A cheese favorite is causing quite a stir, with E. coli making its way into kitchens across the country. Stay tuned for the details. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
Day: March 18, 2026
LoanDepot Park (Miami) – Team USA players stood on the top step of the dugout with their arms thrown over the railing in defeat. They were motionless as they watched a sea of Venezuelan players in royal blue jerseys dogpile on the field at the home of the Miami Marlins and celebrate their 3-2 win and first World Baseball Classic title. Luis Arraez wore a Venezuelan flag draped over his shoulders and could not stop crying. Eugenio Suarez dropped to his knees, raised his arms and looked up at the sky. Daniel Palencia tossed his glove in the air, pounded his chest and fell down in disbelief. During Tuesday’s post-game medal ceremony on the very same field in which Team USA lost the 2023 final to Japan, a dejected Schwarber was among several USA players who quickly removed their silver medals that were handed out by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.A bitter end to what should have been a sweet finish for the strongest USA squad ever assembled.It was nearly two hours after the game before Team USA players emerged from their clubhouse. Reporters and stadium staff mulled and waited around the tunnel, waiting to hear from the disappointed players.”It hurts,” Schwarber said in a low voice when he emerged from the clubhouse. “You expect to win a baseball game when you walk out of the room. That’s just how you operate. Not to have that happen, it hurts. But give credit to Venezuela. Tip your cap to them. They played a great ballgame today. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. They beat us, and they deserved it.” The scenes of unbridled elation in front of a raucous crowd on Tuesday night were supposed to be covered in red, white and blue. The national anthem that blared from the stadium speakers was supposed to be the Star-Spangled Banner. That was how Team USA envisioned this would all go when it came together and rostered the most star-studded club this tournament had ever seen. There were multi-time MVPs and Cy Young winners. There were future Hall of Famers. There were more All-Stars on Team USA than any other country in the 20-team tournament. It was a dream team. The absurd level of talent on the American roster should’ve been enough to win the WBC title for the first time since 2017. “Hats off to Venezuela for playing a great ballgame and coming away with the win,” Judge said, emerging from the clubhouse nearly two hours after the final out. “But obviously disappointed. We came here, all of us put on this uniform, signed up to go out there and get a gold medal. We fell short of that.” They fell short because the biggest bats went quiet when it mattered most. In the championship game, the USA lineup went 3-for-30 and struck out 10 times against six pitchers. Judge went 0-for-4, whiffing three times. Schwarber and Witt each worked a walk, but combined to go 0-for-6. Just once, they all spilled onto the field and lined up for high-fives, after Bryce Harper hit a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning. He was the only American batter to record an extra-base hit. All that star power, and still no spark. “They made their pitches,” Judge said. “They were working the corners on both sides. When we did get a pitch, we either popped it up or hit it on the ground. Stuff like that can’t happen. When you get a pitch to hit, even if you get one pitch in the game, you gotta do something on it. So they just went out there and executed their pitches and their game plan, and we couldn’t get anything going offensively.” Venezuela’s starter, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, held what was supposed to be a menacing USA lineup to 4 ⅓ shutout innings. He allowed one hit: an 89 mph single to the No. 8 hitter, Brice Turang. Rodriguez has one of the worst changeups in the major leagues, according to Baseball Savant’s offspeed run value metric. USA players, including Judge, still swung wildly at it all night. As much as Harper claimed that Rodriguez “threw the ball awesome” on Tuesday, his fastball sat at 92–93 mph with little movement. Rodriguez gave Judge a couple of pitches to hit in his second at-bat, most memorably throwing him a 3-1 fastball down the middle that the three-time MVP missed. It was a continuation of their confrontations in the big leagues. Judge is hitting just .152 with one home run in 41 career plate appearances against Rodriguez. “We both kind of looked at each other like, usually you don’t miss that one,” Judge said of the gift-pitch from Rodriguez. “So I fouled it off. Then I got a slider there late. Those are two pitches you wish you could have back and do something different, but that’s baseball.” After the loss, in his final press conference before heading back to MLB Network to resume his job as a studio analyst, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said, “Rodriguez has been a darn good pitcher in the league for a long time.” Not lately. Since the 2024 season, Rodriguez has recorded a 5.02 ERA in 39 starts and 204 innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even though he was once upon a time a solid starter, now on the cusp of his 11th big-league season, Rodriguez is no longer elite. The Americans were missing the 2023 WBC version of Trea Turner, a key hitter who got hot and carried the team for an extended stretch. It pointed to a bigger issue. Throughout the tournament, USA’s lineup never really got going. Through seven games in the WBC, Team USA ranked sixth in batting average (.250) and seventh in slugging (.428). And it wasn’t even close. Italy outslugged the USA by nearly 90 points. This was a USA lineup that featured a big-name slugger in Cal Raleigh, who led baseball with 60 home runs last season, and dynamic or experienced hitters up and down the lineup. Raleigh went 0-for-9 in the WBC. Witt put on a show on defense, but he was inconsistent at the plate. Byron Buxton went 0-for-7. Alex Bregman batted .143. Will Smith had one extra-base hit in 13 at-bats. Gunnar Henderson, who led USA with a 1.267 OPS in the WBC, was left on the bench against Venezuela, only to appear