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Bridge: Sept. 12, 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

“We strip to make ends meet.” — sign at an electrician’s shop.Society’s biggest problems, I’ve heard, are making ends meet and making meetings end. Today’s declarer failed to make ends meet — and had to attend a meeting after the play.At four hearts, South ruffed the third spade and cashed the A-K of trumps. He next took the A-K of diamonds and led a third diamond to his queen. West ruffed, and East got his ace of clubs. Down one.Commenced the meeting, with North presiding.“You blew it,” North stated.“I’m safe,” South protested, “if diamonds break 3-3 or if the defender with four diamonds has the missing trump.”CLUB RUFFSouth can reverse the dummy. He leads a club at Trick Four. Say East captures dummy’s king and returns the jack to dummy. South then ruffs a club and takes the K-A of trumps.When East-West follow, South ruffs dummy’s last club. He leads a diamond to dummy, draws the ...

Ask Amy: Holidays are getting weirder because of these dramatic relatives

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

Dear Amy: My son and his wife have a young child. All grandparents live in their town; the maternal set of grandparents also have several vacation homes they maintain.My husband and I tend to be more helpful with babysitting, taking our grandchild on outings, etc.Our son and his wife are both professionals, and we do everything we can to help.The problem arises when it comes to holidays and family gatherings.We are expected to host and invite the other set of grandparents to everything, which is fine, but we are never included in their plans, and it’s only getting weirder.I am of the opinion we should just do our own thing and let them gather without us. My husband thinks we should have a big “talk.”We’ve talked to our son and while he sees our point, he is concerned that his wife and family will be very insulted if we raise this, and it will cause more problems.I don’t want to put him in the middle, but this is a very intense, dramatic family – what do...

Harriette Cole: I had an idea for a video, and it showed up under her name

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: A good friend of mine is a video content creator.Related ArticlesAdvice | 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? Advice | Harriette Cole: My neighbor won’t listen to what I’m saying about the dog Advice | Harriette Cole: Should I commit to working with this intense woman? Advice | Harriette Cole: Someone is threatening me online, and I think I know who it is The other day while we were having lunch, I suggested a concept for one of her videos. She seemed uninterested in the idea at the time and sort of brushed it off.A few days later, I logged on to Instagram and saw that she did, in fact, create a video incorporating the concept that I suggested. The problem is that she didn’t credit me with the idea at all a...

Poland says it won’t lift its embargo on Ukraine grain because it would hurt its farmers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says his government will not lift its embargo on imports of Ukrainian grain as scheduled Friday because it would hurt Polish farmers.“Poland will not allow Ukraine grain to flood us,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.“Regardless of the decisions of the clerks in Brussels, we will not open up our borders,” Morawiecki said in the midst of intensive campaigning for Oct. 15 parliamentary elections. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, in agreement with the European Union, imposed an embargo on Ukrainian farm produce from April until Sept. 15 to prevent a glut in their home markets that would hurt their farmers. Only transit of sealed goods is allowed in an effort to help Ukraine send its produce overseas as Russia blocks its usual export routes. Morawiecki posted his comments shortly before the Cabinet was to discuss the matter. The European Parliament also is to debate t...

Analysis: Payton’s excoriation of his predecessor looks even worse after his bungled Broncos debut

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

DENVER (AP) — If you’re going to excoriate your predecessor over the mess you were hired to clean up, it’s best to outperform the guy you replaced. Sean Payton didn’t deliver enough enhancements in his Denver debut Sunday to justify calling out Nathaniel Hackett like he did in the summer.During a passionate defense of quarterback Russell Wilson, who’s coming off the worst season of his career, Payton accused Hackett and his staff in Denver of doing “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL” in 2022. The potshot would have hit different had it come during Payton’s time as a Fox football analyst during his year’s sabbatical from coaching. Hackett, now the Jets’ offensive coordinator, owned up to his failures as a first-time head coach in Denver but suggested Payton broke an unwritten code among coaches to not publicly criticize one another.Payton’s stinging critique of Hackett’s performance in a USA Today article is sure ...

