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Bridge: Oct. 4, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

“Your honor,” the District Attorney stated, “we will prove that South committed a felony. He lost a cold game.”“Proceed,” the judge instructed, and the court kibitzed the evidence.“South played at 3NT,” the DA began, “after opening 1NT on a semibalanced hand. North transferred to spades and offered a choice of games. West led a low heart. South put up dummy’s king, but next he led a spade. When West took the ace, the defense cashed four hearts.”TOO MUCH“You ask too much of my client,” South’s counsel roared. “He guessed right at Trick One but still had only eight tricks. If he tries a double-finesse in diamonds, he goes down two.”Was South guilty of an error?After South wins the first trick, he must run the clubs. West can let go a spade and a diamond but is stuck on the fifth club. He must pitch a heart, letting South force out the ace of spades safely, or unguard his queen of diamonds. ...

Horoscopes Oct. 4, 2023: Susan Sarandon, do what makes you happy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Alicia Silverstone, 47; Liev Schreiber, 56; Christoph Waltz, 67; Susan Sarandon, 77.Happy Birthday: Live life your way. Fulfill your dreams and follow your heart. Using experience and knowledge, you must broaden your awareness and make decisions that bring you closer to your desired life. A passionate, intense step forward will place you in a new environment with plenty to discover about yourself and what’s possible this year. Trust your instincts and do what makes you happy. Your numbers are 7, 16, 20, 29, 32, 37, 48.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Get the grunt work out of the way before you move on to something more enjoyable. If you leave your responsibilities unfinished, you will face criticism or hidden costs. Pay attention and avoid temptation. Superfluity is the enemy, not an opportunity. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t estimate how much things cost. Review numbers and figure out what’s doable. If you let your heart get invol...

Ask Amy: They’re not shallow people but their wedding plan seems shifty

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

Dear Amy: One of our sons and his fiancée are going to get married in a civil ceremony nine months before they have a formal wedding.For the second event, they’re planning the whole enchilada: showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinner, 100-plus guests, formal wedding attire, father walking bride down the aisle, officiant-led vows, 12 attendants, father-daughter dance, speeches and toasts, etc.The private civil ceremony is being done so they can save money on health insurance (they both are employed in full-time, well-paying jobs with benefits, so they acknowledge it’s not a necessity).We are struggling to positively reframe and get excited about this big wedding after they will have called each other husband and wife for almost a year.Is it disingenuous to have a big wedding (the vast majority of guests will not know they married the prior year), implying it’s the start of their married life when it isn’t even close?If they were saying “come help...

Azerbaijan War on Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh Forcibly Displaced Tens of Thousands

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

Nearly the entire population of 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh has been forced to flee their homes after the latest Azerbaijani military assault, according to Armenian authorities and the U.N. This week on Intercepted, Maria Titizian, editor-in-chief of EVN Report, joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain to discuss the history leading up to the recent Azerbaijani offensive and mass exodus of civilians, the collapse of the Republic of Artsakh, and the emerging geopolitical alliances exploiting the protracted humanitarian crisis.Transcript coming soon.The post Azerbaijan War on Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh Forcibly Displaced Tens of Thousands appeared first on The Intercept.

Player of the Week: Maret’s Roman Jensen

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

(new Image()).src = "https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384&cid=c2ffed0c-3624-46c0-b10f-97c976d290a3";cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384",mediaId: "c7b3b5f8-f19f-4d99-82ea-c504e50bceb2"}).render("8ea8c731c30043799c4ce6a2fd986598"); });In the words of his coach, Maret School quarterback Roman Jensen speaks football.It’s the result of having grown up around the game, with a father who played and then coached. Add in a personal love for the game and a strong and accurate arm, and the numbers speak for themselves.Through five games, Jensen has put together statistics that could represent an entire season for most high school quarterbacks, punctuated by his most recent performance. This past Saturday against Wheeling (W.Va.) Central Catholic, Jensen completed 19 of 24 passes for 445 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns as the Frogs improved to 5-0 with a 64-28...

