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Bridge: July 4, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

“I heard you’re writing about choosing from more than one finesse,” Unlucky Louie said to me.I nodded.“Well, it doesn’t matter when I’m declarer,” Louie growled. “None of my finesses work, so which one I try first is moot.”Louie was declarer at today’s four spades in a penny game, and West led the queen of clubs and then the jack. Louie ruffed the third club, took the ace of trumps, led a heart to the ace — dummy’s only entry — and returned a trump to finesse with his jack.DOWN THREE“Of course, West had the queen,” Louie said. “I ruffed his heart return and drew trumps, spending all my trumps. I next took the A-K of diamonds. When the queen didn’t fall, I went down three.”Declarer has options. Maybe his best chance is to let the ten of diamonds ride at Trick Six. If that finesse wins, he is a favorite however he continues. If West has the queen of diamonds, South ruffs the hea...

Word Game: July 4, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — CODDLING (CODDLING: KOD-ling: Treating indulgently; babying.)Average mark 20 wordsTime limit 30 minutesCan you find 26 or more words in CODDLING? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — LEGITIMIZE liege lime limit lite elite emit gilt gimlet glee glitz item itemize teem tile time meet melt mete mile mite zitiTo 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].

China restricts exports of high-tech metals in a slap at Washington ahead of Yellen’s visit

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China has imposed export curbs on two metals used in computer chips and solar cells, expanding a squabble with Washington over high-tech trade ahead of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to Beijing this week.The controls on gallium and germanium are intended to “safeguard national security,” the Commerce Ministry said late Monday. It said exports will require official permission once the rules take effect Aug. 1 but did not say what restrictions might be applied.Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is frustrated by U.S. curbs on access to advanced processor chips and other technology on security grounds. But Beijing has been slow to retaliate, possibly to avoid disrupting China’s fledgling developers of chips, artificial intelligence and other technology.Yellen is due to arrive Thursday as part of efforts by the Biden administration to revive relations that have plunged to their lowest level in decades due to disputes about technology, China’s milit...

Retailers beware: Resumption of student loan payments could lead some buyers to pull back

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge.The suspension of federal student loan payments, which took effect at the height of the pandemic in 2020, expires late this summer. Interest will start accruing again in September. Payments will resume in October.Though many hoped their loans might at least be lightened, the Supreme Court last week struck down a Biden administration plan that would have given millions of people some relief from the return of the loan payments. The Biden plan would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million borrowers; 20 million would have had their loans erased entirely. The court ruled that the plan exceeded the government’s authority.The restart of those payments will force many people to start paying hundreds of dollars in loans each month — money they had been spendi...

Las 5 cosas que debes saber este 4 de julio: Zelensky llama “débil” a Putin

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

Pronóstico del tiempo y tormentas para el 4 de julio en EE.UU. ¿Por qué hay protestas en Francia? Vargas Llosa está hospitalizado con covid-19 en Madrid. Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.1. Zelensky califica de “débil” la reacción de Putin a la rebelión de WagnerLa respuesta del presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, a la rebelión armada del grupo mercenario Wagner fue “débil” y el mandatario ruso está perdiendo el control de su propio pueblo, dijo a CNN el presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, en una entrevista exclusiva.Zelensky le concede entrevista exclusiva a CNN 1:292. ¿Por qué se celebra el 4 de julio en EE.UU.?En todo Estados Unidos, el 4 de julio es un día de fiesta en que los colores rojo, azul y blanco adornan las ciudades, el cielo se ilumina con fuegos pirotécnicos, y las parrillas se encienden en los jardines, mientras en algunas ciudades los amantes de los perros calientes tienen su propio concurso. Esta es la historia ...

Critican a la Policía de Hong Kong por ofrecer recompensas en efectivo por activistas prodemocracia exiliados

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

(CNN) — La policía de Hong Kong ofreció este lunes 1 millón de yenes (US$ 127.603) de recompensa por información sobre ocho destacados activistas a favor de la democracia en exilio autoimpuesto, en una medida fuertemente condenada por grupos de derechos humanos y gobiernos occidentales.Los activistas, incluidos los exlegisladores Nathan Law, Dennis Kwok y Ted Hui, fueron acusados de cometer delitos contra la seguridad nacional que van desde la colusión con fuerzas extranjeras hasta la subversión del poder estatal.Después de salir de Hong Kong en los últimos años, muchos de los activistas han seguido hablando en contra de lo que dicen es la represión de Beijing contra las libertades y la autonomía de su ciudad natal.El grupo de siete hombres y una mujer ahora viven en Estados Unidos, Canadá, Gran Bretaña y Australia, países que han suspendido sus tratados de extradición con Hong Kong debido a preocupaciones sobre la controvertida ley de seguridad nacional.La ley radical fue imp...

STEAMY FOURTH FORECAST

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

Happy 4th of July, South Florida!Hopefully this week has started off on a nice note. For some, the holiday is a 4-day weekend and the long holiday weekend has brought on the heat across South Florida. Afternoon high temperatures on Monday reached into the mid 90s while feels-like temperatures were already in the triple digits before lunchtime yesterday. And while some of us saw a few showers and isolated thunderstorms, most of the thunderstorm activity remained well west of our area. This morning it was calm and quiet with showers across the Atlantic near the Bahamas drifting in no real direction.Feels like temperatures on Monday were in the triple digits for an extended period of time and today South Florida can expect much of the same. With the added humidity in place, together with afternoon high temperatures in the mid to lower 90s, heat indices will be ranging anywhere between 105° and 110° for an extended period of time. Because of this, a heat advisory has been issued for all...

Russia illegally used facial recognition to arrest protestor, human rights court rules

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

Russia’s use of facial recognition technology to arrest a protester on the Moscow subway violated his human rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday.“The use of facial-recognition technology in his case ha[s] been incompatible with the ideals and values of a democratic society governed by the rule of law,” the court said in its ruling.Nikolay Glukhin, a Russian citizen, travelled on Moscow’s underground in August 2019 carrying a life-sized cardboard figure of the dissident Konstantin Kotov, who was imprisoned for taking part in unsanctioned rallies. The cutout of Kotov was holding a banner that said “I’m facing up to five years … for peaceful protests.”Glukhin was arrested several days after his solo protest while travelling on the metro, and charged with failing to notify the authorities of his demonstration. He was fined 20,000 roubles (around €200).“The processing of Mr. Glukhin’s personal data in the context of his...

Police responding to crash involving tractor-trailer on 93 southbound in Boston

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

Emergency crews are responding to a serious crash involving a tractor-trailer on Route 93 in Boston. Video showed traffic at a standstill as crews worked to remove the tractor-trailer from the roadway.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

En Vogue ready to take the stage alongside the Pops for Fourth of July performance in Boston

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:19:34 GMT

R&B group En Vogue is among the headliners for this year’s Boston Pops Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular on the Esplanade in Boston and the trio say they’re ready to go for their big performance.In an exclusive interview with 7NEWS, the group says they’re particularly excited about performing alongside the Boston Pops. “We’ve heard how amazing they are, especially the conductor, Keith Lockhart, so we’re really excited.” “We’re looking forward to rockin’ out and having a great time with the crowd, it’s going to be such a festive mood and so celebratory, so we just really want to connect with the audience and have a great celebration.” En Vogue has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide during their three decades performing and received 7 Grammy nominations.