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This traditional Caribbean dish — mostly from Guyana — is made by stewing meat in a dark, rich gravy flavored with cinnamon, brown sugar, hot chiles, and cassareep, a special brown sauce made from cassava root. African Americans adapted the recipe using oxtail instead of offal, which are the internal organs of butchered animals. Regardless, this is a dish that only gets better with time in the pot.

Oxtail Pepperpot with Dumplings

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 (4-pound) piece oxtail

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup vegetable oil

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

21 cloves garlic, minced

7 tablespoons minced ginger (3-inch piece)

2 plum tomatoes, diced

2 scallions, sliced

1 Scotch bonnet (or habanero) chile, stemmed and chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme

7 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon whole allspice berries

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups all-purpose flour

2½ tablespoons cornmeal

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons water

For the oxtail: Season the oxtail on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat ¼ cup of the oil in a large (8-quart) Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the oxtail and brown on both sides, about 15 minutes.

Remove the oxtail to a paper-towel-lined dish. Heat the remaining ¼ cup oil in the Dutch oven and add the carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, scallions, chile, thyme, brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, and allspice and stir to combine. Return the oxtail to the pot, add the chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, covered, for 2½ hours, or until the oxtail is tender and the meat is falling away from the bone.

For the dumplings: Place the flour, cornmeal, and salt in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the water and use your hands to work the mixture into a dough ball. Knead the dough in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes. Divide the dough in half and cover one half with a damp towel.

Continue to knead one dough ball for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Roll the piece of dough into a 21- to 24-inch snakelike piece. Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces, set on a baking sheet, and cover with a damp towel.

Repeat with remaining dough ball.

Stir the dumplings into the oxtail stew for the last 30 minutes of cooking time and cook until dumplings are tender and cooked through.

Serve the stew with rice and peas.

Marcus Samuelsson is the chef behind many restaurants worldwide. He is also co-chair of the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), which focuses on underserved youth, and coproduces the annual Harlem EatUp! festival, which celebrates the food, art and culture of Harlem.

Excerpted from "The Rise" by Marcus Samuelsson. Copyright (copyright) 2020 by Marcus Samuelsson. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

Immigration Prolonged Detention

For the past five months, the 34-year-old asylum-seeker has been at an immigration detention camp at the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas, wheretwo migrants died in Januaryand which has many of the same conditions, according to human rights groups. Hernandez said he asked to be returned to Nicaragua but was told he has to see a judge. After nearly seven months in detention, his hearing was scheduled for Feb. 26.

Prolonged detention has become more common in President Donald Trump's second term, at least partly because a new policy generally prohibitsimmigration judgesfrom releasing detainees while their deportation cases wind through backlogged courts. Many, like Hernandez, are prepared to give up any efforts to stay in the United States.

"I came to this country thinking they would help me, and I've been detained for six months without having committed a crime," he said in a phone interview from Fort Bliss. "It is been too long. I am desperate."

The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot hold immigrants indefinitely, finding that six months was a reasonable cap.

With the number of people in ICE detention topping 70,000 for the first time, 7,252 people had been in custody at least six months in mid-January, including 79 held for more than two years, according to agency data. That's more than double the 2,849 who were in ICE custody at least six months in December 2024, the last full month of Joe Biden's presidency.

TheTrump administration is offering plane fareand $2,600 for people who leave the country voluntarily. Yet Hernandez and others are told they can't leave detention until seeing a judge.

Legal advisers warn that these are not isolated cases

The first three detainees that attorney Ana Alicia Huerta met on her monthly trip to an ICE detention center in McFarland, California, to offer free legal advice in January said they signed a form agreeing to leave the United States but were still waiting.

"All are telling me: 'I don't understand why I'm here. I'm ready to be deported,'" said Huerta, a senior attorney at the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. "That's an experience that I've never had before."

A Chinese man has been held for more than a year without seeing an immigration judge, even though he told authorities he was ready to be deported. In the past, Huerta said, she encountered cases like this once every three or four months.

TheDepartment of Homeland Securitydid not address questions from The Associated Press about why more people are being held longer than six months.

"The conditions are so poor and so bad that people say, 'I'm going to give up'," said Sui Cheng, executive director at Americans for Immigrant Justice.

The waiting time may depend on the country. Deportations to Mexico are routine but countries including Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela have at times resisted accepting deportees.

Among those detained for months are people who have won protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, who cannot be deported to their home country but may be sent elsewhere.

In the past, those migrants were released and could get a work permit. Not anymore, said Sarah Houston, managing attorney at Immigrant Defenders Law Center, who has at least three clients with protection under the U.N. torture convention who have been in custody for more than six months. One is from El Salvador, detained for three years. He won his case in October 2025 but is still in custody in California.

