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What to know about the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 07:17

By The Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A glove containing DNA found a couple of miles from the Arizona home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie ’s missing mother appears to match those worn by a masked person outside her house the night she disappeared, the FBI said Sunday.

The development comes as law enforcement gathers more potential evidence in the search for Nancy Guthrie, 84, which heads into its third week.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her Tucson home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities say her blood was found on the front porch. Purported ransom notes were sent to news outlets, but two deadlines for paying have passed.

Authorities have expressed concern about Nancy Guthrie’s health because she needs vital daily medicine. She is said to have a pacemaker and have dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.

Here’s what to know about her disappearance and the search to find her:

Show Caption1 of 2This combo from images provided by the FBI shows surveillance footage at the home of Nancy Guthrie the night she went missing in Tucson, Ariz. (FBI via AP) Expand Video of masked man and discovery of a glove

The FBI on Tuesday released surveillance videos of a person wearing a handgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished. A porch camera recorded video of the person with a backpack who was wearing a ski mask, long pants, jacket and gloves.

On Thursday, the FBI called the person a suspect. It described him as a man about 5 feet, 9 inches tall with a medium build. The agency said he was carrying a 25-liter “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack” backpack.

On Sunday, the FBI said in a statement that a glove, found in a field near the side of a road about 2 miles from the home, had been sent off for DNA testing. The agency said that it received preliminary results Saturday and was awaiting official confirmation.

Late Friday, law enforcement agents sealed off a road about 2 miles from Guthrie’s home as part of their investigation. A series of sheriff’s and FBI vehicles, including forensics vehicles, passed through the roadblock.

Investigators also tagged and towed a Range Rover SUV from a nearby restaurant parking lot. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said the activity was part of the Guthrie investigation.

Studying DNA

Investigators collected DNA from Guthrie’s property which doesn’t belong to Guthrie or those in close contact with her, the sheriff’s department said. Investigators are working to identify who it belongs to.

Evidence requiring forensic analysis is being sent to the same out-of-state lab that has been used since the beginning of the case, the department said.

The FBI has said approximately 16 gloves were found in various spots near the house, most of which were searchers’ gloves that had been discarded.

Sorting through tips

The Pima County sheriff and the FBI announced phone numbers and a website to offer tips. Several hundred detectives and agents have been assigned to the case, the sheriff’s department said.

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The FBI said it has collected more than 13,000 tips since Feb. 1. The sheriff’s department, meanwhile, said it has taken at least 18,000 calls.

The sheriff’s department has not said whether any tips have advanced the investigation.

On Tuesday, sheriff deputies detained a person for questioning during a traffic stop south of Tucson. Authorities didn’t say what led them to stop the man but confirmed he was released.

The same day, deputies and FBI agents conducted a court-authorized search in Rio Rico, about an hour’s drive south of the city.

Family pleas

Savannah Guthrie, her sister and her brother have gone on social media and shared multiple video messages to their mother’s purported captor.

The family’s Instagram videos have shifted in tone from impassioned pleas to whoever may have their mom, saying they want to talk and are even willing to pay a ransom, to bleaker and more desperate requests for the public’s help. A video on Thursday was simply a home video of their mother and a promise to “never give up on her.”

And on Sunday night, Savannah Guthrie posted an Instagram video in which she issued an appeal to whoever abducted her mother or anyone who knows where she is being kept. “It is never too late to do the right thing,” Guthrie said. “And we are here. And we believe in the essential goodness of every human being, that it’s never too late.”

A quiet neighborhood

Nancy Guthrie lived alone in the upscale Catalina Foothills neighborhood, where houses are spaced far apart and set back from the street by long driveways, gates and dense desert vegetation.

Savannah Guthrie grew up in Tucson, graduated from the University of Arizona and once worked at a television station in the city, where her parents settled in the 1970s. She joined “Today” in 2011.

In a video, she described her mother as a “loving woman of goodness and light.”

She has credited her mom with holding their family together after her father died of a heart attack in 1988 at age 49, when Savannah Guthrie — the youngest of three siblings — was just 16.

Obama shuts down alien buzz and says there’s no evidence they’ve made contact

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 07:01

By The Associated Press

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said he did not see evidence that aliens “have made contact with us,” after sending social media abuzz by saying aliens were real on a podcast over the weekend.

