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Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to miss Euro qualifier amid reports of captaincy row

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thibaut Courtois has left Belgium’s training camp ahead of a qualifying match for next year’s European championships, amid reports in local media that the Real Madrid goalkeeper was frustrated not to be handed the captain’s armband in the previous game.The Belgian federation confirmed to The Associated Press that Courtois had left the camp and would miss Tuesday’s match in Estonia, but did not give a reason for his departure.Belgian media reported on Monday that Courtois, who played in Belgium’s 1-1 draw against Austria on Saturday, was disappointed with coach Domenico Tedesco’s handling of the captaincy.In the absence of Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who missed the match against Austria after picking up an injury in the Champions League final, Tedesco had given the captaincy duties to striker Romelu Lukaku, who responded by scoring Belgium’s equalizer.The Het Nieuwsblad newspaper reported that Courtois — who ha...

Tormentas severas y un posible récord de calor en algunas partes del sur de Estados Unidos mientras cientos de miles de personas se quedan sin electricidad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

(CNN) — Más de 50 millones de personas en todo el sureste de Estados Unidos se enfrentan a la amenaza de tormentas severas este lunes mientras que los cortes de energía generalizados han dejado casi medio millón de personas en todo el sur en la oscuridad, incluyendo algunas que están bajo temperaturas récord sofocantes.Hay un riesgo leve de nivel 2 de 5 de tiempo severo en partes de la costa del Golfo y el sureste, incluidas las ciudades de Nueva Orleans y Baton Rouge en Luisiana, Jacksonville, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; y Savannah, Georgia. Las principales amenazas son ráfagas de viento dañinas, granizo de gran tamaño y tornados aislados.Un nivel 1 de 5 de riesgo marginal se extiende desde el centro de Texas hasta el sur de Florida y el norte hasta el oeste de Carolina del Norte, dejando ciudades como Atlanta, Charlotte, Carolina del Norte; Austin, Texas; y Tampa, Orlando y Miami en Florida bajo la amenaza de granizo grande y ráfagas de viento dañinas.Alrededor de 40 niños mue...

1 teen dead, 4 wounded after multiple shooting in Southeast DC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

Three separate shootings on Sunday night left a teenager dead and four others — three of whom are minors — injured in Southeast D.C.The first in the string of shootings was in the 2700 block of Langston Place, Southeast, around 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, according to D.C. police. When officers arrived at the scene, they found two injured boys, a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old.The 17-year-old died from his injuries, and the 15-year-old was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition, according to police.Then at around 10 p.m., D.C. police responded to a shooting near the intersection of 22nd Street and Minnesota Avenue in Southeast, where they found two shooting victims.One was described as a minor in critical condition but expected to survive. The other was an adult man, who was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, police said.Later that night, around 10:40 p.m., a shooting occurred near a home in the 1900 block of Bruce Place, Southeast.Officers found a teen...

Local fatherhood program provides resources to helps dads be more involved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — One in four children grow up without any kind of father figure in the house.The Colorado Department of Human Services has partnered with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood to create the Colorado Fatherhood Program. It’s funded through a federal grant that allocates $7.5 million over five years, spanning 10 counties in Colorado. Colorado’s Wyndham Clark plays big and becomes a major champion at the US Open They offer a 10-session 12-week workshop where dads learn nurturing parenting skills and how to be more active in their children’s lives. STRENGTHENING FATHERS AND FAMILIESDownloadThe program also helps dads work towards financial stability, grow their parenting knowledge, strengthen relationships with their child’s other caregiver, and navigate programs like child support, which while well-meaning, can be a burden on fathers and cause them to feel isolated.“I think a lot of dads feel like they are alone in the process. They feel like the support goes ...

Ireland will pay you $90,000 to move to a beautiful island home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

New opportunities are afoot for those dreaming of fixing up a rural idyll far from the chaos of modern life. Ireland has just announced a scheme to revitalize more than 20 of the idyllic islands that lie off its western seaboard, including Inis Mór, whose breathtaking landscape you might recognize from the Hollywood hit “The Banshees of Inisherin,” as well as 10 Irish-speaking Gaeltacht islands.Increased grants of up to €84,000 (nearly $92,000) will soon be offered to people willing to refurbish vacant or derelict homes and then live in them, with Vacant Home Officers now on the case to identify eligible properties. Would-be islanders should be aware that while there are no restrictions on who can buy property in Ireland, owning a place doesn’t guarantee you the right to live there. The government website has the latest deets on the Our Living Islands policy and the existing refurbishment scheme.

