Category: News
Muere de forma repentina Tre’ Johnson, exliniero de Washington y profesor en Maryland
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tre’ Johnson, el exdestacado liniero ofensivo de Washington que luego se convirtió en profesor de historia en una escuela secundaria de Maryland, murió el domingo. Tenía 54 años.
La esposa de Johnson, Irene, anunció la muerte en una publicación en Facebook y señaló que falleció durante un breve viaje familiar.
“Con el corazón apesadumbrado les informo que mi esposo, Tre’ Johnson, falleció de manera repentina e inesperada durante un breve viaje familiar. Sus cuatro hijos, Chloe, EJ, EZ y Eden, la familia extendida, los amigos y yo estamos devastados y en shock”, escribió Irene.
Después de brillar en Temple, Washington seleccionó a Johnson como la 31ra selección global en el draft de 1994. Jugó con Washington hasta 2000, pasó 2001 con Cleveland y regresó a Washington para una última temporada en 2002. El guardia, de 1,88 metros y 149 kilos, fue seleccionado al Pro Bowl en 1999.
Después del fútbol americano, se convirtió en profesor de historia en la Landon School en Bethesda, Maryland. Su esposa indicó que problemas de salud recientes lo habían obligado a tomar una licencia.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Starting out at 6-foot-6, Burlington Central’s Declan Wilson keeps growing. And gets better. ‘Learning a lot.’
Freshman forward Declan Wilson is a tall order who continues to grow for Burlington Central.
Listed at 6-foot-6 on the team’s roster that was compiled in the preseason, Wilson made an impression on Geneva coach Scott Hennig in Saturday’s pregame meeting with the referees.
Hennig used junior forward Ben Peterson, one of his own players, as a reference.
“Ben is a legit 6-5 and Wilson was taller,” Hennig said. “Looks more like 6-8 to me.
“Wilson is just a load. He’s really good, really skilled. He shot it well, has good footwork and he’s going to get more athletic.”
Wilson, who confirmed he’s grown 1 1/2 inches since the start of the school year, got going with 13 points and seven rebounds but the Rockets dropped a 78-69 nonconference decision to Geneva.
Burlington Central’s Declan Wilson (13) goes up for a layup as Geneva’s David Udoiwod (20) defends during the second quarter of a nonconference game in Burlington on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
Junior guard David Udoiwod scored 15 of his game-high 29 points over the final 4:40 of the fourth quarter to lift the visiting Vikings (23-6) to the win.
Junior forward Patrick Magan scored 14 points for Burlington Central (17-11). Junior guard Ryan Carpenter had 13 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Joseph Cumpata added 12 points.
The game was scheduled a year earlier when Geneva officials learned declining enrollment would drop the school to Class 3A and figured the two neighbors would be in the same sectional.
Both teams are, indeed, in the Woodstock North Sectional and learned Friday they play again only 11 days later in a first-round matchup of a regional hosted by the Rockets.
Burlington Central’s Declan Wilson (13) blocks the path of Geneva’s Gabe Jensen (2) during the second quarter of a nonconference game in Burlington on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
“We figured there might be a chance we’d meet,” Burlington Central coach Brett Porto said. “But no way we knew it would happen like this.”
Hennig shrugged.
“It’s one of those years where Brett and I have to, unfortunately, play each other in the first round,” Hennig said. “If it was a different year, we might not see each other until the sectional.
“We’re going to go at it the way we go at it.”
Burlington Central’s Declan Wilson (13) secures a pass as Geneva’s Ben Peterson (32) defends during the fourth quarter of a nonconference game in Burlington on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
The players didn’t hold back Saturday, either.
Freshman guard Cody Rader made all four 3-pointers he took in the first quarter for Geneva, which shot 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. Rader finished with five 3-pointers for his 15 points, while senior guard Nathan Palmer added three 3-pointers and also scored 15 points.
Geneva led 43-34 at halftime, but Burlington Central stormed back to force a 49-49 tie on Wilson’s floater in the lane late in the third quarter. The Rockets built a 65-55 lead before Udoiwod started his roll, all on drives to the basket.
Two of Wilson’s four fouls were on Udoiwod in that span.
“My perimeter defense has to get better,” Wilson said. “I’ve fouled out a couple times this year and have to work on keeping straight up, arms high. Being a freshman on varsity, I’m always learning.
“Even when I’m a senior, I’ll probably still be learning a lot.”
Burlington Central’s Declan Wilson (13) defends against Geneva’s Ben Peterson (32) during the second quarter of a nonconference game in Burlington on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon-News)
Wilson’s height is no surprise.
