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Miss Manners: So now moms expect their own gifts at kids’ birthday parties?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: Would you be so kind to explain to me why it’s the new protocol, when invited to a child’s birthday party, that your child is expected to give the honoree’s mother a wrapped gift for giving birth 16 years ago?Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: Why I would never get rid of this useless item I keep tripping over Advice | Miss Manners: Was my gift to her tacky? Or was her response tacky? Advice | Miss Manners: Her husband got whiny, and suddenly I was on the hook for $100 Advice | Miss Manners: What do you mean what’s wrong with my arm? Advice | Miss Manners: My child was upset by this drama on the train. Who was in the wrong? Now it’s two gifts that must be purchased for a birthday party — one for the mom, one for the child.I thought the husband was expected to give the mom a piece of jewelry, privately. It’s their moment, not to be shared wi...

Dear Abby: Is it out of line to tell him I’ll help him leave his odious wife?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My best friend’s wife is a narcissist, and she’s driving everyone away from him.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: After decades of gaslighting me, my mother refuses to admit what she did Advice | Dear Abby: The co-worker who was supposed to leave is still here, and things are not getting better Advice | Dear Abby: I don’t know what’s in my husband’s trailer, but I want it gone Advice | Dear Abby: I brought up my moral issue with the restaurant, and this man exploded at me Advice | Dear Abby: These men hijacked our sentimental lunch. Am I wrong to be upset? They have been married for 10 years. I’ve known Owen since high school. He has always been a quiet, easygoing guy. Shirley is a nightmare. She has berated him at work and has left him by himself on holidays, including birthdays. She orders him around, and she runs everything without hardly paying for any...

Foggy Start to Clear Out to a Great Weekend

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

Our Friday is off to a foggy start across South Florida but at least it’s dry out there and the dry weather will be the trend heading into the weekend and at least early next week.Expect the fog to lift and clear out late-morning, giving way to a mix of sun and clouds during the afternoon. Besides a stray shower, it will be dry for most with highs warmer into the low to mid 80s.There will still be some leftover moisture on Saturday, so patchy morning fog will be possible once again along with periods of sun and clouds. Overall, Saturday is looking nice with bright and warm conditions.Overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, a weak front will cross through from the north. It will come rain-free but what it will do is usher in a brief, minor drop in low temperatures and humidity. Lows on Sunday morning should be a couple degrees cooler than on Saturday, dipping into the mid to upper 60s across much of mainland South Florida. During the day Sunday, it’s looking even nicer wi...

Schwarzenegger: America needs ‘new blood’ in the White House

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told POLITICO he sympathizes with majorities of Americans worried and even dejected about a 2024 rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.“It’s really because none of them are perfect and also because of the age factor,” Schwarzenegger, 76, said in an interview. “We need new blood. I say, always, we need a new breed of leaders.”At the same time, Schwarzenegger bemoaned the lack of a clear opening for a fresh face — in either of the two major political parties.“When Biden holds a press conference, everyone covers it. And when Trump does something … even when he sneezes, they cover it,” he said. “The headlines are all-Biden, or all-Trump, so there’s no room for any of those other guys to get in. How do you build a name?”Schwarzenegger, himself, was an obvious exception in his own political career. In 2003, the A-list movie star and bodybuilding champion shocked California’s establishment and the political universe writ large when he ran f...

Hungary issues an anti-EU survey to citizens on migration, support for Ukraine and LGBTQ+ rights

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s government on Friday released a set of questions for an informal survey it will send to voters on a number of divisive issues including migration, LGBTQ+ rights and support for Ukraine, including a proposal to block further European Union assistance to Kyiv unless the bloc releases frozen funds to Hungary. The survey, which the government calls a “national consultation,” contains 11 questions and strikes a combative tone toward the EU, which it accuses of trying to force policies on Hungary.One question asks whether Hungary should block an EU plan to provide a four-year, 50 billion euro (nearly $53 billion) aid package for Ukraine unless the bloc unfreezes billions in assistance to Hungary that it has held up over concerns that the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has failed to uphold rule-of-law and human rights standards. “They are asking Hungary for additional support (for Ukraine) even as our country has not received the EU funds...

