By ISABELLA VOLMERT, Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge dismissed criminal charges Tuesday against a group of people who were accused of attempting to falsely certifying President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in the battleground state, a major blow to prosecutors as similar cases in four other states have been muddied with setbacks.

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District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons said in a court hearing that the 15 Republicans accused will not face trial. The case has dragged through the courts since Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced the charges over two years ago.

Simmons said she saw no intent to commit fraud in the defendants’ actions. Whether they were “right, wrong or indifferent,” they “seriously believed” there were problems with the election, the judge said.

“I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress,” Simmons said.

Each member of the group, which included a few high profile members of the Republican Party in Michigan, faced eight charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top felony charges carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Supporters, friends and family crowded in the hallway outside the courtroom cheered when the judge said the cases would be dismissed. Defendants leaving the courtroom cried and hugged friends and family. One woman wept as she hugged another and said, “We did it.”

Investigators said the group met at the Michigan GOP headquarters in December of 2020 and signed a document falsely stating they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors.” President Joe Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021.

Electors are part of the 538-member Electoral College that officially elects the president of the United States. In 48 states, electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote. In Nebraska and Maine, elector votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results.

One man accused in the Michigan case had the charges against him dropped after he agreed to cooperate with the state attorney general’s office in October 2023. The other 15 defendants pleaded not guilty and have maintained that their actions were not illegal.

Prominent Michigan MAGA activist and former Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock was one of the accused. Her attorney, Nicholas Somberg, told reporters after the hearing that the case brought by the attorney general’s office was a waste of money and a “malicious prosecution.”

“There needs to be major consequences for the people who brought this,” he said.

Simmons, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, took nearly a year to say whether there was sufficient evidence to bring the cases to trial following a series of lengthy preliminary hearings. In her remarks Tuesday, Simmons said the case was not about who won the 2020 election, but about the intent of the people charged.

“This is not an election interference case,” she said.

Prosecutors in Nevada, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona have also filed criminal charges related to the fake electors scheme. None of the cases have neared the trial stage and many have been bogged down by procedural and appellate delays.

In Nevada, the state attorney general revived a case against a group of allegedly fake electors last year, while a judge in Arizona ordered a similar case back to a grand jury in May. In Wisconsin last month, a judge declined to dismiss felony charges against three Trump allies connected to a plan to falsely cast electoral ballots for Trump even though Biden won the state in 2020.

The Georgia prosecution is essentially on hold while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta, who brought the charges against President Trump and others appeals her removal from the case. Technically, Trump is still a defendant in the case, but as the sitting president, it is highly unlikely that any prosecution against him could proceed while he’s in office.

The effort to secure fake electors was central to the federal indictment against Trump that was abandoned earlier this year shortly before Trump took office for his second term.

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

My 18-month-old grandson doesn’t have the biggest vocabulary, but like most toddlers, he makes what he wants known pretty clearly.

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That’s especially true when it comes to his favorite foods, which these days is pretty much anything he can stuff into his mouth unassisted.

His most practiced phrase is “Eat, eat!” followed by a gesture he learned at daycare — tapping his thumbs and fingers together in a flat “O” to make the American Sign Language sign for “more.”

All kids love cookies, crackers and string cheese, of course. Their parents do, too. But perhaps none is more beloved among the rugrat set than goldfish crackers, which Pepperidge Farm launched in the U.S. in 1962 — surprisingly — as a bar snack for adults.

The fish-shaped crackers were invented in 1958 by Swiss manufacturer Oscar J. Kambly as a birthday present for his wife, whose zodiac sign was Pisces. After the smiley face was added in 1997, It didn’t take long for the crunchy treats to become a children’s favorite. Today, The Campbell’s Company production line in Willard, Ohio, produces some 50 million of the cheerful little whole-grain fishies every day — more than 785 miles if you lined them all up head to tail.

Kids tend to find animal crackers, which are even older, just as addictive. Nabisco first tucked the tiny zoo- and circus-animal shaped cookies into its iconic red-and-yellow circus wagon box in 1902.

Bakers have been shaping cookies to resemble animals since at least the 6th or 7th century, when they were used for a pre-Christian Germanic/Nordic midwinter festival known as Julfest. Poor people couldn’t afford to sacrifice animals to the gods, so they made biscuits or cookies shaped like them as offerings. The practice of eating animal crackers gained popularity in Victorian England, and in the 1870s, Stauffer’s Biscuit Company started producing a menagerie of lion, giraffe and other animal shapes for commercial sale in York, Pa. Nabisco followed in 1902, and over the years has created at least 50 playful shapes.

Kids love them because they’re tasty; parents appreciate the fact they are easy to portion, relatively wholesome when compared to other sugary treats and easy to find at grocery stores and big club warehouses in a variety of flavors.

As I discovered when my three other grandkids were in town earlier this month, animal- and fish-shaped crackers are also incredibly easy to make at home with just a few simple ingredients.