His dad, Bill, is 6-6 and his mom, Sally, is 6-0. Older brother Aidan is 6-10 and sister Ainsley, a junior middle hitter for the Rockets in volleyball who has committed to Dayton, is 6-4.
Aidan played basketball at Burlington Central, but his final two seasons were cut short by several injuries that kept him off the floor.
“He went from one injury to the next and didn’t really get to play and finally gave it up senior year,” Declan said. “I really liked basketball starting with rec league in second grade and got serious, playing AAU in fifth grade.
“I used to play guard and have continued working on my ball-handling. I watched Drew Scharnowski play here like a guard and he’s 6-10. I’ve tried to model my game after him.”
It’s a good choice. Scharnowski is a redshirt sophomore forward averaging 11.1 points for Belmont, currently in first place in the Missouri Valley Conference.
“Declan is very athletic, very good for his body,” Porto said. “He’s very good for us now and the sky’s the limit for him.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/15/declan-wilson-burlington-central-geneva-basketball/
Anthony Edwards claims MVP award, leads Stars to tourney win in an entertaining NBA All-Star Game
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Anthony Edwards has said it boldly and confidently for years. He intends to be the best basketball player in the world.
The Minnesota Timberwolves guard got to beat the World on Sunday, thanks to the NBA All-Star Game’s intriguing new format — and then he also beat a team of his fellow Americans to cap an MVP performance.
Edwards led his “Stars” team past a “Stripes” squad featuring LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard 47-21 to win the final in this mini-tournament comprising the entertaining main event of All-Star weekend at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome.
The Chicago Bulls did not have an All-Star for the third consecutive year.
The NBA’s fourth All-Star format in four years matched two teams of Americans against a team representing everywhere else, hoping to stoke nationalistic passion from players and fans during an Olympic year.
The results were solid, with three exciting mini-games in the round-robin tournament all going down to the buzzer before the blowout finale.
“I like this format,” Edwards said. “I think it makes us compete because it’s only 12 minutes, and the three different teams separate the guys. I think it was really good.”
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis and Team Vince win Rising Stars event at NBA All-Star weekend
Along with the late-game theatrics, the event generally appeared to be played at a higher level of competitiveness than most All-Star Games in recent years, suggesting the league might have finally cracked the code on the long-standing question of how to make this midseason showcase more entertaining.
Edwards forced overtime with a clutch 3-pointer before Scottie Barnes hit a game-ending, overtime 3-pointer for his team in the opening mini-game against the World.
De’Aaron Fox hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win the second game for the slightly older Stripes over the slightly younger Stars.
Leonard then thrilled his home crowd with a 31-point barrage for the Stripes in the final round-robin game, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left.
The Stripes appeared to be gassed in the finale, but Edwards and his teammates didn’t let up.
When asked to identify his most satisfying moment Sunday, Edwards replied: “Probably beating the World team.”
Why?
“Because they say they’re the best players in the world,” he replied. “So beating them is the best feeling in the world.”
Already a four-time All-Star at 24 years old, the six-year NBA veteran has been on the world stage before, winning an Olympic gold medal two years ago in Paris. He has also led the Wolves to the Western Conference finals in two straight seasons.
Edwards claimed his first All-Star MVP trophy — an award named for Kobe Bryant — with that tying 3-pointer to cap a 13-point effort in the first game, an 11-point performance in the second, and eight points in the anticlimactic final.
The Inglewood crowd included former President Barack Obama, who received a standing ovation pregame — and even motivated Edwards’ performance.
“He’s my favorite person in the world,” Edwards said. “We were kicking it (Saturday). Me and him had a great time. I told him I was going to put on a show for him.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver thanked the All-Stars for playing hard when he presented the championship trophy to the Stars.
Victor Wembanyama effectively challenged his fellow All-Stars to take this game seriously, and they largely appeared to do it. Despite going 0-2, Wembanyama led the World team in scoring in both games with 14 points in the opener and 19 in the third game.
“It felt good to be out there with greats, new and old, and even international guys, too,” Kevin Durant said. “Hopefully we just build upon this and the weekend becomes more and more competitive.”
The World team was loaded with talent, but went 0-2 after NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic both sat out the second game, likely to preserve the health of two superstars who have struggled with injury in the past month. Giannis Antetokounmpo also didn’t suit up at all.
First game
Barnes’ 3-pointer in overtime pushed the Stars past the World 37-36.
Edwards forced OT on a 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds left in regulation, and he hit a 14-footer to begin the first-to-five-points overtime period. Wembanyama made a 3-pointer, but Raptors star Barnes ended it by draining his only shot of the game.
