Before Mark Robinson, North Carolina's GOP candidate for governor, even stepped on stage at the state party's convention Saturday, several state candidates took time in their own speeches to energize the crowd by vouching for Robinson's gubernatorial bid.When the state's...

Russia is riling up extremist proxies in Europe to sabotage and undermine support for Ukraine and the covert operation is picking up intensity, according to U.S. and allied intelligence officials.

Blueberry Peach Dump Cake- an easy summer dessert made with a box of cake mix, fresh peaches, fresh blueberries and a can of peach pie filling. I love to serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Quick and Easy Recipe This dump cake can be prepped in just 10 minutes then it needs 45 minutes in the oven. It is best served shortly after it is made, while it is still warm. Peaches and blueberries are such a wonderful combination and this dump cake is fantastically buttery and gooey and full of fresh fruit. Why I Love A Dump Cake Dump Cakes are one of the easiest cakes to make and you really can’t mess them up as long as you don’t overbake or underbake them too much. No mixer is needed. In fact you don’t need any special equipment to make a dump cake. Just a large mixing bowl and a 9×13-inch baking dish. How To Make Blueberry Peach Dump Cake Mix the Filling. In a large bowl stir together the peach pie filling, sliced peaches, milk, blueberries, and ground cinnamon. Transfer to a 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix on top. Then sprinkle on brown sugar and pecans. Scatter butter slivers evenly on top. Bake for 45 minutes. So simple! How To Store Blueberry Peach Dump Cake Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Warm in the microwave and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Recipe Tips The pecans are optional. They add a nice crunch but can be left out or you can use walnuts or almonds instead. If you don’t have fresh peaches, use frozen peaches and eyeball 2 peaches worth. More Dump Cake Recipes Crock Pot Cherries and Cream Dump Cake Crock Pot Peaches and Cream Cake More Blueberry and Peach Recipes Blueberry Cobbler Blueberry Delight Easy Peach Bars Peach Crescent Dumplings Print Blueberry Peach Dump Cake Blueberry Peach Dump Cake- an easy summer dessert made with a box of cake mix, fresh peaches, fresh blueberries and a can of peach pie filling. I love to serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Course DessertCuisine SouthernKeyword dump cake Prep Time 10 minutes minutesCook Time 45 minutes minutesTotal Time 55 minutes minutes Servings 9 Calories 502kcal Equipment9×13-inch baking dish Ingredients1 (21-ounce) can peach pie filling2 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced½ cup milk1 heaping cup fresh blueberries¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon1 regular-size box yellow cake mix¼ cup brown sugar½ cup chopped pecans12 tablespoons butter, cut into thin sliversvanilla ice cream, for serving InstructionsPreheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.In a large bowl, stir together peach pie filling, sliced peaches, milk, blueberries, and ground cinnamon.Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly on top.Sprinkle brown sugar and pecans evenly over cake mix.Scatter the butter pieces evenly on top. You want to have sliced them thin enough that they mostly cover the top.Bake for 45 minutes.Serve warm with ice cream. NotesNutritional info is provided as an estimate only and will vary based on brands of products used. NutritionCalories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 514mg | Potassium: 135mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 610IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 155mg | Iron: 2mgWant to Save This Recipe?Save This RecipeThe post Blueberry Peach Dump Cake appeared first on Spicy Southern Kitchen.