If little hands pitch in with the rolling and cutting, making them is a fun way to spend quality time together in the kitchen while developing fine motor skills. Baking also teaches practical skills every child should know like measuring, counting and following instructions.

And when the last tray of cookies has cooled and is ready to be gobbled, do you eat head or tail first? Both treats are perfect for anytime snacking and also can be packed into lunch boxes or scooped into bags as party favors.

Theo couldn’t get enough of them. Plenty of grown-ups will like ’em, too.

Homemade Goldfish Crackers

PG tested

To make gluten-free goldfish, substitute an equal amount of your favorite gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. Be sure to chill the dough (it makes the crackers flaky) and flour the work surface. (The dough will roll easier.)

I found a mini goldfish cutter on Amazon, but they’re also available at baking supply stores and Walmart.

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 kosher salt

6 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces

1-2 tablespoons cold water

Flaky sea salt, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine cheese, flour, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.

Pulse until the cheese mixes into the flour. Add butter and pulse until the mix clumps together to form pea-size balls. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together and forms a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form into a ball. Divide the dough in half.

Working with one section at a time, roll the dough as thin as you can, about a 1/4 -inch thick. Cut into “goldfish” or 1/2 -inch squares. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Carefully transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them a 1/2 inch apart. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes about 5 cups of goldfish.

— halfbakedharvest.com

Homemade Animal Crackers

PG tested

The thinner you roll the dough, the crisper the cracker; aim for between 1/8 – and 1/4 -inch thick. You can reroll the scraps as you go, but you’ll need to chill it again if it gets too soft.

Cookie cutters with plunger stamps provide the best detail. Whether or not to glaze the finished crackers after cooling depends on personal preference; I left mine naked.

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and honey until well combined.

Add egg and vanilla, and continue to whisk until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and cinnamon, then mix this into your butter mixture. You might need to get in there with your hands and knead it just until it comes together.

Shape the dough into a flattened disc, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. (You can use it right away, but it’s a little easier to roll when it has chilled for a bit.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. (Keep the remaining dough covered and in the refrigerator to stay cold until you are ready to roll it.)

Use animal cookie cutters (or any cookie cutters) to cut out the dough into shapes. Place the crackers 1/2 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 14-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges.

Let cool for at least 5 minutes on the baking sheets before enjoying. Stored cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

— adapted from biggerbolderbaking.com

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

By Redd Brown, Bloomberg News

Creatine is shedding its gym-bro reputation, unlocking lucrative new markets as women and older Americans get wise to the benefits of the long-stigmatized supplement. Sales are booming as a result.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic put health and wellbeing front and center for many Americans, creatine started riding the same wave that pushed up demand for anything from high-protein food products and weight-loss drugs to an interest in weight lifting, among other lifestyle changes.

Vitamin- and supplement-seller GNC, which has over 4,000 locations across the US, has seen creatine sales surge 75% from 2020. “Creatine is now in more baskets than almost any other supplement we carry,” said Mark Butera, GNC’s vice president of merchandising.

Consumer demographics are changing too. Women now account for 30% of all creatine purchases at the retailer, up from 18% in 2020, while buyers’ average age has risen to 35 years from 30.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound produced by the body for energy production — indirectly contributing to muscle growth by enabling more training. It’s different from protein, which supplies the materials for actual tissue growth.

Research into creatine — first discovered and isolated in 1832 — has largely focused on adult male athletes with new inquiries increasingly focusing on the benefits beyond muscle building, including on bone and cognitive health across all ages and genders.

“It’s something to consider for likely anybody on the planet in some way or another,” according to Darren Candow, a professor at the University of Regina focusing on exercise physiology, nutrition and aging.

Academic research on creatine supplementation has grown steadily, with papers published rising 7.2% on average over the last five years, according to data compiled by PubMed, a division of the US Department of Health Human Services. AlzChem Group AG, the most prominent creatine producer outside China, is a major funder of such research, supporting studies of over 30 scientists in female health, longevity and cognitive performance, it said in written comments.

AlzChem doubled its production capacity in 2022 amid “exceptionally strong” demand, with another expansion planned this year and a further increase currently being evaluated.

Enthusiasm aside, creatine supplements alone won’t result in the rapid body transformations touted online.

“Creatine is both underrated because there’s a lot of people that are still kind of fearful of creatine and there’s so many benefits to it, but I also think it’s one of the most overrated supplements as well,” said Scott Forbes, an associate professor at Brandon University studying creatine’s effectiveness on athletic performance and brain health.

Stigmatization

Creatine’s growing popularity is overcoming decades of stigmatization through associations with performance-enhancing drugs.

It first garnered mainstream attention during the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics when British athletes controversially used the little-known supplement, including Linford Christie, who went on to win the gold medal in the men’s 100-meter race. Creatine’s reputation was further tarnished during Major League Baseball’s so-called “steroid era.”

