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Bridge: June 6, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

Unless you’re descended from Merlin, you will lose a trick occasionally. “Avoidance” is the technique of losing to the “safe” defender, whose lead to the next trick cannot hurt. You may need to avoid losing to a “dangerous” defender.Against 3NT, West despaired of using his flimsy hearts. He tried to find East’s long suit by leading a low diamond. It seemed to South that West had led fourth-highest from length, so South played low from dummy.East won and shifted to the jack of spades. South took his ace, but East was sure to get back in — with a club or a high diamond — to continue spades, and South lost three spades and five tricks in all.UNLUCKYSouth was unlucky, but his play was wrong. East was “dangerous” — a spade lead from him might cause trouble — and when South ducked the first diamond, he risked losing to East.South should put up the ace of diamonds and start the clubs. He can expect to win f...

Word Game: June 6, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — RECITES (RECITES: rih-SITES: Repeats from memory or reads aloud publicly.)Average mark 22 wordsTime limit 35 minutesCan you find 27 or more words in RECITES? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — COLLISION coil coin colon cool olio lion loco loin loon icon ionic scion silicon sill silo soil solo sonic soon noilTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at [email protected].

French league files lawsuit after Ajaccio fans attack boy with cancer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

An attack on an eight-year-old Marseille supporter with advanced cancer and his family during a match against Ajaccio in Corsica has prompted a complaint filed by the French soccer league.Ajaccio prosecutor Nicolas Septe said in a statement quoted by L’Equipe newspaper on Tuesday that the league joined the case as a civil party in the judicial proceedings. Ajaccio has not lodged a formal complaint but has condemned the attack on the final day of the season on Saturday.The boy, named Kenzo, was invited to Corsica to attend the game and meet Marseille players.“The dream quickly turned into a nightmare when Kenzo and his parents, who had come in the colors of Olympique de Marseille, were shamefully assaulted by individuals who broke into their box,” Ajaccio said in a statement.The club said security staff intervened and escorted Kenzo and his family to the dressing room.“Even the most extreme stupidity cannot excuse such behavior,” Ajaccio said. “The club condemns these unspeakab...

ANÁLISIS | El creciente campo de aspirantes republicanos a la presidencia no está convenciendo a los votantes de las primarias sobre por qué deberían deshacerse de Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

(CNN) — El campo presidencial republicano está creciendo casi día tras día, pero ningún candidato ha ofrecido una respuesta efectiva a los votantes de las primarias republicanas en la pregunta más convincente de la carrera: por qué deberían deshacerse de Donald Trump.El exvicepresidente Mike Pence se convirtió en el último candidato en lanzar su aspiración presidencial este lunes al presentar documentos antes de un anuncio oficial y un foro de CNN este miércoles. Se espera que el exgobernador de Nueva Jersey, Chris Christie, se postule este martes. El gobernador de Florida, Ron DeSantis, recientemente concluyó su primera gira por Iowa, y el senador de Carolina del Sur, Tim Scott, se embarcó en su propia precandidatura. La exgobernadora de Carolina del Sur, Nikki Haley, ha estado tras la pista durante semanas, y apareció en un foro en vivo de CNN este domingo en Iowa. E incluso el gobernador de Dakota del Norte, Doug Burgum, a pesar del escaso reconocimiento nacional, parece es...

Denver weather: More storm chances with an air quality alert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Sunshine returns on Tuesday with chances for an afternoon storm. Higher levels of ground ozone will lead to an air quality alert until 4 p.m. in the Denver weather forecast.Pinpoint Weather: Advisories on June 6. Weather today: Storm chances continueMore sunshine is expected Tuesday with mild but below-average highs in the middle 70s. Flash floods strand Denver-area drivers Winds will be light through the day with chances for showers and storms in the afternoon. Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on June 6. Weather tonight: Partly cloudyA few clouds will stick around overnight Tuesday with showers exiting the area. Lows will dip into the low 50s as winds stay light.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on June 6. Looking ahead: More chances for rainSunshine is back early Wednesday with chances for showers and storms through the afternoon. Highs will stay in the middle 70s through the end of the workweek. Thursday has better chances for widespread showers and storms d...

Smoky week ahead from wildfires in Canada is expected to lead to more alert warnings for the Northeast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

(CNN) — After weeks of reporting about the wildfires in Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia, Quebec is now the latest hotspot for fires in Canada.More than 8 million acres have burned this year across Canada, with nearly half a million acres in Quebec alone, which is sending thick smoke south and east into the US, affecting air quality for millions.Air quality alerts are in effect Monday for portions of Wisconsin, Minnesota and northern Illinois, including places like Milwaukee, Green Bay and Chicago.“Weather conditions are such that widespread ozone and or particulate levels are expected to be at or above the unhealthy for sensitive groups category of the air quality index,” the National Weather Service in Chicago said. “Active children and adults especially people with pulmonary or respiratory disease such as asthma should limit prolonged outdoor activity.”In the Northeast, the smoke is at higher altitudes, which is creating hazy skies and keeping temperatures slightly cool...

America’s beloved road trip snack unveils epic Cheez-It stop in Joshua Tree Desert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

JOSHUA TREE DESERT, Calif. (WSVN) — Calling all road-trippers and adventure-seeking Cheez-It superfans! Prepare to embark on a mouthwatering journey as the iconic road trip snack launches an extraordinary desert destination to kick off the summer season. Introducing the Cheez-It Stop – a larger-than-life roadside attraction nestled in the heart of California’s picturesque desert landscape open until Sunday.Concealed within the depths of the California desert, this 100% real destination invites road trippers to refuel with their all-time favorite 100% real cheese snack at a groundbreaking roadside fill station. But here’s where the magic happens – brace yourself for the World’s First and Only Cheez-It Pump. The Cheez-It Pump spouts a stream of Cheez-It bags directly through your car window. As an added bonus, this absurdly delicious invention comes at no cost to visitors.Erin Storm, the brand senior director for Cheez-It, expressed the rationale behind this br...

Collapse of major dam in southern Ukraine triggers emergency as Moscow and Kyiv blame each other

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday, triggering floods, endangering Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper River, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian military strikes in the contested area. It was not possible to verify the claims.The potentially far-reaching environmental and social consequences of the disaster quickly became clear as homes, streets and businesses flooded downstream and emergency crews began evacuations; officials raced to check cooling systems at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant; and authorities expressed concern about supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.The dam break added a stunning new ...

Police raid EU Parliament offices of 2 Qatargate suspects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

BRUSSELS — Belgian police on Tuesday conducted searches at the European Parliament offices of two MEPs charged with corruption in the cash-for-influence scandal dubbed Qatargate. According to two witnesses, several police officers conducted searches at the offices of Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella around midday on the 15th floor of the Parliament’s Altiero Spinelli building. Eric Van Duyse, spokesperson for Belgium’s federal prosecutor, confirmed the fresh raids had taken place Tuesday in the Parliament. Authorities have accused both MEPs of being linked to an alleged bribery ring involving countries such as Qatar and Morocco.Tarabella recently resumed his work as an MEP after spending months in jail and under house arrest between February and May this year. His office, which was sealed off by police along with Cozzolino’s in February, is now reopened to allow him to carry out his parliamentary work.Cozzolino, however, is still app...

‘I’m not an arsonist’: UK’s Kemi Badenoch hits back at Brexiteers over EU ‘bonfire’ delay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:28 GMT

LONDON — Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has been drawn into a heated public row with Tory Eurosceptics over the U.K.’s efforts to scrap EU laws carried over post-Brexit.Senior Conservative MP David Jones accused the Tory rising star on Tuesday morning of lacking “courtesy” and being “disrespectful” toward the House of Commons by slowing government efforts to scrap EU laws after MPs had already passed a key bill.But, speaking at a session of the Commons European scrutiny committee, Badenoch hit back. She accused Jones, deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Tory MPs, of leaking details of private meetings to British newspapers. And she rejected the characterization of the bill as a “bonfire” of EU laws.“It’s public knowledge that we had private meetings, because when I thought we were having private and confidential meetings I was reading the content in the Daily Telegraph,” Badenoch told Jones.The...