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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey interim Sen. George Helmy, a Democrat appointed when Bob Menendez resigned after a federal corruption conviction , is stepping down this weekend so Sen.-elect Andy Kim can be sworn in early. The move was expected and confirmed what Helmy and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced during his appointment this summer — that Helmy would resign early so the winner of November's election could get into office before the start of the new session of Congress next month. Murphy explained the arrangement, saying he wanted the “democratically chosen winner” of this year's election to have a smooth transition into office. Kim defeated Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw on Election Day. He'll become the first Korean-American in the Senate when he is sworn in on Monday. Helmy is a former chief of staff to Murphy and has said he wasn't interested in pursuing elected office. He counted voting to confirm 20 judicial nominations and resolving more than 100 constituent cases as some of his accomplishments in little more than two months in office. Helmy said he's been working closely with Kim since his election in November to “ensure a seamless transition.” Menendez, 70, used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect the businessmen, prosecutors said. They said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt. Menendez has vowed to fight the conviction and recently filed for a new trial , citing improper evidence that was put on a computer used by jurors.COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Arkansas defensive end Landon Jackson was carted off the field and taken to a hospital with a neck injury late in the first half of Saturday's game at No. 24 Missouri. Jackson appeared to injure his neck while trying to tackle Missouri running back Jamal Roberts. Medical personnel tended to Jackson for approximately 10 minutes before he was placed on a backboard and driven to a waiting ambulance. Jackson gave a thumbs-up sign as he was carted off the snow-covered field. Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said Jackson had movement in his arms and legs but was experiencing pain in his neck. He said Jackson was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Jackson leads the Razorbacks with 9 1/2 tackles for loss and 6 1/2 sacks, and is considered a potential first-round pick in next year's NFL draft. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
No. 24 Arizona is coming off consecutive defeats for the first time in the Tommy Lloyd era when it faces undefeated Davidson on Wednesday to begin the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. Arizona (2-2) lost at Wisconsin 103-88 on Nov. 15 and followed that with a home loss against Duke 69-55 on Friday. The Wildcats have dropped 15 spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll in two weeks. Arizona's record is .500 this early in a season for the first time since it was 3-3 to start the 2017-18 schedule. "I've got work to do, so let's get to work," said Lloyd, in his fourth year as Arizona's head coach. "Let's see where we're at in a month, and if we're still struggling, you know what I'll do? I still got work to do, but I'm gonna get to it." Arizona shot 39.6 percent from the field against Duke, and just 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from 3-point range. The Wildcats were outrebounded by 43-30 and their 15 turnovers led to 19 points. Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 18 points and KJ Lewis added 12. Preseason All-American Caleb Love had eight points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range. Arizona made only one field goal in the last 5:39 as Duke pulled away after its lead was trimmed to six points. "We didn't play great," Lloyd said. "Now we need to take a step back and figure out why. Are there some schematic problems? Are there some problems with how our personnel is kind of put together? "We got to figure out what our certainties are, and the things we have to have, and then over the course of the next couple of days, if there's adjustments we need to make, we need to figure out what those are." Davidson is 4-0 after a 15-17 record last season, in which it lost its last six games to put an end to postseason hopes. A 93-66 win over visiting VMI on Friday followed a 91-85 win at Bowling Green and 76-70 victory over visiting East Tennessee State. The two wins by 10 points or fewer are important because Davidson was 6-12 in such games last season. It was 4-11 in games decided by five points or fewer. "The goal (is) to get better," Davidson head coach Matt McKillop said after the season opener. "We talk about fighting to win every possession. I think we had to figure out what that really felt like with the lights on." Davidson made 13 shots from 3-point range in the win over VMI. Reed Bailey had 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Bobby Durkin added 19 points, including 17 of them and a career-best five 3-pointers in the first half. Bailey leads Davidson in scoring (19 points per game) and rebounding (7.8). Durkin is shooting 57.9 percent (22 of 38) from the field and 54.2 percent (13 of 24) from 3-point range. By contrast, Arizona's Love is shooting 32 percent (16 of 50) from the field and 21.4 percent (6 of 28) from beyond the arc. Bradley leads Arizona with 15.5 points per game. He is shooting 50 percent (24 of 48) from the field and is 35.7 percent (5 of 14) from 3-point range. --Field Level Media
By KEVIN FREKING WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate won’t hold votes on four of President Joe Biden’s appellate court nominees as part of a deal with Republicans to allow for speedier consideration of other judicial nominations and bring Biden within striking distance of the 234 total judicial confirmations that occurred during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term. Currently, the number of judges confirmed under Biden totals 221. Republicans forced numerous procedural votes this week and late-night sessions as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., attempted to move ahead in getting more of Biden’s nominees confirmed before Congress adjourns and Republicans take control of the chamber in January. A Senate Democratic leadership aide said Thursday a time agreement had been reached to allow for consideration of seven district court judges the week following Thanksgiving. Plus, another six district judges would be placed on the Senate executive calendar, making it possible for them to be considered on the Senate floor in December. Excluded from that list were four circuit judge nominations awaiting a floor vote: Adeel Abdullah Mangi of New Jersey, nominated for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals; Karla M. Campbell of Tennessee, nominated for the Sixth Circuit; Julia M. Lipez of Maine, First Circuit; and Ryan Young Park of North Carolina, Fourth Circuit. Mangi would have been the first Muslim American to serve as a federal appellate court judge if he had been confirmed. Mangi received law degrees from Oxford and Harvard. He works in a prestigious law firm and has secured significant legal victories. But his limited volunteer work with two outside groups has imperiled his nomination. He faced opposition from some Democrats as well. The confirmation battles over circuit court judges are generally much harder fights given their role in hearing appeals from district courts and often having the last word on legal matters. Schumer’s office said the four circuit nominees lacked the support to be confirmed, and that they received more than triple the amount of other judges moving forward as part of the agreement. Related Articles National Politics | Republicans rally around Hegseth, Trump’s Pentagon pick, as Gaetz withdraws for attorney general National Politics | Trump has promised again to release the last JFK files. But experts say don’t expect big revelations National Politics | Several of Trump’s Cabinet picks — and Trump himself — have been accused of sexual misconduct National Politics | Airline CEOs and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg fight over regulations even after election National Politics | Biden has become notably quiet after the 2024 election and Democrats’ loss Liberal groups in recent weeks have been pressuring Senate Democrats to do what it takes to get all of Biden’s judicial nominees confirmed before Trump takes office again. And some expressed disappointment with the deal. “Reports that there is a deal that would leave behind critical circuit court nominees are unacceptable. All of these nominees must be confirmed expeditiously before the end of the 118th Congress,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, an advisor at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “When senators return from the holiday break, Leader Schumer and senators must do whatever it takes — for as long as it takes — to confirm every single pending judicial nominee, including all circuit court nominees, to provide an important guardrail for our democracy. No matter what, this must get done,” Zwarensteyn said. Schumer has dedicated much of the Senate schedule to getting Biden’s judicial nominees confirmed. He called it a basic responsibility of the Senate. “We’ll take that responsibility very seriously between now and the end of the year,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
