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Without Lionel Messi, Inter Miami loses 2-1 to Houston in US Open Cup final

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi couldn’t play, and the Houston Dynamo took full advantage to win a trophy on his home field.Griffin Dorsey and Amine Bassi scored first-half goals and Houston — with NBA star James Harden, part of the team’s ownership group, looking on from the stands — topped Messi-less Inter Miami 2-1 on Wednesday night to win the U.S. Open Cup.Josef Martinez scored in second-half stoppage time for Inter Miami, but it wasn’t enough as Messi could only look on from the team bench area.Messi was not on Inter Miami’s active roster for the match because of a leg issue, marking his fourth absence in a span of his last five games combined for club and country. And it’s unclear if Messi will continue to be sidelined when Inter Miami resumes its push to make Major League Soccer’s playoffs this weekend.Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said Wednesday night that “it wasn’t prudent” to consider playing Messi against Ho...

Marlins pull even with Cubs for final NL wild card by beating Mets 4-2 for doubleheader split

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jon Berti hit a leadoff homer to complete his cycle for the day and the Miami Marlins pulled even in the race for the final National League playoff spot, beating the New York Mets 4-2 on Wednesday night for a doubleheader split.Jesús Sánchez also went deep and the Marlins took advantage of an error by rookie third baseman Brett Baty to score twice in the ninth inning. Miami is tied for the third NL wild card with the Chicago Cubs, who lost 6-5 in 10 innings at NL East champion Atlanta. Both teams are 82-76 with four games left.Francisco Lindor had three homers and six RBIs in the doubleheader, becoming the fourth Mets player with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.In the opener, Pete Alonso was 4 for 4 with a homer, Lindor drove in four runs and the Mets tagged Braxton Garrett early in rolling to an 11-2 rout.Alonso barely missed a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning of the nightcap when his two-out double caromed off the top of the left-field wall. Afte...

Candidates in 2nd GOP debate attack each other and Trump — even though he’s absent

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Donald Trump’s rivals laid into him repeatedly during the second presidential debate on Wednesday, ripping the former president for skipping the event as they sought to dent his commanding early lead in the Republican primary.“He should be on this stage tonight,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is attempting to establish himself as the leading Trump alternative despite recent struggles to break out from the rest of the back. “He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation we have now.”Seven GOP candidates squared off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California for an event hosted by Fox Business Network. Trump instead went to Michigan, delivering a prime-time speech that continued through the start of the debate — attempting to capitalize on the Auto Workers Union strike and trying to appeal to rank-and-file union members in a key state that could help decide the...

No silver bullet: Packaging waste plans wrong to prioritize reuse over recycling, finds report

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

When I was last in Brussels in February to talk with people about PPWR (the EU’s proposals on packaging and packaging waste) on behalf of McDonald’s, I found I was having to explain what PPWR was and what it would mean for consumers, businesses, and the environment. Now I’m back – and things have changedLast time, I said we wanted to stimulate a debate around PPWR — I think I can safely say that has happened. And that’s a good thing. However, for McDonald’s, and many of our partners and competitors from the informal eating-out sector (IEO), we still believe that unintended consequences of the current PPWR proposal mean it will be bad for the environment, the economy, food safety — and for consumers.Put simply — we believe a mix of packaging solutions is the only way to achieve PPWR’s broader objectives.We base this on independent research by global management consulting firm Kearney in the report, No Silver Bullet, and on current market experience. Put simply — we believ...

The F-gas ban consequences we haven’t considered

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

Thomas just moved into a new home and is committed to making it more energy efficient. He wants to replace the aged boiler, which relies on fossil fuels, with an electric heat pump. He has been reading about his government’s plans to support the rollout of millions of heat pumps to reach Europe’s decarbonization and energy independence goals. Unfortunately, the European Union has banned fluorinated refrigerants, and his home isn’t a suitable application for equipment using so-called ‘natural’ nonfluorinated refrigerants. It seems he’s stuck with his gas boiler — and Thomas is one of hundreds of thousands of EU citizens who will potentially experience the same issue.This is the reality we could face if the EU goes ahead with broad F-gas bans, which are under serious consideration at the trilogue discussion between the European Parliament, European Commission and Council of Ministers. While exemptions have been offered as safeguards to industry, we risk an enormous impact on con...

