Lifestyles

Der Annie: Tired of watching her choose heartbreak

DEAR ANNIE: My granddaughter has a boyfriend who keeps cheating on her — three times now, and those are only the times I know about. Each time, she takes him back, swearing he’s changed. I’m old enough to know how that story ends. She’s smart and kind, and I hate watching her with someone who doesn’t treat her the way she deserves. I’ve bitten my tongue up until now — it’s her life, after all, and she’s entitled to her own decisions — but I don’t have the heart to sit quietly through this when it inevitably happens again. How do I get her to see what I see before ...

Hints from Heloise: Getting rid of trash can odors

DEAR HELOISE: I live in Texas, and there’s no way that I’m going to leave my trash can open to feed any roaches that may have wandered into the house. Also, if I have paper that was wrapped around fish, it’s going to stink whether it gets air or not. What I do is occasionally spray an air freshener that kills odors into the trash can and close it. Problem solved! — Emily M., in Kingwood, Texas DEAR HELOISE:All summer, I grew veggies in my garden. They tasted good, but my brother pointed out that because the plants were so close to the road, they probably picked up lead and ...

To Your Good Health: His heart condition requires therapy

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’m a physically active 75-year-old man. I’m taking atorvastatin, losartan and amlodipine. During my annual physical in January 2025, my physician noticed a heart murmur. I had an echocardiogram done in February 2025 that showed a dilated proximal ascending aorta, measuring at 4.1 centimeters. It was 3.9 centimeters in January 2024. In February 2026, I had a repeat echocardigoram to check my ascending aorta, and it stabilized at 4.1 cm. However, it showed that there’s a mid-cavitary gradient of 44 mmHg at rest that increased to 99 mmHg with a Valsalva maneuver. ...

Thursday evening TV

Bridge by Steve Becker

Trump control is a key factor in many deals, but it is not exclusively the province of the declarer. Today’s hand shows how the defense can exercise control over the trump suit, and in doing so, stop a slam. Declarer won the opening diamond lead with the ace and played a low trump to the ...

Early harvests and nighttime picking

CORTE FRANCA, Italy — Workers fan out before dawn to clip clusters of grapes destined to be transformed into Italy’s prized Franciacorta sparkling wine a full 10 days earlier than anticipated, as scorching temperatures brought the fruit to maturation earlier than ever. Climate change is ...