David Herndon, the Kansas bank commissioner, told a joint committee of the Kansas Legislature that he continued to have reservations about the banking charter issued to Beneficient Fiduciary Financial LLC of Hesston because the law creating the unique form of banking prevented state regulators from fully reviewing operations of SFF. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Kansas banking commissioner renewed apprehension about regulatory limitations in state law that inhibit thorough examination of the unusual business granted a banking charter by order of the Kansas Legislature. State banking commissioner David Herndon said Kansas law adopted in 2022 provided the charter to Beneficient Fiduciary Financial LLC of Hesston and simultaneously forbid the Kansas Office of State Banking Commissioner from applying international evaluation standards to BFF. The statute blocked the commissioner from rating BFF in terms of capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity and sensitivity to market risk. Kansas kept state banking regulators from fully examining operations of BFF, Herndon said, despite his belief BFF’s debt instruments should be considered a “substandard asset.” Two recent limited evaluations of BFF by Herdon’s staff remain confidential, he said. In addition, Herndon last week told the Kansas Joint Committee on Fiduciary Financial Institutions that state law failed to meet requirements established by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for background checks of organizers at BFF or any other technology-enabled fiduciary financial institution, or TEFFI, authorized by the state. So far, BFF is the lone TEFFI in Kansas. “Those concerns remain, and in some cases, have deepened,” said Herndon, who had sounded alarms since inception of the TEFFI concept. “It is still impossible to conduct a meaningful safety and soundness examination.” The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation of Beneficient, the Dallas-based parent company of BFF. In July, Beneficient said the SEC closed that inquiry and wouldn’t recommend enforcement action by the SEC. However, Herndon said, financial problems at the parent company could bleed into BFF and other Beneficient subsidiaries. A series of executives associated with Beneficient and BFF offered the bipartisan House and Senate oversight committee a contrary perspective on work to implement a TEFFI law unique to Kansas. The executives said the company had faced challenges, but were bullish on prospects of generating revenue, contributing to economic development in Kansas and serving as a positive example for how business could be conducted under a TEFFI model. The heart of the operation involved Beneficient assisting wealthy individuals and business owners to exchange illiquid assets locked in investment funds for liquid assets such as cash and stock. Beneficient has no interest in the deals on expensive artwork, antique vehicles or wine collections, but has targeted private equity assets that hold value but don’t produce regular cash flow. The Kansas-endorsed business earns fees for work with these alternative assets. Twenty percent of a 2.5% cut in fee revenue must be diverted to the Kansas Department of Commerce for distribution to economic development projects across the state. The remaining 80% of this slice of fee revenue must flow to the Beneficient Heartland Foundation for economic development in Hesston. Brad Heppner, CEO and board chairman of BFF, said constraints in the U.S. economy inhibited mergers and acquisitions that would have contributed to Beneficient’s TEFFI business model. After taking Beneficient public on Nasdaq in 2023, the financial services company’s stock crashed. The 52-week high in Beneficient stock value was $51.14 per share and the 52-week low was less that $1 per share. On Tuesday, it sat at 82 cents per share. Heppner told state lawmakers he was optimistic there would be a surge during the next year or so in U.S. mergers and acquisitions. He said the forecast was based, in part, on promises made by President-elect Donald Trump. “We have turned the corner,” Heppner said. “Finally, after a pretty disastrous previous year.” He said there were no guarantee of a stronger market for alternative asset deals, “but there’s general euphoria.” In April 2022, Heppner predicted as many as 50 companies eager to operate as a TEFFI could open offices in Hesston within two years. None have done so. Rep. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican and legislative champion of BFF and Beneficient, said when the TEFFI law was created that it could attract alternative asset businesses to Kansas in the same way the credit card issuing industry boomed in South Dakota. He said two years ago a business-friendly TEFFI model could drive as much as $1 billion over a decade into Kansas. Owens is on the joint legislative oversight committee responsible for monitoring BFF. Democratic Sen. Jeff Pittman of Leavenworth, another member of the committee, said he was concerned the TEFFI concept hadn’t taken off in the way Heppner and Owens predicted in the past. He said members of the Legislature would benefit from testimony by independent experts in the banking industry who might explain what was holding back investment in the TEFFI market. During the joint committee’s recent hearing at the Capitol, testimony came from BFF associates, the state banking commissioner and the state Department of Commerce. Heppner said it was true BFF remained the lone TEFFI in the United States, but he asserted there was interest from two out-of-state groups that might be willing to enter the alternative asset business in Kansas. He didn’t identify those entities. The state banking commissioner said he’d had no inquiries from companies intrigued by Kansas’ first-of-its-kind alternative asset framework. Sen. Michael Fagg, R-El Dorado, praised BFF’s distribution of several million dollars in economic development seed grants through the Department of Commerce. The third round of grants were released by the Department of Commerce in September. Fagg lauded plans to move ahead with revitalization of Main Street in Hesston, including development of a grocery store. That work is funneled through the Beneficient’s foundation. “We wouldn’t have any of this economic development without BFF,” Fagg said. “We’re trying to promote a new idea. I wanted to personally and publicly thank them (BFF) for that.” Former state Sen. Jeff King, an attorney with Crossroads Legal Solutions who represents Benificient and BFF, said the federal SEC investigation of Beneficient came to an end. He said the Beneficient believed it was time for the Legislature to consider how the current regulatory structure had performed and how changes could more effectively attract clients. Alan Dienes, managing director and chief operating office at BFF, urged lawmakers to exempt BFF from certain regulations typical of a bank. He said state law required BFF to complete daily and monthly reports in the manner of a bank, but the TEFFI shouldn’t be treated as such. He said the 2025 Legislature should allow BFF more time to compile quarterly reports and be exempted from lending limits. “We think it’s time to start fine-tuning the statute,” he said. “The world changes a little bit.” BFF executives urged the Legislature to compel the Department of Commerce to launch a marketing campaign to recruit businesses that might make use of a TEFFI charter. BFF president Derek Fletcher said the state’s TEFFI law should be amended during the upcoming session to recognize movement toward digitization of asset ownership. He said the state’s $250,000 application fee for a TEFFI was too high, despite the scheduled lowering of that fee to $100,000 next year. He said the fee was a barrier to entry into the TEFFI business world. If the Legislature took up a TEFFI reform bill, the state banking commissioner said lawmakers should include provisions that would address voluntary or involuntary termination of BFF operations or of any subsequent TEFFI. Beneficient executives previously opposed placement into statute of language that outlined what would happen if a TEFFI was declared insolvent. In the past, Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, was unsuccessful in generating interest in legislation that would grant state regulators the authority to suspend Beneficient’s operations. Holland also had sought a state-led inquiry of Beneficient and Beneficient’s former parent company, GWG Holdings. A federal lawsuit alleges GWG Holdings misled investors by selling hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds. GWG Holdings spun off Beneficient in 2022 as the Legislature was engaged in developing a program to create the TEFFI sought by Beneficient.
