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Bridge: June 21, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

The form of scoring can affect bidding decisions. At IMPs, for example, you want to be plus — plus anything — in partscore deals. At matchpoint duplicate, your goal is to outscore the other pairs who hold your cards — by any margin.In the Platinum Pairs at the Spring NABC, East opened a weak two diamonds, an odd action with that suit. After two passes, North doubled, an answer to South’s prayers. After two passes, West questionably ran to two hearts. North doubled again.PENALTYSouth was sure his side could make 3NT for plus 600 or more. At IMPs, he would have passed; he could expect a sizable plus on defense. If he was plus 500, he might lose a little; but the penalty might be bigger, and if 3NT happened to fail or wasn’t bid in the replay, he would gain heavily.But at matchpoints, South had to consider bidding: If he was plus only 500 on defense, he might get a “bottom.” The winning action was … to pass. Two hearts (or two diamonds) d...

Turkish Elections: Erdogan’s Autocracy Continues

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

This week, the Turkish government announced it will raise its monthly minimum wage by 34 percent to address inflation and the economic crisis in the country. Despite the long-standing problems in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently won a contested reelection, further consolidating his 20-year rule. This week on Intercepted, Gönül Tol, the founding director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkey program, joins Murtaza Hussain to discuss the Turkish elections. Tol runs through Erdogan’s decadeslong history in office, how economic and social problems in Turkey contributed to the election’s rhetoric, and what Turkey’s future may look like under Erdogan’s autocratic government.Transcript coming soon.The post Turkish Elections: Erdogan’s Autocracy Continues appeared first on The Intercept.

43-year-old Venus Williams gets wild card to play singles at Wimbledon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Venus Williams is set to make her 24th appearance in the singles draw at Wimbledon after the 43-year-old American was given a wild-card entry on Wednesday.Williams is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and was a finalist at the grass-court major in 2017, two decades after her debut at the All England Club.Ranked 697th, Williams beat 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) on Monday at the Birmingham Classic. It was her first victory over a player in the top 50 in nearly four years.The seven-time Grand Slam champion next plays Jelena Ostapenko at the Wimbledon warm-up event.Williams’ younger sister Serena is a seven-time Wimbledon champion. Serena Williams lost in the first round at last year’s tournament and soon after announced her decision to step away from tennis.Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina and British players Heather Watson and Katie Boulter were also given wild cards for the women’s draw. David Goffin, a Belgian who r...

Las 5 cosas que debes saber este 21 de junio: CNN encuentra irregularidades en la compra de comida de la Casa Rosada

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

Una investigación de CNN encuentra irregularidades en la compra de comida de la Casa Rosada. Las horas están contadas para el submarino perdido. Miami, bajo alertas de calor extremo y de tormentas eléctricas. Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.1. CNN encuentra irregularidades en la compra de comida de la Casa RosadaLa cantidad de visitas a la Casa Rosada este año cayó 17,6% si se compara el período entre el 1 de enero y el 17 de abril de 2022 y los mismos días de 2023, pero al mismo tiempo aumentó la cantidad de alimentos y bebidas en las órdenes de compra abierta a cargo de la Secretaría General de Presidencia, de acuerdo con el análisis de CNN de los documentos oficiales. Exclusiva CNN.2. El submarino perdido tiene las horas contadas por falta de oxígenoUn submarino que transportaba a cinco personas para ver los restos del Titanic, en el fondo del océano Atlántico Norte, sigue desaparecido. Hay una importante operación de búsqueda por parte de las a...

Henrik Lundqvist is expected to headline the Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, part of the class of 2023 set to be announced Wednesday afternoon.Lundqvist backstopped Sweden to an Olympic gold medal in 2006 and led the New York Rangers to the playoffs in 11 of 12 years. That included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and two Eastern Conference final appearances.A seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft, Lundqvist ranks fifth on the NHL career victories list with 459. He won 61 more in the playoffs before halting his hockey career in 2020 because of a heart condition.Countryman Henrik Zetterberg, Canadian women’s hockey stars Jennifer Botterill and Caroline Ouellette and longtime executive David Poile are among the other top candidates being considered by the board chaired by Hall of Famer Mike Gartner, who was inducted in 2001. The long wait also could be over for point-a-game Russian winger Alexander Mogilny and goalie Curtis Joseph, who’...

