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Madrid beats Celta to pressure Barça before Atletico visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-0 on Saturday to pressure Barcelona before the Spanish leader hosts Atletico Madrid needing a win to quash any fears of a late season slump.Marco Asensio put Madrid ahead three minutes before halftime from a pass by Vinícius Júnior after the winger sped clear on the flank.Center back Éder Militão again showed his punch in attack by using a powerful header to turn in a corner kick by Asensio in the 48th.Madrid’s win trimmed Barcelona’s still-healthy lead to eight points with one more game played.Two rounds ago, Barcelona could have gone ahead by as many as 15 before it was held to the first of two consecutive draws that have allowed Madrid to breathe a little bit of life into its nearly hopeless title defense.A loss by Barcelona to third-placed Atletico at Camp Nou on Sunday could embolden Madrid with eight games to play.Either way, Madrid has its priorities placed on a possible cup double, not a still unlikely comeback in the dom...

German publisher apologizes for fake Schumacher AI interview

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German publisher has fired one of its magazine’s editors and apologized to the family of Michael Schumacher for publishing a fake interview with the Formula One great that was generated by artificial intelligence.“This tasteless and misleading article should never have appeared. It does not in any way correspond to the standards of journalism that we – and our readers – expect from a publisher like Funke,” Funke magazines managing director Bianca Pohlmann said on Saturday.Pohlmann said Funke was firing the chief editor of Die Aktuelle magazine, where the so-called interview appeared, and the group apologized to Schumacher’s family.Family spokesperson Sabine Kehm already told The Associated Press by email on Thursday that it was planning to take legal action over a “fake artificial intelligence interview by German outlet Die Aktuelle.”The magazine printed a photo of the 54-year-old Schumacher on its front page last weekend along with the words: “Michael Schumacher, th...

Driver crashes into Ohio restaurant patio, injuring several customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (WSVN) — A driver crashed into a restaurant patio, narrowly avoiding two customers having lunch. Security cameras captured the chaos at Hola Tacos in Lakewood, Ohio, and police are trying to determine why the driver lost control of the vehicle.The incident happened on Thursday afternoon around 2 p.m., and five people were taken to the hospital for treatment.Despite the frightening scene caught on camera, police said that none of the injuries sustained by the customers were life-threatening. Witnesses called 911 and reported the white SUV that crashed through the patio fence and nearly ran over the customers. The driver was initially in Liliana Bridal’s parking lot before they reversed and hit a concrete wall, struck a dumpster, and took out the fence.Surveillance footage of the incident showed the driver appearing to lose control of the vehicle, leading to the crash. Police have not filed any charges in the case and say that alcohol or drugs do not appear ...

Volunteers collect thousands of pounds of trash during annual Earth Day cleanup along Charles River

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

A small army of volunteers fanned out to collect thousands of pounds of trash from along the Charles River on Saturday during one of the nation’s largest Earth Day cleanups. More than 3,000 people were out working at about 80 sites, including parks, forests, playgrounds and paths along the Charles River watershed throughout Massachusetts. The 24th annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup — hosted by the Charles River Conservancy, Charles River Watershed Association, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Esplanade Association, and Waltham Land Trust — was just one of the many volunteer efforts unfolding across the Commonwealth.Volunteer Donnie Todd said he was happy to be out helping clean up the area along the river in Boston. “It’s rewarding, we all live here, if we can give back, any way we can, we’re here to do it, and this is an easy way to do it,” he said.Emily Norton, of the Charles River Watershed Associa...

