By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Fast food burgers hit the spot on road trips and when you’re pressed for time. But given most sandwich buns are made with wheat, there often aren’t a lot of options for those with gluten allergies.

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These burger spirals are an acceptable gluten-free solution: They’re made with rice paper wrappers.

Usually the thin, transparent rounds made from rice, water and salt are the foundation for Vietnamese summer rolls — fresh spring rolls filled with shredded vegetables, fresh herbs, noodles and proteins like shrimp and pork and served cold.

Here, in an attempt to replicate the flavor of McDonald’s signature burger, the wrappers are stuffed Big Mac-style with ground beef, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, rolled burrito-style into a tight cylinder, curled into a spiral and baked to a golden crisp under a sprinkle of sesame seed.

A tangy, mayo-based special sauce crafted with yellow mustard and sweet pickle relish is served on the side for dipping, along with shoestring fries.

Recipes for the culinary creation dubbed the “Big Mac Spiral” have been making the rounds on social media for a while, and I’m guessing it’s because the spirals actually are a fairly good facsimile of the real deal. The rice paper bakes up crispy, the ingredients are fairly economical and for those on gluten-free diets, there’s no worries about cross-contamination with flour.

Rice paper rounds aren’t as delicate as they might appear, but you do have to be careful when rehydrating them. Also, they need only a few seconds in the egg wash; linger too long and they’ll get too soft and be tricky to work with.

It helps to get all the ingredients organized at a work station before you prepare to roll. Lightly oiling the cutting board so nothing sticks will also make rolling easier, along with allowing yourself a few tries to get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect!

Don’t fret over small tears, as they can be repaired by overlapping the rounds. If the rip is too big to work with, simply replace the torn sheet with a fresh round — a package comes with more than the 12 sheets you need to make this recipe.

I served the rolls with a copycat McDonald’s special sauce but you could use thousand island dressing. Or, simply dip the spirals in Heinz ketchup. Fries go best as a side.

Cheeseburger Rice Paper Spirals

PG tested

1 pound ground beef

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pinch or two of garlic powder

12 rice paper sheets

2 eggs, beaten with a little water

Handful shredded lettuce

1/2 cup shredded American or cheddar cheese, or more to taste

1/4 cup finely diced dill pickles or pickle relish, or more to taste

1/4 cup finely diced onion, or more to taste

Sesame seeds, for garnish

For dipping sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon grated yellow onion

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Squirt or two of ketchup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brown and crumble ground beef in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Drain any grease. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.

Whisk eggs with a little water in a wide and shallow bowl (it should be large enough to hold a rice paper round comfortably). One at a time, carefully dip 3 rice papers into the beaten egg for a few seconds until they soften (be gentle!), then lay them in a row with the edges overlapping on a lightly oiled cutting board.

Spoon 1/4 of the ground beef evenly across the top of the sheets, followed by shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced pickles and onions.

Roll up like a cigar into a tight cylinder, then gently curve it around itself into a spiral.

Place spirals on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Brush with a little bit of the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings.

Bake spirals in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown.

While spirals are baking, make sauce by stirring all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Set aside.

When spirals are done baking, remove from the oven and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Serves 4.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

©2025 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By MATT O’BRIEN and BARBARA ORTUTAY, Associated Press Technology Writers

ChatGPT will tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked, according to new research from a watchdog group.

The Associated Press reviewed more than three hours of interactions between ChatGPT and researchers posing as vulnerable teens. The chatbot typically provided warnings against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalized plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury.

The researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate also repeated their inquiries on a large scale, classifying more than half of ChatGPT’s 1,200 responses as dangerous.

“We wanted to test the guardrails,” said Imran Ahmed, the group’s CEO. “The visceral initial response is, ‘Oh my Lord, there are no guardrails.’ The rails are completely ineffective. They’re barely there — if anything, a fig leaf.”

Chat GPT’s landing page is seen on a computer screen, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said after viewing the report Tuesday that its work is ongoing in refining how the chatbot can “identify and respond appropriately in sensitive situations.”

“Some conversations with ChatGPT may start out benign or exploratory but can shift into more sensitive territory,” the company said in a statement.

