Dunkin’ Donuts plans to offer gluten-free cinnamon-sugar doughnuts and blueberry muffins across its U.S. stores by the end of the year, Stan Frankenthaler, the company’s executive chef, told Bloomberg News. To avoid contamination from the shops’ other baked goods that contain wheat flour, the gluten-free items will be packaged individually.

The waist-stretching treats already went through a trial run at two locations in Miami, Florida and a few locations in Canton, Massachusetts–where chain’s corporate headquarters are located.

(MORE: Why We’re Wasting Billions on Gluten-Free Food)

While only 1 in 133 Americans suffer from celiac disease–the condition that induces extreme digestive discomfort after consuming gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley– 29% of Americans say they are trying to avoid gluten, lending some to believe that “gluten-free” may be perceived as a healthier alternative.

Gluten-free doesn’t mean calorie-free, however: The wheat-less doughnut has 320 calories versus a…

Updated: Friday, June 21, at 6:10 p.m EST.

After two days of public backlash over revelations of celebrity chef Paula Deen’s tolerance for racism and use of racial epithets, the 66-year-old released three apology videos on Friday afternoon. Following her first video’s release and subsequent removal from her YouTube channel, the Food Network announced it would not be renewing Deen’s contract at the end of the month.

The first, 46-second video features a flush-faced Deen asking for forgiveness. “Inappropriate, hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable,” she said. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way but I beg you, my children, my team, my fans, my partners – I beg for your forgiveness.” The brief apology features several jump cuts, lacks any explanation for her “hurtful language” and fails to detail which mistakes she regrets.

(MORE: Less Than Accidental Racist: Why Paula Deen’s Comments Insult Her Fans Too)

Half an hour into a 1.5-hour flight from San Francisco to Long Beach, California, frequent flier Adam coordinated with JetBlue crew members to have his video proposal to his girlfriend of five years, Taryn, play on the screens of passengers’ seats. While his actual proposal is almost inaudible, you can’t miss Taryn’s teary, emphatic “Yes”.  To kick off the celebration, the crew gave out cake pops to all the passengers. Upon landing, a posse of highlighter-orange-vested JetBlue staffers with bottles of champagne and a gargantuan cake welcomed the couple as they walked into the gate.

WATCH: Man Proposes to Girlfriend with Remote-Controlled Helicopter

MORE: Way With Words: Man Proposes to His Girlfriend Via Washington Post Crossword Puzzle

Some Republicans are opposed to comprehensive immigration reform because they say they do not trust the Federal government to secure the border if the law is passed. They point to 1986 as an example of government bad faith and resultant amnesty. They fail to mention that the GOP was in the White House for the following SIX years: Ronald Reagan for two years and GHW Bush for four years. Republicans are saying that you can’t trust the Federal government when they are in power and you can’t trust the Federal government when they are out of power because they will do everything in their power in Congress to block effective governmental action. We just can’t trust the GOP. My solution: don’t put Republicans in office in the White House or in Congress. If we reduce their numbers sufficiently, they will not be a factor in preventing the Federal government from…

With a few days left to go, this race is officially a snoozer.  Ed Markey is a fine Representative and will make a fine Senator but somehow I can’t work up any enthusiasm.  You know, if you read this blog with any regularity, that I am a campaigner and it is a measure of something that I haven’t done much of anything for Ed except throw him a few bucks and vote in the primary where he was unopposed.  I think the race would have been a lot more exciting if someone like Mike Capuano were running, but too late for that.  Maybe we should just feel sorry for these guys since after the Elizabeth Warren – Scott Brown tussle almost anything would seem dull.  This is the assessment of the race from the Daily Kos Election update for June 21.

MA-Sen: Gabriel Gomez has gotten some “next Scott…

There was a certain irony to the timing. Yesterday, the House Republican leadership began a new outreach effort to leaders of the Latino community, trying to repair years of damage. And during their discussions, and assurances about the GOP’s sincerity, a far-right rally was underway on the national mall featuring anti-immigrant speeches from one Republican after another.

As Kate Nocera reported, Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) “was prepared to talk about immigration for six hours all by himself if he had to,” but it didn’t come to that.

But King didn’t have to talk by himself. Crowds showed up in droves. One member of Congress after another showed up to give speeches. The Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector dropped by to talk about his widely criticized study that the Senate’s immigration bill would cost $6 trillion (though there was no criticism from this crowd).

For King the outpouring of support from…

Summer is officially here, so grab your bathing suit, sip the nearest margarita and soak up the sun! Or, you know, if you’re stuck inside for the day, watching today’s animated, summer solstice-themed Google Doodle will do the trick too.

The summer solstice, which marks the longest day of the year, began at 1:04 ET this morning. To celebrate the occasion, Google called on Christoph Niemann, the German-born illustrator best known for the many covers he’s designed for The New Yorker. Now, Niemann has put a digital spin on his signature illustration style with a whimsical animation of five swimmers wearing Google logo-colored swim caps. This warm weather Doodle appears for Google users across the Northern Hemisphere today — but he drew up a special first day of winter Doodle for the Southern Hemisphere too:

Christoph Niemann

(MORE: Today’s Google Doodle: A Tribute to Maurice Sendak)

Although these…