CROSSWORDS

ACROSS 1 Timid around others 4 __ squash; winter veggie 9 Toilet paper package word 13 Sonny’s ex 14 __ Shore 15 Boy or man 16 “__ is not to reason why…” 17 Missed 19 180 degrees from SSW 20 Get up 21 Mother’s Day gift, perhaps 22 After-bath item 24 Computer, for many 25 “All __!”; train conductor’s call 27 Orderly technique 30 Very tall 31 Set __; shelve 33 Flower pollinator 35 __ and cons 36 Quiz show attempt 37 Kill 38 __ Isaac

Newton 39 Medicinal amounts 40 Pricey hotel booking 41 Deodorant brand 43 Remarks from the barn 44 Fleur-de-__ 45 Terra-__; flowerpot

material 46 At the __ the day; eventually 49 Bangkok natives 51 “Not a moment __ soon!” 54 Rough and noisy 56 Prefix for bus or skirt 57 Cake recipe verb 58 Rental contract 59 __ weevil; cotton plant bane 60 Storage shack 61 Male and female 62 “A rose by __ other name…”

Created by Jacqueline E. Mathews 8/9/21

ACROSS 1 Spring growth 4 Exhales audibly 9 Swiss skier’s milieu 13 Snake eyes at the casino 15 Girl Scout group 16 Fireplace residue 17 Droop, as a flower 18 Religious leader 19 StarKist product 20 Legal wrongdoing 22 Nervous 23 Tug-of-war need 24 And not 26 Pieces of mistletoe 29 Yield sign’s shape 34 Heavy lifting machine 35 Heckle 36 Gun the engine 37 Piece of jewelry 38 “__ My Way”;

Bing Crosby film 39 Hunter’s quarry 40 Congressional statute 41 Secluded valleys 42 In __ of; for 43 Most annoying 45 Give in 46 __ funk; moody 47 Nuprin or

Valium 48 Marksman

William 51 Very brief 56 Midterm or final 57 Clinging vines 58 Webster or

Wyle 60 Headfirst plunge 61 Chutzpah 62 __ up; shredded 63 “When You

Wish Upon a __” 64 King Midas’ downfall 65 WWII president

Dear Annie Written by Annie Lane

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com. To find out more about Annie Lane, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved. 8/9/21

DOWN 1 Have nothing to do with 2 Up until now 3 MMXXI & others: abbr. 4 Thought the world of 5 Barely polite 6 Singles 7 Steak orderer’s request 8 Stanley Cup awarder, for short 9 Kiss 10 White __; state trees of Illinois 11 Run off 12 Williams &

Turner 13 Swindle 18 Give a speech 20 Amiss; crooked 23 Feedbag morsels 24 Rx items 25 Mont Blanc &

Monte Rosa 26 Yeltsin or

Becker 27 Señorita 28 Duty 29 Fatality 31 Eur. nation 32 “We’re off to __ the Wizard…” 34 Watches 36 __ away; disappears 37 Diamonds, for example 39 Wander aimlessly 40 Gels 42 No longer in business 43 Snap, crackle and pop 45 Touch off; trigger 46 Abates 47 Flood survivor 48 Water barrier 49 Family diagram 50 Practical joke 52 “It’s __ a Paper

Moon” 53 Wesson product 55 Raised railways 56 Advanced deg.

Dear Annie: I want to know why people think it's OK to harass and abuse other people. My ex brought his girlfriend home, and they spent the night in the garage. That was when we were still married.

Then he took my 5-yearold daughter out on dates with the girlfriend, and he abused and harassed me for a year to try to get me to abandon the house and my daughter so he wouldn't have to pay child support.

During this ordeal, I was ripped off by a lawyer who knew my ex was harassing me and did nothing. My ex and the girl are not together anymore, but I later found out that the girlfriend was hitting my daughter on her hands to punish her when she did something wrong.

