CYAN
PUZZLES
news-star.com Shawnee News-Star
make. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — A rival may push you to exceed your own expectations, but you may still find yourself running second to his or her first. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — You cannot undo what has been done, but you can ensure that the same actions will have different results in the future. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 18) — You can do something on your own that may go unnoticed at first, but when others realize what you’ve done, praise may be universal.
PISCES (Feb. 19March 20) — Others are looking up to you, and you’ll want to demonstrate just what is possible for one who is committed to a certain endeavor. ARIES (March 21April 19) — You can make room in your schedule for someone who is in need of that which only you can provide. You may need a boost, too, at some point. TAURUS (April 20May 20) — You mustn’t make the mistake of thinking that there’s plenty of time to get everything done. Today, time is a precious resource. GEMINI (May 21-
June 20) — You may be suspected of doing something that you had nothing to do with, but you may also be the one to solve the mystery once and for all. CANCER (June 21July 22) — You can turn the tables on a rival and come out on top, though you may continue to jockey for position for some time. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — You may have to put an end to something you enjoy in order to get started on something that offers less fun, but more import.
A bottom is a bottom By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency
One nice thing about matchpoint duplicate: You can’t score lower than a zero on any deal. A club pair told me they’d scored no matchpoints on today’s deal. “We let South make two hearts,” West said. “I led the A-K and a third spade, and he ruffed and led a club: four, ten, king.” “I shifted to the ten of diamonds,” East said, taking up the tale, “and South won with the ace and led another club. My partner won and led another diamond, but declarer won in dummy, threw his last diamond on the queen of clubs and lost a trump. We were minus 110 — for a zero.”
Couple weighs reconciliation five years after violent split
JEANNE PHILLIPS COLUMNIST
els had been high and our communication was terrible, but there had been no physical violence. I’m not sure if this is the universe giving us an opportunity to give the family we started another chance. Should we start over? — WAVERING IN NEW YORK DEAR WAVERING: What comes next might be that you and your ex can become good friends and parent your son in a congenial, cooperative fashion. What comes next might be that you rekindle your romance. Or it might be that you get back together and he assaults you again. If your ex has sought help for his drinking and anger management issues, a reconciliation could work out beautifully. However, if he hasn’t, I certainly wouldn’t recommend it.
Crossword Puzzle
My advice to your mother would be, before opening her mouth, ask herself whether what she has to say is true, helpful and KIND. And if it isn’t all THREE, she should rephrase her comment or not say it at all. ——— DEAR ABBY: What does one say to casual acquaintances who stop by uninvited and with no prior phone call? — NANCY IN AURORA, COLO. DEAR NANCY: Let me tell you first what one DOESN’T say. It’s “Come in!” It is perfectly acceptable to explain that the person caught you in the middle of your housework or a project you need to finish and, please, in the future to call before dropping by so you can make some plans together. ——— Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
Cryptoquip
8-27
Sudoku
8-27
Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.
Tuesday's Sudoku puzzle answers
bid one spade and he raises to three spades. What do you say? ANSWER: Partner’s raise invites game and suggests 10 or 11 points with four-card support. With more strength, he could have bid game himself. Your values are minimum, and your three low hearts and isolated jack of diamonds are negatives. Pass. Opposite Q 9 3 2, A K 6 5, 6 5, Q 6 5, you’ll be high enough. South dealer E-W vulnerable NORTH ♠J43 ♥ J6 ♦ K653 ♣ Q 10 9 3
SAME ZERO East-West could beat two hearts if West shifted to an early diamond, but I suspect they would have scored the same zero for plus 50 because they had misjudged badly in the auction. West might have acted over two hearts; East surely could have balanced with a double. Then EastWest would play at spades for plus 170 or plus 620. If you goof in the bidding, a goof in the play may not matter much. A zero is a zero. DAILY QUESTION
Sometimes people can care deeply about each other, but shouldn’t be married. ——— DEAR ABBY: My 95year-old mom feels that her age “entitles” her to speak without a filter, and she has become totally intolerant and critical. She is mentally sharp and highly intelligent, which makes her nasty comments even more hurtful to family and friends. Standing up to her isn’t an option because of her age and she knows it. She doesn’t seem to recognize how damaging her attitude has become to those who love her. If you could print this and offer some advice, she might recognize herself. — A LOVING SON DEAR LOVING SON: The fact that someone has celebrated 95 birthdays does not give the person license to be deliberately unkind to others. Negativity is an unattractive trait, regardless of how old you are. People who deliberately say hurtful things invariably find the circle of those who want to be around them shrinking.
