Italy's latest World Cup failure labeled ‘3rd apocalypse.’ It's the new norm for the 4-time champion

ROME (AP) — The first time was considered a fluke. The second was treated as a crisis. Now, withItaly failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, it has become almost expected for theonce-proud soccer nation.

APTOPIX Italy Daily Life

The four-time champion'spenalty shootout loss to 66th-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina in the qualifying playoffs comes after the Azzurri were eliminated at the same stage bySwedenahead of the 2018 World Cup and byNorth Macedoniain 2022.

A front-page editorial in the Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday labeled the latest ouster "The third apocalypse," noting "there's no longer a feeling of shock or an unexpected catastrophe. It's becoming the norm."

The issues in Italian soccer extend beyond the national team.

The last Italian club to win the Champions League was Inter Milan in 2010; while in this season's continental competition, all four Italian clubs were eliminated before the quarterfinals.

"It's like we're not ready for the big match. We're not ready when it matters … when you need to give that extra … when you have the pressure on," Salvatore Corso, a 34-year-old Italian who works in a tech startup, said after watching the Italy defeat at a pub in Rome on Tuesday.

National team neglected

Between the every-four-years failures, the national team gets neglected.

One Italy coach after another has lobbied unsuccessfully for more training camps outside the pre-set FIFA international breaks.

Under pressure from TV rights holders, Serie A consistently refuses to move up matches to give national team players more time to rest before Italy games — as evidenced when a Fiorentina-Inter Milan game featuring multiple Azzurri was held on the Sunday night before the training camp opened for these playoffs hours later on a Monday.

Advertisement

Coaches don't want the Italy job

With the failures piling up, Italy's revered coaches don't appear to want the national team job.

Roberto Mancini left his position in charge of the Azzurri before the 2024 European Championship to take over Saudi Arabia's national team.

Gian Piero Ventura, who directed Italy during the defeat to Sweden in 2017, never coached a major club.

When Luciano Spalletti was fired after Italy lost its opening qualifier to Norway last year, Claudio Ranieri turned down an offer to replace him and the much less experienced Gennaro Gattuso was hired instead.

Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina is still holding onto his job after also surviving the qualifying elimination for the 2022 World Cup.

"Next week we will make much deeper reflections on the situation," Gravina said, hinting that he could call for a new election for the country's top soccer position. "There are a lot of evaluations to consider."

Associated Press writer David Biller contributed to this report.

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

byAdministrator

in

April 01, 2026

Italy's latest World Cup failure labeled ‘3rd apocalypse.’ It's the new norm for the 4-time champion

ROME (AP) — The first time was considered a fluke. The second was treated as a crisis. Now, withItaly failing to qualify ...

Read More

“April Fools!”: Identify 26 Lies And Prove You Cannot Be Tricked

Many people have played 'Two Truths and a Lie' and pushed it to its limit. It's a well-known classic that gets people talking. But let's be honest, the lie is usually pretty easy to spot. Whether it's an over-the-top story, a nervous giveaway, or obvious social cues, the truth often wins out. This quiz is different.

In this '2 truths, 1 lie' challenge, you'll face 26 sets of statements, each containing two real facts and one convincing lie. Some of them are commonly believed myths, making them even harder to sniff out. Let's see if you can separate fact from fiction!

🚀 💡 Want more or looking for something else? Head over to theBored Panda Quizzesand explore our full collection of quizzes and trivia designed to test your knowledge, reveal hidden insights, and spark your curiosity.💡 🚀

Image credits:Ketut Subiyanto

Which factoid is actually a lie?

◯ Koalas are not bears◯ Chameleons only change colors for camouflage◯ Dogs sweat through their paws

Can you sniff out the lie?

◯ Our sun is yellow◯ Our sun is just a star◯ The Earth is closest to the sun during the Northern Hemisphere's winter

Advertisement

Find the untrue statement.

◯ Pure water is an electrical insulator◯ Water expands when it freezes◯ Human blood is only red when it's oxygenated

Which of the answer options is a lie?

◯ Sunflowers always face the sun◯ Bamboo can grow over 30 inches in a day◯ Alpine plants can melt snow

Which claim doesn't hold up?

◯ Bulls are angered by the color red◯ Bats are the only mammals that can fly◯ Elephants cannot jump

Identify the incorrect statement.

◯ Antarctica is the largest desert on Earth◯ Orcas are natural predators of moose◯ The Vikings wore horned helmets

Which of these is a total fabrication?

◯ If you lose a sense, the others can strengthen◯ Skin is a sensory organ◯ Humans have 5 senses

Which factoid is actually a lie?

