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Bridge: April 12, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

Cy the Cynic says that the things that come to those who wait are often what’s left behind by those who arrived early. But Cy knows that there are plenty of good reasons to delay drawing trumps.Cy was today’s South in a penny game at my club. North’s five-spade response to Cy’s “Keycard Blackwood” bid of 4NT showed two aces plus the queen of trumps, so Cy confidently bid a grand slam.West led the queen of diamonds, and Cy took the ace and cashed the A-K of trumps. When both defenders followed, Cy saw no problem — unless the missing clubs broke 4-0. So Cy didn’t draw the last trump; he led a club to dummy’s ace.LAST HEARTWhen West discarded, the Cynic mentally patted himself on the back. He continued with a club to his king and the A-K of hearts, pitching a club from dummy. He ruffed his last heart, came to his queen of clubs and ruffed a club in dummy.Cy then ruffed a diamond, drew the missing trump and won the 13th trick with hi...

California auctioneer agrees to plead guilty in Basquiat artwork fraud scheme

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

LOS ANGELES — A former Los Angeles auctioneer has agreed to plead guilty in a cross-country art fraud scheme where he created fake artwork and falsely attributed the paintings to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.The paintings ultimately wound up at the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida before they were seized by federal agents last year in a scandal that roiled the museum and led to its CEO’s departure after he threatened an art expert and told her to “shut up.”Paintings falsely attributed to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat were seized by federal agents at the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida in 2022. (Courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California)Paintings falsely attributed to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat were seized by federal agents at the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida in 2022. (Courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California)Paintings falsely attributed to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat were seized by fe...

Ask Amy: My wife’s mystery pregnancy could become a problem

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

Dear Amy: My wife and I have been married for 57 years. We love each other very much and demonstrate this every day.We have a daughter and a son in their 50s. Both are very successful. Our son has three adult children, and our daughter is single without children.I am not my daughter’s biological father.My wife and I have known each other since childhood and dated after high school. My job took me to another state for about a year. I returned home to a pregnant girlfriend.I loved her so much that I never asked one question about the affair, and I can honestly say that I never cared or thought about it.We have had a fantastic marriage. We love our daughter dearly and she and I have a great relationship!These days there is strong encouragement to do DNA and family research testing by you and others in the media.Every time I think about it, I get sick to my stomach. I am so afraid that if my daughter found out that I am not her biological dad, it would destroy her. I have actually cried...

Harriette Cole: My son won’t come out of his room, and I’m worried

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My son used to be an overachiever. Now he hangs out in his room playing video games. He hardly ever comes out to talk to the family. He dropped out of college during the pandemic, and he doesn’t want to go back.I worry about him. Some of his behaviors are on the checklist for depression. I cannot get him to go to a therapist or anything.How can I help my son?Worried SickDEAR WORRIED SICK: Who are your son’s friends? Do you think any of them might be a good influence on him? Perhaps you can coax your son out of his room through friends who invite him to hang out or come to visit.Plan a family vacation that will pull him out of the house and get him doing something different.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: Something is wrong with my ankles, and I don’t know what to do Advice | Harriette Cole: I felt so awkward on this trip with a co-worker Advice | Harriette Cole: My truculent husband makes my home l...

‘It’s a reckoning’: Md. AG’s report on child sex abuse by Catholic priests

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown speaks to WTOP’s DMV Download podcast host Luke Garrett in Baltimore, Maryland. In a nearly 500 page report released last week, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office documented more than 600 victims of sexual assault at the hands of priests, seminarians and deacons within the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.“It’s been one of the most difficult things that I’ve had to address in my 20-plus years of public service,” Brown told WTOP News.Brown’s office released the report during Holy Week — considered the most sacred time within the Catholic calendar — and said this investigation only scratches the surface of what they describe as an 80-year scheme of abuse and cover up in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.“The staggering pervasiveness of the abuse itself underscores the culpability of the Church hierarchy,” the report said. “The sheer numbe...

