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Messi to play in Minnesota? A soccer fan’s dream closer to reality

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

When Lionel Messi jolted the soccer world by joining Inter Miami in July, the first chance to see the world’s best player live in Minnesota appeared to be during the 2024 MLS regular season — if the schedule broke Minnesota United’s way.Now it might happen Aug. 19 in St. Paul.The Loons and Miami have both advanced to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Leagues Cup competition, and if the clubs each win two more matches, Messi and Co. would travel to Allianz Field to play the Loons in the final of the new North American tournament.But the two clubs are not on a clear collision course. For starters, their winding paths begin on other sides of the bracket.First, MNUFC must beat favored Nashville on the road on Friday night. Then the Loons will have to face a North American titan — either Los Angeles FC or Monterrey — in a semifinal. Those two sides square off in a quarterfinal Friday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.Messi — who is tied with MNUFC winger Bongi Hlongwane as the tournamen...

Child shot in north St. Louis County, third in metro area this week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - An investigation is underway after a child was shot Wednesday morning in north St. Louis County. This is the third investigation into a shooting involving a child this week in the St. Louis metropolitan area.The shooting happened around 9:40 a.m. Wednesday in the 10700 block of Spring Garden Drive in the Glasgow Village area. Check the radar -- Storms expected Wednesday The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department reports a 9-year-old was shot. The child was reportedly inside a home when someone outside fired several shots at the home, at least one that struck the child.Police say the child is currently being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a hospital.In two shootings near St. Louis City earlier this week, one in Berkeley, Missouri, and one in Belleville Illinois, one child had died from gunfire in both instances.This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.CORRECTION: A previous version of this story sta...

Five things to watch toward the end of an off-beat 2023 Cardinals season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A Red October is not looking likely for this year's St. Louis Cardinals.The Cardinals currently hold the National League's second-worst record at 49-65 and sit 10 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot. Even with a miracle run, the odds of making it into the postseason are slimming each and every day. It's certainly an unusual spot. The Cardinals have only played eight regular-season games while eliminated from postseason since their last World Series title in 2011. At their current pace, they would likely double that this year. How Mark McGwire’s hitting lessons helped a Cardinals closer to All-Star form For fans loyal enough to keep watching Cardinals baseball through Oct. 1, the final date of the 2023 regular season, there could be some avenues to enjoyment. Keep the following five considerations in mind if you want to change the channel to a game or attend at least one more game at Busch Stadium this year: Adam Wainwright's sendoff and push for 200 winsAdam Wai...

Smithfield Foods to close dozens of Missouri hog farms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

PRINCETON, Mo. — The world's largest pork processor will soon close dozens of hog farms across northern Missouri. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice filed with the state, Smithfield Foods will close 35 hog farms in Putnam County and Mercer County later this fall. Three Kansas City Chiefs stars make NFL Top 100 for 2023 The company is slated to close 13 sites in Newtown, 12 in Lucerne and 10 in Princeton, Missouri, on Oct. 8. Approximately 92 employees are expected to be laid off as a result of the closure, according to the WARN notice.News of the closure comes just a few days after Tyson Foods announced plans to close four chicken processing plants in Arkansas, Indiana and Missouri.

Boulder County to pay ex-inmate $2.55 million to settle claims of excessive force, indifference to psychiatric needs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

Ryan Partridge, a former inmate at the Boulder County jail, has settled a federal civil rights lawsuit against former Sheriff Joe Pelle and Boulder County for a total of $2.55 million, according to Partridge’s attorney.Two settlements have been reached by Partridge and the county. The first is for $325,000 for a jail employee’s repetitive use of excessive force on Partridge and the second for $2.225 million for the jail employee’s deliberate indifference to Partridge’s serious psychiatric needs, attorney David Lane said.Partridge filed a federal court complaint in 2017 claiming that jail staff acted “willfully” and with “deliberate indifference” in not treating Partridge for psychosis. The complaint states that Partridge attempted suicide multiple times while in the jail and suffered from multiple self-inflicted injuries, including permanent blindness from attempts to gouge out his eyes and broken teeth from banging his head on a toilet.“I hope the people of Boulder wake up to the f...