as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning. By then, Team USA was two outs away from accepting silver medals for the second consecutive WBC. DeRosa, after Sunday’s semifinal win over the Dominican Republic, said he was “still waiting for the offense to explode.” He’ll have to wait a while longer. The next WBC is expected to take place in 2030. That’s a lot of time to think about what went wrong. While Venezuela played loose and capitalized with timely hitting the entire tournament, the United States looked tense in the box and missed their chances. Maybe it was the single-game stakes. Maybe it was the pressure to win. But their timing was off, and they didn’t execute when they needed to, when they were expected to. “I thought we played great,” Harper said standing outside the USA’s clubhouse. “Obviously, we didn’t win. We got beat tonight. It’s part of the game. It’s kind of what happens.” Sure, but it wasn’t supposed to happen to this star-studded team. Even Australia, in a smaller sample size of four games, walked away from the WBC with a higher slugging percentage. The USA built a power-heavy roster that never truly arrived. Next time, they’ll have to rethink how to construct their lineup. They’ll have to inject more contact hitters and table setters, and make smarter decisions from the manager’s seat, particularly when it comes to lineup decisions and understanding clinch scenarios. So now players will rejoin their MLB teams and get ready for the season. Opening Day is in one week. Soon they’ll get to turn the page and play 162. But, as far as back-to-back second-place finishes in the WBC? This one will sting for a while. “I’m always fired up for the Yankees, but I’m still pissed about this,” Judge said. “I’m looking forward to the next time we get a chance to throw on the red, white and blue and take care of business.” In the Big Picture, we contextualize key moves and moments so you can instantly understand why they matter.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
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By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Republican U.S. senators are pushing the Trump administration to waive a recently hiked visa fee for all public school employees.
The Trump administration raised the fee for highly skilled workers visas, known as the H-1B visa program, from $5,000 to $100,000 per visa in September. That has consequences for Alaska school districts, which have grown to rely on international hiring to fill teaching and staff positions.
“As soon as this proclamation was released last year, I have been sounding the alarm with the administration about the importance of the H-1B visa program to Alaska’s school districts,” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a prepared statement announcing the bill.
Murkowski introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate on Mar. 12, saying it would help alleviate financial strain for Alaska’s school districts. U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan signed on as a cosponsor of the bill on Tuesday.
The H-1B visa program provides non-immigrant visas for U.S. employers to recruit highly skilled workers, with at least a bachelor’s degree, in fields such as healthcare, technology or education. The visa is valid for up to six years.
“Our public school classrooms have been facing a staffing crisis for years, but teachers in Alaska on H-B visas have been instrumental in bridging that shortage and serving our students with talent and care,” Murkowski wrote. “This legislation offers a commonsense exemption that will ensure Alaska’s schoolchildren have access to more high-quality educators while keeping class sizes reasonable.”
The Alaska House of Representatives introduced a resolution this month urging the visa waiver for teachers.
There are close to 600 international teachers working in Alaska and 341 of them use H-1B visas, according to data provided by the Alaska Council of School Administrators, which assists districts in recruitment and hiring.
“In some rural districts, visa teachers make up 50% to nearly 80% of the teaching staff,” said Lisa Parady, the council’s director, in a statement with the bill’s announcement. “School districts already invest $6,000 to $12,000 per teacher to recruit and sponsor educators through the H-1B visa process. Adding a $100,000 federal visa fee has made it financially impossible for many districts to continue hiring the teachers their students depend on.”
Alaska districts are also in the process of hiring teachers for next year, and officials say the fee imposes an impossible financial barrier.
Cyndy Mika, superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District, said in a written statement with the bill’s announcement that nearly 20% of teachers district wide — and 75% of village teachers — are international hires through visa programs.
“These educators are not replacing American teachers—we simply do not have applicants for these positions,” she said. “Without access to international educators, districts like Kodiak will struggle to fill classrooms and provide consistent learning environments for students.”
The situation is exacerbated in Alaska’s rural districts by recent additional restrictions on the J-1 visa program, which requires visa-holding teachers to be placed in areas with access to health care services, transportation and other public services.
Tammy Dodd, superintendent of the Bering Strait School District, said in a statement the new J-1 visa restrictions put rural districts at a unique disadvantage.
“So the H-1B visa is the only choice,” she said. “The Bering Strait School District employs 86 international teachers, which is roughly 40% of certified staffing. With the new fee in place, the district would be unable to replace those positions with international hires.”
Murkowski sent a letter of concern to the former U.S. Sec. Kristi Noem with the Department Homeland Security, which administers the visa program. Noem responded in a letter on Dec. 15 shared by the senator’s office. Noem wrote that some exemptions are possible.
“Exceptions to the $100,000 payment are extremely rare and are granted only in extraordinarily compelling circumstances. Petitioning employers may seek an exception by sending their request,” Noem wrote.