State police investigating fatal crash on Route 24 in Avon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

State police are investigating an early morning crash involving a tractor-trailer on Route 24 in Avon that left a 30-year-old Randolph man dead, officials said. Troopers responding to a reported crash around 2:24 a.m. determined a 2020 Toyota Camry was driving in the middle lane when it rear-ended a tractor-trailer, went off the road into the median, and caught on fire, according to state police.The driver, Richard Maurice, 30, was extricated from the vehicle before it became engulfed in flames. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, where he was pronounced dead.The driver of the tractor-trailer suffered minor injuries.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

David Peterson gets rocked by Giants as Mets fall 7-4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Mets have had to dip into their pitching pool to get by with injuries and suspensions over the last few weeks, but they might finally be finding the end of the depth. Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park was evidence of that.The Giants hit David Peterson hard right from the start. The left-hander gave up four runs in the first and two more in the second to put the Mets in a 6-0 hole early in the game. There were some missteps, outs on the basepaths and calls that didn’t go the way of the Mets (14-8) in the third game of a four-game series, but Peterson’s performance ultimately doomed them.Brandon Nimmo hit his second home run of the season off San Francisco starter Logan Webb (1-4) and Daniel Vogelbach had an RBI double. Starling Marte went 2-for-4 and scored Bretty Baty in the eighth with an RBI single to make it 7-3 and Baty scored Mark Canha in the ninth, but the Mets would get no closer.Despite the resiliency ...

Massachusetts has 3rd-worst highway traffic in US, report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

Massachusetts has the third-worst highway traffic in the country, a new report found.The average Bay State driver spends 40.4 peak hours in urban-area traffic congestion per year, far exceeding the national average of roughly 27 hours.Only drivers in New York and New Jersey fared worse, with 43.2 and 48 hours spent in peak city traffic per year, respectively, according to LA-based think tank Reason Foundation, which released its annual highway report this week.Notably, this report uses 2020 congestion data, from a 2021 study conducted by Texas A&M Transportation Institute. It considers urban traffic congestion throughout each state, but noted that “the congestion problem is primarily concentrated in the major cities of just a few states.”INRIX, a global transportation data and analytics company, released its own report in January, which ranked Boston gridlock as second-worst in the country and fourth-worst in the world — behind London, Chicago and Paris, but ahead of New York Ci...

Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo again ruled out vs. Heat due to back injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

Milwaukee Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out for a second consecutive game against the Miami Heat on Saturday due to a lower-back bruise.“He’s just not ready to go,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’re going to continue to monitor him.”Antetokounmpo initially suffered the injury in the first half of the Heat’s Game 1 victory in the best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series last Sunday at Fiserv Forum, missing the balance of that game.He then sat out Wednesday night’s Game 2 home victory over the Heat that tied the series at 1-1.“He’s not in a place where he can go,” Budenholzer said. “We’ll continue to monitor him and hope for the best.”Antetokounmpo had been listed as questionable for Saturday night’s Game 3 at Kaseya Center on the Bucks’ initial injury report on Friday, listed with that designation for most of Saturday, as well.Game 4 is...

Conservative Robinson joins race for N. Carolina governor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

ALTAMAHAW, N.C. (AP) — Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson formally entered next year’s gubernatorial race at a rally Saturday, with the sharp-spoken social conservative saying North Carolina neads a leader like him who can relate to the challlenges and desires of working people. Elected the state’s first Black lieutenant governor in 2020 in his frst run for political office, Robinson would make similar history if he wins the governorship. “I’m running for governor because we the people of North Carolina need someone who understands us,” Robinson told roughly 1,000 supporters at the event at a speedway in Alamance County, about a half-hour from where he grew up. “We don’t need another politician who’s spent their life climbing the political ladder.”Robinson’s entry was anticipated for well over a year, with the Greensboro native heavily hinting at a run in speeches and fundraising appeals. The 54-year-old also released an autobiography that talked a...

3-year-old boy shot while inside home in Chicago, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:30 GMT

CHICAGO — A 3-year-old boy is in serious condition after he was shot in the face while inside a home Saturday afternoon in Calumet Heights, Chicago police said.The boy was injured around 3:40 p.m. when he was shot in the face while he was inside a home in the 8800 block of South Euclid Avenue. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe boy was taken to Jackson Park Hospital and eventually was transferred to Comer Children's Hospital, police said.No one is in custody and the incident is still under investigation, police said.