UR MAG

Mexican drug kingpin Nemesio Oseguera, who's known as "El Mencho,"died Sunday, Feb. 22, from injuries suffered in a shootout with Mexican officialsthat also killed six other cartel members.

The resulting civil unrest forced soccer officials in Mexico to postpone two top-tier matches indefinitely − Queretaro vs. Juarez FC in the men's league and Chivas vs. America in the women's league − and call off a pair of second-division matches.

After reports of El Mencho's death, suspected cartel members blockaded highways with burning cars and torched businesses in more than half a dozen states.

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The Mexican national team has a friendly scheduled against Iceland on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Corregidora Stadium in Queretaro. The status of that game is still in limbo.

Meanwhile, organizers of the Mexican Open men's tennis tournament in Acapulco said the event would begin Monday as scheduled under established security protocols.

Guadalajara is scheduled to host four World Cup matches in June, including two involving South Korea. Co-host Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia will also play there.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Soccer matches postponed amid chaos after Mexican drug kingpin killed

Vitello knew life would be different as the first man togo straight from a college to major league managerwith theSan Francisco Giants, but nothing quite prepared him for this.

Each day this spring has been a learning experience for Vitello. He painfully discovered where not to stand in the dugout during games in his spring-training opener Saturday, and then was reminded Sunday not to live-stream a sporting event on your iPhone when you've got a clubhouse full of players watching on live TV.

Vitello was in the middle of rules meetings in the second level of the Giants' clubhouse with the USA-Canada hockey game playing on his cell phone. He was intensely watching the action, bracing himself for overtime, when he heard his players screaming and shouting, and breaking into USA-USA-USA chants.

So when he finally sawJack Hughes score the overtime game-winnerfor the United States' first Olympic hockey gold medal since the "The Miracle on Ice" team, he already knew the outcome.

"When you're streaming stuff,'' said Vitello, a Blues fan growing up in St. Louis, "you better be careful where you're sitting. Their reaction was pretty loud. Pretty awesome to see those guys get awarded the gold medal, pretty special to hear the anthem. Maybe that kind of sets the tone for the WBC (World Baseball Classic).''

Jack Eichel #9 of Team United States and Nathan MacKinnon #29 of Team Canada face off in the first period during the Men's Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

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See USA and Canada clash as Olympic rivalry continues

Jack Eichel #9 of Team United States and Nathan MacKinnon #29 of Team Canada face off in the first period during theMen's Gold Medal match between Canada and the United Stateson day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

While his players may have ruined his own suspense, it was a lot less painful than his Cactus League debut Saturday against the Seattle Mariners in Peoria, Arizona, when he was smoked in the left shin by a foul ball by Mariners outfielder Jared Sundstrom

"I've had a broken face twice from baseballs as a coach,'' Vitello said. "I'll be standing in a different place next time."

Then, after the events of Sunday, who could blame Vitello — who had never even attended a spring-training game as a fan, let alone as a player or coach — for wondering if someone has a warped sense of humor initiating him into MLB spring training?

Vitello has witnessed some bizarre things in his 25-year career as a collegiate coach, but the first inning of his first home game as Giants manager could be the ultimate.

It began with the Scottsdale Stadium loudspeakers blaring that an emergency had been reported, with the announcement: "Please cease operations and leave the building.''

Dozens of fans took the advice and scurried for the exits, but crew chief Bill Miller told Giants' veteran starter Robbie Ray to stay put and keep pitching. The game continued even with the announcement recurring for at least five minutes.

"You're trying to play, but your family's in the stands,'' Vitello said. "I'm a condo guy, when the fire alarm goes off, you just assume somebody pulled it or something like that. But that was a little bit of a dicey situation.''

It turned out that someone was smoking in the bathroom, triggering the alarm

"That fire alarm kind of rattled me,'' Ray said. "To be honest, I thought we were just going to wait it out. … I'm looking up in the stands and people are filing out of the stands, and I'm like, we're just going to play through this.''

The bizarro world was just starting, triggering a play that has never happened in the history of a major-league regular season game.