Texas-Texas A&M is back on the college football menu for Thanksgiving weekend 2024. The No. 3 Longhorns (10-1, 6-1 SEC) take on the No. 19 Aggies (8-3, 5-2) in what will serve as a de facto SEC championship semifinal game. It's the first matchup between Texas-Texas A&M since 2011, with the winner moving on to play Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next weekend. Texas is coming off a 31-14 win over Kentucky last week, while Texas A&M is coming off a 43-41 loss to Auburn in four overtimes last week. Texas leads the all-time series 76-37-5, including a 27-25 win over Texas A&M in 2011. The teams square off at 6:30 p.m. CT from Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. Follow along here for score updates, highlights and more from the return of the infamous Texas-Texas A&M football matchup: Texas vs Texas A&M score updates This section will be updated when the game begins. Texas vs Texas A&M time today What channel is Team A vs Team B game on today? Texas vs. Texas A&M will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game from the booth at Kyle Field, with Holly Rowe reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO , which offers a free trial to new subscribers, the ESPN app and ESPN+. Texas vs Texas A&M history Texas vs Texas A&M predictions Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman: Texas 28, Texas A&M 20 " The emotions tell one story, but the film says another. The Aggie defense just has too many holes to hold up against a potent Texas attack and will need to win big in the turnover battle or on special teams in order to spring an upset. " Cedric Golden , Austin American-Statesman : Texas 31, Texas A&M 24 "The offensive line should be on high alert for this one. If the big boys up front protect Quinn Ewers, he will be able to make plays against this A&M secondary. The Longhorn defense is elite and it will keep quarterback Marcel Reed contained just enough to get the win. " David Eckert, Austin American-Statesman : Texas A&M 24, Texas 21 " The Texas offense has been hit-and-miss this season, and the mobility of its quarterback, Quinn Ewers, is now in question after he suffered an ankle injury against Kentucky. The Aggies are the first team Texas has played in more than a month that won't be completely overwhelmed by the Longhorns ' athleticism. " Team A vs Team B betting odds Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Saturday: Texas vs Texas A&M injury updates Injury updates from mandatory SEC availability reports : Texas: Texas A&M: Texas football schedule 2024 Texas A&M football schedule 2024 We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Is Enron back? If it's a joke, some former employees aren't laughingAdvertisement Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been embroiled in rap beef for the better part of 2024. Shortly after Lamar dropped his new album, Drake filed a petition against UMG and Spotify. Here's what you need to know about the feud that took over hip-hop this year. Kendrick Lamar and Drake's long-running feud reignited in March when Lamar dissed Drake and J. Cole on Future and Metro Boomin's track "Like That" from their latest collaborative album, "We Don't Trust You." This spiraled into a diss-track war in April and May, with Cole, Drake, Rick Ross, and Lamar all releasing new songs. At first, fans encouraged the beef between Lamar and Drake. Diss battles, which rappers use to prove themselves, are common in hip-hop, and it was seen as some friendly competition between the genre's heavyweights. Related Video We blind-tested AirPod dupes. Here are the ones we liked Feuds can also be a clever marketing tactic to help artists boost streams and sales. "Like That," for instance, topped the Hot 100 for three weeks , and "We Don't Trust You" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Lamar's "Euphoria" and Drake's "Push Ups" also climbed the Billboard chart in May. But as the beef has continued to intensify over several months, Drake has escalated his attacks legally, launching two legal actions against Universal Music Group (to which both Drake and Lamar are signed) and Spotify, accusing both companies of artificially inflating streams of Lamar's No. 1 hit "Not Like Us." But how did we get here? Here's everything to know about the beef that took over hip-hop in 2024. Advertisement Hannah Getahun contributed to an earlier version of this story. Drake and Lamar have been making digs at each other since 2013 Drake performs at Wireless Festival in 2021. Joseph Okpako/WireImage Lamar and Drake started out as friends, with Lamar opening for Drake's "Club Paradise" tour in 2012. The pair's feud began when Lamar rapped that he was better than all the rising rap stars, including Drake and Cole, when he featured on Big Sean's 2013 song "Control." "And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller / I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you n*****," he rapped. Advertisement Drake appeared to respond on the track "The Language" from his 2013 album, " Nothing Was the Same ," rapping: "I don't know why they been lyin' but your shit is not that inspirin' / Bank account statement just look like I'm ready for early retirement / Fuck any n**** that's talking that shit just to get a reaction." The two rappers last featured on the same song in 2013 and, since then, have made small digs at each other in their tracks and in interviews. In 2015, many fans believe that Lamar accused Drake of using a ghostwriter, pointing to Lamar's 2015 track "King Kunta," where he raps, "I can dig rappin', but a rapper with a ghostwriter? / What the fuck happened?" Advertisement Lamar hasn't confirmed if the "King Kunta" lyric is about Drake. Later that year, Meek Mill also accused Drake of using a ghostwriter in a since-deleted post on X, which Drake denied in a 2019 interview with Rap Radar . The pair have also taken different paths artistically, with Lamar earning critical acclaim, including winning a Pulitzer prize for "Damn" in 2018 and 17 Grammys . Drake is more commercially successful, with 15 songs with over a billion streams on Spotify compared to Kendrick's five. Advertisement Cole entered the beef after appearing on Drake's 'For All The Dogs' J. Cole apologized for beefing with Kendrick Lamar. Getty/Tim Mosenfelder Drake's 2023 track " First Person Shooter ," featuring Cole, is all about the two being the greatest rappers ever. Cole, who is friends with Lamar, references him in the song when talking about being the "Big 3" of the Hip Hop world. "Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?" Cole raps, referring to Lamar's nickname, "K-Dot," and Drake's birth name Aubrey. "We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali." Lamar was rumored to be featured in the song too, though that never materialized. Advertisement Drake ends the song by comparing his success to that of the late Michael Jackson , who is the sixth best-selling artist of all time. In October 2023, Drake scored his 13th Billboard Hot 100 No.1, tying with Jackson. Lamar's verse in "Like That" alludes to those lyrics, the song title "First Person Shooter," and Drake's 2023 album title, " For All the Dogs ." "Motherfuck the big three, n****, it's just big me," Lamar raps, adding later. "Fuck sneak dissin', first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches." Advertisement A week after the song dropped in March, Drake appeared to respond to Lamar during a concert in Florida as part of his "It's All A Blur Tour: Big As In What?" with Cole. Drake officially addresses Kendrick Lamar on stage “I got my head held high, my back straight, I’m ten f**king toes down... and I know no matter what there’s not another n**ga that could ever f*ck with me on this Earth” pic.twitter.com/4xJZ1kX8uS — Grand/THE WIZRD🔮6𓅓 (@grandwizardcn) March 25, 2024 "A lot