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Bridge: Aug. 28, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

“I don’t play like I used to,” one of my club’s seniors said to me. “I’m afraid I’m over the hill. And what’s worse, I can’t remember reaching the top.”My friend was declarer at today’s 3NT. West led a spade, and East took the ace and returned the nine.“I won,” declarer said, “and led the A-K and a third club. I set up two long clubs in dummy and had nine tricks. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take them. After West cashed his Q-J of spades, he led the jack of hearts. I lost two hearts at the end for down two.“My A-K of diamonds might as well have been deuces. If I can’t play the dummy any better, I need to take up dominoes.”BLIND SPOTSouth had a blind spot that I suppose can beset players who are past their three score and 20. At Trick Three South should lead the nine of clubs.West wins and cashes two spades, but South wins a heart shift and takes the A-K of clubs and A-K of diamon...

Ask Amy: I’m starting to dread my morning walk. Can I tell my partner to be quiet?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

Dear Amy: My older sister “Barb” lost her husband two years ago. My husband and I live five minutes away from her.Being an introvert, I enjoy my solitude. I walk every morning at sunrise for 90 minutes and love being alone with my thoughts and with nature.Barb began walking with me immediately following her husband’s death, which was OK because I knew she was lonely.For the last six to nine months, though, I’ve been dreading her coming with me.She talks constantly from the time we meet up until the time we part. We don’t have conversations, as I don’t have an opportunity to say much. She’s very judgmental and nosy.What can I do or say, short of telling her I want silence from her if she goes with me?– My Ears HurtDear Ears Hurting: Why can’t you tell your sister that you want silence on your walks?You’ve provided needed company and no-doubt an important lifeline to her over the past two years since her husband’s death. And now it’s time for you to revert to m...

Harriette Cole: I let my college-age daughter fly by herself. Was I a bad mom?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My daughter is independent, even though she is relatively young. She is a rising sophomore in college.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: He ignored my warnings. Now the IRS wants to talk to him. Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m fuming over this anonymous note about my teen Advice | Harriette Cole: My son says he’ll never forgive me for selling his inheritance Advice | Harriette Cole: Should I tell the truth about why I ditched them on our trip? Advice | Harriette Cole: My Sunday excess spilled over into work hours When it was time for her to go back to school — a plane ride away — I had to be out of town. My husband helped her get herself and her things to the airport.She was fine, but I was talking to a friend who told me that he escorted his son of the same age on a plane to his school to help him unpack and get organized. I felt like a terrible mom after heari...

Former track and field giant Germany is in a slump with no medals at the world championships

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Once one of track and field’s leading nations, Germany is in an unprecedented slump after failing to win any medals at the world championships. Less than a year out from the Paris Olympics, Germany had one of the largest teams at the championships in Budapest, Hungary, with more than 70 athletes but came home empty-handed after injuries and near-misses.Javelin thrower Julian Weber nearly got Germany on the medal table at last on the closing night of competition Sunday but Czech rival Jakub Vadlejch knocked him out of the bronze medal position by 88 centimeters (2 feet, 11 inches) on his second-to-last throw.It could take years for Germany to compete with track and field’s top nations again, German Athletics Association president Jürgen Kessing said Monday.“We know that this year hasn’t gone particularly well. We are not satisfied with that,” he told the MDR Aktuell radio program. “That could possibly continue next year in Paris (at the Olympic...

Se declara en huelga de hambre la madre del suspendido presidente de la Federación Española de fútbol

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

ESPAÑA – Ángeles Béjar, la madre de Luis Rubiales, presidente de la Real Federación Española de Fútbol suspendido temporalmente, se ha encerrado en la iglesia de la Divina Pastora de Motril y se ha declarado en huelga de hambre hasta que se encuentre una solución a la “cacería, inhumana y sangrienta que”, ha dicho, “están haciendo con mi hijo con algo que no se merece”.El encierro en la iglesia del barrio de Capuchinos de Motril se hará “de manera indefinida, día y noche” hasta que se haga justicia con su hijo, según ha dicho a EFE la madre de Rubiales, al que el sábado suspendió de toda actividad la FIFA tras la polémica del beso en la boca a la jugadora de la selección de fútbol Jenni Hermoso.La mujer se ha quedado en el interior de la parroquia con su hermana una vez que se ha marchado el párroco de la iglesia. La FIFA suspende al presidente de Federación Española tras beso en la boca a futbolista en el Mundial ...

