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Alabama A&M's Medrick Burnett Jr. dies after head injuryNikita Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a civil case at the High Court in the Irish capital. The jury delivered its verdict on Friday. The total amount of damages awarded to Hand by the jury was 248,603.60 euros (£206,714.31). Mr McGregor made no comment as he left court but later posted on social media that he intends to appeal. The Irish athlete has featured in multiple video games, including voice-acting a character bearing his likeness in additional downloadable content in the Hitman series. Mr McGregor’s character featured as a target for the player-controlled assassin in the game. In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately. We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all... — HITMAN (@Hitman) November 25, 2024 IO Interactive, the Danish developer and publisher of Hitman, said in a statement: “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. “Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr McGregor from our storefronts starting today.” Mr McGregor had faced an accusation that he “brutally raped and battered” Ms Hand at a hotel in south Dublin in December 2018. The Irish sports star previously told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand in a penthouse at the Beacon Hotel. Ms Hand was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital the following day where she was assessed in the sexual assault treatment unit. A paramedic who examined Ms Hand the day after the assault had told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.
AJ Events and Productions based in the USA is extensively promoting Sri Lanka as a MICE and wedding destination helping to increase arrivals and most importantly bring in more FOREX to the country. The mentor behind this initiative Andrew Keith Bates, Director, AJ Events & Productions (Pvt) Ltd, said that the first they have already hosted many MICE events and the heat event for 2024 would be held at ITC Colombo. Pix by Sudath Nishantha “This is the InfoTech global leadership summit which will bring around 150 guests from all over the world. The event will be held for two days and many of the guests will stay back, joined by their families and friends and travel round the country.” Earlier we hosted the Johnson & Johnson Summit (A landmark corporate event showcasing innovation and collaboration), TVS Credit Event (A dynamic gathering focusing on financial services), L&T Global Summit (A multinational summit fostering business growth and strategic discussions), STN Conclave (A prestigious networking platform for professionals) and General Electric Healthcare India Event (A specialized event emphasizing advancements in healthcare technology). He said that for the first two months of 2025 two more such events would be held in Colombo bringing in more than 750 visitors. “We are also planning to host a major diplomatic event, bringing together international leaders for meaningful dialogue. we aim to organize an exclusive event featuring a leading Indian artist to create a unique cultural experience.” He said that Sri Lanka with its relaxed visa procedure, good airlines, quality hotels and services backed up by biodiversity is gaining popularity as a good MICE destination. The removal of the Minimum Room Rate too was a major plus point to market MICE to Colombo.’ People have now forgotten about the negative publicity the country received and are happy with both the political and economic stability the country processes. “Due to this we have now restarted marketing destination weddings to Sri Lanka and the response especially from India is overwhelming and we will be also opening a dedicated office in Delhi at the end of the year.” We are a PCO (Professional Conference Organizers) in Sri Lanka with experience in managing events, meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE), as well as a member of the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau for all MICE events in Sri Lanka and abroad. He said that in a bid to cater to a diverse clientele across continents and personalized their services to its clients they opened two offices in India and most recently in the Maldives as well.” By January, we will open our next office in London early next year to further penetrate the European market. Our vision is to become a global leader in event management.” (SS)Public access television stations across New Hampshire face growing uncertainty as their funding declines, forcing stations to seek new sources of revenue to support community television. Funding for the television stations derives from franchise fees, a charge that appears on a customer’s cable bill. They are an annual payment by a cable company to a municipality in exchange for the use of public property to operate its cable lines. But the ongoing preference by viewers to “cut the cord” and instead opt for streaming services, as well as a growing customer preference for more customized and cost-effective television options, have led to a dramatic decrease in cable subscriptions nationwide, including in the Granite State. Nashua Community Television, a city-owned station with four public-access channels, is currently working with the city's Board of Aldermen to cover “a sizable deficit” this fiscal year, said Pete Johnson, NCTV’s education channel access director. The station, which has a $600,000 operating budget, received $383,000 in franchise fee revenues this year — down nearly 7% from last fiscal year. “We took a pretty substantial hit this year,” Johnson said. “We knew this downturn was coming (but now) we’ve blown through our reserves.” For several years, the station supplemented its revenue