-turn, and the one-leg stand.
It is important to note that refusing to take the tests, however, will have the person’s driver’s license confiscated and revoked.
Failing these tests will result to the driver being brought to the police station while the vehicle will be impounded.
Under RA 10586, the penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is imprisonment for three months and a fine ranging from P20,000-P80,000.
If the driver ends up causing physical harm to someone because of drunk driving, the fine ups to P100,000-P200,000 and the driver will be charged for causing physical injuries.
In unfortunate cases wherein a person is killed, the drunk driver would face homicide charges and a fine ranging from P300,000-P500,000.
Individuals found guilty of this offense will also have their driver’s license confiscated and perpetually revoked.
In Cebu, there has been multiple recorded incidents of drunk driving that lead to catastrophic endings in the previous years until today.
Aside from the drivers themselves, there arebystanders who also end up getting hurt in these incidents.
To prevent this from happening, Highway Patrol Group in Central Visayas (HPG-7) Chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla advised drivers to refrain from driving under the influence of alcohol.
“Balik balik na gyud nato na no. Di gyud motagam hangtod sila madisgrasya. So constant na nato nga reminder, even gani bisag dili madisgrasya, bastag naka-inom, violation na na siyang daan. Ato gyud nang balik balik na, dili gyud ta pwede modrive kung maka-inom,” stated Parilla.
If you are planning to drink, do not drive. If you do drink alcohol, do the right thing by booking a cab or staying at a friend’s place in order to avoid drunk driving.
By following these tips and dutifully abiding by the law, you can avoid imprisonment and keep everyone safe.
It was a battle royal between two Midwestern politicians, both vying to be vice president of the United States.
But Tuesday’s debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance was overshadowed by events unfolding in the Middle East, where – hours earlier – Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles in response to Israel’s deadly attacks in Lebanon and Gaza.
“There will be consequences,” Walz, a Democrat, said of Iran’s actions. The Republican candidate Vance, meanwhile, underscored the unwavering US support for Israel.
“It is up to Israel what they think they need to keep their country safe, and we should support our allies wherever they are when they’re fighting the bad guys,” Vance said.
The debate marks one of the last major milestones in the US presidential race. Hosted by CBS News in New York, the event arrives a mere five weeks before election day on November 5.
It will also likely be the first and only time Vance and Walz confront one another on stage, not to mention the final debate of the 2024 election cycle.
With the race hurtling towards a nail-biting finish, each candidate tried to make the case for why their ticket should emerge victorious. Vance, the running mate for Donald Trump, argued his candidate would bring “common sense” to the White House.
Meanwhile, Walz played up Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her track record of “steady leadership”, while attacking Trump as a chaotic force.
Here are five key takeaways from Tuesday’s debate.
Law enforcement stood outside the vice presidential debate venue in New York on October 1 [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]
Opening question centres on Israel
Iran’s missile attack against Israel – and Israel’s warnings that Iran “will pay” – loomed large as the lights came up on the debate stage.
Moderator Margaret Brennan opened the proceedings with a question about what should come next: Would the candidates support Israel if it chose to launch a strike against Iran?
Walz was up first. Initially, the Minnesota governor appeared to stumble, repeatedly calling several policy goals “fundamental”.
“Israel’s ability to be able to defend itself is absolutely fundamental. Getting its hostages back – fundamental. And ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But the expansion of Israel and its proxies is an absolute fundamental necessity for the United States to have a steady leadership there,” Walz said.
“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter.”
Where Walz hit his stride, however, was in attacking Trump as a divisive and destabilising figure.
“It’s those who are closest to Donald Trump that understand how dangerous he is when the world is this dangerous,” Walz said.
He further criticised then-President Trump for pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, bringing an end to an multilateral agreement that included restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“We had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran’s nuclear programme in,” Walz argued. “Donald Trump pulled that programme and put nothing else in its place. So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership.”
When the moderators turned to Vance, the senator initially sidestepped the question, using his opening remarks to introduce himself to the audience as a child of the working class.
“I recognise a lot of Americans don’t know who either one of us are,” Vance told the camera.
He eventually pivoted to the question at hand. Vance argued that Trump, during his four years as president from 2017 to 2021, made the world safer by projecting strength and spurring fear.
“As much as Governor Walz just accused Donald Trump of being an agent of chaos, Donald Trump actually delivered security in the world, and he did it by establishing effective deterrence. People were afraid of stepping out of line,” Vance said.
“Donald Trump recognised, for people to fear the United States, you needed peace through strength.”
Moderators Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan led the debate with Vance and Walz [Matt Rourke/AP Photo]
Vance softens incendiary rhetoric on immigration
The vice presidential debate took place three weeks after Trump and Harris themselves faced off in a televised showdown, and one topic was quick to reemerge: immigration.
Tuesday’s event revisited one of the most viral moments from that previous presidential debate, concerning the burgeoning Haitian American community in Springfield, Ohio.
On September 10, Trump took to the debate stage to repeatedly claim – without evidence – that Haitian migrants in Springfield were abducting and eating neighbourhood cats and dogs.
