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Benfica unable to extend historic Champions League campaign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

Benfica went into a slump at the worst time of the season, and it cost the team a spot in the Champions League semifinals.The Portuguese club couldn’t end its winless streak and was eliminated from the European competition after a 3-3 draw at Inter Milan on Wednesday. Benfica needed to reverse a 2-0 loss from the first leg at home to make it to the semifinals for the first time in more than three decades.It was the fourth straight match without a win in all competitions for Benfica, which before that poor run had lost only once all season and had won 13 of 15 matches.Benfica had been one of the surprises of the Champions League this season, going on an unbeaten run to win a difficult group that included Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. It then cruised past Club Brugge 7-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.With a solid defense and a prolific attack, Benfica was seen as one of the teams to beat instead of one of the softer opponents ahead of the quarterfinals.But the first sign of trou...

SpaceX launches giant new rocket on first test flight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX launches giant new rocket on first test flight.Source

Sheffield United eyes FA Cup surprise before promotion push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

It has been 15 years since a team from outside the Premier League reached the FA Cup final.Sheffield United is looking to end that wait, even if it’s not the priority in a defining few days for the club with plenty on its plate.On Saturday, the team nicknamed the Blades will attempt to deliver one of the biggest FA Cups shocks in years by beating Manchester City in the first of the semifinal matches at Wembley Stadium this weekend.Four days later, Sheffield United can seal a return to the lucrative Premier League with a home win over West Bromwich Albion in the second-division Championship.It’s quite the week in what has been a rollercoaster of a season for a club that is up for sale — a Nigerian billionaire wants to buy it from the current owner from Saudi Arabia — and presently under a transfer embargo for breaking financial rules.In the long term, getting back in the Premier League after an absence of two years is more important for Sheffield United, simply for financial re...

Badminton keeps barring Russia as Olympic qualifying begins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Badminton upheld its ban on Russian and Belarusian players in international competitions on Thursday, days before Olympic qualifying begins.Meanwhile, modern pentathlon said it would set up a “pathway” for athletes from the two countries to return but didn’t commit to a date.Badminton’s qualifying period for the Paris Olympics next year starts on May 1 and uses a calendar-year ranking.The Badminton World Federation cited security concerns and the need for “more clarity” on the International Olympic Committee’s “complex criteria” to admit some Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes without national symbols but keep excluding others, such as military personnel or those who have supported the invasion of Ukraine.The IOC also recommends allowing athletes from only Russia and its ally Belarus to compete individually and not in team sports or “team events in individual sports.” That raises the prospect in badminton of players being allowed t...

NBA Playoffs: Ja, Giannis watch their teams get big wins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

Feel better, Ja Morant. You too, Giannis Antetokounmpo.The stars watched their teammates get big series-tying wins on Wednesday night.Memphis topped the Los Angeles Lakers without Morant, Milwaukee defeated the Miami Heat without Antetokounmpo, and those series are all knotted at a game apiece now. And Denver went up 2-0, wasting a big lead and then rallying to top Minnesota.Meanwhile, Golden State prepared Wednesday for what it’ll take to play without the suspended Draymond Green against Sacramento, with the Kings looking for their first 3-0 lead in any series since 1951 — yes, the 1951 NBA Finals, when they were the Rochester Royals.WHAT’S NEXT?The series begin to shift locations now as the run of Game 3’s begin Thursday — Philadelphia at Brooklyn, Sacramento at Golden State and Phoenix at the Los Angeles Clippers.Philadelphia and Sacramento hold 2-0 leads. The Suns-Clippers series is tied 1-1.There’s three more Game 3’s on Friday; Boston takes a 2-0 lead to Atlanta, D...

Traffic incident sidelines Czech footballer Jankto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech Republic midfielder Jakub Jankto, who recently came out as gay, is taking time off from soccer following a traffic incident.Jankto’s Sparta Prague club said he was not with the team anymore and was given time to deal with his “personal situation.” Sparta declined to give more details and asked the public and media to respect Jankto’s privacy.Jankto said in a statement that his health didn’t make it possible to continue helping Sparta in title and cup races and thanked the club and the fans for their support.Police said he was checked by officers after they were notified by another driver on Tuesday. An alcohol test was negative but Jankto refused to be tested for other drugs.According to media reports, he also didn’t have a driver’s licence, which was taken from him previously by police. Failure to have a licence was punishable by a prison term.Jankto’s future was not clear.He was playing for Sparta Prague this season on loan from Spanish club G...

Who shot and killed this 18-year-old in West Colfax neighborhood?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police need help with the investigation into who murdered an 18-year-old in a west Denver neighborhood.On April 17 at 11:30 p.m., the Denver Police Department said 18-year-old Richard "Richie" Lovato was shot in the area of West 14th Avenue and North Meade Street. The area is in the West Colfax neighborhood north of the Paco Sánchez Park. Warning: Picking up folded money could be dangerous DPD said Lovato was taken to a local hospital where he later died from the injuries he sustained in the shooting.Police need help looking for leads in this murder. Anyone with information regarding the people responsible for Lovato's death is asked to call the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers immediately. Tipsters can call 720-913-7867 and remain anonymous while still being eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.

Giant SpaceX rocket launches, explodes minutes later over Gulf of Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KVEO) — SpaceX’s giant new rocket blasted off on its first test flight Thursday from Boca Chica Beach, but failed minutes after rising from the launch pad.Elon Musk’s company was aiming to send the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket on a round-the-world trip from the southern tip of Texas. It carried no people or satellites, and both the booster and spacecraft on top were to be ditched into the Gulf of Mexico.Plan for the launch. Photo: SpaceX websiteAfter the blast, SpaceX posted on Twitter, “As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation.”“With a test like this, success comes from what we learn, and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multi-planetary.”Musk said on Twitter the testing will continue, “Congrats @SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship! Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months.”Thousands of spectato...

Florida Division of Emergency Management officials apologize for early-morning alert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

The Florida Division of Emergency Management sent out a tweet apologizing after waking up Floridians at 4:45 a.m. Thursday. A loud buzzing sound emitting from phones with the alert: “EMERGENCY ALERT: TEST – This is a TEST of the Emergency Alert System. No action is required.”https://twitter.com/FLSERT/status/1649030370791178241?s=20The alert, according to FDEM was supposed to be only on TVs not on phones.Ron DeSantis announced he has reached out to FDEM Director Kevin Guthrie to bring accountability for what occurred, calling it “inappropriate.” https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1649061429348032512?s=20FDEM said they are taking the appropriate action to ensure this will never happen again and that only true emergencies are sent as alerts in the middle of the night.The state tests the emergency alert system once a month.

Elon Musk’s Starship rocket blows up minutes after launch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:26:55 GMT

Starship, Elon Musk’s space rocket, exploded shortly after launch in Texas on Thursday.The Starship rocket’s booster attempted to separate, at which point its systems failed and Musk’s company SpaceX was forced to blow up the rocket, which was uncrewed.FTS abort. Well done Booster 7 (and Ship 24)! That was still a big win. Launch site is fine and got a lot of first stage data!Next up, Booster 9!https://t.co/npUj2AHByW pic.twitter.com/KRxBwsLlKq— Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) April 20, 2023“As if the flight test was not exciting enough, Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation,” SpaceX said in a statement.Billionaire entrepreneur Musk had said that anything that got off the launchpad would be considered a win. The rocket is being tested with the aim of one day being used to shuttle passengers to Mars. “Congrats SpaceX team on an exciting test launch of Starship!” Musk tweeted. “Learned a lot for next test ...