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A crowd gathered outside the police station on 18th and South State Street for a demonstration organized by Black Lives Matter Chicago on Monday evening. Tyler LaRiviere, a Chicago-based photojournalist, tweeted that protesters had planned “to occupy the space and until people are released from the police station then party.” Later, LaRiviere tweeted that a line of officers had approached protesters with clubs in hand. “Protesters met them with umbrellas and after a bit the cops retreated back into the District 1 Station,” LaRiviere added....

The Mexican striker started up front alongside Cristiano Ronaldo away at Ludogorets in Sofia, with Isco and Asier Illarramendi included as well in a 4-4-2 formation which featured Gareth Bale as an orthodox right winger. So prolific in its last few games, hitting 20 goals in its previous four fixtures, Madrid played poorly in this one and never really found its rhythm until right at the end. Ludogorets proved a tougher nut to crack than many had anticipated - just as the Bulgarian side had done in the first round of matches against Liverpool - and the home team went ahead early on as Madrid once again failed to deal with a set piece....

Just don’t tell that to Travis Kelce. The Chiefs tight end went off on Cheffers following Kansas City’s 18-16 divisional round loss to the Steelers on Sunday night. Kelce was upset Cheffers called Chiefs tackle Eric Fisher for holding Steelers linebacker James Harrison on a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the game at 18-18 with less than three minutes remaining. MORE: How Steelers-Chiefs unfolded “It hurts. You fight all year, you fight all game, for it to end like that, for the ref to take it ot of our hands, that hurts,” Kelce told reporters....

Yet, thus far, he has been unable to convince the Chiefs to step up and sign him to a long-term deal. Instead, for the second straight offseason, Berry is hearing the dreaded F word — as in franchise tag. After playing under the franchise tender in 2016, Berry has stated publicly that if the Chiefs tag him again and don’t consummate a long-term deal by the July 15 deadline, he will not play for them in 2017....

The two companies both received emergency use authorization for their vaccines from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December; Pfizer for those age 16 and older, Moderna for those age 18 and older. Moderna began clinical trials in children as young as 12 a few weeks ago. Pfizer has completed enrolling children ages 12 to 15, and will begin clinical trials soon. “Once they have some safety data on older children, we can expect the companies to enroll even younger children in additional clinical trials,” James Campbell, MD, a professor of pediatrics and a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, tells Verywell....

Authorities in Xiamen, a port city in China’s eastern Fujian province, have requested all civilian drone sales to be documented with customer identification. Buyers also have to register new devices on a portal managed by the country’s civil aviation authority, according to a citywide notice published on Tuesday. Residents who plan to operate drones in the city will be required to clear a flight plan with local air traffic officials no later than 24 hours in advance....

“The Taiwan Question and China’s Reunification in the New Era,” the first Chinese government white paper on the topic in 22 years and the first under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, was published as a week of intense Chinese military drills around Taiwan appeared to ease on Wednesday. The report repeats many of Beijing’s familiar talking points, including its argument that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was responsible for raising tensions across the Taiwan Strait by refusing to accept Beijing’s principle of “one China....

These countries are also dealing with reinfections, especially with the new variants. It’s unclear right now how severe those infections have been,but vaccines with low efficacy rates could be detrimental to the global effort in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say. “It’s clearly a dangerous situation,” Stanley Weiss, MD, a professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health, tells Verywell. “We need efficient vaccines in those countries to protect their populations....

The clampdown is futile. As fast as Beijing can erect barriers, the country’s Net users keep finding ways around them. They know the government has access to any e-mail sent to or from mainland-based Internet service providers. No problem. Chinese privacy lovers can hook up to Yahoo or Hotmail for free e-mail accounts outside their government’s jurisdiction. The online cops can block access to any foreign Web site they deem unsuitable–but what of it?...

In separate reports this week, the paper documented what its government sources suggested were unexpected technological advancements in a novel delivery system of China’s nuclear weapons. The Biden administration has declined to comment in an official capacity due to the sensitive nature of the intelligence, the FT said. According to its latest report, both tests—the first on July 27 and another on August 13—were conducted using a fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS), a concept developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War....