Vance himself had helped spread those rumours online. He later justified his actions by telling reporters, “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
On Tuesday, Walz attacked Vance for his role in the fear-mongering, which resulted in tensions and even bomb threats in Springfield.
“Talking about and saying, ‘I will create stories to bring attention to this’ – that vilified a large number of people who are here legally in the community of Springfield,” Walz told Vance across the debate stage.
“There are consequences for this,” Walz continued. “The consequences in Springfield were the governor had to send state law enforcement to escort kindergarteners to school.”
Vance avoided repeating the unfounded allegations about Haitian migrants. He did, however, blame what he described as unchecked immigration for straining local resources.
“In Springfield, Ohio, and in communities all across this country, you’ve got schools that are overwhelmed, you’ve got hospitals that are overwhelmed, you’ve got housing that is totally unaffordable, because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes,” Vance said.
“The people I am most worried about in Springfield, Ohio, are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’s open border.”
JD Vance blamed ‘illegal’ migration for the housing crisis in the US [Matt Rourke/AP Photo]
Fact-checking under Republican scrutiny
The question of how to address unfounded rumours and baseless allegations was in the air even before the candidates began to speak on Tuesday.
CBS News, the debate host, had announced its moderators would not conduct fact-checking live on air, as the vice presidential candidates spoke. The news agency instead offered viewers the opportunity to scan a QR code to receive factual analysis of the claims made on the debate stage.
The decision was a reaction to backlash from the Trump camp, which opposed the way moderators pointed out falsehoods during the September 10 debate.
The Trump team has continued to oppose fact-checking during its candidates’ media appearances.
Earlier on Tuesday, a campaign spokesperson said Trump rejected an interview with the CBS News programme 60 Minutes in part because it “insisted insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented”.
That opposition to fact-checking continued on Tuesday’s debate stage, leading to a heated moment between Vance and CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan.
“Just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio, does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protected status,” Brennan interjected at one point, in response to Vance’s claims that the city was overwhelmed by “illegal” immigrants.
Vance quickly responded, cutting Brennan off. “The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check. Since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on,” he replied, before doubling down.
Walz also tried to interject, and with both candidates attempting to speak at once, the debate moderators muted their microphones — the only time that happened during the entire evening.
Later, Walz tried to depict both Vance and Trump as rejecting expert insight in favour of their own inclinations.
“Economists? Can’t be trusted. Scientists? Can’t be trusted. National security folks? Can’t be trusted,” Walz said, mimicking the Republican ticket. “Look, if you’re going to be president, you don’t have all the answers. Donald Trump believes he does.”
But Vance responded by saying experts had misled the American people.
“Governor, you say trust the experts. But those same experts for 40 years said that if we shipped our manufacturing base off to China, we’d get cheaper goods. They lied about that,” Vance said.
He added that the weakening of the American economy can only be halted by straightforward solutions. “We’re not going to stop it by listening to experts. We’re going to stop it by listening to common-sense wisdom, which is what Donald Trump governed on.”
Tim Walz argued that ‘geography’ should not determine access to abortion services [Matt Rourke/AP Photo]
Candidates tackle lowering gun violence
Both Walz and Vance were pressed about how they would address gun violence, particularly in the wake of yet another school shooting.
Just last month, on September 4, the swing state of Georgia suffered the deadliest school shooting in its history, when a 14-year-old suspect brought an AR-15-style rifle to Apalachee High School.
When asked how to lessen the risks, Vance took a more resigned approach, implying that gun violence was a fact of life.
“We know unfortunately a lot of kids are going to experience this terrible epidemic of gun violence,” he replied.
“The idea that we can wave a magic wand and take guns out of the hands of bad guys, it just doesn’t fit with recent experience.”
Vance suggested the best solution was to beef up security on campuses across the country.
“I unfortunately think we have to increase security in our schools,” he said. “We have to make the doors lock better. We have to make the doors stronger. We’ve got to make the windows stronger. And of course we’ve got to increase the school resource officers.”
Walz, meanwhile, played up his identity as a gun owner, as Harris herself has done in recent weeks, in an effort to diffuse perceptions that Democrats are anti-gun.
“I’m a hunter. I own firearms,” he said. “I’m of an age where my shotgun was in my car so I could hunt pheasant after football practice.”
Still, Walz argued certain gun reforms were needed to protect American children, though he remained vague on the specific actions he would advocate.
“There are reasonable things that we can do to make a difference,” Walz said.
“No one’s trying to scaremonger and say we’re taking your guns, but I ask all of you out there: Do you want your schools to be hardened to look like a fort? Is that were we have to go, when we know there are countries around the world where their children aren’t practicing these kinds of [school shooting] drills?”
JD Vance, left, and Tim Walz differed over whether campus ‘hardening’ or gun control should be used to address school shootings [Matt Rourke/AP Photo]
Walz pushes Democrats’ advantage on abortion
Another flashpoint during the debate was the question of abortion access, an issue slated to be on the ballot this November in approximately 10 states, including battlegrounds like Nevada.
