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Bridge: May 13, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

My “Simple Saturday” columns focus on improving basic technique and developing logical thinking.It can be dangerous to make assumptions. (For instance, for what animal would you assume the Canary Islands are named?) But declarer must sometimes make an assumption about the way the defenders’ cards lie.Today’s North-South reached 3NT on a prosaic auction, and West led the deuce of spades. South ducked twice and won the third spade. He had seven winners — a spade, two diamonds and four clubs — and if the missing diamonds broke 3-2, South could concede a diamond to set up the suit. But then he would have too many losers: the defense would cash a third spade plus the ace of hearts.FINESSESo South had to make an assumption, unpleasant though it was. At Trick Four, he led a heart to finesse with dummy’s ten. When East had to win with the ace, South had nine winners and only four losers.The Canary Islands get their name from the Latin word “ca...

Word Game: May 13, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — ADMIRING (ADMIRING: ad-MIRE-ing: Regarding with great esteem.)Average mark 32 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 46 or more words in ADMIRING? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — FASTIDIOUS fast fiat fido fist foist fuss adios adit audio audit auto sadist said sift situs soda sofa soft staid stud studio suds suit toad tofu toss tufa idiot iota daft dais dust oasis oast oustTo 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 a...

Horoscopes May 13, 2023: Stephen Colbert, make health a priority

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Candice King, 36; Lena Dunham, 37; Stephen Colbert, 59; Stevie Wonder, 73.Stevie Wonder (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File) Willy Sanjuan/Invision/Associated PressHappy Birthday: You can make a difference if you call people who can help you get things done. Make plans to take a trip that will enrich your life through learning, making connections or bringing you the peace of mind you desire. Make health a priority, along with helping others recognize the benefits of what you are pursuing this year. You’ll gain the most by practicing and endorsing what you learn. Your numbers are 8, 13, 22, 29, 38, 40, 48.ARIES (March 21-April 19): A premature move will cost you. Go through the process from beginning to end to avoid falling short of your goal. Don’t expect others to do things the way you want. Take pride in what you do, and do the work yourself. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Sign up for something that interests you, and it will ...

Update: Chicago’s Inspector General Recommends Discipline, Policy Review in Courtney Copeland Case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

Three years after the release of the “Somebody” podcast, Chicago continues to block the full release of the inspector general report investigating the police response to Courtney Copeland’s murder. In this update episode, Shapearl Wells discusses the summary findings of the report that were publicly shared while she presses on for full transparency.[“Somebody” theme music: “Everybody’s Something” by Chance the Rapper featuring Saba and BJ the Chicago Kid.]Shapearl Wells: Hey, it’s Shapearl. “Somebody” came out about three years ago. And since then, there’s a lot of things that has been happening in Courtney’s case. So I wanted to make sure I kept you up to date. Since this podcast came out, one of Courtney’s sister’s got married. And now I’m a grandma of two. One name is Josiah, and the other one’s name is Justus.[Audio of Shapearl with her grandson.]SW: Say, I love you. Justus: I love you. SW: I love you so much, Justus. SW: As a family, we’ve been going places that I k...

Healthy and happy: LeBron James, Anthony Davis lead Lakers back to conference finals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After every twist and turn in the soap opera saga of LeBron James’ four seasons alongside Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers, one truth remains perfectly clear.This is a championship-caliber partnership when James and Davis are both healthy.One or both superstars have been injured for long stretches of the three seasons since their 2020 bubble championship, and the Lakers’ road back to contention has been incredibly rocky because of it. The entire roster around them has been completely changed since that ring, but James and Davis are still here, still fighting.Now they’re both healthy at the same time again, and the rest of the NBA has been reminded what happens when this dynamic duo can fly at full strength.James and Davis were at their best while the Lakers eliminated the defending champion Golden State Warriors in six games, capping a masterful effort with a 122-101 victory Friday night.When asked why the seventh-seeded Lakers find them...