Time is right for France rugby team to emulate Les Bleus with a World Cup triumph

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Winning the World Cup for the first time in October would finally elevate France’s rugby team alongside the more illustrious Les Bleus in terms of nationwide standing.It’s an old debate in France: Which is really the national sport, soccer or rugby? The soccer team is more successful in the international arena after winning two World Cups, two European Championships and reaching three other major finals.But while soccer fans quickly fall out of love with their national team, rugby supporters have tended to remain loyal and the atmosphere more passionate at Stade de France.The rugby crowd is as quick to cheer France as it is to drown the stadium in whistles if things start going badly. There was a lot of whistling in the previous decade but the passionate support endured and was rewarded last year with a 10th Grand Slam in Six Nations history and the world No. 1 ranking.Playing a World Cup on home soil will give France, three times a runner-up at rugby’...

Las 5 cosas que debes saber este 28 de agosto: tormenta Idalia amenaza con impactar Florida con fuerza de huracán

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

Amenaza de huracán en el Caribe. El atacante de Jacksonville. Zelensky habla sobre atacar Rusia. Comienza el último Grand Slam del año. Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.1. Tormenta Idalia pone en vigilancia a Cuba y FloridaLa tormenta tropical Idalia se fortalece rápidamente y según el Centro Nacional de Huracanes de EE.UU. podría afectar el estado de Florida con la fuerza de un huracán el martes o miércoles. Por esta situación el gobernador Ron DeSantis decretó el estado de emergencia en 33 condados de Florida. Se esperan condiciones de huracán en el oeste de Cuba en la tarde de este lunes.Trayectoria de Idalia en vivo: dónde está en tiempo real y a dónde se dirigeDeSantis declara estado de emergencia en Florida ante Idalia 0:532. No habría apoyo de aliados si Ucrania traslada el combate a RusiaLa coalición que ayuda a Ucrania en la lucha contra la invasión de Moscú no apoyaría a Kyiv si trasladara las hostilidades a territorio ruso, dijo el doming...

Browns’ commitment, confidence in Cade York appears more shaken after kicker’s latest miss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cade York may no longer have a powerful leg to stand on with the Browns.York’s struggles this summer have eroded Cleveland’s confidence in him and coach Kevin Stefanski’s failure to commit to the second-year kicker for the season opener has raised more questions about his future.Despite York’s misses in exhibition games, the Browns had been adamantly supporting York, a fifth-round draft pick who had an underwhelming rookie season in 2022.That changed Sunday.After York missed an extra point (it was nullified by penalty) and had a late field-goal attempt blocked (it looked low) in a 33-32 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Stefanski was asked if the 22-year-old will be Cleveland’s kicker in the Sept. 10 opener against Cincinnati.He didn’t say yes. He didn’t say no.“We always keep those internal as we get through this week,” Stefanski said on a Zoom call. ”But I’ll reiterate I think Cade is very, very talented.”Talent has never be...

Hatch scores late PK as Washington Spirit earns 1-1 draw vs. Portland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

Ashley Hatch’s goal in the final minutes pulled the Washington Spirit into a 1-1 draw with the Portland Thorns on Sunday in the National Women’s Soccer League.Sophia Smith, the league’s top scorer and reigning NWSL Most Valuable Player, appeared to injure her right knee in the second half and was on crutches after the break.Portland went ahead in the 63rd minute when Sam Coffey slipped a pass to Morgan Weaver in the box, who then chipped a shot into the goal with the outside of her foot. Coffey now has a league-leading seven assists.Just as the match was ending, the Thorns were whistled for a handball in the box. Hatch put her penalty into the left corner in stoppage time to secure a draw for the Spirit (6-3-8) in front of 13,048 fans at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.Five of Hatch’s nine goals this year have come from penalties.The Thorns (8-4-5) remain at the top of a tight NWSL table with five matches left in the regular season.Each NWSL team over the weeke...

73-year-old female inmate dies at Arlington County Detention Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:51:45 GMT

Officials say a 73-year-old female inmate died on Sunday morning after she was found unresponsive in her cell at the Arlington County Detention Center in Virginia.In a news release, the Arlington County Police Department said 73-year-old Aboneesh Woldegeorges was discovered unresponsive in her cell by deputies at the detention center around 7:02 a.m. on Sunday. Resuscitation efforts by the deputies were attempted before Arlington Fire & Rescue units arrived on the scene and transported her to Virginia Hospital Center, where she was declared dead.The elderly inmate had been arrested and charged with trespassing by the Washington Airports Authority on Aug. 13. She was awaiting transport to Loudoun County for Failure to Appear charges related to another trespassing incident.No official cause of death, medical history of Woldegeorges or timeline leading up to her death have been released.Police say that the family has been notified of her death and that an investigation is underway ...