“Evidence should support the alien worker’s presence in the United States as an H-1B worker is in the national interest, no American worker is available for fill the role, the alien worker does not pose a threat to security or welfare of the United States, and requiring the petitioning employer to pay the $100,000 payment would significantly undermine the interests of the United States,” she wrote.
Jennifer Schmitz, director of the Alaska Educator Retention and Recruitment Center, a division of the Alaska Council of School Administrators, said by email Monday that some districts have sought individual exemptions from DHS for teachers with pending H-1B visa applications, but have received no response and no timeline from the department.
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The Today Show viewers have followed Dylan Dreyer for many years.
They’ve followed her through the births of all three of her children.
Last year, Today‘s audience learned about her separation from her husband after over a decade of marriage.
Now, that separation is a divorce.
From separation to divorce
Eight months ago, Dreyer and her husband, Brian Fichera, separated.
Since then, she has gotten an earful of a lot of people’s opinions on how she should make decisions with her family.
On March 10, Us Weekly reports, Dreyer filed for divorce.
The report details that she and her three children have moved.
Specifically, she and 9-year-old Calvin, 6-year-old Oliver, and 4-year-old Russell are now reportedly residing in Long Island.
“They are thriving in their new town, and the kids are happy,” dished the inside source.
“They have a great new routine,” praised the insider.
“She loves her job,” the source affirmed, “and loves that she can be home with the kids after school.”
The insider added: “She’s very involved.”
The report doesn’t throw her ex under the bus, either.
‘She kind of put that aside and focused on the kids’
According to the report, Dreyer and Fichera make a point to “do a lot together” for their children’s sake.
“The split was painful,” the source acknowledged.
“And,” the insider continued, “Dylan struggled with the idea of starting over and having this new life after being married for so many years.”
The source added: “But with time, she kind of put that aside and focused on the kids.”
According to that same report, Dreyer has also been receiving “a lot of support” from her colleagues at The Today Show.
Last year, after news of the separation broke, Dreyer addressed the situation on Instagram.
“For many years I have shared my family with you all — the highs and the lows. The ups and downs,” she wrote. “And all of the blessings and beautiful memories in between.”
Dreyer expressed: “I am incredibly grateful for the support and love you’ve given me throughout it all.”
She continued: “For that reason, I want to share with you that a few months ago, Brian and I made the decision to separate. We began as friends, and we will remain the closest of friends.”
Dreyer emphasized: “Most importantly, we will continue to co-parent our three wonderful boys together with nothing but love and respect for one another. Thank you as always for your support.”
Some ‘Today’ fans became parasocial about this
Ending a marriage after 12 years is not a decision that people enter lightly.
But from the “feedback” that some Today Show viewers have been sending her way, you’d think that she’d woken up one morning and decided to turn her life upside down.
It is natural for people to feel that the familiar faces whom they see on their screens day in and day out are their “friends.” But they aren’t. This is a parasocial bond — an illusion.
(This is extra tricky when it comes to programming like Today, which often serves as “company” for viewers.)
Unfortunately, people feeling like they “know” Dreyer led some of them to harass her over this decision. That’s unfair.
Dylan Dreyer Files to Divorce Husband was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
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As we previously reported, Taylor Frankie Paul is being investigated in connection with domestic violence allegations made by her former partner Dakota Mortensen.
Details about the allegations are scarce at the moment, but the situation is serious enough that Hulu felt the need to pause production on Paul’s reality show, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
The timing couldn’t be worse for ABC, as the network is currently promoting the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, on which Paul will star.
The network has already sunk tens of millions into productionn and promotion, and The Bachelorette is one of their biggest hits.
So you can be sure that pulling the season completely would be a last resort.
But there might come a time when ABC is left with no choice. The Bachelorette is already losing sponsors over the Taylor situation.
And now, TMZ is reporting that Mortensen reached out to the network to try to warn them about Paul’s past, but his allegations fell on deaf ears.
“Dakota had conversations with Bachelorette producers before she started filming to warn them about her behavior and past abuse … but production pressed forward,” the outlet claims.
Needless to say, that’s not a good look for the network. And it’s the sort of revelation that might eventually force execs to take action.
For her part, Taylor is doing her best to steer clear of the scandal as she promotes her season of The Bachelorette, which begins next week.
“Honestly, it’s been a heavy time, to see the headlines, especially during this time of The Bachelorette being released, it’s supposed to be a really exciting time,” she said during an appearance on Good Morning America on Wednesday.
“I’m a person that will always speak my truth. That’s what I’m known for. And when the time is right, I will be. But right now, just trying to be in the present moment and focus on this.
Taylor went on to note that her kids “come first” and the experience of raising her children while promoting The Bachelorette and managing her current scandal has been “stressful.”
The interviewer stated that GMA had reached out to Dakota for comment but had not received a response.
Asked about the production pause on Secret Lives, Taylor side-stepped the question, stating, “I don’t call the shots on production.”
Clearly, this is not Taylor’s favorite topic of conversation — but it seems unlikely to go away anytime soon.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Dakota Mortensen Warned ABC Execs About Taylor Frankie Paul’s Abuse … They … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
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