“Turns out that everyone in the MLB that was taking steroids was also taking creatine and so in the hearts and minds of the American consumer creatine was, therefore, a steroid,” said Dan McCormick, co-founder and chief executive officer of Create Wellness, which sells flavored creatine gummies.

Lingering misconceptions about side effects ranging from hair loss and kidney damage have contributed to its reputation, casting it into obscurity in niche bodybuilding and athletic communities.

In reality, creatine is among the most well-studied, efficacious and safe supplements in sports science, University of Regina’s Candow said.

Healthfluencers

Creatine’s budding popularity cuts against slowing growth within the supplement market at large. Church & Dwight Co., which sells vitamins under its Vitafusion brand, is considering selling the division amid flagging growth and heightened competition. GNC, for its part, could also use the boost five years after filing for bankruptcy.

Compare that to trends of creatine sales on Amazon.com Inc.’s online market place. The category is projected to grow 13% to more than $400 million this year, according to Jungle Scout data. In June, sales jumped 31% to $41 million alone.

Online “wellness translators” — such as podcast hosts Andrew Huberman, Joe Rogan and Tim Ferriss — helped drive demand, translating scientific research for listeners “in a way that’s applicable to their lives,” McCormick said.

After launching Create in 2022, sales grew to $5 million in 2023, before ballooning to $20 million the next year. Now, Create, which will be launching its products in Target Corp. stores nationwide in October, should generate sales between $40 million and $80 million by year-end, according to McCormick.

Globally, the creatine market is seen quadrupling from 2024 levels to $4.2 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. At an annual growth rate of 25%, that’s well ahead of the projected 6.4% for the wider supplement market.

Applications of creatine have expanded to helping women mitigate some symptoms of menopause, including brain fog and — alongside semi-regular weightlifting sessions — improved bone integrity which declines with age.

Uses could increase in the future as researchers aim to study its impact on women during pregnancy, cancer prevention and healthier aging, said Candow. Further research shows signs the supplement may improve symptoms with some of the most pernicious, degenerative brain diseases as well.

“One study on Alzheimer’s disease that showed that if they supplement with creatine they can actually increase the creatine stores within the brain and they also improved cognitive function,” Brandon University’s Forbes said.

©2025 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By STAN CHOE, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting near their record levels on Tuesday, as expectations for coming cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve continue to support financial markets.

The S&P 500 added 0.1% and was just below its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 32 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% higher, coming off its own record.

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Treasury yields were holding steadier in the bond market following their sharp slide during recent weeks, when expectations cemented that the Fed will cut interest rates for the first time this year at its next meeting in a week.

A series of reports showing the U.S. job market is slowing has traders convinced that the Fed will see it as the bigger problem for the economy now, rather than the threat of inflation worsening because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. While easier rates from the Fed can give the economy a boost, they can also push inflation higher.

The latest signal on the job market will arrive in less than half an hour, when the U.S. government will release preliminary revisions to hiring numbers for the country through March.

The hope on Wall Street is that it and other economic reports show that the job market is slowing enough to need the help of the Fed through lower interest rates, but not so weak that a recession is coming. Inflation also needs to stay at reasonable levels, even though it looks tough to get below the Fed’s target of 2%. A lot is riding on such a not-too-hot, not-too-cold scenario: Investors have already sent U.S. stock prices to records on expectations that it’s coming.

On Wall Street, UnitedHealth Group climbed 2.9% after saying its executives plan to tell investors and analysts that it’s sticking with its profit forecast for 2025. That helped it trim its loss for the year so far, which came into the day at 36.7%, as insurers across the industry have contended with soaring medical costs.

Fox dropped 5.3% after Rupert Murdoch’s family said they’ve reached a deal on control of the 94-year-old mogul’s media empire after his death. The agreement ensures that there will be no change in direction at Fox News, the most popular network for President Donald Trump and conservatives.

The deal creates a trust establishing control of the Fox Corp. for Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert’s chosen heir who has been running Fox in recent years, along with his younger sisters, Grace and Chloe.

Apple slipped 0.3% ahead of its unveiling of the next generation of iPhones amid a global trade war that’s added a potential price increase to the company’s marquee product.

Nebius Group, a Dutch company working in artificial-intelligence infrastructure, saw its stock that trades in the United States soar 43.9% after it announced a contract to deliver GPU services to Microsoft. The contract could be worth between $17.4 billion and $19.4 billion, and it runs through 2031. Microsoft stock added 0.6%.

In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2% as the market remained relatively calm even though its government is facing a crisis of confidence after legislators voted to oust another prime minister. It and other governments around the world, including the United States, are facing increased scrutiny on how they plan to pay for their spending.

Indexes were mixed across the rest of Europe and in Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased early gains to finish 0.4% lower as political uncertainty continued after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said over the weekend that he planned to step down. Who will replace him is still uncertain and may take weeks to decide.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was holding at 4.05%, where it was late Monday.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.