By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

Some segments of the U.S. restaurant industry don’t support President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal taxes on tips, saying it would help too few people and obscure bigger issues in the way tipped workers are paid.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition, which represents nearly 100,000 restaurant and bars, has appealed to Congress to reconsider the proposal, which is part of the president’s spending bill. Even some workers who rely on tips say they oppose making them tax-deductible.

“I think there’s a huge hole in this concept of ‘no tax on tips’ because a lot of restaurant workers aren’t receiving tips in the first place,” said Elyanna Calle, a bartender in Austin, Texas, and president of the Restaurant Workers United union. “It’s not helping most kitchen workers, and oftentimes those are the people who are being paid the least.”

Tips included in sprawling tax cuts package

For now, making tips tax-free appears to have broad support among lawmakers. Both Trump and his Democratic rival in last year’s U.S. presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris, campaigned on the concept.

The House included it in a tax cuts package approved last month. The bill would eliminate federal income taxes on tips for people working in jobs that have traditionally received them as long as they make less than $160,000 in 2025.

The Senate Finance Committee passed a modified version on Monday. Senators capped deductions at $25,000 and want to phase them out for individuals whose income exceeds $150,000. Eligibility would be based on earnings as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Both the House and Senate committee measures would apply through the 2028 tax year. The Finance Committee specified that “cash tips” qualify but said the term applied to tips paid in cash, charged to credit cards or received from other employees under a tip-sharing arrangement.

Main industry trade group supports tax-free tips

Wary of wading into politics, many restaurant chains contacted by The Associated Press about tax-free tips didn’t respond or referred questions to the National Restaurant Association, including Waffle House, The Cheesecake Factory, First Watch and the parent companies of Olive Garden, Applebee’s and Chili’s.

The National Restaurant Association, a trade organization that represents nearly 500,000 U.S. restaurants and bars, applauded the House’s passage of Trump’s spending bill and said it wants to see tax-free tips. The association estimates the measure would benefit more than 2 million servers and bartenders.

But the U.S. restaurant industry has more than 12 million workers, including dishwashers and chefs, according to government data. The Independent Restaurant Coalition says the “no tax on tips” proposal leaves out too many of those workers.

A push to eliminate taxes on service charges

The coalition wants Congress to eliminate taxes on service charges, which are being used to compensate employees at an increasing number of restaurants. Around 15% of U.S. restaurants add some form of service charge to customers’ bills, according to the National Restaurant Association.

George Skandalos, a pizza restaurant owner in Moscow, Idaho, was tired of seeing servers count out hundreds of dollars of tips at the end of the night while people in the kitchen scrubbed the floor on their hands and knees. So he started experimenting with different compensation models.

Skandalos tried pooling servers’ tips and distributing them but ran into rules preventing that. He tried raising his menu prices and explaining that a percentage of each order was going to employee compensation, but customers didn’t understand and kept tipping.

Skandalos now has a gratuity-free policy at his restaurant, Maialina. He charges a 20% service fee that is distributed to all employees and helps pay for benefits like paid vacation and parental leave. The vast majority of customers appreciate the effort, he said.

Skandalos said “no tax on tips” doesn’t acknowledge restaurants like his that are trying to distribute pay more equally. He would like to see service charges exempted from taxes.

“This bill is a very good start in terms of trying to leave more money in people’s pocketbooks, but now let’s finish what we started and make it a great thing for the restaurant industry overall,” he said.

Related Articles

Trump bans ‘negative’ signage at national parks, asks visitors to snitch on unpatriotic text

Trump extends TikTok ban deadline for a third time

In Virginia and New Jersey governor’s races, Democrats reprise a 2018 roadmap for opposing Trump 2.0

Trump’s latest judicial pick is someone Joe Biden almost nominated

ICE raids and their uncertainty scare off workers and baffle businesses

Tipped workers seek higher wages

But Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas, said restaurants should just pay their kitchen workers more to compensate for servers earning tips.

“’No tax on tips’ is an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to deliver something to working class folks,” he said.

Pappageorge wants Congress to take up a separate bill introduced by Nevada Democrat Steven Horsford that would eliminate taxes on tips but also require restaurants to pay workers at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In 43 states, restaurants are currently allowed to pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 per hour.

Yolanda Garcia, a barista at Resorts World in Las Vegas and a member of the Culinary Workers Union, also supports Horsford’s bill. Garcia said she makes $33,000 a year, including up to $600 per month in tips. Tips are never guaranteed, she said, but if they were tax-free, it would help make up for that uncertainty.

“It would help me get more groceries. Right now, the price of everything has gone up,” Garcia said.

