By STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are imploring President Donald Trump’s administration to step up its role in addressing suffering and starvation in Gaza, with 40 senators signing onto a letter Tuesday urging the resumption of ceasefire talks and sharply criticizing an Israeli-backed American organization that had been created to distribute food aid.

In a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Republican president’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, the senators said the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, created in February with backing from the Trump administration, has “failed to address the deepening humanitarian crisis and contributed to an unacceptable and mounting civilian death toll around the organization’s sites.”

Palestinians inspect the site struck by an Israeli bombardment in Muwasi, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mariam Dagga)

It marked a mostly united plea from Senate Democrats — who are locked out of power in Washington — for the Trump administration to recalibrate its approach after the collapse of ceasefire talks last week. Trump on Monday expressed concern about the worsening humanitarian situation and broke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that people are not starving in the Gaza Strip. But it is unclear how Trump will proceed.

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said it was “not at all credible” to think the Israeli military — one of the most advanced in the world — is incapable of distributing food aid or performing crowd control.

“They made a choice to establish a new way of doing food distribution,” he said. “And it’s not working at all.”

The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, calls for a “large-scale expansion” of aid into Gaza channeled through organizations experienced working in the area. It also says efforts for a ceasefire agreement are “as critical and urgent as ever.”

The message was led by four Jewish members of the Democratic Caucus — Sens. Adam Schiff of California, Chuck Schumer of New York, Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Schatz — and calls for the return of the roughly 50 hostages, 20 still believed to be alive, held by Hamas since its Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

The signatures from most of the Senate Democratic Caucus on the letter show the extent to which Democrats have achieved some unity on a foreign policy issue that deeply divided them while they held the White House last year. They called for an end to the war that sees Hamas no longer in control of Gaza and a long-term goal of both an Israeli and a Palestinian state and opposed any permanent displacement of the Palestinian people.

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Meanwhile, Republicans are backing Trump’s handling of the situation and supporting Israel. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was satisfied with Trump trying “to referee that, but the Israelis need to get their hostages back.”

Still, images of the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza seemed to be reaching some Republican members of Congress.

Over the weekend, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who routinely calls for an end to foreign aid, said on social media “what has been happening to innocent people and children in Gaza is horrific. This war and humanitarian crisis must end!”

For Schatz, it was a sign many Americans do care about suffering in other parts of the world, even after Trump won the election with “America First” foreign policy goals and kickstarted his administration by demolishing U.S. aid programs.

“They are seeing images of chaos, images of suffering that are either caused by the United States or at least could have been prevented by the United States,” Schatz said. “And it is redounding negatively to the president.”

Robert Wolf, more commonly and affectionately known as Bob, is no longer a kid, and hasn’t been for some time. He has long had white hair and a white beard, and his eyesight isn’t what it used to be. But he is still filled with the coltish enthusiasm that fuels his desire to create what he calls an “autobiography of America.”

That has been his mission for decades now, ever since he ran away from home and began to travel the country, hitchhiking and riding freight trains, stopping here and there and eventually capturing the thoughts and dreams, the fears and joys, the words of people across this country.

They are what some call “ordinary people” and what Wolf calls “everyday people,” and here is what one of them has to say in a new edition of “Coyotes and Stars: Stories from the American Southwest.”

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This is from Clyde Shepherd, cowboy: “We might start work at two-thirty in the morning, dependin’ on how far we were goin’, what pasture we were workin.’ … Wintertime, you wouldn’t hardly ever take a bath … I think about seventeen days was the longest I ever went without a bath.”

Shepherd is just one of the dozens of voices in the book; he is also the person to whom the book is dedicated and about whom Wolf writes, “I will never again meet a man like Clyde Shepherd. His was an open and welcoming nature that invited strangers into his life … He was one of those country folk, now gone.”

For a man who has earned degrees from Columbia University and the University of Chicago, as has Wolf, he is able to communicate honestly with everybody. That seems a manifestation of his sincerity and curiosity, characteristics that he once employed when he did a bit of writing for the Chicago Tribune. And it was during those 1980s years that he met and fell in love with and married the great singer Bonnie Koloc, who is a talented visual artist and whose photographic skills are responsible for the accompanying portrait of her husband.

Wolf began conducting writing workshops for homeless people in Nashville, where he and Koloc lived for a couple of years, and then did the same with farm workers after they settled in northeastern Iowa in 1990.

“I have always believed that anyone who can tell a story can write one,” Wolf says. “And that has been proven over and over in every workshop.”

