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Real Betis returns to Champions League after 20 years

By The Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — Real Betis is back in the Champions League after a 20-year absence.

The Spanish club beat Elche 2-1 at home in the Spanish league on Tuesday to seal fifth place and the final Champions League spot.

Betis last played in the Champions League in the 2005-06 season, when it finished third in its group behind Liverpool and Chelsea.

With two rounds remaining, Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis opened a seven-point gap to sixth-place Celta Vigo, which earlier Tuesday lost 3-2 to Levante at home.

Cucho Hernández put Betis ahead in the ninth minute and Pablo Fornals scored the winner in the 68th after Héctor Fort had equalized for Elche shortly before halftime.

Elche, which played a man down from the 49th after Léo Pétrot was sent off, stayed close to the relegation zone.

Levante moved to 16th place with its win over Vigo.

Also Tuesday, fourth-place Atletico Madrid won 2-1 at 11th-place Osasuna with goals from Ademola Lookman and Alexander Sorloth. Atletico’s Marcos Llorente was sent off in the 79th.

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

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

By WTOP Staff
▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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