"They're just holding these people indefinitely," said Houston, noting that every 90 days, attorneys request the release of these migrants and ICE denies those requests. "We're seeing people who actually win their immigration cases just languishing in jail."

The Nicaraguan who wants to be deported

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Hernandez, who doesn't have a lawyer, said he signed documents requesting to be returned to his country or Mexico at least five times. An Oct. 9 hearing was abruptly canceled without explanation. He waited months with no news, until early February, when he learned his new hearing date.

Hernandez, who has allergies and needs a gluten-free diet that he says he hasn't been getting since November, was arrested in July on a lunch break from his job installing power generators in South Florida. His wife was detained with him but a judge allowed her to return to Nicaragua without a formal deportation order on Aug. 28.

Both crossed the Mexican border in 2022 andrequested asylum. He said he received death threats after participating in marches against co-presidents and spousesDaniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

If he returns, they plan to go to Panama or Spain because they fear for their lives in Nicaragua, he said. His files say only that his case is pending.

The Dominican who became a father while in detention

Yashael Almonte Mejia has been detained eight months since the government sought dismissal of his asylum case in May 2025, said his aunt, Judith Mejia Lanfranco.

Since then, he has been transferred from a detention center in Florida to Texas to New Mexico.

In November, Almonte married his pregnant American girlfriend via a video call and became the father of a daughter he hasn't seen in person. He was unable to attend the funeral of his sister who died in November.

"He has gone through depression. He has been very bad," his aunt said. "He is desperate and he doesn't even know what's going to happen."

Almonte, 29, came to the U.S. in 2024 and told authorities he cannot return to the Dominican Republic because he fears for his life. In January, he passed his initial asylum screening interview.

A Mexican man detained for a year

Some detainees are finding relief in federal court.

A Mexican man detained in October 2024 in Florida was held for a year even though he won a protection under the U.N. torture convention in March 2025.

"Time was passing and I was desperate, afraid that they would send me to another country," said the 38-year-old, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being detained again.

"I didn't know what was going to happen to me," he said, noting that immigration officials weren't giving him any answers.

The man said he had lived illegally in the United States from age 10 until he was deported. In Mexico, he ran his own business, but in 2023 decided to return and illegally crossed the border into the United States. He said he was looking for safety after being threatened by drug cartels who demanded monthly payments.

He was taking antidepressants when he found an attorney who filed a petition in federal court alleging he was being held illegally. He was freed in October 2025, seven months after a judge ordered his release.

But for Hernandez, the Nicaraguan asylum-seeker, desperation led him to request to be returned to the country he had fled.

"I've experienced a lot of trauma. It's very difficult," Hernandez said from Fort Bliss. "I'm always thinking about when I'm going to get out."

NEED TO KNOW

• Cleveland 19 News identified the man as Andrew Strand, and per a GoFundMe set up to help with funeral costs, he was a father of two and worked as a mechanic

• His wife calledthe police after he didn't return home on the evening of Feb. 4, and she tracked his phone to the CVS on Chagrin Boulevard in Brunswick, Ohio

A man has been found dead inside a trash compactor at the facility where he worked in Ohio, according to reports.

Andrew Strand, 34, went missing from his home in Brunswick on the evening of Feb. 4. At around 10 p.m. local time, Strand's wife called the police, sharing her concerns after not hearing from him, and a search was conducted,Cleveland 19 Newsreported.

Shaker Heights Police Commander John Cole told the outlet that Strand's wife told police she had tracked his phone to the CVS on Chagrin Boulevard, where he had been doing contract work, and that police then searched the facility.

Strand's body was found by police inside a trash compactor at the property, Cole confirmed to Cleveland 19 News.

Google Maps

"We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased during this difficult time," said Cole.

The incident is being investigated and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner is determining the cause and manner of death, added Cole.

Strand was a father of two young children and worked as a mechanic in his own company, according to aGoFundMe.

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"He was recently starting his own company, which he was absolutely loving," the page read. "...He was a loving, involved father, coaching his son's hockey and baseball teams. He loved supporting his daughter in dance as well as gymnastics. His wife and children were the center of his life…"

"Andy's passing was sudden and unexpected, leaving his family in disarray," the page continued. "We are looking to raise funds to support his wife and children in this trying time, as well as raising funds for Andy's funeral service."

The GoFundMe so far has raised nearly $15,000 with a goal of $20,000 to help cover funeral costs.

CVS said in a statement to Cleveland 19 News, "We're cooperating with police as they investigate the death of a contractor outside our Chagrin Blvd store."

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PEOPLE has reached out to the Shaker Heights Police and CVS for comment bub did not immediately receive replies.