of people ask me how I'm feeling. I'mma let you know I'm feeling," Drake said in a video shared on X. "I got my fucking head up high, my back straight, I'm 10 fucking toes down in Florida and anywhere else I go. And I know that no matter what, it's not a n**** on this earth that could ever fuck with me in my life!" Cole fired back at Lamar, then apologized two days later Kendrick Lamar has said he's a better rapper than J. Cole and Drake. Getty/Gary Miller Cole did not publicly comment on Lamar's "Like That" verse until April 5, when he released a 12-track EP, "Might Delete Later," featuring Gucci Mane, Ari Lennox, and others. Advertisement The first verse of the final track, "7 Minute Drill," appears to be a direct response to Lamar, who Cole implies is losing popularity. Rolling Stone's Andre Gee wrote that the title refers to a military drill in which officers have to explain how to respond to an enemy attack. "He still doin' shows, but fell off like the Simpsons / Your first shit was classic, your last shit was tragic / Your second shit put n***** to sleep, but they gassed it / Your third shit was massive and that was your prime / I was trailin' right behind and I just now hit mine," Cole raps. Fans believe Cole's bar about Lamar's second album references the critically-acclaimed " To Pimp a Butterfly ," as most people don't count 2011's "Section.80" as his first. "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City," is Lamar's actual second album. Advertisement Two days after the song was released, Cole apologized to Lamar during his performance at the Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina. "I just want to come up here and publicly be like, bruh, that was the lamest, goofiest shit," Cole said in a video shared on X. "And I pray that y'all are like, forgive a n**** for the misstep and I can get back to my true path. Because I ain't gonna lie to y'all. The past two days felt terrible." Cole said he felt conflicted because he respected Lamar but felt pressure from his peers and fans to respond. J.Cole speaks on his response to Kendrick and says it hasn’t felt good or right with his spirit, calling his own response “corny” and telling Kendrick to return his best shot if he feels a way pic.twitter.com/jan2jctfk9 — Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) April 8, 2024 Cole said his diss verse, and the discourse surrounding it, didn't "sit right with my spirit," adding that he hoped Lamar, who he describes as "one of the greatest motherfucker's to ever touch a fuckin' microphone," wasn't hurt by his words. Advertisement Cole was initially mocked by fans for backing down, but they have since praised him for stepping out of the situation before the beef intensified. Representatives for Lamar and Cole did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Future and Metro Boomin stirred more trouble with 'We Still Don't Trust You' Drake and The Weeknd. Getty Images On April 12, Future and Metro Boomin released their second collaborative album, "We Still Don't Trust You." While neither rapper directly dissed Drake, they enlisted The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky to do their bidding. Ross and Cole also appear on the album but don't diss Drake. Advertisement In the track "All To Myself," The Weeknd references declining to sign with Drake's OVO label, which has led to a frostiness between the two Canadian stars. "They could never diss my brothers, baby / When they got leaks in they operation / I thank God that I never signed my life away / And we never do the big talk / They shooters makin TikToks / Got us laughin in the Lambo," The Weeknd rapped. Rihanna and Asap Rocky. Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images On the track "Show of Hands," Rocky references the rumor that he slept with Sophie Brussaux , the mother of Drake's child Adonis, before the "God's Plan" rapper. Advertisement "N****s in they feelings over women, what, you hurt or something? / I smash before you birthed, son, Flacko hit it first, son," Rocky rapped. Rocky and Drake were also friends until the "Fuckin' Problems" rapper began to date Rihanna, who had an on-again-off-again relationship with Drake. On the "For All the Dogs" track "Fear of Heights," Drake disses both stars, saying sex with Rihanna was "average" and that Rocky is now stuck with her since they have children together. Advertisement Drake fires back with another diss track Future performs headlining the main stage at The Plains of Abraham in The Battlefields Park. Ollie Millington/Redferns/Getty On April 13, after the release of "We Still Don't Trust You," another diss track recorded by Drake, "Push Ups," surfaced online. Although Drake spends most of the four-minute track dissing Lamar, there are a few shots fired at The Weeknd, Ross, Cole, Future, and Metro Boomin. Drake mocked Lamar's latest album, "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers," his appearances on Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift's pop songs, and suggested that Lamar's former label, Top Dawg Entertainment, took 50% of profits from the "Humble" rapper's songs. Advertisement "How the fuck you big steppin with a size-seven men's on? / Your last one bricked, you really not on shit," Drake rapped. "Maroon 5 need a verse, you better make it witty / Then we need a verse for the Swifties / Top say drop, you better drop and give him 50." Drake also rapped that SZA, Travis Scott, and 21 Savage were bigger names in the hip-hop world than Lamar. Later in the track, Drake references Cole's diss track and apology. Advertisement "And that fuckin' song y'all got is not starting beef with us / This shit brewin' in a pot, now I'm heating up / I don't care what Cole think, that Dot shit was weak as fuck," Drake rapped. Metro Boomin in September 2023. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Later in the track, Drake raps that he gave Future his first No. 1 hit, referring to Drake's 2021 song "Way 2 Sexy," which he features on. Drake also says The Weeknd wastes his money, and Metro Boomin should "shut your ho ass up and make some drums, n****." Taking aim at Ross, he says the 48-year-old rapper is too old to join the rap beef and owes his chart success to him. Drake also appears to reference Ross' friendship with Diddy, who was accused of sexual misconduct by four people in the last year. Advertisement "Spend that lil' check you got and stay up out my business / Worry 'bout whatever goin' on with you and...," Drake says, trailing off at the end. Rocky was the only one spared from the track. Ross quickly recorded and released a response, "Champagne Moments," where he calls Drake a "white boy," claims the rapper got a nose job, and stole his flow from Lil Wayne. Ross also repeats the ghostwriter allegations, and has continued to make fun of Drake's nose on social media. Advertisement On April 14, Drake shared a text message with his mother in which she asked about the nose job rumor. Drake responded in the message that Ross is just "angry and racist" and he'll "handle it." Drake officially released 'Push Ups' and another track aimed at Lamar Drake used an AI version of Tupac Shakur's voice in his latest diss track, "Taylor Made Freestyle." Raymond Boyd / Getty Images / Prince Williams / Wireimage On April 19, a week after the leak, Drake officially released "Push Ups" alongside a new diss track directed at Lamar called "Taylor Made Freestyle." In the latter track, Drake taunts Lamar to respond to "Push Ups," mocks Lamar's complex rap verses, and says the rapper is a puppet of the industry and Swift. Advertisement For the track, Drake used AI to generate the voices of the late Tupac Shakur, widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, and Snoop Dogg, making it sound like they rapped the first two verses. Drake's use of Tupac