I just don't get why there are horrible people in the world who do awful things and don't think they've done anything wrong. It is not unusual for them to turn the situation on you, acting as if you deserved it.

After all this, I'm done with men. I don't even date. It ain't worth it. I talk to people on chat sites, and they tell me they don't date for the same reasons. Being alone in this day and age is just the better way to go. I feel so broken and empty inside; no one would want me anyway. I am ruined, and no one seems to care.

So, I just want to know -- why?! -- Someone Who Just Wants to Know Why

Dear Know Why: Hurt people hurt people. Whether they were hurt when they were children and are repeating the same patterns or they were hurt when they were adults -- it doesn't matter where the meanness came from. Being cruel to other human beings never feels good in the long run.

I'm not sure that making blanket statements, such as saying that you are finished with dating forever, is going to make you feel better in the long run. Just commit to only surrounding yourself with people who lift you up and have your best interests at heart. I would also let your ex know that his ex-girlfriend is never allowed to be around your daughter again. Child abuse is a serious crime and needs to be treated as such.

Dear Annie: I am disabled, and I find it difficult to deal with people who seem to be critical of my ailment or who think there is nothing wrong with me.

This all started when I was 25 and hurt myself at work. That was followed by failed lower back surgery. My injuries are not visible at all. I'm 52 now and still get the looks. I have had the police called several times for parking with my handicapped placard because people have doubted my injury.

It is extremely embarrassing and hurtful. However, I look at it like this: Those same people who give me looks or make snide remarks are the ones who would not think twice about using anything that was offered to them if they were handicapped.

Here's another thing to think about: By denying yourself the help you need, you are not allowing yourself the best care possible, nor are you truly taking care of yourself. If you are disabled, YOU must always come first. As the penguins from "Madagascar" would say, "Just smile and wave, boys; just smile and wave." - Surviving and Living Life with a Disability

Dear Living Life with Disability: Thank you for sharing your perspective. I hope it empowers others to smile and wave.

COPYRIGHT 2021 CREATORS.COM

Created by Jacqueline E. Mathews 8/10/21

ACROSS 1 Use the molars 5 C-sharp or E-flat 9 Animal with horns 13 Laid down the law 15 As strong as __ 16 __-Cola 17 Fill with delight 18 Stuffed pasta 20 “Jeremiah __ a bullfrog…” 21 That lady 23 Most resentful 24 Tire ridge pattern 26 Light brown 27 Franciscan’s home, often 29 Actress

Jacqueline 32 Lawful 33 Fragrance 35 VW followers 37 Ardent 38 Benny

Goodman’s music 39 Gather leaves 40 Ping-Pong table center 41 Highways 42 “A Day at the __”; Marx Bros. film 43 Business magnate 45 Most uncorrupted 46 Shack 47 __ plates; picnic items 48 Cry of

exasperation 51 “My lips __ sealed” 52 Word from

Scrooge 55 Stuck-up 58 Keep away from 60 Take to a pawn shop 61 Nigh 62 Ravi Shankar’s instrument 63 Cash register drawer section 64 Backyard access 65 Short communiqué

DOWN 1 Oaring team

©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved. 8/10/21

DOWN 1 Acknowledge applause 2 UTEP or MSU 3 Lunch stop 4 Saddle securers 5 Up in arms 6 Large desert in

Asia 7 Vagabond 8 Twirling 9 Toward a ship’s rear 10 Earsplitting 11 Early Atari video game 12 Linger 14 Stashing away 21 Part of a theater 25 Cereal grain 26 Leftover fragment 27 Buyer’s concern 28 Makes a scene 29 Besmirch; tarnish 30 Gallops 31 Serious 32 Yellow fruit 33 Chris of tennis 35 __ the line; obeys 38 Shining 39 Chivalrous 41 Winning card player’s cry 42 Soft fabric 44 Joyce or Val 45 Washed off soapsuds 47 Irritate 48 Knight &

