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Most players prefer World Cup in European summer, union says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Most of the players from last year’s World Cup do not want the soccer tournament to be held again in November and December, global union FIFPRO said Thursday.Citing the short preparation and recovery times for players from a World Cup squeezed into the middle of the European club season, FIFPRO said a survey it conducted also highlighted player concern for the physical and mental fatigue they felt in January.France defender Raphaël Varane’s decision to end his national team career last month at the age of 29 was a warning sign, FIFPRO general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said in a briefing.“I fear he is not going to be the last one if we continue like this,” Baer-Hoffmann said, citing soccer’s increasingly congested playing calendar with new competitions adding more teams and games to existing ones.The union asked players who were at the World Cup in Qatar when they would prefer future editions to be held. Only 11% said November-December while 64% preferre...

Las 5 cosas que debes saber este 9 de marzo: ¿Es seguro viajar a México?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

¿Pactó Nayib Bukele con las maras? El FMI dice que la guerra en Ucrania tendrá consecuencias “devastadoras” para la economía rusa. El PSG perdió y Messi podría haber dicho adiós para siempre a la Champions League. Esto es lo que debes saber para comenzar el día. Primero la verdad.1. ¿Es seguro viajar a México?El secuestro de cuatro estadounidenses, dos de los cuales fueron asesinados, en la ciudad mexicana de Matamoros, Tamaulipas, justo al otro lado de la frontera con Brownsville, Texas, puso de relieve la violencia en un país al que acuden millones de visitantes internacionales cada año. Y a poco de comenzar las vacaciones en la primavera boreal, con una gran afluencia turística en las populares playas mexicanas, la cuestión de la seguridad es probablemente una de las principales preocupaciones.CNN explica: estos son los riesgos del turismo médico en México2. ¿Pactó Nayib Bukele con las maras?En una acusación, los fiscales federales en Nueva York alegaron que algunos d...

Pastner’s future at Ga Tech in question after losing season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Josh Pastner is facing an uncertain future as Georgia Tech’s basketball coach after another losing season and few signs of progress in the Atlantic Coast Conference program.The Yellow Jackets capped a 15-19 campaign Wednesday with an 89-81 loss to Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC Tournament at Greensboro, North Carolina.Pastner was asked if he expected to be retained for an eighth season with the Atlanta school.“I hope to be at Georgia Tech,” he said. “I love Georgia Tech. I love my job. I have a real passion for it, and I believe in it.”In the end, Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera and athletic director J Batt, who has only been on the job since October, will make the call.“They’re in charge, so whatever they say, they’re in charge,” Pastner said. “I hope I can continue to be at Georgia Tech.”His best season was a surprising run to the ACC Tournament championship during the pandemic-marred 2020-21 season, which also marked Georgia Tech’s lone ...

‘Star Wars’ actor Donnie Yen’s Communist Party ties spark Oscar host backlash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

A petition calling for the removal of martial arts star Donnie Yen as a presenter at this year’s Oscar ceremony due to his connections to China’s ruling Communist Party has garnered tens of thousands of signatures.The 59-year-old actor, best known for his role in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ and the hugely popular ‘Ip Man’ franchise, has long been a controversial figure among sections within his native Hong Kong, owing to his apparent criticism of the city’s pro-democracy movement.Describing Yen as a “supporter of the Chinese Communist regime,” the online petition points to several statements it claims ought to disqualify Yen from involvement in the 95th Academy Awards, which will be held on March 13.One example listed was a profile published last week in GQ, in which Yen discussed the large and occasionally violent pro-democracy demonstrations that gripped Hong Kong throughout 2019.“It wasn’t a protest, OK, it was ...

Denver weather: Breezy with fire weather warnings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Mostly sunny skies will build quickly on Thursday as winds increase over the Front Range. With low humidity values and high winds, a fire weather warning is in effect from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Denver weather forecast.Pinpoint Weather: Fire weather warning on March 9. Weather today: Breezy winds and sunnyAfter some early flurries and clouds, sunshine is back by mid-morning with breezy winds. Amber Alert for missing Texas girl may now be in Colorado Highs Thursday will be just below average in the upper 40s with mainly sunny skies. Winds will be at 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on March 9Pinpoint Weather: Wind speeds on March 9Weather tonight: More clouds, still breezyClouds will slowly increase overnight Thursday with some brisk winds lingering. Winds will be out of the south at 10 to 20 mph with lows in the middle 20s.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast for March 9Looking ahead: Warmer weekend with a light showerFriday ...

