Combine the fresh raspberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash them together with a fork until you have a berry puree.
Place a generous spoonful of puree at the bottom of 6 glasses. (I used 7 oz French champagne glasses). Top with a small scoop of raspberry sherbet, and fill the cups to the brim with sparkling berry lemonade. Garnish with a few more fresh berries, if desired, then enjoy!
Note!To make in a punch bowl: First, combine the raspberry puree and sparkling lemonade in a punch bowl and whisk them together. Next, add scoops of sherbet, and stir briefly so the sherbet melts a little and the drink gets creamy. Ladle into cups and enjoy!
Located in Bear Creek, North Carolina, The Devil’s Tramping Ground is a mysterious, barren circle shrouded in legend. Folklore claims the Devil paces the clearing at night, contemplating the world’s evils, and that objects left there disappear by morning. Visitors report eerie sensations, while animals refuse to enter. Some believe the site is an alien landing zone, has unusually salty soil, or was once sacred to Indigenous people. Camping is allowed with reservations, but tents must be set up outside the circle, and fires are prohibited.
Location: 3229-4026 State Rd 1100, Bennett, NC 27208
In 1953–54, the small town of Bladenboro, North Carolina, was terrorized by a mysterious, blood-draining creature. Described as a large, dark-furred feline with piercing eyes, the Beast allegedly killed livestock and even attacked a woman, though she escaped unharmed. Witnesses reported hearing eerie, human-like screams before the creature suddenly vanished. Theories ranged from a wildcat or panther to a rabid dog, but its true identity was never confirmed. Today, the legend lives on through Bladenboro’s annual Beast of Bladenboro Festival.
For centuries, mysterious lights have appeared near Brown Mountain in Burke County, North Carolina. Described as glowing orbs or fiery streaks, the lights have been witnessed by Native Americans, settlers, and even Civil War soldiers. Theories range from ball lightning and ghost lights to UFOs, but no definitive explanation exists. Scientists have studied the phenomenon, with early surveys attributing the lights to train or car headlights. The best viewing spots include Brown Mountain Overlook and Wisemans View, where they are most visible on clear nights.
From the late 1800s until 1977, a mysterious light resembling a railroad lantern appeared along the tracks in Brunswick County, North Carolina. According to legend, it was the ghost of Joe Baldwin, a brakeman who was decapitated in a train accident in 1867 and forever roamed the tracks searching for his head. Explanations ranged from marsh gas and light refraction to ball lightning, but no definitive cause was found. The phenomenon gained national attention, even appearing in a 1957 Life magazine article, and remains a well-known ghost story today.
According to legend, Lydia was a young woman returning from a dance when her date lost control of their car, crashing into a bridge. She died in the accident, but her spirit is said to linger. Travelers near the bridge in Jamestown, North Carolina, have reported seeing a woman in a white dress hitchhiking, only for her to vanish when they stopped. Though the true story remains a mystery, Lydia’s Bridge endures as one of North Carolina’s most famous ghost tales.
For centuries, hikers and locals near Roan Mountain, on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, have reported hearing eerie, disembodied voices drifting through the mist. Described as a ghostly choir singing in unearthly harmony, the sounds have no known source. Some believe they are the voices of long-lost spirits, while others suggest wind patterns or natural acoustics as an explanation. Despite scientific skepticism, the Phantom Choir of Roan Mountain remains one of the region’s most haunting mysteries.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Jae’Lyn Withers scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Ian Jackson also scored 16 points and North Carolina defeated Virginia 81-66 on Saturday.
Withers was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers in posting his second double-double this season and Jackson added three more 3s. Ven-Allen Lubin scored 14 points, RJ Davis 12 and Drake Powell 11 for the Tar Heels (17-11, 10-6 ACC), who made 9 of 16 from the arc and outrebounded the Cavaliers 35-21.
Isaac McKneely scored 17 points and became the 52nd Cavalier to reach 1,000 career points. Dai Dai Ames added 12 points for Virginia (13-14, 6-10).
Virginia trailed by eight at halftime and didn’t get closer in the second half. A three-point play by Jackson gave the Tar Heels a 20-point lead with six minutes remaining.