with money from a surplus reserve, Johnson said. But that reserve is now depleted. Since 2017, cable subscriptions in the U.S. have declined annually by nearly 5% — from 96 million subscriptions to 68 million in 2024, according to IBISWorld, a global research firm. Comcast, the largest cable TV provider in New Hampshire and second-largest in the U.S., reported a nationwide loss of over 1.8 million cable subscribers between March 2023 and August 2024. In Nashua, the revenues from franchise fees have declined 21% since 2017, when the station received $483,000. The problem, said community television advocates, lies in the federal government’s funding rules for public access stations, which are 40 years old and outdated. “Consumers are switching to other services (through broadband) that are not regulated the same way as cable,” said Mike Wassenaar, president of the Alliance for Community Media, a national trade organization. “The irony is that there is more and more video being watched today but less and less money going toward the public stations that produce local content.” The funding conundrum Franchise fees are governed under the Cable Communications Act of 1984, which sets a national policy for the regulation of cable television communications. Under federal law, municipalities are entitled to a maximum of 5% of a cable operator’s gross revenues derived from cable subscriptions and related services, such as pay-per-view orders. In New Hampshire, the local government and cable provider negotiate the percentage of this fee when initiating or renewing a franchise agreement. Municipalities may use these revenues for a variety of local purposes, including to fund public, education and government access, or PEG, channels. “There should be a related public benefit in exchange for allowing private companies to make money off of public property,” said Owen Provencher, director of Derry Community Access Media and president of the N.H. Coalition of Community Media, a group of nearly 40 public access outlets in the state. But the federal rule allows a fee charged only to cable services, not to broadband providers. “The law hasn’t caught up to the industry,” Nick Lavallee, executive director of Merrimack TV, told the Town Council at a meeting Sept. 26. “One can purchase broadband and run streaming apps to access the same video content as cable television (without paying a franchise fee),” Wassenaar said. “It’s a problem across the country, and unless there’s a change in the federal law, this problem will still exist.” Community television advocates believe that federal law should expand the application of franchise fees to all companies that use public right-of-ways to deliver video content, including internet providers and streaming services. “The broadband and fiber optics lines are going over the same public right-of-ways as the cable one,” Provencher said in an interview. Meanwhile, community television stations are already serving a large and growing viewership on internet-based platforms, particularly due to the ability to stream recorded programs, several station managers said. Jason Cote, executive director of Manchester Public Television, said a live government meeting might draw between 75 and 100 viewers, whereas the video recording of that meeting online will receive “hundreds of views.” “I brought up 10 years ago that (internet providers) should be involved in funding public access stations,” Cote said. “The federal government should be saying that this service is essential for communities.” The COVID pandemic, in addition to accelerating the market shift toward video streaming, opened new opportunities for public access television to engage audiences. For example, Nashua Community TV began covering live school sporting events because the games were closed to the public, Johnson said. The station still provides live game coverage due to its popularity. “So we find ourselves busier than ever, because people have come to expect that kind of coverage,” Johnson said. “And those are things that we want to continue for the community.” ‘Not sustainable in the long term’ As revenues shrink, some stations are seeking support from their local governments. This includes requests for additional funding or proposals to raise the franchise fee rate. The Merrimack Town Council, at a meeting Sept. 26, discussed whether to include Merrimack TV in the town budget and fund it from local property taxes instead of franchise fees. The station’s franchise fee revenue this year — $368,000 — is 7% lower than in 2021, Town Manager Paul Micali told the council. A recent study projected that the station may be operating at a deficit in three years, based on the rate of declining funds and estimated cost increases. At the meeting, Micali proposed that the council increase the franchise fee rate, from the current 3.75% of cable revenues to 5%, when the agreement is up for renewal in 2029. This increase would not resolve the problem, though it would provide a few additional years of sustainability, Micali said. Several councilors expressed concern about increasing the burden on cable subscribers for a station accessed by the broader community. Among them was Thomas Koenig, who said, “I think that’s wrong. If we need to fund it, I think we (all) need to fund it.” The council has not yet made a decision on the station’s funding. More from this section On the Seacoast, Portsmouth Public Media TV which operates PPMtv, announced in July that its channel may shut down operations after 14 years unless the city council renegotiates a 2009 agreement with the station to increase its funding. Under that agreement, the city retains $360,000 of the annual franchise fee it receives from Comcast — 5% of the company’s cable revenues — and PPMtv receives the remainder of the revenue. In prior years, the station’s share has averaged roughly between $120,000 and $130,000, said Executive Director Chad Cordner. But in May, PPMtv learned that its funding share this year would be $86,000 — a 27% drop from 2023 — and that next year’s funding is projected to be a similar amount, Cordner said. The allotted funding is barely enough to pay Cordner’s full-time salary, $46,000, and the station’s two part-time employees, at $20,000 apiece, he said. “PPMtv is tremendously underfunded as compared to other stations,” Studio Operations Manager Jake Webb wrote in an online petition seeking community support. “A more equal split of this fee would allow PPMtv to continue to operate and even grow.” The station’s Youtube channel has 14,000 subscribers, and its video library has received 4 million total views, Cordner said. The station is seeking between $50,000 and $100,000 in additional franchise fee revenues to cover equipment and programming costs, including media education workshops and internships, Cordner said. Several city councilors, at a meeting Sept. 3, expressed reservations about increasing the station’s funding from a shrinking revenue source. “Even if we gave PPMtv 100% of the franchise fee, that is not sustainable in the long term because that (revenue) will go down significantly, " Councilor Kate Cook said at the meeting. The city’s franchise fees also fund a government channel that streams municipal meetings, which has a budget of over $200,000 a year, Cook said. The council directed city staff on Sept. 3 to present recommendations at a future council meeting for ways to sustainably fund PPMtv. State solutions Despite a strong consensus in support of changing the federal law, several industry members said that is unlikely to happen. Congress would need to approve any amendments to the Cable Communications Act. The political divide in Washington already makes bipartisanship difficult, Wassenaar noted. And many lawmakers would be reluctant to support a fee on Internet services, said Lauren-Glenn Davitian, public policy director at Center for Media & Democracy, a public media advocacy group based in Burlington, Vt. The Internet Tax Freedom Act, a federal law passed in 1998, prohibits state and local governments from imposing taxes directly on the internet or online activity, including taxes on email accounts or internet access. The law’s stated intent was to support the internet’s use as a commercial, educational and informational tool. Some states, including Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts, are taking steps to aid their public access stations through legislation or direct funding. Provencher said there is currently no legislation in New Hampshire pertaining to community television funding. In February, the Maine Legislature passed LD 1967, a law that allows municipalities to charge a franchise fee to any video service provider that uses a public right-of-way, regardless of the technology employed. The law requires any provider of video, audio or digital entertainment that owns or operates facilities in the public right-of-way to have an agreement with the municipality, said Tony Vigue, a public media advocate in Maine. The bill’s stated intent is to ensure that all providers of video services, regardless of the platform, receive equal treatment in respect to franchising and regulating. “Just because the technology has changed, the town still owns a public right-of-way,” Vigue said. The law, which was not signed by the governor, went into effect in August. The Maine Municipal Association and Maine Connectivity Authority are still drafting a standard agreement form for towns and cities to use, Vigue said. Massachusetts lawmakers are considering legislation that would levy fees on streaming companies like Netflix and Roku to help fund community media. Senate Bill 2771 proposes a 5% fee on digital streaming providers, based on a company’s gross annual revenue in the state. A portion of the fee would be distributed to municipalities to support their public access television programs. The bill, introduced last year, is still under review in the Massachusetts Senate. Vermont is considering a similar bill, S.181, which is currently under committee review in the House. That bill would also charge a 5% tax on a company’s statewide revenue. Though she would like to see a legislative plan, Davitian said she does not support a streaming tax, which would result in many consumers being charged more than once for the same use of a right-of-way, such as cable customers with add-on streaming channels. “There needs to be a tax on the infrastructure, not streaming (services),” Davitian said. A separate bill, proposing a $15-per-pole attachment tax for each fiber or copper line attached to a utility pole, was abandoned by the House Ways and Means Committee in February. The bill received heavy opposition from various stakeholders, including local telephone companies, which said they wouldn’t be able to afford the cost, Davitian said. In June, the Vermont Legislature approved a one-time appropriation of $1 million in this year’s budget to help Vermont’s community television stations absorb the impact of declining franchise fees. That money is intended to be a stopgap as legislators continue to seek a funding solution, Davitian said. “It was an interesting victory,” Davitian said. “We are happy to get the money, but we didn’t get to make a public policy.” The money will be distributed through the Vermont Access Network, an organization representing the state’s 24 public access media centers, which operate more than 80 local cable channels in the state. ••• These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org .