Abortion is often seen to be a winning issue for Democrats, and Walz attempted to use the debate stage to highlight the consequences of overturning Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that formerly establishing a constitutional right to abortion access.
Walz underscored that Trump-appointed judges on the Supreme Court ultimately ended the precedent set in Roe v Wade, in a controversial 2022 decision. That, in turn, left states with the power to decide whether abortion access would be legal within their borders.
“How can we as a nation say that your life and your rights — as basic as the right to control your own body — is determined on geography?” Walz said, recounting the stories of women whose lives were endangered by lack of abortion access.
“Donald Trump put this all into motion,” he added. “He brags about how great it was that he put the judges in and overturned Roe v Wade, 52 years of personal autonomy.”
While the Republican Party has long been outspoken in its opposition to abortion access, Vance sought to strike a more neutral tone during the debate, focusing instead on social programmes to support families.
“My party, we’ve got to do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust back on this issue,” Vance said, seeming to acknowledge reproductive rights as a point of weakness in the party platform.
“I want us in the Republican Party to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word. I want us to support fertility treatments. I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies.”
Vance had previously supported a nationwide ban on abortion, a position he did not reiterate in Tuesday’s debate.
The two men also clashed over Trump’s track record on election denialism: Trump has long claimed the 2020 election was “stolen” from him through massive voter fraud.
“It is really rich for Democrats to say Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on January 20 as we have done for 250 years in this country,” Vance said.
Walz, meanwhile, dismissed the equivocation and called on Vance to put a stop to the false election claims.
“This has got to stop. It is tearing our country apart,” Walz said. He challenged Vance to stand up to Trump, as former Vice President Mike Pence did in 2021.
“Where is the fire wall with Donald Trump? Where is the fire wall if he knows he can do anything, including taking an election?” Walz asked. “Will you stand up? Will you keep your oath of office even if the president doesn’t?”
Inside: It’s easy to feel guilt about what your kid’s eating (or not eating) at mealtime. Here’s why you can relax.
From the very first moment of motherhood, it can feel like there are endless things making you feel like a lousy mom.
Maybe it’s a well-meaning but judgy comment from someone or a self-inflicted shame spiral after seeing a “perfect mom” with her “perfect family” (as if) on social media.
Food is one of the biggies: How you feed your child, what your child eats, what your child doesn’t eat. As a dietitian, I’ve gone on a few food-related guilt trips myself over the years (see: The Biggest Lessons I’ve Learned About Feeding Kids).
In case someone hasn’t told you lately: You’re not a lousy mom. You’re a great mom. And just in case you need extra encouragement today, I’m here to say you can officially stop feeling guilty about these five things at dinnertime.
#1. Uneaten vegetables
Yes, vegetables are good for us. But they are not the end-all-be-all of foods. In other words, if you kid hates every single of them, all hope is not lost.
While your kids are still learning to try and like veggies, they can get similar nutrients in other foods, especially fruit. And you can continue to expose your kids to vegetables at meals and snacks, because just seeing veggies counts as exposure.
Remember: We are playing the long game here. We are hunkering down and practicing patience. It’s not about how many bites of broccoli your kid takes at dinner tonight. It’s about building a healthy relationship to food, and that takes time.
See More: Your Kid Hates Vegetables. Now What?
#2. Processed Foods
Despite what you may hear, there’s no shame in using packaged and convenience foods to get dinner on the table. These foods make it easier to make family dinner happen, and that’s a good thing.
Yet it’s also true that a diet high in ultra-processed foods–the kind that are more heavily processed and tend to contain more sodium, added sugar, and additives–may be linked to certain health issues.
So it’s about balance. Here are some real-life ideas:
Serve a big tossed salad and fruit if you’re having frozen pizza.
Put brown rice and roasted broccoli on the plate with boxed fish sticks.
Lean on processed foods that provide more nutrients at dinner, like canned beans, frozen vegetables, and dry whole grain pasta.
See More: You Don’t Have to Avoid Processed Foods. Here’s What To Do Instead.
#3. Ketchup, BBQ Sauce, and Ranch Dressing
Embrace sauces and dips at your table if your kids like them. They can make an intimidating food seem a little friendlier, serving as a “bridge” that encourages your child to try (and hopefully like) different kinds of foods, like veggies.
They can also make bland or even bitter vegetables more flavorful and appealing—which means your kids may eat more of them. In one study, preschoolers ate more broccoli when it was served with dip.
As your kids become more familiar and comfortable around new foods, they probably won’t need as much extra flavoring to enjoy them. For now, consider it a helpful tool.
Yes, these sauce and dips contain added sugar and other additives. But I’d rather cut sugar elsewhere (like fewer sugary drinks) and keep these condiments on the table. If you’re worried your kid will just eat ketchup by the spoonful (ahem, been there), squirt a small amount on their plate or in a small bowl.
Just don’t let worries about added sugar, sodium, and fat cause you to under-flavor foods like veggies. Roasted broccoli is so much better with a sprinkle of salt. Sautéed carrots are transformed with a little butter and brown sugar. And as my kids used to do, asparagus might taste better when it’s dipped in ketchup.