Second game
Donovan Mitchell took a pass under the net from James and kicked it out to Fox on the perimeter for the winner.
Jaylen Brown led the Stripes with 11 points, and James scored eight to begin his record 21st All-Star appearance.
A few hours beforehand, James said the game’s presence in the Los Angeles area meant “nothing, because this is not our building. This is a road game.”
Indeed, the Clippers fans in Intuit Dome booed James and Doncic whenever they touched the ball.
Third game
Leonard utterly dominated even before his clutch 3-pointer to cap the Stripes’ 48-45 victory.
Leonard thrilled his home crowd with a dynamic effort, going 11 of 13 and 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. The seven-time All-Star made his first seven shots with five 3-pointers amid raucous cheers from the extra-steep supporters’ section called The Wall behind one basket at this futuristic 18-month-old arena.
James put the Stripes ahead with 31 seconds left on a putback dunk, but Wembanyama hit two free throws to tie it before Leonard called game.
Jokic and Doncic didn’t play, leaving the World with just seven players.
Up next
The All-Star weekend stays out West in February 2027 when Phoenix hosts for the fourth time.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/15/nba-all-star-game-anthony-edwards-mvp/
The “Swipe Era” Has Forever Reshaped How Couples Meet
The “Swipe Era” Has Forever Reshaped How Couples Meet
Tinder forever changed the landscape of online dating when it introduced the swipe function in 2012: left to pass, right to like. The result was a gamified experience that felt frictionless and addictive. Other dating apps copied it, and then the “swipe era” ignited.
Before that, online dating was mostly on boring websites, like Christian Mingle and Farmers Only, that felt closer to digital classifieds. Matches were more local and delivered in slower batches, and users worked through profiles and messages to decide whom to meet. The process is now largely automated by an algorithm and resembles a game, with matches presented in rapid succession.
Tinder and other dating apps have forever changed how heterosexual couples in the U.S. meet, overtaking introductions through friends around 2013, according to a recent survey.
The chart below shows how online dating was fundamentally transformed by two waves of technology: first, the online web’s takeoff in the mid-1990s, and then the smartphone era after 2007. The rise of the iPhone and Tinder in 2012 helped propel the second wave, with roughly 40% of heterosexual couples in the U.S. now meeting online. That figure was in the low single digits in the mid-1990s.
“We find that Internet meeting is displacing the roles that family and friends once played in bringing couples together,” researchers Michael Rosenfeld, Reuben Thomas, and Sonia Hausen wrote in the 2019 paper.
Online dating hasn’t rewritten love – it’s just greatly expanded the pool of potential partners. It also shows how an even larger share of human life now happens online.
Remember during the Covid-era when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg aggressively pushed the metaverse as a way to move more of daily life online?
Beyond the metaverse’s failures, online dating has also been running into headwinds lately, as younger people reduce screen time and choose to meet in the real world again.
According to Adjust.com, an app insight blog, “Looking at dating app installs and sessions from January 2023 to December 2024, it’s clear that user interest has been gradually declining. From January 2023 to December 2024, dating app installs and sessions declined by 13% year over year. Despite this overall decrease, sessions remained resilient, particularly during key seasonal periods.”
And, weirdly enough, Gen Z has given up on alcohol (readers already know that), but a new report suggests they’re also giving up on sex. Likely because sex can lead to babies, and babies can lead to drained bank accounts.
It increasingly looks like Gen Z’s habits are reshaping daily life and parts of the economy. They’ve certainly dented alcohol consumption and may soon influence family formation. And, as noted above, they could also be contributing to a peak in dating app usage.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 02/15/2026 – 22:45
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/swipe-era-has-forever-reshaped-how-couples-meet
Boca empata sin goles con Platense y es silbado en La Bombonera, Di María brilla en Rosario Central
Por MARCELO R. ANDROETTO
BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Los hinchas de Boca Juniors perdieron la paciencia ante otra decepcionante actuación del equipo dirigido por Claudio Úbeda. Tras su derrota ante Vélez Sarsfield la jornada anterior, el “Xeneize” no pasó de una igualdad 0-0 con Platense el domingo por la quinta fecha del Torneo Apertura del fútbol argentino y fue despedido de La Bombonera con una silbatina generalizada.
Por su parte, Ángel Di María brilló y condujo a Rosario Central a una victoria 2-0 como local sobre Barracas Central que lo catapulta al cuarto puesto de la Zona B. “Fideo”, que cumplió 38 años este sábado, mostró toda su vigencia y coronó su gran actuación con un golazo en tiempo cumplido. El restante tanto para el “Canalla” fue marcado por Enzo Copetti.
