May 2025

There were 2,285 posts published in May 2025 (this is page 48 of 229).

Secretary Rollins Approves State Waivers to Make America Healthy Again by Removing Unhealthy Foods from SNAP in Indiana and Iowa

(Washington, D.C., May 23, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins signed waivers to amend the statutory definition of food for purchase for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) in Indiana and Iowa, each commencing in 2026. On Monday, Secretary Rollins signed the first-ever waiver of this kind in Nebraska.

Nine of the Most Commonly Stolen Car Parts (and How to Protect Them)

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Having your car stolen is a traumatic experience—and a depressingly common one. Although car thefts nationwide are trending downward, there were still more than 850,000 vehicles stolen in 2024. If you’ve ever woken up to find your car missing from its spot (and I have!) you know it’s not fun.

But thieves don’t always target the entire car. It’s often easier and less risky to steal a specific part from your car or truck. Many of these parts are relatively easy to access, remove, and sell, and the profit margin can be very lucrative for a busy and organized criminal. If your car is ever parked out in the open (especially overnight), it could be targeted for a surprisingly long list of specific parts. The good news is that you can protect every bit of your vehicle with a little foresight and a few security gadgets.

Catalytic converters

Ever since catalytic converters entered widespread use in the 1970s, thieves have targeted them. They’re a perfect storm for thieves: Accessible, relatively easy to remove, and valuable due to the mix of precious metals inside them (including palladium, platinum, and rhodium). Thieves know they can get between $250 and $800 for a catalytic converter, depending on the vehicle it was taken from. That’s why about 64,000 catalytic converter were stolen in 2022 alone.

How to stop thieves: The best thing you can do is to install an anti-theft device like a Catstrap. This is a band of strip steel that is adhered to the length of your exhaust system, making it almost impossible for thieves to cut through the pipes to steal the converter. You can also consider etching identifying information on the converter to make it difficult to sell on the black market. The downside of this approach is that thieves may not notice the etching until after they’ve removed the converter.

Wheels

Your car’s wheels and tires are prime targets for theft. Tires can be stripped off your car in a very short period of time, and they can be sold very easily, especially since tires—especially high-end tires—can run as much as $1,000 each.

How to stop thieves: Your best bet is to install model-appropriate locking lugnuts like these. These will make it very difficult for thieves to use standard tools to remove your wheels. With a lot of effort and some specialized tools, they can be defeated, but chances are your thief will just move on to a different car with wheels that are easier to steal.

Batteries

A standard car battery in a gas-powered vehicle isn’t worth much—typically less than 20 cents per pound. But batteries are also incredibly easy to steal, so thieves will sometimes make a sweep of an area to steal as many batteries as possible in order to make the payout worth their time. The batteries in a hybrid vehicle can be worth more, and the batteries in an electric vehicle can be very, very valuable—but also a lot harder to steal.

How to stop thieves: Adding a battery lock bracket is easy, cheap, and pretty effective. Since battery thieves don’t make much per battery, any additional barrier will probably deter them pretty effectively.

Tailgates

Yes, believe it or not, thieves are after your truck’s entire tailgate. This is especially true if you own a Toyota Tacoma, because the tailgates on that model are incredibly easy to detach—they’re literally engineered to be removed easily. But any truck tailgate is a target because they’re all relatively easy to remove, and these days your tailgate contains a bunch of high-tech gear (cameras, sensors, etc.) that can be stripped out for resale.

How to stop thieves: You can install a tailgate lock for your make and model (like this one for suffering Tacoma owners).

Airbags

It’s estimated that about 50,000 airbags are stolen annually in the U.S. They’re valuable, fetching up to $200 on the black market, which makes them attractive to thieves. Thieves usually target dealerships or other places where cars are left unattended in accessible lots, but cars parked on the street are also hit.

How to stop thieves: The best ways to stop airbag theft is to lock your car when you park it and park it inside a secured area, like a garage. If that’s not possible, using a steering wheel lock using the “club” design can be effective, as it physically makes it difficult to access the driver’s-side airbag. This won’t stop thieves from grabbing the passenger-side airbag, of course, but cutting their profit in half might inspire them to move on.

License plates

Thieves steal license plates because it’s an easy way to cloak a vehicle. Sometimes they’re put on stolen vehicles, sometimes they’re used to evade tolls—but the fact that they’re generally easy to steal and very difficult to track makes them popular targets. In fact, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) notes that license plate theft has been rising rapidly—by 45% between 2019 and 2022 alone.

How to stop thieves: Swapping out the rusty, standard screws holding your plates on for some tamper-proof screws will do the job. These screws require a special fastener to attach or detach, and the kits come with screw covers to make it even more difficult to access.

Side mirrors

You might think your side mirrors are just mirrors, and who would bother stealing those? Ah, but modern-day side mirrors have a lot of technology inside them, especially on luxury vehicles, including blind spot sensors, defrosting systems, and cameras. Believe it or not, some mirrors can command upwards of $2,000 each!

How to stop thieves: If your side mirrors are motorized, turning them in when you park can make it more difficult for thieves to access them. You can also look for anti-theft mirror guards (like this one) for your make and model, which add a layer of security to the mirror to deter thieves.