As the stories began to pile up, it was Koloc who suggested that they deserved to be in book form. So Wolf founded Free River Press, which has published nearly 30 titles, highlighted by the bound story results of workshops held in the Midwest, Mississippi Delta and soon those from New York and Chicago.

“Coyotes and Stars” is the latest, “the outcome of 12 years of effort by many people.” It is a delight, though shadowed by the realization that many of the stories concern aspects of life that are vanishing. Or are already gone.

Here is Beulah Brannan, who ran a cafe: “I grew up on a ranch. My dad bought a farm and they drilled oil wells on it. Magic City was a little town that sprouted oil wells, and we had a little money… (But) after we lost our money, we just kind of existed, like everybody else… I was married in 1939. My husband and I had a prenuptial agreement: you go to the ballet and theater with me and I’ll go hunting and fishing with you.”

You will meet Wolf in some of his writings in the book, such as, “When I decided to create an American self-portrait through writing workshops, America still seemed a quiltwork of cultures that could be maintained. But now decades later, the quiltwork has vanished and can live only in the imagination.”

I would argue that they are also alive in the pages of this book.

Pat Speuda, artist in New Mexico: “I have a home with major appliances, my own paintings on the walls, and handmade shelves filled with books. My husband’s experiments with weed-based mulch paid off — we now have more vegetables than we can eat. And we are happy patrons of the new espresso bar on Route 66. Our cats have a hangout under the old travel trailer, and I have my little pool in the backyard, under the trees… I can’t do anything about the weather.”

Free River Press publications have been featured on such programs as “CBS News Sunday Morning,” on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition.” There was, for years, a weekly radio program, “American Mosaic with Robert Wolf,” with many stories from Free River Press books read by their authors.

Wolf and Koloc recently finished a book tour in New Mexico and Texas. “Bonnie does most of the driving. My eyes aren’t what they used to be,” Wolf told me. “She has been so supportive over these 35 years.”

He remembers the night they met. It was at the Green Mill and they were introduced by harmonica genius Howard Levy. At that point, Wolf had never heard Koloc sing but, he says, “Oh, we had a wonderful conversation.”

rkogan@chicagotribune.com

There is a saying, “Paris au printemps,” which means “Paris in springtime.” Perhaps there should also be a saying “Italia d’estate,” which means “Italy in summer,” because if my social media means anything, almost everyone that I know is there right now.

One great thing about having friends who travel is that they send you pictures — of food, sure, but also of drinks. A friend visiting Milan recently sent me a photo of her passion fruit spritz.

Aperol and Campari spritzes have been all the rage for quite some time now, which I’m sure warms the heart — and bank accounts — of Campari Group, which owns both brands. But just as suddenly as something hits it big in the cocktail world, just as suddenly, the variations start to appear.

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Fruit is the variation en vogue right now. There are a couple of ways to add fruit flavors to your next cocktail. The first is to use fruit-flavored liqueurs or vodkas. These certainly add the flavor necessary for cocktails. Liqueurs tend to be quite sweet, whereas flavored vodkas, especially good-quality ones, are usually not, or at least not as much. Both are incredibly consistent, which makes them a cinch in cocktails.

The second way is to use high-quality fruit syrups. You can make your own, or you can buy premium-quality versions. Just make sure that they use a sweetener that you are comfortable with. Most inexpensive brands are nothing more than high-fructose corn syrup and water.

You can also use purees or concentrates. Purees and concentrates have certain advantages over fresh fruit. If you use fresh fruit to make your own puree, you will need to add sugar, as fresh fruit is not nearly sweet enough on its own for cocktails. (It’s quite a bit more acidic than you think.) Purees can separate, which is both distasteful in appearance and problematic when mixing. I find that concentrates help mitigate that problem, and usually they have just enough added sugar for balance.

Lastly, you can use fresh fruit. This can be more difficult than you think, since fresh fruit varies during its season. For instance, at their peak, blackberries are fantastically sweet and delicious, but turn bitingly acidic and bitter just a week later. The answer to bitter has always been sweet. And the best cocktails are the right balance between the two. If you use fresh berries, you can muddle a few just for flavor. If you add more, you will have to add sugar in one form or another — honey, agave, sugar, etc. — to achieve that balance.

Here are four different fruit spritz variations, each made with a different method. (A special thanks to Joan for the passion fruit spritz recipe, all the way from Milan!)

Hugo Spritz

INGREDIENTS

3/4 ounce Alamere Spirits vodka

3/4 ounce Williams Sonoma elderflower syrup

1/2 ounce Meyer lemon juice

4 sprigs fresh mint (preferably peppermint, which has smaller leaves than spearmint)

1 ounce sparkling wine

3/4 ounce sparkling water

DIRECTIONS

Combine mint, vodka, elderflower syrup and lemon juice in a mixing glass with ice. Shake until well incorporated. Pour entire contents into a large wineglass, top with ice, and then add sparkling wine and soda. Stir gently to combine.

