Category: News
Bayer Soars After $10.5 Billion Settlement On Current And Future Roundup Cancer Lawsuits
Bayer Soars After $10.5 Billion Settlement On Current And Future Roundup Cancer Lawsuits
Bayer stock jumped the most in three months after the company announced a $10.5 billion settlement push to settle current and future cancer lawsuits over its Roundup weedkiller. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.
The German chemical giant proposed a $7.5 billion class-action settlement through cases filed in state court in Missouri designed to resolve Roundup suits that already have been filed and potential claims that could be filed over a 20-year period.
Bayer also announced $3 billion in settlements of existing U.S. cases in which former Roundup users blame the herbicide for causing their non-Hodgkins lymphoma, it reported.
The company has paid about $10 billion to settle most of the Roundup lawsuits that were pending as of 2020, but failed to get a settlement covering future cases. New lawsuits have continued to pour in since then. Plaintiffs have said they developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other forms of cancer due to using Roundup, either at home or on the job.
Roundup, which was acquired by Bayer, is among the most widely used weedkillers in the United States
The class settlement aimed at resolving current and future claims that Roundup weedkiller caused non‑Hodgkin lymphoma is an important addition to its Supreme Court case, Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said on Tuesday.
“We are entering into the settlement because it is an important addition to the case before the Supreme Court, thereby minimising the legal risks as comprehensively as possible,” he said. “Both elements are necessary independently of each other and reinforce each other,” he added.
Bayer stock surged on news of the settlement.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 02/17/2026 – 12:20
As Round Lake Beach mourns child abuse death, Cook County official warns of new DCFS bills; ‘It’s anti-transparency … anti-child’
As Round Lake Beach-area residents continue to mourn the death of 8-year-old Markell Pierce, allegedly at the hands of his parents, a Cook County official is warning of two state bills that would “water down” reporting and training requirements for the state Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
DCFS is also facing questions over how much it knew about Pierce’s home life before his death on Feb. 6.
According to authorities, he was subjected to malnourishment and regular punishment with a belt, along with verbal abuse. Described as a “slow-motion murder” by Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, Pierce’s mother, Dominique Servant, 33, and her boyfriend, Joey Ruffin, 38, face first-degree murder charges in his death.
Pierce died after being whipped with a belt and being forced to stand in a cold shower, authorities said. Prosecutors said Pierce and his older sister had been pulled from school, in part because Servant said, “she was tired of having DCFS called on them,” according to prosecutors.
In a previous statement, DCFS officials said Pierce’s family “was not receiving services from DCFS” and that the department was working with Round Lake Beach law enforcement officials to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
Additional information was initially limited, which DCFS said was due to Illinois law restricting what it could share about child abuse and neglect investigations.
In response to further questions on Friday, a DCFS representative said the agency is working with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office and would provide additional information, including a detailed case timeline, “as soon as we are able,” but wants to make sure it is in a “way that does not interfere with the criminal investigation.”
“DCFS’s priority is to support law enforcement as they pursue justice for this tragedy,” the statement said.
Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert criticized DCFS’s original statement for avoiding questions around whether the agency had previously provided any services to the family, or received any prior reports about potential child abuse.
The director of the daycare that Pierce and his 10-year-old sister attended confirmed that the daycare had reported signs of potential abuse to DCFS sometime around last Spring, after which the two kids were soon pulled out of daycare and school by Servant.
If the daycare is to be believed, Golbert said there had been at least one report to DCFS, and if Pierce’s school district had made any reports, it would be “pretty bad” for DCFS.
“If you have multiple reports from multiple people with high presumption of credibility, such as teachers, such as daycare operators, and DCFS didn’t do anything, that would be very serious,” Golbert said.
The Round Lake Area Schools District 116 did not provide comments as of Friday.
Golbert criticized DCFS for what he perceived to be a delay in releasing additional information. In cases where a child has been seriously injured, died, or criminal charges are brought, there are exceptions to confidentiality requirements, Golbert said, as seen in past cases.
He pointed to numerous examples, including the 2022 case of 8-year-old Navin Jones, the 2019 case of 5-year-old Andrew Freund Jr., and the 2019 case of 2-year-old Ja’hir Gibbons.
For those three, DCFS released extensive statements and timelines just days after the children were discovered to have died. Golbert said that in the past, DCFS has released timelines anywhere from a few days to about a week after a DCFS child has died. Pierce died Feb. 6.
“Those timelines didn’t harm any investigation. Everybody who needed to be convicted was charged,” Golbert said. “This is about these bureaucrats hiding behind confidentiality protections that were intended to protect children.”