Third row seats

If you have a truck or SUV with a removable third-row seat, you should know that it’s increasingly popular to steal them. The reason third-row seats are targeted is the universal reason anything gets stolen: These seats cost thousands of dollars to replace.

How to stop thieves: The best way to prevent theft of your truck’s third-row seat is to secure it with a bike lock. The specific lock that will work depends on how your third-row seat attaches and detaches, but all you need to do is secure it in place. It removes some of the convenience, but it’s a lot better than having your kids roll around in the cab while you drive.

Badges

People have been stealing car badges and hood ornaments for decades, often just to collect them or as petty acts of vandalism. But these days those emblems can actually contain a lot of expensive technology. Modern Volkswagens, for example, often tuck cruise control sensors into the hood emblem. That makes those badges a lot more valuable than you might think, and thieves are definitely aware of their added value.

How to stop thieves: It’s very difficult to stop someone from removing an emblem, badge, or ornament from your car. If you can access the back where it’s attached, you can try using wire or zipties to secure it more firmly—but if you can access it, so can thieves. Your best defense is to park the vehicle in a secure area whenever possible.

Secretary Rollins Announces Food Purchases for Communities in Need

(Washington, D.C., May 23, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) intent to purchase up to $67 million in fresh seafood, fruits, and vegetables from domestic producers to distribute to food banks and nutrition assistance programs across the country. These purchases are being made through Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935 and will assist producers and communities in need.

Who are top NL, AL MVP candidates not named Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge?

Generational players tend to make the spectacular look mundane. And whether it’s Aaron Judge hitting over .400 as we approach June or Shohei Ohtani being second in MLB in OPS after a quiet start to the year, the two best players in the world again look like they’re destined to finish as the AL and NL MVP Award winners, respectively.

Judge and Ohtani are the easy frontrunners for MVP and in a year when they’re healthy, that will likely always be the case. But what if there was a world where the reigning MVPs weren’t sitting atop every offensive leaderboard? 

Whom would we be watching more closely?

When you think of the Phillies since they put together their star-laden core, you would think Bryce Harper was the engine of that group. And while Harper is still the Phillies’ best player, the heart and soul of this team is undoubtedly Schwarber. After a year of trying to find who he was as a player, Schwarber has become one of the most consistent hitters in baseball. And this season, the former World Series champion is having the best season of his career.

Schwarber enters Friday slashing .256/.396/.572 with 17 homers and 37 RBI. In 49 games, he’s on pace to finish with career highs in hits, homers, runs, RBI and walks. The early-season success by the Phillies’ longtime designated hitter has helped them get back to the top of the NL East and hold the best record in the league.

He’s playing on the last season of his four-year, $79 million deal and setting himself up tremendously for free agency. 

Freeman has been a hit machine since he was a 20-year-old debuting for the Atlanta Braves. And 15 years later, the 2020 NL MVP is still doing what he does best and aging like a fine wine. Standing out on a team with two MVPs is tough, especially when one of them is the best player in the world. Freeman has been just as important to the Dodgers’ success this season, as they have stayed atop a loaded NL West.

The 35-year-old started the year hobbled, recovering from offseason ankle surgery, but he appears to be healthy and locked in. Freeman not only leads the National League in hitting with an eye-popping .368 batting average but is second in MLB behind Judge with a 1.087 OPS.

It’s not wild to say that Freeman might be MLB’s best pure hitter, and to be doing it at his age, when making it 16 seasons in the big leagues is now a rarity, is impressive. He is on a trajectory to get top-five MVP votes for the third time in the past four seasons after a fourth-place finish in 2022 and a third-place finish in ’23.

It doesn’t appear Freeman is slowing down anytime soon, and at this rate, not only could another MVP Award be a possibility, but 3,000 hits could also be on the horizon.

This time last season, we were all wondering if Carroll was a victim of the dreaded sophomore slump. The D-backs’ All-Star struggled mightily out of the gate. Even in a thriving Arizona lineup, its spark plug couldn’t get going. But Carroll slowly came back around to being the player we thought he was after his phenomenal rookie campaign.

It’s safe to say Carroll is back and maybe better than ever. The D-backs outfielder currently has a .945 OPS and already has 30 extra-base hits, including 15 homers. Carroll’s frame might not do him justice when it comes to power, but when you look at the home run leaderboard, he’s been holding his own with the likes of Ohtani and Schwarber.

Carroll has been Arizona’s best player since 2023, when he took home the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished fifth in NL MVP voting.

If this version of Carroll is the one we see all year long, a fifth-place finish in MVP voting won’t be high enough.

One of the most intriguing free agents this past offseason, Bregman came to Boston with something to prove. Not only that he was worth the hefty $40 million average annual value, but that he could still be an impact bat in the middle of a lineup.

Bregman has been one of the American League’s premier hitters this season. He looks like the guy who finished as the 2019 AL MVP runner-up with his combination of offense and elite defense. The two-time World Series champion is slashing .297/.381/.554 with 11 homers, is second in MLB with 17 doubles and is a +6 defensive runs saved.

