IRVING, Texas (AP) — A rape allegation against rapper Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation has produced some of the NFL's entertainment presentations including the Super Bowl halftime show, won’t impact the league's relationship with the music mogul. “We’re aware of the civil allegations and Jay-Z’s really strong response to that," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday after the conclusion of the league's winter meetings. "We know the litigation is happening now. From our standpoint, our relationship is not changing with them, including our preparations for the next Super Bowl.” A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs, alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 when she was 13 years old, amended the lawsuit Sunday to include a new allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, said the rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt . The 24-time Grammy Award winner called the allegations “idiotic” and “heinous in nature” in a statement released by Roc Nation, one of his companies. The NFL teamed up with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019 for events and social activism. The league and the entertainment company extended their partnership a few months ago. Kendrick Lamar will perform the Super Bowl halftime show at The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9. Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show. Beyonce, who is married to Jay-Z, will perform at halftime of the Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans game on Christmas. “I think they’re getting incredibly comfortable with not just with the Super Bowl but other events they’ve advised us on and helped us with,” Goodell said. “They’ve been a big help in the social justice area to us on many occasions. They’ve been great partners.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
The meeting with Collins was closely watched as she is seen as more likely than most of her Republican Senate colleagues to vote against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks.Chelsea’s surprise defeat at home to Fulham earlier in the day had been an unexpected gift for Arne Slot’s side and they drove home their advantage by outclassing the struggling Foxes. Having overcome the early setback of conceding to Jordan Ayew, with even the travelling fans expressing their surprise they were winning away after taking just five points on the road this season, the home team had too much quality. That was personified by the excellent Cody Gakpo, whose eighth goal in his last 14 appearances produced the equaliser in first-half added time with the Netherlands international unlucky to have a second ruled out for offside by VAR. Further goals from Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah, with his 19th of the season, stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 22 matches. For Leicester, who had slipped into the bottom three after Wolves’ win over Manchester United, it is now one win from the last 10 in the league and Ruud van Nistelrooy has plenty of work to do, although he was not helped here by the absence of leading scorer Jamie Vardy through injury. It looked liked Liverpool meant business from the off with Salah’s volley from Gakpo’s far-post cross just being kept out by Jakub Stolarczyk, making his league debut after former Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward was omitted from the squad having struggled in the defeat to Wolves. But if the hosts thought that had set the tone they were badly mistaken after being opened up with such simplicity in only the sixth minute. Stephy Mavididi broke down the left and his low cross picked out Ayew, who turned Andy Robertson far too easily, with his shot deflecting off Virgil van Dijk to take it just out of Alisson Becker’s reach. With a surprise lead to cling to Leicester knew they had to quell the storm heading their way and they began by trying to take as much time out of the game as they could, much to Anfield’s frustration. It took a further 18 minutes for Liverpool to threaten with Gakpo cutting in from the left to fire over, a precursor for what was to follow just before half-time. That was the prompt for the attacks to rain down on the Foxes goal, with Salah’s shot looping up off Victor Kristiansen and landing on the roof of the net and Robertson heading against a post. Gakpo’s inclination to come in off the left was proving a problem for the visitors, doing their utmost to resist the pressure, but when Salah curled a shot onto the crossbar on the stroke of half-time it appeared they had survived. However, Gakpo once again drifted in off the flank to collect an Alexis Mac Allister pass before curling what is fast becoming his trademark effort over Stolarczyk and inside the far post. Early the second half Darwin Nunez fired over Ryan Gravenberch’s cross before Jones side-footed home Mac Allister’s cross after an intricate passing move inside the penalty area involving Nunez, Salah and the Argentina international. Leicester’s ambition remained limited but Patson Daka should have done better from a two-on-one counter attack with Mavididi but completely missed his kick with the goal looming. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/IqmAsKylLR — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2024 Nunez forced a save out of the goalkeeper before Gakpo blasted home what he thought was his second only for VAR to rule Nunez was offside in the build-up. But Liverpool’s third was eventually delivered by the left foot of Salah, who curled the ball outside Kristiansen, inside Jannick Vestergaard and past Stolarczyk inside the far post.