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Ask Amy: A childfree woman struggles with friendship

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

Dear Amy: I am a woman in my late 30s. My husband and I don’t have children. Almost everyone we know does.We have demanding jobs with little time during the week to unwind.I love my friends’ kids, but I’m both exhausted from maintaining those friendships and deeply unsatisfied with their quality.On the weekends, in a search for some connection and rejuvenation, I find myself driving hours or taking expensive trips to other cities to visit friends, essentially expending a ton of effort for an hour or two with a friend, during which we have a few minutes of an adult conversation.These friends don’t have any capacity to travel to me because they have young kids, and while I don’t expect that, I’m feeling sad and neglected.I’ve stopped making the effort as much as I used to — I need time to recharge, and these visits are really depleting.We have tried very hard to make new friends nearby, as well. This is going OK, although even these friends are also having babies and cannot enga...

Nearly 5 million blenders recalled for unsafe blades, dozens of burn injuries

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

BlendJet is recalling about 4.8 million of its portable blenders over laceration and fire hazards after receiving dozens of reports of injuries, federal regulators said Thursday.This photo provided by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows a BlendJet 2 Portable Blender. BlendJet is recalling about 4.8 million of its portable blenders over laceration and fire hazards after receiving dozens of reports of injuries, federal regulators said Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission via AP) BlendJet 2 Portable Blenders can overheat or catch fire, according to a notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and their blender blades can break off during use.There have been 329 reports of blades breaking during use to date, the CPSC said, as well as 17 additional reports of overheating or fires that resulted in about $150,000 of property damage claims. The company has also received 49 reports of minor burn injuries and one reported laceration in...

Ex-CHP officer who hit and killed pedestrian had unknown vision impairment

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

Five days before an off-duty CHP motorcycle officer hit and killed a pedestrian in Long Beach, he went to a hospital emergency room complaining of distorted vision in one eye, according to newly retrieved medical records.Now-former Officer Alfredo Gutierrez’s medical condition was not known by prosecutors or jurors during his misdemeanor trial in May for the 2019 death of 24-year-old Cezannie Mount.Gutierrez, who hit Mount while riding to work at 4:40 a.m., was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter because he was traveling at nearly 70 mph in a 40-mph zone.The trial ended in a hung jury, and the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office announced it would not seek a retrial, partially to spare Mount’s family from another protracted proceeding.Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said his office would have introduced Gutierrez’s eye condition as evidence if prosecutors had known about it.“It could have been highly relevant to our case because driving at high speeds in the dark...

Joe Flacco’s improbable season continues as Browns clinch playoff berth

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

By TOM WITHERS  | AP Sports WriterCLEVELAND — Joe Flacco has turned a seemingly cursed season into a charmed one.Cleveland’s quarterback for just over a month, Flacco passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns and the Browns clinched an unlikely playoff berth – just their second since 2002 – despite numerous injuries this season with a 37-20 victory over the New York Jets on Thursday night.The Browns (11-5) are assured of at least a wild-card berth and still have a chance to win the AFC North and maybe the conference’s No. 1 overall seed, something that seemed unfathomable just weeks ago as major injuries piled up.But things have changed since Flacco arrived.The 38-year-old quarterback improved to 4-1 as a starter with the Browns, who plucked the Super Bowl 47 MVP off his couch in New Jersey last month to hopefully rescue their season. He’s done that and more.In the final minutes, Browns fans chanted “Flac-co! Flac-co!” to a quarterback they once reviled with Baltimore and now revere...

Bridge: Dec. 29, 2023

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

“`Dropping the ball’ really doesn’t sound like a great way to start a new year.” — graffitiLook at today’s North-South cards. West leads the nine of clubs against six spades. The actual declarer dropped the ball and went down. Can you do better?North opened one club on his balanced 16-point hand; apparently, he was unwilling to open 1NT with two unstopped suits. South won the first club with the king, drew trumps and tried a heart from dummy to his ten. West took the jack and led another club, and South ran the clubs, pitching his queen of diamonds, and tried a second heart to his queen. Down one.“Unlucky,” South asserted.UNLUCKY?Was he really unlucky or could he hold on to the ball?South should make the slam easily. After he draws trumps, he takes two more clubs, then leads a heart to his ten. When West wins, he is end-played. If he returns a diamond, South wins with the queen, South reaches dummy with a trump and discards his queen o...

