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Skywatch: Here comes summer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

The summer of 2023 begins this coming Wednesday morning at 9:58, at least astronomically. Astronomers call this the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. On Wednesday, the sun reaches its highest height in our sky. It all has to do with the inclination or tilt of Earth’s axis as it orbits the sun. On the summer solstice day, the northern hemisphere is tilted to the maximum toward the sun’s most direct rays. At noon, the sun shines directly overhead along the Tropic of Cancer at a latitude of 23.5 degrees north of the equator. In southern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin around 45 degrees north latitude, our noontime sun won’t be quite at the zenith, but it will be close at nearly 70 degrees above the southern horizon.(Mike Lynch)On Wednesday, the sun will take a very long and very high arc across the sky. It will rise in the northeast at 5:26 a.m. and set in the northwest at 9:03 p.m., giving us nearly 15 hours and 37 minutes of daylight. As a bonus, morning...

Literary calendar for week of June 18

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

TIM BURKETT: Introduces “Enlightenment is an Accident,” 7 p.m. Thursday, June 22, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.NANCY CROCHIERE: Discusses her novel “Graceland,” about a soap opera star convinced she is dying who wants to visit her favorite place, Elvis Presley’s Graceland, driven by her granddaughter, to whom she promises to reveal the secrets about her long-lost father. But the young woman’s mother doesn’t want secrets revealed and has to stop the journey of grandmother and granddaughter as they travel from Boston to Memphis meeting free-range ferrets and Elvis-impersonating frat boys. 6 p.m. Thursday, June 22, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.JULIA FINE: Presents “Maddalena and the Dark,” in conversation with Kat Howard. 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.MINNESOTA MYSTERY NIGHT: Hosts a conversation between Thekla Fagerlie-Madsen, a technical write...

Conor Sen: Booming EV market is complicating the GOP’s message

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

It’s still very early days, but if you’re wondering how the 2024 presidential campaign might be different from the last matchup between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, one place to start is electric vehicles. Battery-powered cars are one of the biggest economic vulnerabilities that Republicans have in the battleground states such as Georgia, Michigan and Arizona that could wind up deciding the winner.The growth of electric vehicles is unique in that it touches an area of the U.S. economy that has changed dramatically since the last presidential election. They’re a key part of the Biden administration’s policy accomplishments, and they’re also entangled in the culture wars that animate the bases of both political parties.Electric-vehicle sales in the U.S. are growing so quickly that you could even describe the shift as monumental. In 2020, 325,000 electric vehicles were sold in the U.S., accounting for 2.4% of all passenger vehicle sales. Those numbers are p...

Ask Amy: Neighbor’s music problem is amplified on FB

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

Dear Amy: Until recently, my neighbor “Ron” and I always got along very well.Ron works from home, and I am retired.I enjoy working in my garage, house or yard during the day, usually between 11 and 5 p.m.While working in the garage, I will listen to music, and sometimes it can be a little loud because of the tools I am using.Recently Ron posted on Facebook a profanity-laced post about my loud music, saying that it interferes with his job.Basically, he made me out to be an inconsiderate jerk, which is the farthest thing from the truth.All he or his wife had to do was to let me know it was an issue, and I would have turned it down, no problem.When my wife talked to them about the situation, first they denied that they were referring to me, blaming it on the neighbors across the street. (Not true.)Then they tried to turn it around, blaming my wife for telling me about the FB post.My wife eventually got a half-hearted apology, which she said should be directed toward me.They said they w...

Word Game: June 18, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — PLATFORM (PLATFORM: PLAT-form: A raised flooring, such as a stage or dais.)Average mark 40 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 56 or more words in PLATFORM?TODAY’S WORD — PLATFORM palm parol part patrol plat plot polar port portal pram prom lamp loaf loam loft aloft alto aport atom atop tamp taro tarp tram tramp trap tromp farm faro flam flap flat float flop foal foam form formal format fort from opal oral raft ramp rapt roam romp malt marl mart moat molar molt moral mortalTo 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 ...

Horoscopes June 18, 2023: Blake Shelton, stick close to the ones you love

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Blake Shelton, 47; Carol Kane, 71; Isabella Rossellini, 71; Paul McCartney, 81.Happy Birthday: Leave nothing to chance. Don’t trust others with important matters. Gather and verify information to ensure you have everything you need handy before you act. Expect outside influences to cloud your vision, and take the time to sort through any differences or challenges you face before you agree to change or move. Trust in yourself, and stick close to the ones you love. Your numbers are 9, 12, 24, 26, 33, 38, 42.ARIES (March 21-April 19): You’re on the fast track, ready to take on the world. Refuse to let anyone interfere with your plans. Make your objective clear to those who challenge or try to redirect you. Follow the road that leads to your happiness. Romance is favored. 4 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take it easy. Promising too much will lead to fretting. Put your needs first, and avoid letting someone take you for granted. Redirect your ene...

Bridge: June 18, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

“I’ll tell you what annoys me most,” Cy the Cynic said to me in the club lounge.“If you must,” I sighed.“It’s when my opponent assumes I’ve made a mistake or will do so,” Cy said. “And then, he turns out to be right!”Cy was today’s West in a penny game. After East opened one heart, North-South bid to four spades, their best chance to score game. Presumably, East would have led the king of clubs against 3NT by North, and Cy would have kept his four spades against five diamonds by South.Cy did well to lead a club against four spades. With a heart lead, South could take the ace, take three high trumps and start the diamonds, losing a trump and two clubs. But when East led three rounds of clubs, South had to ruff and was threatened with loss of control.“He cashed the A-K of trumps, not best” Cy told me, “and then led diamonds. On the third diamond, I ruffed and led a heart. South won, drew my last ...

Fowler, McIlroy, Scheffler headline final round in a US Open full of possibilities

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — At the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard there are two players each going for their first major title. That’s about all they have in common. Rickie Fowler has contended in majors, won nine tournaments across the globe and has long been one of golf’s most recognizable players. Wyndham Clark is playing in only his seventh major and, no matter how he plays Sunday, this will mark the first time he’s finished better than 75th.“It’s a little surreal to be in this situation,” Clark said. In a way, the player one shot behind them, Rory McIlroy, feels the same. He is trying to break a nine-year drought without a major. He starts the day one shot behind the leaders. Does the fact he’s won four of these, including the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, give him an edge? “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve done it.”McIlroy is paired with Scottie Scheffler, who trails the leaders by three. With a win, he would join Tiger W...

DC Mayor Bowser’s former top adviser sexually harassed city employee, probe finds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

An investigation has found former D.C. deputy mayor John Falcicchio sexually harassed a female employee, according to a summary of findings released Saturday night.In the report, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded allegations against Falcicchio lodged by an employee working in the planning and economic development office more than likely constituted sexual harassment.The document said the office’s sexual harassment officer started the investigation on March 10, just over a week before Bowser’s former top adviser announced an unexpected resignation.By May 11, that officer completed 32 interviews with 21 people who were current and former city employees or may have had knowledge related to allegations. According to the document, three interviews occurred with the employee who first filed a complaint.The investigator also reviewed “thousands of emails and other communications, including screenshot messages.”Falcicchio declined to ...

Police searching for evidence at Malden apartment complex

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

There is a large police presence at an apartment complex in Malden Sunday morning.Malden police and Massachusetts State Police are putting up crime scene tape and searching for evidence in the lobby at Quarrystone at Overlook Ridge. No other information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.