may be a reference to Lamar's track "Mortal Man," from his 2015 album "To Pimp a Butterfly." At the end of the track, Lamar samples a 1994 Tupac interview to simulate a conversation between the two rappers. Some fans criticized the use of AI in "Taylor Made Freestyle" particularly as Tupac was unable to consent. Advertisement Snoop responded to the song on April 20 in a jokey Instagram video where he reacts to people messaging him about Drake using his voice. View this post on Instagram A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) "They did what? When? How? Are you sure?" he says. "I'm going back to bed. Good night." On April 24, Billboard reported that Tupac's estate had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Drake for using his voice. Advertisement "The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac's voice and personality," the estate's lawyer Howard King said. "Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac's publicity and the estate's legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use." Two days later, Drake removed the song from social media and streaming platforms, though copies of the song are still available online. Related stories Lamar spelled out the things he hates about Drake in the song 'Euphoria' Kendrick Lamar performs at Rolling Loud Miami in 2022. Jason Koerner/Getty Images On April 30, Lamar released "Euphoria," a damning six-minute response to Drake. Advertisement In the track, Lamar calls Drake a "scam artist," "a master manipulator and habitual liar," mocks the Canadian rapper for imitating Black American culture, and claims that the "One Dance" artist has 20 ghostwriters. Lamar also says he is a better father than Drake. Halfway through the track, Lamar raps: "I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress / I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it's gon' be direct / We hate the bitches you fuck, 'cause they confuse themself with real women." 'Fans also believe the lyrics "have you ever paid five hundred thou' like to an open case?" refer to Drake paying 532,000 New Zealand dollars in 2019 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault. Drake denied the claim at the time. Advertisement Later in the track, Lamar hits out at Drake's use of AI in "Taylor Made Freestyle." "I'd rather do that than let a Canadian n**** make Pac turn in his grave," Lamar raps, later adding. "Am I battlin' ghost or AI?" Lamar also implies that Drake sent a cease-and-desist letter to get "Like That," the song that reignited the beef, removed. Advertisement "Try cease and desist on the 'Like That' record? / Ho, what? You ain't like that record?" Lamar raps on the track. In response to the song, Drake continued to taunt Lamar by posting a clip from "10 Things I Hate About You" on his Instagram story. Lamar warned Drake about enemies in his own entourage in his latest track, '6:16 in LA' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) "6:16 in LA," released May 3, is a shorter track than "Euphoria" and only features one verse. Advertisement Lamar begins the verse rapping about his success before turning his attention to Drake. Instead of insulting Drake, Lamar claims that the "Push Ups" rapper's circle has been feeding him lies, leaking information about him, and hoping for his downfall. "Have you ever thought that OVO was workin' for me? / Fake bully, I hate bullies, you must be a terrible person / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it," Lamar raps. Later, he continues: "A hunnid n***** that you got on salary, and twenty of 'em want you as a casualty / And one of them is actually, next to you / And two of them is practically tied to your lifestyle, just don't got the audacity to tell you." Advertisement Fans believe Lamar's lyric, "It was fun until you start to put money in the streets / Then lost money, 'cause they came back with no receipts," implies that Drake tried to pay for dirt on the "DNA" rapper. Later in the track, Lamar also calls out Drake for "playin' dirty" in his feuds by enlisting the help of Twitter bots and celebrities like Zack Bia to stir public opinion against his enemies. "But your reality can't hide behind Wi-Fi / Your lil' memes is losing steam, they figured you out," Lamar added. Advertisement The diss track's layers go beyond the lyrics, as fans have been analyzing the cover art, the track's title, and even the producers. "6:16" was Tupac's birthday, but it is also Father's Day, which relates to Lamar's taunts about Drake's parenting skills. "6:16 in LA" also parodies Drake's song titles, which often feature location names and timestamps. The song is co-produced by Jack Antonoff, Swift's longtime producer and friend, which is likely aimed at Drake's Taylor Swift disses. Meanwhile, the cover art features a black leather glove with a Maybach logo on it. The black leather glove could refer to Drake's 2020 song "Toosie Slide," where the rapper compares himself to Michael Jackson in the line "Black leather glove, no sequins." Advertisement Meanwhile, the logo could refer to Rick Ross' music label, Maybach Music Group. Drake ramped things up in 'Family Matters,' which he dropped alongside a music video On May 3, Drake released "Family Matters," a seven-and-a-half-minute response to Lamar's back-to-back diss tracks, which appears to respond to some of "Euphoria," firstly Lamar's decision to question Drake's quality as a father. "You mentioned my seed, now deal with his dad / I gotta go bad, I gotta go bad," Drake rapped in the first few lines of the track. Advertisement Later, he takes shots at Lamar's son, Enoch: "Why you never hold your son and tell him say cheese / We could have left the kids out of this don't blame me." "I heard that one of them little kids might be Dave Free," Drake also raps, suggesting that one of Lamar's two children he shares with his longtime partner was fathered by one of Lamar's creative partners. Drake ramps things up toward the song's end when he makes the unfounded claim that Lamar has domestically abused a partner. "They hired a crisis management team / To clean up the fact that you beat on your queen," he raps, "The picture you painted ain't what it seems." Advertisement On the track, Drake also addresses the cease-and-desist he was sent over "Taylor Made Freestyle," rapping that Lamar "begged" the family of Shakur to take legal action and have the song taken down. At the song's close, he brings it back to their respective children and takes one final swipe at his opponent, rapping: "Our sons should go play at the park / Two light-skinned kids, that shit would be cute / Unless you don't want to be seen with anyone that isn't Blacker than you." Drake also dropped a music video alongside the song, which shows a red minivan, similar to that on the cover of Lamar's "good kid, m.A.A.d city" being driven across the border to Canada and destroyed. Later in the video, Drake is shown having dinner at the same Chinese restaurant Lamar rapped about in "Euphoria." Advertisement Minutes later, Lamar responded, directly addressing Drake's son, mom, and dad on 'Meet the Grahams' Lamar's "Meet the Grahams" arrived minutes after Drake's "Family Matters" dropped and saw the rapper directly address each member of Drake's family. Related stories "Dear Adonis, I'm sorry that that man is your father, let me be honest / It takes a man to be a man, your dad is not responsive," he begins the track. "I look at him and wish your grandpa woulda wore a condom / I'm sorry that you gotta grow up and then stand behind him." In the second verse, Lamar turns his attention to Drake's mom and dad, rapping that the pair "gave birth to a master manipulator." Advertisement "You raised a horrible fuckin' person, the nerve of you, Dennis," the track continues. "Sandra, sit down, what I'm about to say is heavy, now