Fue una noche para el olvido para Boca, no solo por el bajo nivel individual y colectivo exhibido ante el “Calamar”, sino también por la salida por una molestia en su tobillo derecho de su referente principal, Leandro Paredes. Además, el volante Santiago Ascacíbar fue reemplazado por un dolor en su isquiotibial izquierdo y podría perderse el partido del viernes ante Racing Club, también de local.
“Duele hacer estos partidos. Tenemos que hacer autocrítica y mejorar muchísimo. Vengo arrastrando una molestia, pero cada vez que me toque estar trataré de sacarlo adelante”, declaró Paredes, de pobre performance.
Ante el equipo de Walter Zunino se produjo el retorno de Édinson Cavani, quien no jugaba desde fines de noviembre debido a un problema de lumbalgia. El delantero uruguayo saltó a la cancha en el minuto 65, en lugar de su compatriota Miguel Merentiel. También volvió a vestir la camiseta auriazul Marcelo Weigandt, quien ingresó como sustituto tras cumplir dos años a préstamo en el Inter de Miami.
Platense, que al igual que Boca se prepara para jugar la Copa Libertadores (en su caso de forma inédita), no salió a especular, sino que mostró ambición en un estadio en el que su último triunfo data de 28 años atrás.
En los primeros 45 minutos, el “Calamar” mostró una mejor cara que el anfitrión y contó con la ocasión de gol más clara, un remate de Juan Ignacio Saborido que se desvió y dio en el palo.
El “Xeneize”, con el chileno Williams Alarcón y el paraguayo Ángel Romero como titulares, se mostró inconexo y apenas si generó una chance en la etapa inicial, un cabezazo de Lucas Janson que despejó de buena forma el arquero Matías Borgogno.
En el arranque del complemento se vio a un Boca algo más agresivo. Un error rival permitió que Janson quedara de cara al gol, pero otra vez perdió el duelo con Borgogno. Más tarde hubo un cabezazo del juvenil Gonzalo Gelini que se fue apenas alto.
La sangre nueva que le aportaron Tomás Aranda y el propio Gelini fue una inyección cuyo efecto se desvaneció pronto. A Cavani se le notó demasiado la falta de ritmo. Y Weigandt colaboró para el desorden generalizado.
El partido se hizo parejo y ordinario. Platense, parado por entonces para jugar de contra, decidió mal de tres cuartos en adelante. Y a Boca ya no se le cayó una idea.
Úbeda, ex ayudante de campo del fallecido técnico Miguel Ángel Russo y cada vez más cuestionado por los hinchas, admitió que ante Racing “la obligación es ganar”.
Un empate o una derrota ante la “Academia” probablemente haría caer a su equipo por debajo de los puestos clasificatorios a los octavos de final. Actualmente se ubica séptimo en la Zona A, con siete puntos, uno menos que Platense.
En el clásico de la ciudad de La Plata, Gimnasia y Esgrima y Estudiantes igualaron sin goles un partido vibrante en el que ambos fallaron en el tiro del final. Con este empate, ambos siguen en zona de playoffs.
En tanto, con el aporte goleador del uruguayo Matías Fonseca, Instituto se impuso 2-0 en casa a Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero, por la Zona A. En la “Gloria” debutó el entrenador Diego Flores, apodado el “Traductor” por su rol de intérprete de Marcelo Bielsa en su etapa como técnico del Leeds United.
Nicolás Ibáñez marca en la victoria de Cruz Azul 2-1 sobre Tigres en el Clausura de la Liga MX
PUEBLA (AP) — Nicolás Ibáñez celebró su primer tanto frente a su exequipo para afianzar la victoria de Cruz Azul 2-1 sobre Tigres el domingo, para que La Máquina dé un salto al subliderato del torneo Clausura de la Liga MX.
El zaguero brasileño Joaquim abrió la cuenta en propia puerta a los 56 minutos, cuando falló el cálculo de un cabezazo, que sorprendió en la salida al arquero Nahuel Guzmán y se metió lentamente dentro de la portería.
Ibáñez, quien lleva poco más de una semana con los celestes tras haber dejado a los Tigres, hizo más holgada la ventaja al mandar a las redes un rechace de Guzmán a un disparo de Willer Dita a los 60.
Entre los dos goles celestes, Carlos Rodríguez estuvo cerca de hacer uno más con un disparo a la llegada al área que dio en el poste.
Ángel Correa recortó la desventaja a los 71, luego de firmar con un remate rasante un pase filtrado en el área que superó al arquero Andrés Gudiño.