◯ Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity◯ As a child, Einstein was not good at mathematics◯ Albert Einstein won a Nobel Prize

🧠 Curious to see the rest? Take the full quiz here 🧠

byAdministrator

in

April 01, 2026

“April Fools!”: Identify 26 Lies And Prove You Cannot Be Tricked

Many people have played 'Two Truths and a Lie' and pushed it to its limit. It's a well-known classic that get...

Read More

Olandria Carthen’s Swimsuit Has Dangerously Daring Cutouts for SI Shoot

Olandria Carthenhas set the internet ablaze once again with her new SI Swimsuit photos, featuring a daring cutout swimsuit.SI Swimsuitunveiled the first look at its annual issue on March 31, announcing the Love Island USA breakout star as one of the featured models. The stunning photos have since gone viral online.

Olandria Carthen stuns in cutout swimsuit for SI Swimsuit shoot in photos

Take a look at Olandria Carthen posing in a swimsuit:

Photographed by Katherine Goguen in Fort Myers, Florida, Carthen stunned in a black monokini with dramatic side cutouts. The top featured a wide halter-style neckline and transitioned into a central vertical panel, creating a 'T' shape across the torso.

Advertisement

The swimsuit had a high-cut leg, which elongated her silhouette as she posed on the sand. The open-waist design highlighted her natural curves. She wore her long dark curls in natural waves with a deep-side part.

In other photos, she sported a brown bikini set from Oseree.

The postOlandria Carthen's Swimsuit Has Dangerously Daring Cutouts for SI Shootappeared first onReality Tea.

byAdministrator

in

April 01, 2026

Olandria Carthen’s Swimsuit Has Dangerously Daring Cutouts for SI Shoot

Olandria Carthenhas set the internet ablaze once again with her new SI Swimsuit photos, featuring a daring cutout swimsuit.SI Swimsuitunvei...

Read More

Forensic Scientist In OJ Simpson And JonBenét Ramsey Cases Gave Explosive Last Confession Before Passing

Renownedforensic scientistHenry C. Lee, who famously testified in theO. J. Simpson,JonBenét Ramsey, andPhil Spectorcase, has had afinal interviewresurface shortly after hispassingon Friday, March 27, at the age of 87.

Reportedly, Lee used this final interview to addresslong-standing allegationsofevidence fabricationin several cases, attempting to clear his name and reputation.

The resurfaced claims have reignited controversies surrounding his work, leaving many wondering whether this revelation could change how his legacy is remembered.

One user wrote, "I think Lee loved the fame more than he enjoyed the science. These arenot simple mistakes that he made."

An alleged interview with forensic scientist Henry C. Lee appears to address long-standing allegations of evidence fabrication

Image credits:Paul Buck-Pool/Getty Images

Dr. Henry C. Lee was at the peak of his career from the mid-1980s through the late 1990s, a period during which he became a household name for his work on the O. J. Simpson case and several other high-profile investigations.

He served as the Director of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory from 1978 to 2000 and was appointed the state's Commissioner of Public Safety from 1998 to 2000, becoming the first Chinese American to hold such a position.

Image credits:NBC Connecticut

He also reportedly founded the Forensic Science program at the University of New Haven in 1975 and later established the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science in 1998.

At the age of 87, Lee "passed away peacefully" at his home in Henderson following a brief illness, according to a public statement by his family.

Image credits:Lee Celano/Getty Images

A few years prior to his passing, the long-standing reputation he had built began to crack when several allegations of evidence fabrication surfaced in high-profile cases, even leading to a wrongful conviction.

Reportedly, in 2023, a federal judge found Lee liable for fabricating evidence, specifically regarding bloodstains on a towel, in a 1985 case that led to thewrongful convictionof two Connecticut men.

A former student of the late forensic scientist Henry C. Lee made bombshell claims, calling one of his speeches a "confession of guilt"

Image credits:WTOL11

After serving over three decades in prison for a crime they allegedly did not commit, the state eventually reached a $25.2 million settlement with the men.

Addressing the case and the ruling, Lee told reporters at the time, "In my 57-year career, I have investigated over 8,000 cases and never, ever was accused of any wrongdoing. This is the first case that I have to defend myself."

Image credits:BoulderColorado.Gov

Advertisement

In 2007, during the trial of music producer Phil Spector, Lee faced similar accusations, withclaims that he hidor destroyed a key piece of evidence from the scene where actress Lana Clarkson was fatally sh*t.

Prosecutors alleged at the time that during a search of Spector's home, Lee found and pocketed a "small white object," believed to be a piece of Clarkson's acrylic fingernail.

"I can't imagine how Lee could sleep at night knowing his false testimony sent two innocent men to prison for thirty years," fumed one netizen

Image credits:Paul Buck-Pool/Getty Images

The judge concluded that Lee had indeed removed and withheld the item from the prosecution.

Phil was later charged with and found guilty of second-degree m**der charges and was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison, where he reportedly passed away in 2021.

