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Bridge: April 13, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

Preempts have been around forever. Players who embrace an undisciplined, hyperactive style tend to remember their triumphs and forget their losses.There was nothing hyper about West’s preemptive jump to two spades; it would have been chosen by many players. But North-South still reached six hearts. West led the queen of clubs, and South won with the king, drew trumps, took the ace of clubs and ruffed dummy’s last club.South next cashed three diamonds and, placing West with 6-1-2-4 distribution, played a low spade from both hands. The defender who won was end-played. Making six.BLUEPRINTIf West doesn’t bid, North-South will get to slam, but without a blueprint of the distribution, South may try for a 12th trick by taking the ace of spades and leading toward his queen.I’m certainly not anti-preemption, but you must accept occasional losses. You may induce the opponents to bid with all the more resolve and reach an unlikely contract, then help them judge the pla...

Biden to stress shared ties in address to Irish parliament

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

DUBLIN (AP) — After spending most of a day on a whirlwind countryside tour of his ancestry, President Joe Biden is turning back to diplomacy on Thursday, with an address to the Irish parliament and meetings with the country’s leaders, with Ukraine high on the agenda.On his first stop of the day, Biden will meet with President Michael D. Higgins at the president’s Dublin residence and will ring the Peace Bell, unveiled in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Biden also will participate in a tree planting ceremony, with his Irish oak close to the one planted by then-President Barack Obama.Biden will also meet with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, before a speech to parliament in which “he’ll be reflecting on the long, close and shared history between the United States and Ireland,” said Amanda Sloat, the National Security Council’s senior Europe director...

Delta: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) on Thursday reported a loss of $363 million in its first quarter.The Atlanta-based company said it had a loss of 57 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 25 cents per share.The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 29 cents per share.The airline posted revenue of $12.76 billion in the period, which also did not meet Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $12.77 billion.For the current quarter ending in June, Delta expects its per-share earnings to range from $2 to $2.25.The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $5 to $6 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DAL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DALSource

Delta loses $363 million but says travel demand still strong

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

Delta Air Lines reported a $363 million loss for the first quarter on Thursday, with higher spending on labor and fuel overshadowing a sharp rise in revenue.But the airline predicted it will make a bigger-than-expected profit in the current second quarter, which includes the start of the key summer travel season.Airlines are getting a tailwind from the combination of strong demand and limited flights, which has pushed fares higher. But investors were spooked this week when industry analysts warned that growth in airline bookings has slowed down compared with this time last year. Delta’s CEO said it is unfair to compare current ticket sales with those from a year ago, when travel was just starting to boom as pandemic-related restrictions were lifted.CEO Ed Bastian and other airline executives have been saying for months that travel demand shows no signs of weakening despite high inflation, layoffs in the tech industry, the failures of a couple banks, and uncertainty about the e...

Corte de apelaciones congela parcialmente la orden del juez de Texas que habría suspendido la aprobación de la FDA de la píldora para abortar

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

(CNN) — Una corte federal de apelaciones congeló este miércoles por la noche partes de la orden de un juez de Texas que habría suspendido la aprobación de la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de EE.UU. (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés) de una píldora para abortar.Pero el tribunal solo concedió parcialmente la solicitud del Departamento de Justicia y el fabricante de la droga de suspender el fallo del juez federal de distrito Matthew Kacsmaryk, y el panel efectivamente hizo que el medicamento fuera más difícil de obtener.El viernes pasado, Kacsmaryk emitió un fallo que habría detenido la aprobación del fármaco Mifepristona por parte de la FDA, aprobada hace 23 años. Según la nueva orden de la corte de apelaciones, la aprobación permanecerá vigente y el medicamento permanecerá en el mercado mientras se desarrolla una apelación acelerada.Sin embargo, la Corte de Apelaciones del 5º Circuito de EE.UU. está dejando en su lugar partes del fallo que detuvo los cambios que la FD...

Norway expels 15 Russian diplomats, accuses them of doing intelligence work from embassy in Oslo

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway expels 15 Russian diplomats, accuses them of doing intelligence work from embassy in Oslo.Source

La persona detrás de los documentos filtrados del Pentágono trabajó en una base militar de EE.UU., según The Washington Post

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

(CNN) — La persona detrás de la filtración masiva de documentos militares clasificados de Estados Unidos trabajó en una base militar y publicó secretos confidenciales de seguridad nacional en un grupo de conocidos en línea, informó The Washington Post este miércoles.El reportaje de The Washington Post, que CNN no pudo verificar de manera independiente, cubre un nuevo terreno en la identificación del supuesto filtrador de documentos altamente clasificados, incluidos algunos que pintan una visión pesimista de Estados Unidos sobre la guerra en Ucrania, y brinda los primeros detalles conocidos sobre quién puede detrás de una importante brecha de seguridad nacional que ha sacudido a Washington en los últimos días.El filtrador, descrito en la historia del Post como un joven solitario y entusiasta de las armas, era parte de una sala de chat de unas dos docenas de personas en Discord, una plataforma de redes sociales popular entre amantes de los videojuegos, que compartía su amor por ...

Denver weather: Fire risk Thursday, cool rain-snow mix Friday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — High winds, dry conditions, and above-average temperatures will cause a higher fire risk for the entire eastern half of the state Thursday. Red flag warnings are in effect from noon until 8 p.m. with gusts up to 45 mph in the Denver weather forecast.Pinpoint Weather: Advisories on April 13. Weather today: Breezy with fire dangerExtra clouds will stick around the state Thursday with above-average but not record-breaking highs in the upper 70s. Denver broke two record high temps this week Winds will be breezy in the afternoon with gusts up to 45 mph. Fire danger lingers into the evening.Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on April 13. Weather tonight: Extra clouds, mildTemperatures stay mild Thursday night with lows in the upper 30s. Winds begin to slow a bit overnight with snow pushing into the mountain towns. Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on April 13. Looking ahead: Cool rain Friday, warming into next weekOvercast skies are here for Friday with light rain and...

Torrential storms batter South Florida, close Fort Lauderdale airport

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Nearly a foot (30 centimeters) of rain fell in a matter of hours in Fort Lauderdale – causing widespread flooding, the closure of the city’s airport and the suspension of high-speed commuter rail service for the Broward County region.The city of Fort Lauderdale released a statement Wednesday evening urging residents and visitors to stay off the roads until the water has subsided.“Police and Fire Rescue continue to answer calls for service,” the statement said. “Public Works staff are clearing drains and operating pumps to mitigate the water as quickly as possible.”The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for Fort Lauderdale and other areas will run into pre-dawn hours Thursday as the chance of thunderstorms continued across the region, warning: “This is a life-threatening situation. Seek higher ground now!”There have been no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.Up to 14 inches had fallen across the area through Wednesday and the Nat...

Russia to put Ukrainian national on ‘international wanted list’ over St. Petersburg bombing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:27 GMT

A Ukrainian citizen will be put on an “international wanted list” over suspicions of being an accomplice to the bombing at a St. Petersburg cafe that killed a pro-Kremlin military blogger, the Russian secret service said Thursday.Yuriy Denisov is accused of supplying the bombing’s main suspect with “an explosive device camouflaged as a plaster bust of a military commissar,” Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement.“The procedure for putting him on the international wanted list has been initiated,” according to the statement.According to the FSB, Denisov traveled to Russia last February “on the instructions of the Ukrainian special services” and “collected information about the lifestyle and places visited” by the military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, who was killed in the April 2 blast in St. Petersburg.Tatarsky — whose real name was Maxim Fomin — was part of a group of high-profile, pro-Russia ...