Calle, the Austin bartender and union leader, said she also benefits from tips, but they’re inconsistent. She suspects tipping would decline if the tax-free provision passes, because customers will resent it.

For Calle, the underlying problem that must be solved is low base pay.

“I think that if we continue to make the shift into relying on tips for people, it gives incentives for companies to not raise wages,” she said.

By JESSICA DAMIANO

Got weeds in your lawn? Me too. And although it’s tempting to reach for a spray bottle, that shouldn’t be our first impulse.

Believe it or not, weeds aren’t just freeloaders crashing our garden party. They’re messengers with important information that requires our attention. We just have to learn to speak their language.

What common lawn weeds tell us

A dandelion popping up in the lawn is there because the soil is infertile and the grass is too thin. Fertilize and sow seeds for a fuller turf, and the opportunists will move on.

Black medic is a demure, clover-like weed with small yellow flowers that’s holding an invisible bullhorn, shouting, “What’s a girl got to do to get some nitrogen over here?” Check your soil’s nutrients and fertilize accordingly.

Both broadleaf and buckhorn plantain won’t grow unless the soil is compacted. Core aerate the lawn in spring and fall to allow water and air to circulate through it freely.

Likewise, prostrate knotweed thrives in high-traffic, compacted areas. If you have kids or a large dog running laps in the yard — or if passersby consistently cut through a portion of your lawn — chances are you have made its acquaintance. Again, core aeration is your best bet. Do it several times a year and incorporate compost to create an inhospitable environment.

Both mouse-ear and common chickweed flourish in shady spots, so cut back nearby tree branches to allow more sun to reach the soil. The lawn will appreciate the extra light, too. Common chickweed also loves cool weather, but that is out of our control.

Clover: One of the good guys

I’m conflicted about telling you how to get rid of clover, because I don’t believe you should. I actually mixed it into my lawn deliberately, and I’m not alone.

In fact, years ago, clover was a standard component of American grass seed mixes — it added a natural source of nitrogen to the soil that reduced or eliminated the need for fertilizer. But when the first weed killers were marketed to homeowners in the 1950s, clover was suddenly villainized. I wonder why.

Clover is a good guy that shows up to help when soil is lacking water or nutrients. But if you really want it gone, water and fertilize the lawn regularly.

And try to accept some imperfections. Nobody needs a flawless lawn — just a healthy one.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

By ALBERT STUMM

In the shadow of an imposing stone bell tower, market stalls fan out by the dozens from the central plaza of Sineu, Mallorca.

Related Articles

Former Coffee Cup space reopens as The Perfect Coffee, serving diner staples and more

Citing safety concerns, Lowertown’s Big River Pizza is closing June 29

Recipe: Want something different for breakfast? Try making fried rice

Recipes: Summer is served here

Fragrant Nigerian-inspired fried rice is easy enough for a weeknight

Every Wednesday, vendors fill the surrounding streets with produce from the fertile central plain of the Spanish Mediterranean island. Interspersed among the plump tomatoes, leafy chard and bright citrus are more stalls overflowing with handcrafts, textiles, jewelry and more.

The scene plays out much like it has every week since at least the early 1200s. Designated a royal market in 1304, it’s the only remaining market in Spain’s Balearic Islands allowed to sell live rabbits, poultry and farm animals.

Naturally, the produce changes with the season, showcasing products that define a cuisine that’s little known outside the Balearic Islands.

Although the islands are better known for their pristine beaches and sun-drenched cliffs, Jeff Koehler’s new book, “The Spanish Mediterranean Islands Cookbook,” aims to give the food some worthy attention.

“It’s only a 30-minute flight from Barcelona,” said Koehler. “But it’s amazing to see that it has its own culinary culture.”

Mallorca is the biggest of the Mediterranean chain, which also includes Ibiza, Formentera and Menorca, where Koehler, an American, has lived part time for 15 years. Much of the diet is classic Mediterranean, with lots of olive oil, legumes and fresh vegetables.

But Koehler said the islands differ from the rest of the region because they were so isolated. The cuisine developed with few outside influences, with locals relying on heavily on fishing, foraging and preserving to survive the winter.

Restriction led to creativity. As an example, he cited the moment in springtime when fava beans are suddenly everywhere in springtime.

“Then you start thinking of five ways of making fava beans because it’s what’s there now,” he said. “What starts as this necessity of just survival eventually converts into real gastronomic treats.”

Locals may pair favas, or broad beans, with mint, spring onions and sobrassada, a paprika-spiced, uncased pork sausage that’s like a spreadable chorizo. Or they add them to a frittata-like Spanish tortilla, or use them with cuttlefish, bacon and onions.

