By Jon Sarlin, CNN

(CNN) — This World Cup, a bunch of people decided to gamble millions on whether soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo would cry during a match.

The bet, which happened on Polymarket, isn’t weird for the wild world of prediction markets. Like whether aliens will be announced by the US government, whether a coup attempt will take place in Russia — even whether the earth is flat. (One trader lost $915 betting against the earth’s sphericity).

So traders looking to get an edge began closely examining Ronaldo’s long, storied career for evidence of crying. There were tears of despair, like from Portugal’s heartbreaking 2022 World Cup loss, in which he kneeled on the grass while weeping. There was also a record of happy tears, like this year, when he helped his club secure the Saudi title for the first time during his tenure.

This week, the odds had settled at around 70% favoring tears.

Monday’s match was to be Ronaldo’s last of this World Cup, ending in heartbreak for the 41-year-old soccer legend, with Portugal falling to Spain 1-0. It could be his final World Cup match ever.

So did he cry or what?

“You see Ronaldo here, obviously very emotional,” a FOX broadcaster remarked as the Portuguese legend wiped his face and walked off the pitch.

But exactly how emotional was he? The harder they looked, the less everyone agreed. Then the investigations began.

Enhance!

After the match, users on Polymarket’s Discord channel began downloading and scrutinizing zoomed-in photos of Ronaldo’s scrunched face. The odds shot up and down as new evidence came in.

Arrows were added pointing to potential tears on Ronaldo’s right eye and nose. Newly found video angles were scrutinized frame-by-frame.

“Only sweat and glistening skin,” said one user in the “no-crying” camp. “Yes, he is tearing up, fighting it. But clearly there are no tears.”

Another pointed to Ronaldo’s previous, wetter sobs, listing three “good examples” of Ronaldo “clearly shedding tears in the past,” including Ronaldo’s acceptance speech for winning the 2013 Ballon D’Or during which falling liquid can clearly be seen on the right side of his cheek.

But those in the pro-crying wing dismissed the so-called “sweat theory.”

“Yes, he cried, and we all know he cried,” one Discord user wrote. “It’s possible to draw this conclusion from the micro-expressions of sadness in the videos and photos.”

Some in the pro-crying camp pointed to articles and headlines as proof.

The BBC’s headline read “Ronaldo’s World Cup career ends in tears…,” while ESPN also included a sorrowful description: “A visibly emotional Ronaldo wiped tears from his eyes as he applauded the fans.”

“You cannot wipe tears that don’t exist,” the poster noted.

Crying foul

Polymarket’s procedures call for disputed markets to be adjudicated by the company’s internal markets team and then formally voted on by holders of the cryptocurrency UMA.

After the debate started brewing, Polymarket flagged the market for review, eventually making a determination: yes, they said. He

Por Gloria Pazmino, CNN

El Departamento de Investigación de la ciudad de Nueva York ha abierto un expediente después de que las columnas de un rascacielos de Manhattan cedieran a principios de esta semana, obligando a los trabajadores a huir y a las autoridades a evacuar los edificios vecinos y cerrar las calles, informó a CNN un portavoz del departamento.

El promotor del rascacielos, la antigua sede de Pfizer que se está transformando en apartamentos, declaró anteriormente a CNN que la culpa la tenían los soportes defectuosos de las columnas, que soportaban demasiado peso, y que desde entonces el edificio ha sido estabilizado.

La empresa estaba añadiendo 5486 metros cuadrados en 15 nuevas plantas superiores del edificio, y la carga adicional provocó que dos columnas se doblaran, hundiendo los suelos, algunos hasta 10 cm, declaró Nathan Berman, fundador y director general de MetroLoft, a CNN.

Si bien el promotor afirmó que ninguna parte del edificio, ubicado en East 42nd Street, estuvo en riesgo de derrumbarse, los funcionarios de la ciudad describieron el martes el edificio como inestable y establecieron una “zona de colapso” formal a su alrededor.

CNN se ha puesto en contacto con MetroLoft para obtener comentarios sobre la investigación del incidente.

Las columnas se doblaron “básicamente por no haber sido reforzadas adecuadamente o por haberse omitido parte del refuerzo durante el proceso”, dijo Berman, y señaló que determinarán la razón exacta “a su debido tiempo”.

Según han declarado funcionarios municipales, las columnas deformadas se encuentran entre la estructura existente del edificio y los nuevos pisos que se están construyendo.

El Departamento de Edificios de la ciudad de Nueva York había declarado previamente que una “investigación exhaustiva” sobre el fallo estructural en el antiguo edificio de Pfizer ayudará a determinar cómo se produjo el fallo, qué lo provocó y cómo se pueden evitar incidentes similares en el futuro.

