Sándwiches muy calientes

I have been trying, for as long as I can remember and with limited success, to learn Spanish.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are scurrying to come up with legislation that will, if nothing else, try to convince voters they are doing something about the rash of mass shootings that are taking place – including two this week in Oklahoma.

The wizard behind the curtain

Donald Trump tried to purge two Georgia Republicans — Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — for committing one unpardonable sin: standing up to the former president and telling the truth, that he lost the state to Joe Biden by more than 11,000 votes.

A 2024 Trump-Biden rematch?

For all the speculation that goes on around Donald Trump and the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, it's possible, even likely, that the more intense battle will be among Democrats. A new poll from Mark Penn, the former Clinton strategist who runs the Harvard-Harris Poll, suggests President Joe Biden's support among Democrats is significantly weaker than Trump's support among Republicans. And that could lead to chaos on the Democratic side.

Ex’s new girlfriend looks familiar

DEAR HARRIETTE: My ex is dating someone who looks exactly like me. I know that it is common to have preferences when it comes to appearance, but I think that it is strange for him to date a woman who looks so similar to me. Several people have pointed out our similarities. I know that it doesn't have much to do with me, but it is so obvious that I feel the need to say something to my ex about it. Should I mention it? Is it wrong that I am bothered by this? – Similarities

DO JUST ONE THING

•Any serious baker will agree: Don't open the oven door when cooking at home. When you finally get your oven preheated to the temperature you need, place whatever you're roasting or baking inside and leave the door closed. Each time you open and close the oven door, the inside cools by about 25 degrees. Not only does that waste energy, but it also increases the overall cooking time, and it can even affect the outcome of your cooking. Instead of opening the door to check the progress of your food, turn on the oven light and peek through the window.

Presidential speeches on equality

If April is the cruelest month – as T.S. Eliot and thousands of amateur dinner-table philosophers have attested – then May may be the most poignant month.

Perhaps this is how it all ends — self-government, self-defense, self-control, liberty, unity, family. Perhaps the fate of the nation is to watch its soul die along with the at least 19 students and two adults shot to death last week at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Did Putin wait until Biden was president?

In the days after Russia attacked Ukraine, there was a lot of talk among Republicans that Vladimir Putin would not have invaded had Donald Trump still been president. Trump was so difficult to predict, so impulsive, so impetuous, the thinking went, that Putin would not have risked a massive U.S. response under Trump.

Pages