During a lightning round of questions with podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen, Obama was asked, “Are aliens real?”

“They’re real,” he answered, continuing: “But I haven’t seen them. And, they’re not being kept in Area 51.”

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On Sunday, the former president released a statement on Instagram, appearing to clarify what he meant by his comments that have since gone viral.

“I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”

Secrecy around Area 51, a top-secret Cold War test site in the Nevada desert, has long fueled conspiracy theories among UFO enthusiasts.

In 2013, the CIA acknowledged the existence of the site, but not UFO crashes, black-eyed extraterrestrials or staged moon landings.

Declassified documents referred to the 8,000-square-mile (20,700-square-kilometer) installation by name after decades of U.S. government officials refusing to acknowledge it.

The base has been a testing ground for a host of top-secret aircraft, including the U-2 in the 1950s and later the B-2 stealth bomber.

Florida Atlantic is ending the era of the unpaid internship | Opinion

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 07:00

At Florida Atlantic University, we believe a degree should be more than a credential — it must be a powerful launchpad into a career. Yet, for too many of our students, the trajectory of their rise is determined less by their talent and more by whether they can afford to work for free as an unpaid intern. We are working to change that calculus, ensuring that a student’s financial background never dictates their professional future.

The data is unequivocal: Internships are the most effective bridge between classroom and career. Students who complete internships are significantly more likely to secure employment within a year of graduation and earn higher starting salaries. However, a quiet crisis persists in higher education in which unpaid or underpaid internships function as barriers, not bridges, for students who cannot afford to work without income.

Adam Hasner is president of Florida Atlantic University. (courtesy, Florida Atlantic University)

At Florida Atlantic, we take our identity as an “Opportunity University” seriously. Approximately 40% of our students come from Pell Grant-eligible, low-income households. They are strivers in the truest sense, with many working one or two jobs to cover their tuition and housing expenses. When faced with the choice between a paid shift and an unpaid internship that could propel their career, immediate necessity often outweighs future potential.

To bridge this gap, I launched the President’s Internship Program for Community and Civic Impact, built on the belief that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. We are not alone in this realization. Dartmouth College recently announced a $30 million donor-funded initiative to eliminate financial barriers to internships, signaling a national shift toward the model we are already building here in South Florida. Our decision to fund these life-changing experiences represents a strategic commitment to expanding opportunity for our students, aligning Florida Atlantic with the highest standards in American higher education.

The President’s Internship Program for Community and Civic Impact is uniquely Florida Atlantic. While students at universities in more isolated locales are often limited to summer internships, our students enjoy a distinct geographic advantage. We live and learn in one of the most dynamic economic regions in the country. Embedded in a thriving corridor of business and innovation, our students can intern year-round, seamlessly integrating professional experience into their academic schedules.

The results speak for themselves. Our Spring 2026 pilot program created nearly 100 internship opportunities in the public and nonprofit sectors that otherwise would not have existed.

To scale this vision university wide, my first President’s Gala is dedicated to raising funds for expanded student success initiatives such as the Internship Program for Community and Civic Impact.

This program is not merely an academic exercise — it is a regional economic imperative. When students engage in meaningful internships, not only do they stay on track academically and professionally; they also build the talent pipeline our regional industries urgently need.

Eighty percent of Florida Atlantic students remain in South Florida after graduation, meaning their success is directly tied to our local economy’s future. When we invest in their professional development today, we are cultivating the executives, public servants and innovators who will lead our region tomorrow.

As your hometown university, we are calling on all regional businesses, community partners and alumni to join us in building a workforce that is both homegrown and world-class.

When we fund a community internship, we do more than help one student graduate — we fuel the economic engine in our own backyard. And at Florida Atlantic, students do more than earn diplomas — they prepare to lead the communities we call home.

Adam Hasner is president of Florida Atlantic University.

Iran meets UN nuclear watchdog in Geneva ahead of a second round of US talks

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 06:42

By JAMEY KEATEN and STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN

GENEVA (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat met with the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on Monday, ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and said he would also meet with Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi of Oman, which is hosting the U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday.

“I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” Araghchi wrote on X. “What is not on the table: submission before threats.”

