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The sauvignon blanc boasts brassy, citrus notes, but with one whiff, it’s apparent this is no normal Sonoma County wine. It’s infused with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that provides the high. 

Move over, pot brownies. The world’s largest legal recreational marijuana market kicks off Monday in California, and the trendsetting state is set to ignite the cannabis culinary scene. 

Chefs and investors have been teaming up to offer an eye-boggling array of cannabis-infused food and beverages, weed-pairing supper clubs and other extravagant pot-to-plate events in preparation for legalization come Jan. 1. 

Legal pot in states like Oregon, Washington and Colorado and California’s longstanding medical marijuana market already spurred a cannabis-foodie movement with everything from olive oil to heirloom tomato bisques infused with the drug.

Cannabis-laced dinners with celebrity chefs at private parties have flourished across Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in recent years, but a medical marijuana card was required to attend. 

With that requirement gone, the edibles market is expected to boom, though manufacturers face a host of regulations, and doctors fear the products could increase emergency room visits and entice youth. Marijuana industry analysts predict edibles for the recreational marijuana market will top $100 million in sales in 2018. 

“Californian’s culinary expertise is far more refined from college kids making pot brownies in a dorm,” said John Kagia of Frontier Data, a cannabis market research firm. 

Expect a slew of vegan and gluten-free choices and low-dose snacks from trail mixes to chocolates. And they may well be served at a gym or Pilates studio.

“This is the dawn of the Amsterdam-style cafe in the U.S.,” Kagia said. “We expect to see spaces that are targeted to cannabis consumers that capitalize on the arts and entertainment offerings of California and really create unique and elevated experiences.”

That includes ethnic options in a state with the largest immigrant population in the U.S. 

“Now you see all kinds of cuisines,” said Cristina Espiritu of the 420 Foodie Club, which has promoted cannabis food events in Southern California that have included everything from Mediterranean dishes to Filipino specialties. “There’s going to be infused tacos, infused burritos. I think because of the diversity and creativity in California, this is going to explode.”

But Espiritu worries regulations could make certain aspects of the culinary experience accessible only to the elite in places like Beverly Hills.

Kitchens for those making edibles to sell must be licensed. And organizers must pay $5,000 a year for a license to host up to 10 events, and depending on the size, they may be required to hold them at a fairground. Cities can pose additional fees and ban an event altogether. 

Regulations prohibit manufacturers from producing cannabis products for retail sale that include perishable items that could pose a health risk, such as dairy, seafood, fresh meat, or food or beverages appealing to children. It’s still unclear if those rules would apply to a chef-hosted dinner or cooking class that people have paid for.

Edible products must be produced in serving sizes with no more than 10 milligrams of THC and no more than 100 milligrams of THC for the total package.

Drug policy expert and Stanford Law School professor Robert J. MacCoun said the regulations are too lax. Edibles already being sold in the medical marijuana industry vary widely in their potency, so people get more stoned than they planned and can end up in emergency rooms. 

The bright packages appeal to children, who often are too young to read warning labels, MacCoun said. He thinks edibles should be restricted to plain brown or white packaging.

“Everyone sees this as a kind of new gold rush in the way that it will make a lot of money, but I think we need to be more careful about how this rolls out,” he said.

Many see California’s recreational marijuana business mirroring its wine industry, with people seeking weed pairings, cannabis farm tours and products made from organic, local plants. 

Rebel Coast Winery’s THC-infused sauvignon blanc is made from Sonoma County grapes, but the alcohol is removed in compliance with regulations that prohibit mixing pot with alcohol. 

It smells like marijuana, meeting another requirement that it not be confused with a food or beverage that does not contain pot.

Founder Alex Howe is planning high-end dinner parties in Los Angeles in early 2018 to debut the $59.99 bottle of wine. Each bottle contains 16 milligrams of THC, and the company says on average, people feel the effects in under 15 minutes. 

“We really wanted to mimic that ritual of opening a bottle of wine at dinner, or at a party with friends or while watching a movie, which is something so familiar to people, especially in California,” he said.
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Three large U.S. cities are suing the Defense Department for allegedly failing to provide “significant numbers” of records to the FBI’s national background check system for gun ownership.

New York, San Francisco and Philadelphia filed the lawsuit after the U.S. Air Force disclosed that it had failed to report the criminal record of a man who shot and killed 26 people at a Texas church in November.

