I have a friend who makes ramen style noodle soup on Shabbos where you add hot water from an urn to a cup of dry contents including noodles. The rabbi my parents followed when I was growing up said this is forbidden because the hot water cooks the noodles, and this is what my family practiced. My friend follows a rabbi who permits it if you use a kli sheni and then transfer the water into the noodles. She served soup like this to all her Shabbos guests, and all the other ones accepted it. To not offend her, I declined by saying I was not in the mood for soup at the time. What should I do in the future if I am faced with a situation like this?

When Shabbat ends on the east coast, it is still Shabbat on the west coast for about 3 more hours. Is it permitted to have a phone conversation with a gentile on the west coast during that period of time?