As President Donald Trump ordered an additional aircraft carrier to the region, Iran on Monday launched a second naval drill in weeks, state TV reported. It said the drill would test Iran’s intelligence and operational capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Show Caption1 of 3In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, shakes hands with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi during their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP) Expand Iran’s drills take place against the US military buildup

Just before the talks, Iran announced its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard started the drill early Monday morning in the waterways that are crucial international trade routes through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.

Separately, EOS Risk Group said sailors passing through the region received by radio a warning that the northern lane of the Strait of Hormuz, in Iranian territorial waters, likely would see a live-fire drill Tuesday. Iranian state TV did not mention the live fire drill.

This is the second time in recent weeks sailors have received warning about an Iranian live fire drill. During the previous exercise, announced at the end of January, the U.S. military’s Central Command issued a strongly worded warning to Iran and the Revolutionary Guard. While acknowledging Iran’s “right to operate professionally in international airspace and waters,” it warned against interfering or threatening American warships or passing commercial vessels.

On Feb. 4, tensions between the Iranian and U.S. navies rose further after a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. Iran also harassed a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military reported.

Iran open to compromise in exchange for sanctions relief

On Sunday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled that Tehran could be open to compromise on the nuclear issue, but is looking for an easing of international sanctions led by the United States.

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“The ball is in America’s court. They have to prove they want to have a deal with us,” Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC. “If we see a sincerity on their part, I am sure that we will be on a road to have an agreement.”

“We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our program provided that they are also ready to talk about the sanctions,” he added.

Oman hosted a first round of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran on Feb. 6.

Similar talks last year between the U.S. and Iran about Iran’s nuclear program broke down after Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran, that included the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

The U.S. is also hosting talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday, days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the all-out Russian invasion of its neighbor.

US keeps military pressure high

Trump initially threatened to take military action over Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month, but then shifted to a pressure campaign in recent weeks to try to get Tehran to make a deal over its nuclear program.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting Budapest, reiterated on Monday that the U.S. hopes to achieve a deal with Iran, despite the difficulties. “I’m not going to prejudge these talks,” Rubio said. “The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things.”

Trump said Friday the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean to the Mideast to join other military assets the U.S. has built up in the region. He also said a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”

Iran has said if the U.S. attacks, it will respond with an attack of its own.

The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any deal. Tehran says it won’t agree to that.

Iran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Before the June war, Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

The direct meeting with Grossi is a significant step after Iran suspended all cooperation with the IAEA following the June war with Israel. The two also met briefly on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September. The IAEA said it has been unable to verify the status of Iran’s near weapons-grade uranium stockpile since the war. Iran has allowed IAEA some access to sites that were not damaged, but has not allowed inspectors to visit other sites.

Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% could allow Iran to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, Grossi previously told The Associated Press. He added that it doesn’t mean that Iran has such a weapon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to Washington last week to urge Trump to ensure that any deal to include steps to neutralize Iran’s ballistic missile program and end its funding for proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Liechtenstein reported from Vienna. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Matthew Lee in Budapest, Hungary contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

Expectations are low for the latest US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 06:20

By ILLIA NOVIKOV

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian delegation was heading to Geneva on Monday for another round of U.S.-brokered talks with Russian officials, ahead of next week’s fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

There was no anticipation of any significant progress on ending the war at the Tuesday-Wednesday meeting in Switzerland as both sides appear to be sticking to their negotiating positions on key issues, despite the United States setting a June deadline to reach a settlement. The future of Ukrainian land that Russia occupies or still covets is a central issue.

Ukrainian defenders remain locked in a war of attrition with Russia’s bigger army along the roughly 750-mile front line. Ukrainian civilians endure Russian aerial barrages that repeatedly knock out power and smash homes, while Ukraine has developed drones that can fly deep into Russian territory and strike oil refineries and arms depots.

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, second right, speaks while inspecting the troops involved in the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

The governor of western Russia’s Bryansk region said Monday that air defenses had shot down 229 Ukrainian drones in the previous 24 hours. No other Russian region has come under as many simultaneous drone attacks in a single day, Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said.

Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 62 long-range strike drones and six missiles of various types at Ukraine overnight.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the talks in Geneva will deal with a “broader range of issues related to the territories and other issues connected to the demands that we have.” He didn’t elaborate on the issues.

A year of peace efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has failed to stop the fighting. Western officials and analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that time is on his side, that Western support for Ukraine will peter out and that Ukraine’s resistance will eventually collapse under pressure.