Both teams came in having won three of their last four games but it was UNC that took off to a 21-2 lead at the start, hitting 8 of 12 shots and the Cavaliers starting 1 of 10. The Tar Heels helped Virginia get back in the game with flagrant-one and technical fouls that resulted in four free throws within a 14-3 run but UNC still led at the half 46-34.
North Carolina plays at Florida State on Monday. Virginia plays at Wake Forest on Wednesday.
By NICOLE WINFIELD and SILVIA STELLACCI Associated Press
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection, the Vatican said.
The 88-year-old pope, who remains conscious, received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe. He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said in a late update.
“The Holy Father’s condition continues to be critical, therefore, as explained yesterday (Friday), the pope is not out of danger,” the statement said. It was the first time “critical” had been used in a written statement to describe Francis’ condition since he was hospitalized Feb. 14.
Pope Francis was in critical condition Saturday after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said. (AP Video)
The statement also said that the pontiff “continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday.” Doctors declined to offer a prognosis, saying it was “reserved.”
Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-and-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease.
Doctors warn of the possible onset of sepsis
They have warned that the main threat facing Francis would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, the pope’s medical team said in their first in-depth update on the pope’s condition.
Saturday’s blood tests showed that he had developed a low platelet count, a condition called platelopenia or thrombocytopenia. Platelets are cell-like fragments that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds heal. Low platelet counts can be caused by a number of things, including side effects from medicines or infections, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Francis, who has chronic lung disease and is prone to bronchitis in winter, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.
Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it. Saturday’s update marked the first time the Vatican has referred to Francis suffering an “asthmatic respiratory crisis of prolonged magnitude, which also required the application of oxygen at high flows.”
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said Friday the biggest threat facing Francis was that some of the germs that are currently located in his respiratory system pass into the bloodstream, causing sepsis. Sepsis can lead to organ failure and death.
“Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” Alfieri told a news conference Friday at Gemelli. “The English say ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want,” he said as he tapped the microphone. “But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream.”
“He knows he’s in danger,” Alfieri added. “And he told us to convey that.”
Vatican hierarchy tamps down speculation Francis might resign
Meanwhile, the Vatican hierarchy went on the defensive to tamp down rumors and speculation that Francis might decide to resign. There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated. Francis has said that he has written a letter of resignation that would be invoked if he were medically incapable of making such a decision. The pope remains fully conscious, alert, eating and working.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave a rare interview to Corriere della Sera to respond to speculation and rumors about a possible resignation. It came after the Vatican issued an unusual and official denial of an Italian media report that said Parolin and the pope’s chief canonist had visited Francis in the hospital in secret. Given the canonical requirements to make a resignation legitimate, the implications of such a meeting were significant, but the Vatican flat-out denied that any such meeting occurred.
Parolin said such speculation seemed “useless” when what really mattered was the health of Francis, his recovery and return to the Vatican.
“On the other hand, I think it is quite normal that in these situations uncontrolled rumors can spread or some misplaced comment is uttered. It is certainly not the first time it has happened,” Parolin was quoted as saying. “However, I don’t think there is any particular movement, and so far I haven’t heard anything like that.”
White House is ‘praying for the pope’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the pope’s condition and was working on his own statement that will be released later.
“We’re praying for the pope,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt is one of three administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on first- and fifth-amendment grounds. The AP says Leavitt and two others are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose. The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Deacons, meanwhile, were gathering at the Vatican for their special Holy Year weekend. Francis got sick at the start of the Vatican’s Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Catholicism. This weekend, Francis was supposed to have celebrated deacons, a ministry in the church that precedes ordination to the priesthood.
In his place, the Holy Year organizer will celebrate Sunday’s Mass, the Vatican said. And for the second consecutive weekend, Francis will skip his traditional Sunday noon blessing, which he could have delivered from Gemelli if he were up to it.
“Look, even though he’s not (physically) here, we know he’s here,” said Luis Arnaldo López Quirindongo, a deacon from Ponce, Puerto Rico, who was at the Vatican on Saturday for the Jubilee celebration. “He’s recovering, but he’s in our hearts and is accompanying us, because our prayers and his go together.”