Man fatally shot by Denver police in Valverde neighborhood is identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

A domestic violence suspect who was shot and killed by Denver police has been identified.Brandon Cole, 36, was taken to Denver Health Medical Center after being shot Saturday in the 2300 block of West Cedar Avenue, according to the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner. Cole died of a gunshot wound and his manner death is a homicide.The shooting happened just before 8 p.m. Saturday after people called 911 to report a man assaulting a woman and a child in the area, police said earlier. The woman was pushed out of a wheelchair and when officers arrived they found her on the ground and a man, now identified as Cole, nearby.Cole approached officers in a “very aggressive manner,” DPD Chief Ron Thomas said at a Saturday night news conference. A Taser was used on Cole, but it did not stop his advance, and he was shot by a second officer.Cole was not armed at the time of the incident. A police shooting investigation is ongoing. 

Firefighters back off growing fires in dangerous dead forests north of Pagosa Springs in southwestern Colorado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

Firefighters have backed off for now as two lightning-sparked wildfires north of Pagosa Springs in southwestern Colorado expand, burning across more than 1,416 acres Wednesday morning amid dry and fuel-loaded conditions that U.S. Forest Service officials called highly favorable to flames.The wet spring led to the growth of exceptionally thick grasses that now leads to flare-ups.The 1,133-acre Quartz Ridge fire was burning deep inside the South San Juan Wilderness – about 13 miles northeast of Pagosa Springs, according to the latest data on a federal fire information website and U.S. Forest Service officials.The 283-acre Bear Creek fire was burning 23 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs, west of the Weminuche Valley, and nearly doubled in size overnight.Federal land managers have declared a full suppression approach to both fires, even though the national policy calls for letting fires in remote forests burn when that can be done safely — in order to let forests benefit ecologica...

Czech Republic Forced to Provide Unlimited Cost Undertaking in USD 730 Million Proceedings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

Following a decades-long attempt to dodge its payment obligations, a recent hearing in London has forced the Czech Republic to provide an unlimited cost undertaking to Lichtenstein company Diag Human and its owner Josef Stava.The ongoing legal battle has unearthed allegations of corruption and misconduct within the Czech government and called into question the integrity of its public services.Diag Human and Mr Stava originally sought £4 million in security for their legal costs. However, in the end, the Court did not need to order security because the Czech Republic offered to provide an unlimited undertaking to pay Diag Human and Mr Stava's costs (potentially millions of pounds) if it loses the case. This huge concession by the Czech Republic was made during the hearing in the Commercial Court in London, after the Judge pressed the Czech Republic’s lawyer to explain why it had never said it would pay the costs of the proceedings in London if it lost the case. The Judge said th...

Malta has a Soft Spot for Russian Money

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

A fish rots from the head. The same can be said for the island nation of Malta. The country’s seedy political underbelly was thrown into the international spotlight in 2017 when journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia met her demise at the hands of criminals. Lengthy investigations revealed the murderers’ connections went right to the highest level of the Maltese state. - writes Andrew Hackney of INTERNATIONAL POLICY DIGESTThe collapse of that corrupt government has birthed another, except that now instead of simply being a haven for criminals, Malta has become a chink in Europe’s united front against the Vladimir Putin regime.Malta’s golden passport scheme has been a window for Russian dirty money and influence to pour into Europe since 2014. The scheme has been used prolifically by wealthy Russians, many with connections to the Kremlin. At €900,000 a pop, it has been a good source of revenue for Malta’s government, with the wife of Prime Minister Robert Abela even profiting from the pr...

Woman dead after vehicle crashes into Mission Hills car dealership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:06:55 GMT

A woman was killed and two other people were injured after an SUV crashed into the enclosed service area of a car dealership in Mission Hills Wednesday morning, officials said.The crash occurred around 9:10 a.m. at 11041 N. Sepulveda Blvd., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. A preliminary investigation revealed the driver accidentally hit the accelerator and plowed through the building, Los Angeles Police Detective Lisset Fuentes said. The driver struck two workers and a patron before her vehicle eventually stopped in the customer reception area of the Toyota dealership.Witnesses described a patron being stuck under the vehicle after being dragged about 20 feet. She was freed by bystanders, including an off-duty nurse who started CPR. The aftermath of a deadly crash at a Mission Hills car dealership is seen on Aug. 9, 2023. (KTLA) A witness shared video of the aftermath of a deadly crash at a Mission Hills car dealership on Aug. 9, 2023. Firefighters and LAPD officers re...