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What if the Golden State Warriors were able to land two huge additions before February's trade deadline, including a former No. 1 overall pick? Before you rule out that Golden State could acquire both Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans and Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets in a single trade, take some time to review the details of what such a deal would look like: Golden State receives: Thomas, Williamson, and a 2026 second-round pick from Brooklyn. New Orleans receives: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, and Lindy Waters III. Brooklyn receives: Moses Moody, a 2026 first-round pick from Golden State, and a 2027 second-round pick from New Orleans (via Chicago). What does this trade give the Warriors? A championship roster around Curry. If Zion is healthy (big "if"), this is what Golden State's playoff rotation would look like: Starters: Stephen Curry, Buddy Hield, Zion Williamson, Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis Bench: Brandin Podziemski, Cam Thomas, Kyle Anderson, Kevon Looney Getting Zion would enable Golden State to put more small-ball lineups on the floor featuring Williamson at center, much like the Warriors have done in the past with Draymond. For example, a lineup with Curry, Podziemski, Hield, Anderson, and Zion would be difficult to defend. What does this trade give the Pelicans? An exit from the Zion era. Williamson has never appeared in a playoff game for the Pelicans since being drafted by the team at No. 1 overall in 2019. New Orleans would gain financial flexibility by turning Zion's $163 million owed over the next four seasons into Wiggins's $54.5 million owed over the next three seasons, the difference of which the Pelicans could use to pay Jonathan Kuminga this summer if they see him as a viable Zion replacement. Kuminga doesn't provide what a healthy Zion does (no one can), but given Kuminga's extreme athleticism and size, he'd be a great guy to add to a team moving on from Williamson. What does this trade give the Nets? A way to avoid overpaying Cam Thomas this summer. Thomas is going to demand a lucrative deal, and someone is going to give it to him, but the Nets want to keep cap space open for guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo should they become available. Rather than let Thomas walk, however, the Nets could get a lot of value by trading him this winter. In this case, turning Thomas into a first-round pick from Golden State and turning their own future second-rounder into Chicago's is a really solid package to go along with Moody, who at $43.3 million over the next four seasons is a perfect contract for a team looking to stack valuable role players at a bargain price. Why might this trade fall through? The Pelicans would probably ask for a first-rounder from Golden State in addition to Kuminga and Wiggins. That might be difficult for the Warriors to pull off if they are already giving a first-rounder to the Nets, but it's not impossible. Negotiating which two of Golden State's future first-rounders to include in the trade -- and deciding which of them go to which team -- would represent the most complicated aspect of the deal. More NBA: Warriors could surprisingly acquire $163 million Kings superstar via trade
Rhode Island beats Bryant 35-21 to claim its first Coastal Athletic Association titleFeeling betrayed by increased minority support for Trump, Black women say they’re stepping back.vKhalil Rountree Jr. experienced a spine-tingling moment during his UFC 307 defeat to light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira. Khalil Rountree Jr.’s first bid at hoisting UFC gold got off to a great start against Alex Pereira at UFC 307. He landed heavy blows in the opening rounds, and at one point had the forward-focused Pereira fighting off his backfoot in the Octagon. After putting Pereira in significant danger in the opening minutes, Pereira poured it on as the fight progressed. He turned Rountree’s face into a horror-film-like appearance as he finished the title challenger in Round 4. Despite the vast pre-fight criticism surrounding the matchup, Rountree made himself into a household name with his performance at UFC 307. While Rountree’s timeline for a return is uncertain, he wants a former titleholder for his next fight in an attempt to get back into the title mix. The scars that Rountree suffered at UFC 307 will stick with him forever. Some question whether or not he’ll be able to return the same fighter in his next bookings after sustaining such severe damage against Pereira in the cage. As Pereira ramped up pressure on Rountree at UFC 307, the title challenger experienced a frightening moment as the light heavyweight champion pressed forward. READ MORE: ‘Khamzat would destroy you’... Darren Till takes aim at Bo Nickal over historic comments about Khamzat Chimaev Alex Pereira’s power caused Khalil Rountree Jr. blindness in UFC 307 scrap In a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast , Rountree revealed Pereira caused him to go blind in their UFC 307 instant classic. “I got hit, and boom — I knew I had gotten hit