Por KAREL JANICEK

Stuttgart alcanzó los octavos de final de la Liga Europa pese a perder 1-0 en casa ante Celtic el jueves en la vuelta de los playoffs de la fase eliminatoria.

Stuttgart, que actualmente es cuarto en la Bundesliga, avanzó 4-2 en el global tras ganar la ida 4-1 en Glasgow.

Celtic recuperó algo de orgullo con Luke McCowan, que puso en ventaja a los visitantes en el primer minuto del partido. Después de una ida para el olvido para Martin O’Neill, en lo que fue su partido número 1.000 en su carrera como entrenador, esta fue una actuación muy mejorada de cara a la visita del Celtic a su acérrimo rival Rangers en la Premiership escocesa el domingo.

Al igual que en la Liga de Campeones, los ocho primeros clasificados de la fase de liga avanzaron automáticamente a los octavos de final. Los equipos ubicados del noveno al 24º disputaron un playoff a doble partido.

Stuttgart jugará a continuación contra Braga o Porto. El sorteo de los octavos de final, cuartos y semifinales está programado para el viernes.

El veterano delantero Olivier Giroud anotó temprano para Lille, lo que fue suficiente para forzar la prórroga en Belgrado ante el anfitrión Estrella Roja. El suplente Nathan Ngoy marcó el gol de la victoria a los nueve minutos del tiempo extra y Lille venció a Estrella Roja 2-0 para imponerse 2-1 en el global y preparar un duelo de octavos contra Aston Villa o Lyon.

Panathinaikos se impuso 4-3 en una tanda de penales ante Viktoria Plzeň tras el 2-2 de la ida y el 1-1 al final de la prórroga el jueves, para un 3-3 en el global. Andreas Tetteh adelantó a los visitantes griegos desde el borde del área al inicio en la ciudad checa de Plzeň. Karel Spáčil igualó de cabeza en la segunda mitad, lo que forzó la prórroga, que terminó sin goles.

En Budapest, Ferencváros avanzó 3-2 en el global tras ganar 2-0 en la vuelta a Ludogorets, con goles en la primera parte de Gabi Kanichowsky y Kristoffer Zachariassen.

Giroud vuelve a acertar

Giroud, de 39 años, ha recuperado su olfato goleador en el momento justo.

Giroud borró el 1-0 en contra de la ida en Lille al rematar de cabeza a corta distancia tras conectar con un centro del capitán Benjamin André.

Fue su cuarto gol en la competición y llegó apenas días después de que Giroud anotara en la victoria 1-0 en Angers en la liga francesa. Ese fue su primer gol liguero desde noviembre.

Fuegos artificiales en Forest

Los jugadores de Nottingham Forest se vieron obligados a esquivar fuegos artificiales lanzados al campo por aficionados de Fenerbahce al inicio de la vuelta en el City Ground.

Momentos después del inicio del partido, hubo una demora de tres minutos cuando sectores del fondo visitante, con unos 1.500 aficionados, lanzaron varios fuegos artificiales al área penal de Forest.

Forest ganó la ida 3-0, con Vítor Pereira causando impacto en su primer partido al mando del club inglés, que atraviesa dificultades en el 17º puesto de la Liga Premier. Forest regresó a Europa esta temporada después de tres décadas y no ha recibido goles en sus últimos tres partidos como local en la competición europea de segunda categoría.

El anfitrión Genk llega con ventaja 3-1 a su partido en casa contra Dinamo Zagreb. Bologna recibe al equipo noruego Brann, que perdió la ida 1-0.

Celta mantiene una ventaja 2-1 sobre PAOK.

Fiorentina avanza en la Conference League

Fiorentina necesitó prórroga para imponerse después de desperdiciar su ventaja 3-0 de la ida ante Jagiellonia Bialystok en la Conference League, el torneo de tercera categoría.

Bartosz Mazurek lideró la remontada del equipo polaco con un triplete para forzar el tiempo extra. Pero los suplentes Nicolo Fagioli y un autogol en la prórroga resultaron suficientes para el equipo italiano, pese a que Jagiellonia ganó 4-2 en la noche.

Fiorentina, dos veces finalista, avanzó a los octavos de final con un marcador global de 5-4.

Crystal Palace tiene trabajo por hacer en casa después de empatar 1-1 con Zrinjski Mostar en Bosnia.

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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/stuttgart-avanza-en-liga-europa-pese-a-perder-ante-celtic-en-la-vuelta-fuegos-en-forest/ 

A Wisconsin man and woman were killed Thursday near Wadsworth when their vehicle collided with a semi, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.