Cruz Azul hilvanó cinco jornadas sin derrota (cuatro triunfos y un empate) para llegar a 13 puntos, quedando únicamente detrás del líder Guadalajara, que lleva pleno de victorias para tener 18 puntos luego de haber vencido 1-0 al América el sábado.
Para el próximo fin de semana, La Máquina recibirá la visita de las invictas Chivas en el Estadio Cuauhtémoc, donde juega esta campaña como local.
Tigres se quedó con 10 unidades en la séptima posición de la tabla.
Ibáñez jugó tres años con Tigres antes de salir previo al cierre de registros para este torneo. A media semana se estrenó como goleador celeste en la contundente victoria de 5-0 sobre Vancouver FC, en el duelo de vuelta de su serie de la Copa de Campeones de Concacaf.
Hasta el tanto de Correa, Tigres había sido contenido en la zona de ataque, en la que también tuvo gran brillo a media semana luego de vencer 4-1 al Forge FC de la liga canadiense en el torneo de Concacaf.
En el resultado con el que finalizó la jornada, Mazatlán remontó para vencer 2-1 a Santos y obtener sus primeros puntos en el campeonato.
Facundo Almada, a los 43 minutos, y Mauro Zaleta, a los 53, hicieron las dianas del conjunto mazatleco, que vive su última temporada en la primera división. Lucas Di Yorio había puesto al frente en el marcador a Santos a los 17 minutos con un tiro penal.
Posiciones en el torneo
Con el final de la 6ta jornada las Chivas tienen 18 puntos; Cruz Azul 13; Pumas y Toluca 12; Pachuca 11; Monterrey, Tigres y Atlas 10; Necaxa 9; América 8; San Luis y Tijuana 7; Puebla y Querétaro 5; Ciudad Juárez y León 4; Mazatlán 3 y Santos 1.
Próxima jornada
La séptima fecha comenzará el viernes 20 de febrero con los juegos Tigres vs. Pachuca y Puebla vs. América; continuará el sábado 21 con Atlas vs. San Luis; León vs. Santos; Necaxa vs. Toluca; Cruz Azul vs. Chivas y Tijuana vs. Mazatlán; la jornada concluirá el domingo con los duelos Pumas vs. Monterrey y Querétaro vs. Ciudad Juárez.
The Biggest Bait-and-Switch War Of The Century
The Biggest Bait-and-Switch War Of The Century
A few presidencies ago, Washington politicians used boundless political and intellectual chicanery to drag America into a ruinous war. Thousands of Americans died and scores of thousands of Iraqis perished due to the official myth of Saddam Hussein as the twentieth hijacker.
Last November, Axios published new damning information on the role of Saudi government officials in bankrolling the 9/11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. Private lawsuits against the Saudi regime “unearthed evidence showing one Saudi official—who acknowledges aiding two men who became hijackers—made a drawing of a plane and a mathematical formula that allegedly could have been used to fly into the World Trade Center.” That was only the latest stunning revelation in a coverup that will celebrate its twenty-fifth birthday this year.
In 2002 and early 2003, the W. Bush administration rushed to exploit 9/11 to justify invading Iraq. But there was a problem with that con job. A 2002 FBI memo stated that there was “incontrovertible evidence that there is support for these [9/11 hijacker] terrorists within the Saudi Government.” A joint House-Senate congressional investigation found extensive evidence that the Saudi government, not Saddam Hussein, propelled the hijackers. The Bush administration succeeded in suppressing the key twenty-eight pages of that congressional report on the Saudi role on 9/11.
The late Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) became a leading proponent of declassifying those twenty-eight pages, declaring in 2013:
“If the 9/11 hijackers had outside help—particularly from one or more foreign governments—the press and the public have a right to know what our government has or has not done to bring justice to all of the perpetrators.”
Those twenty-eight page were finally released (mostly) in 2016, revealing how Saudi government officials directly financed and provided diplomatic cover for several of the hijackers in the United States shortly before they unleashed havoc.
Truth delayed is truth defused. Blocking the evidence of the Saudi bankrolling of 9/11 enabled the Bush administration to kill tens of thousands of Iraqis.
The Bush administration sold the Iraq war as payback for 9/11. While false claims by President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) have received ample coverage, the Bush Saudi-Iraqi Bait-and-Switch has faded into memory.
In a memo Bush sent on March 18, 2003, notifying Congress that he was launching a war against Iraq, Bush declared that he was acting “to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.”
Bush invoked this justification even though his administration had never offered a shred of evidence tying Saddam to 9/11. Bush and team continually threw out new accusations and then backed off, knowing that few people were paying close enough attention to recognize that previous charges had collapsed like a houses of cards.