Passion Fruit Spritz

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro

1 ounce Perfect Puree of Napa Valley’s Passion Fruit Concentrate

1 ounce sparkling wine

3/4 ounce sparkling water

DIRECTIONS

Combine amaro and passion fruit concentrate in a large wineglass filled with ice. Add sparkling wine and soda. Stir gently to combine.

Strawberry Spritz

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce Young & Yonder California Amaro

1 ounce sparkling wine

3/4 ounce sparkling water

3 stemmed, washed and sliced fresh strawberries (about 1 inch in diameter)

1 fresh strawberry with stem, washed

DIRECTIONS

Muddle strawberries in the bottom of a mixing glass until broken up. Add ice and amaro. Shake to combine and then pour the entire contents into a large wineglass. Add more ice, top with soda and sparkling wine. Stir gently to combine. Place the strawberry with the stem on top for garnish.

The limoncello spritz is a refreshing summer drink. (Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Limoncello Spritz

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 ounces Hanson Meyer Lemon Vodka

1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1/4 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce sparkling wine

3/4 ounce sparkling water

Washed Meyer lemon for zesting

DIRECTIONS

Combine vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup in a mixing glass with ice. Shake to combine and then pour the entire contents into a large wineglass. Add ice to fill and then top with soda and sparkling wine. Stir to combine. Zest lemon on top for garnish.

Jeff Burkhart is the author of “Twenty Years Behind Bars: The Spirited Adventures of a Real Bartender, Vol. I and II,” the host of the Barfly Podcast on iTunes (as seen in the NY Times) and an award-winning bartender at a local restaurant. Follow him at jeffburkhart.net and contact him at jeffbarflyIJ@outlook.com.

By DEVI SHASTRI, Associated Press

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer earlier this year, had surgery to remove the organ and is now considered cured by his doctors, the Pro Football Hall of Famer said Monday.

Sanders said he is upbeat and plans to coach the Buffaloes this fall.

Bladder cancer is the 10th leading cause of cancer death in the United States. But recent advancements in its treatment have improved outcomes for people who are diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society.

The 57-year-old Sanders shared the details of his diagnosis and treatment, which involved surgeons reconstructing a section of his intestine to function as a bladder, and said it “was a fight, but we made it.”

Here’s what you should know about bladder cancer.

What is bladder cancer?

This cancer starts when the cells in the bladder, which stores urine, grow out of control and form tumors. In some cases, the cancer spreads to other parts of the body.

The most common symptom for bladder cancer is blood in the urine, which can cause urine to look orange, pink, or rarely, dark red. The color change can come and go, the American Cancer Society says, and early tumors may not cause pain.

Pain or burning while urinating, weak stream, frequent urination or urge to go when the bladder isn’t full can also be signs of bladder cancer. Symptoms of advanced bladder cancer can include an inability to urinate, bone pain, loss of appetite, weakness, swollen feet and lower back pain on one side.

If you have symptoms, it is worth getting checked out, because all of those symptoms might be from other health issues. Blood in the urine is most often from an infection, a benign tumor, a kidney stone or bladder stone or other benign kidney disease, the American Cancer Society said.

Sanders said during a news conference on Monday that the cancer was found when he went for a precautionary annual CT scan; he has a history of blood clots in his legs.

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How common is bladder cancer?

Bladder cancer is more common in men than women.

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be nearly 85,000 new cases in 2025, with more than 65,000 in men.

The incidence rate for bladder cancer has decreased by 1% per year in recent years. Death rates have stayed relatively stable, declining by 1% per year since 2013.

What can cause bladder cancer?

Smoking is the biggest risk factor, the American Cancer Society said. The recent decline in incidence rates are likely due to fewer people smoking.

Other risk factors include working in jobs that expose you to chemicals — like painters, metal and leather workers, miners and firefighters. People who use a urinary catheter for a long time are also at higher risk.

What is the outlook for bladder cancer patients?

Outcomes for bladder cancer patients improve based on if and how much the cancer has spread.

The five-year relative survival rate is 72% to 97% if the cancer has not spread outside the bladder, but drops to 40% if the cancer has spread to lymph nodes or other nearby parts of the body, and 9% if it has spread further.

Treatment can include surgery to remove the tumor, parts of the bladder or the whole bladder; radiation; chemotherapy; targeted drug therapy and immunotherapy.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.