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Bridge: Nov. 1, 2023

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

Here’s a puzzle in logic: A child born in Boston of parents born in Boston is not a U.S. citizen? How come?Playing good defense requires logical thought. The defenders must count declarer’s points and distribution and draw inferences from the bidding and play.Today’s West leads the deuce of spades against 3NT. Declarer wins with dummy’s queen and leads the seven of clubs. If East plays “second hand low,” South wins and cashes five diamonds and two more spades, making his game.THREE SPADESOn the bidding, South probably has five diamonds and four clubs, and the opening lead marks him with three spades — so, a singleton heart. East must rise with the ace of clubs and lay down the ace of hearts. The defense can take three more hearts for down one.Can East find the winning defense? He should if he does his thinking when he see dummy, so he won’t have to play on impulse if declarer leads a club from dummy at Trick Two.Puzzle answer: The chil...

Word Game: Nov. 1, 2023

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — REPINES (REPINES: rih-PINE’S: Complains; longs for something.)Average mark 27 wordsTime limit 35 minutesCan you find 34 or more words in REPINES? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — BRIOCHE bier birch bore boric brio rice rich robe ocher cero choir chore coheir coir core crib heir herb hero heroic hire hoer echoTo 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].

Horoscopes Nov. 1, 2023: Toni Collette, be the take-charge person

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Toni Collette, 51; Jenny McCarthy, 51; Anthony Kiedis, 61; Lyle Lovett, 66.Happy Birthday: Stick to the truth and use the bare minimum. Covering for others will set you back financially or emotionally. Concentrate on what’s important to you and turn your thoughts into a reality. Be the take-charge person who offers positive change and hope. Settle in for the long race and go the distance. Refuse to let your feelings interfere with decisions that can waste your time and money or damage your reputation. Your numbers are 8, 13, 22, 24, 31, 33, 46.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Pay attention to what’s happening around you. Someone you least expect will need emotional support. Extend a helping hand, and you’ll receive information that helps you let go of the past or something that isn’t working for you anymore. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): A change will excite you and spark your imagination. Share your thoughts with someone you respec...

Voices of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure replaced after decades of service

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

The familiar voices that have welcomed visitors to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for decades will soon be changing as the husband-and-wife team behind the daily park announcements are departing after their contracts were not extended.Disneyland park announcer Bill Rogers and Disney California Adventure park announcer Camille Dixon will no longer be recording new park announcements for the Disneyland Resort, according to Disneyland officials.Rogers has been the voice of Disneyland for the last 32 years while Dixon has been the voice of Disney California Adventure for 11 years.Disneyland has made the decision to move forward with new voices for park announcements at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure as contract renewals approach for voice talent, according to Disneyland officials.Disneyland is thankful and grateful to Rogers and Dixon for sharing their voice talents with guests throughout the years, according to Disneyland officials.Rogers became the official voi...

California slashes state tax collection outlook

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

California is poised to fall well short of its budget forecasts as the recent stock market slump erodes the state’s tax revenue.As of Oct. 25, a total of nearly $18 billion was collected so far this month — significantly lower than the $42 billion of collections that were previously projected for all of October — according to an update from the state’s Department of Finance late Friday. The shortfall comes as the state prepares to close out its seasonal autumn sale period for state-issued municipal bonds.It’s unclear how the budget outlook will impact the state’s bond sales, according to H.D. Palmer, deputy director for external affairs for the California DOF. The state has “never missed a schedule bond payment to a note holder,” he said in an interview Monday.The state expected to receive $28 billion from personal income taxes and $14 billion from corporate taxes in October, but, income taxes have thus far yielded only $11.8 billion while corporate taxes have produced $6.2 billion ...

Supreme Court wrestles with social media cases that have echoes of Donald Trump

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

By MARK SHERMAN | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wrestled Tuesday with whether public officials can block critics from commenting on their social media accounts, an issue that first arose in a case involving former President Donald Trump.The justices heard arguments in two cases involving lawsuits filed by people who were blocked after leaving critical comments on social media accounts belonging to school board members in southern California and a city manager in Port Huron, Michigan, northeast of Detroit.The cases force the court to deal with the competing free speech rights of public officials and their constituents, and all in a rapidly evolving virtual world.“More and more of our democracy operates on social media,” Justice Elena Kagan said during three hours of arguments.The cases are part of a term-long focus on the relationship between government and the private digital platforms. Justice Clarence Thomas hinted at coming cases when he described as “the looming...