Global shares trend higher with focus on inflation data

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were mostly higher Wednesday, as investors watched for key inflation data likely to influence the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. France’s CAC 40 added 0.4% in early trading to 7,420.32. Germany’s DAX edged up 0.4% to 15,709.27. Britain’s FTSE 100 surged 0.5% to 7,825.05. The future for the Dow industrials gained nearly 0.2% and the S&P 500 future contract added nearly 0.1%. In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to finish at 28,082.70. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 7,343.90. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 1% to 2,550.64..Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.9% to 20,309.86 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.4% to 3,327.18. “Broader markets remain laser-focused on this week’s critical inflation data as market participants attempt to tease out the state of the economy and the course the Fed might take from here,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Manag...

A tail wagging reunion after a terrier taken during a car theft in Prince George’s Co. is found safe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

Just over two weeks ago, a stop to fill up on gas in Landover Hills, Maryland, was the beginning of a nightmare for a couple headed to their home in Pennsylvania from Florida.On March 23, Cary Zamilski was outside their Land Rover and his wife Roxanne inside the gas station when someone stole their vehicle with their two Boston terriers, Gianni and Nina, inside.Cary said he ran after the car, yelling to the thief that his dogs were still inside.“It became obviously apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to reach them, and they were gone in the blink of an eye,” he said.More Local NewsMore Maryland NewsMore Prince George’s County NewsCary said two people tried to help. One called 911, and the other jumped into their car and attempted to chase the stolen car.Gianni, a Boston terrier, was missing for weeks after Cary and Roxanne Zamilskis’ car was stolen with Gianni inside in March. To the Zamilskis immense pleasure, Prince George’s police located G...

James Webb Telescope captures a ‘green monster’ inside a young supernova

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

The James Webb Space Telescope captured never-before-seen colorful detail in one of the best-observed remnants of an exploded star.The glowing gas and dust of Cassiopeia A is all that remains of a star that exploded in a supernova and whose light first reached Earth 340 years ago. It is the youngest known supernova remnant in our galaxy, which is why the celestial object has been studied by a multitude of terrestrial and space telescopes.Cassiopeia A lies 11,000 light-years away, in the constellation Cassiopeia, and the remnant extends for 10 light-years.How does a supernova explosion start? Scientists capture it for the first timeObserving Cas A, as it is also known, allows scientists to better understand how stellar explosions occur.The astronomers pointed the Webb telescope and its instruments in the direction of Cas A to see if the observatory’s infrared capabilities could pick up something other telescopes might have missed. Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, a...

‘The Marvels’ teaser trailer brings Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris together

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

(CNN) — The Marvel-ous misses have hit the mark.On Tuesday the teaser trailer for “The Marvels” dropped, featuring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel.The trio star in the film, a spinoff of Larson’s 2019 “Captain Marvel” movie. The tagline for “The Marvels” is “Teaming up changes e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ everyone.”It also brings plenty of action, as well as Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury when the three women have to come together to set things straight, much to the delight of Vellani’s character.“A huge part of why I wanted to play Captain Marvel was because of Ms. Marvel and what that meant,” Larson told Entertainment Weekly about Vellani’s character, who is Muslim and of Pakistani heritage. “To see that character realized by such a brilliant human with so much potential is just a really exciting thing.”...

Michael Jordan’s 1998 NBA Finals sneakers sell for a record $2.2 million

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:25:09 GMT

(CNN) — In 1998, Michael Jordan laced up a pair of his iconic black and red Air Jordan 13s to bring home a Bulls victory during Game 2 of his final NBA championship — and now they are the most expensive sneakers ever to sell at auction.The game-winning sneakers sold for $2.2 million at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday, smashing the sneaker auction record of $1.47 million, set in 2021 by a pair of Nike Air Ships that Jordan wore earlier in his career.The sale arrives during “Jordan Year” — a reference to the NBA star player’s iconic jersey number 23. In January, Air Jordan partnered with Sotheby’s to auction off 13 pairs of retro sneakers that were designed in memory of The Notorious B.I.G. All lots outsold their high estimates of $5,000 by multiples, with the highest selling for more than $32,000.Last year, Jordan’s Game 1 jersey, also from the 1998 finals, became the most expensive item of worn sports memorabilia to sell at auction when it ...