These allegations, along with others, have tainted Lee's legacy,casting doubt among netizenson nearly every case he was involved in.

Image credits:Matthew Simmons/Getty Images

Comments like, "We found out years ago he would fabricate evidence and say whatever someone wanted him to if he was paid enough," and "Hemade up things. He lied," flooded social media for years.

Now, shortly after his passing, his final public interview, part of an investigative documentary project, has resurfaced, aiming to examine Lee's career and the growing concerns surrounding his forensic work.

Image credits:Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

While the specific title of the documentary has not been publicized, an insider toldNew York Postthat Lee, while addressing the allegations, said in the interview, "Logic is the bottom line for law enforcement. But I only did one thing in my life. It's to make the impossible be possible."

Meanwhile, a former student of Henry, Brent Turvey, now a forensic scientist and criminologist, told the outlet, "He got famous for getting results that no one else could."

An insider allegedly told theNew York Postwhat Lee's final confession was before his passing last week at the age of 87

Image credits:NBC Connecticut

"The problem is the pressure and celebrity of doing a great job and living up to themyth of the forensicsof Henry Lee."

He added, "[The Pressure] obviously got to him and he got to the point where he couldn't live up to that image. So, he just kept giving answers without doing examinations."

Image credits:Brad Horrigan/Hartford Courant/Getty Images

Turvey concluded by recalling a quote from Lee's commencement speech at the University of New Haven, saying, "He said, 'Just remember, it takes 25 years to build a good name and 25 seconds to destroy it.' He was always speaking out against fraud, always speaking out against negligence and incompetence."

"But, as we now know, that was a confession ofguiltto what he did in practice."

"Most of his work was exceptional however he did enjoy the publicity," wrote one social media user

byAdministrator

in

April 01, 2026

Forensic Scientist In OJ Simpson And JonBenét Ramsey Cases Gave Explosive Last Confession Before Passing

Renownedforensic scientistHenry C. Lee, who famously testified in theO. J. Simpson,JonBenét Ramsey, andPhil Spectorcase, ...

Read More

Diaries of Mao Zedong aide can stay at Stanford rather than return to China, U.S. court rules

HONG KONG — Thediaries of an aide to former Chinese leader Mao Zedongcan stay at Stanford University, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, ending a yearslong legal battle that had raised concern they could be censored if returned toChina.

Li Rui, a senior member of China's ruling Communist Party, became Mao's personal secretary in 1958. In diaries he kept for eight decades starting in 1938, Li left a rare record of Chinese history from an insider's perspective, including a firsthand account of the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing'sTiananmen Squareon June 4, 1989.

The diaries also included criticism of the Great Leap Forward, an industrialization program championed by Mao from 1958 to 1961 that caused a famine estimated to have killed as many as 40 million people.

According to Stanford, Li had directed that the diaries, along with correspondence, meeting minutes, photographs and other materials, be made publicly available for study at the university's Hoover Institution for fear they might otherwise be destroyed by Chinese authorities. His daughter Li Nanyang, a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party who lives in the United States, made the donation official shortly before Li's death in 2019 at the age of 101.

Soon after, Li's second wife, Zhang Yuzhen, sued for the return of the original diaries, saying they contained deeply personal information about her relationship with Li and that they were rightfully hers. A Beijing court ruled in Zhang's favor, but Stanford said it was denied the opportunity to appear in court and sued Zhang for control of the diaries in California.

Advertisement

In his ruling Tuesday, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said the court was declining to enforce the Beijing ruling and that Li Nanyang's "possession and donation of the Li Materials was lawful and in accordance with Li Rui's wishes."

The Hoover Institution, which has an extensive collection on modern Chinese history, welcomed the ruling.

"This decision ensures one of the most valuable firsthand accounts on the history of modern China will be freely available for study," Condoleezza Rice, director of the Hoover Institution and a former U.S. secretary of state,said in a statement.

According to the institution, witnesses for both sides testified during the trial that if the materials were returned to China, they would at the least be censored and more likely be banned.

The court said it had determined that Zhang, who is in her 90s, did not initiate the Beijing case and that her defense in the California case was most likely being funded by the Communist Party. A lawyer for Zhang, who did not testify, did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

"Li Rui was very clear in his diaries and conversations that he intended for his historic documents to be preserved and maintained by Hoover's Library and Archives," said Mark Litvack, one of Stanford's lawyers. "We are very pleased with the court's decision, that Mr. Li's wishes will be honored."

byAdministrator

in

April 01, 2026

Diaries of Mao Zedong aide can stay at Stanford rather than return to China, U.S. court rules

HONG KONG — Thediaries of an aide to former Chinese leader Mao Zedongcan stay at Stanford University, a federal judge rul...

Read More