Read the original article onPeople

That feels daunting, even for one of the best snowboarders in the world, whose leadup to the Games took a detour whenshe injured her shoulderduring a training run in Switzerland the second week of January.

"I have so much anxiety," Kim said Monday, two days before she begins her quest to win a third straight gold medal. "But thankfully I have matcha (tea) and there's good vibes here and my family's here, so we'll be good."

The25-year-old Americansaid she returned to the halfpipe about two weeks ago and is wearing a brace on her left shoulder that, "in a funny way ... made my riding better."

Her coach, Rick Bower, told The Associated Press that practices have been going well since Kim returned to the snow.

"Clearly, it's not an ideal situation, but all things considered, the work she's put in over the last 15 years, she's in a place where she can deal with it," he said. "Though it's not what we'd like, the riding is at the point to where she can still compete for gold."

Kim spoke of the mental reboot she was able to enjoy, in large part by winning a contest in Aspen in January 2025 that put her on the Olympic team more than a year before the Games. She won world championships two months after that, then took time off.

Her plan was to ease into the Olympic season — lots of practice, followed by one competition in Copper Mountain, Colo., in December, then another in Laax, Switzerland, in January.

She made it through the low-pressure qualifying round at Copper Mountain, but fell and injured her shoulder while getting ready for the final. She rebounded from that, but suffered the more serious injury almost exactly a month before she jumps into the halfpipe in Italy.

It leaves the one run in Copper Mountain as the only scored run Kim has made since last March. She said often muscle memory overcomes the nerves once she drops in.

"I feel confident," Kim said. "I feel really good about how I'm feeling physically and mentally, and that's most important right now."

When healthy, Kim would be the clear favorite even in a sport that is advancing quickly. Korea's 17-year-old Gaon Choi has been ramping up the difficulty and could pose the greatest threat to Kim's three-peat.

But Kim herself has always led the way on the halfpipe. She said her big run this week is one she's never done. It will be a tougher version of what she won with in Beijing — tricks involving riding backward and forward and spinning in both directions off those approaches.

"If I'm able to pull that off, regardless of where I place, I'll be really content with that," Kim said.

https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

"There's obviously a lot going on that I'm not the biggest fan of," Hess said at a news conference in Milan ahead of the2026 Winter Olympics. "Wearing the flag doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the U.S.

"I'm representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. I just think if it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I'm representing it."

Hess' teammates on the dais with him that day also addressed the topic, but only the 27-year-old from Oregon drew the president's ire. Trump called Hess a "loser" and did not properly convey what Hess said in his post.

Hahna Norman of the United States in women's snowboarding big air qualifications during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park.

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Women snowboarders push the limits in high‑flying Big Air event

Hahna Norman of the United States in women's snowboarding big air qualifications during theMilano Cortina 2026Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park.

The four-member women's halfpipe team, led by two-time Olympian Chloe Kim, largely echoed what Hess originally said.

"I think there are a lot of different opinions in the U.S. right now. Obviously, we're very divided," Bea Kim, 17, said. "I personally am very proud to represent the United States. That being said, I think diversity is what makes us a very strong country and what makes us so special."

Nowhere else in the world can an individual express themself with the level of freedom Americans can, Bea Kim said.

"I think the four of us sitting here (Monday) are an example of that. We all came from very different backgrounds."

Chloe Kim's parents, like Bea Kim's grandparents, immigrated to the West Coast from South Korea.

"I think that's also so special about the Olympics. Bringing people together from different countries," while celebrating sport, friendship and respect, Bea Kim said.

Chloe Kim said the recent news has "hit really close to home" because her immigrants made the sacrifice many others have done to build a better life for their descendants in America.

"It is really important for us to unite and kind of stand up for one another with all that's going on," Chloe Kim said. "I'm really proud to represent the United States. It's given my family and I so much opportunity. But I also think that we are allowed to voice our opinions of what's going on. And I think that we should lead with love and compassion. And I'd love to see more of that."

Maddie Mastro agreed that she is proud to represent her country.

"I'm also saddened with what's happening at home. It's really tough and we can't turn a blind eye to that," Mastro said.

At the same time, Mastro said, she represents a country that has not lost what makes it special – kindness and compassion.

By the time Maddy Schaffrick grabbed the mic, she didn't have much to add.

"I feel like the Olympics is the epitome of all countries and cultures coming together in celebration and friendly competition," she said. "I'm proud to represent the U.S. and wear the American flag in such an internationally cohesive event, and do what I love while representing the U.S."

Multiple members of Team USA have received online hate for their comments leading into these Games, from Hess tofigure skater Amber Glennto moguls skier Chris Lillis.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:US snowboarders respond to Donald Trump's criticism of Hunter Hess