In the first months after 9/11, there was little mention of Iraq in the public pronouncements by Bush and his top officials. But in his State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, Bush stunned many people by announcing that Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea, were part of an “axis of evil.” Since the Global War on Terror had stratospheric support levels in the polls from the American people, the best way to sanctify a war against Iraq was to redefine it as part of the Global War on Terror. Bush declared on September 25, 2002:
“Al Qaeda hides, Saddam doesn’t, but the danger is, is that they work in concert. The danger is that al Qaeda becomes an extension of Saddam’s madness and his hatred and his capacity to extend weapons of mass destruction around the world…You can’t distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror. They’re both equally as bad, and equally as evil, and equally as destructive.”
The next day, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that the United States possessed “bulletproof” evidence linking Saddam and Al Qaeda. But it was a bullet that could never be exposed to sunlight. An earlier alleged link between Iraqi agents and hijacker Mohamed Atta meeting in Prague had collapsed, with the story disavowed by both the CIA and the Czech government.
On October 7, 2002, Bush, speaking to a selective audience of Republican donors in Cincinnati, laid out his logic:
“We know that Iraq and the Al Qaida terrorist network share a common enemy—the United States of America. We know that Iraq and Al Qaida have had high-level contacts that go back a decade…And we know that after September the 11th, Saddam Hussein’s regime gleefully celebrated the terrorist attacks on America.”
The fact that some Iraqis cheered the carnage on September 11 proved Saddam could team up with Al Qaeda for a second 9/11.
The link between Saddam and Al Qaeda then took a three-month recess, returning in the 2003 State of the Union address, when Bush declared that “Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaeda.” Bush reached for the ultimate hot button:
“Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans, this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known.”
Three days later, when Bush was directly asked by a journalist at a White House press conference, “Do you believe that there is a link between Saddam Hussein, a direct link, and the men who attacked on September the 11th?” Bush replied, “I can’t make that claim.” Yet, that did not stop him from endlessly making the inference.
But the Bush administration’s new “evidence” failed the laugh test. The Los Angeles Times revealed:
“The Bush administration’s renewed assertions of links between Iraq and Al Qaeda are based largely on the murky case of a one-legged Al Qaeda suspect who was treated in Baghdad after being wounded in the war in Afghanistan.”
Time noted of Bush’s message on Saddam and Al Qaeda:
“If there was no visible evidence to link the two, he just used that fact to argue his point: the danger is everywhere, even if we can’t see it; the threat is growing, even if we can’t prove it. The Administration’s argument for war is based not on the strength of America’s Intelligence but on its weakness.”
In the days after 9/11, when pollsters asked Americans who they thought had carried out the 9/11 attacks, only 3% of respondents suggested Iraq or Saddam Hussein as culprits. But by February 2003, 72% of Americans believed that Hussein was “personally involved in the September 11 attacks.” Shortly before the March 2003 invasion, almost half of all Americans believed that “most” or “some” of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqi citizens. Only 17% of respondents knew that none of the hijackers were Iraqis. 73% believed that Saddam “is currently helping al-Qaeda.”
American soldiers were hit with more concentrated doses of propaganda than private citizens. A 2006 poll of American troops revealed that 85% believed the U.S. mission sought “to retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9/11 attacks.” That belief likely helped spur some of atrocities against Iraqi civilians by U.S. troops.
U.S. intelligence agencies always knew that the Saddam-9/11 link was a political concoction by pro-war politicians. In July 2004, the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a 511-page report that recognized that the CIA accurately concluded that “to date there was no evidence proving Iraqi complicity or assistance” in the 9/11 attacks. The report noted that the CIA’s accurate judgments on Saddam, Al Qaeda, and the non-link to 9/11 “were widely disseminated [prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq], though an early version of a key CIA assessment was disseminated only to a limited list of Cabinet members and some sub-Cabinet officials in the administration.”
Neither George Bush nor Dick Cheney were ever held liable for their lies that led to carnage in Iraq. Perhaps that is the biggest lesson that Washington policymakers take from the Iraq War.
On the campaign trail in 2016, Donald Trump sounded as if he recognized the vast folly of invading Iraq to topple Saddam. But Trump’s promise to “end the endless wars” seems like a hundred years ago. An Associated Press poll last month found that 56% of Americans believed that Trump had already “gone too far” with his military interventions abroad. But will pro-war politicians and political appointees fabricate new pretexts to attack Iran or elsewhere?
Tyler Durden
Sun, 02/15/2026 – 22:10
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/biggest-bait-and-switch-war-century
Seahawks esperan contratar a Fleury, coach de alas cerradas de 49ers, dice fuente de AP
Por ANDREW DESTIN
SEATTLE (AP) — Se espera que los Seahawks de Seattle contraten como su nuevo coordinador ofensivo a Brian Fleury, entrenador de alas cerradas y coordinador del juego terrestre de los 49ers de San Francisco, informó el domingo una persona con conocimiento del proceso de contratación.
