Autor: Al Punto Hoy from ANASTACIO ALEGRIA

There are losses, and then there are meltdowns, and then there is this. North Carolina blew a 19-point lead in the second half and collapsed to No. 11 seed VCU, 82-78, in overtime. It’s the sixth-worst collapse in Round of 64 history and a cursed last month for UNC has somehow descended into a finish from the depths of hell.There is no coming back from this moment. North Carolina used its powerful transition attack to dominate for the first 30 minutes. Henri Veesaar’s 3-pointer extended the lead to 15 with less than 10 minutes left.And then defense became utterly optional,…

HAVANA — HAVANA (AP) — Cuba is preparing to receive its first shipment of Russian oil this year, just days after the government announced it was operating on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants as severe power outages continue to hit an island whose power grid is crumbling.The Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin is some 3,000 nautical miles from Cuba in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to reach the island in 10 days, Jorge Piñón, an expert at the University of Texas Energy Institute, told The Associated Press.If so, that would mark the first time any oil shipment from any…

A single contestant on the ongoing 50th season of “Survivor” has 90% odds of winning on prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi. Contestant Aubry Bracco, who has appeared on multiple previous seasons of the CBS reality TV show, is listed with 90% odds of winning on both prediction markets, and has been leading the pack since January. The closest Ms. Bracco came to not being the favorite was on Kalshi at 2 a.m. EDT on Jan. 12, when her odds dropped to 52%, though her odds jumped back up to over 77% just hours later. Over $10 million has been spent…

Reporting Highlights Sowing Doubt, Risking Supply: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spreading doubts about the safety of vaccines and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market. Plagues of the Past: History has shown how vaccine-preventable diseases can roar back when trust in shots or access to them have faltered. Dangers Abroad: As the U.S. pulls international aid, deadly and disabling diseases like diphtheria, rubella and polio continue to harm people overseas and can easily reach the U.S. These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. Dr. Adam Ratner…

Best friends forever! Laurie Hernandez made her Broadway debut in & Juliet at the Sondheim Theatre in New York City on March 17, and don’t be surprised if her 2016 «Final Five» Olympic teammates are in the audience.The two-time Olympic medalist joined the show’s musical ensemble in the featured dance role of Charmion for performances through June 14, 2026, and Madison Kocian, Simone Biles, and Aly Raisman can’t wait to grab a seat.»The moment my Broadway debut was announced, Maddie, Simone, and Aly texted our group chat to see when they could come,» Hernandez told ET.Taylor Hill/Getty Images»We haven’t landed…

Terence Crawford hung up the gloves late last year as a five-weight world champion and future Hall of Famer.Crawford’s retirement announcement came following his victory over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at super-middleweight – a fight many deemed a step too far for the American. He proved the doubters wrong one last time.In his 42 professional bouts, ‘Bud’ rarely looked troubled. In fact, the question was rarely if he would win, but how he would do it. In 257 rounds, the switch-hitter from Omaha claims to have been truly hurt just once.The information comes via two-weight world champion Regis Prograis, who recently…

Darren Indyke, a lawyer who worked closely with Jeffrey Epstein for decades and serves as an executor of his estate, testified to the House Oversight Committee on Thursday that he «had no knowledge whatsoever» of his client’s crimes.Indyke was perhaps Epstein’s closest associate dating back to the 1990s. He was involved in assembling Epstein’s complex web of businesses, properties and legal teams for a voluminous tangle of civil and criminal matters. In his prepared remarks, Indyke told the committee behind closed doors that he did not socialize with Epstein and described himself as «one of many attorneys whom Mr. Epstein regularly…

The war in the Middle East could pose a threat to the semiconductor industry and other sectors dependent on a resource produced in the Gulf — helium.Helium is a little-known but key input in many industries, most notably technology. In semiconductor manufacturing, its cooling properties are used to transfer heat. Helium is also indispensable in photolithography, a technique used to print each chip’s intricate circuitry.The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that before the war Qatar produced more than one-third of the world’s helium supply. Lately, however, operations at QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan Industrial City — the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export…

Trump’s unhinged war in Iran is but an escalation of our willful misapprehension of the country’s history and makeup. Ad Policy People clear rubble away from a Tehran apartment bombed in the US/Israel war on Iran.(Majid Saeedi / Getty Images) President Donald Trump has plunged the United States, and the global economy, into turmoil with his impulsive, reckless, and illegal decapitation of Iran’s senior leadership and the ensuing, indefinite military “excursion.” Contrary to the surreal press conference hallucinations of self-styled Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the war increasingly looks like a bewildering strategic blunder whose costs will only escalate the…

Iranian attacks on significant energy infrastructure and refineries in several Gulf countries pushed oil and gas prices higher in volatile trading on Thursday.Brent crude oil prices, a benchmark for global trading, climbed by about 6%, hitting $116 per barrel for contracts to purchase oil in May.The benchmark for European gas also surged by about 15% after Iran on Wednesday released retaliatory strikes targeting energy sites in several Gulf countries.An Iranian drone struck a Saudi Aramco refinery in Yanbu, on the Red Sea, on Thursday, according to the Saudi Ministry of Defense, which said the extent of the damage was being assessed. That…