listen / Your son's a sick man with sick thoughts." Another verse, addressed to a "baby girl," implies that Drake has fathered a second child beyond his son that he has kept secret, while the final verse brings things back to Drake himself, where Lamar justifies taking such personal shots at his rival. "Dear Aubrey, I know you probably thinkin' I wanted to crash your party / But truthfully, I don't have a hatin' bone in my body / This supposed to be a good exhibition within the game / But you fucked up the moment you called out my family's name." Advertisement Lamar refuses to let Drake breathe and releases yet another track, 'Not Like Us' In "Not Like Us," Lamar appears to directly respond to Drake's "Family Matters" diss, referencing the track's title in the song lyrics. "The family matter, and the truth of the matter / It was God's plan to show you're the liar," Lamar raps, also giving a nod to Drake's 2018 track "God's Plan." The art for the song is an aerial view of Drake's mansion near Toronto, Variety reported. The image also has pins on the mansion, resembling those used on sex offender maps, leading fans to believe Lamar is suggesting Drake's house is full of sexual predators. Advertisement On the track, Lamar said Drake is a "colonizer" and that he got his "street cred" with the help of other rappers, including Future, Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Quavo, and 2Chainz. Lamar also made the unsubstantiated claim that Drake and his entourage are pedophiles. "Certified lover boy? Certified pedophile," Lamar rapped, referring to the title of Drake's 2021 album. "To any bitch that talk to him and they in love / Just make sure you hide your lil' sister from him." Advertisement Drake responds to Lamar's accusations in 'The Heart Part 6' On May 5, Drake released a response to "Not Like Us" and "Meet the Grahams" in the form "The Heart Part 6." The title is a reference to Lamar's "The Heart" song series. The song denies many of Lamar's claims. Drake raps that the people feeding Lamar information about him are "all clowns" and says that Lamar was purposefully given false information about him secretly fathering an 11-year-old daughter. (In "Meet the Grahams" Lamar sings about a "baby girl" that he says Drake abandons.) "We plotted for a week and then we fed you the information / A daughter that's 11 years old, I bet he takes it / I thought about giving a fake name and a destination / but you so thirsty you not concerned with investigation," Drake raps in his response. Advertisement Later in the verse, Drake denied the pedophile claims. "Only fuckin' with Whitneys, not Millie Bobby Browns, I'd never look twice at no teenager," he rapped, referring to the rumor that Drake's friendship with "Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown when she was a child was inappropriate. He rapped later: "If I was fucking young girls, I promise I'd have been arrested / I'm way too famous for this shit you just suggested." Advertisement On June 5, Billboard reported that Drake had deleted the Instagram post promoting the song. A security guard outside Drake's mansion is injured and three people try to break into the home Drake at Scotiabank Arena on March 18, 2022 in Toronto, Canada. Cole Burston/Getty Images In the week following the release of "Not Like Us," a shooting took place outside Drake's mansion, and there were also reports of people trying to break into the property. On May 7, Canadian publication CBC reported that a security guard was shot and seriously injured outside Drake's mansion at Park Lane Circle. Advertisement On May 8, CNN reported a person tried to enter Drake's mansion a day after the shooting. Then, on May 9, TMZ reported that a second person tried to enter Drake's property around 3:30 p.m. ET. On May 11, TMZ reported that a third person tried to break into the home but was stopped by Drake's security. While officers never linked any of the incidents to the rap beef, tensions were high since they all occurred shortly after the release of "Not Like Us." Amid the incidents, Drake complained on his Instagram Story about the media helicopters surrounding his home. Advertisement On May 11, Drake wrote in a post addressing Canadian news organization CP24, "Can we discuss the chopper flight times over the house 'cause I won't lie, I'm trying to sleep. Anytime after 3 pm works great for me," he wrote. Drake appears to have stepped down from the beef, and Lamar's label says the 'battle is over' Kendrick Lamar headlines Glastonbury Festival in 2022. Samir Hussein/WireImage Drake seemed to suggest he was bowing out of the feud with Lamar in "The Heart Part 6" when he said: "You could drop a hundred more records, I'll see you later / Yeah, maybe when you meet your maker / I don't wanna fight with a woman beater, it feeds your nature." While some fans doubted this, it seems he was serious. On May 11, Drake posted an illustration of a samurai standing up against an army on his Instagram Story and captioned the post, "Good times. Summer vibes up next," which seemed to suggest he wouldn't release any more diss tracks. Advertisement Lamar performs 'Not Like Us' five times at his Juneteenth concert The entire West Coast united on stage for the finale of Kendrick Lamar & Friends The Pop Out pic.twitter.com/9Y36quV8hm — Modern Notoriety (@ModernNotoriety) June 20, 2024 On June 19, Lamar hosted a one-off concert to celebrate Juneteenth called "The Pop Out: Ken & Friends," which was live-streamed on Amazon Prime Video and Twitch. The event featured up-and-coming West Coast rappers and major Californian stars including Dr. Dre, Jay Rock and Tyler The Creator. Lamar closed the night with his own set, opening with "Euphoria." During the performance, Lamar added a new line, "Give me Tupac's ring back and I might give you a little respect," referring to reports that Drake had bought a ring that belonged to Tupac Shakur. Advertisement Later in the set, Lamar performed "6:16" and "Like That." Lamar ended the night performing "Not Like Us" five times in a row, beginning with an intro by Dr. Dre who joined Lamar onstage. During the third "Not Like Us" encore, West Coast performers, athletes, and gang members also joined Lamar onstage to dance to the song. Lamar then stopped the performance to get a group photo. Lamar then told the audience the real focus of the concert was to bring West Coast performers and gang members together and celebrate their loved ones who had been killed. Advertisement "For all of us to be on this stage together, unity, from East Side mother-fucking LA, Crips, Bloods, Pirus, this shit is special, man. We put this shit together just for ya'll," Lamar said, referring to rival gang members onstage. "Everybody got fallen sons but we're right here, right now celebrating all of them, this shit is special," he added. After his speech, Lamar performed "Not Like Us" one more time. Advertisement During the rap beef, Drake has continually mocked the West Coast rap community, which Lamar hails from, and said the community does not support Lamar. Fans have dubbed the concert Lamar's "victory lap," saying he won the rap beef. Lamar releases a music video for 'Not Like Us' Exactly two months after releasing "Not Like Us," Lamar released a music video for the diss track on YouTube. Advertisement It stars with Lamar teasing an unreleased song before going into the "Not Like Us" track. The music video appears to take numerous digs at his rival, including a recurring image of an owl, which is the logo of Drake's label. The first time an owl appears, it is in the shape of a pinata, which Lamar breaks with a stick. Advertisement A disclaimer at the bottom of the screen reads, "No OVhoes were harmed in making this video." Later in the video, Lamar puts an owl in the cage. Both scenes seem to suggest Lamar is declaring that