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Bridge: Sept. 23, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.You’re declarer at today’s notrump game. When you opened 1NT, North used Stayman to look for a 4-4 major-suit fit although he had 4-3-3-3 pattern and ample high-card strength for game. Some players would have raised directly to 3NT.West leads a low diamond: three, ten, jack. You know West has the A-Q, and if East gets in to return a diamond, your cook will be goosed. You need eight more tricks without letting East get in.DANGER HAND“Avoidance” is the technique of keeping a “dangerous” defender from gaining the lead. If you let the queen of clubs ride next, you will finesse into the danger hand and will risk defeat.Lead a heart to dummy and return a spade to your nine. If that finesse wins, you have three spades, four hearts, a diamond and a club. If the finesse loses to West, you don’t mind. He can’t lead another diamond effectively, and when you get ba...

Horoscopes Sept. 23, 2023: Anthony Mackie, ramp up your energy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Anthony Mackie, 45; Jason Alexander, 64; Bruce Springsteen, 74; Mary Kay Place, 76.Happy Birthday: Bide your time, consider your options and move forward quietly. The less hoopla around what you want to accomplish, the easier it will be to reach your destination this year, minus the interference. Ramp up your energy and enthusiasm and direct them with precision and detail. Be good to yourself, loved ones and causes that concern you. Make health, love and creativity your journey. Your numbers are 8, 12, 17, 23, 32, 44, 48.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keep your emotions in check. Be observant, helpful and willing to make time to get what you want. A social invitation will tempt you, but be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Curb overindulgence. 2 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Look at the possibilities and sign up for whatever piques your interest. Don’t do anything halfheartedly. Give your all, and you’ll reap the rewards. An open ...

Ask Amy: Why do they think I want to hear their music in public?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

Dear Amy: I live in Colorado and have young children at home, as well as a job where I am constantly bombarded by sound.I frequent outdoor spaces to seek peace, solitude and the quiet sounds of nature – for my mental health.I am dismayed at the proliferation of Bluetooth speakers, large and small. They seem to be everywhere! Hiking trails, lakes, on boats and paddleboards, at the pool, while camping, even strapped to people while they are biking and skiing! Few seem concerned about the noise pollution they are inflicting on others around them.Why do people seem not to notice or care that those around them may not wish to listen to their choice of music?What happens if we get multiple, conflicting speakers at the same time?I wish I could ask people to use headphones when they are alone, or at least turn down the sound so it is mostly heard by a group in a small vicinity, not everyone around them.In the case of running or biking, they should only wear one earbud and have the volume on...

Harriette Cole: Should I tell my wife what my friend said about us?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: A longtime friend came to visit me and my family this summer. We had a nice visit. As I was driving my friend home at the end of his visit, he commented in a by-the-way fashion on what he observed about my interactions with my wife.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I didn’t mean to get the Airbnb host banned Advice | Harriette Cole: Is it a bad idea to hang out with this man so I can meet his friends? Advice | Harriette Cole: I abandoned my home, and now I’ve come back to a huge mess Advice | Harriette Cole: A random man was staring in my window, and I’m upset the police let him go Advice | Harriette Cole: Her dress made me upset, and it didn’t even stick to my wedding theme She and I have been in a simmering war of words for a long time now, and he clocked it. He didn’t pass judgment. He just said he hoped we could get past it. He said we have been to...

The Secret History of How the Super-Rich Have Kept the Working Class Out of Work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

New Yorkers in need wait in a long line to receive free produce, dry goods, and meat at a Food Bank for New York City distribution event on July 29, 2020.Photo: Scott Heins/Getty ImagesTim Gurner, an Australian real estate titan and multimillionaire, made international news last week by being recklessly honest about his desire for unemployment to spike and regular workers to suffer. Gurner has been understandably condemned for this across the globe and has now issued a weak, vague apology.What truly deserves attention is why Gurner feels the way he does — and how it’s precisely explained in an essay written in 1943, titled “Political Aspects of Full Employment.”In it, Polish economist Michal Kalecki argued that government spending could ensure a permanent economic boom with both low employment and increased business profits. Crucially, however, Kalecki predicted that business executives would hate having what everyone else sees as a good economy, because it would allow regular peop...