States accelerate efforts to block Chinese purchases of agricultural land

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

Washington (CNN) — A growing number of states are considering or have passed measures this legislative term to ban “foreign adversaries” and foreign entities – specifically China – from buying farmland.Proponents of the laws, mostly Republicans but some Democrats as well, have frequently cited concerns about food security and the need to protect military bases and other sensitive installations. But the moves have stoked anxieties among some experts on US-Chinese relations, including those who see echoes of past discriminatory laws in the United States like the Chinese Exclusion Act.Florida last month joined a list of at least seven other states – including Virginia, North Dakota, Montana and Arkansas – to pass variations of such bills this session, according to the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC), which is tracking the issue and conducts research on agricultural and food law. Similar measures are percolating in more than two dozen states and there’s a bill in Congress that s...

2 injured after waterspout appears on Florida’s West Coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WSVN) – Two Kansas residents needed to be hospitalized after a waterspout that appeared on Florida’s West Coast sent beachgoers scrambling for cover. City officials in Clearwater said that Friday’s waterspout forced umbrellas and other beach items into the air. The winds were so strong they propelled the beach gear across the highway nearby. Local authorities said a 70-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man were treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, waterspouts develop on the water’s surface and normally dissipate once landfall is made. Some may even cause significant damage and injuries as this waterspout proved that fact.

Liz Truss says being compared to a lettuce was not funny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

LONDON — Liz Truss isn’t laughing at the lettuce that outlasted her premiership.Asked Monday about the Daily Star’s live stream of a lettuce that eventually outlasted Truss’ chaotic, market-crashing period in Downing Street, the former British prime minister did not see the funny side. “I don’t think it was particularly funny, I think it’s puerile,” Truss told Irish broadcaster RTÉ — after she snapped at the interviewer for even asking the question. Truss — who crashed out of office after 44 days while the lettuce was still going strong — was speaking at the European Broadcasting Union’s NewsXchange conference in Dublin on Monday.Since leaving No. 10, Truss has primarily intervened on foreign affairs and particularly on U.K.-Chinese relations. She became the first former U.K. PM to visit Taiwan in May and has called for “more action” from the West to combat China.But in her interview with RTÉ’s David McCullagh, Truss was largely questi...

Blinken and Xi pledge to stabilize the deteriorating ties between the US and China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

By MATTHEW LEE (AP Diplomatic Writer)BEIJING (AP) — The United States and China have pledged to stabilize their badly deteriorated ties during a critical visit to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Xi pronounced himself satisfied with progress made during talks in Beijing. But, Blinken told media, China refused to resume military-to-military communications, a U.S. priority.It remains to be seen whether the two countries can resolve their most important disagreements, many of which have international financial, security and stability implications.The two sides expressed a willingness to hold more talks, but there was little indication that either is prepared to bend from its positions on issues including trade, Taiwan, human rights conditions in China and Hong Kong, Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.Blinken said later that the U.S. set limited objectives for t...

Sean Marks is the man for this job

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:01 GMT

No doubt about it: The Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving era took a hard left turn that blemished Nets general manager Sean Marks’ six-year tenure.But for a Brooklyn franchise with as many as 12 first-round draft picks through 2030 – eight eligible to trade this summer – and a bevy of coveted veteran players on tradeable contracts, there may not be a better man in all of basketball to get up off the mat and come out swinging.Marks’ very claim to fame was resuscitating an organization that had no draft capital and a bare bones roster. Now entering his eighth season at the helm, the Nets’ GM has a full array of assets at his disposal.This time, Marks faces a new challenge: He must rebuild the team he bulldozed at the February trade deadline around newfound franchise cornerstone Mikal Bridges.Bridges needs a lot of help if these Nets plan on making it out of the first round of the playoffs next season. Chief among Marks’ challenges is discerning whether ...