Atletico Madrid on a high after return to Champions League semis and with chance to win Copa title

MADRID (AP) — It's good to be an Atletico Madrid fan right now.

APTOPIX Spain Champions League Soccer

One of the most fanatic fan bases in Europe is also one of the most long-suffering ones, with the team perennially in the shadows of powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Atletico is on top, though, havingeliminated Barcelonain the quarterfinals of theChampions Leagueand seeing city rival Real Madrid in need of overcoming a one-goal deficit against Bayern Munich in Wednesday's second leg of their quarterfinal in Germany.

Atletico can cap its good week by winning the Copa del Rey for the first time in more than a decade on Saturday, when it will face Real Sociedad in Seville.

Fans are feeling good about themselves, and the club is capitalizing on the moment.

Atletico on Wednesday posted aseries of postson X provoking Barcelona and celebrating its triumph. The team lost Tuesday's match 2-1 at its Metropolitano stadium, but it had won 2-0 in Barcelona last week.

“How's it going?” said one of the first posts on Atletico's X account not long after the game.

“We love the smell of freshly cut grass in the morning,” the team said on a post Wednesday, in an apparent reference to the complaints by Barcelona coach Hansi Flick on Tuesday saying that the grass at the Metropolitano was too high and would hurt his team.

Another post showed a video of players celebrating on the field in front of Atletico fans after the match, along with the phrase, “More than a club,” alluding to the same words that Barcelona uses to describe itself.

One post showed Atletico players wearing sun glasses and using earphones, referencing a similar photo of Barcelona star Lamine Yamal doing what appeared to be a LeBron James impression ahead of the 2016 NBA Finals in which James' Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 deficit in the series to win the title.

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Yamal had said ahead of Tuesday's match that James was an inspiration for him. He also used on Instagram a photo of James holding the NBA trophy after winning the 2016 title.

Another post showed a video of a lion — with the image of the Barcelona shield on it — transforming into a dog after trying to attack a man who had the Atletico shield on him.

“We are proud of the work that we have being doing all season,” Atletico captain Koke Resurrección said. “We played against one of the most difficult opponents that we could face, with young players who are among the best in the world, and we deservedly won. This is something historic for the club. We know that it's not easy to be among the last four in the Champions League.”

Atletico, seeking its first Champions League title, had not reached the semifinals since 2017, when it was eliminated by Real Madrid. It also lost to Madrid in finals in 2014 and 2016.

Atletico eliminated Barcelona on its way to those two finals. The club made it to the European Cup final one other time, in 1974, when it lost to Bayern Munich.

“It's great to be able to give our fans a Champions League semifinal and a Copa final,” said Atletico forward Antoine Griezmann, who was with Atletico when it lost the 2016 European final and who will leave the club at the end of the season for Major League Soccer.

Atletico has been the perennial third-best club in Spain. It has rarely broken through the dominance of Real Madrid — a record 15-time European champion — and Barcelona, a five-time Champions League winner. The powerhouses have combined to win all but one Spanish league title since 2015 — Atletico did it in 2021.

The team can bring home its first Copa title since 2013 on Saturday, that's if it can recover from the celebrations from Tuesday. Defender Marcos Llorente said he only got about three hours of sleep after the match against Barcelona.

“Hopefully they can get some rest and on Saturday we will try to play a good final,” coach Diego Simeone said.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 18, 2026

Atletico Madrid on a high after return to Champions League semis and with chance to win Copa title

MADRID (AP) — It's good to be an Atletico Madrid fan right now. APTOPIX Spain Champions League Soccer One of the most fa...

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Dangerous storms bring tornado and flash floods risk to millions this weekend

Tornadoes and flooding are possible this weekend as roller-coaster weather sweeps the country, with some states experiencing summer-like temperatures as high as 90 degrees despite being in the middle of spring.

According to theStorm Prediction Center(SPC), 38 million people between North Texas and Michigan are at risk for severe weather on Friday. The greatest tornado risk will be concentrated in Iowa, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois, where violent storms are expected later today. Cities in the danger zone include Tulsa, Wichita, Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Des Moines, and St. Louis.

