Austrian director Michael Haneke wins his second Palme d’Or prize, this time for Love.

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Haneke wins his second Palme d’Or

The “yes” campaign for independence wants one million Scots to sign a declaration of support by the time of the referendum in the autumn of 2014.

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Yes campaign seeks million Scots

President Obama this week is holding two events in Iowa — a state that he won four years ago by 10 percentage points, due in large part to the enthusiasm of newly-registered voters. This time around, can the Obama camp reprise its 2008 success? We take a look at the battle for the Hawkeye State: Read full article > >

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Can Obama win Iowa? (Monday’s Trail Mix)

A third of children in England cannot swim by the time they leave primary school, according to research from the Amateur Swimming Association.

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Schools ‘fail to teach swimming’

Exhaustive as it was, the American Master’s documentary “ Johnny Carson: King of Late Night ” on PBS Monday left out one of Carson’s favorite guests. She was my great-grandmother, Mildred Holt. I suppose it’s a forgivable oversight. The stooped, frail-looking woman in a powder-blue dress was neither a celebrity nor a newsmaker when she appeared on “The Tonight Show” in August 1987 . She was just a little old lady from a tiny town in Kansas—and by old, I mean historic. She was 105 at the time. But she had all her marbles, as well as a fierce, straight-shooting wit, and that was enough for Carson. Read full article > >

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In Mildred Holt, 105, Johnny Carson met his match

Chefs with Issues is a platform for chefs and farmers we love, fired up for causes about which they're passionate. Michael Anthony is the chef-partner at New York City's Gramercy Tavern . Last week, he received the James Beard Award for Best Chef NYC – but he almost didn't live to see that day. In late October of last year, I underwent open heart surgery. There was no warning, no history of disease, no serious abuse that led the inner lining of my ascending aorta to tear. Sometimes things just break. While attending a signing for the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook , I began experiencing chest pain. As I think anyone else my age (early 40s) would feel in that moment, I was in complete disbelief. I was both embarrassed that I might pass out and concerned that whatever I was experiencing might keep me from celebrating my colleagues’ big moment. After a quick exit, I returned to Gramercy Tavern. I knew something was seriously wrong. I was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital. Within a few hours of arriving, it was determined that I needed emergency open heart surgery. There was very little time to spend with my wife, no chance to see my children and no second option. Strange how a lifetime is ultimately translated into only minutes – clarified, distilled, precise and yet unfair. There was just enough time to gather what was wrong with my heart and who was sent to fix it: Dr. Charles Geller . In times like this we can feel thankful for competent, well-trained, extremely disciplined professionals like him. Yet what I was most struck with was his warm and confident smile. Maybe because I was introduced to him while lying on my back, it seemed clear by his build that Dr. Geller was no stranger to the pleasures of the table. He asked me about my profession and seemed to shudder with excitement when I told him about being a chef. He allowed me, despite the intensity of the moment, to believe that he was on my side. He explained calmly what we were about to experience together. In an instant, I became indebted to him forever. I woke up a day later with many questions swirling through my head. The immediacy of the surgery hadn’t allowed me to contemplate what this might mean for my career as a chef. There had been more pressing issues at hand. Now that I had made it through and was starting to wrap my head around what happened, I wondered if my body, the body that had just betrayed me, would recover enough to allow me to return to the kitchen. I also wondered why this had happened to me. Why now? I have always felt proud of my diet and the health-conscious cooking that we serve at the restaurant. I lead a balanced lifestyle, but wondered if this condition was at all related to my being a chef. While some of my larger questions have remained unanswered, I have since been told by a number of doctors that it does not seem likely that my diet or lifestyle had much of an effect on my condition. What I did learn from this experience was what I took away from the hospital staff, who left me feeling the same as Dr. Geller did, which was deeply cared for. The optimism and warmth I received from them was overwhelming and powerful. Of course, these folks were carefully trained to perform the technical aspects of their jobs, but what stood out to me was how they listened to me and responded with thoughtful and gracious gestures. They rose above the call of duty to be encouraging, which stiffened my resolve to bounce back. When I returned home from the hospital, I didn’t know where to start. Would I have a different outlook on life? On cooking? How would this experience change me? Eventually, I realized that at the core of this powerful exchange was hospitality – the very same force that distinguishes what we do every day at Gramercy Tavern. It is all of the caring things the staff did to make me feel they were genuinely on my side that I will remember long after the memory of the names of the drugs and the details of my surgery fade. After my surgery and homecoming, the gestures of encouragement poured in: get well cards, concerned emails, thoughtfully chosen books and poems, inspirational movies and carefully packed handmade food. I appreciated everyone who reached out during this time, but it dawned on me that the cooks had a special ability to connect and communicate by the food they shared . Some simply nourished and others dazzled but everyone told a story. With the help of these restaurant folk and their deliveries, I eased my way back in to being myself again by tasting each expression: barley and basil brought solidarity in tough times, kale and beet salad reconnected me with the garden, chicken fricassee invoked nostalgia, parsnip soup acted like a familiar handshake, poached lemon char sparked dreams, chocolate chip cookies felt just like a pat on the back. Each bite made me feel a profound sense of thanks to those who lent a hand or a meal when I needed it most. Through the careful choices and deliberate styles, informal gestures and intricate work, whether immediately consumed or painstakingly preserved, we communicate so much with those who are at the receiving end of a thoughtful meal. Their gestures pushed me to develop enough strength to return to the kitchen to reenter this dialogue, and this generosity of spirit made me feel unbelievably proud to belong to the restaurant industry. While we work day in and day out to provide for our guests, my experience reminded me why taking care of each other comes first. Previously – Serving up gratitude in troubled times What have food-based gestures of kindness in troubled times mean to you? We'd love to hear your story in the comments below.