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday passed a $895 billion measure that authorizes a 1% increase in defense spending this fiscal year and would give a double-digit pay raise to about half of the enlisted service members in the military. The bill is traditionally strongly bipartisan, but some Democratic lawmakers opposed the inclusion of a ban on transgender medical treatments for children of military members if such treatment could result in sterilization. The bill passed the House by a vote of 281-140 and will next move to the Senate, where lawmakers had sought a bigger boost in defense spending than the current measure allows. Lawmakers are touting the bill's 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others as key to improving the quality of life for those serving in the U.S. military. Those serving as junior enlisted personnel are in pay grades that generally track with their first enlistment term. Lawmakers said service member pay has failed to remain competitive with the private sector, forcing many military families to rely on food banks and government assistance programs to put food on the table. The bill also provides significant new resources for child care and housing. “No service member should have to live in squalid conditions and no military family should have to rely on food stamps to feed their children, but that's exactly what many of our service members are experiencing, especially the junior enlisted,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “This bill goes a long way to fixing that.” The bill sets key Pentagon policy that lawmakers will attempt to fund through a follow-up appropriations bill. The overall spending tracks the numbers established in a 2023 agreement that then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached with President Joe Biden to increase the nation’s borrowing authority and avoid a federal default in exchange for spending restraints. Many senators had wanted to increase defense spending some $25 billion above what was called for in that agreement, but those efforts failed. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who is expected to serve as the next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the overall spending level was a “tremendous loss for our national defense," though he agreed with many provisions within the bill. “We need to make a generational investment to deter the Axis of Aggressors. I will not cease work with my congressional colleagues, the Trump administration, and others until we achieve it,” Wicker said. House Republicans don't want to go above the McCarthy-Biden agreement for defense spending and are looking to go way below it for many non-defense programs. They are also focused on cultural issues. The bill prohibits funding for teaching critical race theory in the military and prohibits TRICARE health plans from covering gender dysphoria treatment for children under 18 if that treatment could result in sterilization. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the ranking Democratic member of the House Armed Services Committee, said minors dealing with gender dysphoria is a "very real problem." He said the treatments available, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, have proven effective at helping young people dealing with suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression. “These treatments changed their lives and in many cases saved their lives,” Smith said. “And in this bill, we decided we're going to bar servicemembers' children from having access to that.” Smith said the number of minors in service member families receiving transgender medical care extends into the thousands. He could have supported a study asking medical experts to determine whether such treatments are too often used, but a ban on health insurance coverage went too far. He said Speaker Mike Johnson's office insisted upon the ban and said the provision “taints an otherwise excellent piece of legislation.” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called the ban a step in the right direction, saying, “I think these questions need to be pulled out of the debate of defense, so we can get back to the business of defending the United States of America without having to deal with social engineering debates.” Smith said he agrees with Roy that lawmakers should be focused on the military and not on cultural conflicts, “and yet, here it is in this bill.” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, said his team was not telling Democrats how to vote on the bill. “There's a lot of positive things in the National Defense Authorization Act that were negotiated in a bipartisan way, and there are some troubling provisions in a few areas as well,” Jeffries said. The defense policy bill also looks to strengthen deterrence against China. It calls for investing $15.6 billion to build military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. The Biden administration had requested about $10 billion. On Israel, the bill, among other things, includes an expansion of U.S. joint military exercises with Israel and a prohibition on the Pentagon citing casualty data from Hamas. The defense policy bill is one of the final measures that lawmakers view as a must-pass before making way for a new Congress in January.KINGSTON, Jamaica — Several schoolboys who were arrested following the circulation of a video depicting the violent sexual assault of a schoolgirl have been charged. They have been charged with several offences including rape, forcible abduction, knowing and producing child pornography and distributing child pornography. According to investigations, the group of male students allegedly lured the 13-year-old schoolgirl to a house where she was sexually assaulted and the act was recorded. The video has since made its rounds on social media leading to the police warning residents against sharing the video. In a statement on Monday, Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says it is providing psychological intervention for the 13-year-old victim who was observed on video being physically abused while being sexually assaulted by a group of male teens. