Author: Emmanuel

Once again, the future of TikTok in the US is at stake. After a years-long tussle over whether or not to ban the app in the country, the deadline for the company to divest or sell its assets to a non-Chinese owner is up again on 5 April.A handful of potential buyers have said they’re interested in the tremendously popular social media app and various news reports have floated other types of deals, including an investment from the Donald Trump-friendly venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz or a bid from Amazon. Trump signed an executive order in January to postpone a ban-or-divest deadline until April; earlier this week he said he would “like to see TikTok remain alive”. But the path forward for TikTok, and its 170 million US users, remains murky.ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, has said it has no plans to sell the app and in court filings said that divestiture “is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally”. ByteDance and TikTok did not return requests for comment.The idea of banning TikTok originated with Trump in 2020, who said the Chinese-owned app posed a danger to national security. It quickly became a bipartisan issue and Congress overwhelmingly voted to ban the app last year. In January, the US supreme court sided with Congress and unanimously upheld a federal law requiring TikTok divest or be banned. The deadline was initially set for 19 January.The night before the deadline, TikTok shuttered the app with a message that read: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” Apple and Google also removed it from their app stores, because under the federal law they would be penalized for distributing it. In its message, the social media company said: “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”On 20 January, Trump’s first day in office, he issued the executive order that extended the ban-or-divest deadline by 75 days. Now that cutoff date is looming.While initially proposing to ban TikTok, Trump made an about-face last year while campaigning for president, having joined the app and amassed millions of followers. In September, he posted to his Truth Social account “FOR ALL THOSE THAT WANT TO SAVE TIK TOK IN AMERICA, VOTE TRUMP!” Since then, he’s been working to make good on that pledge.On Tuesday, CBS reported that Trump has been considering final proposals for TikTok. Those include plans from a long list of investors in the private equity, venture capital and tech industries. Among those investors are asset manager Blackstone, business software company Oracle, e-commerce giant Amazon, a crypto foundation and the founder of OnlyFans. Oracle is reportedly leading a coalition bid with several investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, according to the FT.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionOracle, which was co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison, has been looking to buy a lucrative stake in TikTok for years. The software company already houses all of TikTok’s US user data on its cloud infrastructure platform, a deal that came about in 2022 to address security concerns.“It is highly unlikely that TikTok will go dark again. All signs point to a deal or another extension,” said Kelsey Chickering, a principal analyst for Forrester. “If TikTok divests in the US, the real question is whether its algorithm comes with the sale. TikTok without its algorithm is like Harry Potter without his wand – it’s simply not as powerful.”

Since being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, CC Sabathia hasn’t had much time to reflect on the honor. Sabathia was quickly whisked to Cooperstown the day after the announcement along with the others elected, and he has been all over since. He made an appearance in Tokyo for the Los Angeles Dodgers-Chicago Cubs series at the Tokyo Dome. He visited the New York Yankees during spring training.And he’s seen his son, Carsten Sabathia III, play for the Houston Cougars. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM CC Sabathia and his mother, Margie Sabathia, hug after Sabathia receives the Baseball Hall of Fame call at home in Alpine, N.J., Jan. 21, 2025. (Imagn)It’s been a whirlwind since that night, when Sabathia, surrounded by family and friends, achieved the goal he’d been dreaming of since picking up a baseball. He’s started writing his Hall of Fame speech, something that can be nerve-wrecking for men who have lived through intense pressure during their playing careers. Sabathia revealed to Fox News Digital what he’s hoping to get across with his words.”I feel like I want the theme of it to be … I was raised around a lot of strong Black women. And I feel like, without them, I would not be able to be in this position,” Sabathia said. “I