The Red Sox needed a big bat in the middle of the lineup to bring it all together, and Bregman has done just that. For the first time in some time, Boston looks like it can be a threat in the postseason and its high-priced free agent is a big part of that. 

It seemed wild to think Bregman could opt out of his three-year deal at the end of the season, but if he keeps playing at this level, it will not only be understandable but likely.

It’s safe to say Raleigh has become the best catcher in the big leagues. Offensively, he can hit the ball out of the ballpark with the best hitters in baseball, and he gets on base at a high clip. Raleigh has been a driving force behind the Mariners being in first place in the AL West.

His rise was also seen by the Mariners, who rewarded him with a six-year, $105 million extension earlier this season.

The former Platinum Glove winner is one of baseball’s best players and his ability to continue to raise his game has Seattle rolling.

A pitcher as an MVP candidate? That’s right.

Fried’s first year in pinstripes could not have started any better. He has dominated in 2025, going 6-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his first 10 starts. He has done so on the heels of receiving the largest contract ever given to a left-handed starter. Sometimes we make too much of the pressure, but as the player the Yankees pivoted to after Juan Soto’s offseason departure to the New York Mets, there is definitely a high level of pressure to perform, and Fried has met those expectations. And in many ways, exceeded them.

Fried has also given the Yankees a Cy Young-caliber ace following Gerrit Cole’s Tommy John surgery earlier this season. Cole has been the heartbeat of New York’s rotation since his arrival, but the Yankees’ new southpaw is doing his best to keep it alive and keep the Yankees on top of the AL East.

The Yankees paid Fried $218 million to get the best years of his career, and so far Fried is giving them their money’s worth.

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Brief: Updates on Diamondbacks, Cubs and other evolving closer situations

Fantasy baseball analyst Dalton Del Don scans for save sources and provides updates on evolving bullpen situations.

Shelby Miller was tagged for two earned runs in a loss during his last appearance, while Justin Martinez was up to 101 mph recently and is expected to be activated off the IL on Friday. Martinez should return to the closer’s role (A.J. Puk remains sidelined), and he’s available in more than 40% of Yahoo leagues. The Diamondbacks are tied with the Dodgers in save opportunities (27) this year.

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After nine straight scoreless innings, Félix Bautista has surrendered at least a run in four straight. He’s allowed five runs over 3.2 innings over that span, but he’s blown only one save all season, so his job remains safe. Bautista pitched in back-to-back days for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery this week, so hopefully it’s a sign he’s getting stronger. Bautista owned a 35.4 K-BB% when he last pitched in 2023, but it’s down to 9.4% during his return this season. The disappointing Orioles will provide more save opportunities moving forward, but Bautista’s velocity is worth watching. 

Daniel Palencia has received Chicago’s last two save chances, blowing the first opportunity but securing a save during the Cubs’ win Wednesday. Palencia is available in over 90% of Yahoo leagues for those desperate for saves. Porter Hodge was recently placed on the IL with an oblique injury, but he might not be out long and is already throwing. Hodge (10% rostered) would likely reclaim the role once he returns, while Ryan Pressly (58%) continues to work in middle relief.

Tanner Scott recorded just his second save over the last month Wednesday, but he remains the heavy favorite to close in Los Angeles. He owns 10 of the team’s 17 saves, but no other Dodgers reliever has more than two saves (Blake Treinen, who’s on the 60-day IL). Scott has struggled with control throughout his career, but he sports a 25:1 K:BB ratio and a 0.81 WHIP this season. Los Angeles will continue to mix-and-match in the ninth inning at times, but Scott looks dominant, and his lack of saves over the past four weeks was bad luck.

Jordan Romano (70% rostered) is pitching great and should receive more save chances with José Alvarado suspended 80 games. Romano has tossed nine straight scoreless innings with a 0.44 WHIP and a 13:1 K:BB ratio. He’s recorded four saves over the last 11 days and has the upside to be a top-10 fantasy closer moving forward (if not higher).

Dennis Santana got Pittsburgh’s save Wednesday with David Bednar having pitched back-to-back days. This closing situation appears to be matchup based, with Bednar being used more when the middle of the order is due up. While high-leverage use makes sense for the Pirates, a timeshare on a team with just 17 wins is bad news for fantasy.

Luke Jackson (34% rostered) blew a save Wednesday, and he hasn’t recorded a save since April 25. He remains the favorite for saves in Texas’ bullpen, but Jackson sports a 1.57 WHIP and a lowly 7.7 K-BB% this season. Shawn Armstrong (2%) picked up a couple of saves while Jackson was sidelined with a swollen hand recently, and he appears next in line should the Rangers make a switch. Chris Martin has been great, but he’s on the IL with shoulder fatigue and was being used in only high-leverage situations. The Rangers are likely to trade for a closer this summer.

Jeff Hoffman has watched his ERA spike from 1.10 to 6.04 over the last 16 days. He’s also recorded three saves and a win over that span, and his peripheral stats remain incredibly strong. Hoffman owns a 1.82 SIERA, a 31.0 K-BB% and a 33.6% CSW. He should be fine, but Yimi García is next in line to close should Hoffman’s recent struggles continue.