The crash happened at about 7:50 a.m. on Illinois Route 173, west of the Wadsworth Road intersection, police said.

The vehicle driver, a 51-year-old man, and his passenger, a 45-year-old woman, both of Stoughton, Wisconsin, were headed east on Route 173 in a 2009 Acura sedan. Witnesses told police that it appeared the man was having trouble staying in his lane, and his car drifted into the opposite lane.

The car then crashed head-on with a semi-truck carrying a 35,000-pound load in its trailer.

A Salem, Wisconsin, woman driving a van then struck the Acura. She was brought to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Their identities have not yet been released.

The semi driver, an Evergreen Park man, was not injured. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, police said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/wisconsin-man-woman-killed-in-head-on-wadsworth-semi-crash/ 

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Davis Martin has jokingly referred to himself as “the old guy” on a couple of occasions since becoming the longest-tenured player on the Chicago White Sox roster.

“But it’s still my third big-league camp so there’s still things I’m, like, nervous getting going, ‘all right, here we go,’” Martin said Wednesday at Camelback Ranch. “It’s not like, roll out of bed and ‘Oh, we have spring training.’

“I still get juices flowing during spring training. It’s fun to get that stuff going.”

Photos: Chicago White Sox on photo day at spring training

Martin, 29, made his first start of the spring Wednesday, allowing one run on one hit with a walk in two innings against the Cincinnati Reds. The right-hander focused on being “hyperaggressive in the zone.” He threw 29 pitches, 17 of which were strikes.

“(I wanted to be) a guy who bullies the zone first pitch, always gets ahead of guys,” Martin said. “Sets the tone. Doesn’t fall behind guys. That’s a very controllable thing for me and a controllable goal I’ve had. Just hyperfixating on that, getting ahead of guys. Constantly putting pressure on them and letting the (at-bat) follow.”

Before Wednesday’s outing, Martin hadn’t liked the way he had been throwing this spring.

“I’ll have a pen where I feel good and then the next outing the live, I feel out of sync,” he said. “Then the bullpen feels bad and then the live is in sync.

“(Wednesday) was the first day that I kind of put it all together. It felt like it was a best version of myself so far in camp, so it’s exciting and something to build off of going forward.”

Martin set career highs with seven wins, 25 starts, 142 2/3 innings and 104 strikeouts last season. He became the longest-tenured Sox after the club traded center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets during the offseason. Martin made his major-league debut on May 17, 2022. Infielder Lenyn Sosa appeared in a game in June 2022.

“Even last year he seemed like a guy that had been around a long time, and I didn’t realize that he hadn’t,” manager Will Venable said of Martin on Thursday. “He just kind of has that sense of how he goes about his business, the way he commands respect from his teammates. He also goes about his business in a way that sets a great example for everybody.

“He’s somebody we’re really glad to have and glad, as we’re looking for this group to take steps forward from a leadership standpoint, that he’s one of those guys.”

White Sox catcher Edgar Quero, from left, bullpen catcher Bennett Markinson and starter Davis Martin joke around during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 18, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Martin is focused on goals he can control, adding that “innings and strike one kind of go hand in hand.”

“If you get ahead of guys often, a lot of good things happen for you and you go deep into games,” Martin said. “I’m not going to go chase strikeouts. I’m not going to go chase ERA. I’m not going to go do any of those things.

“I just want to be a foundation for the team and for the bullpen, and I think every starter does. I think Shane (Smith) and Sean (Burke) and some of the other guys are going to tell you the same thing. They want to go out there six-plus (innings) and it’s kind of what we pride ourselves on.”

Injury updates

Outfielder Everson Pereira continues to recover from tightness in his right side. He has yet to play in a Cactus League game this spring.

“Just a little tight, but I feel good,” he said through an interpreter Thursday morning.

Pereira described the setback as his “oblique,” saying in English, “It’s just sore.”

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He didn’t have a timetable, but is eager to return after impressing early in camp.

“That’s one of the more frustrating parts because this is a new team for me and I know I have to show what I can do,” Pereira said through an interpreter. The Sox acquired Pereira as part of an offseason trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. “At the same time, it’s a competition, right? There’s a lot of young talent here and everybody is fighting for a spot.”

Venable said outfielder/infielder Luisangel Acuña had a “pretty good gash” after sliding safely into second base during a steal attempt in Wednesday’s game. He exited in the fourth inning with a cut above his left eyebrow and later received four stitches.

Acuña said his helmet fell off and hit him.

“We’ll give him a couple of days,” Venable said. “Today was a light day for him and we’ll ramp him back up over the next couple of days. (It’s) Feb. 26, no rush.