More than 170 trillion plastic particles found in the ocean as pollution reaches ‘unprecedented’ levels

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

(CNN) — The world’s oceans are polluted by a “plastic smog” made up of an estimated 171 trillion plastic particles that if gathered would weigh around 2.3 million tons, according to a new study.A team of international scientists analyzed global data collected between 1979 and 2019 from nearly 12,000 sampling points in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.They found a “rapid and unprecedented” increase in ocean plastic pollution since 2005, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE.“It is much higher than previous estimates,” Lisa Erdle, director of research and innovation at the 5 Gyres Institute and an author on the report, told CNN.Without urgent policy action, the rate at which plastics enter the oceans could increase by around 2.6 times between now and 2040, the study found.Plastic production has soared in the last few decades, especially single-use plastics, and waste managemen...

Restaurant owner speaks out after ambush, robbery of SW Miami-Dade home

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

The owner of Tasty 305, a restaurant located on Alton Road in South Beach, believes he was lured out of his home by a DoorDash delivery driver before he was attacked by four people.Police officers arrived at Jerome Jones’ home on Southwest 167th Street near 107th Avenue on Thursday morning where they investigated a robbery that took place after the ambush.Jones showed 7News his home where the Ring camera was taken down by the robbers and a window, that he said was damaged by a rock. The thieves, which Jones said he recognized, took off with $2,500.The victim said he received threats on an Instagram Live video he aired in the afternoon on Wednesday. He went to file a police report after the incident and when he did, hours later, he was attacked.“I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ I didn’t order anything and I was in the house alone,” said Jones. “He opened up the bag and it was a water bottle. I said, ‘Who ordered the water bottle?̵...

A startling document predicted Jan. 6. Democrats are missing its other warnings.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

Weeks before the 2020 election, a secret 87-page document outlined in matter-of-fact language the threat posed by Donald Trump’s still-to-come campaign of election denial. The private paper — the existence of which has not been reported before — forecast with chilling confidence the likelihood of violence during the presidential handover and proposed a far-reaching set of political reforms to thwart Trumpism in the future.Americans remember that dark winter well. But the impetus for structural change has faded, even among Democrats who still privately seethe about the country’s broken political system — and fear an uglier meltdown could come in 2024 or beyond.The report carried a plain title: Plan D. Reading it, I wondered if the D stood for “doomsday.”Actually, the letter was not a cipher. Plan D was the fourth of several studies organized by an opaque advocacy group, known as the Hub, to prepare for the depredations of the Trump era. The Hub is known in Washington for its sophisti...

Top EU court should overturn football’s homegrown player rules: Court aide

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

The European Union’s top court should overturn European football rules that require clubs to keep spots for nationally trained players, a legal adviser to the Court of Justice said Wednesday.If Advocate General Maciej Szpunar’s recommendations are followed, European clubs may have to change how they recruit young players. UEFA — which organizes the Champions League football competition — requires clubs to have at least eight so-called homegrown players on their roster for every game and four trained by their current club. National leagues have similar rules. The players need to have trained in the same national league for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21. Szpunar said judges should side with Royal Antwerp in a Belgian legal dispute over whether the so-called homegrown player rule unfairly restricts clubs’ ability to recruit players and infringes the EU’s freedom of movement rights.The requirements can “indirectly discriminate against p...

Mass. Gaming Commission to vote on issuing certificates of operation for 7 mobile sports betting platforms

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:52:01 GMT

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is expected to vote Thursday morning to issue certificates of operation for the seven mobile betting platforms that plan to launch Friday. During, the commission will also continue its review of mobile betting operators’ house rules. The commission started hammering out the final details at a meeting Wednesday, questioning sportsbook officials about the rules surrounding cancelling bets. On Thursday, members of Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office are expected to question commissioners on how mobile sports betting is being advertised and whether people under the legal betting age of 21 are being exposed to potentially addictive products. The AG’s office wants the commission to explain what it is doing to ensure people are gambling responsibly as mobile sports betting rolls out, something one gambling researcher says is critical.“The accessibility and the availability and the 24/7 nature of it is a big concern if you ha...