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US internationals Pulisic, Weah and Musah are among the new players to watch in Serie A

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

Alexi Lalas was considered a pioneer when he joined Padova in 1994. Nearly two decades later came Michael Bradley, first at Chievo Verona, then at Roma. Then in 2020, Weston McKennie became Juventus’ first American player.There was a time when Americans’ soccer skills were not considered refined enough to join the highly technical Italian league.Now three United States internationals have joined Serie A during the same transfer window: Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah at AC Milan and Tim Weah at Juventus. The three Americans are some of the new faces to watch in the Italian league this season.The league kicks off on Aug. 19.Here’s a look at some of Serie A’s top new players. CHRISTIAN PULISIC Pulisic will attempt to revive his sagging club career at American-owned Milan leading into a home World Cup in the United States in 2026.Pulisic signed a four-year deal with the club following a transfer from Chelsea, with the Rossoneri retaining the option for a f...

Sam Kerr to start for Australia in Women’s World Cup semifinal against England

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Star striker Sam Kerr was in Australia’s starting lineup for Wednesday’s semifinal match against England at the Women’s World Cup. Kerr has been limited the entire tournament with a left calf injury. Kerr, the captain of Australia’s team, did not play at all in the group stage. She played a small role in the round of 16 win over Denmark and declared herself fit to start ahead of Australia’s quarterfinal match against France, but was instead on the bench. She went on early in the second half, played all through extra time and made her penalty kick in Australia’s 7-6 shootout win. The victory put the Matildas in the semifinals for the first time in World Cup history and one game away from playing for the title. Kerr’s time on the field against France equaled nearly an entire match. Kerr, the 29-year-old superstar of the Australian team, plays for Chelsea and is beloved in her home nation. In another Australia roster move, defende...

Australia se atreve a soñar con ganar la Copa del Mundo mientras la “matildasmanía” arrasa el país

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

(CNN) — Dos partidos separan a Australia de una victoria histórica en el Mundial Femenino de Fútbol, y la nación, quizás prematuramente, está debatiendo los pros y los contras de un feriado nacional en caso de que el equipo derrote a España este domingo.La manía del fútbol se ha extendido por el país en una cultura donde el rugby, el cricket y el fútbol local de “reglas australianas” suelen dominar. Y mientras la nación hizo una pausa para calmar los nervios tras una larga tanda de penales contra Francia, los ojos ahora están firmemente puestos en despachar a Inglaterra este miércoles.El partido se transmite a las 8 p.m., hora local de la costa este de Australia, pero coincide con un día laboral en la casa de las Leonas, y se transmite incluso antes en la costa este de Estados Unidos, donde los entusiastas fanáticos del fútbol pueden ver el juego a la hora del desayuno.En Australia, más de cuatro millones de personas sintonizaron para ver la victoria de las Matildas por 7-6 so...

DC woman grapples with dog’s drowning death: ‘This could have all been prevented’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

For D.C. resident Jocelyn Lobos-Segura, Monday’s severe weather in the Rhode Island Avenue area of Northeast took an unimaginably tragic toll. Her one-year-old Labrador-Border Collie, Mona, was one of 10 dogs who died when a pet day care facility flooded.“I didn’t know anything was going on until I went to go pick up Mona,” Lobos-Segura said. “It was around 5:30 p.m., which is the typical time that I went to go pick her up after work, and I had noticed that the road was closed while I was driving up. So, I had to go a really long route to try to get to the parking lot.”Seeing ambulance and police presence outside of District Dogs, Lobos-Segura initially thought someone in the apartments above the facility might have had a health emergency — but she soon realized the truth would be much more heart-wrenching.“I had seen that the building inside was just completely destroyed,” Lobos-Segura said. “But I was really just hoping that my...

Kenya’s crisis is unique and driven by poverty, track and field’s anti-doping head tells the AP

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

In all likelihood, Kenya will haul in another good chunk of medals in distance races at this month’s track and field world championships, each one of them throwing more suspicion on a country with a reputational crisis because of doping.Kenya has achieved unparalleled success in modern distance running, but a wave of positive drug tests over the last decade has made it the sport’s latest doping pariah and pushed it to the brink of a sweeping international ban that would put it alongside Russia.Anti-doping authorities inside and outside the East African nation are grappling to get it under control.“We’re trying to clean up our country,” said Faith Kipyegon, the Kenyan middle-distance runner who broke three world records this year, has never failed a doping test, but was asked at a recent news conference — like many of her compatriots often are — to account for the more than 180 doping sanctions handed out to Kenyans since 2017.The root of Kenya’s problem is un...