Horoscopes Dec. 29, 2023: Patricia Clarkson, choose progress over revenge

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jude Law, 51; Patricia Clarkson, 64; Ted Danson, 76; Jon Voight, 85.Happy Birthday: Keep your goal in focus. Stick to the truth, do what you know and do best, and maintain consistency as you move forward. Look at the big picture and fine-tune each component of your plan as you proceed. Don’t ignore how much things cost or let anger take over or lead you astray. If you choose progress over revenge, you’ll find it easier to feel gratitude. Your numbers are 3, 14, 21, 25, 32, 37, 43.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Travel, amusements and a carefree attitude may feel inviting, but if the price tag exceeds what you can afford, back away. Set boundaries and stick to a plan that doesn’t cause stress. Make maintaining structure and balance in your life your top priorities. 5 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): A desire or offering will tempt you. Refuse to give anyone an inkling of how you feel or what you’ll do next. Recognize a pressure tactic an...

Word Game: Dec. 29, 2023

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — RIGHTFUL (RIGHTFUL: RITE-ful: Proper; just.)Average mark 23 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 33 or more words in RIGHTFUL? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — CONSENT cent cone conn cost cote once onset neon nest noes nonce none nose note scent scone sect sent sone sonnet steno stone tenon toneTo 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].

Amid 28-game losing streak, Detroit showed it can compete with NBA’s best. Now a win would be nice.

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Detroit coach Monty Williams has believed it for a while, and now he has proof: The Pistons can compete with anybody in the NBA.And, he can only hope, the wins will come soon enough.The Pistons opened a 21-point lead over the league-best Celtics on Thursday night, forcing overtime before Boston pulled out a 128-122 victory and sent Detroit to an NBA record-tying 28th loss in a row. “As bad as they hurt right now, I hurt for them,” Williams said. “But I told them: `If we bring that kind of toughness and execution — minus the turnovers — we’re not just going to win one game. We’re going to put something together.’” It was the first time all season the Pistons led by more than 20 points, and the first time they had gotten to overtime in the two months since their last win. Detroit has also lost to Miami by one point, Milwaukee by two and defending champion Denver by four points this season. “We’re on the same level as all these teams were playing against,” said Detr...

Switching from one side of the offensive line to the other is among the NFL’s underrated tough tasks

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Driving a car with the opposite foot or shaving with the other hand would be major challenges for anyone.That’s how offensive linemen describe moving from right tackle to left tackle and vice versa. It’s a new position that requires different footwork, hand-and-eye coordination and other techniques all while trying to keep strong and speedy edge rushers from annihilating their quarterback.Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs and Cincinnati’s Jonah Williams are among the players who’ve made that difficult switch this season. Detroit’s Penei Sewell has gone back and forth.It’s one of the toughest transitions for an NFL player that’s often overlooked because of the assumption that offensive linemen all do the same thing. Yes, linemen have to block. But each guy on the line has different responsibilities and major adjustments are necessary.“You have so many reps on one side and it’s muscle memory but then all of sudden you have do everything the other way and it feels weird,” sa...

Police: Prince George’s Co. officer fires shots in carjacking near National Harbor’s Tanger Outlets

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:51:33 GMT

Prince George's County, Maryland, police respond to a reported shooting in the National Harbor's Tanger Outlets shopping center on Dec. 28, 2023. (WTOP/Matt Kaufax) Prince George's County, Maryland, police respond to a reported shooting in the National Harbor's Tanger Outlets shopping center on Dec. 28, 2023. (WTOP/Matt Kaufax) An off-duty police officer fired shots during a carjacking in which his personal vehicle was taken near the Tanger Outlets shopping center in Oxon Hill, Maryland’s National Harbor area on Thursday evening, according to police.“This did not happen in the parking lot of the outlet mall, but just across the street,” said WTOP’s Matt Kaufax, who was on the scene in the 6...