First Tesla Autopilot jury trial ends in loss for family of driver killed in California crash

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

By Malathi Nayak | BloombergTesla convinced a jury that its Autopilot technology wasn’t responsible for a crash that killed a driver in Menifee four years ago, vindicating the driver-assistance system that’s a core part of Elon Musk’s efforts to make his electric-car company stand out from rivals.Jurors in state court in Riverside on Tuesday sided with Tesla in the first lawsuit blaming a fatality on Autopilot to go to trial.The family of the deceased driver, Micah Lee, and two passengers who were seriously injured sought $400 million in damages for physical injury, mental anguish and loss of the driver’s life.Tesla’s eight-year experiment with semi-autonomous driving is mired in controversy even as Musk has maintained that the technology makes his cars the safest ever produced.Related ArticlesBusiness | Tesla says DOJ Is probing personal benefits violations, advertised vehicle range Business | Why Tesla isn’t unionized Business | EU warns ...

United Airlines flight attendants want Dodgers questioned about racial bias claims

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

Veteran United Airlines flight attendant Darby Quezada thought she was breaking a racial barrier when she was selected in 2020 to work on charter flights for the Los Angeles Dodgers.But then Quezada stopped getting chosen for the coveted flights because, she alleges in a lawsuit, the Dodgers preferred attendants who were young and white.“The wall is still there. I didn’t break anything,” Quezada said in an interview Monday, Oct. 30. Quezada, 44, is of Black, Mexican and Jewish heritage. She and fellow flight attendant Dawn Todd, a 50-year-old Black woman, filed a lawsuit last week against United claiming racial and religious discrimination in staffing the Dodgers charter flights.“For me, (the job) meant everything,” Quezada said. “I am a minority. I tried to join the charter since 2008 when I was first hired, but I was told I didn’t fit a look.”The lawsuit claims United officials and Dodgers traveling secretary Scott Akasaki “blatantly” selected flight attendants for the charter bas...

Owner of California sober living homes sentenced to 2 years for fraud

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

A Bakersfield attorney who Orange County prosecutors said built a $22 million empire by fraudulently billing insurance firms for urine tests that were either not needed or not completed has been sentenced to two years in jail.Philip Ganong, 70, pleaded no contest Monday to 10 counts of submitting fraudulent claims for a health benefit at a chain of sober living homes his family operated in Southern California.Ganong, his wife and their son collected urine samples from employees and patients staying at their homes. They created labs to test that urine. And they charged insurance companies, sometimes hundreds of dollars per sample, to analyze it. But often the tests were either not done or not needed, and the prescriptions were forged, prosecutors said at the time.Ganong’s wife, Pamela, is awaiting a mental health competency hearing Nov. 28 to determine if she can stand trial on charges of submitting fraudulent claims for health benefit. Their son, William, died in a house fire in 201...

Ask Amy: I was angry to see them all eating nuts, and they laughed when I objected

Published Thu, 06 Feb 2025 11:00:58 GMT

Dear Amy: I am one of a group of friends who recently attended a hobby retreat. Before the retreat we were informed that a participant (a person we know) has a nut allergy.Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: My parents aren’t really fighting, but it makes my husband uncomfortable Advice | Ask Amy: Yes, I drink too much, but here’s why I won’t do AA Advice | Ask Amy: My wife’s family is horrible to me, and she pretends it’s not happening Advice | Ask Amy: My husband has very definite views about our child’s schooling. Is he correct? Advice | Ask Amy: Should I just let the new boyfriend be a surprise at our holiday dinner? We were told her allergy was environmental and that she could have a reaction just being around nuts.Well, when I walked into the venue all four of my friends were eating nuts.When I mentioned the nut allergy, they all laughed. They knew about it but did...