“This failure on behalf of the Department of Defense has led to the loss of innocent lives by putting guns in the hands of criminals and those who wish to cause immeasurable harm,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “New York City is joining Philadelphia and San Francisco to stand up to the Department of Defense and demand they comply with the law and repair their drastically flawed system.”

The Air Force is investigating why the 2012 domestic violence conviction of the Texas church shooter, Devin Kelley, 26, was not properly entered into the FBI’s database that could have stopped him from legally buying the rifle he used in the attack at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

A report released by the Defense Department’s inspector general this month found the U.S. military overall had failed to submit fingerprint data for 24 percent of the convicted offenders reviewed.
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Before becoming president, Donald Trump railed against US wars overseas, saying it was better to spend money at home than, in his words, “waste” it overseas. But as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports, Trump has at times struggled to carry out what he calls his “America First” approach to the world during his first year as president.
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A North Korean ambassador to the United Nations says the U.S. claim that Pyongyang was behind the Wannacry ransomware attack earlier this year is a baseless provocation and demanded Washington back up its accusations with evidence.

The North’s U.N. ambassador in charge of U.S.-related issues says North Korea believes Washington is using the allegation to create an “extremely confrontational atmosphere.”

Pak Song Il told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from New York late Monday: “If they are so sure, show us the evidence.”

The WannaCry ransomware attack infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide and crippled parts of Britain’s National Health Service in May.
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Despite the best efforts of some Philadelphia schoolchildren, Mother Nature blew in and scuttled the annual re-enactment of George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War.

Organizers said high winds forced them to cancel Monday’s planned crossing, the highlight of a historical re-enactment that draws thousands of people to the banks of the river in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, and Titusville, New Jersey.

“We were advised by the (marine patrol) out in the boats that they didn’t think it was safe to cross,” said Andy Smith, spokesman for Friends of Washington Crossing Park.

The National Weather Service said winds had been gusting to 45 or 50 mph or even a bit more in southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The winds could have been even stronger on the water with a lack of trees and a channeling effect, meteorologist Chad Shafer said.

“Re-enactors are always disappointed when they can’t cross, but safety is always the most important thing,” Smith said by phone as a fife and drum played in the background. “We don’t want to put anyone in danger out on the water.”

Other activities went on as scheduled, including Washington’s rallying of his troops, historical speeches and processions.

Originally, it was low water that had posed a threat to the annual re-enactment in wooden Durham boats. But Philadelphia Waterborne, a nonprofit that teaches boat-building skills to middle- and high-school students, came through with six handmade, 12-foot rowboats that could have made it across.

Organizers noted that there was historical authenticity to this year’s planned change; while Durham boats were used in the original 1776 crossing, historians agree that Washington probably used various river craft to make his daring crossing that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War.

Boats ferried 2,400 soldiers, 200 horses and 18 cannons across the river during the original crossing. Washington’s troops marched eight miles downriver before battling Hessian mercenaries in the streets of Trenton. Thirty Hessians were killed, and two Continental soldiers froze to death on the march.
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Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas. But in the Holy Land, Israeli-Palestinian tensions have put a damper on festivities.

Bells at the Church of the Nativity summoned the faithful to celebrate Christmas at the traditional birthplace of Jesus in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. But turnout was sparse in the wake of three weeks of Palestinian protests against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

WATCH: Trump’s Declaration Overshadows Christmas in Bethlehem

Palestinian Michael Kumsiyeh sat in his empty souvenir shop in Manger Square and put the blame squarely on Trump.

“He makes a problem. He doesn’t make any solution. He doesn’t find any solution for the problem,” said Kumsiyeh.

Café owner Hader Kanaan said customers are few and far between.

“This Christmas this year is very sad. No celebration. Nobody happy. Bad situation. Everything [is] bad,” he said.

Some tourists cancelled their trips to Bethlehem, but others were not deterred.

“I wasn’t afraid to come. I’m not afraid being here at all. I’m pleased to see the security,” said Gail Perkins, who came from Los Angeles in the United States.

She said there no better place to be on Christmas than Bethlehem.

“It kind of makes the biblical stories that I’ve known all my life come alive because I can see the countryside, hear the language and smell the food,” she said.

Many pilgrims waited a lifetime to visit Bethlehem, but the Palestinians who live here are still waiting for better times.

IN PICTURES: Christmas Celebrations Around the World

 
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Doug Jones was a little speechless at first. Then he thanked the various voters who elected him the first Democratic senator from Alabama in 25 years.

“I have always believed that the people of Alabama have more in common than to divide us.” His stunning victory was a fallout from a barrage of sexual harassment allegations that shook the country in late 2017.