The result in each case is a humble yet tasty dish, a combination that is typical of the islands.

One of the most representative is caldereta de peix, a simple fish stew that is served over slices of toasted day-old bread. Originally prepared with the worthless bycatch that got caught in fishermen’s nets, it features a saffron-scented tomato broth with garlic, onion and white wine.

The bold flavor is much more than the sum of its parts, and it exemplifies how leftovers can become a delicious classic.

“First came the need to eat,” Koehler writes. “Then came the desire to eat well.”

Caldereta de peix (Fish stew)

This cover image released by Phaidon shows “The Spanish Mediterranean Islands Cookbook” by Jeff Koehler. (Phaidon via AP)

From Jeff Koehler’s “The Spanish Mediterranean Islands Cookbook”

Time: About an hour, 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

One 3- to 4-pound whole fish, such as scorpion fish, bream, sea bass or red snapper, or another firm-fleshed variety. Or 1 1/2 pound filets

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 medium tomatoes, halved and grated

1/4 cup dry white wine

8 cups fish stock

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Small pinch of saffron threads, crumbled

Very thin slices of day-old country-style bread, cut into 2.5-cm/1-inch-wide strips and lightly toasted, for serving

Directions:

Cut the fish crosswise into thick steaks. Reserve the heads and tails.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium. Add the onions and cook until soft, 8–10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and then add the tomatoes. Cook until pulpy and deeper red, about 10 minutes, adding a few tablespoons of water (or stock) from time to time to keep it moist. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the stock.

Use a hand blender to puree the sauce, or transfer it to a blender to puree and return it to the pot. Stir in the paprika and saffron, and season with salt and pepper.

Season the fish steaks and reserved heads and tails (if using whole fish) with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Pour over the remaining stock. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Don’t let it reach a strong boil, to keep the fish from breaking apart.

Remove the pot from the heat. Remove and discard the heads and tails. Cover the pot and let sit for 10 minutes.

To serve, put a couple of pieces of toasted bread in each of 4 wide soup bowls. Ladle over the soup with 1 or 2 pieces of fish per bowl.

Albert Stumm writes about food, travel and wellness. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com

By CHRISTINA LARSON, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Humans are the only animal that lives in virtually every possible environment, from rainforests to deserts to tundra.

This adaptability is a skill that long predates the modern age. According to a new study published Wednesday in Nature, ancient Homo sapiens developed the flexibility to survive by finding food and other resources in a wide variety of difficult habitats before they dispersed from Africa about 50,000 years ago.

“Our superpower is that we are ecosystem generalists,” said Eleanor Scerri, an evolutionary archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany.

Our species first evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago. While prior fossil finds show some groups made early forays outside the continent, lasting human settlements in other parts of the world didn’t happen until a series of migrations around 50,000 years ago.

“What was different about the circumstance of the migrations that succeeded — why were humans ready this time?” said study co-author Emily Hallett, an archaeologist at Loyola University Chicago.

Earlier theories held that Stone Age humans might have made a single important technological advance or developed a new way of sharing information, but researchers haven’t found evidence to back that up.

This study took a different approach by looking at the trait of flexibility itself.

The scientists assembled a database of archaeological sites showing human presence across Africa from 120,000 to 14,000 years ago. For each site, researchers modeled what the local climate would have been like during the time periods that ancient humans lived there.

“There was a really sharp change in the range of habitats that humans were using starting around 70,000 years ago,” Hallett said. “We saw a really clear signal that humans were living in more challenging and more extreme environments.”

Related Articles

Watch: SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas explodes, no injuries reported

Trump’s plan to kill dozens of NASA missions threatens US space supremacy

Lake Tahoe mystery: Why aren’t the lake’s famous waters getting more clear?

Astronomers create a dazzling, elaborate map of nearby galaxy in thousands of colors

Butterflies are disappearing. Here’s how community scientists are working to save them.

While humans had long survived in savanna and forests, they shifted into everything from from dense rainforests to arid deserts in the period leading up to 50,000 years ago, developing what Hallett called an “ecological flexibility that let them succeed.”

While this leap in abilities is impressive, it’s important not to assume that only Homo sapiens did it, said University of Bordeaux archaeologist William Banks, who was not involved in the research.

Other groups of early human ancestors also left Africa and established long-term settlements elsewhere, including those that evolved into Europe’s Neanderthals, he said.

The new research helps explain why humans were ready to expand across the world way back when, he said, but it doesn’t answer the lasting question of why only our species remains today.

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