Yogurt parfaits are a light and yummy way to satisfy a sweet tooth, get some protein in to start your day and can all be assembled in minutes. Plus, this recipe comes with a homemade granola that takes it to the next level! A HEALTHY AND TASTY BREAKFAST OR SNACK RECIPE I am a sucker for a good yogurt parfait. I am terrible at eating enough protein everyday and Greek yogurt is a great way to do that. It is filling but it also doesn’t make me feel heavy afterwards which I appreciate (especially in the summer!) Parfaits almost make it seem like you are being totally indulgent but it’s actually good for you! I am showing you how to make your own homemade granola here too (which is SO good!) The sweet berries and the drizzle of (optional) honey really make this a nice sweet tooth crusher too! FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:  Do I have to use Greek yogurt? Nope! If you don’t prefer Greek yogurt, or only have regular yogurt, this will work just fine with regular yogurt. You can use flavored yogurts if you like. Can I trade out the toppings? Sure! Try other berries or fruit options like oranges, mangoes, kiwis, raspberries, blackberries, dragon fruit, pomegranate and more. Pretty much any fruit you love will work here! Can I make these ahead of time? Sure. I would wait to assemble with the granola so it doesn’t get too soggy as you store them in the fridge. I show it in a couple of layers here but it isn’t necessary. You can just throw the granola on top rather than in layers. How do I store leftover Yogurt Parfaits? Any leftover Greek Yogurt Parfaits should be kept (covered with plastic wrap) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Just keep in mind, with the granola sitting on top of the yogurt, it will get softer the longer it sits. INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE) maple syrup– you could swap this out for more honey. I like the bump of flavor it gives but using just honey is fine! coconut oil – this helps the granola to stick together better and is a healthier oil option so I only recommend coconut oil here. vanilla extract – you can switch up the extract flavors here. I think coconut extract would be amazing! cinnamon – if you don’t enjoy cinnamon, you can leave it out. kosher salt quick cooking oats – I have found this works best with the quick cooking oats. However, you can use old-fashioned oats but the crumbles of granola usually end up larger and a tad crunchier. almonds and walnuts – if you don’t like nuts – just leave them out or switch it out for what you prefer. I think pecans, macadamia nuts and cashews all work great too! vanilla Greek yogurt– I used vanilla Greek yogurt, but any flavored Greek or traditional yogurt would work nicely. You can use sugar free as well. strawberries and blueberries – see the Frequently Asked Questions above for other fruit ideas. honey – optional but totally delicious topping! HOW TO MAKE YOGURT PARFAITS Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two 9×13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper. Or if you have one large jelly roll pan, you could use that too. In a bowl add the syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until combined. To the bowl add the quick cooking oats, sliced almonds, and chopped walnuts. Mix until combined. Place the granola on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 4 minutes. Stir the granola around. Bake for an additional 4-6 minutes or until the granola is golden and crunchy. Make sure it doesn’t get too brown. Transfer the granola to another baking sheet, plate, or bowl to allow it to cool for 10 minutes.  Assemble the parfaits by layering the yogurt, fruit, and granola. Drizzle honey on top.  Serve and enjoy! Note: I topped each of these with a small sprig of mint. It is not necessary, it was just to add a pop of color. CRAVING MORE RECIPES?  Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits Strawberry Jell-O Parfaits Homemade Peanut Butter Granola Strawberry Banana Smoothie Blueberry Smoothies Pineapple Smoothies Microwave Omelet in a Mug Breakfast Bowls Starbuck’s Egg Bites Print Yogurt Parfaits Layered yogurt parfaits with a homemade granola mixture and berries. Course Breakfast, Dessert, Side DishCuisine American Prep Time 5 minutes minutesCook Time 8 minutes minutesInactive Time 10 minutes minutesTotal Time 23 minutes minutes Servings 3 servings Calories 700kcal Author Brandie @ The Country Cook IngredientsGranola Ingredients⅛ cup maple syrup (or honey)3 Tablespoons cups coconut oil, melted1 teaspoon vanilla½ teaspoon cinnamon⅛ teaspoon kosher salt2 cups quick cooking oats½ cup sliced almonds½ cup chopped walnutsParfait Ingredients2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt½ cup strawberries½ cup blueberries4 teaspoons honey (optional) InstructionsPreheat the oven to 350° F. Line two 9×13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper. Or if you have one large jelly roll pan, you could use that too.In a bowl add 1/8 cup maple syrup (or honey), 3 Tablespoons cups coconut oil, melted, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt. Mix until combined. To the bowl add 2 cups quick cooking oats, 1/2 cup sliced almonds, and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Mix until combined. Place the granola on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 4 minutes. Stir the granola around. Bake for an additional 4-6 minutes or until the granola is golden and crunchy. Make sure it doesn’t get too brown.Transfer the granola to another baking sheet, plate, or bowl to allow it to cool for 10 minutes.Assemble the parfaits by layering the 2 cups vanilla Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries and granola evenly between the three servings. Drizzle 4 teaspoons honey on top. Then enjoy! Notes Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions. Each complete serving ends up being about a cup (maybe just a tad over). You can probably get 4 servings out of this recipe if you use smaller bowls or cups.  NutritionCalories: 700kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 41g | Sodium: 221mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 40g