It was a triple play that actually started on a base hit, turning a single into a 4-3-6-5 triple play.

"A triple play on a base hit,'' Ray said, "I've never seen that.''

Said Giants third baseman Matt Chapman: "That'll be a glitch in the Matrix."

It began with Cubs leadoff hitter Matt Shaw walking, stealing second, and Alex Bregman drawing a walk. Seiya Suzuki then hit a single to shallow right field, fielded by second baseman Luis Arraez. Arraez threw home, but third baseman Rafael Devers cut off the throw, and threw out Suzuki trying to reach second. Shortstop Willy Adames, noticing that Shaw never tried to run home and was standing on third base, along with Bregman, ran to third base and tagged out Bregman. He handed the ball to Chapman, and then, inexplicably, Shaw walked off the bag towards the Cubs' dugout. Chapman tagged him, and Shaw was called out, too.

"I still don't know what happened,'' Adames said.

Ray, realizing he just pitched the most outlandish 1-2-3 inning of his life, couldn't stop laughing when he reached the dugout and guys were yelling, "Way to get out of it.''

Normalcy returned the rest of the afternoon, and after the first two games of Vitello's career, the Giants are undefeated, with a clubhouse that has a whole lot of believers in Vitello.

"It's definitely different in here,'' said Ray, 34, the Giants' oldest player. "He's unique because he just brings a different energy every day. It's infectious. And he does stuff you don't necessarily see other managers do.''

When the Giants take infield, or have fielding practice for pitchers, Vitello isn't just standing idly by leaning on his fungo bat or talking to coaches. He's taking grounders with them, or covering first base, or taking cutoffs.

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"I think he's going crazy,'' Adames said, laughing. "Nah, he's enjoying it. He has a lot of energy. He's very intense. And he loves to work.

"He's been amazing for us in terms of bringing the energy and trying to push everybody to be better. I think that's something that we needed. I believe he's going to be great for us.''

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida

The fundamentals, with as many as 25 players on the field participating in drills, reminds veteran scouts of the college ranks, but, hey, it's what Vitello knows. And certainly it worked with Vitello turning Tennessee into a national power, and winning the NCAA championship in 2024.

"It's different, but it's cool,'' Chapman said. "He's got that young energy and good vibe. I think he's really going to inspire this group.''

While Vitello has been criticized at times for his rambling media sessions, bringing up stories from his college coaching days, and chastising reporters early in the week for prematurely reporting that he had accepted the Giants' managerial job, the players don't seem to mind one bit.

In fact, they've embraced him.

"I love the guy,'' Giants veteran starter Tyler Mahle said. "He's got all of that energy, and that's what you look for in a manager, right? You like to talk to someone who's fiery. He's someone you can connect with like a friend or a teammate, but he's also going to be get on somebody's (butt), too.

"I mean it's early. There's going to be some growing pains. But he's exactly someone you want as manager. I really think he's going to do a great job for us.''

Certainly, no manager will draw more scrutiny than Vitello all season. There are plenty of managers furious that he landed the job without paying his dues in the minors or on a coaching staff. There are veteran managers upset that he's being paid $3.5 million a year, which is more than twice the amount any first-year manager has ever been paid. There are those who want him to fail for fear that it could open the door for more collegiate coaches following him directly into managerial positions.

"I love the move myself,'' one rival GM said. "I think it's creative. I think it's bold. But would I have had the guts to do it? No (expletive) way.''

The folks at Tennessee watched Vitello turn the Vols into a power, and believe he'll have the same impact with the Giants, who haven't had a winning season since 2021. They're disappointed he left, but will forever have his back.

"People absolutely loved him, just a personal guy, taking pictures, signing autographs,'' said Mark Smith, a longtime Tennessee booster who was wearing a Vols championship T-shirt at the game. "I know people want to know why he left Tennessee, but that's a moot point now. I think it's just people looking for controversy.

"You know everything he does will be under the microscope times 1,000. If he makes the right move, people will say, 'Well, he got lucky.' If he makes a bad move, it will be, 'See, we told you he's not ready for it.' That's not fair.

