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Author and writing mentor Jane Resh Thomas dies at 86

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

When Kate DiCamillo moved to Minneapolis from Florida, she joined a writers’ group taught by widely known Minnesota children’s author Jane Resh Thomas. One night DiCamillo stayed after class and poured out her troubles to her teacher. DiCamillo was poor and struggling, with more than 400 rejections of her writing. She didn’t know how much longer she could believe in herself.Thomas replied: “I will believe in you for you.”DiCamillo’s success as an award-winning writer is just one of the mentoring legacies left by Thomas, who died Monday, June 12, at Martin Luther Assisted Living Center in Bloomington from the effects of numerous health issues, according to her executor, Theodore Olson. She was 86 and was preparing for a writers’ workshop the next day. She had been leading a group of six writers and was coaching Daniel Bernstrom, a young picture book author.Award-winning author and writing mentor Jane Resh Thomas died Monday, June 12, 2023, at...

Ask Amy: Physician’s staffers prefer not to potluck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

Dear Amy: My coworkers and I are employed by a doctor in a small successful practice. Including the doctor, there are eight staff members.He bought the practice several years ago from our former boss.Our former boss was generous and of a different generation. He lived within his means, was not extravagant, and didn’t try to compete with his peers.Our current employer is of a younger generation, lives in one of the more affluent neighborhoods, and has only given us raises when we bring it up to him as a group.He is very generous when it comes to bonuses, but bonuses are not something that can be counted on.The doctor has recently invited staff and their families to a lake house owned by his parents.The doctor will be there with his wife and five children.The problem we’re having is that he has asked that we all bring a dish to share and make this a pot-luck style affair.None of us has had a raise since January of 2022, and that was our first raise in two years.Many of us are having d...

Horoscopes June 17, 2023: Venus Williams, be true to your beliefs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Venus Williams, 43; Will Forte, 53; Greg Kinnear, 60; Barry Manilow, 80.Happy Birthday: Spend more time helping yourself and those you live with rather than pouring your energy into outside influences. It’s time to ground yourself and make your life less challenging before you start thinking about doing the same for others. Protect your ideas from those eager to take advantage of your vulnerability. Be true to your beliefs, and stay on the path that leads to your dreams, hopes and wishes. Your numbers are 9, 16, 25, 34, 41, 45, 47.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Stay focused on what’s important to you. Budget wisely, and you’ll have enough cash left over for entertainment. Social events will help you launch new friendships or find a new pastime to ease stress. Love and romance look promising. Share your feelings. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Too much too fast will lead to trouble. Take your time, gather facts and consider all the pros a...

Word Game: June 17, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — SLOUGHED (SLOUGHED: SLUFF’D: Cast off; got rid of something objectionable.)Average mark 37 wordsTime limit 45 minutesCan you find 43 or more words in SLOUGHED? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — WETLAND wade wale wand wane want weal wean weld welt wend went elan eland tale teal tend lade laden land lane late laten lawn lead lean lend lent lewd anew ante awed neat newt dale date dawn deal dealt dean delta dent dental dweltTo 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 n...

Bridge: June 17, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns treat basic technique and logical thinking.As declarer, you see dummy’s assets, but a defender can’t see his partner’s hand. To overcome that handicap, defenders use signals such as “attitude”: whether they want a suit led or continued. In simple methods, signal with a high card to encourage, a low card to discourage or offer no opinion.Today’s West led the king of diamonds against four spades, and East played the eight. That card looked pretty high to West; he continued with the ace.CLUB WINNERSouth ruffed, led a club to dummy’s king, drew trumps and led a second club. He set up a club winner in dummy for a heart discard and lost only one heart. Making four.I’ve heard players say a seven or higher is a “high” signal, a six or lower is “low.” That is nonsense. Consider partner’s signal in context. Here, West can see that East’s eight was his lowest diamond, disco...