La fuente habló con The Associated Press bajo condición de anonimato sobre Fleury porque aún se está trabajando en un acuerdo.
Fleury ha sido miembro del staff de estrenadores de San Francisco desde 2019. Comenzó su carrera como asistente de control de calidad defensivo y pasó las últimas cuatro temporadas como entrenador de alas cerradas de los 49ers. Fleury sumó el título de coordinador del juego terrestre, además de entrenador de alas cerradas, en 2025.
Fleury reemplazaría al excoordinador ofensivo de los Seahawks, Klint Kubiak, quien oficializó después del Super Bowl que será el próximo entrenador en jefe de los Raiders de Las Vegas. Kubiak también se llevará a Las Vegas al entrenador de quarterbacks de los Seahawks, Andrew Janocko, señaló el domingo una persona con conocimiento del proceso de contratación. Esa fuente habló con la AP bajo condición de anonimato sobre Janocko porque esa incorporación no ha sido anunciada.
Con el puesto de Kubiak ya cubierto, Seattle centrará ahora su atención en resolver la salida de Janocko.
Con Fleury, los Seahawks incorporan a un asistente veterano de la NFL que está en la liga desde 2013. Antes de unirse al cuerpo técnico de los Buffalo Bills en 2013 como entrenador de control de calidad, Fleury entrenó en Maryland, Sacred Heart y Towson. Fleury fue quarterback sin beca en Maryland y luego jugó cuatro años en Towson.
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Deportes en español AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Nick Brzezniak picks up scoring pace in the second half of games for Lincoln-Way Central. ‘Get back into it.’
Lincoln-Way Central’s Nick Brzezniak had never tried out for basketball until he was in seventh grade at Manhattan Junior High. Vincent Perillo, who was the coach, convinced him to play.
At the time, Brzezniak was considered to be tall. The early returns, though, weren’t good.
Yes, he was 6-foot. But …
“I was terrible,” Brzezniak said. “I dribbled with my head down. I shot with two hands.
“But in eighth grade, I dedicated my whole life to basketball. I went to the gym every day, and after eighth grade going into freshman year, it was all day every day.”
That was has paid off for Brzezniak, who had another big day Saturday.
Lincoln-Way Central’s Nick Brzezniak (22) makes a free throw against T.F. South during a nonconference game in Lansing on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
The 6-5 junior forward scored nine of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, sparking the Knights to a 49-40 nonconference victory over host T.F. South in Lansing.
Brzezniak, a transfer from Lincoln-Way West, added five rebounds and two steals for Lincoln-Way Central (20-9). Nolan Morrill, the SouthWest Valley Red’s defensive player of the year in football, complemented his typical standout effort on the defensive end with 10 points.
Jadyn Raggs and Orville Cross Jr. scored 12 points apiece and Cross added seven rebounds for T.F. South (8-20).
It has been quite a week, meanwhile, for Brzezniak. He has a running joke with Lincoln-Way Central coach Brian Flaherty about his production after halftime.
Lincoln-Way Central’s Nick Brzezniak (22) ties to strip the ball from T.F. South’s Tim Adenrele (34) during a nonconference game in Lansing on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
“I usually stop scoring in the second half, as coach says,” Brzezniak said, referring to Flaherty. “But I’m starting to get back into it.”
It showed Tuesday when Brzezniak scored 10 of his 19 points in overtime. He split a pair of free throws with five seconds left, but Lincoln-Way East’s Jaymon Hornsby hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer to sink the Knights in a 54-53 SouthWest Suburban Conference decision.
Brzezniak followed that up Friday by making both of his free throws with 15 seconds left as the Knights hung on for a 38-37 SouthWest Suburban Conference win over Stagg.
Saturday, however, late free throws didn’t play a role in the win. Lincoln-Way Central led 33-32 heading into the fourth quarter when Brzezniak went to work on offense, scoring nine of the Knights’ 16 points after he had gone scoreless in the third.
Lincoln-Way Central’s Nick Brzezniak (22) drives past T.F. South’s Daniel Mobley (12) during a nonconference game in Lansing on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
“My teammates helped get me open more,” Brzezniak said. “The defense started playing me tighter and I went to the basket more.”
It’s exactly what Flaherty wants to see.
“That was our joke that he would start off scoring in the first half and stop in the second half,” Flaherty said of Brzezniak. “But he’s been coming through at the end a lot.