You’ll be eating here soon: Forthcoming D.C.-area restaurants you won’t want to miss

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

The team behind Seven Reasons plans a fall 2023 opening for Surreal, the long-awaited bistro coming to Crystal City space near Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters.Michelin-starred Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo and 40 Under 40 honoree Ezequiel Vázquez-Ger say a November opening is likely for the new spot at 2117 Crystal Drive. On the menu will be dishes like “Queso Fundido” shakshuka, swordfish carpaccio with flaming hot totopos and a spicy spaghetti pie. It’s just part of a larger growth plan for the duo, that includes an expanded location for Seven Reasons coming to CityCenterDC.Surreal’s one of several highly anticipated restaurant openings across the D.C. region at a time when restaurant owners and operators are still grappling with challenges including the phasing out of D.C.’s tipped wage. In the gallery above, have a look at just a few of those pending openings.Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.Source

Warm Sunshine and a Breeze Continue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

Following weeks of unsettled weather across South Florida, a very-welcome change has settled in across the region this week. A front has stalled well to our south while high pressure is in control to our north, bringing in that breeze along with drier air.This Wednesday will feature a gradually lessening breeze, which will continue to decrease throughout the week. Expect near-normal highs about the same as yesterday in the upper 80s with plenty of sunshine and just the chance for a brief, passing shower. Rain chances are only at a 20% chance.Yesterday was very hazy from smoke traveling all the way from the Canadian wildfires! That smoke is forecast to exit to our west throughout the day, allowing for less hazy skies and improving air quality conditions. An Air Quality Alert is in effect until 8AM this Wednesday.Thursday is looking fairly similar with sunshine and just the chance for a shower while humidity doesn’t remain too high. This along with the lighter winds should make ...

‘Loki’s’ latest variant is still a pretty good way to kill time

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

(CNN) — “Loki” didn’t deliver unqualified magic, but the Disney+ series was weird and inventive enough to cast a spell over fans, while introducing controversial actor Jonathan Majors’ mysterious villain into the Marvel universe. Returning after Majors’ theatrical debut in the less-than-scintillating “Ant-Man” sequel, the second season of “Loki” feels more assured and focused if still decidedly out-there, all while toting around its fair share of baggage.It was a bit of a jolt when “Loki” concluded on a cliffhanger in 2021, leaving the story of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his new posse at the Time Variance Authority unfinished. While trying to explain what’s at stake requires a whole lot of time, suffice it to say the complications associated with alternate branches of reality continue, leaving Loki and Mobius (Owen Wilson) frantically seeking to avoid a “temporal meltdown” that would be very, very bad.As they endeavor to save the TVA, the pair acquire some new allies in this second s...

GM, Ford lay off 500 more workers, blaming strike

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

New York (CNN) — General Motors and Ford are laying off 500 additional workers between them, blaming the expansion of the strike announced by the United Auto Workers union at those companies on Friday.General Motors said it was laying off 164 workers at stamping plants in Parma, Ohio, and Marion, Indiana. Those plants normally send their stamped metal parts to the assembly lines that have been shut by the strike – the plants in Wentzville, Ohio, and the Lansing Delta Assembly plant in Lansing, Michigan. Among the vehicles made at those plants are Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups and the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave pickups.Most of the workers in Parma and Marion will continue to stay on the job, though, producing stamping for other plants, as most GM assembly lines continue to operate.“We have said repeatedly that nobody wins in a strike, and this is yet another demonstration of that fact,” said GM’s statement. “We will continue to bargain in good faith with the u...

Trio wins Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on quantum dots, used in electronics and medical imaging

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:56 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Three scientists based in the U.S. won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their work on quantum dots — tiny particles just a few atoms in diameter that can release very bright colored light and whose applications in every day life include electronics and medical imaging.Moungi Bawendi, of MIT; Louis Brus, of Columbia University; and Alexei Ekimov, of Nanocrystals Technology Inc., were honored for their work with the particles that “have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the award in Stockholm.“They catalyze chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumor tissue for a surgeon,” the academy said.Quantum dots’ electrons have constrained movement, which affects how they absorb and release visible light, allowing for very bright colors.The dots are nanoparticles that glow blue, red, or green when illuminated or expos...