In a statement, Rinehart said his office’s “number one priority is to get justice for Markell.” While they had reached the conclusion that Pierce had been murdered by the two defendants, they were still gathering facts about the timeline around his death, Rinehart said.
It was appropriate — and even required by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act — for DCFS to speak with the State’s Attorney’s Office to make sure any public release was accurate and wouldn’t compromise Round Lake Beach Police Department’s investigation, Rinehart said.
“I must emphasize that police are still meeting with witnesses. Public releases may impact those interviews. The public is right to expect an effective investigation into Markell’s death and government transparency about the past. We can and must have both,” he said.
HB4569, HB4570
Golbert also raised alarm over two bills, HB4569 and HB4570, which he called the “height of irony” given Pierce’s case.
“It’s just the height of audacity for DCFS to be proposing anti-transparency legislation while this is all going on,” Golbert said. “It’s anti-transparency, it’s anti-child, it’s anti-good government.”
The bills were filed by State Rep. Suzanne Ness, D-Carpentersville. In a statement, Ness said DCFS has a “long history of falling short of bare minimum expectations when it comes to keeping vulnerable kids safe,” something highlighted by Pierce’s case.
The two bills, Ness argued, aim to change the way DCFS conducts internal monitoring and external reporting and is intended “to improve — not reduce — accountability for DCFS.” While some reporting and internal programs would be eliminated, “the intent is to replace those reports and programs with more effective ones.”
“Rest assured, I will only vote for final passage of legislation that holds DCFS to tighter standards and improves protections for Illinois’ most vulnerable children,” Ness said.
That wasn’t Golbert’s view of the bills. He argued they would make it more difficult for the public to get information when a DCFS-involved child is killed or seriously injured, and would handicap the department’s internal investigation and review processes.
According to Golbert, the first, HB4569, would amend the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, removing reporting requirements when a child is only seriously injured. The “vast majority” of abuse cases don’t result in deaths, he said, and the bill would eliminate “a lot of DCFS accountability in reporting requirements.”
Required reports after a child’s death would also be “watered down,” he said. He described two categories of reports generated for cases; individual and cumulative.
The individual report is the more detailed of the two, Golbert said. The amendments would eliminate requirements for the inclusion of certain context information and the attachment of relevant documents, records or files regarding the investigation.
It would also remove the presumption that when a child dies, the individual reports should be disclosed, he said.
For the broader cumulative report, HB4569 removes a six-month deadline, as well as language in the existing law making those reports always public.
“This is a huge blow for journalists, it’s a huge blow to transparency, it’s a huge blow to accountability,” Golbert said. “There’s no world where this could possibly be good for children or for families.”
The second bill, HB4570, would impact the DCFS Office of the Inspector General, narrowing the category of investigations it could conduct and removing rules around the implementation and supervision of systemic reforms.
“It narrows the OIG’s entire reason for being,” Golbert said. “It deserves some type of bad government, poor transparency award.”
Round Lake Beach has announced a community event to remember Pierce’s life. The event is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center, 2007 N. Civic Center Way.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/round-lake-beach-boy-killed/
Miles marchan en Kosovo contra juicios por crímenes de guerra en aniversario de independencia
Por ZANA CIMILI
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Un aire de desafío marcó las celebraciones de la independencia de Kosovo, mientras miles de personas se sumaron a una marcha en apoyo de excombatientes que enfrentan juicio en un tribunal en Holanda por presuntos crímenes de guerra durante la guerra contra Serbia de 1998-1999.
Los manifestantes, muchos envueltos en banderas albanesas rojas y negras, desafiaron el clima frío y nevado en la capital, Pristina, para expresar su oposición a los procesos en La Haya contra el expresidente y líder rebelde Hashim Thaci y otros tres acusados de atrocidades durante y después del conflicto que dejó unos 13.000 muertos.
Más temprano, las fuerzas de seguridad de Kosovo desfilaron en Pristina como parte de las ceremonias de independencia, y el Parlamento celebró una sesión especial.
La guerra comenzó en 1998, cuando el Ejército de Liberación de Kosovo, un grupo rebelde, inició su lucha por la independencia y Serbia respondió con una represión brutal. La guerra terminó cuando un bombardeo de la OTAN obligó a Serbia a retirarse en 1999.
Serbia aún no reconoce la independencia de Kosovo y esto ha sido una fuente de tensión persistente en los Balcanes. Tanto Kosovo como Serbia buscan ingresar a la Unión Europea, pero han sido notificados de que deben normalizar sus vínculos antes de incorporarse.