"I think he'll be great.''

Vitello won't be afraid to be unconventional, willing to try different things. There will be times he'll call pitches from the bench, like he's a college coach. They'll be aggressive, perhaps regardless of the score. He'll experiment with the lineup.

For now, he's just trying to get comfortable, getting to know his players, and understand what this big-league life is all about.

"There's a lot of people, and there's a lot to juggle,'' Vitello says. "We've had conversations about trying to see as much as you can, and learn as much as you can, especially with personnel. I don't think anything too drastic.

"It's just something will pop up on the radar screen that's like, 'Well, I used to do that, but I don't do that now.' Like, I've got enough help around here. I feel like I don't even have to tie my shoes if I didn't want to.

"I feel comfortable, but I don't know, you don't want to get too comfortable. It's probably not a good thing.''

Certainly, not in this business, where there are 10 new managers than a year ago.

But then again, there has never been a hire like Vitello, either.

"I was so excited to see him hired because I've seen Tennessee play, and I've seen the kind of energy they have on the field,'' Giants infielder Casey Schmitt says. "You can see that same energy here. There's definitely a different kind of vibe here, a different kind of energy.

"I know people are curious to see how this will work, but I think this is going to be great for us. Everyone is going to see the impact he makes.''

Now, if he can just survive this crazy spring training.

Follow Nightengale on X:@BNightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Giants' Tony Vitello's bizarre day: Fire alarm and a triple play

Note to self: Be patient.

That was Feb. 21, 2016.

Ten years later — not almost 10 years later … exactly 10 years later —Rondale Moore died.A suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the New Albany (Ind.) Police Department. He was 25.

More:Rondale Moore's Purdue legacy of relentless strength will endure

For people all over Indiana, that news — it broke Saturday night and spread across social media, becoming one of Twitter's most-discussed topics in the country — was stunning, tragic. Moore grew up in New Albany and while he graduated from Trinity High in Louisville, he played as a sophomore on New Albany's Class 2016 state championship basketball team.

A teammate on that championship team, one of his best friends — a teammate on youth football and basketball teams, anda neighbor who lived five houses down the street— was future Boston Celtics lottery pick Romeo Langford.

In 2018 Moore arrived as a freshman receiver on thePurdue footballteam, and needed exactly one game to set a team record for all-purpose yards in a game. As a true freshman he was a first-team All-American and the winner of the 2018 Paul Hornung Award, given to the most versatile player in the country. Two years later Moore entered the 2021 NFL Draft and was selected in the second round by the Arizona Cardinals with the 49thoverall pick.

Moore was quiet, reserved. Shy, you could call him. He didn't enjoy talking with reporters, and not because he was surly. He just knew reporters were going to ask him about a topic he'd prefer not to discuss: Rondale Moore. He had greatness and he had humility, a winning combination in any walk of life. Before the first game of his sophomore 2019 season, I went to a Purdue practice to ask Moore about his next step at Purdue — and to ask, essentially, if it was fair for anyone to expect him to put up better numbers.

Moore recast the question,turning it away from himself.It's what he did.

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"There is no 'next step,' personally," he said. "It's what I can do to help this team win, and help guys get better. Get into a better bowl game. Compete for a national championship. That's the next step for all of us."

He continued.

"As far as putting up 'better numbers,'" he said, "that doesn't define me as a football player. It's how I can work and how I'm treating my teammates. That's something I value more so than myself."

Moore was an old soul, 19 going on forever, the world laid out before him like a red carpet, but sometimes that carpet bunches up, snags your feet, knocks you down.

Moore's time in the NFL, like his time at Purdue, was frontloaded with success. Moore missed most of that sophomore 2019 season at Purduewith a pulled hamstring,then missed three games of the COVID-shortened 2020 college football season with another hamstring injury. In the NFL, his best season was his first — 54 catches, 435 yards in 2021 — but he missed 12 games in 2022 with hamstring and groin injuries, and wasn't as effective in 2023 (40 catches, 352 yards).