Stevie Nicks says ‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ made her feel ‘like a ghost watching’ her ‘own story’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

(CNN) — Stevie Nicks is finally commenting on the hit show that many believe is loosely based on her music career with Fleetwood Mac.The iconic singer, 75, posted a still image from Amazon’s “Daisy Jones & the Six” to her Instagram on Tuesday, and shared her opinion of the 10-episode series in the caption.“Just finished watching Daisy Jones + the 6 for the 2nd time. In the beginning, it wasn’t really my story, but Riley seamlessly, soon became my story,” Nicks wrote, in reference to series lead star Riley Keough.“It brought back memories that made me feel like a ghost watching my own story,” Nicks continued.“It was very emotional for me. I just wish Christine could have seen it. She would have loved it,” the “Dreams” singer added, referring to her late Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie, who died in November of last year.Nicks ended her message, “Hopefully it will continue…”“Daisy Jones & the Six,” which is nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards this year, premiered in...

Jay-Z-themed library cards spark increase in Brooklyn Public Library memberships

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

(CNN) — If anyone can make a trip to the library feel like a party, it’s Jay-Z, apparently.To celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the Brooklyn Public Library and Roc Nation have released 13 limited-edition library cards with artwork from Jay-Z albums. The initiative, which ends later this month, has already resulted in 14,000 new library accounts, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Public Library told CNN.The library cards are tied to a Brooklyn Central Library exhibit that explores Jay-Z’s career through rare photos, original recordings, videos and other artifacts.“The community’s enthusiastic response to this exhibition is a testament to Jay-Z’s immense impact,” Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library, told CNN.The Jay-Z-themed library cards are available for free for New York State residents. New Yorkers can collect all 13 versions – but only one will be activated to a Brooklyn Public library account to check out resources, according to a library sp...

Mr. Not-So-Brightside. The Killers booed in Georgia for bringing Russian fan onstage

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

American rock band The Killers apologized after singer Brandon Flowers invited a Russian fan onstage at a concert in Georgia.At a performance on Tuesday at the Black Sea Arena in Batumi, Flowers brought the fan onstage to play drums on the song “For Reasons Unknown.”Georgia is a former Soviet state and a fifth of its territory is still occupied by Russia, which invaded in 2008.In videos circulating on social media, Flowers asked the audience: “We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian. You okay with a Russian coming up here?” Fans responded with a mixture of boos and applause. Part of the audience left concert of @thekillers at the Black Sea Arena in Georgia in protest after amid booing the group’s frontman who invited a Russian drummer to the stage and said everyone are “brothers and sisters” pic.twitter.com/mhtklWIOKf— Formula NEWS | English (@FormulaGe) August 15, 2023Flowers attempted to placate the audience by saying: “You can’t recog...

Ukraine liberates another key village in southeast

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

KYIV — The Ukrainian army has liberated a critical village in the Donetsk region, widening their breach into Russian defenses on the southern front. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar confirmed the liberation of Urozhaine on Wednesday morning. Urozhaine is located a few kilometers southeast of Staromaiorske, which Ukrainian forces pushed Russia out of last month.The village’s liberation is a significant victory for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which is slowly progressing through heavily mined Russian lines of defense, Ukrainian military analyst Roman Svitan told POLITICO. “Russians had an established stronghold in Urozhaine alongside Mokri Yaly River that used to stall our offensive operations in that area. Taking it back under our control, Ukrainian forces minimized the danger of Russian attack from flanks and got a key to a faster progress through Russian defense lines up to Staromlynivka village, where Russians have their main defensive li...

UK inflation slows, but chancellor warns not at finish line yet

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 16:18:29 GMT

Inflation in the U.K. fell broadly in line with market expectations in July despite some underlying signs of stagnation, while a drop-off in energy and food prices contributed to a surprise fall in household bills. The data offers relief for consumers but mixed messages for the Bank of England (BoE), whose aggressive hiking cycle is finally starting to show signs of bringing Britain’s sky-high inflation down ― but it still faces considerable headwinds from wages and costly services.  The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose by 6.8 percent in July from the year before, down from 7.9 in June, in line with market expectations, according to data released Wednesday by the Office of National Statistics. That headline figure will be welcome news for U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his government, which pledged in January to halve inflation by the end of 2023, though that target still remains far off. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was quick to claim ...