Los fiscales de las Salas Especializadas de Kosovo en La Haya —que formalmente forman parte del sistema judicial de Kosovo, aunque tienen su sede en el extranjero— han solicitado una pena máxima de 45 años de prisión para Thaci y los demás acusados. Thaci también enfrenta un juicio separado por cargos de intimidación de testigos, que comenzará más adelante este mes.
Funcionarios y manifestantes en Kosovo han criticado los procesos por considerarlos políticos y diseñados para establecer un falso equilibrio con Serbia, cuyos líderes políticos y militares anteriormente fueron juzgados y condenados por crímenes de guerra en Kosovo por un tribunal distinto de la ONU.
Los manifestantes en la marcha portaron pancartas con las frases “La historia no se puede reescribir” y “Libertad para los libertadores”. Colocaron vallas metálicas alrededor de un monumento emblemático de la independencia y pusieron encima un cartel que decía “Kosovo en prisión”.
La presidenta Vjosa Osmani afirmó en un comunicado que “la verdad no puede cambiarse mediante intentos de reescribir la historia o de manchar y devaluar la lucha del pueblo de Kosovo por la libertad”.
El primer ministro Albin Kurti agregó que “la guerra liderada por el ELK fue una pura lucha por la liberación y una guerra anticolonial… una lucha justa de un pueblo ocupado y oprimido bajo el apartheid”.
En Belgrado, la oficina de enlace serbio para asuntos de Kosovo describió la declaración de independencia de hace 18 años como una “flagrante violación del derecho internacional”. El comunicado alegó “terror sistemático” y persecución contra la minoría serbia en Kosovo.
Estados Unidos y la mayoría de los países de la Unión Europea figuran entre más de 100 naciones que han reconocido la independencia de Kosovo, mientras que Rusia y China han respaldado la reclamación de Serbia sobre el territorio.
Thaci renunció al cargo en 2020 para defenderse de los 10 cargos por crímenes de lesa humanidad y crímenes de guerra.
El tribunal y una fiscalía asociada se crearon tras un informe de 2011 del Consejo de Europa, un organismo de derechos humanos, a raíz de acusaciones de que combatientes del ELK traficaron con órganos humanos extraídos de prisioneros y mataron a serbios y a albaneses étnicos. Las acusaciones sobre la extracción de órganos no se han incluido en las acusaciones formales presentadas por el tribunal.
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La corresponsal Jovana Gec contribuyó desde Belgrado, Serbia.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
La policía atribuye a un buen samaritano el fin de un tiroteo en pista de hielo de Rhode Island
Por KIMBERLEE KRUESI
Un hombre abrió fuego durante un partido juvenil de hockey sobre hielo en Rhode Island el lunes, matando a dos personas e hiriendo a otras tres, en un ataque que se vio interrumpido cuando un espectador intervino para detener la tragedia, informaron las autoridades.
Los investigadores habían hablado con casi 100 testigos hasta la noche del lunes, mientras intentan reconstruir lo ocurrido dentro de la Arena Dennis M. Lynch, en Pawtucket, a unos pocos kilómetros de Providence.
La jefa de policía de Pawtucket, Tina Goncalves, indicó el lunes que el tirador murió al parecer porque se disparó a sí mismo, aunque las autoridades aún investigan.
Goncalves atribuyó el desenlace a un “buen samaritano” no identificado que intervino, llevando el ataque “a un final rápido”. No dio detalles.
No está del todo claro qué precipitó el tiroteo, a quién iba dirigido o por qué. Un video no verificado que circula en redes sociales muestra a jugadores sobre el hielo mientras se escuchan sonidos de detonaciones. El caos se desata rápidamente cuando los jugadores en los banquillos se resguardan, quienes están en el hielo patinan frenéticamente hacia las salidas y los aficionados huyen de sus asientos.
“Parece que se trató de un hecho dirigido, que podría ser una disputa familiar”, indicó Goncalves. Las autoridades señalaron que ambas personas fallecidas eran adultas, pero no han divulgado las identidades de las víctimas.
Goncalves identificó al agresor como Robert Dorgan, quien, según dijo, también usaba el nombre Roberta Esposito, y nació en 1969.
Hace casi dos meses, Rhode Island quedó conmocionado por un tiroteo en la Universidad Brown que dejó dos estudiantes muertos y nueve heridos, así como a un profesor del Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts fallecido. Posteriormente, las autoridades hallaron a Claudio Neves Valente, de 48 años, muerto por una herida de bala autoinfligida en un almacén en Nuevo Hampshire.