La investigación incluirá la revisión de los documentos de construcción, entrevistas con testigos y el análisis de cualquier evidencia en video y fotografía disponible en el lugar, entre otras cosas.

El departamento también señaló a principios de esta semana que ha exigido al propietario del edificio que contrate a un ingeniero externo para que realice una evaluación forense, una investigación formal para determinar la causa del fallo estructural.

El Departamento de Investigación de la Ciudad de Nueva York es el organismo de control independiente de la ciudad, que investiga el fraude, la corrupción, la mala conducta, los delitos municipales, los empleados municipales, los contratistas y las personas que hacen negocios con la ciudad.

Cuando las investigaciones descubren pruebas de actividad delictiva, el Departamento colabora habitualmente con los fiscales y los organismos encargados de hacer cumplir la ley para presentar cargos penales, además de emprender acciones administrativas o civiles.

CNN se ha puesto en contacto con la fiscalía del distrito de Manhattan.

Es probable que la investigación sea compleja. Los proyectos de construcción a gran escala en la ciudad suelen involucrar a múltiples promotores, contratistas generales, subcontratistas, cientos de trabajadores y múltiples entidades con responsabilidades distintas, lo que supone un amplio campo de investigación para los expertos que buscan recopilar pruebas.

Los trabajadores descubrieron las vigas de soporte deformadas el martes y ayudaron a evacuar a la gente, informó un portavoz

By Nicki Brown, Andi Babineau, CNN

Provo, Utah (CNN) — Over the last week, attorneys, news reporters and spectators gathered in a Provo, Utah, courtroom as prosecutors tried to convince a judge to allow the case against the 23-year-old man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk to proceed to trial.

The proceedings were frequently bogged down by arguments over whether certain exhibits could be admitted into evidence and publicly broadcast via a camera in the courtroom. Still, it was a pivotal moment, offering the fullest picture yet of the case against Tyler Robinson, some ten months after the death of the 31-year-old conservative firebrand and co-founder of Turning Point USA.

During the five-day preliminary hearing, the Utah County Attorney’s Office displayed campus surveillance video around the time of the shooting, alleged messages from Robinson prosecutors describe as a confession and a videotaped interview with a key witness: Robinson’s former roommate and romantic partner.

The defense, meanwhile, worked to undercut the forensic evidence and raise questions about law enforcement’s handling of the investigation. Robinson’s attorneys called three witnesses to testify about the results of DNA and ballistics testing, but Robinson himself did not take the stand, choosing to heed his attorneys’ advice, his defense team said.

Now that both sides have presented some of their evidence, the judge must determine whether there’s probable cause to support the charges: aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice, witness tampering and committing a violent act in the presence of a child.

If Judge Tony Graf finds there’s sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, Robinson will be arraigned and enter pleas. Graf is expected to rule after oral arguments scheduled in early September, shortly before the anniversary of Kirk’s death.

Kirk was killed September 10, 2025, when he was fatally shot in front of about 3,000 people during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem. Graphic videos of the shooting flooded social media and politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned the killing – one example of the political violence roiling America in recent years.

Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty against Robinson, who turned himself in to police the day after the shooting.

Here are five things we learned in the hearing that shed new light on the case:

Robinson said he regretted shooting, his roommate told prosecutors

The most anticipated evidence came Thursday, when prosecutors presented a previously recorded video interview with Lance Twiggs, Robinson’s roommate at the time of Kirk’s killing.

Twiggs, who was also Robinson’s romantic partner, told prosecutors the defendant expressed regret the day after the shooting, hours before he surrendered to police.

“He started crying a little bit and said he wishes he hadn’t done it, and then kept going around and just doing stuff, I think to keep himself busy or distracted or something,” Twiggs said in the interview conducted and recorded in April. Parts of the interview were redacted due to an order by the judge.

Twiggs is a pivotal witness for prosecutors, and not only for the alleged conversation described in the interview. The state has also pointed to text mess

Por Jessie Yeung, CNN

Sin siquiera agitar su aleta, Neil, el bullicioso elefante marino joven, abandonó Tasmania esta semana, dejando atrás una legión de fans y preguntas sobre qué sucederá cuando crezca aún más.

Cuando Rebecca Thomson se enteró de que Neil había regresado a la ciudad en junio, corrió a la playa para ver a una de las celebridades más conocidas del estado australiano.

Entonces Neil, con sus 2.200 libras de grasa, comenzó a seguirla.

“Es como si una babosa gigante viniera hacia ti”, rió Thomson, que vive en Hobart, la capital de Tasmania, y se aseguró de mantener una distancia prudencial de Neil. “Fue realmente emocionante e intrigante, y sí, definitivamente también un poco intimidante”.

Todos los elefantes marinos del sur salen a tierra unas cuantas veces al año para reproducirse, mudar su pelaje e interactuar entre sí en grupos de estos animales, normalmente solitarios.