Water valve cover on Las Vegas Grand Prix course halts first practice of the weekend

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tempers flared at the Las Vegas Grand Prix after the first practice of the $500 million race was halted nine minutes into the session Thursday night because Carlos Sainz Jr. ran over a water valve cover that badly damaged his Ferrari. The FIA said Sainz hit the concrete frame around the cover. It took another 11 minutes for the governing body to call all cars off track so it could inspect the entire circuit. The start of a second practice scheduled for midnight Thursday was delayed, and Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur raged that the “just unacceptable” incident would keep Sainz from participating. But Sainz was ready to practice after Ferrari replaced the entire chassis and other components, which the FIA ruled would be a 10-place grid penalty for Sainz. As the moderator of a post-practice news conference attempted to ask Vasseur about the “bigger picture,” Vasseur refused to change the topic. “I’m not sure the topic for me today. We had a very tough FP1 that ...

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake boys cross-country team reflects on record-breaking season

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

BURNT HILLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The word "dynasty" can get thrown around pretty loosely sometimes. But there's no better way to describe a Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake boys cross-country team that claimed a seventh straight NYSPHSAA Class B championship last Saturday - the longest streak of state titles for any boys cross-country team in New York history. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "We really didn't talk about the record," said head coach Chip Button, who's in his 33rd year at the helm of the program. "We didn't do it last year. Or...I didn't do it last year. And one person on the starting line (Saturday)…actually mentioned it," Button said with a smile to his team laughing next to him. "It was the only time it was mentioned all weekend until afterwards. Saturday's meet was by far...the most emotional of any of 'em. It was beyond belief about how I felt afterwards."Senior Matt Windecker has been part of three of those champions...

Saints aim to bounce back after dropping two straight

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Siena Men's basketball team is trying to bounce back from a rough patch. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Saints have lost their last two games against Richmond and American. This is a young team that only has one senior on the roster. Despite the lack of experience, this group is focused on turning the page when they hit the road for the Sunshine Slam Classic in Daytona Beach, Florida. Their first game is Monday, November 20, at 11:30 a.m.

Peer review report on Cyprus now online

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

Eurostat is pleased to announce that another peer review report within the third round of European Statistical System (ESS) peer reviews — the peer review report on Cyprus — is now publicly available on Eurostat’s thematic web page and on the web page of Cyprus’ Statistical Service.The report was produced following the peer review visit to Cyprus by a dedicated team of four experts, including one from Eurostat. The visit took place from 6 to 10 March 2023 in a face-to-face format.The peer reviews of national statistical systems were conducted by external experts (from both inside and outside the ESS) and followed the same methodology. This included the completion of self-assessment questionnaires by several statistical authorities followed by a peer review visit. The results are a peer review report containing expert recommendations for improvement, and an action plan to address these recommendations that is developed by the national statistical institute of the reviewed country.The...

Bridge: Nov. 17, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:15:11 GMT

“You know what Plato said about wisdom?” a club player asked me. “He knew he was wise because he knew that he knew nothing.”“A cogent observation.”“And you know how he knew that? Because his wife told him.”My friend had played at today’s four spades. He took the king of diamonds, led a trump to his hand and returned a club toward dummy.“West played low. I thought he might have grabbed the ace if he had it, so I played the jack. East took the queen, and I lost to the A-K of hearts and ace of clubs. Down one.”PASSED HAND“My wife said I should have guessed right in clubs. She said East was a passed hand and was marked with the jack of diamonds. Part of the time he would hold the A-K of hearts, and then he couldn’t have the ace of clubs. That wisdom was too subtle for me. Maybe Plato would have understood it.”I suppose North had a point. (South could have led hearts to find out.) As long as we’re s...