His Republican opponent, Roy Moore, campaigned while denying at least nine allegations of sexual misconduct, some involving women when they were teenagers. Accuser Beverly Young says she was terrified at the time.

“I thought he was going to rape me,” she said.

Despite an endorsement from President Donald Trump, and Moore’s insistence that the “allegations are completely false … malicious,” Moore lost.

​Opening the floodgates

By the end of 2017, more than 60 prominent men were suspended, fired or forced to resign from their highly visible jobs because of allegations of sexual harassment and even assault against women, some occurring years ago. More than 100 stand accused of sexual harassment or misconduct. The trend began in October when movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, was exposed as an alleged serial predator of young actresses who wanted to be stars.

Louisette Geiss says her heart raced as he told her “he could get me a three-picture deal, but that I had to watch him masturbate.” By December, more than 80 women had accused Weinstein of sexual harassment.

He admitted, “I got to get help, guys,” as he left for an Arizona rehabilitation facility. He stayed for a week. His business, the Weinstein Company, co-founded with his brother, is in jeopardy, plagued by lawsuits from women who claim the company knew about and hid his harassment.

WATCH: Dozens Shamed in Sexual Harassment Charges in 2017

The Weinstein effect

The public accusations against Harvey Weinstein emboldened other women to tell their stories. Suddenly, other high-profile men began to fall in what would be known as the “Weinstein Effect.”

Melissa Silverstein writes the blog “Women and Hollywood.” She says the outpouring of accusations proves that women are “reacting that our rights are being rolled back and we are tired of it.”

The “Weinstein Effect” hit others in Hollywood, including House of Cards star Kevin Spacey, accused of sexual harassment of a teenaged boy. Netflix suspended its filming of the show’s last season, then announced it would resume without Spacey as the main character.

In other media, NBC fired its Today show host of 20 years, Matt Lauer, after accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior on the job. CBS suspended its morning anchor, Charlie Rose, for similar allegations.

Comedian Louis C.K. is accused by five women of sexual misconduct for actions including stripping and masturbating in front of them. Louisiana Celebrity Chef John Besh, who’s known for the country’s southern food trend, stepped down after several dozen women claimed harassment and that his restaurant atmosphere allowed it to thrive.

In music, Russell Simmons, co-founder of the hip-hop music label Def Jam Recordings, and James Levine, the conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, face sexual assault allegations.

​More political fallout

Moore was not the only politician accused of improper behavior. A radio news anchor accused U.S. Senator Al Franken of groping her while she slept on a military plane headed home from a USO tour. Leeann Tweeden posted the photo as part of an essay she wrote about the 2006 incident. Tweeden also accused Franken of forcibly kissing her. 

“He just smashed his lips against my face,” she said in the news conference, “and he stuck his tongue in my mouth so fast.”

More complaints would come forward, and Franken announced in December he would step down: “I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate.” Franken’s last day in office will be Jan. 2.

In late December, a group of Democratic senators used Franken’s resignation as a reason to demand President Donald Trump resign. They cited at least 15 women who have accused the president of improper conduct. Trump was elected U.S. president more than a year ago, despite the public accusations.

​#MeToo rally, Time award

The shift in attitudes against sexual harassment triggered a social media campaign. #MeToo became the rallying cry for women worldwide. Women posted the hashtag on Twitter and Facebook to acknowledge publicly their experiences and to demonstrate the extent of the problem.

Time magazine named “The Silence Breakers” as its “Person of the Year” for 2017. The issue is dedicated to those who have accused powerful figures of sexual misconduct, calling them the “voices that launched a movement.”

A Time magazine survey shows that 82 percent think women are more likely to speak out about harassment since the Weinstein allegations.

By the end of 2017, the movement changed the nation’s mores, as men and women better understood the definition of sexual harassment and no longer ignored it.
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Widespread allegations of sexual harassment rocked many American institutions in 2017, including Congress, the media and the film industry. By the end of the year, numerous prominent men were suspended, fired or forced to resign from their highly visible jobs because of allegations of sexual harassment and even assault against women that happened in many cases years ago. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti explains the change in social attitudes.
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With control of the White House and Congress, Republicans expected a historic opportunity to carry out an ambitious legislative agenda in 2017. But the party’s narrow margins in the Senate slowed progress on a range of priorities. VOA’s congressional reporter Katherine Gypson looks back on a consequential, and often unexpected, year for the U.S. Congress.
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