“He has the ability, at times, to do whatever he wants on the court. We’re trying to get that through to him to develop a more aggressive mindset.”
Still, Morrill admires Brzezniak’s ability to take the ball to the basket.
“He’s a great player,” Morrill said. “He can score better than anyone else on the team. He can shoot the ball really well.”
Lincoln-Way Central’s Nick Brzezniak (22) battles for position against T.F. South’s Orville Cross Jr. (24) during a nonconference game in Lansing on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (John Smierciak / Daily Southtown)
The sixth-seeded Knights are playing pretty well heading into the playoffs, clinching back-to-back 20-win seasons. They host a regional and open up play in the Class 4A Joliet West Sectional on Feb. 25 with a rematch against Stagg in New Lenox.
Flaherty hopes that Brzezniak can help the Knights put together a strong run.
“He’s going to be a real good player,” Flaherty said of Brzezniak. “He’s a student of the game. He has the physical tools and plays with a high IQ, too.
“The biggest thing with him is that he loves to play basketball. He will be anywhere there’s an open gym once the season is over.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/15/nick-brzezniak-lincoln-way-central-basketball/
Bastards, Worldwide
Bastards, Worldwide
Across much of the world, long-standing norms around marriage and family formation are changing.
In many countries, having children outside of marriage has become increasingly common, while in others it remains rare.
This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, shows countries ranked by the share of children born outside of marriage using the latest available data from the OECD Family Database.
Latin America Leads by a Wide Margin
Colombia leads with 87% of children born outside marriage, followed by Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico—all above 70%.
In much of the region, cohabitation has long been socially accepted and legally recognized, reducing the importance of formal marriage. Historical inequality and lower access to legal institutions have also played a role in shaping these patterns over time.
Rank
Country
Children born outside marriage (%)
1
🇨🇴 Colombia
87.0
2
🇨🇱 Chile
78.1
3
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
74.0
4
🇲🇽 Mexico
73.7
5
🇮🇸 Iceland
69.4
6
🇳🇴 Norway
61.2
7
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
59.7
8
🇵🇹 Portugal
59.5
9
🇫🇷 France
58.5
10
🇸🇪 Sweden
57.5
11
🇸🇮 Slovenia
56.5
12
🇩🇰 Denmark
54.7
13
🇪🇪 Estonia
53.8
14
🇧🇪 Belgium
52.4
15
🇪🇸 Spain
50.0
16
🇳🇿 New Zealand
48.4
17
🇫🇮 Finland
48.4
18
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
47.6
19
🇨🇿 Czech Republic
47.1
20
🇳🇱 Netherlands
42.1
21
🇸🇰 Slovak Republic
41.6
22
🇮🇹 Italy
40.5
23
🇦🇹 Austria
40.0
24
🇺🇸 United States
40.0
25
🇦🇺 Australia
39.9
26
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
39.0
27
🇮🇪 Ireland
38.4
28
🇱🇻 Latvia
37.3
29
🇷🇴 Romania
33.9
30
🇩🇪 Germany
33.1
31
🇨🇦 Canada
29.0
32
🇵🇱 Poland
28.7
33
🇨🇭 Switzerland
27.7
34
🇱🇹 Lithuania
27.3
35
🇭🇷 Croatia
26.1
36
🇭🇺 Hungary
24.4
37
🇨🇾 Cyprus
21.2
38
🇬🇷 Greece
9.7
39
🇮🇱 Israel
8.6
40
🇰🇷 Korea
4.7
41
🇹🇷 Türkiye
3.1
42
🇯🇵 Japan
2.4
—
Dataset Average
42.3
Nordic Countries Redefine Family Norms
Several Nordic countries also report high shares of non-marital births, including Iceland (69%), Norway (61%), Sweden (58%), and Denmark (55%).
Unlike Latin America, these trends are closely tied to strong welfare states and legal protections for children regardless of parents’ marital status. Cohabiting couples often enjoy rights similar to married ones, making marriage a personal choice rather than an economic necessity.
Lower Rates Persist in Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean
At the other end of the spectrum are countries such as Japan (2.4%), Korea (4.7%), Türkiye (3.1%), Israel (8.6%), and Greece (9.7%). In these societies, marriage remains closely linked to childbearing due to cultural expectations, religious traditions, and legal frameworks.
Social stigma and limited support for single parents further discourage having children outside of marriage.
Anglo and Western European Countries Sit in the Middle
Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and much of Western Europe fall between these extremes. Around 40% of children in the U.S. are born outside marriage, a similar share to Austria and Italy.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The World Has Passed Peak Child on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 02/15/2026 – 21:35