See More: In Defense of Ranch Dressing
#4. Dessert
It’s okay to serve dessert regularly. But dessert shouldn’t be a reward for eating dinner or depend on how many bites of vegetables your child ate.
Here’s why: When getting dessert is linked to eating other food, especially vegetables, kids may start seeing that food as a gross thing they have to get through in order to get something better. Breaking that link helps take the power away from dessert as a bargaining tool. No more “two bites of broccoli and you can have dessert” bribes.
Dietitian Ellyn Satter, author of Child Of Mine: Feeding With Love and Good Sense, actually suggests serving small portions of dessert WITH dinner. She says that when dessert is taken down from its pedestal, it becomes just another part of the meal.
And even if they gobble up the cookie first, they can move on to their other food and eat until they’re full. They don’t race through dinner to get to dessert.
See More: Serving Dessert With Dinner. Sounds Crazy But it Works!
#5. A Hot Mess
If you’re not having perfect family dinners where everyone smiles, uses table manners, and takes second helpings of Brussels sprouts, guess what? You’re a normal family!
Especially when kids are young, dinnertime can be loud and messy and, let’s face it, not always enjoyable.
Chaos at dinnertime is okay. Maintaining the habit of eating together as a family (when you can) is what’s important—even if that means dinner in the car or on the sidelines sometimes.
BROOKLYN — Sitting at the podium ahead of Game 2, Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon wasn’t happy. Her Aces dropped Game 1 at Barclay’s Center, 87-77, a final score that reflected two concurrent realities: Las Vegas had shot poorly, and the two-time defending champions were simply outplayed.
“I was really disappointed in our effort,” Hammon said of Game 1.
Las Vegas had a chance to rectify things in Game 2 — and while they certainly pushed the Liberty to their limits, they ultimately came up just short, falling to New York 88-84.
And, after the final buzzer, Hammon was similarly unhappy with her team’s performance, stating that she called multiple timeouts out of frustration with their attention to detail, though noting that she was happier with the team’s efforts.
“The amount of layups we gave up was obscene,” Hammon said.
“The layups are just back-breaking.”
“The same problems were the same problems.”
Here’s what went down in Liberty-Aces Game 2.
Sabrina Ionescu leads the way — especially in the clutch
For the Liberty, Sabrina Ionescu was the hero in this one, exploding for 24 points (9-18 FG), 9 rebounds and 8 assists. She scored 7 points in the final two minutes, helping stave off a late Aces push.
“Sabrina was massive down the stretch, making it hard for them,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said postgame.
“In the big moments, she just really steps up,” Jonquel Jones said postgame.
Ionescu had a slightly less generous interpretation of events.
“I didn’t think we were always poised [in the clutch] — I had some bad shots,” Ionescu said postgame.
But, Ionescu was certainly good enough to help ensure the Liberty would take a commanding 2-0 lead in the WNBA semi-finals.
In the win, Breanna Stewart added 15 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds, while Jones battled with three-time MVP A’ja Wilson all night, finishing with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Kayla Thornton, Courtney Vandersloot come off huge off the bench
Courtney Vandersloot and Kayla Thornton were critical off the bench; Vandersloot scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting, while Thornton added 9 on 4-5 shooting.
“I thought she could be this x-factor in this series,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said of Thornton.
“Nine big points,” Brondello said of Thornton’s offensive contributions.
Prior to the game, both coaches reflected on Vandersloot’s season — she lost her mother and was away from the team for several weeks. Becky Hammon praised Vandersloot for her willingness to come off the bench in favor of Leonie Fiebich, and empathized with all that Vandersloot has dealt with this season.
“Your heart goes out to her on a human level,” Hammon said pregame. “Nobody loves you like your mom, that’s for sure. We had a similar situation with AC, with her father, the year before. It’s just heavy, it’s hard. They’re playing every night with broken hearts, and this is a game that has always provided them a lot of comfort in whatever they’re going through.”
In this one, Vandersloot was one of the key reasons for the victory.
Sabrina Ionescu leads the way in the final minutes
The final minutes were back-and-forth and drama-filled. The Liberty held a 1-point lead with just over two minutes to play when Sabrina Ionescu found a cutting Breanna Stewart to extend the lead to 3. Alysha Clark then hit two free throws on the other end to cut the deficit 1, and Ionescu responded with a difficult layup through contact.
Clark tied things up with a corner three — and Ionescu responded once again with a pull-up jumper. The two teams traded misses, and Tiffany Hayes had the chance to tie things up with a pair of free throws, but split them. Ionescu split hers, too, giving the Aces one more chance to tie things up with 11 seconds to play. But, an out-of-bounds call that was initially ruled off of the Liberty was overturned, giving Liberty possession and control of the game. Ionescu iced the win with two free throws.
“When Leo [Fiebich] tells me to challenge, I challenge,” Brondello said with a laugh.