Meet Big Tech’s British bulldog

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

LONDON — In Big Tech’s battle with the British government, it just hired itself a big new gun.Veteran free marketeer Matthew Sinclair, who headed influential right wing think tank the TaxPayers’ Alliance before becoming chief economist to the ill-fated and short-lived Liz Truss premiership, is set to become the U.K. face of a notoriously punchy U.S. tech lobby group.The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) has been a longstanding feature of the lobbying landscape in Washington and Brussels, but Sinclair is the group’s first hire in London, reflecting growing tension over digital rulemaking in the British capital since it left the EU.“London is the first new office outside of Washington and Brussels. That shows how critical the U.K. is to the digital sector globally,” said CCIA president Matt Schruers in a call with POLITICO.“Britain is charting its own path outside the EU, and exploring new legal and regulatory approaches.”The CCIA, whose members include predomi...

Takeaways from the second Republican presidential debate

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

(CNN) — The Republicans looking to become the top alternative to Donald Trump in the 2024 primary opened their second debate Wednesday night with new attacks on the front-runner, but their efforts to separate themselves from the pack were marred by a chaotic environment, filled with cross talk.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has long been in second place to Trump but has been sagging in the polls recently, said Trump is “missing in action.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose campaign has been rooted in Trump criticism, took aggressive swings at the former president, calling him “Donald Duck” and saying he “hides behind his golf clubs” rather than defending his record on the debate stage.The GOP field also took early shots at President Joe Biden. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said Biden, rather than joining the striking autoworkers’ union on the picket line Tuesday in Michigan, should be on the southern border. Former Vice President Mike Pence said Biden ...

Republican debate updates: Rivals brawl over China, economy, border and Trump

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

Republican presidential candidates jumped quickly to make an impression from the start of the second debate Wednesday in Simi Valley, Calif., talking over and taking jabs at one another, lending a chaotic tone to the night.The boisterous debate started less than an hour after the 2024 front-runner headlined an event in Michigan.Seven candidates, all polling well behind former President Trump, met the Republican National Committee criteria to participate: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.Trump, meanwhile, again did not join the debate. Instead, he headlined an event of autoworkers near Detroit, amid the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.Find out how to watch the debate here.And follow alo...

Donald Trump skipped the GOP debate again. This time, his rivals took him on directly

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Several of Donald Trump ’s rivals stepped up their attacks against him in Wednesday’s second Republican presidential debate, urgently trying to dent the former president’s commanding primary lead during an event that often seemed like an undercard without him.Trump went to Michigan, aiming to capitalize on the autoworkers’ strike in a key state that could help decide the general election. His competitors, meanwhile, were asked by Fox Business moderators at the Ronald Reagan library in California to participate in a reality show-style game where they would write who else onstage they would “vote off the island.” They refused.The debate’s tone seemed far removed from a campaign that’s been driven by Trump’s attacks on his rivals and democratic institutions as well as his grievances about a litany of criminal indictments and civil cases targeting him and his businesses. The moderators did not ask about the indictments or why the people onstage were bett...

Stock market today: Asian shares fall over China worries, Seoul trading closed for a holiday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:10:45 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday in subdued trading on looming worries about China property woes. Trading in shares of heavily indebted Chinese property developer China Evergrande Group was suspended in Hong Kong. That followed media reports that the chairman of Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, had been taken away earlier this month and placed under police watch.Evergrande is the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer and is at the center of a property market crisis that is dragging on China’s economic growth.“The relatively quiet economic calendar today may lead sentiments on a more subdued tone, while reservations on risk taking may continue to revolve around developments on China’s property sector,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG. The Hang Seng index slid 1.2% to 17,390.50 in morning trading. The Shanghai Composite was up less than 0.1% at 3,108.51.Trading was closed in South Korea for a holiday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.7% to...