A lot of people are about to be hit with a big winter storm who are not used to this kind of weather. Here are some tips from a Minnesotan:

Keeping warm:

• avoid cotton fabrics.

• Use layers, take them off if you start to sweat.

• I like tight gloves with thick mittens, which allows use of your hands sometimes without skin exposure.

• A face mask works as a scarf or another layer in a pinch

• Warm up your home in case you lose power. Power outages may happen after the snow/freezing rain stops

Snow removal:

• Lift with your legs, not your back.

• Don't save all of the shoveling for the very end of the storm, it'll be more difficult and will start to create an ice layer (especially where walked on)

• if you have a car, lift up the windshield wipers before it starts snowing/freezing rain

• Completely clean your car soon after the storm. In most places, it's illegal to drive with a lot of snow/ice on your car and super dangerous.

• If you're parked on a street, move the car to a plowed area when possible so they can plow where you were parked

• If you have a driveway, clear off part of the street in the direction the plow will come from, so that doesn't end up blocking your driveway

Driving

• stay home until streets are plowed if possible (thank you healthcare workers and emergency responders!)

• Turn on ABS brake and traction control settings, if available

• accelerate and take turns slowly

• Have more time/distance to brake

• Speed up before going up an incline, getting stuck and sliding back down is not fun

Sliding on ice:

• If walking, keep your feet underneath your center of gravity

• If driving, switch to neutral and steer in the direction that the back of the car is sliding, but don't overreact on steering. Slamming brakes will make sliding worse.

Car stuck in snow:

• turn off traction control

• don't just let the tires spin out

• try shoveling, sand/kitty litter, and rocking back and forth

• Once you get moving again, don't stop

Edit: if you do lose power, have a faucet or two drip water to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting

Edit 2: if you see ICE, follow these steps

I'm sad that this is worth mentioning. But if you are dealing with hunger amid threats to SNAP benefits, rice and beans are very cheap per meal and can be bought in bulk. Here's some tricks I've learned:

If you get dried beans, make sure you follow the directions to pre-soak them. Canned beans are easier to prepare, just dump in near the end of cooking to heat them up. Dried lentils don't need to be pre-soaked, but I prefer to cook them separately and drain the water they boil in.

Brown rice, barley, or other whole grains have much more protein than white rice and I find them more filling. Whole grains take longer to cook than white grains.

Frying diced onions in the pot before adding the grains and water is an easy way to kick the flavor up a notch. Use a generous amount of cooking oil (light olive oil is healthiest) for cost effective calories and help making the meal more filling.

Big carrots or celery in bulk are pretty cheap too. I like to dice carrots by partially cutting length wise into quarters, but leave the small end intact to keep the carrot together to make it easier to dice down the side. Add them to the same pot as the grains after the grains start to soften. Beets are also great; skin and cube then boil separately until soft. Change up your veggie to get a mix of vitamins

Get some bulk garlic powder, hot sauce, paprika, cumin, crushed red pepper, black pepper, etc. Season and salt the pot to taste.

You'll only need 1-2 pots and a cutting knife/board for veggies.

I recommend Harvard's Nutrition Source for science-based nutrition information and they have some recipes too

Edit: discussing big changes in diet with a primary care doctor or registered dietician is generally a good idea.

Probiotic supplements may help with gas.

As a bonus this sort of meal has a very small environmental footprint.

If you're concerned about Trump's nominations, the most impactful thing you can do is to reach out to your US Senators and voice your opposition. A large volume of brief phone calls do make a difference at strategic times. Immediately after a nomination announcement is one of those strategic times, because they are figuring out how/whether to respond publicly. Democracy must be fought for even after elections have ended.

Contacting Senators from both parties also matters right now. The prevailing message in the media is that Dems need to cater even more to Republicans to win the next election, they need to hear your voice if you disagree with that.

The most effective phone calls take less than a minute: say your name, your city or ZIP code, and what you support/oppose, maybe a sentence on why. You'll be marked down on a spread sheet that is discussed at the daily office strategy meeting.

Other actions like brief emails, meeting in-person at the district office, meeting in-person at the DC office, can also be effective, but take more time and energy. Emails aren't always read right away like a phone call must be answered for example. And you generally need to make an appointment for an in-person meeting.

Find your Senators' contact info

Former President Trump shocked and appalled some Republican lawmakers on Wednesday by announcing plans to nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for attorney general.

Why it matters: Republican reaction to even Trump's most controversial nominations has been muted so far, but placing the scandal-prone right-winger in the nation's highest law enforcement role is a step too far for many.

"We wanted him out of the House ... this isn't what we were thinking," quipped one House Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly about Trump's decision.

What we're hearing: Trump's announcement was met with audible gasps by House Republicans during a conference meeting on Wednesday afternoon, multiple sources in the room told Axios.

One House Republican in the meeting described the conference's response as "stunned and disgusted."

What they're saying: "Gaetz has a better shot at having dinner with Queen Elizabeth II than being confirmed by the senate," said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), referring to the British monarch who died in 2022.

Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.), noting that Gaetz is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, said he would be "a compromised AG" and that "there are better choices."

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was "shocked" by the pick: "This shows why the advice and consent process is so important and I'm sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing."

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Gaetz has "got his work really cut out for him" to get confirmed.

In a report, the regulator sharply criticized pharmacy benefit managers, a reversal from its longstanding hands-off approach to policing the companies.