FBI detiene a un joven de 19 años sospechoso de proferir amenazas antisemitas y planear actos violentos contra la comunidad judía de Michigan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

(CNN) — Un joven de 19 años de Pickford, Michigan, fue detenido por el FBI el viernes por presuntas amenazas antisemitas en Instagram.Seann Pietila fue acusado en una denuncia penal de “transmitir una comunicación que contenía una amenaza de lesionar a otro”, anunció el viernes el fiscal de EE.UU. Mark Totten en un comunicado de prensa.“Las amenazas antisemitas y la violencia contra nuestras comunidades judías —o cualquier otro grupo— no serán toleradas en el Distrito Oeste de Michigan”, dijo Totten.¿Qué es el antisemitismo? Historia y actualidadSegún una declaración jurada de causa probable, Pietila mantuvo conversaciones con otro usuario de Instagram sobre la realización de un siniestro o asesinato en masa. Pietila dijo a los investigadores que no planeaba llevar a cabo los asesinatos en masa que discutió, dice la declaración jurada.Los investigadores encontraron el nombre de una sinagoga de East Lansing, una fecha y una lista de armas —incluidas bomb...

Wembanyama, countrymen at French flair to international class of NBA draft prospects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama wasn’t the only young French prospect turning heads overseas.Granted, fans would have had to look much farther to find Rayan Rupert, who played for the New Zealand Breakers. He is among the international prospects expecting to hear their names called at the NBA draft on Thursday in New York. They don’t possess Wembanyama’s size and skills but they’re confident they can make an impact.There’s a distinct French flavor in this year’s draft class. Wembanyama and Rupert are French, as is Bilal Coulibaly, Wembanyama’s teammate with Metropolitans 92.Here’s a look at some of the top international prospects other than Wembanyama:RAYAN RUPERT, NEW ZEALAND BREAKERSSTRENGTHS: Rupert is a tenacious defender with a 7-foot-2 wingspan who likens his game to Mikal Bridges of the Brooklyn Nets. Standing 6-6 without shoes, the 193-pound swingman was part of the National Basketball League’s Next Stars program and just turned 19. H...

El rey Carlos III cabalga en su primer desfile oficial por su cumpleaños

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

(CNN) — Carlos III revive este sábado una tradición real al participe a caballo en el primer Trooping the Colour de su reinado, que marca el cumpleaños oficial del soberano británico.Este tradicional espectáculo militar es uno de los actos principales de la agenda real y atrae a grandes multitudes al centro de Londres. El verdadero cumpleaños de Carlos es en noviembre y suele celebrarse en privado.El rey se une a 1.500 soldados, 300 caballos y cientos de músicos que desfilarán desde el Palacio de Buckingham hasta Horse Guards Parade, en St James’s Park, para asistir a la ceremonia, presenciada por los miembros de la familia real.¿Por qué el rey Carlos III celebra dos cumpleaños? El origen del desfile Trooping the ColourEs la primera vez que un monarca reinante participa en la procesión desde que lo hiciera la reina Isabel II en 1986.Le acompañan a caballo los coroneles reales, entre ellos el príncipe Guillermo, que es coronel de la Guardia Galesa, y la princesa Ana, Bast...

Italy puts brakes on Pirelli’s Chinese shareholder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

The Italian government has limited the powers of China’s Sinochem as a shareholder of tire maker Pirelli on national security grounds.Rome deemed the sensors that are installed in tires made by Pirelli as a “critical technology of national strategic importance” and imposed measures including restrictions to the access of strategic information and higher vote thresholds (four-fifths of the company’s board) to take strategic decisions, the government said in a statement Friday evening. The new vote threshold would prevent Sinochem from designating the chief executive officer of Pirelli despite being the company’s majority shareholder. Restrictions “are intended to create a network of measures that protect: the autonomy of Pirelli & C. S.p.A and its management; the security of procedures; the protection of information of strategic importance; and the know-how possessed by the company,” the government in Rome said. The decision has been take...

Boris Johnson breached government rules with Daily Mail gig, watchdog says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson breached the U.K.’s ministerial code by accepting a columnist job for the Daily Mail without waiting for the opinion of the committee in charge of assessing former officials’ new positions.The U.K.’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) said that Johnson was in “clear breach”of government rules outlined in a so-called “ministerial code” as he didn’t wait for the committee’s decision before accepting the new job.“The ministerial code states that ministers must ensure that no new appointments are announced, or taken up, before the committee has been able to provide its advice,” ACOBA said in a statement reported by the BBC and other media. “An application received 30 minutes before an appointment is announced is a clear breach,” ACOBA said.In his first column published on Friday afternoon, Johnson wrote about his attempts to lose weight wit...