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Bridge: Sept. 15, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

“I heard,” Cy the Cynic told me in the club lounge, “that all the wheels were stolen off a city police car last night.”“Really?”“The cops,” Cy said, “are working tirelessly to find the thief.”Today’s declarer had to find a missing queen — or thought so. Against his four hearts, West led the seven of diamonds, and East took the K-A and led a third diamond. South huddled, wondering which defender held the queen of trumps. He finally ruffed with the jack, but West overruffed. Since West had a sure club trick, South went down one.OPENING BID“Sorry,” South apologized. “I could have ruffed with the ace and let the jack ride, but East had opened the bidding, after all.”I would say East-West pulled off some robbery: They were plus 100 points, not minus 620. All South had to do was pitch a club on the third diamond. West ruffs, and dummy plays low. When South wins the spade shift, he can draw trum...

Ask Amy: Bride’s mom wants to know how to enforce proper gift-giving

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

Dear Amy: My daughter was married recently, and one of her good friends who attended the wedding with her husband did not leave a gift.Last year when this gal was married, my daughter gave a very generous gift.Should she just let this go, or is there a diplomatic way of addressing this?– Concerned MomDear Concerned: I wonder why you, the mother of the bride, are keeping such close score? Your daughter is an adult; this really is her issue to handle.If there was a gift table at the wedding, there is always the possibility that one or more of the gifts was mislaid.A less rude way of trolling for wedding gifts would be to contact the couple and say, “We are worried that some wedding gifts might have been mislaid, so we’re following through to make sure that yours was not among them. If you brought a gift to the wedding, please do let us know so we can try to track it down.”Dear Amy: I was the disciplinarian while my children grew up.I freely admit that I crossed the line multiple times...

Harriette Cole: It was a bad moment on Zoom. How can I smooth things over?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently had an uncomfortable experience during a Zoom call with two female work colleagues.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: How can I get my co-workers to let me go out with them? Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m forgetting chunks of time, and my husband says it’s no big deal Advice | Harriette Cole: I had an idea for a video, and it showed up under her name Advice | Harriette Cole: She should be happy about the breakup, but she’s drinking and skipping work Advice | Harriette Cole: Our hometown is talking. How can I help her without getting sullied by scandal? While waiting for the rest of our team to join the call, we started discussing our nails and showing our manicures to the camera. One colleague made a thoughtless comment about how both mine and the other colleague’s nails were “a little too ghetto” for her. The problem is that the woman wh...

Naomi Klein on Conspiracy Culture and “the Mirror World”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

Naomi Klein, author, professor, journalist, and contributing editor at The Intercept, has ventured into the far-right “mirror world,” exploring the movements and figures promoting conspiracy theories, misinformation, and its hold on large segments of society. This week on Deconstructed, we bring you a live conversation between Ryan Grim and Klein at the George Washington University Amphitheater, organized by Politics and Prose. Klein and Grim discuss Klein’s newest book, “Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World.” They discuss the labyrinthine world of conspiracy theories and how the right has effectively sowed confusion and capitalized on issues abandoned by the left.Transcript coming soon.The post Naomi Klein on Conspiracy Culture and “the Mirror World” appeared first on The Intercept.

Prince George’s Co. company says it’s AI tech can detect a gun before a shooter starts firing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

The drones that PerVista would set up to watch for and track gunmen.(WTOP/John Domen) WTOP/John Domen An example of the security cameras that PerVista would set up to detect a gunman.(WTOP/John Domen) WTOP/John Domen ...

Ireland and Wales take a different view of their easy-looking second matches at the Rugby World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

Ireland and Wales are taking a different view of their second matches at the Rugby World Cup that should be gimmes for the two European powers.While the Welsh are resting most of their front-liners against Portugal, the top-ranked Irish are sending out most of their big guns against Tonga on Saturday.Ireland will be looking to find rhythm heading into testing back-to-back games to close Pool B — against South Africa next weekend and then Scotland.Wales has already had an intense run-out in the breathless 32-26 win over Fiji and is giving its main starters a breather ahead of Australia, its top rival in Pool C, next weekend.Nine days into the tournament and Tonga and Portugal are finally getting on the field for their first matches.As is Samoa, which opens against a Chile team that might be a favorite of the neutrals in France in its debut World Cup appearance.IRELAND vs. TONGA (Ireland leads 2-0 overall, 1-0 in RWC)Ireland flanker Josh van der Flier, the world player of 2022, gets h...

English soccer club Everton to be bought by American investment firm 777 Partners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Everton, one of English soccer’s most storied teams, will be bought by American private investment firm 777 Partners, the club said Friday.Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri has agreed to sell his 94.1% stake in the Premier League club, which he said would secure financing to complete a state of the art stadium that is currently under construction.“Going forward, Everton will play in a stadium that will be the envy of the Premier League and beyond,” Moshiri said.___James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

Stock market today: Global shares gain after data show China’s economy stabilizing in August

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly higher Friday after China reported that its slowing economy showed signs of stabilizing in August.France’s CAC 40 gained 1.5% in morning trading to 7,414.96. Germany’s DAX rose 1.1% to 15,980.43. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.9% to 7,738.95. The future for the Dow industrials was up 0.2%, while that for the S&P 500 added 0.1%. In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 0.8% to 18,182.89, while the Shanghai Composite index was shed 0.3% to 3,117.74. Late Thursday, the People’s Bank of China said it would cut the reserve requirement for banks by 0.25 percentage points as of Friday, “In order to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery and maintain reasonable and sufficient liquidity.”Further boosting sentiment, the government reported Friday that China’s industrial output rose 4.5% in August from a year earlier, up from 3.7% in July. That is seen as a sign the economy may be breaking out of its post-p...

Rubiales arrives at Spanish court to be questioned over his kiss of player at Women’s World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Luis Rubiales, the former president of Spain’s soccer federation, has arrived at a court in Madrid to give testimony on Friday to a Spanish judge investigating his kiss of a player at the Women’s World Cup.Judge Francisco de Jorge issued the order earlier this week for Rubiales to answer his questions at Spain’s National Court.Rubiales kissed Spain forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia. He said she had consented to the kiss, but Hermoso has denied that repeatedly.Rubiales did not speak before entering the courthouse with his lawyer.Spanish state prosecutors formally accused Rubiales last week of alleged sexual assault and an act of coercion when, according to Hermoso, he pressured her to speak out in his defense immediately after the scandal erupted.Rubiales announced on Sunday that he was resigning from his post, from which he had already been provisionally suspended by FI...

Asian soccer body cancels long-term broadcast deal ahead of Champions League and Asian Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:28 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A broadcast rights deal signed in 2018 that promised to secure the financial future of Asian soccer for 10 years was terminated Friday.The Asian Football Confederation said its exclusive deal through 2028 with Football Marketing Asia, known as FMA, was canceled “with immediate effect.”The announcement comes only days before players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema start the group stage of the Asian Champions League with their Saudi Arabian clubs.The decision also comes two weeks after African soccer’s governing body terminated its long-term broadcast deal with Qatar-based beIN Media Group.Both Asia and Africa will begin staging their marquee men’s tournaments in January — the Asian Cup in Qatar and the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.“The AFC’s decision takes into careful consideration the new challenges and opportunities presented by the rapidly evolving post-pandemic commercial environment,” the Malaysia-based soccer body sa...