“Nuestro estado vuelve a estar de luto”, manifestó el gobernador de Rhode Island, Dan McKee, en un comunicado. “Como gobernador, padre y exentrenador, se me rompe el corazón por las víctimas, las familias, los estudiantes y todos los afectados por el devastador tiroteo en la Lynch Arena en Pawtucket”. _______
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Investors Overreacting To Starlink’s Threat To Traditional Telcos; Goldman Says
Investors Overreacting To Starlink’s Threat To Traditional Telcos; Goldman Says
Talk of space-based data centers has suddenly become a major conversation on Wall Street. One key driver is Elon Musk’s merger of SpaceX with his AI venture, xAI, aiming to eventually build “orbital data centers” at scale.
With a potential IPO later this year, the space industry – first in low-Earth orbit, then on the moon – will be center stage for years to come.
Goldman analysts, led by Andrew Lee, hosted a webcast titled “Space – Datacentres Opportunity and Telecom Risk,” featuring Justin Hotchkiss (Associate Partner), Gregor Eichler (Principal), and Federico Torri (Partner) from TMT consultancy Altman Solon.
The webcast conversation looked ahead to a future in which space-based data centers could become a reality.
Goldman’s telecom analysts and tech consultants discussed two major ideas:
Space data centers: Not yet deployed, but could become a reality in the near term. The advantages are low-cost solar power in space, easier cooling, no property costs, and no permitting issues. One big hurdle is the need for cheaper rocket launch costs and a lightweight cooling system. If launches drop below $200/kg and cooling hardware is very light, the cost could start to look similar to building on Earth.
Satellite connectivity for telecoms: It already exists, but investors are overreacting to the idea that satellites will “replace” traditional telcos. Satellites (especially LEO networks like Starlink) have limited capacity, variable service quality, and challenging economics for serving many everyday urban customers. They’re most useful where building cell towers or fiber is expensive: rural, sparsely populated, higher-income areas. Think of Starlink and other LEO networks as complementary to telecoms.
A major technological leap is underway in space-based communications. Data centers in space are likely to become a reality within this decade, thanks to SpaceX’s Starship rocket. Goldman’s webcast suggests that Starlink and other LEO constellations should be more complementary than competitive to telcos for the foreseeable future.
Lee noted:
In the longer term, space data centres appear an increasingly likely reality. More relevant today, our conversation suggests the extent of investor concerns on satellite competition to telecoms and towercos are overstated – as we wrote in our 2025 satellite/telco report.
Satellite technology is more likely to be complementary rather than competitive to telcos due to satellite capacity constraints, service quality restrictions, and inferior economics for the majority of geographies. Telcos can leverage satellites to extend their own network coverage into rural areas where terrestrial build-out is costly.
Investing world impacts:
This would imply modest downside risk to towerco growth if rural connectivity is partially rerouted via satellites.
For towercos including Cellnex and INWIT, some of this satellite risk is already priced into their shares, but we do not see a catalyst for a re-rating in the near term.
For telcos including TMUS (majority owned by DT), where satellite risk to its broadband growth has pressured the share price, we see scope for a rerating as investor concerns over satellite risk abate over time and ongoing consensus upgrades continue.
We retain our bullish view on European telcos as laid out in our recent report – select Buy ideas include BT, Nordics, DT, KPN. We outline our key takeaways from the satellite webcast below.
The big question is: At what point does Starlink start to challenge them directly?
Professional subscribers can read the full note on our new Marketdesk.ai portal.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 02/17/2026 – 11:40
What Price Will You Pay For What You Need?
What Price Will You Pay For What You Need?
By Michael Every of Rabobank
A Material Shift
It was that 2026 rarity of a genuinely ‘quiet day’ on Monday with the US out for Presidents’ Day and much of Asia already on holiday for Lunar New Year. However, despite China staying out for the rest of the week, things are likely to shift to a higher gear from today onwards.
The RBA minutes this morning, which explained why rates were hiked 25bps, stated “the latest forecasts produced by the staff were materially stronger than those produced in August and November.” One would hope so, but why were those forecasts stronger? Far more useful is the repeated mention of “material shift” – higher. That’s the case in Australia and world-wide; but not in the way the RBA meant it. We are no longer in a world in which RBA references to (and models of) “aggregate demand” and “aggregate supply” have much relevance. Yes, demand exists. Yes, supply does too. But neither are “aggregate”. Both are now very starkly variate.