hard because I started to see my vision kind of blur a little bit,” Rountree shared. “But the second one that landed, the one that actually split my eye, in that moment I went blind. But f*** it, I’m going to keep going. “I didn’t see anything after that, just light,” Rountree continued. “I didn’t see shadows, I didn’t see anything. It was like if someone put up a frosted film. So I can’t see, I’m f***ing blind. But whatever, I’m not going to give up. The sensation, I didn’t feel anything, the adrenaline was too high, but I realized it was there. My eye was f***ed up, but I’ll deal with it later.” ( h/t MMA Mania ) Rountree didn’t go into detail on the visual damage he sustained against Pereira at UFC 307, but he’ll likely have to undergo an operation at some point to repair his compromised eye. READ MORE: Nate Diaz teases boxing return in chilling post just days after Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Khalil Rountree Jr. underwent extensive surgery after Alex Pereira fight Before UFC 307, Rountree earned the title shot over top contenders like Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill by tallying five consecutive wins. He most recently finished former title challenger Anthony Smith last December, and was supposed to face Hill at UFC 303 before being suspended for obtaining a banned substance. Meanwhile, Pereira will likely return against Ankalaev in his next light heavyweight title defense in 2025. Ankalaev most recently finished Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 308 to earn the presumptive next title shot. Rountree’s line skip at UFC 307 turned into an instant classic fight with Pereira. But, the consequences of the damage he suffered against Pereira could potentially be long-term . Rountree’s admission describes the trials and tribulations fighters undergo when they battle inside the Octagon. As he prepares for his next fight camp, Rountree will remember his clash against Pereira and the momentarily period of blindness he suffered. READ MORE: Chael Sonnen makes stunning prediction about Dana White’s political futureOn Thursday, ( ) stock earned an upgrade to its , from 78 to 82. This exclusive rating from Investor's Business Daily measures price action with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The rating shows how a stock's price performance over the trailing 52 weeks holds up against all the other stocks in our database. History reveals that the best stocks often have an RS Rating north of 80 as they launch their biggest runs. Is CAE stock A Buy? CAE stock has been rallying in the last two weeks. The defense and security stock is trying to complete a cup without handle with a 25.04 . See if the stock can break out in volume at least 40% higher than normal. Earnings grew -8% last quarter, up from -13% in the prior report. Revenue also increased, from 6% to 8%. CAE stock earns the No. 32 rank among its peers in the Aerospace/Defense industry group. ( ), ( ) and ( ) are among the top 5 highly rated stocks within the group. For more industry news, check out " ."
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After Trump’s win, Black women are rethinking their role as America’s reliable political organizersNew 'welcoming' community hub Sefton Council has 'huge ambitions' for
The Prime Minister used an article in the Mail on Sunday to vow to ‘get to grips’ with the cost of welfare. Sir Keir Starmer has promised sweeping changes to crack down on what he described as the “bulging benefits bill blighting our society”. The Prime Minister used an op-ed in the Mail on Sunday to vow to “get to grips” with the cost of welfare after figures suggested more than four million people will be claiming long-term sickness support by the end of the decade. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will announce a package of legislation next week designed to “get Britain working” amid Government concerns about the projected rise. Official forecasts published by her department this week show that the number of people claiming incapacity benefits is expected to climb from a pre-pandemic figure of around 2.5 million in 2019 to around 4.2 million in 2029. Last year there were just over three million claimants. The Prime Minister wrote: “In the coming months, Mail on Sunday readers will see even more sweeping changes. Because make no mistake, we will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill blighting our society. “Don’t get me wrong, we will crack down hard on anyone who tries to game the system, to tackle fraud so we can take cash straight from the banks of fraudsters. “There will be a zero-tolerance approach to these criminals. My pledge to Mail on Sunday readers is this: I will grip this problem once and for all.” Ms Kendall’s white paper is expected to include the placement of work coaches in mental health clinics and a “youth guarantee” aimed at ensuring those aged 18-21 are working or studying.
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After Trump’s win, Black women are rethinking their role as America’s reliable political organizers
After Trump’s win, Black women are rethinking their role as America’s reliable political organizers