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Bridge: Oct. 3, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

“At least it was only for matchpoints, not money.”We were commiserating with Cy the Cynic in the lounge after a duplicate. Cy had lost by one matchpoint — after being handed a zero on the final deal by his nemesis Minnie Bottoms. She wears old bifocals that make her mix up kings and jacks, often to her opponents’ dismay.“I played at four spades,” Cy told us. “Minnie was West and had doubled at her first turn. She led a diamond, and I took the ace and cashed the A-K of trumps. When East discarded, I led a club … and Minnie played the king.”“Thinking it was the jack,” Rose smiled.THIRD CLUB“Say I take the A-Q,” the Cynic said, “and Minnie discards. East wins the third club and leads a heart, and I lose two hearts and a trump and go down. To make the contract, I must let the king of clubs win.“I was plus 420,” Cy went on. “Every other South made an overtrick for plus 450, running the c...

Ask Amy: I just found out how his parents really feel about me, and our wedding plan is on hold

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

Dear Amy: I am a 30-year-old woman. I’ve been with my fiancé for almost seven years.When we first met, my hair was platinum blonde. Now that I am a hairstylist, I enjoy playing around with my hair color and have come to love dark blue. I’ve been blue for a few years now and it didn’t seem like a big deal.Yesterday, my fiancé broke the news to me that his parents are refusing to pay for the wedding venue if my hair is anything except my natural color.I was completely taken aback.There’s a laundry list: They don’t approve of my tattoos, my recent weight gain due to some serious health issues (I had discussed my health problems privately with his mother), and that I’m not making as much money as I should be (hairstylists are struggling right now because we’re in a recession)!This family has been loving toward me this entire relationship, and all of a sudden I’ve found out how they really feel.I feel completely crushed.They were too cowardly to talk to me about their o...

Wembanyama’s world taking firm hold in San Antonio as Spurs open new era with No. 1 pick

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are prepared for what should be one of the most demanding tasks this NBA season: Answering questions about rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama.How many times can the Spurs answer how amazing Wembanyama is before it gets irritating (or before they’ve played a game that matters)? Try two minutes into the Spurs’ media day on Monday.“I already am (annoyed),” veteran coach Gregg Popovich said, laughing afterward. “It’s OK. It’s OK. Part of the deal.”Welcome to Wembanyama’s world, also known as the home of the five-time NBA Champions.The hype surrounding the league’s No. 1 pick is larger than his 7-foot-3 frame and wider than his 8-foot wingspan. It’s understandable considering Wembanyama is unlike any player the league has seen.The 19-year-old from France has already been compared to some of the game’s most skilled long-range shooters, best shot blockers and top passers while also standing as one of the league’s tallest players ever.The Spurs ar...

Bears are a team in turmoil but the flip side to all this misery is a potential monster 2024 draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

The Chicago Bears have been a team in turmoil all season but the flip side of all this misery could be a monster 2024 draft. Add to their dysfunction Chase Claypool’s exile and the Bears’ biggest blown lead ever at Soldier Field. At this rate, the Bears will own the top two picks in next April’s NFL draft, so, their fans can at least dream about both USC quarterback Caleb Williams and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. coming to the rescue.It appeared Sunday that we were witnessing not only the end of the Bears’ longest losing streak in their 104-year history but a breakout performance by third-year quarterback Justin Fields, who suddenly looked like Josh Allen powering passes downfield, Patrick Mahomes putting just the right touch on his touchdown tosses and Jalen Hurts confounding defenses with both his arm and his legs.Through three quarters, at least.Fields, who completed his first 16 passes and finished 28 for 35, topped 300 yards passing for t...

3 scientists win Nobel Prize in physics for looking at electrons in atoms during split seconds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier for looking at electrons in atoms during the tiniest of split seconds.Hans Ellegren, the secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the award Tuesday in Stockholm.The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.STOCKHOLM (AP) — Nobels season is resuming on Tuesday with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm awarding the prize in physics.The physics prize comes a day after Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman won the Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.Last year, three scientists jointly won the physics prize for proving that tiny particles could...

Nobel Prize in physics awarded to Agostini, Krausz and L’Huillier for using lasers to study atom electrons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Nobel Prize in physics awarded to Agostini, Krausz and L’Huillier for using lasers to study atom electrons.Source

Armenia votes to join the International Criminal Court, further straining ties with ally Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia votes to join the International Criminal Court, further straining ties with ally Russia.Source

ANÁLISIS | ¿Por qué el nuevo juicio de Trump por fraude es tan profundo? Se trata de su fortuna y su marca

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

(CNN) — Es donde surge el “arte de los negocios” podría quedar expuesto como el “arte del robo”.Donald Trump no pudo evitar la apertura de un juicio civil por fraude en su contra en Nueva York este lunes. Pero la coreografía de vehículos todo terreno del Servicio Secreto, sus desvaríos sobre la persecución politizada y los ceños fruncidos en los tribunales fueron más profundos que sus ahora familiares intentos de convertir sus citas con la justicia en material para su campaña de 2024.Esta vez, el tiburón inmobiliario estaba de regreso en sus antiguos cotos de caza para defender su imperio amenazado, el rascacielos de Manhattan que lleva su nombre en grandes letras doradas y, en última instancia, la mitología de su carrera como magnate multimillonario que alimentó su fama y ascenso insurgente a la Casa Blanca. Ser acusado dos veces es malo. Enfrentar 91 cargos penales es terrible. Pero el caso de fraude en Nueva York amenaza con destrozar la preciada imagen qu...

Por qué sonará una alarma en los teléfonos de Estados Unidos este miércoles a las 2:20 p.m. ET

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

(CNN) — Si escuchas una alarma de alerta en tu teléfono móvil —y en el de todos los demás— este miércoles a las 2:20 p.m. hora del este de EE.UU., no te asustes.El gobierno federal de Estados Unidos anunció que este miércoles por la tarde realizará una prueba nacional de su Sistema de Alerta de Emergencia y de las Alertas Inalámbricas de Emergencia. La porción EAS de la prueba enviará una alerta de emergencia a todas las radios y televisores, mientras que la porción WEA de la prueba dirigirá alertas a todos los teléfonos móviles de los consumidores.“El propósito de la prueba del 4 de octubre es garantizar que los sistemas sigan siendo medios eficaces para alertar al público sobre emergencias, en particular las de ámbito nacional”, señaló en un comunicado la Agencia Federal para la Gestión de Emergencias (FEMA), que está llevando a cabo la prueba en coordinación con la Comisión Federal de Comunicaciones.Esto es lo que hay que saber.Un conserje escuchó “alarmas...

Passport processing times drop by 2 weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:50 GMT

Watch Video: U.S. passport demand overwhelms State DepartmentIf you need to get a new passport or renew it soon, the process should be a bit quicker.The State Department says it has lowered expected wait times by two weeks following a 2023 that so far has resulted in weeks-long and sometimes months-long waits to get passports.All passport applications received Monday and beyond will have wait times of 8-11 weeks for routine service with times shortened to 5-7 weeks for expedited service, the State Department said in a statement. The change in processing time does not apply to applications received before Monday.More than 24 million passport books and cards were issued in the fiscal year that ended over the weekend, the State Department said. That number was a record, eclipsing the previous year’s record of 22 million.Over late spring and early summer, the State Department was receiving approximately 450-500,000 applications each week, CBS News reported.The State Department su...