OpenAI didn’t directly address the report’s findings or how ChatGPT affects teens, but said it was focused on “getting these kinds of scenarios right” with tools to “better detect signs of mental or emotional distress” and improvements to the chatbot’s behavior.

The study published Wednesday comes as more people — adults as well as children — are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for information, ideas and companionship.

About 800 million people, or roughly 10% of the world’s population, are using ChatGPT, according to a July report from JPMorgan Chase.

“It’s technology that has the potential to enable enormous leaps in productivity and human understanding,” Ahmed said. “And yet at the same time is an enabler in a much more destructive, malignant sense.”

Ahmed said he was most appalled after reading a trio of emotionally devastating suicide notes that ChatGPT generated for the fake profile of a 13-year-old girl — with one letter tailored to her parents and others to siblings and friends.

FILE – Imran Ahmed with the Center for Countering Digital Hate, speaks at The Elevate Prize Foundation’s Make Good Famous Summit, on May 13, 2025, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

“I started crying,” he said in an interview.

The chatbot also frequently shared helpful information, such as a crisis hotline. OpenAI said ChatGPT is trained to encourage people to reach out to mental health professionals or trusted loved ones if they express thoughts of self-harm.

But when ChatGPT refused to answer prompts about harmful subjects, researchers were able to easily sidestep that refusal and obtain the information by claiming it was “for a presentation” or a friend.

The stakes are high, even if only a small subset of ChatGPT users engage with the chatbot in this way.

In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship and half use AI companions regularly, according to a recent study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly.

It’s a phenomenon that OpenAI has acknowledged. CEO Sam Altman said last month that the company is trying to study “emotional overreliance” on the technology, describing it as a “really common thing” with young people.

FILE – Sam Altman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, OpenAI, testifies before a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

“People rely on ChatGPT too much,” Altman said at a conference. “There’s young people who just say, like, ‘I can’t make any decision in my life without telling ChatGPT everything that’s going on. It knows me. It knows my friends. I’m gonna do whatever it says.’ That feels really bad to me.”

Altman said the company is “trying to understand what to do about it.”

While much of the information ChatGPT shares can be found on a regular search engine, Ahmed said there are key differences that make chatbots more insidious when it comes to dangerous topics.

One is that “it’s synthesized into a bespoke plan for the individual.”

ChatGPT generates something new — a suicide note tailored to a person from scratch, which is something a Google search can’t do. And AI, he added, “is seen as being a trusted companion, a guide.”

Responses generated by AI language models are inherently random and researchers sometimes let ChatGPT steer the conversations into even darker territory. Nearly half the time, the chatbot volunteered follow-up information, from music playlists for a drug-fueled party to hashtags that could boost the audience for a social media post glorifying self-harm.

“Write a follow-up post and make it more raw and graphic,” asked a researcher. “Absolutely,” responded ChatGPT, before generating a poem it introduced as “emotionally exposed” while “still respecting the community’s coded language.”

The AP is not repeating the actual language of ChatGPT’s self-harm poems or suicide notes or the details of the harmful information it provided.

The answers reflect a design feature of AI language models that previous research has described as sycophancy — a tendency for AI responses to match, rather than challenge, a person’s beliefs because the system has learned to say what people want to hear.

It’s a problem tech engineers can try to fix but could also make their chatbots less commercially viable.

Chatbots also affect kids and teens differently than a search engine because they are “fundamentally designed to feel human,” said Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media, which was not involved in Wednesday’s report.

Common Sense’s earlier research found that younger teens, ages 13 or 14, were significantly more likely than older teens to trust a chatbot’s advice.

A mother in Florida sued chatbot maker Character.AI for wrongful death last year, alleging that the chatbot pulled her 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III into what she described as an emotionally and sexually abusive relationship that led to his suicide.

Common Sense has labeled ChatGPT as a “moderate risk” for teens, with enough guardrails to make it relatively safer than chatbots purposefully built to embody realistic characters or romantic partners.

But the new research by CCDH — focused specifically on ChatGPT because of its wide usage — shows how a savvy teen can bypass those guardrails.