The IMF just warned Australia that it’s 5% deposit scheme for first-time home buyers will push up housing inflation and should be scrapped – as others warn it’s already too late to do so. The RBA had warned of the same thing months ago too yet now seems surprised it might have shifted their forecasts and Overnight Cash Rate. That’s as the Fed is also set to loosen bank capital requirements to try to encourage more mortgage lending, and at lower rates – though it has to be said that the US bank share of such lending has declined from 60% to 35% since 2003, arguing some reversal could be warranted in the market.
Beyond such traditional macro stories, raw materials are again of supreme importance and, as in the past, linked to national security. Demand is vast; yet supply is limited in terms of natural availability and the ‘unnatural’ outcome of China dominating their processing. There is nothing aggregate about this. You have something or you don’t. A machine minus one key widget won’t work, so is worthless. Equally, a gun minus a bullet renders you defenceless. So, what price will you pay for what you need?
This is linked to AI, which ‘Anthropic in Venezuela’ shows is about national security. Indeed, the EU Parliament just blocked its MEPs from using AI tools over cyber and privacy fears – though these are perhaps not the high priority targets for foreign intelligence services that they think they are. While politics is hardly a synonym for productivity, should the EU military drop AI, it will be left even further behind the US. Should the EU private sector drop AI too, it would only widen a productivity gap between it and the US and China. If Europe still wants in on any front, that only increases the global urgency to get raw materials and electricity flowing at as cheap a price as possible. What’s the correct interest rate for that?
Yet things are not all inflationary: quite the opposite. As China rolls out its latest agentic AI, Qwen 3.5, and Wall Street smashes firms that suddenly may not have a viable business model, a recent summit in India saw experts warn that the country needs to take immediate action to manage the AI threat to the vast number of services sector jobs it’s created. They offer that “more training” can help the country avoid being left with “obsolete skills” – but is that true? The possibilities opened up by AI could arguably see white collar jobs destroyed at a scale and pace that no political economy is prepared for, let alone a stock market. What’s the correct interest rate for that?
These are, in both the literal and the metaphorical sense of the term, material shifts. Central bank thinking is, as usual, struggling to keep up. The Fed’s Barr speaks on AI and the labor market today, and Daly on AI and the economy: they both wrote those speeches themselves, right?
Meanwhile, US talks with Iran continue today against a backdrop of the IRGC carrying out naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. It needs to be repeated that the US continues to surge military power into the region daily: it remains to be seen if that will see Tehran bend or not. Oil prices are up around 1.3% this morning as the market starts to get twitchy.
Russia-Ukraine peace talks continue in Geneva, as Lithuania warned against a ‘hollow” Article 5-like guarantee being offered to Ukraine, Finland warned that Russia is reinforcing its nuclear and Arctic assets near its border, the UK press speaks of Europe creating a deterrent with tactical nukes as if this is a cost-free and risk-free exercise, and Ukraine, in the background, reportedly made its fastest battlefield gains in 2.5 years.
Also note an unconfirmed report Russia allowed limited dollar trading for the first time in years. That follows the Bloomberg story last week that Moscow is prepared to offer the US a major economic deal. As noted here many times before, the geopolitical and geoeconomic landscapes are one and the same, and our financial architecture merely sits on top of it. Likewise:
Trump said he’ll make a decision soon on whether to sell the planned $20bn package of arms to Taiwan or not – there will be regional, if not global, consequences either way.
The EU floated that 70% of EVs must be made in there to qualify for state aid, with similar rules for aluminium: that’s a material shift towards either Gaullism or Trumpism. Yet as the Economist claims that ‘Russia’s economy has entered the death zone’, the Ukrainian press reports EU companies are keeping Moscow’s war machine running via their exports to its auto sector.
The Eurogroup president said a new Franco-German-led ‘E6’ format to push ahead with deeper structural reforms will only be “temporary”, as Ireland, which was left out, is pushing back. Does that imply that a vanguard group form new structures and then other EU members can then join at their leisure, or will they have to go through some form of a new ‘accession’ process to qualify for this inner sanctum? That’s another material shift.
Canada’s natural resources minister is going to Poland to promote Canada’s nuclear energy expertise. That’s as the Financial Post notes, ‘We need to wake up’: Atlantic Canada a microcosm of the problems facing the rest of the country’, and shares ‘David Rosenberg: Memo to Mark Carney: Don’t bring a butter knife to an economic gun fight.’