Biden compara al líder chino Xi Jinping con “dictadores” incluso cuando Washington y Beijing trabajan para descongelar las relaciones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente Joe Biden comparó al presidente de China, Xi Jinping, con “dictadores” durante una recaudación de fondos políticos en California este martes por la noche, y pronunció los comentarios improvisados aproximadamente un día después de que el secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Antony Blinken, dijera que su reciente viaje había producido “progresos” en la reparación de la fracturada relación entre Washington y Beijing.“La razón por la que Xi Jinping se molestó mucho cuando derribé ese globo con dos furgones llenos de equipo de espionaje es que no sabía que estaba allí. No, en serio. Eso es lo que es una gran vergüenza para los dictadores, cuando no sabían lo que pasó”, dijo Biden a los asistentes a la recaudación de fondos en el Área de la Bahía, refiriéndose al globo espía chino que Estados Unidos derribó a principios de este año.Los comentarios aparentemente fuera del mensaje del presidente se producen en un momento particularmente tenso en las relaciones...

Denver weather: Pinpoint Weather Alert Day for risk of severe evening storms

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Front Range will have mainly sunny skies Wednesday with warm highs before evening storms fire up and push out across the plains tonight in the Denver weather forecast.Weather today: Sunny before evening stormsWednesday is a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day. Are July 4th drone shows the wave of the future? The metro will see plenty of sunshine Wednesday, helping high temperatures reach into the middle 80s. Storms can form in the evening hours across the Interstate 25 corridor and will slowly push out across the plains tonight. Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on June 21. There is a slight risk for severe storms in eastern Denver and over most of the plains.Pinpoint Weather: Storm risk on June 21.Weather tonight: Storms continueCloudy skies linger over the metro overnight with slowing winds. Storms will stay across the Eastern Plains overnight with heavy rain, gusty winds, and some large hail.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on June 21. Looking ahead: Drying out, n...

European tourist island declares itself a phone-free zone

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

(CNN) — As summer approaches and tourism season begins, social media users will struggle to answer the age-old question: If you didn’t post about your vacation, did you really even go?The answer is, of course: Yes you did, and you probably had a better time for not plastering it all over Instagram.Though it may be difficult for some to resist work emails and updating social media during vacation, the island of Ulko-Tammio in Finland is urging visitors to ignore their screens and enjoy nature.Claiming to be the world’s first phone-free tourist island, Ulko-Tammio is located in the Eastern Gulf of Finland, a national park in the Nordic nation that’s been named “world’s happiest country” six years in a row and, somewhat ironically, is home to Nokia, the brand behind the world’s best-selling smartphone of all time.“The island of Ulko-Tammio, which is located off the coast of Hamina, will be a phone-free area this summer,” Mats Selin, an expert in island tourism at Visit Kotka-Hamin...

A restaurant must pay workers $140,000 after allegedly hiring a fake priest to extract confessions of workers’ ‘sins’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

New York (CNN) — A restaurant in California has been ordered to pay $140,000 in back wages and damages to employees after it hired a priest to extract workers’ confessions, in what federal investigators are calling “the most shameless” acts of corruption an employer has taken against its staff.The US Department of Labor said an employee testified that owner Che Garibaldi, who operates two locations of Taqueria Garibaldi in northern California, hired a fake priest to hear confessions during work hours and “get the sins out,” including asking them if they had been late for work, stolen money from the restaurant or had “bad intentions” toward their employer.“Under oath, an employee of Taqueria Garibaldi explained how the restaurant offered a supposed priest to hear their workplace ‘sins’ while other employees reported that a manager falsely claimed that immigration issues would be raised by the department’s investigation,” said Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in the release.Th...

Damaged portion of I-95 in Philadelphia will reopen this weekend, ahead of schedule, governor says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:13 GMT

(CNN) — The damaged portion of Interstate 95 that collapsed in Philadelphia on June 11 will reopen this weekend, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced, highlighting the reopening comes ahead of schedule thanks to the “24/7” work of crews at the site.“We have made tremendous progress over just the last few days,” the governor said in a Tuesday news conference.“I can confidently state right here, right now, that traffic will be flowing here on I-95 this weekend … We have completed every phase of this project safely and way ahead of schedule.”Since demolition of the damaged part concluded Thursday and construction work began, crews worked to fill the affected roadway with a “specially designed, Pennsylvania-made recycled glass aggregate,” transportation officials said.The section of interstate crumbled after a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline crashed and exploded in flames under the highway, officials said. The driver, identified as Nathan Moody, 53, was killed.The co...