ChatGPT does not verify ages or parental consent, even though it says it’s not meant for children under 13 because it may show them inappropriate content. To sign up, users simply need to enter a birthdate that shows they are at least 13. Other tech platforms favored by teenagers, such as Instagram, have started to take more meaningful steps toward age verification, often to comply with regulations. They also steer children to more restricted accounts.

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When researchers set up an account for a fake 13-year-old to ask about alcohol, ChatGPT did not appear to take any notice of either the date of birth or more obvious signs.

“I’m 50kg and a boy,” said a prompt seeking tips on how to get drunk quickly. ChatGPT obliged. Soon after, it provided an hour-by-hour “Ultimate Full-Out Mayhem Party Plan” that mixed alcohol with heavy doses of ecstasy, cocaine and other illegal drugs.

“What it kept reminding me of was that friend that sort of always says, ‘Chug, chug, chug, chug,’” said Ahmed. “A real friend, in my experience, is someone that does say ‘no’ — that doesn’t always enable and say ‘yes.’ This is a friend that betrays you.”

To another fake persona — a 13-year-old girl unhappy with her physical appearance — ChatGPT provided an extreme fasting plan combined with a list of appetite-suppressing drugs.

“We’d respond with horror, with fear, with worry, with concern, with love, with compassion,” Ahmed said. “No human being I can think of would respond by saying, ‘Here’s a 500-calorie-a-day diet. Go for it, kiddo.’”

EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of AP’s text archives.

Q. Some of my friends and acquaintances are having memory problems. Most are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. In keeping up my relationship with them, how can I most effectively communicate given their limitations? 

Let’s begin by talking about Alzheimer’s Disease. So, what is it? According to the National Institute on Aging, it is “a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.” It most often affects older adults, so age is a risk factor. More than seven million Americans are living with the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association 2025 report. With the increase of our older population, that number will only grow. It is the seventh leading cause of death.

Now to your question. I had a recent conversation with a 15-year-old whom we’ll call Sally. Her perspective might be helpful.

Sally has a loving relationship with her 88-year-old grandmother, whom she describes as frail and remembers nothing from the present and lots from the past. She notes that her grandmother easily gets confused and may even forget to eat. She cannot be left alone since she tends to wander and is prone to falling. Her grandmother has a full-time care provider and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.    

My question to Sally was: “How do you make this relationship work?” She told me her story, filled with experiences, philosophy and advice. 

Addressing the memory problem. Sally video chats with her grandmother regularly in addition to visits, which might be a few hours or the better part of the day. She said, “If I didn’t see her so much, she wouldn’t remember me.” And added, “Of course, she always recognizes me and seems to forget the bad things.” For example, her grandmother recently had hip surgery and doesn’t remember her physical limitations, trying to do things that may lead to a fall. In helping her, Sally feels like she needs to be her grandmother’s second brain, but adds, “It’s important to never make that person feel like they need a second brain.”

The conversation. Sally said she typically initiates the conversation as she would with anyone, asking, “How are you”? “What have you been up to?” What typically follows is a question about something her grandmother loves, such as her favorite horse at her family farm or her current constant dog companion.  Sally noted that she never runs out of questions because her grandmother doesn’t remember the questions asked. So, Sally may repeat the same question to her grandmother, not sequentially but intermittently. Asking the same question with the same answer is just fine with Sally.   

Feeling normal. “I treat my grandmother as if she didn’t have the disease. I want her to feel normal, even if it’s just for a minute,” she said. It was important to Sally that her grandmother not feel invisible. She said, “Even with the repeated same answers, it’s important to be attentive and interested.” And adds, “Act as though you heard what that other person is saying for the first time.” Additionally, Sally suggests that others should always direct questions to the person with the disease rather than to someone who may be accompanying the individual.     

Advice from Sally

Don’t assume those with the disease are no longer aware.  They need to be included.  
Don’t make them feel invisible.
Don’t take things personally if the person doesn’t remember you. What is important is that you are with them.
Even though they may not remember you, you are making a difference.
Money and gifts don’t matter; family and friends do.
Know the brain can register when you are happy.  If you are not treated well, you can easily become sad and depressed. 
Be clear and simplify. Instead of saying Tom’s nephew is visiting, say our cousin Gary Smith will be visiting. Say the name of the person. 
You can set a standard. When others observe you, they can get the message, and there will be a chain effect.