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Laurette Adams-Thomas said, “We were made aware of the video early Saturday morning on November 23, 2024. Our investigating team located the victim and her family and met with them on Sunday, November 24, 2024 where brief counselling was provided. The child was referred to the Victims Services Division for additional support. She is also to receive a medical assessment today, Monday, January 25, 2024 and we will continue to work with the family through our Children and Family Support Unit (CFSU).” She continued, “We strongly condemn this despicable act that was meted out to this girl. The levels of violence we continue to see being displayed by our children are of grave concern. Sadly, this also seems to be a reflection of the violence and disrespect towards women and girls that permeate our society. We need to do more now to protect our children and future. These kinds of maladaptive behaviours in our schools and communities must not be condoned and we must teach our boys that masculinity is not synonymous with abuse.” The child protection agency CEO further sought to remind and encourage individuals to report any and all forms of child abuse using the 24-hour child abuse reporting hotline 211. She added that child abuse reports may be made through WhatsApp/text at 876-878-2882, e-mail report@childprotection.gov.jm or by visiting any CPFSA parish office, or through our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) @cpfsajm. READ: Police arrest schoolboys over ‘disturbing’ video; Gov’t ministers condemn incident
A psychiatric report will be prepared on a man over a one-day crime spree in Lavington during which he threatened several people, including one with a knife. or signup to continue reading In one incident, Izzac James Williams made his way into a woman's unit in Klose Street, causing her great distress. "No, no, no, you know me," Williams told the woman, throwing his right arm forward as if to shake hands. In fear, she walked backwards as Williams then said: "I'm Michael, you owe me money". The woman screamed at him, warning she'd call the police if he didn't leave, then ran outside from a sliding door in the kitchen and called out: "Please, somebody help me". In a menacing voice, Williams told the woman: "Just shut the f--- up, stop screaming". This was one of four incidents from March 10, 2024, over which Williams was charged with a series of offences. One had him telling a shopper who had parked his vehicle in the Lavington Square car park: "What the f--- are you doing? Get the f--- out of my car. I'm taking the car". The victim, Albury Local Court has heard, realised Williams was making a threat, then noticed he was holding a knife. A Coles supermarket worker approached and warned the man to "be careful, he's got a knife". Ten minutes later, about 4.15pm, Williams approached a couple who had just pulled their MG into a disabled parking space. The man got out and went inside the supermarket, but his wife remained in the car. Moments later, Williams approached the car, opened a door and got in the driver's seat. He grabbed the keys, which had been left in the door, and told the woman to "get out of my car". She refused, replying: "No, it's my car". The woman then reached over and turned off the car, but after hitting the starter button Williams grabbed her forearm and shoved it into the dashboard. The court was told the woman was petrified during the incident, which ended when he got out of the car and walked away. Williams also stole items valued at $41.20 from the Woolworths supermarket at the shopping centre, but was arrested soon after as he walked along Griffith Road while armed with the knife. Williams, 29, of Elwin Street, Narrandera, appeared before magistrate Sally McLaughlin via a video link to jail, where he is being held bail refused. He pleaded guilty to two counts of larceny, common assault, use an offensive weapon with the intention of committing an indictable offence of stealing a car, escape police custody, unlawfully obtain goods, assault with the intention of stealing a car and break and enter a dwelling with the intention of committing a serious indictable offence. The escape custody charge related to Williams not following directions when he was being moved to a bigger cell at the police station late that night. He had just told police he "had drunk too much alcohol". Williams will be sentenced on February 2, 2025. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. 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AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement AdvertisementThe world of non-fungible tokens has revolutionized the way digital assets are owned and traded. With NFTs continuing to dominate the digital landscape, the ease of creating and minting NFTs without knowing extensive coding is a game-changer. Today, so many platforms make it easy for creators, whether digital artists or entrepreneurs, to mint NFTs with ease. Here's a look at the top platforms that make NFT creation a breeze for non-coders. Purpose: All-in-one NFT marketplace OpenSea is one of the most popular platforms for creating, buying, and selling NFTs. Its lazy minting feature allows creators to mint NFTs without paying upfront gas fees. 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A given NFT can have many layers, with the layer providing various forms or states. This platform would be ideal for creators who explore dynamic and interactive art concepts. The rise of no-code NFT platforms democratizes access to blockchain technology. Creators can mint digital assets without the technical barrier of learning to code or hiring developers. These platforms also have customizable royalties, eco-friendly options, and multi-chain minting, which are versatile and sustainable. First, select a platform that best fits your needs and goals. Generate your digital art or product, upload it to your chosen platform, and go through the easy process of minting an NFT. Most of them ask for a crypto wallet set up, like MetaMask, to handle your NFTs as well as your earnings. The era of coding -free NFT creation has finally dawned, opening doors for creators worldwide. With leaders like OpenSea, Rarible, and Mintable, everyone can convert their digital assets into NFTs and join the booming digital economy. It doesn't matter whether you are an artist, a musician, or an entrepreneur; all these platforms make it effortless to monetize your creativity.
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