For the Aces, A’ja Wilson finished with 24 points on 10-17 shooting, Jackie Young with 17 points and 6 assists, and Chelsea Gray with 14 points and 6 assists.. Alysha Clark, in the starting lineup in place of Kiah Stokes, added 13 points, including 5 in the final minute (a corner three and a pair of free throws). But, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Liberty’s well-balanced performance, in which 6 Liberty players scored at least 8 points.
For New York, the win is just that: a single victory.
“Being up 2-0 is great, but we haven’t won anything,” Ionescu said. “We did what we’re supposed to do.”
The storm is expected to hit southwestern city of Khaosiung, home to 2.7 million people, early on Thursday.
Taiwan has shut down ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Krathon closing offices and schools, evacuating thousands and cancelling flights and ferry services.
Krathon, with sustained wind speeds of 173km (107 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 209km/h (130mph), is expected to strike the southwestern port city of Kaohsiung in the early hours of Thursday and has already brought torrential rain and strong winds.
The Central Weather Administration said it was located about 160km (99 miles) southwest of Kaohsiung as of 7.00am on Wednesday (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai asked the city’s 2.7 million residents to stay indoors unless necessary and to avoid flood- and landslide-prone areas near rivers, the sea and the mountains. Up to 80cm (31 inches) of rain has been forecast in surrounding mountainous areas.
Chen warned Krathon would be “no less powerful” than 1977’s Typhoon Thelma, which devastated the city, leaving 37 dead and 298 injured.
Waves crash onto a sea wall in Kaohsiung as Typhoon Krathon approaches [Ann Wang/Reuters]
Typhoons rarely strike Taiwan’s densely populated west coast, usually hitting the mountainous, eastern side of the island facing the Pacific. In July, Typhoon Gaemi triggered landslides and flooding, killing at least 11 people.
All cities and counties in Taiwan declared a day off on Wednesday. The Ministry of Interior said that nearly 10,000 people had been evacuated from at-risk areas as a precaution. Domestic and many international flights were cancelled.
Chou Yi-tang, a government official working in Khaosiung’s Siaogang district where the airport is located, said the typhoon had brought back bad memories of Thelma for the older generation.
In his district, more than 700 sandbags had been distributed, which is a record for a typhoon, while authorities were making more to meet demand, Chou said. Storm drains were also being cleared to reduce the risk of flooding.
“We were hit directly by the eyewall,” he said of the events almost five decades ago. “Power was out for two weeks and no water for almost a month. It was disastrous.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence said it had put nearly 40,000 troops on standby.
People rushed to stock up on food and other essentials ahead of the arrival of the typhoon [Ann Wang/Reuters]
Across Taiwan, 35 typhoon-related injuries had been reported as of late Tuesday, authorities said without providing details.
Typhoons are common around the Asia Pacific at this time of year.
However, a recent study showed that they are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.
Krathon had already wreaked havoc in the northern Philippines, killing at least one person, forcing about 5,000 people from their homes and causing widespread flooding.
CHEAT ON CANDY BARS WITH QUESTIFIED PEANUT BUTTER COATED CANDIES BARS. This Halloween, skip the store-bought sugar bombs and summon these from your kitchen cauldron. Peanut butter, coconut flour, and Quest Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder join forces to conjure up a treat so hauntingly delicious, it’s like dark magic at work. Topped with melted sugar-free chocolate and chopped Quest Peanut Butter Coated Candies, these scary-good bars have the protein you want to handle whatever zombies and goblins come your way – without getting spooked by a sugary nightmare.
Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton poses for a photo during the NBA basketball team’s media day in Portland, Ore., Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
PORTLAND, Oregon — The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t make any big moves in the offseason, opting instead to stay on course with a long-term rebuilding project.
Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton and Anfernee Simons will form the team’s nucleus as Portland continues to develop young players, including Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson.
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“I like where we are at with this roster, but I love where we are headed,” GM Joe Cronin said Monday during the team’s media day.
READ: NBA: Deandre Ayton embracing fresh start with Trail Blazers
The Blazers went 21-61 last season after trading away All-Star Damian Lillard and failed to make the playoffs for the third straight year. They were stung by injuries, with Simons, Sharpe and Henderson missing a combined 105 games.
There’s no doubt the Blazers are a young team. Grant, 30, is the most experienced with 10 years in the NBA. Ayton and Simons have six years each in the league.
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Sharpe, 21, is embarking on his third year, while the 20-year-old Henderson was a rookie last year. Both struggled with injuries, which slowed their progress. Simons injured his thumb in the season opener and required surgery.
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Grant led Portland with an average of 21 points a game, while Ayton averaged 11.1 rebounds. Henderson led the team with 5.4 assists per game.
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Portland made its biggest move of the season on draft day, selecting Donovan Clingan with the seventh pick. They picked up forward Deni Avdija in July in a trade with the Washington Wizards.
Coach Chauncey Billups was clear that he understands where the Blazers stand in the process and that the payoff may not come this year.
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“I just want our guys to be connected, I want our guys to know each other, I want them to play for each other. We don’t have that go get a bucket iso guy every single time. So we can’t afford to play that way,” Billups said. “We’ve got to play fast. We’ve got to move the basketball. We’ve got to help each other on defense. We’ve got to do all the small things to even be competitive.”