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal scholarship aimed at boosting students from underserved and rural areas attending historically Black colleges and universities has been put on hold.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended the 1890 Scholars Program, which provided recipients with full tuition and fees for students studying agriculture, food or natural resource sciences at one of 19 universities, known as the 1890 land grant institutions.
It’s not clear exactly when the program was suspended, but some members of Congress first issued statements criticizing the suspension of the program on Thursday. A message seeking more detail was left Saturday with the Department of Agriculture.
“The 1890 Scholars Program has been suspended pending further review,” the department said in a post on the program’s website.
The suspension coincides with a funding freeze President Donald Trump’s administration instituted. Administration officials had said the pause was necessary to review whether spending aligned with Trump’s executive orders on issues like climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The affected universities include Alabama A&M, Florida A&M, North Carolina A&T and Tuskegee University in Alabama, among others.
The scholarship program dates to 1992, but 1890 in the title refers to the Second Morrill Act of 1890, which established historically Black colleges and universities.
Eligibility rules include being a U.S. citizen with a GPA of 3.0 or better, along with acceptance to one of the 19 1890 land grant universities. Eligible students must also study agriculture or related fields and “demonstrate leadership and community service,” according to the department’s site.
In October, the department said it had set aside $19.2 million for the program. In fiscal year 2024, 94 students were awarded scholarships, the department said.
Meet Sadie the Lady, a 2-year-old 45 lb pointer mix looking for her forever home. This sweet and spicy diva has a heart of gold! She is a total lovebug and once she bonds with you, she will be your loyal companion for life. If you’re looking for a rescue dog to spoil, Sadie is the lady for you.
Sadie is the perfect mix of playful and couch potato. She needs to play daily but also enjoys lounging on the couch and cuddling with her favorite human. Sadie’s ideal home will include someone who works from home or spends a lot of time there, just because she really loves her people. If left at home she does not prefer a crate but will be on her best behavior waiting on the couch for your return.
Sadie is fully potty trained and can get a little overexcited on a leash walk, but responds well to training from her patient and consistent human. She is super smart and a quick learner! Sadie would do best with a submissive dog where she can be the boss but would also be happy to be the only dog. No cats please. Sudden movements can make her nervous so humans 12 and over would be best.
If you are looking for a loyal, loving, sweet, silly and sassy companion, Sadie is the perfect match for you. Please give this lovable pup the patience and chance for a loving home she deserves. This dog is currently in a foster home and not at the shelter. If you’re interested in learning more about Sadie, please email animalcenter@wake.gov with the subject line of “Sadie 246564”.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey was released from the hospital Thursday, a spokesperson said, 10 days after undergoing heart surgery that wasn’t revealed publicly until well after it occurred.
Department spokesperson Jason Tyson said the Republican commissioner, who won a third four-year term in November, underwent the “elective” surgery at Duke Hospital in Durham to “correct a congenital heart defect.”
Causey “is currently recovering and doing well,” Tyson said in a statement provided before the commissioner’s release. “He has been in regular contact with the Department of Insurance almost daily and has been briefed and directed work.”
Causey, 74, told the News & Record of Greensboro in a phone interview Wednesday that only a handful of people at his department were aware of the Feb. 10 surgery. He said it wasn’t disclosed beforehand because “we didn’t want to alarm anybody ahead of time unnecessarily and there was just too many important matters that needed tending to to make any mistakes.”
The newspaper said Causey’s surgery was revealed Tuesday at a Greensboro City Council meeting that he didn’t attend. Causey, who is from the Greensboro area, had been involved in annexation and rezoning hearings about some local land.
Causey said the defect was discovered in late 2023 when he received a body scan during a health screening. Further examination showed Causey had developed an aneurysm, the newspaper reported.
Causey decided to delay the surgery following consultation with a surgeon. Causey ran for reelection in 2024, and continued monitoring showed the aneurysm remained stable, he said.
The insurance commissioner is one of 10 statewide elected executive branch officials that compose the Council of State. Causey ran unsuccessfully for commissioner several times before his initial election in 2016.