Police investigation into antisemitic behavior at Montgomery Co. high school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

In a letter sent home to families Friday, Montgomery Blair High School’s principal said that a group of Maryland students allegedly performed an “anti-Semitic salute” together during a lunch period.Principal Renay Johnson’s letter also said the students enacting the anti-Semitic salute were filming themselves doing it outside, when another student at the Silver Spring school saw and reported it.The student who reported the incident called it “distressing.” Now, the school is working with Montgomery County police to investigate “the motivations behind this behavior and to prevent any future incidents.”The school said it has a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and that this behavior goes against their values of inclusivity for all.“We understand that this incident may be deeply concerning to you, as it is to us,” Johnson wrote. “We want to assure you that we are committed to addressing this matter and using it as an...

France captain Dupont has undergone surgery on facial fracture

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France captain Antoine Dupont has undergone surgery to repair the facial fracture he sustained at the Rugby World Cup.The French Rugby Federation didn’t say on Saturday how long he will be sidelined and whether he will play again at the tournament.“In a few days’ time, he will be able to return to the French team as part of a gradual sporting recovery under medical supervision,” the federation added in a statement.Dupont was hurt on Thursday from a head-on-head tackle in a 96-0 blowout victory over Namibia in Marseille. The scrumhalf traveled to Toulouse, where he plays his club rugby, for the operation late Friday.Namibia captain Johan Deysel got his tackle wrong on Dupont and was too high. Deysel was red-carded and later apologized to Dupont and France coach Fabien Galthie. Deysel faces a judicial hearing on Saturday.The absence of Dupont, regarded as the world’s best player, is a major blow to France. The team won’t mind him missing their last Pool ...

F1 leader Verstappen returns to dominant form by claiming pole position at Japanese Grand Prix

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen stormed to pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday, shrugging off a challenging weekend in Singapore a week ago with a dominant performance in qualifying at the Suzuka Circuit.Looking to return to the top of the podium after missing out in Singapore, the Red Bull driver clocked a blazing lap of 1 minute, 28.877 seconds to finish .581 seconds ahead of McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri, whose teammate Lando Norris was third.It was Verstappen’s ninth pole of the season but first since the Dutch Grand Prix a month ago.“An incredible weekend so far and especially in qualifying when you can really push it to the limit, it felt really, really nice,” Verstappen said. “We had a bad weekend in Singapore but from our preparation we felt this was going to be a good track for us.”Verstappen, who has led every session since arriving in Japan, can’t secure the drivers’ championship in Sunday’s race but could wrap up...

ANÁLISIS | La disputa de Polonia y Ucrania enfureció a muchos en Europa y fue un regalo para Putin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

(CNN) —  El apoyo de Europa a Ucrania se enfrentó esta semana a un inesperado revés cuando Polonia —hasta ahora el aliado más firme de Kyiv en el continente— pareció declarar que dejaría de enviar armas a su vecino.La medida se produjo después de que el presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, criticara a Varsovia por seguir prohibiendo las importaciones de grano ucraniano, y es el último ejemplo de un comportamiento más confrontativo del gobierno polaco hacia Kyiv, justo antes de unas reñidas elecciones generales en el país.El teatro político ha suscitado una serie de preguntas importantes, la más clave de ellas: ¿será este el momento en que la firme resolución de Europa contra la invasión a gran escala de Rusia se resquebraje?¿Cómo es posible que una disputa sobre la importación de cereales se haya convertido en una crisis diplomática? En mayo, la Unión Europea prohibió temporalmente las importaciones de grano de Ucrania para evitar un cuello de botella de grano barato que...

Four most important Patriots players in Week 3 vs. Jets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:27 GMT

This year’s Jets are not the typical doormat that the Patriots face twice and year and have beaten in 14 straight matchups.But after losing quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a torn Achilles, the 1-1 Jets are a beatable team for the 0-2 Patriots and serve as an opportunity to get right before another difficult matchup in Week 4 against the Cowboys.Here are the Patriots’ four most important players in Sunday’s early afternoon game.WR Demario DouglasThe Patriots pretty desperately need some speed and play-making ability in their pass-catching corps. Douglas was benched after the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins when he lost a costly fumble.The Patriots could have used their rookie wide receiver, who showed off his impressive agility on two catches early in the Week 2 contest, but head coach Bill Belichick wouldn’t put him back in on offense.Surely he’s learned his lesson a week later.The Liberty product shared snaps out of the slot with wide...