“Just want to make sure he’s getting healed up and just knowing that we have a long season with him. We want to make sure he’s getting all the reps at the right time.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/chicago-white-sox-davis-martin-leadership/ 

Dollar Tree’s 9,000th store opened last year within a few miles of a Louis Vuitton, a steakhouse selling $525 Wagyu beef and Audi, Porsche and Ferrari dealerships, where the average car costs more than what a typical Dollar Tree shopper makes in a year.

Inside, while most everyone is looking for a deal, it’s not necessarily because they need one. On opening day, three Range Rovers were sitting in the parking lot.

“I always call Dollar Tree ‘the add on,’” said Stephanie Williams, while browsing the store on a recent Monday, because it’s where she goes to find frivolous “add ons” to her shopping list. She was eyeing gift bags for candy she’d bought her coworkers.

The new store is in a part of Plano, Texas — a Dallas suburb — that a few years ago would’ve been too fancy for the discount retailer, according to Dollar Tree Inc. CEO Michael Creedon.

“That’s changed,” he said. “Everything’s kinda drifted up.”

Across the U.S., Dollar Tree is moving into higher-income areas. In the last six years, almost half of new Dollar Tree stores opened in wealthier enclaves of metropolitan areas, according to an analysis by Bloomberg News. In the prior six years, that share was just 41%.

Dollar Tree says shoppers who make over $100,000 are driving much of its current growth. Last quarter, 60% of new Dollar Tree customers made at least six figures. While wealthier people come into the discount retailer less often than lower-income ones, they spend $1 on average more per visit, according to the company. That adds up: If those kinds of occasional shoppers went to Dollar Tree just one more time per year, it would translate to an additional $1 billion in annual sales, Dollar Tree said.

The company is expected to report annual revenue rose more than 10% in 2025 — its fastest annual growth in nearly a decade — and its stock is up 67% from a year ago.

Dollar stores tend to thrive when the economy is shaky and people are looking to trade down. The last time Dollar Tree expanded into higher-income parts of the country was during the 2008 recession.

But the company’s current drift upward is less about temporary belt-tightening than an economy that’s increasingly built for the wealthy. As spending concentrates among the top 10% of earners, even low-end retailers, like Walmart, are trying to cater to higher-income shoppers. Instead of relying on consumers to trade down, retailers are themselves trading up.

“It’s a lot easier to make money selling to the high end than the low end,” said Daniel Biolsi, an analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management.

Shoppers at the new Plano store say it’s cleaner and better stocked than others nearby, which can be “hit or miss,” said Ashley Davis, 34, who works in tech support in the area.

“Sometimes the other ones are really cluttered, you can barely get through the aisles,” said Jessica Geisbauer, a 46-year-old stay-at-home mom, who had come to Dollar Tree to stock up for a Girl Scout party.

Dollar Tree is in the midst of touching up about 3,000 locations and renovating more than 100, the company said.

Showcased up front are the so-called “add ons”: Three weeks before Christmas, neat rows of green and red ribbon line the front aisles. Nearby sit gift bags designed with toy soldiers and peppermint sticks for $2.50 and a “Toyland” section sells plastic standing mixers, grill play sets and construction trucks all for $5.

Everyday essentials, like shampoo and frozen and canned foods — things that lower-income shoppers tend to stock up on at Dollar Tree — are tucked farther back.

“This is West Plano, so they know people are a little bit pickier,” said Mashy Modjdehi, a 71-year-old business owner in the area.

She likes to shop at Dollar Tree because she sees it as a low-risk way to try new things. “Even if I didn’t like it, it was $1.25. So, it’s not like I spent so much money,” she said while looking at brow dye.

Dollar Tree’s expansion into wealthier areas can be traced back to its attempt to find its footing after the 2008 recession ended.

As the economy improved and higher-income shoppers stopped trading down, Dollar Tree focused on the low end. In 2015, it bought Family Dollar for more than $8 billion to “extend our reach to low-income customers,” then-CEO Bob Sasser said. Executives at the time told investors the company was prioritizing “consumable core items,” expanding its frozen and refrigerated food offerings, and being “first-of-the-month ready” for shoppers whose government assistance lands in their bank account on that day.

The chain had locked itself into “a little bit of that stigma of the dollar store,” current CEO Creedon said.

As dollar stores have proliferated in towns across the U.S., they’ve faced criticism for poor working conditions and undercutting other local shops, leaving poor or rural areas with fewer options. The backlash prompted dozens of small towns around the U.S. to block new stores, and in some cases, pass laws restricting new ones from coming in.