The same can be said about central bank models.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 02/17/2026 – 11:20
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/what-price-will-you-pay-what-you-need
Jessica Pegula liderará esfuerzos de la WTA para mejorar el calendario del tenis femenino
Por HOWARD FENDRICH
Jessica Pegula, subcampeona del Abierto de Estados Unidos de 2024, encabezará un nuevo panel de 13 integrantes para sugerir cambios al calendario del tenis femenino, las reglas de puntos del ranking y los requisitos sobre competir en ciertos torneos, según una carta que la presidenta de la gira de la WTA, Valerie Camillo, envió el martes a jugadoras y directivos de certámenes.
Las tenistas, en ambos circuitos, se han quejado durante años de que la temporada del deporte es demasiado larga y la pretemporada es demasiado corta, y han lamentado otros factores que contribuyen a las lesiones y al agotamiento. Camillo indicó que el llamado “Consejo de Arquitectura de la Gira” hará recomendaciones a la Junta de la WTA. Espera que la reconfiguración pueda aprobarse para 2027.
“Ha habido un sentir claro en todo el Tour de que el calendario actual no parece sostenible para las jugadoras, dadas las presiones físicas, profesionales y personales de competir al más alto nivel”, escribió Camillo en la cartade la que The Associated Press obtuvo una copia.
La carta de Camillo, quien asumió la presidencia en noviembre, señaló que el consejo “se centrará primero en áreas en las que la WTA tiene autoridad directa para impulsar cambios, al tiempo que identificará oportunidades a más largo plazo que requerirán una coordinación más amplia en todo el deporte” —trabajando, eventualmente, con el circuito masculino ATP y los cuatro torneos de Grand Slam, explicó en una entrevista telefónica.
Camillo declaró a la AP: “Estamos muy abiertos a analizar de manera amplia un conjunto de posibles soluciones para esto… la idea es: entramos ahí con una mente muy abierta y un diálogo abierto”.
“No vamos a resolver el mundo entero (de inmediato). … La razón por la que no queremos esperar a: ‘oigan, hagamos esto como un sistema colectivo’, (es que) queremos ser oportunos, queremos estar enfocados en generar un impacto inmediato”, indicó.
Pegula, una estadounidense de 31 años y quinta del ranking, presidirá el panel.
Camillo comentó que Pegula “tiene una perspectiva única como jugadora de élite (y es) ampliamente respetada por su enfoque reflexivo y colaborativo”.
“Es uno de los deportes más duros, sobre todo cuando combinas no solo lo físico, sino el calendario, la soledad, el aspecto mental, lo difícil que es salir ahí y competir, semana tras semana, por tu cuenta”, señaló Pegula.
Aryna Sabalenka, número 1 del ranking, e Iga Swiatek, número 2, estuvieron entre más de media docena de bajas del torneo de la WTA de esta semana en Dubái. Durante un torneo previo al Abierto de Australia en enero, Sabalenka dijo que planeaba saltarse algunas paradas del circuito “para proteger mi cuerpo”.
“La temporada es definitivamente una locura”, afirmó entonces.
Además de Pegula, las jugadoras en activo que integran el consejo son la bielorrusa Victoria Azarenka, dos veces campeona del Abierto de Australia y exnúmero 1; la griega Maria Sakkari, dos veces semifinalista de Grand Slam y quien llegó a ser la número 3 del mundo; y la estadounidense Katie Volynets, la actual número 96.
Camillo, la directora ejecutiva de la WTA, Portia Archer, y otros tres directivos del circuito forman parte del panel, cuyos integrantes también incluyen a Anja Vreg, agente, exjugadora y exjueza de silla que preside la Junta de Jugadoras de la WTA; Bob Moran, cuya empresa Beemok Sports & Entertainment organiza torneos en Cincinnati y Charleston, Carolina del Sur; Laura Ceccarelli, quien representa a la región Asia-Pacífico en el Consejo de Torneos de la WTA; y Alastair Garland, director general de Octagon Tennis y miembro de la Junta Directiva de la WTA.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Jessica Pegula liderará esfuerzos de la WTA para mejorar el calendario del tenis femenino
Por HOWARD FENDRICH
Jessica Pegula, subcampeona del Abierto de Estados Unidos de 2024, encabezará un nuevo panel de 13 integrantes para sugerir cambios al calendario del tenis femenino, las reglas de puntos del ranking y los requisitos sobre competir en ciertos torneos, según una carta que la presidenta de la gira de la WTA, Valerie Camillo, envió el martes a jugadoras y directivos de certámenes.