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Chefs with Issues: Food for the heart

Mother’s Day is coming up on May 13 and you’re probably scrambling to find a decent place to make those Sunday brunch reservations. Pair that with a bouquet of flowers and some jewelry and you’ve done your duty this year once again. But, how about going the extra mile for your mother and putting a little thought into her special day? Preparing a homemade Mother’s Day brunch will really show Mom how much you care, says Justin Devillier . Devillier is the chef and owner of La Petite Grocery restaurant in New Orleans, and will celebrate this Mother’s Day with wife, Mia, and one year-old daughter, Ruby. Five Tips for a Special Homemade Mother’s Day Brunch for Mom : Justin Devillier 1. Separate your prep list into two categories Divide your tasks into items that can be prepared the night before (cocktail sauce, washed herbs, picked crab, etc.) and items that you will need to prep Sunday morning (hollandaise sauce, shucked oysters, poached eggs and fried bacon). This helps break up the cooking process, so you’re not swamped and frantic. It's a very special brunch for a very special lady, so it is important to allocate the time to prepare your best. 2. Keep the menu on the light side, especially if you have the option to enjoy the morning in the fresh air outside Consider serving the following: Ice-cold raw oysters on the half shell with mignonette sauce (usually shallots, black pepper and vinegar) and cocktail sauce Shaved raw asparagus with lemon vinaigrette, cracked black pepper and pecorino cheese Poached eggs with rye toast, cured salmon and hollandaise Small bowl of fresh fruit to finish 3. Prepare fresh juices Whether it’s orange, grapefruit or lemonade, juices taste much better if they are hand-squeezed. Plus, it shows Mom that you put in the extra effort. Use a citrus reamer or head down to the nearest Latino market or specialty kitchen store and pick up a hand press for a few bucks. 4. Shop for quality Spend a little time to find ingredients that are special, such as fresh eggs from the farmers market and locally-made bacon and ham. If you don't know where to begin looking for these kinds of items, talk to your local grocer or butcher and have him or her recommend the best quality. It’s important to splurge for Mom. After all, she probably did it for you a few times. 5. If you are going to include an adult beverage, make sure it is a complementary selection The last thing you want to do is spend all that time preparing an awesome menu just to have an so-so wine pairing. Some choices that usually pair well with brunch fare are Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley or Willamette Valley Pinot Noir from Oregon. Then again, you can't go wrong with a nice Champagne . Is there someone you'd like to see in the hot seat? Let us know in the comments below and if we agree, we'll do our best to chase 'em down.