After 10 People’s Liberation Army aircraft, including fighter jets and reconnaissance planes, flew sorties into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone on Monday, a senior defense official in Taipei noted the “offensive posture” of the military exercise. Deputy Defense Minister Chang Che-ping described the waves of Chinese aircraft as part of a naval and air force “joint operation.” The gesture by Beijing was notable for its pincer-like flight pattern around Taiwan after the Japanese defense ministry reported two additional PLA warplanes crossing the East China Sea and Miyako Strait between the Japanese-controlled islands....

Among some close advisers to the government, the idea of a Beijing-friendly palace coup has gained new currency. China certainly has the means: it provides 11,000 barrels of oil to North Korea every day , accounting for more than 70 percent of Pyongyang’s total energy supply. Beijing stopped oil deliveries for three days in early 2003 to pressure Pyongyang to join the Six-Party Talks. (Later Chinese apparatchiks insisted there had been a mechanical malfunction....

The planned station, named Tiangong or “Heavenly Palace,” is expected to be completed in 2022 once all the components have been launched and assembled. But how will Tiangong compare to the only other station currently in service—the International Space Station (ISS,) which China is excluded from? Like the ISS, Tiangong will be a large modular space station assembled from different components that are launched separately. The designs of modular space stations mean that different components can be added or removed from the existing structure, providing greater flexibility....

Applicants include professionals in industry and academia, but civil servants currently serving in the Hong Kong government have also joined the waiting list, according to World Journal, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the United States. Citing the latest figures from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong, as well as local immigration service providers, the report said there had been a marked increase in immigration paper submissions since the anti‑extradition bill protests in June 2019, despite Taiwan’s own precarious position on the doorstep of an increasingly powerful and belligerent Chinese regime....

Rear Admiral Guan Youfei, who manages foreign affairs for the People’s Liberation Army, said the United States was to blame for the escalating military tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The 63-year-old director of the Office for International Military Cooperation—established during Xi’s military reforms in 2016 and put under the Central Military Commission which he chairs—made the remarks at the seventh annual Cross-Strait Think Tank Academic Forum in Beijing on Sunday....

The Shandong carrier group departed its naval base in Sanya, in the southern province of Hainan, for its first deployment of the year just a few days after the country’s first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, returned to home port in the East China Sea. Shandong and its escorts held scheduled exercises at sea which were “completely legitimate and legal,” said People’s Liberation Army Navy spokesperson Gao Xiucheng. Gao said the drills were beneficial to China’s ability to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests....

A spokesperson for the Japanese Embassy called recent Chinese actions in the East China Sea “extremely regrettable,” adding that Tokyo intended to continue responding firmly but calmly. The China Coast Guard (CCG) ships intruded into the territorial sea around the Japan-controlled island chain “one after another” at around 10:20 a.m. local time, according to a report by broadcaster NHK, citing the Japanese coast guard’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, Okinawa....

Caesars Sportsbook Ohio is gearing up for launch in the Buckeye State with an enormous pre-registration offer. Players who sign up early will get a $100 bonus in free bets, as well as a chance at Cleveland Cavaliers tickets. Bettors who plan on getting in on the action once Ohio online sports betting goes live should consider pre-registering with Caesars Sportsbook Ohio. There is a tremendous offer for pre-registrants that offers a bonus for after launch, as well as the chance to earn tickets to a Cavs game....

Egypt World Cup hopeful Gomaa was the toast of the evening, scoring in either half against their Mozambican opponents who are making a debut appearance in the Confederation Cup. Gomaa separated the two sides, first scoring on 36 minutes when he headed in substitute Mohamed ‘Grendo’ Abdel-Latif’s cross past a hapless Leonel Pendula in goal for Songo. Grendo was again the provider when he sent through Gomaa who clinically finished at close-range seven minutes into the second half to seal his double....

The Northern Alliance was on a roll. By late Tuesday (Afghan time) it seemed to be pressing onward without stopping for a breather. Opposition fighters were said to be advancing eastward from Kabul along the main highway toward Jalalabad, a key Afghan city not far from the Pakistan border. And in the southern outpost of Kandahar, the traditional seat of Taliban power, eyewitnesses said some–but not all–Taliban fighters had packed up their weapons and evacuated in vehicles toward Uruzgan, the home province of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar....