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Dear Abby: I was annoyed to discover why our friends picked this restaurant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

DEAR ABBY: In lieu of a regular “pizza night,” some good friends invited my wife and me to join them at a high-end restaurant. We agreed. We had a good dinner and an enjoyable evening.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I had to get rid of my beautiful furnishings because of guests’ stupid comments Advice | Dear Abby: She’s trying to one-up me by being the fun aunt Advice | Dear Abby: I’m 20, he’s 46 and married, and my family isn’t being supportive Advice | Dear Abby: I feel bad about it, but I had to squash my husband’s dream Advice | Dear Abby: We’re nervous about telling our kids this family secret When our separate checks arrived, our friends paid theirs with a gift card. Ours was a whopper, and the reason they wanted to eat there became quite obvious. I was annoyed because I felt our friends should have applied their gift card to the entire bill...

Exercising on little sleep could be bad for your brain, new study says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

You could lose that boost of energy and mental clarity you get after a workout — if you don’t get enough sleep. But that’s just the beginning.Turns out not getting enough sleep, coupled with exercise, could actually be bad for your brain.That’s according to the findings from a new longitudinal UK study published in a journal called The Lancet. Over a 10-year period, some 9,000 participants were surveyed by scientists every two years.“The study shows sleeping less than six hours consistently cuts cognitive benefits of exercise,” said Dr. Keisha Sullivan, a sleep medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente in Largo, Maryland.Furthermore, Sullivan noted that the study shows there was less cognitive decline over a 10-year period among those people who did not exercise, but got an adequate amount of sleep (between six and eight hours).“Cognitive function would include remembering things, staying quick on your feet, learning new skills,” Sullivan explained, adding that tho...

England captain Harry Kane leaves Tottenham for Bayern Munich in search for trophies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

England captain Harry Kane completed his move to Bayern Munich from Tottenham on Saturday in soccer’s biggest transfer of the summer as the striker goes in search of the first major trophies in his career.The transfer fee for Kane could hit more than 100 million pounds ($110 million), which breaks the Bundesliga transfer record and is a huge sum for a player who would have been out of contract next year.“It’s not a goodbye because you never know how things pan out in the future,” Kane, who has been at Tottenham since 2004, said in a video message, “but it’s a thank you and I’ll see you soon.”Kane, who has signed a four-year deal, flew to Munich on Friday to undergo a medical examination and is set to be presented to fans at the German Super Cup on Saturday, when Bayern plays Leipzig.Kane leaves Tottenham after 19 years at the club, where he became the second highest-scoring player in Premier League history — with 213 goals, 47 behind Alan Shearer — but never won a trophy with ...

England captain Harry Kane leaves Tottenham and signs with German champion Bayern Munich

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

MUNICH (AP) — England captain Harry Kane leaves Tottenham and signs with German champion Bayern Munich.Source

Padres play the Diamondbacks after Bogaerts’ 4-hit game

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

San Diego Padres (56-60, fourth in the NL West) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (57-59, third in the NL West)Phoenix; Saturday, 8:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Padres: Rich Hill (7-11, 5.16 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 108 strikeouts); Diamondbacks: Zac Gallen (11-5, 3.37 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 157 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Diamondbacks -150, Padres +128; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres take on the Arizona Diamondbacks after Xander Bogaerts’ four-hit game on Friday.Arizona has a 28-31 record at home and a 57-59 record overall. The Diamondbacks have gone 42-17 in games when they scored five or more runs.San Diego is 56-60 overall and 26-32 on the road. The Padres have a 29-11 record in games when they did not give up a home run.The teams square off Saturday for the eighth time this season. The Padres are up 5-2 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Corbin Carroll has 22 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs and 59 RBI for the Diamondbacks. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is 12-for-3...

Reds bring 1-0 series advantage over Pirates into game 2

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

Cincinnati Reds (61-57, second in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (52-64, fourth in the NL Central)Pittsburgh; Saturday, 7:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Reds: Brandon Williamson (4-2, 4.42 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 64 strikeouts); Pirates: Andre Jackson (0-0, 5.16 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Reds -116, Pirates -104; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds lead 1-0 in a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.Pittsburgh is 28-31 in home games and 52-64 overall. The Pirates have a 39-5 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.Cincinnati has a 61-57 record overall and a 32-26 record on the road. The Reds are 37-12 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.Saturday’s game is the ninth meeting between these teams this season. The Pirates hold a 5-3 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Jack Suwinski has 15 doubles and 21 home runs for the Pirates. Bryan Reynolds is 15-for-38 with two doub...

Rybakina outlasts Kasatkina in marathon Montreal tennis match that ended at 2:54 a.m.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

MONTREAL (AP) — Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan outlasted Daria Kasatkina of Russia 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (8) in a National Bank Open quarterfinal that ended Saturday at 2:54 a.m.With a few hundred hardy fans left, Rybakina finally finished off Kasatkina with an overhand smash on her fifth match point. Rybakina also fended off a match point with an ace to even the tiebreaker at 8.“I’ve played three sets, tough battles, but like this, honestly, physically it’s really tough,” Rybakina said on court after the match. “It’s so late. I’ve never played this late. Thank you so much. Hopefully, somehow I can recover for tomorrow.”After more than six hours of rain delays Thursday and some long matches Friday backed up the schedule, the third-seeded Rybakina and 10th-seeded Kasatkina started play at 11:27 p.m. They finished 3 hours, 27 minutes later.Rybakina will face 15th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova of Russia in the semifinals. Samsonova beat 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-4, 6-4.___AP tennis...

Number of Maui wildfire deaths rises to 80. Follow live updates

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii this week, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service said Hurricane Dora, which passed south of the island chain, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.The number of deaths resulting from the fires on the island has risen to 80, according to a statement by Maui County on Friday.The number of confirmed fatalities in the 9 p.m. announcement increased from the previous figure of 67.A fire that caused an evacuation in Kaanapali was completely extinguished by 8:30 p.m. The fire, which was completely extinguished before 8:30 p.m., occurred in an area where a county fueling station was set up to distribute about 3,000 gallons (11,356 liters) of gasoline and 500 gallons (1,892 liters) of diesel fuel for about 400 waiting vehicles. Fuel would not be d...

UN affirms concern over forced repatriation of North Koreans following criticism from rights groups

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office expressed grave concern over the forced repatriation of North Koreans from China and elsewhere after facing criticism from rights groups for its “unacceptable silence” on the issue.Taking aim at U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and his office, a dozen rights groups issued a statement Friday saying it was “not too late” for the rights office “to publicly urge China to end the enforced disappearance and forcible repatriation of North Korean escapees” and allow for individual assessments of whether they qualify as refugees. The groups include families of people who were abducted and sent back to North Korea, North Korean defectors, and the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group which monitors and analyzes North Korea’s human rights record.They warned that Chinese repatriations of North Korean escapees could increase if North Korea eases border restrictions after a prolonged COVID-19 shutdown which can enable “t...

Activist in Niger with ties to junta tells the AP region needs to ‘accept new regime’ or risk war

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:54:17 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The only way to avoid conflict between mutinous soldiers that ousted the president in Niger and regional countries threatening an invasion to reinstate him is to recognize the new regime, a rights defender with ties to the junta told The Associated Press.In his first interview with Western media Friday, Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who supports Niger’s new military rulers in its communications and says he is in direct contact with them, said there will be no dialogue with regional countries until they acknowledge the new head of state.Nearly three weeks ago mutinous soldiers led by the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, overthrew the West African country’s democratically elected president, claiming they could do a better job of securing the nation from growing jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Tchiani was declared in charge of the country.The West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, has threatened to ...