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5@5 – Craft a special homemade Mother’s Day brunch

A demand for suspended payments apparently sparked the attack on the office of Prime Minister Abdel Rahim el-Keeb, who reportedly was not present at the time.

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Libyan Militiamen Attack Premier’s Office in Tripoli

When I was growing up, my friends and I all wanted to be cool — like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro or, of course, the king of cool at the time: Fonzie. (I should note that I grew up in an Italian neighborhood.)

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Opinion: Obama too cool to be prez?

RICHMOND — One night after celebrating his first win as an owner, Kyle Busch was back in Victory Lane on Saturday night — this time for his driving. Busch’s older brother, Kurt Busch, won the Nationwide Series race on Friday night at Richmond International Raceway in a car owned by Kyle Busch. Saturday night, Kyle Busch picked up his first win of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season at a track he has dominated, taking the Capital City 400 for his fourth consecutive spring win at Richmond and 24th career victory. Read full article > >

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Capital City 400: Kyle Busch wins NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond to cap big weekend

Agent reportedly said we do ‘this all the time.’

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New Secret Service Probe Launched

To my mind, the highest form of mystery novel is the “locked room” murder or “impossible crime.” While Agatha Christie is the mistress of misdirection with an unequaled gift for plotting, John Dickson Carr remains the master of those howdunits involving what is sometimes facetiously referred to as a “hermetically sealed chamber.” For example, in Carr’s masterpiece, “ The Three Coffins ,” two murders are committed by seemingly supernatural means. In one, a man is shot at point-blank range while standing in a courtyard covered with freshly fallen snow. His are the only tracks in the snow. Moreover, there are eyewitnesses who can swear that they saw no one near the victim at the time of the shot and that it wasn’t suicide. How was he killed? Read full article > >

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Michael Dirda reviews Christopher Fowler’s ‘The Memory of Blood’

The US Supreme Court prepares to consider yet another highly politically charged case – this time over Arizona’s controversial immigration law.

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Top US court to weigh migrant law

Newspapers run corrections all the time, but a mistake on television news, like NBC’s misleading editing of an audio clip by George Zimmerman, is often followed by silence.

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The Media Equation: TV News Corrects Itself, Just Not on the Air

The finals week is approaching for some of us students and I thought to cheer us up and inspire us by humoring the education system, I Heart Iran style. A few weeks ago, Hamid Reza Haji-Babayi, Iranian minister of education proposed his brilliant idea. He called for further gender segregating the schools (in Iran only private kindergartens and some colleges are co-ed). Only this time, the text books for all grades and levels should be gender specific. Immediately after his remarks, Persian blog sphere filled with suggestion for Mr. Minster and his ideal text books. Here are a few: Math for Boys: 2+2=4 or even 5, who cares! Math for Girls: 2 stems of flowers added by two more becomes a bouquet that we will gift to our dear mother. Geography for Boys: If you hold your right hand toward the East and your left hand toward the West, the North will be in front of you, while the south is behind you. Geography for Girls: If you can distinguish between your right and left hand, you are better off getting married and make the Mr. Minister happy since he has expressed his interests in lowering the marriage age for female students. English for Boys: Present tense: I want to go to the garden with my friends. English for Girls: Present tense: I want to go to the kitchen and cook dinner for my husband. Philosophy for Boys: Socrates was always after the truth and is named “martyr for the truth.” Philosophy for Girls: Socrates’ wife was always after “the martyr of the truth” and made his life miserable. Physics for boys: The relation between the object distance (p), the image distance (q), and the focal length (f) of a thin lens is (1/p) + (1/q) = 1/f Physics for girls: When reflecting your image in the mirror, there must be a relation between beauty, piety and taking care of your husband. A page from the 3rd grade Persian books depicts the story of “The Devoted Farmer” who burned his clothes and blocked the coming train to warn the operator about the fallen rocks. The humorous Iranians suggested that for girls text books, his image be replaced by a woman who cannot burn her Hijab and clothes. Though she cannot save the train and its passengers, she saves her piety and dignity as a good Muslim woman who does not undress in public.

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Humoring the Iranian Education