The National Weather Service also warns of flooding from persistent rainfall and thunderstorms across northern Michigan, Wisconsin, western Missouri, and eastern Kansas. Separately, severe thunderstorms are expected to affect roughly 12 million people in the Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes region.

The National Weather Servicehas identified the Upper Mississippi Valley as having the best chance for strong tornadoes, while the greatest hail threat lies over parts of the central and southern Plains.

As storms intensify into the evening hours, a significant damaging wind threat is expected to develop across the Lower Missouri Valley into the Middle Mississippi Valley. Abundant moisture and a approaching upper-level trough are also expected to produce hourly rainfall rates of one to two inches, raising the threat of flash flooding.

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In apress release shared on Friday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said communities are beginning cleanup efforts despite “more severe weather on the way.” The department is urging residents and crews to remain cautious while assessing damage or removing debris.

In Wisconsin,where floodwaters reached record levelson Wednesday — leaving drivers stranded on inundated highways in Milwaukee — communities are already beginning cleanup efforts. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services cautioned residents and crews to remain vigilant while assessing damage or clearing debris, noting that more severe weather is still on the way.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson described the damage at a Thursday press conference, calling it “an overwhelming force of nature.” Some neighborhoods received a month’s worth of rain in just one to two hours, and the effects of the storms could linger for days.

TheNational Weather Service’s Washington/Baltimore officehas also issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of Virginia’s eastern panhandle and the I-81 corridor, citing low humidity, dry fuels, near-record temperatures, and wind gusts up to 25 mph.

Temperatures are expected to remain well above average across much of the eastern and central U.S. through Friday — reaching the 70s and 80s across the Midwest and the 80s to low 90s in the Southwest — before an approaching cold front brings generally below-average temperatures to the region.

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 18, 2026

Dangerous storms bring tornado and flash floods risk to millions this weekend

Tornadoes and flooding are possible this weekend as roller-coaster weather sweeps the country, with some states experiencing summer-lik...

Read More

Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports

April 16 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google is negotiating an agreement with the Department of ‌Defense that would allow the Pentagon ‌to deploy its Gemini AI models in classified settings, ​the Information reported on Thursday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.

The two parties are discussing an agreement that would ‌allow the Pentagon ⁠to use Google's AI for all lawful uses, according to the ⁠report.

During the negotiations, Google has proposed additional language in its contract with the department to ​prevent its ​AI from being ​used for domestic ‌mass surveillance or autonomous weapons without appropriate human control, the Information reported.

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Alphabet and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

A deal with the Pentagon will ‌help Alphabet expand its ​government ties, while the U.S. ​aggressively embeds ​artificial intelligenceinto its processes to ‌reduce costs and speed ​up administrative ​work.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the department to rename itself the Department ​of War, ‌a change that will require action by ​Congress.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; ​Editing by Anil D'Silva)

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 18, 2026

Google, Pentagon discuss classified AI deal, the Information reports

April 16 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google is negotiating an agreement with the Department of ‌Defense that would allow the Pentagon ‌t...

Read More

Padres' record-shattering $3.9B price tag proves MLB is plenty healthy

Major League Baseballjust received its most startling data point in a year that will be defined by them.

TheSan Diego Padresare a (nearly) $4 billion franchise.

Forget existential crises, attention economies, disparate and increasingly complex TV situations and, dare we say, salary caps and luxury tax thresholds. If the industry - and that includes owners, players and fans - ever needed a crystal clear sign that the game is healthy, that spending some money might actually make you a little money in the end, the impending purchase of the Padres will be it.

Private equity baron Jose E. Feliciano - and that's apparently a career prerequisite for owning a ball club these days and wife Kwanza Jones - are on the verge of a $3.9 billion transaction to buy the club from the Seidler family trust, theWall Street Journal reported.

It is a staggering amount, not just because it's a 62.5% increase on the record $2.4 billion Steve Cohen spent to buy theNew York Metsin 2020. Hey, inflation is a bear and franchises appreciate. It happens.

Just not like this, and not for a club like the Padres.

We've heard the two to three strikes against them for years: San Diego is bordered by the Los Angeles region (and its two MLB franchises) to the north, Mexico to the south and the desert to the east. The Padres were also the very first team whose local broadcast situation collapsed to the point MLB had to take over production and distribution, way back in 2023.