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Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, posted a photograph on Telegram showing himself standing next to a train with other members of the negotiating team, which is due to be led in Geneva by Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief.

Entering or leaving Ukraine entails a long overland journey, even for VIPs, as the country’s airspace is closed because of the war.

Putin’s adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s team of negotiators in the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in March 2022 and who has forcefully pushed Putin’s war goals, is returning to lead Moscow’s delegation. Medinsky has written several history books that focus on exposing purported Western plots against Russia and denigrate Ukraine.

Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russian military intelligence, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, along with other officials, will also be in the delegation, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said.

Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev will also travel to Geneva for separate talks with the U.S. on economic cooperation, according to Peskov. Moscow and Kyiv are keen to offer future business opportunities to Washington.

It was not clear which American officials would be in Geneva. At recent talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the Trump administration was represented by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The Russian and Ukrainian delegations were to report back to their leaders before any possible compromises discussed in Geneva could be accepted.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

ASK IRA: Can Heat maximize minimal strength of remaining schedule?

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 04:05

Q: Ira, Tankathon shows the Heat with the seventh-easiest remaining strength of schedule and third easiest in the East. So why are you so down on them getting out of the play-in? – Eddie.

A: The eye test. Remember, this is a team that already has lost to the Jazz, Pacers and Kings, so nothing should be taken as a given. And while there also have been victories over some top teams, such as Detroit, New York, Oklahoma City and Denver, there has been staggering little consistency, including consecutive wins only once since Jan. 1. So, yes, while there are three games remaining against the Wizards and two against the Nets, the first step has to be consecutive wins against anybody. In fact, the games back from this eight-day All-Star break could be particularly telling, with the Heat returning on Friday at Atlanta and then Saturday against the Grizzlies. Win those and then we can talk.

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Q: Very happy for Keshad Johnson. Seems like a great kid. He brought a lot of fun and excitement to the dunk competition and represented the Miami Heat, the 305 and his West Coast roots extremely well. – Klif.

Q: And the charisma is genuine. Before every interview, Keshad Johnson first shakes hands and then answers as animatedly and as candidly as he did during those moments after winning the dunk contest on All-Star Saturday. He is a worthy representative of the team, which is why you could see the true joy from so many within the organization when he won.

Q: So we’re not getting our draft pick back? – Allan.

A: The NBA is very good at brushing such matters out of view, as if hoping they will go away. So, no, at the moment no sign from the NBA of any Heat relief for the 2027 or ’28 first-round pick due to the Hornets from the trade for Terry Rozier, even in the wake of his banishment in the FBI gambling probe.

Asking Eric: My mother got into trouble and sniped at me for helping

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 03:29

Dear Eric: I have spent a year helping my elderly parents sell their house and pay off tremendous debt, mostly due to my mother’s spending and hoarding.

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My father is unable to handle anything due to health issues. I have had help from my family so I’m not alone in this. I am still very involved with helping them with finances and doctors. They are in a small rental now with no maintenance or yard duties.

My issue is the bad feelings I have toward my mother after all we went through packing her house, moving them, dealing with the movers, dumpsters, estate and house sales.

She makes comments often about us taking her things away and taking her money (not true, but it is in safekeeping because of her very poor handling of money).

She also makes backhanded thank-yous attached to criticisms about the way we did everything. I have a hard time being around her anymore.

Our relationship was not great to begin with. I have started therapy and understand I can’t change her or really have expectations of her as she is just incapable, but I still have so much resentment and bad feelings toward her. I’m not sure how to move on.

– Resented Helping Hand

Dear Helping Hand: I’m glad you’ve started therapy. This is a long journey, but you’ve taken the right first step.

Your therapist can help you sort through what’s yours to own and what feelings or sentiments you can release. Your therapist can also help you set up good boundaries with your mother, because it sounds like that’s going to be necessary.

A boundary won’t stop her from making remarks, but it can give you options for what to do and say and how to remove yourself from situations that are harmful to your emotional state.

It’s also helpful to right-size your mother’s response. Her hoarding and her financial mismanagement were likely caused by trauma, perhaps trauma that happened early in her life. That trauma hasn’t been addressed and so she’s still suffering, but without the same coping mechanisms. She’s also grieving the loss of her possessions. So, it may help you to remember that some of this is your mother’s pain talking.