READ: NBA: Damian Lillard cheered in return to Portland after trade to Bucks
Billups said Portland will focus on speed. The Blazers tried to emphasize it last year, but injuries thwarted those plans.
“We’ve been focusing on this year, already just with our pickup games and letting them just hoop. The biggest thing I’ve been telling them is just play fast, have fun,” Billups said.
Simons, who is one of the most experienced players on the team even though he’s just 25, was looking forward to it.
“It will be fun. Obviously, we have a young, young team that’s very athletic and can do a lot of different things. So I think us playing fast plays to our advantage,” Simons said.
The Blazers’ lone rookie on the roster is Clingan, who averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Tournament but admitted that the NBA is a whole new ballgame. He’ll be tutored by Ayton, who said Clingan uses his body well for a big man.
“I’m a freshman again,” the back-to-back NCAA champion said. “I’m here to learn, I’m here to get better. I gotta put in my work every single day, I gotta show I belong at this level.”
Honoring Walton
The Blazers will honor Hall of Famer Bill Walton with a tie-dye jersey band that includes Walton’s No. 32 in white.
Named the NBA Finals MVP in 1977 when he led the Blazers to their only league championship, Walton passed away in May at 71.
READ: Bill Walton, Hall of Fame player, dies of cancer at 71
The team also announced on Monday that Brightside Windows, a local Portland company, would be the jersey patch sponsor for both the Blazers and the Rip City Remix, the team’s G League affiliate.
TV deal
Last season Blazers’ games were on Root Sports, a regional network owned by the Seattle Mariners. But the relationship soured last season when the channel wasn’t available to Xfinity customers without an additional fee.
The deal ended in August and last week the Blazers announced a new deal with Sinclair Broadcasting Group to show games over the air on Sinclair stations across Oregon and Washington.
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The Blazers are also introducing a direct-to-consumer streaming service called BlazerVision.
The repeated blasts in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Israel has been carrying out air strikes this week, have driven Zeina Nazha and her young daughter to camp on a city beach, seeking safety from the war in Lebanon.
She and some others from those suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, are sleeping on blankets either under the open sky or in tents and other makeshift shelters with no safer place to go.
Israel’s stepped-up military campaign in Lebanon over the past two weeks has driven a million people from their homes in the south, in Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley in the east, according to the Lebanese government.
Israel says its campaign is necessary to make its northern regions safe from Hezbollah rocket fire and allow thousands of its citizens to return to their homes.
“There was bombing in [the] al-Sallem neighbourhood. We stayed for a while there and my family fled,” said Nazha.
“The situation we’re living in is very difficult… people are dying.”
She and her daughter spent a night sleeping on the corniche, the seaside walk around central areas of Beirut that, in peaceful times, is a hub of city life, filled with families strolling or sitting and eating.
The government and private or charitable bodies have set up numerous shelters in schools and other facilities to accommodate people displaced by the fighting. But Nazha said all those she had visited were full.
Nearby, Mohamed Terkmene, a Syrian man living in Lebanon who has also been displaced by the conflict, said he had been sleeping at the beach for four days. He said soldiers had come to tell him and his neighbours to evacuate their Dahiyeh homes.
“We are not able to sleep and we don’t know for how long we will stay here. A month, two months, a week or two, until this war is resolved,” he said.
If you’re a fan of classic oatmeal cream pies and can’t get enough of pumpkin spice, these pumpkin oatmeal cream pies are your next must-try bake! Start by baking a batch of soft pumpkin oatmeal cookies—no dough chilling needed. Then, sandwich them together with a tangy, spiced cream cheese filling to create irresistible oatmeal cream pies bursting with cozy fall flavors.
While there is so much to love about fall—cooler temps, colorful leaves, Halloween fun—obviously the best part about this time of year is the BAKING.
Today’s pumpkin sandwich cookie recipe is a new one to add to your list of must-try fall recipes. I know that list is probably quite long… but trust me, this one is worthy of a place on it!
Why You’ll Love These Fall Sandwich Cookies
A Few Notes About the Ingredients:
Pumpkin Puree: You want the pure stuff, not the can labeled “pumpkin pie filling.” You won’t use the entire can in this recipe, so here is a list of recipes to make with leftover pumpkin puree.
Oats: Finer-cut quick oats may dry out the dough, so I recommend whole oats here.
Spices: Pumpkin on its own doesn’t have a lot of flavor. You need cinnamon + pumpkin pie spice to give it a boost.
Sugar: You need a mix of both white granulated and brown sugar—brown sugar to keep the cookies moist and chewy, white granulated to help with spreading.
Egg Yolk: Eggs + pumpkin can create a cake-like cookie, but here I want a soft and chewy cookie. So, skip the egg white and use just the yolk.