AP PHOTOS: Blood, sweat and tears on the opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup in France

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The dust has settled after the first set of games at the Rugby World Cup, which began with a stirring win for host France in front of nearly 79,000 people at the Stade de France, and ended with heartbreak for fan favorite Fiji as a dropped pass in the final seconds denied it a thrilling victory in Bordeaux.The eight matches on the opening weekend brought plenty of blood, sweat and tears.There were crunching tackles, as always. Teams needed additional water breaks and used ice packs to cool off in sweltering temperatures. And the emotion of the occasion was on show for many, like Chile’s players, some of whom had tears rolling down their cheeks as they sang their national anthem for the first time in their debut appearance at the Rugby World Cup.The French team lived up to all the pre-tournament hype by staring down New Zealand’s Kapa o Pango haka and then beating the three-time champions in an opening game that was billed as a blockbuster and didn’t disappoint.Underdog ...

A Red Cross and Red Crescent official says the number of missing people after deadly floods in Libya has reached 10,000

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A Red Cross and Red Crescent official says the number of missing people after deadly floods in Libya has reached 10,000.Source

Un hombre entró en una oficina del FBI y admitió haber matado a una mujer hace más de cuatro décadas en Boston, dicen las autoridades

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

(CNN) — Las autoridades dicen que pudieron resolver un caso sin resolver en Boston de hace 44 años después de que un hombre de Oregón entró en una oficina del FBI y confesó haber matado y violado a una mujer en 1979.John Michael Irmer, de 68 años, fue procesado en un tribunal de Boston este lunes y acusado de asesinar a Susan Marcia Rose, de 24 años, el 30 de octubre de 1979, según un comunicado de prensa de la Oficina del Fiscal de Distrito del Condado de Suffolk.En agosto, Irmer entró en una oficina del FBI en Portland, donde reveló a los agentes que conoció a una mujer pelirroja en una pista de patinaje de Boston en la época de Halloween de 1979 y la mató, dijo la oficina del fiscal del distrito.Irmer dijo que entraron al 285 de Beacon Street, un edificio en renovación en ese momento, agarró un martillo y golpeó a la mujer en la cabeza, matándola. Les dijo a los agentes del FBI que la violó después de su muerte, según el comunicado de prensa.Después de la admisión, las auto...

Pembroke Pines Police officer fires shots in response to suspect hurling butcher knives at law enforcement

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

Pembroke Pines Police Department officers were met with a violent domestic disturbance after they responded to a 911 call that led to a man throwing multiple butcher knives at the responding officers. The tense standoff ensued after 6:30 p.m. Monday at the 100 block of South Hollybrook Drive. When authorities arrived, they encountered a man, later identified as 41-year-old Justin Brittain, and another person involved in a dispute. The situation escalated when the suspect brandished multiple butcher knives and hurled them toward the direction of the officers. After one of the knives struck a police officer, another officer was left with no choice but to respond with the use of lethal force. The officer discharged their weapon, firing at the suspect in an effort to neutralize the immediate threat. After the shots were fired, the suspect was taken into custody. Immediate medical attention was provided to the wounded officer at the scene, who is reported to be in stable condition. The s...

See you later, alligator: New Jersey police capture reptile on the loose for 2 weeks

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:44 GMT

(CNN) — New Jersey law enforcement and wildlife officials teamed up as alligator investigators to capture a reptile running rampant across two towns over the last two weeks.The Middlesex Borough Police Department chronicled the missing gator saga on its Facebook page.The alligator, described as a “non-indigenous reptile” between 3 and 4 feet long, was first spotted in the Ambrose Brook at Victor Crowell Park in Middlesex County on August 23, according to the Middlesex Borough Police Department.Middlesex County is located about 38 miles southwest of New York City.The initial sighting prompted the closure of the park, which has since reopened to the public with no fishing or swimming allowed, Middlesex Borough police said in a statement Friday.The police department, along with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the state’s Division of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Police and several other agencies searched for the alligator until...