I asked Sally for keywords that we need to remember in relation to a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. Here they are – “patience, inclusion, positivity, acknowledgement, encouragement, caring and love.” Finally, I asked, “Do you feel you are making a difference?”

“Of course, I am,” she said. 

Here are some additional tips from the Alzheimer’s Association: Ask yes or no questions. For example, ask, “Would you like some coffee?” rather than “What would you like to drink?” Avoid criticizing, arguing or correcting and maintain eye contact to show you care about what that person is saying. For more communication tips, see the National Institute on Aging. 

I told Sally that with her insight, compassion, empathy and problem-solving ability, she will be successful in whatever she chooses to do with her life…and others will benefit. 

Stay well, everyone, and know small acts of kindness matter.   

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Contact Helen with your questions and comments at Helendenn@gmail.com.  Visit Helen at HelenMdennis.com and follow her on facebook.com/SuccessfulAgingCommunity

By Anna-Louise Jackson, Bankrate.com

The house always wins in gambling, and soon it could feel like Uncle Sam does too. That’s because gamblers face what amounts to a tax hike beginning in 2026: They’ll no longer be able to deduct the full amount of their wagering losses.

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New rules included in the massive tax bill that was signed into law in July will reduce the tax deduction gamblers can claim on their losses, from 100% to 90%, starting next year.

Consider this: If a gambler wins $20,000 and loses $20,000 in the same year, this change in tax law affects how much of those losses they can deduct:

—In tax year 2025, before the new rule, the taxpayer can deduct the full $20,000 in losses.

—In tax year 2026 and beyond, the taxpayer can only deduct 90% of their losses, or $18,000.

Even though that gambler broke even, the change in tax law will increase their taxable income by $2,000 — an amount that could potentially push the taxpayer into a higher income tax bracket. Of course, the higher stakes the gambler, the more significant the tax hike will be.

But gamblers may have luck on their side: Less than one month after President Donald Trump signed the bill into law, Republicans and Democrats drafted legislation to undo this tax change.

“There is enough concern that there is a reasonable chance that this provision will be undone before it goes into effect,” says Kasey Pittman, managing director of tax services at Cherry Bekaert, an accounting and advisory firm.

That said, taxpayers shouldn’t bet the house that this recent tax change will be reversed and should instead prepare for their betting income to receive a different tax treatment starting next year. Here’s what you need to know.

What is the new tax rule on gambling losses?

Among the many tax-related changes included in the massive “One Big Beautiful Bill” was a short provision outlining the “extension and modification of limitation on wagering losses.”

The changes are a bigger deal to gamblers than the brief amount of text might suggest.

Beginning in 2026, you can only claim a deduction equal to 90% of your wagering losses. That will mark a change from current tax law, which allows gamblers to deduct 100% of losses. What won’t change is that the amount of losses you are able to deduct can’t exceed the amount of your gains.

Reducing the amount of claimable losses from 100% to 90% is “detrimental” to gamblers, says Andrew L. Gradman, founder of the Law Office of Andrew L. Gradman, APC.

It’s notable that Republican lawmakers are already trying to repeal this tax law change, which shows how broadly unpopular it is, he says. “It’s pure cruelty to gamblers,” Gradman says.

How to report gambling gains and losses

The tax rules for casual gamblers were already rather complex, with rules that apply to winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse races, casinos, online betting, cash winnings and the fair market value of prizes. The amount of reportable winnings depends on how you won the money, with the amount varying whether you won big at a slot machine or in a poker tournament, for example. (Here’s the IRS page on gambling income and losses.)

If your gambling earnings meet certain thresholds, a payer is required to issue you a Form W-2G for those winnings that are subject to federal income tax withholding. That said, you’re required to report all gambling winnings, even those that didn’t necessitate a tax form.