5 Success Tips for Making the Best Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
We tested a few versions of the recipe below, and learned some key success tips along the way. Happy to share:
1. Blot the pumpkin. Pumpkin puree is a considerably wet ingredient (it’s 90% water), which is a good thing for adding moisture to cakes, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin bread. But it poses a problem when we’re trying to make dense, chewy oatmeal cookies. More moisture = cakier cookies.
To prevent overly cakey cookies, blot some moisture out of the pumpkin using paper towels. You’ll start with 1 cup of pumpkin puree (about 225–240g); after blotting, you should end up with about 3/4 cup (170g).
2. Use only an egg yolk. Pumpkin acts kind of like an egg in cookie dough, which I learned when testing pumpkin chocolate chip cookies back in 2013 (that is an egg-free recipe). Testing pumpkin oatmeal cookies, however, proved that an egg—or at least part of an egg—is necessary. The cookies were a little dry and crumbly without it because of the oats in the dough. Use just 1 large egg yolk here, because that little extra bit of fat makes a difference.
3. Use a cookie scoop. I strongly recommend using a medium cookie scoop. Why? First, because the cookies need to all be roughly equal in size (about a scant 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons) to sandwich together. And second, because this dough is very sticky and would be much too difficult to roll with your hands. A cookie scoop scrapes the dough out cleanly and drops a perfectly sized lump of dough onto the baking sheet every time.
If you do not have a cookie scoop, drop a heaping Tablespoon (about 25–30g) of dough for each cookie onto the lined baking sheet.
You should get about 36–40 cookies out of this dough, so you’ll end up with 18–20 sandwiches.
4. Flatten out the cookies slightly before baking. You can use the back of a spoon for this. These cookies don’t expand much in the oven, and pressing them down first encourages spreading. The result? Chewier, flatter cookies just right for sandwiching together to make a pumpkin oatmeal cream pie.
5. Spoon the edges. If your cookies are spreading too much or unevenly, remove them from the oven and use a spoon to lightly push any wonky edges back in towards the center, to reshape into circles. (I do this with chocolate chip cookies.) Return to the oven to continue baking. You can repeat this trick again, if needed, after baking.
Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Filling
Make the filling while you wait for the cookies to cool. You need cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar, plus a few ingredients that you used for the cookie dough, too: butter, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
The filling required a bit of testing. I kept reducing the sugar, to really help the pumpkin spice and cream cheese flavors stand out. However, the more confectioners’ sugar you reduce, the thinner the filling becomes. What you see here is an ideal consistency, with just enough sweetness.
Assembling Oatmeal Cream Pies
You can use a pastry bag + tip and pipe the filling, or simply spread it on with a knife or icing spatula. If you want to pipe it and do not have a piping tip and pastry bag, use a regular zip-top plastic bag and snip off 1 corner. Pipe or spread the frosting onto the bottoms of half the cookies, then sandwich with the remaining cookies. I used Wilton 2A tip to pipe.
Variation: Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches
These soft and chewy pumpkin oatmeal cookies would also make wonderful ice cream cookie sandwiches! Simply swap the cream cheese filling for vanilla or pumpkin ice cream, and follow the instructions for sandwiching the cookies with softened ice cream, wrapping, and freezing from my cookie ice cream sandwich recipe.
Print
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cream Pies
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
Author: Sally
Prep Time:1 hour
Cook Time:15 minutes
Total Time:2 hours, 15 minutes (includes cooling)
Yield:18-20 sandwiches
Category:Cookies
Method:Baking
Cuisine:American
Description
Soft and chewy pumpkin oatmeal cookies are sandwiched with tangy-sweet and spiced cream cheese filling. To ensure the best results, review my success tips above before beginning.
Instructions
Blot the pumpkin: Line a medium bowl with 2 paper towels. Place the pumpkin puree in the bowl. Using another paper towel, press down to blot excess moisture out of the pumpkin. After blotting, make sure you have about 3/4 cup (170g) of pumpkin. Discard paper towels and set blotted pumpkin aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together.
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined. Add the blotted pumpkin, and beat on high speed until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated, then increase to medium speed and beat until combined. Dough will be creamy, soft, and sticky.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough (about a scant 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (25–30g) of dough each) and drop on the cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart. With the back of a spoon, press down to slightly flatten the balls, as the cookies won’t spread much unless you help out first.
Bake for 14–16 minutes or until lightly browned and set on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. (Success Tip: If your cookies are spreading unevenly, remove them from the oven and use a spoon to lightly push any wonky edges back in towards the center, to reshape into circles. You can repeat this trick again, if needed, when you take them out of the oven after baking.)
Make the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed until confectioners’ sugar is incorporated, then increase to high speed and beat until smooth and creamy. Pipe or spread some of the filling on the bottom side of half of the cooled cookies; top with remaining cookies, right side up. I used Wilton 2A tip to pipe.
Cover and store leftover cookies at room temperature for up to 1 day. After that, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week to keep the creamy filling fresh.