You can’t take that away, but you can help guide her toward tools for addressing it. If she’s open to seeing a therapist, that would be wonderful.

You might also talk to a financial adviser about other options for keeping her money safe. It sounds like it’s not healthy for her to have unfettered access to it, but there may be ways for her to feel more empowered and for you to feel less responsibility for keeping her away from her worst impulses.

Dear Eric: What do you think about a person who asks to come to your house for dinner, then asks for leftovers to take home?

I was taken aback by this. This is a relative of ours.

– Home Cook

Dear Cook: I think it’s a sign that the meal was good enough to want to enjoy it a second time. I’d take it as a compliment. And if you don’t want to part with the leftovers, you can say “no.”

Dear Eric: I would like to expand on your answer to “Heirlooms and More” regarding where collectors can go to gather information on the value of their antiques and other items.

Certified appraisers are the best source for appraisals of valuable possessions. These individuals have specialties in different collecting areas and can provide up-to-date valuations under different scenarios such as replacement, auction and retail shop value.

Collectors can research appraisers online by visiting the websites of the Appraisers Association of America, American Society of Appraisers and the International Society of Appraisers. Appraisers should not charge a percentage of the items’ value nor offer to purchase any items since both these activities can affect the valuation provided.

Major auction houses periodically offer free appraisal days. Finally, there are various price guides (Kovels, for example) that can be consulted which report values of different objects sold at auctions, shows, flea markets and shops.

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Local antique dealers are usually not helpful unless the dealers are specialists in the collecting area of the items’ owners.

In general, collectors should have an appraisal completed by a certified appraiser before approaching any prospective buyers of their objects. Knowledge is the best tool to ensure the items are sold at prices commensurate with their value.

– Fair Appraisal

Dear Appraisal: Thank you for this very thorough insight. Other readers also suggested that the letter writer reach out to a professional downsizer, who might be able to help them get organized and connect the family with an appraiser. There are many good options. I appreciate your comment.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram @oureric and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

Miss Manners: If they don’t get the message, sometimes it’s necessary to take the low road

South Florida Local News - Mon, 02/16/2026 - 02:47

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I realize it’s an unpleasant world with unpleasant people who are going to say unpleasant things. But sometimes, you have to get down on their level in order for them to get the message.

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For instance, in cases where a stranger calls someone fat, that person could give an equally rude response, such as: “Yeah? Well, you’re majorly ugly, and at least I can diet.”

Not exactly taking the high road, but sometimes it feels good to get down in the gutter.

GENTLE READER: Thank you for your attempt at helping in the noble cause of mannerliness, but Miss Manners is afraid that your suggestion represents the problem, not the solution. In pursuing the laudable goal of lessening the amount of unpleasantness in the world, you are proposing adding to it.

That low road is extremely crowded. If you want to help, please stay off of it.

Perhaps it would help you to know that retaliatory rudeness never works. Do you really believe that the person you call ugly will reflect on having provoked you with a similar insult?

Besides, why are you even engaging with rude strangers? The ultimate insult is refusing to acknowledge another person’s existence. Better yet, ignoring the person passes the etiquette test. (Detractors condemn such responses as passive-aggressive, but Miss Manners much prefers them to aggressive-aggressive.)

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What are the two main subjects you should not discuss?

GENTLE READER: There are three: politics, religion and sex (including gender). If you think this restriction is outdated, you haven’t tried launching these topics lately.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I was taught that at formal dinner parties, bread plates are not used, and that they are not considered part of a formal place setting for multicourse meals. Now, I am given to understand that formal dinner place settings include bread plates, placed to the left of the charger, and a small bread-and-butter knife.

I was also taught that the correct order was for a salad to be served after the main course, not before, so the salad fork and knife were “inside” of the main course fork and knife.

Are these two rules obsolete?

GENTLE READER: You were taught correct social manners. But how many social seated dinner parties in other people’s homes have you attended in recent years?

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What has happened is that purely social get-togethers over meals now mostly take place in restaurants, and the procedures of expensive restaurants have come to be considered correct formal practices.

Miss Manners is not deriding restaurants here; she understands that they have different requirements.

In a household, the meal is ready to be served when the guests are called to the table. Fine restaurants must wait for customers’ orders before preparing the food. And those customers are hungry, so the restaurants give them bread and salad to keep them from chewing the napkins.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

  
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