Dollar Tree has expanded its safety and compliance procedures, the company said.

Dollar Tree was also running up against the limits of selling things so little. While it could turn a profit on small items like nails, it couldn’t stock bigger items that people might want to buy at the same time, like hammers, without raising prices or taking a big loss.

In 2019, the chain made a radical decision: Defying its very name, it started to sell products in select stores for up to $5. Two years later, it expanded the pilot into more stores and again broke from its namesake, raising its base price to $1.25. By 2025, it sold items for up to $7 and has a variety of price points in all of its locations. That same year, it sold off Family Dollar, which was underperforming.

By offering more expensive products, Dollar Tree was able to move into more expensive areas. Last year, more than a quarter of Dollar Tree stores opened in ZIP codes where the median household income was at least $100,000.

Because the new stores have moved into areas that had robust retail, they weren’t seen as a blight or a sign of a neighborhood in decline, said John Muns, the mayor of Plano. “It’s really not a dollar store that we all think of,” he said. “It’s more like Target or Walmart — somewhere to go pick up quick things — but more accessible than those big box stores.”

Dollar Tree hasn’t abandoned the low-income shopper. The company is also moving into lower-income metropolitan areas and last quarter, it reported spending growth across all income sub-cohorts, including households earning below $20,000.

Davis, who works in tech support, is more like the traditional Dollar Tree customer. She shops at Dollar Tree to save money on essentials, like cookware and toothpaste. Even though the prices have gone up, she still loves going to the Dollar Tree, she said. “I can get in, get out and I’m not spending hundreds of dollars on the smallest things.”

Plano locals may go to Dollar Tree for different kinds of things, but they like it for the same reason: It’s convenient and cheap. “I needed something in a hurry and I didn’t want to face Target or Walmart,” said Karen Henning, who is retired. She had popped into the new store to buy Scotch tape, but while there, she was thinking of picking up some candy for her grandkids, too.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/dollar-tree-rich-shoppers/ 

Despite calls from residents of the Del Webb community in Aurora asking for the neighborhood’s developer to address existing issues before further construction, the Aurora City Council has approved plans for the project’s next phase.

Currently at roughly 550 homes, the age-restricted Del Webb community called Lincoln Prairie is already facing issues with landscaping, security and overburdened amenities, residents of the neighborhood have said at recent city meetings.

A committee of the Aurora City Council previously delayed its consideration of the proposal to give developer Pulte Homes and the residents time to meet and come up with solutions, and Pulte has made some concessions to residents over the course of the approval process.

On Tuesday, the Aurora City Council formally approved four resolutions that gave Pulte the go-ahead to build the fourth phase of the neighborhood, which is planned to hold over 90 homes. Aurora Mayor John Laesch said at Tuesday’s meeting that the city can’t legally hold the next phase of development up to address issues in the first three phases, but that residents made their voices heard.

Paula Helberg, a resident of Lincoln Prairie who has spoken at multiple city meetings about landscaping issues impacting her neighborhood, told The Beacon-News that she and other residents appreciate the city and Pulte for listening to their concerns and supporting efforts towards resolving them. But, they also believe that the city “holds the authority to explore additional solutions for the unresolved issues” and that Pulte should “further expand the concessions already made.”

“Pulte’s representatives have shown interest in continuing the dialogue, and we remain committed to advocating for common-sense solutions,” Helberg said.

Located on the far southeast side of the city, the Lincoln Prairie Del Webb neighborhood has been under development for the last several years. It was first proposed in 2021, a ribbon cutting for the first phase was held the next year and plans for phase three were approved in 2024.

The neighborhood’s low-maintenance ranch homes come in multiple styles ranging from two to three bedrooms and from around 1,500 to 2,750 square feet, officials have said. Designs include large kitchen islands, tall sliding glass doors, suites with spa-like baths and storage space.

The community is promoted as having “resort-style amenities,” including an 18,000-square-foot clubhouse with meeting spaces, billiard rooms, indoor and outdoor pools and outdoor recreational areas with tennis and pickleball courts.

In addition to the Lincoln Prairie Del Webb neighborhood, the development also includes Lincoln Crossing, which is a separate, smaller neighborhood of market-rate, single-family houses.

The Del Webb portion of the development was marketed as being gated, according to materials provided to the City Council by Pulte, which is now included online with Tuesday’s meeting agenda. Residents have said they too were told during the homebuying process that the main entry gate would be closed after a secondary access was completed — but now that it is done, all the gates still remain open.