Danson 49 Leave the stage 50 Etna’s output 52 “__ the

Rainbow” 53 Deep mud 54 Santa’s landing place 55 Linear measure 59 That girl

©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved. 8/11/21

2 __ hoop; twirling toy 3 Stretchiness 4 Dripping 5 Appointed 6 __ whim; impulsively 7 Truck scale division 8 Surviving, but not thriving 9 Scoffs at 10 Carryall bag 11 New

Testament book, for short 12 Canter or gallop 14 Leave high and dry 19 Seashore 22 Stable dinner 25 Sudden invasion 27 Custard pie 28 Headed bolt 29 Affleck &

Savage 30 Make worse 31 Preschoolers 33 Cygnet’s mom 34 “El __”; Heston movie 36 Pizzazz 38 Comforting 39 Out of the ordinary 41 Makeup kit item 42 Dollars for a

Delhi deli 44 Connors &

Norris 45 __ for the course; normal 47 Military chaplain 48 Canyon bounceback 49 Lunchtime 50 “__ in Love with

Amy” 53 Eden evictee 54 Rescuer 56 Actress Leoni 57 Chow down 59 Energy

4,480

4,420

4,360

4,600

10 DAYS S&P 500 Close: 4,436.52 Change: 7.42 (0.2%)

35,280

34,980

34,680

36,000

10 DAYS Dow Jones industrials Close: 35,208.51 Change: 144.26 (0.4%)

4,400

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4,000

3,800 35,000

34,000

33,000

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F A M A M J J 30,000

F A M A M J J

StocksRecap

NYSE N ASD

Vol. (in mil.) 3,181 Pvs. Volume 3,419 Advanced 1532 Declined 946 New Highs 157 New Lows 18 3,831 3,718 1773 1538 140 62

HIGH LOW CLOSE CHG. %CHG. WK MO QTR YTD

DOW 35,246.79 35,077.44 35,208.51 +144.26 +0.41% s s s +15.04% DOW Trans. 14,548.30 14,444.30 14,502.32 +79.41 +0.55% s t t +15.95% DOW Util. 933.99 926.56 926.74 -4.01 -0.43% s s s +7.18% NYSE Comp. 16,775.60 16,695.50 16,748.08 +52.58 +0.31% s s s +15.31% NASDAQ 14,890.18 14,788.70 14,835.76 -59.35 -0.40% s s s +15.11% S&P 500 4,440.82 4,429.07 4,436.52 +7.42 +0.17% s s s +18.12% S&P 400 2,731.20 2,706.17 2,717.36 +11.19 +0.41% s s t +17.81% Wilshire 5000 46,237.02 46,053.88 46,143.36 +37.67 +0.08% s s s +16.95% Russell 2000 2,258.32 2,235.58 2,247.76 +11.75 +0.53% s t t +13.82%

Natural gas heats up

Natural gas prices are pushing to nearly three-year highs, and record heat across the U.S. has made it necessary to burn the fossil fuel to keep up with Americans’ electrical needs. Investors expect natural gas to remain high for the foreseeable future.

Natural gas is trading at about $4.14 per 1,000 cubic feet, its highest level this year and its highest level since late 2018.

Like a lot of other commodity producers, natural gas extracting companies have been slow to return to normal levels of production since the pandemic. This has led natural gas inventories to be down 16% from a year earlier, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Natural gas is the United States’ go-to fuel when it needs to up its electrical production for air conditioning or to burn it to heat homes across the country. Natural gas prices are typically higher in the winter due to heating needs in much of the U.S. As long as production remains below pandemic levels, analysts expect prices for natural gas to remain elevated, particularly as the country heads into the cooler months in the second half of the year.

Cooking with gas: Natural gas prices have been steadily increasing this year, but prices accelerated this summer due to the electrical needs across the country. $5

4

3

2

1

Natural gas price (per 1,000 cubic feet)

’18 ’19 ’20 ’21

Source: FactSet Ken Sweet; Alex Nieves • AP