So just how did the Padres, their TV model collapsing, their geographic situaton no better, go from a $600 million valuation when the club was last purchased in 2012 to nearly twice the purchase price of the Mets, who have their own lucrative TV network and a position in the game's largest media market?

Well, sometimes when you spend a little money, you can make it back.

The Padres' ownership group - Ron Fowler and then the Seidler family, with the late patriarch Peter Seidler still talked about reverentially around Petco Park - has been on one for the last eight years. It started with a slow drip - a nine-figure contract in 2018 for first baseman Eric Hosmer, an overpay that let the world know San Diego was open for business.

Across Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson Day is observed as players take the field wearing the same number in recognition of his legacy.

These images show moments from around the league as teams mark the occasion during regular‑season play.

Above, Simeon Woods Richardson #24 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the second inning at Target Field on April 15, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All players are wearing the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day.

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Scenes from Jackie Robinson Day across the MLB

Across Major League Baseball,Jackie Robinson Dayis observed as players take the field wearing the same number in recognition of his legacy.These images show moments from around the league as teams mark the occasion during regular‑season play.Above, Simeon Woods Richardson #24 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the second inning at Target Field on April 15, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All players are wearing the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day.

It went into hyperspace mode a year later, with a $300 million guarantee to Manny Machado. And since then, Seidler's checkbook and GM AJ Preller's impetuous and sometimes insane but always forward-looking transactions have kept it pushing at Petco.

Ah, Petco Park. No worse than the fourth-greatest park in the game yet a place that could never attrack more than 1.9 to 2.1 million fans in eight of 10 seasons from 2009 to 2018.

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Now, look at 'em.

The attendance meter has only gone up, up, up since 2019, COVID notwithstanding, and in 2023, the club's first full season after Preller traded for Juan Soto, the team cracked the 3 million mark for the first time since Petco's opening year of 2004.

Preller has barely slowed doling out big paychecks (Xander Bogaerts, $280 million, Machado $350 million after an opt-out) and neither have the turnstiles stopped whirring. The club drew a franchise-record 3.4 million last season and are behaving like they have the entire market to themselves (which, along with the San Diego Surf, they do, after the Chargers left).

Now, we said the game was healthy, not perfect.

The club's frenetic spend has slowed since Seidler's tragic passing in November 2023. Many a modern executive would term their payroll commitments "unsustainable," and they'd probably be right.

Yet this was no Ponzi scheme. The Padres' four playoff berths the past six seasons were very real, as were the millions who populated their ballpark. As is the $3.9 billion reportedly about to make the Seidler heirs wealthy beyond their imagination.

Jose E. Feliciano set to become Padres' new owner

MLB needed this, in a sense. Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed satisfaction, but hardly rabid enthusiasm, over the Baltimore Orioles' $1.73 billion purchase price. The Tampa Bay Rays sold for a similar $1.7 billion and now hope to leveragepolitical cloutto strong-arm a stadium in Tampa.

The Padres have no such worries. Petco isn't going anywhere and, apparently, neither are the fans, who have come out more than 40,000 strong for 10 of the Padres' first 13 home dates.

Yes, the Padres. Which is one reason why the upcoming labor war won't engender too many sympathetic cries from players. Management and labor will hammer out a deal knowing that the true Armageddon comes in 2028, when MLB's entire national TV inventory hits the market.

But this purchase price is a pretty big tell, and another argument that the sport should not screw up what it has going on right now in favor of a civil war.

After all, the Padres are a $4 billion team, and a bigwig like Feliciano - co-founder of Clearlake Capital Group and part owner of the Chelsea soccer club - viewed them as a good investment, still. No telling if he can continue pushing them toward a first World Series title.

Yet the franchise is already an example of what's possible even in a decidedly imperfect economic landscape.

Green Cathedrals: Photo journey through all 30 MLB stadiums

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Padres MLB record sale to new owner Jose E. Feliciano, Kwanza Jones

byVaclavien Pynzarien

in

April 18, 2026

Padres' record-shattering $3.9B price tag proves MLB is plenty healthy

Major League Baseballjust received its most startling data point in a year that will be defined by them. TheSan Diego Padresare a...

Read More