he has defeated Drake. Lamar's longtime partner Whitney Alford, their two children, and multiple other West Coast rappers, athletes, and dancers appear in the video, which was shot in Compton, California. Advertisement In November, Lamar surprised fans by dropping his new album 'GNX,' which included several references to his feud with Drake After months of silence, Lamar surprise-released the 12-track album on Friday, November 22. The rapper appeared to reference his beef with Drake in the album's opening track, "Wacced Out Murals." He raps: "Snoop posted 'Taylor Made,' I prayed it was the edibles / I couldn't believe it, it was only right for me to let it go." Advertisement The lyrics reference how fellow rapper Snoop Dogg shared one of Drake's diss tracks, "Taylor Made Freestyle," to Instagram earlier this year (Snoop Dogg has said he would not be taking sides in the feud). Elsewhere on the album, there is a track named "Heart Pt. 6," reclaiming the song name from Drake, who previously released his own song titled "The Heart Part 6" to mock Lamar's series of numbered "heart" tracks. The surprise album has garnered positive initial reviews from critics, rounding off a transformative year for Lamar. Advertisement Shortly after Lamar's new album arrived, Drake's company launched two legal actions against Universal Music Group and Spotify On Monday, November 25, Drake took his feud with Lamar into legal territory . Drake's company, Frozen Moments, filed a pre-action petition in a New York court against Universal Music Group (UMG), the record company that owns Lamar's label Interscope and Drake's label Republic Records, as well as the streaming giant Spotify . The petition accuses both UMG and Spotify of using illicit methods, such as bots and payola (otherwise known as "pay-for-play"), to inflate streams of Lamar's No. 1 hit "Not Like Us." Advertisement The filing also claims that "Not Like Us" caused Drake to suffer "economic harm." Just a few hours after the filing made headlines, Billboard unearthed another action filed by Drake's company in Texas court . The second petition, also filed on Monday, claims that UMG "funneled payments" to the radio conglomerate iHeartRadio in order to boost spins of "Not Like Us." Drake's lawyers also allege that UMG could've blocked "Not Like Us" from being released because it "attacked the character of another one of UMG's most prominent artists, Drake, by falsely accusing him of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders and committing other criminal sexual acts," per Billboard. Advertisement A spokesperson for UMG told Business Insider: "The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue." "No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear," the spokesperson added. A representative for Lamar and Drake did not immediately respond to a comment request from BI. A representative from Spotify declined to comment. Advertisement This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Shohei Ohtani wins his third MVP and first in the NL following a historic offensive season with the Los Angeles Dodgers
On a rare two-game skid, No. 24 Arizona faces DavidsonNoneDHAKA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) — Internet services across Bangladesh will be disrupted temporarily for three hours on the night of Dec. 2 due to maintenance of the country’s first submarine cable. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp SEA-ME-WE 4, the country’s first submarine cable system, is located in Cox’s Bazar district, some 400 km southeast of capital Dhaka. According to a recent statement by the Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC, from 3:00 a.m. local time to 5.59 a.m. on Dec. 2, maintenance will be conducted near the Chennai Landing Station in India and the Tuas Landing Station in Singapore. During this time, Internet services will be temporarily disrupted. Internet bandwidth in Bangladesh comes mainly through two submarine cables running through the deep sea. The first cable is installed at southeastern Cox’s Bazar while the second one is at Kuakata in Bangladesh’s Patuakhali district, some 204 km south of the capital Dhaka.
Samsung Unleashes Unprecedented 80% Discount on Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6: A Limited-Time OpportunityEver since dropped his surprise album on Friday, it’s all any rap fan can talk about online. He gave them more food for thought with the video for “ ,” the album standout which he previously teased in the “Not Like Us” video five months ago. Now, fans can’t stop dissecting the pop culture references sprinkled throughout the video. While we may not be able to fully explain some of them because you just had to be there — who really knows why all our aunties had those dang panther statues in the living room — here is a breakdown of the references to Black film, music, and California in the “Squabble Up” video. The Freeway Exit Sign The video opens with a reproduction of an exit sign from the 105 Freeway that cuts through South Los Angeles. Specifically, the three eastbound exits listed — Wilmington, Central, and Long Beach Blvd. — are the ones pertaining specifically to Compton. Scrapers And African-American Flags The next big cultural reference is to scraper bikes, a fixture of Oakland, California, which grew out of lowrider car culture. In 2006, Tyrone “Baybe Champ” Stevenson Jr., aka Scraper Bike King, began modifying bicycles with scrap, cardboard, tinfoil, and paint in an effort to create a new hobby to keep youth out of trouble. Dancers throughout this scene “go dumb,” an expression of the hyphy culture that grew out of the Bay Area in the early 2000s. The African-American Flag was created by David Hammons in 1990, combining the colors of the Pan-African Flag, black, green, and red, with the flag of the United States to represent African diaspora identity in the US. Historically, enslaved Africans were banned from learning about their home cultures; as a result, the Black American identity has become a way for their descendants to create a culture of their own. Ice-T’s Album Cover That buxom young lady holding the shotgun in a revealing swimsuit is a reference to the back cover of Ice-T’s 1988 album — an album considered pivotal in the rise of both LA’s rap scene and gangsta rap overall. Ice’s then-girlfriend Darlene Ortiz posed on the cover, while the album, like , found Ice taking on rap’s heartthrob LL Cool J — sound familiar? Scramble Board This one’s a super deep cut. The dance variety show — a fixture in certain households in the ’80s and ’90s — included a recurring segment in which two dancers would try to solve a word scramble forming the name of that week’s musical guest or another notable Black figure. The Big Wheel Right around the two-minute mark, you might notice a small child on a Big Wheel tricycle in the background. This is a reference to the film . Spoiler alert for a 30-year movie: It doesn’t end well for Caine — or the kid on the Big Wheel. Isaac Hayes’ Album Cover Near the end of the video, we see a reproduction of the cover of Isaac Hayes’ fifth studio album, which included his interpretations of “Never Can Say Goodbye,” and “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” and went No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1972. Behind him, we see a box of Black Jesus prints, which ought to speak for themselves. The Roots’ “The Next Movement” This one’s admittedly a bit shaky, but as one fan on Twitter , the clip bears a striking resemblance to the one for The Roots’ 1999 single, “The Next Movement.” Like , that album also saw its principles taking steps in bringing music previously only acknowledged as underground to mainstream consciousness, while making subtle references to progressive social movements. Watch Kendrick Lamar’s “Squabble Up” video above.