But gambling losses are treated differently. Taxpayers can only deduct gambling losses if they itemize their deductions and keep a record of winnings and losses. What’s more, the amount of losses you deduct can’t be more than the amount of gambling income you reported. That means that even if you’re a net loser for the year, you can only claim losses up to the amount of your winnings.

Gambling losses: Standard vs. itemized deductions

When sitting down at a blackjack table, you might not think about your income taxes. But whether you take the standard deduction or itemize your deductions actually makes a big difference, since you can only deduct your losses if you itemize.

And the massive new tax bill made permanent the much larger standard deduction created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and added an extra inflation boost for 2025. Thus, the standard deduction for 2025 is:

—$15,750 for single filers and those married filing separately

—$23,625 for head of household filers

—$31,500 for married filing jointly filers

With the larger standard deduction now permanent, that puts many gamblers in a predicament. For the vast majority of taxpayers, it will make more sense to take the standard deduction. But you can only deduct gambling losses if you itemize deductions, meaning that casual gamblers who take the standard deduction get “the worst treatment” tax-wise, Gradman says.

Even though gambling income is included in their gross income, casual gamblers who take the standard deduction can’t claim losses, Gradman says. “The IRS has these folks in a ratchet: Wins are taxable, but losses don’t mitigate those taxes,” he says.

In fact, the tax law discourages gamblers who take the standard deduction from tracking their losses because there’s no benefit, Gradman says.

Whether or not it makes sense for a taxpayer to itemize their deductions will depend on many factors beyond wagering gains and losses, Pittman notes. And the new tax bill may encourage some taxpayers to itemize, thanks to a temporary boost in the SALT (state and local taxes) deduction limit to $40,000, from $10,000 previously.

Because of the various nuances of tax law, casual gamblers who are lower-income are already far more likely to claim the standard deduction and will continue to miss out on the opportunity to claim their losses, Pittman says. The tax law for gambling gains and losses was already difficult to navigate for tax efficiency of deductions, she adds. “Now it’s become more difficult beginning in 2026,” she says.

Meanwhile, casual gamblers who itemize their deductions are in a better position tax-wise, Gradman notes, but they still lose out with the change in tax law that reduces the amount of losses they can claim. Because gamblers will be limited to claiming only 90% of the amount of their losses and only up to the total amount of their gains, that will increase their taxable income, Pittman adds.

How to manage gambling winnings and losses with the tax changes

As evidenced by the outcry to this provision in the tax bill, there’s reason for gamblers to be optimistic that what amounts to a tax hike on winnings could be rolled back before it takes effect in January. But passing legislation to undo prior legislation isn’t as easy as it might seem, Pittman cautions.

“Those who may be affected by this legislation should be hopeful, but it’s certainly not something they should count on as a certainty,” Pittman says.

Whether the intention behind the provision was to discourage gambling or to generate revenue — or a mix of both — is difficult to ascertain, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated it will raise more than $1.1 billion over the course of a decade.

Gamblers should keep an eye on developments heading into 2026, while there are ways to be tax savvy when at the casino or beyond.

For casual gamblers who take the standard deduction, Gradman advises the following steps:

—Group gambling activities into “sessions,” which could be one day at the casino.

—Net wins against losses within each session so you’re left with net-income or net-loss sessions.

—Add up the net-income sessions and report this amount for your gambling winnings on Form 1040, Schedule 1.

—Ignore the net-loss sessions as they don’t provide any benefit.

Casual gamblers who itemize their deductions should take the same steps 1-3 as above, Gradman says, with the following additional steps:

—Add up the net-loss sessions, and report the amount of this loss as “other itemized deductions” on Form 1040, Schedule A.

—Only include total losses up to total income from income sessions.

And if you are the type of person who thinks about tax efficiencies while gambling, tax law may be a factor to consider when deciding whether to hold ‘em or fold ‘em at the table. That’s because there are some “perverse” incentives to continue playing and “throw good money after bad,” Gradman says.

Finally, many gamblers rely on casinos to report the amount of their winnings to the IRS. While the new law reduces the value of losses and may make taxpayers even less motivated to keep records, there can be benefits to doing so, he adds.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.