BLACK
Daily Bridge Club
DEAR ABBY
DEAR ABBY: Five years ago, my husband got drunk and physically attacked me in front of his family. It was horrible. I was in shock, and our relationship never recovered. The next four years were a series of court visits for custody of our child and eventually a divorce. Last year, his mother began requesting visits with our son. I was happy about it because I have tried to be accommodating to my ex and his family regarding our son. Finally, late last year, I called my ex to ask if we could sit down and discuss our son (something we had never done). We have met twice during the last two weeks, and each time had long conversations about everything. (Our son, our past, our relationship.) Many misconceptions were cleared up, and it’s obvious that we both have made many necessary changes within ourselves. Now I’m confused about what comes next. Speaking with him has brought back so many feelings. Prior to the attack, our stress lev-
YELLOW
Wednesday, August 27, 2014 • 3B
Horoscopes WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27 VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Be sure that you are saying what you mean and, of course, meaning what you say. There is no room for confusion or misinterpretation. LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 22) — You can offer someone assistance that is both timely and valuable. The recipient is sure to remember this simple act of kindness. SCORPIO (Oct. 23Nov. 21) — You may not know quite which way to turn when you are presented with a choice you never expected to have to
MAGENTA
You hold: ♠ A K 8 5 ♥ 9 7 2 ♦ J 7 ♣ A J 8 4. You open one club, your partner responds one heart, you
WEST ♠AK85 ♥ 972 ♦ J7 ♣AJ84
EAST ♠Q972 ♥ A5 ♦ Q 10 9 8 ♣K76 SOUTH ♠ 10 6 ♥ K Q 10 8 4 3 ♦ A42 ♣52
South 2♥
West Pass
North Pass
East Pass
Opening lead — ♠ K (C) 2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Thought for Today “Blessed is the influence of one true, loving human soul on another.” — George Eliot
NATIONAL
With no Miley Cyrus twerking, VMA ratings down NEW YORK (AP) — Without Miley Cyrus’ twerking to get tongues wagging, ratings for MTV’s annual Video Music Awards took a tumble. The pop music extravaganza, at which Beyonce was in the spotlight, reached 8.3 million viewers on Sunday. That’s down from the 10.1 million who saw last year’s show but up from the 6.1 million who watched the awards show live the year before that, the Nielsen ratings company said. The VMAs live or die depending on whether they create a memorable pop culture moment. Last year, Cyrus hit pay dirt on her suggestive duet with Robin Thicke, which set Twitter volume records at the time. Cyrus didn’t perform on Sunday’s show and sent a homeless youth onstage to accept her award for video of the year. Still, the VMAs generated 12.6 million tweets from its young audience. By contrast, Nielsen said Monday’s Emmy Awards show generated 1.1 million tweets even though, with an estimated 15.6 million viewers, more than twice as many people were watching. CBS won last week in prime time, averaging 5.8 million viewers. NBC, with “America’s Got Talent” again the week’s most popular program, was second with a 5.1 million viewer average. ABC had 4 million, Univision had 3.3 million, Fox had 2.6 million, ION Television had 1.28 million, Telemundo had 1.27 million and the CW had 900,000. ESPN was the week’s
most popular cable network, averaging 2.59 million viewers in prime time. Fox News Channel had 1.91 million, USA had 1.89 million, TNT had 1.81 million and the Disney Channel had 1.79 million. NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8 million viewers. ABC’s “World News” was second with 7.3 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.5 million viewers. For the week of Aug. 18-24, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 9.48 million; “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday, 9 p.m.), NBC, 9.43 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 9.11 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.5 million; “2014 MTV Video Music Awards,” MTV, 8.26 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 7.45 million; “Under the Dome, CBS, 7.3 million; “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 7.24 million; NFL Exhibition Football: Cincinnati vs. Arizona, NBC, 6.98 million; “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 6.97 million. ___ ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. ___ Online: http://www.nielsen. com