Shohei Ohtani wins his third MVP and first in the NL following a historic offensive season with the Los Angeles Dodgers
New YMCA & Childcare At Ford’s BlueOval City
Shohei Ohtani wins his third MVP and first in the NL following a historic offensive season with the Los Angeles Dodgers
After entering Aleppo, Syrian insurgents advance to a nearby province in a major setback for Assad
The Pittsburgh Steelers take on what is typically an unenviable task -- traveling on a short week for a Thursday night primetime game. However, a few things are playing in Pittsburgh's favor as Week 12 of the NFL regular season kicks off. Namely, the "trip" to Cleveland is a little more than two hours by road and when the Steelers arrive there, they'll be facing a backup quarterback at the helm of a massively underwhelming 2-8 Browns team. The Steelers (8-2) are coming off a huge win over Baltimore to stay atop the AFC North. And Pittsburgh is beginning to set its sights on potential home-field advantage come playoff time. ODDS AND TRENDS The Steelers are a consensus 3.5-point favorite. That includes at BetRivers, where they have been backed by 80 percent of the spread-line money. Pittsburgh's -195 moneyline to simply win the game has been even more popular, drawing 95 percent of all money wagered. The Browns enter Thursday night having failed to cover the spread in nine of their past 12 games. Meanwhile, the Steelers have covered the spread in every game during their five-game win streak. The 37.0 total points line has seen the Over backed by 65 percent of the money and 70 percent of the total bets. Each of Cleveland's past eight November home games has gone under the total points line. PROP PICKS --Steelers WR George Pickens Over 50 Receiving Yards (-195 at DraftKings): Russell Wilson has thrown six touchdowns in the four games since he took over as the starting quarterback. Two of those have gone to Pickens, who has at least 74 receiving yards in each of those games. There is some concern that Pittsburgh gains a big early lead and turns to a run-heavy attack, but Wilson throws an excellent deep ball and that plays into Pickens' strength. This is the most popular player prop at the book. --Steelers RB Najee Harris Anytime TD (+100 at BetRivers): That potential for a run-heavy approach should benefit Harris, who found the sledding tough against Baltimore with 63 yards on the ground. He was also held out of the end zone for the second time in three games. Keep in mind that Cleveland has allowed only three touchdowns on the ground all season, but the Browns have allowed 12 through the air. Harris has a trio of scores on the ground and receiving through 10 games. KEY STAT The Browns have won the first quarter in five consecutive home games against the Steelers. THE NEWS The Steelers have certainly been locked in. They are currently riding a five-game winning streak, most recently edging the Baltimore Ravens 18-16 on Sunday. Chris Boswell booted six field goals against Baltimore, while Wilson completed 23 of 36 passes for 205 yards and an interception. Meanwhile, Cleveland continues to go through the wringer. The Browns ended up on the wrong end of a 35-14 blowout while facing the host New Orleans Saints on Sunday, marking their seventh loss in the past eight games. Cleveland now has to go up against one of the most unforgiving defenses in the league. Browns quarterback Jameis Winston is determined to direct a fundamentally sound performance against Pittsburgh, which allows the second-fewest points per game in the NFL (16.2). "It's precision passing. Getting the ball out on time. Elite operation and just doing our job. It's the simple things," Winston said. "This team (the Steelers) is not going to try and fool you. They're going to line up and say, 'Give us your best, we're going to give you our best.'" Winston threw for 395 yards and two touchdowns on 30-for-46 passing in the setback against New Orleans, with Jerry Jeudy hauling in six catches for 142 yards and a score. Star running back Nick Chubb continued to struggle since his return from a knee injury that cut his 2023 season short, finishing with 50 yards on 11 carries. INJURY REPORT The Browns could be without standout defensive end Myles Garrett, who missed practice on Tuesday because of a hip injury. Wide receiver Elijah Moore (shoulder), guard Joel Bitonio (pectoral) and cornerbacks Denzel Ward (ribs/ankle) and Greg Newsome II (shoulder) were among those limited during the session. Linebacker Alex Highsmith is dealing with an ankle issue and was ruled out by the Steelers along with cornerback Cory Trice Jr. (hamstring). THEY SAID IT Wilson is starting to feel like he might be part of something special, but he also doesn't want Pittsburgh to get ahead of itself. "I definitely think that we have a chance (to make a deep playoff run)," said Wilson, who has played in two Super Bowls. "I think the biggest thing for us is continuing to just take each week as the most important week of it all. "I think that it's not really even just the week, it's just the day, it's just the moments in between. I think the greatest teams, the greatest players, in any sport, especially the teams I've been on, is the moment -- it's never too far away. It's right here, right now. And you're just locked into that." PREDICTION Divisional road games on short weeks typically shape up as a daunting task. That's not the case for the Steelers, who will be hyper-focused to put this one out of reach early before enjoying 10 days ahead of a trip to Cleveland. With a second game against the Browns before a huge game at Philadelphia, this is not an under-manned opponent Pittsburgh will look past. --Steelers 27, Browns 19 --Field Level Media
“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, un-American threats to their lives and those who live with them,” Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. She said the attacks “ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting'”, adding: “In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire transition team are grateful for their swift action.” Swatting entails generating an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretences. The FBI said in a statement that it is “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners”. It added: “We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.” Among those targeted was Elise Stefanik, Mr Trump’s choice to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations. Her office said that she, her husband, and their three-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence in Saratoga County. “New York state, county law enforcement, and US Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism,” her office said in a statement. “We are incredibly appreciative of the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe 24/7.” In Florida, meanwhile, the Okaloosa County sheriff’s office said in an advisory posted on Facebook that it “received notification of a bomb threat referencing former congressman Matt Gaetz’s supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area around 9am this morning”. While a family member resides at the address, they said “former congressman Gaetz is not a resident”, adding: “The mailbox however was cleared and no devices were located. The immediate area was also searched with negative results.” Mr Gaetz was Mr Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general, but he withdrew from consideration amid allegations that he paid women for sex and slept with underage women. Mr Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him. The threats follow a political campaign marked by unusual violence. In July, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the then-candidate in the ear with a bullet and killing one of his supporters. The US Secret Service later thwarted a subsequent assassination attempt at Mr Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, when an agent spotted the barrel of a gun poking through a fence while Mr Trump was playing golf.
Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter spurs broader discussion on who else should be granted clemency
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