Pero mientras la mayoría de sus congéneres hacen esto en remotas islas subantárticas, Neil prefiere pasar tiempo con los humanos en el estado insular australiano durante sus visitas estacionales, y sembrar el caos.

Tras seguir a Thomson hasta el estacionamiento, Neil comenzó a sacudir una furgoneta, mientras los transeúntes reían y el desafortunado conductor intentaba sacar su vehículo.

Otros videos lo muestran bloqueando carreteras, chocando contra postes de señalización, espiando a través de las mosquiteras de las casas y aplastando alegremente conos de tráfico con su voluminoso cuerpo. (Hasta la fecha, no ha amenazado a ninguna persona).

Su estrellato no ha hecho más que crecer con cada visita, ganándose fans incondicionales en todo el mundo e incluso una canción propia. “Está más indomable que nunca”, se leía en el pie de foto de un video en una página de fans de TikTok con más de 1,7 millones de seguidores.

“Aparece en anuncios publicitarios, en anuncios de seguros locales, así que sí, definitivamente se ha convertido en un ícono”, comentó Thomson.

Sin embargo, las autoridades advirtieron que su viralidad había atraído demasiada atención, lo que podría poner en peligro su seguridad, un problema que se agravará a medida que aumente su tamaño y su popularidad en línea se dispare.

La historia de Neil comenzó en 2020, cuando nació en la costa sureste de Tasmania, no muy lejos de Hobart.

Esto ya era inusual. La mayoría de los elefantes marinos del sur en esta región nacen en la deshabitada isla Macquarie, a unos 1.500 kilómetros al sur de Hobart, y regresan al mismo lugar para reproducirse y dar a luz, indicó Clive McMahon, ecólogo investigador del Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Sydney.

Pero la madre de Neil, que era joven e inexperta, tal vez no llegó a tiempo a la isla Macquarie. Estaba a punto de dar a luz, y las playas de Tasmania estaban justo allí, así que Neil nació.

Los elefantes marinos “regresan al lugar donde nacieron. Así que Neil está haciendo exactamente lo que esperaríamos de un buen elefante marino… solo que está comportándose con normalidad en un lugar extraño”, comentó McMahon, quien también vive en Hobart.

En las últimas cuatro décadas, según los científicos, solo un puñado de elefantes marinos del sur han nacido y sobrevivido en Tasmania, de acuerdo con el Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Medio Ambiente de Tasmania (NRE Tas).

Los residentes de las ciudades costeras del sur de Tasmania ven a Neil varias veces al año en tierra, donde está legalmente protegido como especie vulnerable.

Está su época de muda en diciembre y enero, cuando las focas se desprenden de su pelaje viejo y de la capa exterior de su piel. Está la época de rep

CNN

By Laura Sharman, CNN

(CNN) — A US citizen working for a humanitarian group in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Friday.

The CDC said it is working with the patient’s employing organization, other federal agencies and partners in the DRC to help prevent further transmission and identify high-risk contacts.

No other details have been released about the patient. CNN has reached out to the CDC and the State Department for comment.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC has increased to 1,830 including 648 deaths, government data showed late on Friday, Reuters reported.

No Ebola cases have been confirmed in the United States and “the overall risk to the American public and travelers remains low,” according to the latest data published Saturday on the CDC website. The outbreak remains confined to remote areas of the DRC and neighboring Uganda, and the risk of it spreading to the US is “considered very low,” it said.

In May, the international charity Serge reported that an American Christian missionary physician – Dr. Peter Stafford – had “tested positive” after “presenting symptoms consistent with the virus.”

His wife, Dr. Rebekah Stafford and another physician, who were treating patients in the DRC when the outbreak began, as well as the Staffords’ four children – all aged under seven – were monitored for signs of the virus, the charity said.

The family, who had been living in DRC since 2021, was evacuated to Berlin, Germany, where Stafford was quarantined and treated in hospital.

“That was a difficult time,” he said in an exclusive CNN interview after his recovery. “I had a high fever, I had weakness, at times too difficult even to walk on my own.”

Rebekah Stafford recalled feeling overwhelmed as she watched global efforts mobilize to help her husband, also aware that their Congolese friends wouldn’t receive the same level of care.

Despite their ordeal, she said their children are “doing really well.”

“Our oldest son definitely understood, telling our kids ‘hey guys, your dad has Ebola,’” she said, recalling having to explain that they couldn’t touch him, go in his room or be sure he would recover.

Last month, the first case of Ebola outside Africa was reported during the second largest outbreak on record in the DRC.

The patient, also a humanitarian worker, tested positive in France after returning home from a mission in the DRC, the French Health Ministry said.

This was the first reported case in France.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

The post US citizen working in DR Congo tests positive for Ebola appeared first on News Channel 3-12.