Heat embracing challenge, find way to return to the Eastern Conference finals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Inside the Miami Heat locker room, now officially halfway to the season’s ultimate goal, Erik Spoelstra stepped onto the NBA championship logo on the center of the floor and gathered his team around him.His message was simple.“There’s been nothing about this season that’s been easy,” Spoelstra said.He’s right, and the Heat aren’t complaining about that, either — since this anything-but-easy season is still going.They were a No. 1 seed last year and got to the Eastern Conference finals, and this year, they were a No. 8 seed and still got to the Eastern Conference finals. It took six games to get past New York — the revival of a playoff rivalry from the late 1990s and early 2000s — but the job is done, the clincher coming in a 96-92 win in Game 6 of their East semifinal matchup Friday night.“It’s a crazy story being written,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “Through all the ups and downs of the season, a lot of people counted us out. We weren’t even going to make it past th...

Warm again, cooling down into tomorrow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

7Weather- It’s a great weekend for us across Southern New England! As of this writing, temperatures are already in the 60s. We’ll get plenty of sunshine to boost temperatures into the upper 70s/near 80 this afternoon. A cold front has dropped in across New England. We won’t feel the cooler air until overnight into tomorrow. Highs tomorrow will be more seasonable. It’ll stay dry with plenty of sunshine too.We’re waking up to sunshine mixed with clouds. Overnight a couple showers moved in across the region. The thickest cloud cover is to the south. Clouds will continue to clear to mostly sunshine from north to south. The South Coast, Buzzards Bay, Cape and the Islands will hold on to clouds a little bit longer.It’s tank top weather for the Sox game! Just grab the shades and the sunscreen.Mainly clear with light wind overnight. The cooler air above us will work in and temperatures will fall into the upper 40s/low 50s by tomorrow morning. It’ll ...

Toronto council votes on motion to allow alcohol consumption in some parks this summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

Toronto’s city council has voted to approve the development of a pilot program that would allow residents to drink alcohol in some public parks this summer.The motion calling for the pilot was introduced by city councillors Shelley Carroll (Don Valley North) and Chris Moise (Toronto Centre) and directs city staff to work with other interested councillors interested in hosting a pilot in their ward.A city spokesperson said the proposed pilot is slated to run from August 5 to October 9 in parks where the local councillor has opted into the program.Staff members will consult with councillors once a list of suitable parks is provided and will report back on July 6, 2023, in time for the council meeting.“Toronto’s parks are one of the many things that make our city great. I want to thank Councillor Carroll, Councillor Moise and council for moving this pilot forward in a responsible and reasonable way,” said Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie.No tickets issued in 2022,...

Poland detects object in its airspace that flew from Belarus, likely observation balloon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that it has detected an object in Polish airspace that flew in from the direction of Belarus, and that it’s probably an observation balloon.The ministry tweeted that radar contact with the object was lost near Rypin, a town in central Poland 143 kilometers (89) northwest of the capital, Warsaw.A search was launched in the vicinity of Rypin involving a helicopter, a drone and ground groups from the Territorial Defense Forces, a press officer with the Operational Command of the Armed Forces, Capt. Ewa Złotnicka, told the television broadcaster TVN24.The object was spotted Friday around 8:30 p.m. local time near Białowieża, which is near Poland’s border with Belarus. Radar monitoring was carried out, but at around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, the object ceased to be visible, Złotnicka said in a phone interview with the private TV station.The development reported Saturday follows two other known incursions into Pola...

Pothole blitz in process across Toronto today

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

City of Toronto crews are on local streets for another 12-hour pothole blitz on Saturday.Workers will be fanned out across Toronto from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. as they work to repair as many pesky potholes as possible on expressways, major roads, and neighbourhood streets.So far, more than 75,000 road craters have been filled in since the start of the year.A city spokesperson said Saturday’s pothole blitz caps a week-long effort where city crews worked extended hours to prioritize repairing the pesky potholes.Those driving or cycling are advised to expect what the city called minor delays around pothole crews. The public is asked to be safe by respecting work zones and giving crews space while they make repairs.The city’s budget has allocated more than $4 and a half million for pothole repairs in 2023.