Sometimes, astronomers get lucky and catch an event they can watch to see how the properties of some of the most massive objects in the universe evolve. That happened in February 2020, when a team of international astronomers led by Dheeraj (DJ) Pasham at MIT found one particular kind of exciting event that helped them track the speed at which a supermassive black hole was spinning for the first time. Dr. Pasham found AT2020ocn, a bright flash captured by the Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory. He thought it might signify a tidal disruption event (TDE). In these extreme events, a black hole rips apart a star. Part of the star’s remnants are flung from the black hole, but part falls into the accretion disk. And how they fall could hold the key to understanding how a black hole is spinning. How that disk accretes is attributable to a cosmological theory called Lense-Thirring precession, which shows how space-time is warped by powerful gravitational fields—like those around black holes. Lense-Thirring theory predicts that an accretion disk formed after a TDE would “wobble” soon after the event before settling down into a more standard pattern of matter orbiting a black hole. The key would be to catch a TDE event very early after it happened and then watch the resulting “wobbling” over as long of a time span as possible. Fraser discusses measuring the spin of a black hole. So catching AT2020ocn was just the first step—then the authors had to monitor it—preferably for months. To do so, they recruited the Neutron Star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER), an X-ray telescope attached to the ISS. NICER watched the galaxy containing AT2020ocn for 200 days immediately following the bright flash caught by Zwicky.  They began to notice a pattern. Every 15 days, the amount of X-rays emitted around the black hole peaked sharply, indicating the potential “wobble” they were looking for. Plugging that frequency into equations for the Lense-Thirring theory, along with estimates of the star’s mass and the black hole’s mass, they determined the black hole was spinning at 25% of the speed of light—which is actually relatively slow for a black hole. A black hole’s rotational speed can increase or decrease depending on its local environment. As it absorbs more material, typically in the form of matter from its accretion disk falling into it, its rotational speed increases. On the other hand, if it collides with another black hole, the overall rotational speed could decrease, as the two black holes’ spins could be opposite. That appears to be what has happened with the black hole that caused the AT2020ocn TDE, given its relatively slow speed compared to other black holes. Black holes typically spin exceptionally fast, as Fraser discusses in this video. The findings of this work were recently published in a paper in Nature. They also potentially lay the groundwork for calculating the spin of other supermassive black holes in the galaxy. Dr Pasham believes astronomers could calculate the spins of hundreds of black holes, opening up insights into their formation and life cycle. But to do that, they will still need a lot of luck. TDEs are relatively rare events, and even when they do happen, there are obvious resource constraints on telescope time. The Vera Rubin Observatory might help, as it will monitor large chunks of the sky, but it’s not scheduled to come online until mid-next year. Until then, those interested in tracking black hole spins might have to rely on serendipity to find a rare event and have the telescope time to monitor it. Learn More:MIT – Using wobbling stellar material, astronomers measure the spin of a supermassive black hole for the first timePasham et al. – Lense–Thirring precession after a supermassive black hole disrupts a starUT – Black Holes are Firing Beams of Particles, Changing Targets Over TimeUT – The Milky Way’s Black Hole is Spinning as Fast as it Can Lead Image:Artist’s depiction of how the accretion disk around a black hole could wobble in frequency with its spin, and how that wobble might be captured by a sensor near Earth.Credits: Michal Zajacek & Dheeraj Pasham The post A New Way to Measure the Rotation of Black Holes appeared first on Universe Today.

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