The gates are staying open because it is impractical to close them during construction and while houses in the community are being sold, as there are so many people coming and going, said a lawyer representing Pulte Homes, Russ Whitaker, during past meetings.

Pulte has since agreed to lower the gates at night, although the plan will need to be approved by the Pulte-controlled homeowners association board, Whitaker and other company officials have said. Pulte’s Division Director of Land Planning and Entitlement, Matt Brolley, told the Aurora City Council on Tuesday that the work needed to get the gates operational would likely be completed by June.

Residents have also been concerned about non-residents entering the community and using common areas and infrastructure, resident Suzi Smith has said at multiple city meetings. By not having “No Trespassing” signs at the entrance to the neighborhood, she said, police are not able to enforce trespassing laws throughout common areas and infrastructure, except at the clubhouse and sports courts.

The neighborhood’s sidewalks, however, are open to the public, according to city Director of Zoning and Planning Tracey Vacek. And language in the original agreement, shown by Whitaker at a past meeting, said the gates are meant to give a sense of security, not to create exclusivity.

So then, Smith said, Lincoln Prairie should have never been marketed or referred to as a private community.

“Rather, it is a community of senior residents who paid for, are liable for and must maintain what is essentially a 550-acre public parkland,” she said during the public comment period of Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Another of the residents’ concerns was around landscaping. Helberg has said that established plans are not being followed and that plantings were not being installed properly.

“If you vote ‘yea’ on phase four without firm commitments to by-the-book, new landscape installation and by-the-book repairs to existing landscape, you are saying that plans don’t matter, that doing things correctly doesn’t matter and that doing things right in the first place doesn’t matter,” she said at a meeting of the Aurora City Council’s Committee of the Whole last week.

Aurora city staff still need to do many inspections of the development’s landscaping, said Vacek. All projects within the city get their landscaping inspected, she said, and so far Pulte has fixed issues that city staff have found.

Helberg also previously spoke about parks that were discussed to be included within the community but never were, and said she knows at least one person who bought a home within the neighborhood because of these promised parks.

Another concern that was previously raised by residents, but was not specifically mentioned during Tuesday’s meeting, is that they believe the neighborhood’s amenities are at-capacity. The clubhouse is not even big enough to accommodate those who are already residents, so with more homes on the way, the amenities will be overburdened, resident Barbie Sawyer said at a past meeting.

The clubhouse has the development’s sale center in it right now, but after the project is complete, that space will be turned over to the homeowners association, Pulte officials have said. Plus, additional amenities or an expanded clubhouse may be coming later in the development.

There’s always tension between a developer and the residents of a project before the homeowners association board is turned over to the residents, according to Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward. That’s what the City Council was really hearing about, since the residents don’t really have a voice on the board yet, he said at the Committee of the Whole meeting last week.

So, he urged Pulte to do more to communicate with residents to resolve issues before they reach this point.

Currently, Pulte appoints people to the HOA board. One resident sits on the board right now, company officials have said, and they’ve also agreed to open up another seat for a resident — but like all other seats, that person will be appointed by Pulte.

Residents can request the HOA be turned over to them, but Pulte also currently pays off the HOA’s yearly budget shortfall, according to company officials. They have said that the HOA would be turned over to residents once most of the homes in the community have been built and sold, but that the company’s financial support of the HOA will end once it is turned over.

rsmith@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/aurora-del-webb-concerns/ 

Three juveniles were arrested after they crashed in a stolen car near Lake Villa, according to police.

Lake Villa Police issued an alert just before midnight on Feb. 20 to let area departments know that a vehicle had been reported stolen. A short time later, a Lake County sheriff’s deputy was on patrol and spotted the vehicle in a subdivision near Grass Lake Road and Illinois Route 59.

As the vehicle passed the officer, the driver fled north on Route 59 and then turned onto eastbound Grass Lake Road.

The deputy was far behind and ended the pursuit near the Grass Lake Road – Painted Lake Road intersection. Shortly thereafter, though, the deputy saw a flash of light as the car crashed near the intersection with Deep Lake Road.

Police and paramedics responded and transported the three juveniles to a hospital. All had non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Criminal charges were pending, police said.

Internet crimes unit

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children team made 13 arrests in 2025, in its ongoing efforts to protect children from victimization.

Those arrests were part of 90 investigations the ICAC undertook last year based on tips from the national ICAC team. The number of arrests is expected to grow as several active investigations proceed.

Investigators rescued five children from continued abuse and exploitation.

“Behind every image and every case file is a real child enduring unimaginable abuse,” Sheriff John Idleburg said. “The work our cybercrime investigators do is difficult and often heartbreaking, but it is absolutely critical. In 2025 alone, our team helped rescue multiple children from continued exploitation.

