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Messi’s Inter Miami team strikes 2-game deal to play in China in November

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi is evidently going back to China, after Inter Miami took advantage of not making the Major League Soccer playoffs by signing a deal to play two exhibitions there next month.The team said it would play a pair of friendlies against Chinese Super League teams, first in Qingdao, China against Qingdao Hainiu on Nov. 5 and then against Chengdu Rongcheng in Chengdu, China on Nov. 8. Those two stadiums can both hold between 50,000 and 60,000 fans.Those dates coincide with the first round of the MLS playoffs. Inter Miami was eliminated from playoff contention earlier this month.Inter Miami’s announcement of the deal did not specifically mention Messi or any other player, though it would be surprising if Chinese officials agreed to the games without some sort of guarantee that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and the team’s other best-known standouts — Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba among them — would be making the trip if physicall...

Iowa-DePaul women’s outdoor basketball game at Kinnick could draw over 50,000 fans, world record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — High-scoring Iowa star Caitlin Clark doesn’t expect to have much of a shooting touch Sunday when the Hawkeyes host DePaul in an outdoor exhibition at Kinnick Stadium before an expected crowd of over 50,000 that could set a world record for attendance at a women’s basketball game.Far from it, in fact.“I tell people I will airball twice. Just prepare yourself,” she said. “The wind, the depth perception of seeing the hoop in a big stadium … That’s just how it’s going to be. I’m sure there’ll be no super stellar shooting performances by anybody. It’ll be attack the basket and get to the rim.”More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the “Crossover at Kinnick” at the 69,000-seat stadium. Net proceeds benefit the university’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital, whose young patients can watch games from window seats. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 3 p.m. EDT. If all goes as planned, Iow...

OPP investigating fatal collision on QEW that left 2 dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

The OPP Mississauga is investigating a four-vehicle collision that occurred on the QEW on Sunday morning. Just after midnight, in the area of the eastbound QEW at Mississauga Road, a four-vehicle collision occurred.One adult male, in his late 20’s, was transported to trauma centre with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Two parties from another vehicle were left deceased. The QEW was closed at Erin Mills eastbound to Hurontario Street until 6am.Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPP.

What Google’s antitrust trial means for your search habits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

If government regulators prevail against Google in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century, it’s likely to unleash drastic changes that will undermine the dominance of a search engine that defines the internet for billions of people.As the 10-week trial probing Google’s business practices nears its midway point, it’s still too early to tell if U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta will side with the Justice Department and try to handcuff one of the world’s most dominant tech companies.If Mehta rules that Google has been running an illegal monopoly in search, the punishment could open up new online avenues for consumers and businesses to explore in pursuit of information, entertainment and commerce.“The judge can compel Google to open the floodgates so more startups and third-party competitors can put greater competitive pressure on Google, which will create higher quality online services,” said Luther Lowe, senior vice president of public policy at Yel...

Azerbaijan raises flag over the Karabakh capital to reaffirm control of the disputed region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has raised his nation’s flag over the capital of Karabakh in a ceremony reaffirming Baku’s control of the disputed region.The Azerbaijani leader delivered a speech and raised the flag over the city, which is known as Khankendi by Azerbaijan and Stepanakert by Armenians, the presidential office said Sunday.The Karabakh region, which was previously called Nagorno-Karabakh and is known to Armenians as Artsakh, is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, but became a breakaway state under the control of ethnic Armenian forces in 1994 following a six-year conflict.A subsequent war in 2020 returned control of much of the area to Azerbaijan, until a lightning offensive last month forced separatists to relinquish the rest of the region.In a 24-hour campaign that began on Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the area’s undermanned and outgunned Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate.The majority of the area’s ethnic Armenian population lat...

Sunday Forecast: Mostly cloudy, breezy and low 50s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

Sunday: A few lake effect showers to start the day then partly to mostly cloudy skies throughout the rest of the day. Expect a bit more sunshine across inland locations. Winds will remain breezy out of the north 10-15 mph. Highs today will stay below average just into the mid 50s. Monday: Lakeside showers move back in overnight lingering into early Monday morning with dry conditions expected across suburban areas. Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Some sunshine and temperatures recover back into the 60s midweek before showers return to the forecast towards the weekend.

Mary Lou Retton is making 'remarkable' progress, family says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

(AP) — The family of Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton says she is making “remarkable” progress in her battle with a rare form of pneumonia that landed her in intensive care.McKenna Kelley, one of Retton's four daughters, posted an update on Instagram Saturday that said the 55-year-old Retton's breathing is becoming stronger and her “path to recovery is steadily progressing.”“Though it’s a lengthy journey, witnessing these improvements is incredibly heartening,” Kelley wrote. “She’s beginning to respond to treatments.”The family disclosed earlier this week that Retton — who became the first American female gymnast to win the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics — was “fighting for her life” and unable to breathe on her own after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Parents sue Hyatt Hotels Corporation after death of 1-year-old son Donations have poured into a fundraiser the family set up to help offset Retton's medical expenses after the family said she d...

40% won't tip at food trucks – but should you?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Many people have decided tip creeping has gone too far and the line needs to be drawn somewhere. That line, according to a recent Forbes Advisor survey, is being drawn at food trucks. Forty percent of respondents in the survey said they don't believe food truck workers should be asking for tips, even though it's common to see a digital tipping screen when you pay for your food. Default tipping suggestions can be customized. Sometimes you'll see options like $1, $2 and $5. Sometimes it's more like 18%, 20% and 22%. “People think it’s manipulative, they resent it, and their perceptions of service go down,” Michael Lynn, a marketing and management communication professor at Cornell University, told Nexstar. When it comes to eating at food trucks, industry experts agree a different standard applies than at full-service restaurants. Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.com, told The Hill he doesn't think tipping on takeout, like at food trucks, is necessary unle...

Body found during search for missing Indiana teacher in Puerto Rico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

NAGUABO, Puerto Rico (WXIN) — A body has been found by authorities searching for a missing Indiana teacher in Puerto Rico. Amanda Webster, 44, was vacationing in Puerto Rico when she was reported missing last week. Webster is an Indianapolis resident and art teacher at Thompson Crossing Elementary School in Franklin Township. Puerto Rico Police Commissioner Antonio Lopez Figueroa activated an “Ashanti Alert” — an alert issued for those who don't meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert or Silver Alert, according to the Department of Justice — on Friday asking residents to help search for Webster. Suspect in custody after shooting at Texas State Fair leaves 3 wounded “Amanda Lynn Webster was reported missing on Wednesday by the landlord of the place she is staying at, after realizing she failed to leave the home as agreed upon and left her belongings and a rented car on the property,” an English translation of a post from police read.Saturday afternoon, Puerto Rico police confirmed the...

Suspect in custody after shooting at Texas State Fair leaves 3 wounded

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:57 GMT

(The Hill) — One suspect is in custody after a shooting left three people wounded at the Texas State Fair Saturday night. Dallas police said three people were injured with non-life-threatening injuries after a shooting broke out near the food court of the Dallas State Fair at about 7:45 p.m. local time on Saturday. The initial investigation determined that one man shot at another man. The shooter was taken into custody after he ran from the scene. Police noted that a gun was recovered and that the investigation is ongoing.The State Fair of Texas posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was evacuating attendees from the park as a result of the shooting at about 8 p.m. local time on Saturday. It will now have a delayed opening on Sunday.Dallas City Councilmember Adam Bazaldua said that the shooting sparked from an issue between two people who knew each other. He also used the incident to call for more gun control reform in Texas.“I have been updated by the City Manage...