News 24

Juventus' general manager Beppe Marotta says they cannot afford Harry Kane, amid reports in Spain that the  Bianconeri  were set to bid €250 million. Don Balon claimed that  Juventus had tabled a world record bid for Kane , who scored as Tottenham Hotspur fought back to draw their round-of-16 tie with Juve 2-2 on Tuesday night, but Marotta dismissed it as fantasy. "There's not one Italian club who, as things stand today, could afford to buy Harry Kane,"  Marotta told Italy's Mediaset television . "He's a phenomenal player, but Italian clubs cannot compete with foreign rivals at such figures." Juve spent a club record €90m to sign Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli 18 months ago, while AC Milan committed around €230m to bring in 11 new players in the summer, but spending €250m on a single player appears to be beyond the budgets of Italian clubs. Meanwhile, Marotta says there is no update on the future of Gianluigi Buffon, who is considering his futu...

American luger Emily Sweeney, of Suffield, Connecticut, is stiff, sore and has a severely sprained left ankle after a horrific crash during her final run of the singles competition of the 2018 Winter Olympics Tuesday, but she is otherwise OK. NBC Connecticut anchor Kevin Nathan spoke with Sweeney’s mother, Sue, who she said her 24-year-old daughter did not break any bones and does not have a concussion. When she conducted interviews soon after the crash, Nathan asked if the military background contributed to why she walked off the track, but Sweeney said that is just who she is. “I think that’s just who I have been raised to be and you just you have to,” Sweeney said. USA Luge medical staff told the “Today” show that Sweeney is doing "very well" and will be monitored for the next few days and further steps will be taken, if necessary. She was not expected to attend Wednesday's Olympic doubles luge race, according to the "Today" show. Sweeney express...

Litecoin (LTC) is putting on a show today amid news a group of developers may seek to fork its blockchain, the fifth-largest by total value. The cryptocurrency was last seen changing hands at $216, a one-month high, according to data service  CoinMarketCap . Overall, LTC has appreciated by 33 percent in the last 24 hours, up over 100 percent from the Feb. 6 low of $106.94. Further, with the move, litecoin's market capitalization has jumped above $10 billion for the first time since Jan. 29. Still, the reasons for the move may give investors pause. LTC appears to be edging higher due to news of an upcoming fork called "Litecoin Cash," which is promising new tokens to existing holders at block 1,371,111. For every 1 LTC held at block 1,371,111, holders will receive 10 "LCC," according to the  official website. However, there is a notable contingent that is warning about the new cryptocurrency. Litecoin founder creator  Charlie Lee  an...

It turns out love is not a universal language. In the time leading up to Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14), the world expressed its love and angst in—often dramatically—different from country to country. Quartz analyzed data provided by Tenor, a search engine for GIFs, to identify how people in 45 countries were using the animated images to express their emotions. Valentine’s Day searches were dominated by—as you might expect—the quest for love. But other voices were heard as well, including those searching for “Galentines” (the holiday to celebrate female friendships on Feb. 13), “single,” “forever alone,” “missyou, “eyeroll,” and “50 shades”—all of which saw a spike in activity. Tenor collected information on 6.1 billion GIF searches and shares from 45 countries between Oct. 2017 and Jan. 2018, using data gathered from Whatsapp and Tenor  GIF Keyboard  application GIF searches and shares. (Tenor customizes search results based on popularity and language in a given region.)

Love will be in the air as couples across the nation share romantic Valentine's Day dinners at their favorite intimate restaurants.  But don't expect the affection to be shared by many small restaurant owners, who find they aren't raking in the big profits that one might expect on a traditional dine-out occasion sometimes requiring reservations to be made weeks in advance. This Valentine's Day, Americans are expected to spend $3.7 billion on an evening out, according to the National Retail Federation. But Valentine's Day is only the 107th-best sales day of the year, falling behind St. Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo, according to Womply, a San Francisco-based software company that analyzed credit card data from 26,000 restaurants last year. Local restaurateurs see only a 4% increase in the number of checks they'll hand out compared to a normal night, but the dinner tabs will collectively run 18% higher, Womply found.  That might...

Olympic gold medalist Shaun White insisted he is a "changed person" on Wednesday when asked about sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him in a 2016 lawsuit. "I've grown as a person over the years," White said during an interview on NBC's "Today" show, just hours after winning his third gold medal in the men's snowboarding halfpipe. "I definitely feel like I'm a much more changed person than I was when I was younger. I'm proud of who I am today," White added. The comments came as social media lit up with details from the lawsuit filed by a former drummer in White's rock band, Bad Things. In the suit, attorneys for Lena Zawaideh said White "repeatedly sexually harassed her" and refused to pay her wages after he fired her. The renewed focus on the allegations comes as the #MeToo movement and many activists are pushing for more accountability around sexual harassment and assault. The lawsuit wa...