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The UEFA Champions League group stage is coming to an end on Tuesday and Wednesday and there are still some loose ends to tie up on matchday 6. While most people will be concentrating on the big Premier League teams, Manchester United & Chelsea have already qualified and look likely to win their respective groups. We’ve got a breakdown of all the games that lead to the Champions League qualification, whoever wins in these will no doubt be on the road to glory....

On Thursday, the U.S. reported 39,818 new cases of the virus, the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began. In total, the U.S. has reported 2,504,588 positive cases of the coronavirus making it the second hardest-hit nation in the world. The increase in positive cases led Texas Governor Greg Abbott to place his state’s reopening on “pause” Thursday after public health officials reported 5,996 cases in one day. Texas, which is in phase two of its reopening plan, has not announced plans to return to lockdown....

Howard has decided to step away from the U.S. national team set-up for the next year, U.S. Soccer announced on Thursday. After conversations with U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann and his club manager at Everton, Roberto Martinez, Howard has decided to step aside in order to have more time to spend with his family and also to cut down on the grind he has been on with the national team for the past eight years....

“The US 10 year rate just crossed above 4 percent. Mortgage rates comfortably exceed 7 percent. We are now in new financial territory,” Summers wrote on Twitter. On Wednesday, the yield on 10-year U.S. government bonds reached 4.017 percent, according to Tradeweb, only to shortly after fall to 3.963 percent following the Bank of England’s announcement that it will buy longer-term U.K. government debt. The 10-year Treasury rate measures what the government would pay investors if they purchased 10-year Treasury notes today, and is considered a vital benchmark influencing consumer borrowing costs....

Donovan is the most accomplished player in U.S. national team history: first in goals (57), first in assists (58), first in World Cup goals (five) and second in appearances (156, behind only winger Cobi Jones). He announced his retirement from the game effective at the end of the current Major League Soccer season earlier this month. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann tweeted it will be “awesome” for fans to be able to show their appreciation for Donovan at the Oct....

Wood was the matchwinner for Jurgen Klinsmann’s side in last week’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Netherlands and the Erzgebirge Aue striker came off the bench again to settle things at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany. MORE: Bradley, Dempsey key to MLS development | Bidding process for 2026 World Cup suspended Prior to Wood making his claim for a more prominent role in the months and years to come, Joachim Low’s World Cup winners were quick out of the blocks, gaining their reward after just 11 minutes when Mario Gotze slid home the opener....

The two officers were part of a group of U.S. personnel from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group and members of the allied Afghan Special Operations Forces that were engaging with influential figures within the local community, in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province. At least six others were injured during the hostilities. “Upon completing a key-leader engagement at the district center, current reports indicate an individual in an Afghan uniform opened fire on the combined U....

The Japanese underdog, who lost to Murray in the Olympic semifinals last month as the Brit went on to win gold, recovered from a slow start to win 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory. After struggling to cope with Murray’s strong returning in the opening set, Nishikori battled back after a rain delay to stun the world’s second-ranked player. The result marks just the second victory for the 2014 finalist over Murray in nine attempts....

The U.S. poverty rate rose by 2.4 percentage points during the final months of 2020 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and lingering economic stagnation. Economists from the University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame said the nation saw the largest annual increase in poverty in nearly 60 years. Black Americans were hit the hardest during this time period. The poverty rate for Black Americans jumped by 5.4 percentage points, meaning that about 2....

The current total acreage of the fires is nearly the size of Israel, which has an area of just over 5.3 million acres. More than 26,000 firefighters and other support staff are battling at least 102 “active large fires” across 12 states as of Thursday, according to the NIFC. More than half of the fires—at least 56—are reported to be in California, Oregon and Washington. “Unprecedented weather conditions have created emergency situations near wildfires throughout California, Oregon, Washington, and other states....

However, it is predominantly a three-way battle between Mali’s Youssouf Koita, England’s Curtis Anderson and Brazil’s Gabriel Brazao for the Golden Glove accolade. Koita is presently on top with 23 saves, with Anderson and Brazao only separated on the basis of their save rate where the Young Lions’ shot-stopper holds an edge.

Salim Abdourahmane scored the only goal for the Menas in the 59th minute, in what was to be a brilliant U17 World Cup debut for the African side. Their coach, Tiemogo Soumalia, was in ebullient mood post the coup and stated, “We are very happy with this victory. Thank you for the welcome. This is our first match in the World Cup.” Unfazed by the competition ahead of his young team, the gaffer expressed optimisim....

[Update: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier IS coming to PC!] Based on their obsession with DRM and franchise-wide online passes one could assume that Ubisoft is a big proponent of anti-piracy measures. They’ve provided a few inconveniences here and there, and even backed down in a few cases, but ultimately the UPlay Passport is here to stay. But what if Ubisoft’s fear of piracy is preventing one of its more highly anticipated games from reaching the widest range of gamers possible?...

For Honor’s Asunder season was announced during a live Warrior’s Den livestream on Twitch today, and is set to begin on March 11, 2021. A minute-long story trailer released alongside this event that shows panoramic stills of various warriors in combat as voiceover comments on peace being interrupted by a newly sparked rebellion. RELATED: For Honor Reveals New Warmonger Character Year four saw the introduction of For Honor’s Warmonger character type in August 2020, which helped the cultish Order of Horkos take over the game’s region of Heathmoor following a long-standing peace, according to its fandom wiki....

While the competitive aspect of Blizzard’s team-based shooter has ultimately been a successful venture for Blizzard, Overwatch League hasn’t been without controversy. Notably, conflict has arisen among players regarding Blizzard’s handling of China’s position on Taiwan and Hong Kong, with the company disallowing the use of the nation’s names by those participating in Overwatch League, casters included. The league is comprised primarily of teams from North America and China, with teams representing France, England and South Korea included as well....

The latest average remained significantly lower than those confirmed during the first three months of the pandemic, when the U.S. reported between 2,000 and 2,700 new COVID-19 deaths on multiple days, and average fatality rates neared or exceeded the lower bound of that range for weeks. However, with daily fatalities rising rapidly in November, health officials have warned of more severe consequences still ahead. “It’s getting bad and it’s potentially going to get a lot worse,” said epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in recent comments to The New York Times....

Walsh Jennings and her partner, Brooke Sweat, lost a qualifying match on Wednesday against the Netherlands in the Czech Republic. “It’s been a really rough year, and to lose in a qualifier, it feels really hard right now,” Walsh Jennings said after the match. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below. The early-round loss to the Netherlands means the U.S. pair could not overtake fellow Americans Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil on the international tour point list....

“I know nothing about tennis,” Jordan said in an interview with ESPN, adding that he was nevertheless fascinated by how smooth Federer looked on court. “He’s a good athlete. I know he played basketball a bit.” MORE: Amazing photos | Introducing CiCi Bellis | Day 2 results | Day 3 preview Jordan, seated in the same row with Vogue editor and longtime Federer friend Anna Wintour, clapped wildly when Federer ran down a drop shot for a winner in his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) first-round victory over Marinko Matosevic....

The decision to stall the USS Harry S. Truman and the five U.S. craft it is traveling with was made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a defense official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The official said the decision was made because naval officials felt a “persistent presence” was needed in Europe to address fears of many in the intelligence and international community about Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine next year....

Bishop said Wednesday that the decisions from appeals court judges and the state Supreme Court should not have been allowed without the names and votes of the involved judges being released. On December 6, a panel of three appeals court judges voted to suspend the acceptance period of candidates filing for U.S. House and state legislative races because of concerns and lawsuits claiming that newly drawn legislative maps are advantageous to Republicans by taking voting power away from minority groups through gerrymandering....