Las tenistas, en ambos circuitos, se han quejado durante años de que la temporada del deporte es demasiado larga y la pretemporada es demasiado corta, y han lamentado otros factores que contribuyen a las lesiones y al agotamiento. Camillo indicó que el llamado “Consejo de Arquitectura de la Gira” hará recomendaciones a la Junta de la WTA. Espera que la reconfiguración pueda aprobarse para 2027.
“Ha habido un sentir claro en todo el Tour de que el calendario actual no parece sostenible para las jugadoras, dadas las presiones físicas, profesionales y personales de competir al más alto nivel”, escribió Camillo en la cartade la que The Associated Press obtuvo una copia.
La carta de Camillo, quien asumió la presidencia en noviembre, señaló que el consejo “se centrará primero en áreas en las que la WTA tiene autoridad directa para impulsar cambios, al tiempo que identificará oportunidades a más largo plazo que requerirán una coordinación más amplia en todo el deporte” —trabajando, eventualmente, con el circuito masculino ATP y los cuatro torneos de Grand Slam, explicó en una entrevista telefónica.
Camillo declaró a la AP: “Estamos muy abiertos a analizar de manera amplia un conjunto de posibles soluciones para esto… la idea es: entramos ahí con una mente muy abierta y un diálogo abierto”.
“No vamos a resolver el mundo entero (de inmediato). … La razón por la que no queremos esperar a: ‘oigan, hagamos esto como un sistema colectivo’, (es que) queremos ser oportunos, queremos estar enfocados en generar un impacto inmediato”, indicó.
Pegula, una estadounidense de 31 años y quinta del ranking, presidirá el panel.
Camillo comentó que Pegula “tiene una perspectiva única como jugadora de élite (y es) ampliamente respetada por su enfoque reflexivo y colaborativo”.
“Es uno de los deportes más duros, sobre todo cuando combinas no solo lo físico, sino el calendario, la soledad, el aspecto mental, lo difícil que es salir ahí y competir, semana tras semana, por tu cuenta”, señaló Pegula.
Aryna Sabalenka, número 1 del ranking, e Iga Swiatek, número 2, estuvieron entre más de media docena de bajas del torneo de la WTA de esta semana en Dubái. Durante un torneo previo al Abierto de Australia en enero, Sabalenka dijo que planeaba saltarse algunas paradas del circuito “para proteger mi cuerpo”.
“La temporada es definitivamente una locura”, afirmó entonces.
Además de Pegula, las jugadoras en activo que integran el consejo son la bielorrusa Victoria Azarenka, dos veces campeona del Abierto de Australia y exnúmero 1; la griega Maria Sakkari, dos veces semifinalista de Grand Slam y quien llegó a ser la número 3 del mundo; y la estadounidense Katie Volynets, la actual número 96.
Camillo, la directora ejecutiva de la WTA, Portia Archer, y otros tres directivos del circuito forman parte del panel, cuyos integrantes también incluyen a Anja Vreg, agente, exjugadora y exjueza de silla que preside la Junta de Jugadoras de la WTA; Bob Moran, cuya empresa Beemok Sports & Entertainment organiza torneos en Cincinnati y Charleston, Carolina del Sur; Laura Ceccarelli, quien representa a la región Asia-Pacífico en el Consejo de Torneos de la WTA; y Alastair Garland, director general de Octagon Tennis y miembro de la Junta Directiva de la WTA.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Political leaders across Illinois mourn Rev. Jesse Jackson’s death: ‘A giant of the civil rights movement’
Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday ordered public buildings across the city and state to fly flags at half-staff in honor of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died at 84 after rising from an upstart Chicago organizer to a national leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights icon and Chicago-based presidential candidate, dies at 84
Their announcements joined messages from political leaders across Illinois who were mourning Jackson’s death and nodding to the decades-long movement he championed after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his mentor.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson was a giant of the civil rights movement,” Pritzker wrote in a post on X. “He broke down barriers, inspired generations, and kept hope alive. Our state, nation, and world are better due to his years of service. I’m ordering flags to half-mast to honor him. May his memory be a blessing.”
Johnson, an ally of the Jacksons, wrote a fulsome tribute that nodded to Jackson’s ascent in Chicago, from building up the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization to founding the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
“Rev. Jackson’s mission always centered the strength and liberation of our Black community, but his mission always extended to all who needed empowerment by cultivating a rainbow of power that could shine through every storm,” Johnson wrote on X. “I ask you to anchor your hope in action to honor Rev. Jackson’s enduring contributions. He believed in you, and found hope in humanity. Do something today to keep hope alive.”
Jackson stepped down as president of Rainbow/PUSH in 2023, revealing that he was battling Parkinson’s disease, and was hospitalized for about two weeks last November.
During the last decade of his life he continued advocating for social causes such as Black Lives Matter. And he uplifted candidates and elected officials, among them Johnson and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
He was honored during the first day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a trailblazer of Black political power, one whose legacy paved the way for Harris’ historic bid as the first black woman nominated by the Democratic Party. Before that, Jackson also encouraged the Black community to get their coronavirus vaccines and spoke out against police killings in Chicago and beyond.
Johnson’s predecessors, former mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel, also paid their tributes on Tuesday.
“Words are inadequate to fully capture the essence of this man—iconic leader, unapologetic champion for the downtrodden, and vulnerable, barrier breaker, diplomat and strategist extraordinaire,” Lightfoot wrote on X. “Never to be forgotten, you have earned your well deserved rest in the bosom of the angels.”
Emanuel nodded to being “fortunate to have a front-row seat” to some of Jackson’s historical fights.
“Whether it was in the White House or Chicago City Hall, I never knew Jesse to walk into a room simply to be welcomed — he walked in to make sure others would be welcomed after him,” Emanuel wrote. “Ours was a relationship built on advocacy: the push and pull of someone who never let power get too comfortable, who asked the hard questions, demanded the honest answers, and reminded those of us in positions of responsibility exactly who we were supposed to be serving.”
Jackson’s sons Jonathan Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr. are both running for U.S. Congress, the first to hold onto his seat in the 1st District and the second to return to power in the 2nd District after resigning in 2012 under political scandal.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/illinois-chicago-flags-half-staff-rev-jesse-jackson-death/
Political leaders across Illinois mourn Rev. Jesse Jackson’s death: ‘A giant of the civil rights movement’
Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday ordered public buildings across the city and state to fly flags at half-staff in honor of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died at 84 after rising from an upstart Chicago organizer to a national leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights icon and Chicago-based presidential candidate, dies at 84
Their announcements joined messages from political leaders across Illinois who were mourning Jackson’s death and nodding to the decades-long movement he championed after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his mentor.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson was a giant of the civil rights movement,” Pritzker wrote in a post on X. “He broke down barriers, inspired generations, and kept hope alive. Our state, nation, and world are better due to his years of service. I’m ordering flags to half-mast to honor him. May his memory be a blessing.”
Johnson, an ally of the Jacksons, wrote a fulsome tribute that nodded to Jackson’s ascent in Chicago, from building up the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization to founding the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
“Rev. Jackson’s mission always centered the strength and liberation of our Black community, but his mission always extended to all who needed empowerment by cultivating a rainbow of power that could shine through every storm,” Johnson wrote on X. “I ask you to anchor your hope in action to honor Rev. Jackson’s enduring contributions. He believed in you, and found hope in humanity. Do something today to keep hope alive.”
Jackson stepped down as president of Rainbow/PUSH in 2023, revealing that he was battling Parkinson’s disease, and was hospitalized for about two weeks last November.
During the last decade of his life he continued advocating for social causes such as Black Lives Matter. And he uplifted candidates and elected officials, among them Johnson and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election.
He was honored during the first day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a trailblazer of Black political power, one whose legacy paved the way for Harris’ historic bid as the first black woman nominated by the Democratic Party. Before that, Jackson also encouraged the Black community to get their coronavirus vaccines and spoke out against police killings in Chicago and beyond.
Johnson’s predecessors, former mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel, also paid their tributes on Tuesday.
“Words are inadequate to fully capture the essence of this man—iconic leader, unapologetic champion for the downtrodden, and vulnerable, barrier breaker, diplomat and strategist extraordinaire,” Lightfoot wrote on X. “Never to be forgotten, you have earned your well deserved rest in the bosom of the angels.”
Emanuel nodded to being “fortunate to have a front-row seat” to some of Jackson’s historical fights.
“Whether it was in the White House or Chicago City Hall, I never knew Jesse to walk into a room simply to be welcomed — he walked in to make sure others would be welcomed after him,” Emanuel wrote. “Ours was a relationship built on advocacy: the push and pull of someone who never let power get too comfortable, who asked the hard questions, demanded the honest answers, and reminded those of us in positions of responsibility exactly who we were supposed to be serving.”
Jackson’s sons Jonathan Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr. are both running for U.S. Congress, the first to hold onto his seat in the 1st District and the second to return to power in the 2nd District after resigning in 2012 under political scandal.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/17/illinois-chicago-flags-half-staff-rev-jesse-jackson-death/