“That is exactly why we do this work, to protect the innocent and stop predators before they can harm another child,” he said.

In addition to investigations, the ICAC team made numerous presentations to school groups to alert students to online risks.

Legal Aid Clinic gala

The North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic will hold its spring gala on April 29 at the Gorton Center in Lake Forest.

The event’s theme is “Lift Every Voice,” and will bring together members of the legal community, along with local leaders and supporters, to celebrate and financially support the group’s mission of providing legal aid to residents of Lake and north suburban Cook counties.

Entertainment will include Ballet Folklórico Tayahua, a Waukegan ensemble celebrating Mexican and Mexican-American cultural heritage through traditional regional dance and music. The musical group Chicago Latin Groove, and spoken word artist Kyra Wolfe, who is an advocate for domestic violence survivors, are also scheduled to appear.

The event will also recognize Bob Badesch, who recently retired after a 50-year legal career, most recently as the staff attorney for the NSLAC’s domestic violence law practice.

To purchase tickets or learn more about sponsorship opportunities, visit:
https://nslegalaid.org/nslac-11th-anniversary-event/

New police dog vest

Dez, a Round Lake Beach police dog, is the latest K-9 in Lake County to receive a donated protective vest.

Dez was gifted the bullet- and stab-resistant gear from Vested Interest in K-9s, a national charitable organization. The vest will be emblazoned with “In memory of Vincent Difini,” and should be received in about 10 weeks, Round Lake Beach police said in a social media post.

For more information about the charity, call (508) 824-6978. Vested Interest in K-9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts donations at www.vik9s.org, or you may mail a contribution to P.O. Box 9, East Taunton, MA 02718.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/law-order-column-three-juveniles-arrested-for-stealing-car/ 

Iran Rushes To Load Oil Onto Ships In Anticipation Of US Strikes

Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/26/2026 – 17:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/iran-rushes-load-oil-ships-anticipation-us-strikes 

Associated Press

LONDRES (AP) — La Liga Premier lanzará una plataforma de streaming directa al consumidor, al estilo de Netflix, a partir de la próxima temporada, manifestó el jueves el director ejecutivo Richard Masters.

Premier League Plus se lanzará inicialmente en Singapur y, si tiene éxito, podría “replicarse en todo el mundo”.

“Es un proceso muy largo y meditado, cuidadosamente elegido. Por primera vez la Liga Premier va a tener sus propios clientes. Tendrá que ocuparse de la promoción, los precios, la tasa de cancelación, la distribución, todas esas cosas; buscamos construir un negocio”, señaló Masters en la cumbre Business of Football del Financial Times en Londres.

“También buscamos aprender, para ver cómo eso podría replicarse en todo el mundo”.

La nueva plataforma podría eventualmente transformar la manera en que los aficionados consumen la liga más popular del mundo, que afirma tener una audiencia global de 1.870 millones de personas y ser vista en 189 países.

Desde hace tiempo circulaban rumores de que la liga lanzaría una plataforma “Premflix”. Hasta ahora, siempre había vendido sus derechos a emisoras independientes como Sky Sports en Inglaterra y NBC en Estados Unidos.

También está abriendo un nuevo centro de producción, Premier League Studios, en Londres.

“Lo que hacemos con Premier League Plus en Singapur tiene que ver realmente con aprender, además de construir el negocio. Si sale bien, puede replicarse. No creo que en esta etapa se deba predecir más allá de eso”, señaló Masters.

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James Robson está en https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/liga-premier-lanzar-su-propia-plataforma-de-streaming-en-singapur-la-prxima-temporada/ 

Sunglasses perched on her head, Chuck Taylor sneakers on her feet and wearing a Pink Floyd T-Shirt, Mary Nicole Rasmussen, 55, was a creator of many traditions. From hiding hundreds of Easter eggs in a field to carrying a Northwest Indiana cardboard boat racing legacy for more than a decade, family members said she left behind innumerable memories.

Mary Rasmussen, of Thayer, Indiana, died Feb. 21 at home surrounded by her family. A celebration of life is planned for 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday at Burdan Funeral Home and Crematory, 12901 W. Wicker Ave. in Cedar Lake. There will be a prayer service at 5:30 p.m.

Her brother-in-law, Bob Bong, who wrote her obituary, said she came from Riverdale, Illinois, to live in Cedar Lake, where she raised her family and became involved in the community. She carried the title of Cub Scout Den Mother and was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles 2529, as well as being a longstanding volunteer with the Cedar Lake Summerfest committee with her husband, Ken Rasmussen Sr. Bong described her as being the glue of the family.

“She planned birthdays, holidays, weddings, reunions, parties — you name it,” he said. “She always had a way of bringing everyone together. She was a special kind of person like that. To know her was to love her, and she loved everyone.”

Bong said while Mary Rasmussen had multiple sclerosis and kept a positive outlook through health challenges, her death was unexpected. She had just celebrated Valentine’s Day with her husband, and the family was anticipating her traditional big Easter celebration soon.

“She loved decorating for different holidays and especially enjoyed celebrating Easter,” Bong said. “She would spend hours filling hundreds of plastic Easter eggs with money and candy that she would scatter around the yard before setting dozens of kids and adults loose in a series of carefully organized Easter egg hunts. Grand prizes always featured giant chocolate Easter bunnies or huge Easter baskets.”

Mary Rasmussen was known for her Easter “Egg-stravaganzas,” where she would throw a huge egg hunt. (Corine Rasmussen/provided)

Her house in Cedar Lake was a summer cabin converted for year-round living that she endearingly called the “world’s smallest house,” where she lived with her husband, Ken Rasmussen Sr., and children, Ken Rasmussen Jr., Corine Rasmussen and Samantha Rasmussen.

“She showed the importance of staying connected,” Corine Rasmussen said. “She was very generous. She took in all my strays, whether it was a human — a friend who reached out to me because they saw her as a mother, too. Or it could be stray animals, cats, a raccoon. We had an open-door, open fridge policy. She cared about everyone.”

Corine Rasmussen said her mother was up by 4 a.m., and by 7 a.m., she would have talked to people across ten states. Sam Rasmussen said she was someone people came to when they needed guidance. She recalled her aunt telling her that she would call her mother often for advice, to which she would always respond with words of wisdom.

“The next time she saw her, she was wearing a Yoda shirt that had his sayings on it, and my aunt realized she was quoting Yoda the whole time,” Sam Rasmussen said.

Ken Rasmussen Jr. recalled when his mom, a member of the MacArthur Elementary School PTO, advocated for the creation of a wheelchair-accessible playground.

“She taught us to stand up for the little guy, and to look out for everyone,” he said.

Ken Rasmussen Sr. met his wife in study hall during sophomore year. Since then, they shared many adventures and enjoyed traveling to new places.

In 2013, the duo took over leading the annual Cardboard Boat Race at the Cedar Lake Summerfest. The couple was also avid racing competitors, at one point fitting 18 people onto a cardboard craft.

The cardboard boat race is a unique Cedar Lake tradition. Families and friends pile into cardboard watercraft of their own construction to commandeer through a course that, most of the time, ends with sinking vessels. Win or lose, there’s a sense of triumph in even attempting it. Life, like a boat made out of cardboard, may not last forever, but if done right, it will be a fun ride made in good company.

Mary Joan Dickson, Cedar Lake Town Council member, said Mary Rasmussen was a cornerstone of the festival.

Mary (left) and Ken Rasmussen (right) pose with the Cedar Lake Summerfest mascot. (Corine Rasmussen/provided)

“This year’s Summerfest and Cardboard Boat Races will feel different,” Dickson said. “There will be a space that cannot be filled and a presence we will miss beyond words. But her spirit will live on in every carefully planned detail, every smiling volunteer, every boat that launches from the shore, and every child laughing in the summer sun. We join the entire Rasmussen family in mourning this tremendous loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ken, her children, grandchildren, and all who loved her. Mary’s legacy is woven into the heart of Cedar Lake Summerfest, and it always will be.

In 2015, Mary Rasmussen raced, but this time, away from the event after learning her youngest granddaughter was being born.

“She loved being a grandma, even to ones who weren’t hers,” her husband said. “She was a nana to all. All of our kids’ friends called her Mom. She was very caring, lovable, and charitable. She made me a better person. I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of people at her memorial.”

Her grandchildren are Annalise Rasmussen, Jackson Rasmussen, and Mary Rasmussen, and survivors include her siblings Douglas Potter, Corine (Bob) Bong, Bonnie (Cleveland) George, and Lisa (Ron) Dahmer. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frederick Potter and Louise Potter, and brothers Michael Potter and Mark Potter.

Annalise Rasmussen and Jackson Rasmussen described her as “the best grandma.” For every person’s birthday, Mary Rasmussen would cook any meal they’d request.

“Mine was a giant meatball,” Annalise Rasmussen. “Every year she would make the meatball bigger, until last time, when it was bigger than my head. She spoiled us all the time.”