kind of want that to be the theme of my speech. I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but that’s kinda what I’ve been thinking about since I got elected. CC SABATHIA’S PASSION FOR GOLF CONTINUES TO IMPACT YOUTH THROUGH PITCH IN FOUNDATION’S ANNUAL TOURNAMENT”Just all the positive Black women that have been in my life that got me to this point, whether it’s my grandmother, my mom, her friends, my aunts, my wife. So, I think I want that to be the theme of my speech.”Sabathia has been open about the women in his life, beginning with his grandmother, whose backyard had a grapefruit tree that provided the perfect practice objects even if they weren’t baseballs. He would pitch them at a folding chair to hone his skills. His mother Margie sacrificed for him with his father in and out of the picture to make sure he had everything he needed to succeed. In 2019, Margie said she used to put on catcher’s gear to be the other half of the battery for her son. And his wife, Amber, his high school sweetheart, was there every step of the way as they built a family and charitable foundation off the field while he was mowing down hitters on it.  New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia poses with his family (left to right) daughter Cyia, wife Amber, son Carter and daughter Jaeden. (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)Not only are strong Black women a crucial element of Sabathia’s story. Black culture played a big role in the star he became. Baseball fans know all about Sabathia’s crooked hat, baggy jersey and the stylish Jordans he used to wear for every start. Given he grew up in an era when hip-hop exploded and eventually played where that genre was born, in New York, Sabathia embodied the very person he dreamed of seeing on a baseball diamond growing up in Vallejo, California. “I grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I grew up with the birth of it. So, I was kinda raised with that genre of music,” he explained. “Even the way I wore my hat; the way I wore my uniforms; wearing the Jordans; the big, baggy uniform and all those different things. I just wanted to speak to the kid in me. If I saw myself out on the mound when I was 9 years old, I would [say], ‘I want to be like that.’ “So, that’s what it was for me when I saw Dave Stewart, when I saw Ricky Henderson, when I saw Dave Parker. The swag that they played with, Ricky popping his collar and all these different things. That’s who I wanted to be. Having a chance to watch Andruw Jones as a teenager. He’s two years older than me, but he was 18 playing in the World Series. I was 16, and I remember looking at my grandmother and being like, ‘I want to be a teenager in the big leagues.’ CC Sabathia celebrates after he receives the Baseball Hall of Fame call at home in Alpine, N.J., Jan. 21, 2025. CC Sabathia, his mother Margie Sabathia and daughter Ciya Sabathia toast. (Imagn)”All these different inspirations from Black culture, or hip-hop culture, and it just became who I am and who I was. It feels good, and it’s awesome to be that representation and be that guy and have all those connections in that culture and world. It’s a lot of fun.”Sabathia has some time to perfect his speech before he shares it with the world July 27 in Cooperstown. While he’ll be sure to mention the catchers, coaches and teammates during his time in MLB, he wants to spotlight those who helped him get to that point and had his back every step of the way. FIGHTING ALLERGIES WITH XYZALDuring his illustrious career, allergies were always something Sabathia had to worry about. The spring can be difficult with allergies, and Sabathia used to get a shot from his team’s medical staff to cope with them. Now in retirement, the luxury of a team of doctors and staff is gone, and Sabathia needed to find the right medication to battle those symptoms, especially with golf being his latest sports passion. Xyzal, who he is now partnered with, was the perfect remedy.  New York Yankees former pitcher CC Sabathia stands on the field before a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs during the Tokyo Series at Tokyo Dome. (Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP”My allergies have been horrible my whole life. When I was a kid, I’d go to school with rolls of toilet paper,” he said, laughing. “My allergies were super, super bad. … So … I was just trying to find different stuff. I came across Xyzal and figured out you can take it at night.”Now, Sabathia and his 14-year-old son Carter have made it part of their nightly routine to ensure they can get through baseball season without those pesky allergy symptoms. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Brett Ryan Gosselin (BRG) burst onto the Major League Wrestling scene as the flashy up-and-comer who bore a stunning resemblance to Ryan Gosling’s Ken in the film “Barbie.”But over the last year, he’s separated himself from that guy and has found a place in the Rogue Horsemen with Bobby Fish, C.J. and Brock Anderson. It’s the newfound toughness he’s hoping that carries into Battle Riot VII with the Major League Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship on the line.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Brett Ryan Gosselin is a key part of Major League Wrestling. (MLW)Gosselin was one of the 40 men in a match last year, but he did not come out the winner.”Last year was a little different,” he explained to Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I was running up by myself. I was pretty much a one-man show back then. This year, I have C.W. Anderson, Brock Anderson and Bobby Fish by my side. So, planning’s been going on for months now for strategy going into the Battle Riot for this year.”When it comes to gold, BRG is the guy who is always searching for gold. I said at the beginning of 2025 that this is the year for the Rogue Horsemen to become a championship franchise and winning the MLW title would be the best first step into making that a reality.”With his sights on championship gold, Gosselin made clear that all the “Barbie” business is in the rearview mirror, even as Battle Riot VII is set to take place at Thunder Studios Arena in Long Beach, California, for its Los Angeles County debut. Brett Ryan Gosselin on the outside (MLW)WWE LEGEND MICK FOLEY WALKS AWAY FROM SCARY CAR WRECK WITH MINOR INJURIES, CONCUSSION”For people that don’t know, they just assume that Brett Ryan Gosselin is my stage name, it’s my real name. And with that said, a lot of what you see on TV is just naturally me,” he explained. “That’s just who I am as a person. I’ve always grown up with my father telling me that it doesn’t matter how you win at the end of the day, as long as you win. History books are going to remember you as a winner and that’s what I focus on.”When it comes to the ‘Barbie’ stuff, I played into it a little bit during the ‘Barbie’ movie when it was super popular, and obviously Ryan Gosling was Ken in that movie, so I had a little fun with that. But, you know, people can draw those comparisons now, but I think I very much surpassed Ryan Gosling’s popularity from that ‘Barbie’ movie.”Gosselin will be one of 40 men looking to walk out of Long Beach with championship gold. Brett Ryan Gosselin in the ring. (MLW)CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMatt Riddle is the current champion and looks to defend his title. Bishop Dyer, Donovan Dijak, Tom Lawlor, Jesus Rodriguez, Anthony Green and others will compete as well.Battle Riot VII takes place on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.

BANGKOK — Leaders of nations in the Bay of Bengal region pledged to improve trade and transport cooperation as they concluded a summit in Bangkok on Friday.Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the seven nations also agreed to increase natural disaster relief efforts after an earthquake last week killed more than 3,000 people in Myanmar and Thailand.The leaders also expressed their “condolences, solidarity, and commitment to supporting the affected countries” in a joint statement on the earthquake, the Thai leader and meeting chair said.The meetings faced controversy by the attendance of the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who has been shunned by many countries over his 2021 takeover and the brutal oppression that followed.He has not been allowed to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, another regional grouping to which Myanmar belongs, and his opponents have called on BIMSTEC to refrain from engaging with him.The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC, members are Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.It was Min Aung Hlaing’s first visit to a country other than his government’s main supporters and backers — China, Russia and Russian ally Belarus — since he attended a regional meeting in Indonesia in 2021.Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said Paetongtarn had a bilateral meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, and that they discussed relief efforts for the earthquake and cooperation on border security, especially on issues of illegal trade, drugs smuggling and online scams.Other leaders attending the summit are Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser to the Bangladesh government, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Thailand postponed the meetings last year, after then-Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was removed from office by a court order. Thailand has now handed the group’s chairmanship to Bangladesh.