Notes
Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and store it, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before continuing with step 6. Baked cookies, cooled but not filled/sandwiched, freeze well for up to 3 months. (For best taste and texture, filling should be fresh.) Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before continuing with step 6. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding a minute or two to the baking time. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
Why Am I Blotting Moisture Out of Pumpkin Puree? Pumpkin puree is a really wet ingredient (it’s 90% water), which is a good thing for adding moisture to cakes, pumpkin muffins, and pumpkin bread. But it poses a problem when we’re trying to make dense, chewy oatmeal cookies. Start with 1 cup of pumpkin (about 225–240g) and blot out enough moisture and liquid to yield 3/4 cup (170g) of denser, thicker puree.
Use Whole Oats: Finer-cut quick oats may dry out the dough, so I recommend whole oats here.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, for the cookies: use 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and an extra 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Do not leave out the 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon that is also called for in this recipe. For the filling: Use a pinch each of the same spices (you may want to avoid ground cloves in the filling, or make it an extra small pinch—it’s quite strong).
Use Only the Egg Yolk: Pumpkin acts kind of like an egg in cookie dough, so you don’t need an entire egg here. Use only the yolk, to help give the cookies structure and provide moisture and richness.
Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
The hype leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft at wide receiver was based entirely on the generational talent of Marvin Harrison Jr. and the game-breaking potential of Malik Nabers. Sure, there were other guys deeper in the draft who had promise, but outside of those top two players and maybe Rome Odunze there wasn’t a lot of faith this class would be all that special.
Four weeks into the season it’s shaping up to be a legendary, league-defining year at WR when it comes to rookies — particularly those selected in the first two rounds. A total of 11 receivers were taken in either the first or second round, and so far the vast majority are showing potential of high-caliber NFL starters. Even in a year where offenses around the league are struggling, the rookies are showing out. It’s not uncommon for one or two rookies to make a big impact, but it’s rare to have this many young receivers immediately become their quarterback’s No. 1 or No. 2 target so early in their career.
Here are the rookie stats as they stand, as well as how they project to finish the season assuming the same rate of production.
No. 1: Malik Nabers — New York Giants (6th pick) 35 receptions, 386 yards, 3 TD (Projected: 149 rec, 1,641 yds, 13 TD)
Nabers has been a revelation. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine him putting up big numbers, but having this big of an impact in the Giants offense has been on an entirely different level. Nabers could break the rookie receiving record and immediately cement himself as one of the top players in the league.
No. 2: Brian Thomas Jr. — Jacksonville Jaguars (23rd pick) 17 receptions, 275 yards, 2 TD (Projected: 72 rec, 1,169 yds, 9 TD)
It’s been far too easy to overlook what Brian Thomas Jr. has been doing in Jacksonville because of how hapless the Jaguars have been this season. They are a mess of a team, but the rookie receiver has been a bright spot, forming an instant connection with Trevor Lawrence and essentially becoming the only thing about their offense worth watching.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the monster we expected. An absolute touchdown machine, he’s only lagging behind in total yards because the inconsistent Cardinals offense has a lot of holes. There is absolutely no doubt he will become a monster receiver who leads the league sooner, rather than later. It’s just about how quickly Arizona can put it all together.
This was the perfect scheme fit for the Chargers, and McConkey is thriving. A YAC monster, 86 of McConkey’s yards this season have come after the catch and he’s finding a perfect home as a short catch, turn upfield receiver with the agility to make a linebacker miss.
Odunze has all the trappings of being great. The biggest issue right now is that the Bears offensive line can’t buy enough time for the offense to get vertical, which is where Odunze shines. A case where the stats can be deceiving, it’s apparent this was the right pick long-term for the offense, and when the line can hold a block he’ll rocket up the receiving rankings.
The recent injury to Rashee Rice means Worthy is soon to come into his own. Primarily used as a gadget player so far, it’s one hell of a gadget showing major shades of Tyreek Hill to his game. Things are very promising here as well.
Another case where stats can be deceiving. Legette essentially lost two weeks of production with Bryce Young under center, but with the switch to Andy Dalton he’s come into his own. With a combined 108 yards in the last two games his usage is going up, while also proving to be an elite blocking WR in the run game.
Largely a factor of the Bills depth chart, Coleman is starting to get more reps and making the most out of them. Coleman is adept at finding holes in coverage and making teams pay, and with more reps he’ll be able to highlight this even more. The future is bright.
No. 9: Ja’Lynn Polk — New England Patriots (37th pick) 8 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD (Projected: 34 rec, 259 yds, 4 TD)
It’s been tough to really evaluate Polk with the frankly atrocious Patriots offense, paired with three straight weeks of playing top-tier defenses. We’ll need to see this progress, but there have been flashed.
If we look at this class potentially having three 1,000 yard receivers in their rookie year, with a handful of guys who will finish with 600 or 700 yards it will be a unlike any other class in history. The legendary 1996 class that included NFL legends like Marvin Harrison Sr, Terrell Owens, and Keyshawn Johnson (among others) didn’t manage to have a single 1,000 yard receiver. Sure, offenses have changed a lot over the last 28 years, but this still foreshadows an opportunity for the class to be brilliant.
We really could be looking back at 2024 as creating some of the best receivers in the NFL, and we might not need to wait long for it.