Moore was traded to Atlanta for the 2024 season, but missed it with a knee injury. He signed with Minnesota for the 2025 season, but missed it with another knee injury.

Moore wasn't in the news again until Saturday — Feb. 21, 2026 — when his body was discovered inside a garage in New Albany, Indiana. He was taken to the Floyd County coroner.

He left behind so much shock and sadness, and that same message pinned to the top of his Twitter page:

Note to self: Be patient.

Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel onThreads, or onBlueSkyand Twitter at@GreggDoyelStar, or atwww.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar. Subscribe to the free weeklyDoyel on Demandnewsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rondale Moore dead at 25. Former Purdue star WR was shy, humble

NEED TO KNOW

• Flights at Munich Airport in Germany were affected by heavy snow on Thursday, Feb. 19,

• Several flights were canceled and passengers were left stuck on planes after airport staff went home, leaving no stairs for them to be able to depart the aircraft or buses to transport them to the terminal, according to reports

• Both Lufthansa airlines and the airport said they "deeply regret the inconvenience caused"

Around 500 passengers were forced to spend the night on grounded planes at an airport in Germany, according to reports.

According to German newspaperBild, 123 passengers were due to fly from Munich to Copenhagen, Denmark, on Thursday, Feb. 19, with airline Lufthansa, but they ended up being stuck on the plane for eight hours.

Passengers on other Lufthansa flights were also affected, as well as two Air Dolomiti flights to Austria and Italy, with passengers also having to spend the night on the tarmac in their aircraft. Lufthansa reported that a total of around 500 passengers were affected, according to the outlet.

Passengers were already on board the flight to Copenhagen, which was scheduled to depart at 9:30 p.m. local time, when it was announced that the departure would be delayed due to heavy snow. According to the outlet, announcements were repeatedly made for almost two and a half hours, before the flight was canceled just before midnight.

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty

The outlet reported that the plane was parked at a remote stand and there were no buses to take passengers back to the terminal.

According to Danish newspaperEkstra Bladet, passengers were told every 30 minutes that buses were trying to be organized for them. A passenger told the outlet that at around 2 a.m., they were then suddenly informed by airline staff that they could no longer get hold of anyone inside the airport and the airport was closed. This was due to the night flight ban in Munich from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., perBild.

Søren Thieme, the father of a family with young children on board the plane, claimed that passengers were told that all the bus drivers had gone home and that they were not allowed to leave the aircraft.

"There must be something we can do. We can just go to the airport, we ask. But we're not allowed to. It's forbidden, we're told. We're simply trapped here, along with the staff too," Thieme told the outlet, per a translation.

Thieme went on to share that his family had been flying back from a vacation in Thailand, and the flight from Munich to Copenhagen was the final leg of their journey.

"We were really frustrated," Thieme said. "We've been on the road for over 24 hours now. We should have been home in Denmark and sleeping by now. But the flight crew was also completely at a loss. We also don't get to know when they expect us to be able to get out."

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The passenger claimed to the outlet that passengers also didn't have proper food or drinks, just a few bottles of water, and no blankets, as the flight was only meant to be around 90 minutes long.

Passengers were finally able to depart the flight in the early hours of the morning after buses and stairs arrived at the aircraft.

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty

The family were rebooked on a new flight, but this was also delayed by an hour, according to the outlet.

"We're home in Denmark now, and it's nice to be home. Because at one point, the thought came to me whether we would even come home this weekend," Thieme added.

Another passenger toldBild, "Flights can be canceled at any time, but leaving people on the plane indefinitely is unacceptable."

Lufthansa toldEkstra Bladetin a statement, "Due to the weather conditions on February 19th with heavy snowfall at Munich Airport, there were temporary runway closures and massive delays in de-icing procedures. As a result, there were delays and cancellations yesterday. The passengers have since been rebooked onto the next available flight."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE'sfree daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The statement continued, "The passengers on flight LH2446 to Copenhagen with 123 passengers (scheduled departure at 21:30) were also affected by weather-related irregularities. The aircraft had to remain on the apron following instructions from Munich Airport. Due to a lack of apron buses, the passengers could only be transported to the terminal in the early morning hours. Lufthansa deeply regrets the inconvenience this has caused to the passengers."

"We deeply regret the inconvenience caused," a spokesperson for Munich Airport added, perBild.

Lufthansa and Munich Airport did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Read the original article onPeople

Iranian state news agencies reported student demonstrations at five universities in the capital and one in the city of Mashhad over the weekend, with fresh protests also reported Monday. Large crowds rallied outside the Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran, according to video geolocated by NBC News that circulated on social media Sunday.

The video does not appear to have circulated before Sunday but NBC News has not been able to pinpoint when exactly it was taken.

They are the first known protests to have erupted since theanti-government unrest that swept the countrylast month and sawthousands of people killedin a brutal crackdown, according to rights groups.

The United States has held the threat of military action over the regime in the wake of those demonstrations, which marked the biggest flare-up of domestic dissent since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. But PresidentDonald Trumphas also pursued negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, entertaining diplomacy even as he masses a daunting military force in the Middle East.

Trump's special envoySteve Witkoffsaid Saturday that the president was "curious" as to why Iran had not changed course in the face of this buildup.

"He's curious as to why they haven't — I don't want to use the word 'capitulated' — but why they haven't capitulated," Witkoff said in an interview with Fox News' "My View with Lara Trump."

"Why under this sort of pressure, with the amount of sea power, naval power that we have over there, why they haven't come to us and said, 'We profess that we don't want a weapon'?" he said.

The USS Gerald R. Ford is en route to becomethe second American aircraft carrierin the region, wherethe U.S. has been gathering air defenses, warships and submarines.

Officials signaled in a meeting last week that all U.S. military forces required for possible action would be in place by mid-March, a senior administration official told NBC News, though Trump hasthreatened possible actionsooner than that.

New talks are scheduled for Thursday, according to the country that brokered previous rounds of indirect negotiations.

Oman's foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, said in aposton X on Sunday that talks were confirmed for Thursday in Geneva "with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing the deal."

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Iranian PresidentMasoud Pezeshkianoffered some optimism Sunday, suggesting the latest talks had "yielded encouraging signals."

"Iran is committed to peace and stability in the region," he said in aposton X. However, he warned that Tehran continued to "closely monitor U.S. actions and have made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario."

Addressing the U.S. threat of military action in a news conference Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the Islamic Republic would "never be influenced by threats" and would "insist on Iran's national interests."

He added that there was "no such thing as a limited attack," after Trump confirmed he was considering a more limited initial strike to force Tehran into concessions.

Any "act of aggression" would be met with a firm response, he said. "At the same time that we are in the negotiation room, our military forces will be more alert."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "Face The Nation" that a new meeting would "probably" take place Thursday, adding that he hoped to prepare a "fast deal."

"I think we're still very much in a wait-and-see kind of mode," said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House.

"We're lurching between the possibility of strikes and the possibility of a deal and I don't really have a feeling right now one way or the other," she told NBC News in a phone interview Monday. It will take a "real willingness to compromise from both parties" and in a "timely manner" in order to avoid military escalation, Vakil added.

As the prospect of a major attack by the U.S. and Israel raised fears of a new conflict in the Middle East, regional powers expressed outrage after the U.S. ambassadorsuggested Israel had a biblical rightto take over swaths of territory in the Middle East.

"It would be fine if they took it all, but I don't think that's what we're talking about here today," Mike Huckabee said during an interview withpodcaster Tucker Carlsonposted to YouTube on Friday.

Huckabee clarified that this was not on the table as "they're not asking to take all that," but his comments sparked outrage, with the foreign ministries of more than a dozen Arab and Muslim nations expressing their "strong condemnation and profound concern" in a joint statement and issuing a "categorical rejection of such dangerous and inflammatory remarks."

Iran warned the comments could further "embolden" Israel in "illegal measures against Palestinians as well as its constant aggression against the nations of the region."