Mary Rasmussen and her family later moved to the old Fogli Hotel in Thayer, a 22-room historic building that was completed in 1902. Relatives said she bought the former hotel to create a family home and renovate the property together. Bong said there were longstanding rumors that Al Capone and Teddy Roosevelt once stayed at the very same destination along the Kankakee River.

Mary Rasmussen’s obituary can be found at www.burdanfuneralhome.com, where there are options to send flowers, plant a tree in her memory or donate to a list of charities.

Anna Ortiz is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/mary-rasmussen-nwi-cardboard-boat-race-remembered/ 

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica — Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops, who fired back, killing four and wounding six, according to the Cuban government.

The Cuban Ministry of the Interior said the people aboard the boat Wednesday were Cubans living in the U.S. and accused them of trying to infiltrate the country to engage in terrorism. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was not a U.S. government operation.

Here’s what to know about the confrontation that has resulted in investigations in both Cuba and the United States and could add to tensions between the two countries.

Cuban president says island will defend itself

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Thursday that Cuba “does not attack or threaten.”

“We have stated this repeatedly, and we reiterate it today: Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist or mercenary aggression that seeks to undermine its sovereignty and national stability,” he wrote on X.

Cuban authorities launched an investigation, the foreign minister said.

Rubio said the American government was gathering its own information, including whether the people were U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said it was pursuing answers “through every legal and diplomatic channel available.”

One man was obsessed with Cuban freedom

The wounded people were detained, Cuban officials said, and the government identified seven of the 10 passengers.

It said that two of them, Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, are wanted by Cuban authorities “based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission” of terrorism.

It identified the others as Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

Cuba’s government said one of the four killed was Michel Ortega Casanova. His brother Misael Ortega Casanova told The Associated Press that his sibling had developed an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba’s freedom given the suffering they endured on the island before moving to the U.S. He said his brother was an American citizen who lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, Galindo Sariol, another passenger, was identified as a former political prisoner in a 2025 interview with Martí Noticias, a U.S.-based news site that has long called for a change of government in Cuba.

The Cuban government said it was a Florida-registered speedboat and that officials who searched it found assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms.

The AP was unable to verify details because boat registrations are not public in Florida.

Confrontations with US are not unusual, but deaths are rare

The island’s foreign minister wrote Thursday on X that Cuba has faced “numerous terrorist and aggressive infiltrations” from the U.S. since 1959, “with a high cost in lives, injuries and material damage.”

The most famous attempt involving Cuban exiles was the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961.

The CIA had trained a group of exiles under the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower that was led by José Miró Cardona, a former member of Fidel Castro ’s government and head of the Cuban Revolutionary Council in the U.S.

The failed invasion that occurred under former President John F. Kennedy led to the surrender of some 1,200 exiles, while more than 100 others were killed.

Another high-profile encounter occurred on Feb. 24, 1996, when Cuba’s air force shot down two unarmed civilian airplanes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based organization. Four men were killed following the attack that the International Civil Aviation Organization said occurred over international waters.

According to the radio communications between the MiG-29 and a military control tower published by the Organization of American States, the MiG-29 celebrated upon striking the second plane: “Homeland or death, you bastards!” in a reference to the famed Cuban revolutionary cry.

In 2022, several incidents were reported in Cuban waters involving an exchange of gunfire and arrests but no apparent casualties.

It’s not unusual for skirmishes to erupt between Cuba’s Coast Guard and U.S.-flagged speedboats in Cuban waters, although deaths are rare. In past years, some of those U.S.-flagged boats were laden with unidentified cargo headed toward the island, or they were going to pick up Cubans to smuggle them into the U.S.

The potential effects on US-Cuba relations

The shooting threatens to increase tensions between the two countries after President Donald Trump ‘s administration has already having taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward Cuba.

When the U.S. attacked Venezuela and arrested its leader on Jan. 3, oil shipments to Cuba that were largely keeping the island afloat were halted.

Then Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 29 that would impose a tariff on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, which recently implemented austere fuel-saving measures.

William LeoGrande, an American University expert on Cuba, said there’s a risk that the Trump administration “uses this incident as some kind of an excuse to come up with even more sanctions.”

“But if the Cuban government lays out all the guns that they captured and has some of these people confessing to what they were up to, that might put the issue to rest,” he told journalists Thursday in an online briefing.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department slightly eased restrictions on the sale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, but the island’s energy and economic crisis is expected to persist.

LeoGrande said Cuba’s private sector would not import enough oil “to really make a significant dent in the humanitarian crisis.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/26/cuba-boat-shooting-what/