In a rundown hangar in the heart of Kathmandu, the remains of a dozen electric trolley buses stand abandoned and corroding. Caked in dust and bird-droppings and lined with rubbish, they are a reminder of a bold experiment, launched 50 years ago, to electrify the city’s public transport system. Down the side of one is written, “Keep me alive”.Today, that plea is being heard. More than 70% of four-wheeled passenger vehicles – largely cars and minibuses – imported into Nepal last year were electric, one of the highest rates in the world. The figure reflects a remarkable growth in the use of electric vehicles (EVs), which saw the country import more than 13,000 between July 2023 and 2024, up from about 250 in 2020-21.Nepal’s government has set ambitious targets for wider take-up of EVs, with the aim that 90% of all private-vehicle sales and 60% of all four-wheeled public passenger vehicle sales will be electric by 2030.View image in fullscreenThe increasing popularity of EVs has raised hopes that they may help to reduce the chronic air pollution that has plagued Kathmandu for years. Nepal’s capital is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted cities, with pollution from fine particulate matter often 10 to 20 times the World Health Organization’s guidelines.Air pollution in Nepal is having a devastating effect on its population, accounting for nearly 19% of all deaths in 2021, according to analysis by the State of Global Air. If Nepal could reduce particulate pollution to the level recommended by the WHO, people living in Kathmandu could on average expect to live for 2.6 more years.The Kathmandu valley is cloaked for much of the year in thick smog from brick kilns, road and construction dust, burning rubbish and crops, and emissions from the 1.75m vehicles – 0f which around 80% are two-wheelers – that clog the city’s streets.View image in fullscreen“Our analysis shows that transport contributes to about one-fourth of the fine particle matter air pollution in the valley,” says David Sislen, the World Bank’s country director for Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. “Motorists switching to EVs is an important part of getting towards cleaner skies and improved health.”The impact of the shift to EVs is even greater because almost all of Nepal’s electricity is clean, as it is generated by hydropower, and readily available, after the persistent power cuts that afflicted the country for decades were brought to an end in 2018.The reasons for the popularity of EVs becomes clear at a showroom for the Chinese electric carmaker BYD, where Binaya Parajuli is about to pick up his new car.“These days the best option is an EV. Petrol is expensive and the price fluctuates a lot. The price of electricity is stable and nowadays we have no shortage of it,” he says, before adding: “And I’m also making a small contribution to the environment.”Parajuli says he is also attracted to the look of the car, reflecting a view that EVs are now a status symbol. “These cars are luxurious, even if our roads are not,” he says, as he cuts a cake to celebrate his new purchase.View image in fullscreenCost savings are the main reason for the rise in interest in electric cars, says the sales manager, Loozah Maharjan. “Import taxes on EVs are lower than on petrol cars, running costs are a 10th of the price and banks offer generous finance deals for EVs,” he says.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAnd yet, the environmental and health benefits of the transition to EVs will remain limited until the most polluting vehicles – diesel buses and trucks – also become electric, says Bhushan Tuladhar, an environmental activist.“There are three reasons this has not taken off,” he says. “One, the initial cost of purchasing electric buses; second, the lack of charging infrastructure; and third, the public transport system is chaotic.”There are signs that this is changing. Tuladhar, in his role as a board member of Sajha Yatayat, a co-operative bus company, helped to import 40 electric buses from China, which now operate across the city. They run alongside hundreds of electric three-wheelers, which began to be introduced in the city in the 1990s.View image in fullscreenHundreds more electric minibuses now also ply routes out of Kathmandu, particularly on the narrow, twisting road through the mountains to the southern plains, which larger buses struggle to negotiate.At a charging station on the edge of the Kathmandu valley, Krishna Prasad Chaulagain is charging his new minibus. “I’m very excited,” he says. “I don’t have to go to the petrol pump any more.”Chaulagain estimates the price of charging his vehicle will be a 15th of the cost of petrol to cover the same distance. The time it takes to charge his minibus does not seem to bother him. “It means I get some rest,” he says.Even if Nepal does manage to electrify its public transport system, Maheshwar Dhakal, head of the government’s climate-change management division, warns that more needs to be done. “The growth in EVs in Nepal is remarkable,” he says. “But if we become carbon neutral tomorrow, it doesn’t make sense at a global scale. The international community must follow our lead.”

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Please enter a valid email address. Having trouble? Click here.The NFL Draft is around the corner and there are several teams that have major decisions to make in their effort to win now and build toward the future.The Tennessee Titans will be on the clock once the first round begins on April 24. There are a number of players the Titans could pick who would likely help them out immediately. But the decision will be left up to general manager Mike Borgonzi and his team to do what’s best.In the meantime, Fox News Digital predicted how the first round of the draft will shake out. Read those predictions below.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders (IMAGN)1). Tennessee Titans: QB Cam WardAll the smoke and mirrors during the Draft process meant nothing: The Titans and head coach Brian Callahan are getting their hopeful franchise quarterback with the first overall pick.What the draft process did prove, though, is Ward set himself apart from the competition, mainly Shedeur Sanders, to cement himself as the top selection this year. The Miami product had 4,313 passing yards with 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his 2024 campaign.2). Cleveland Browns: CB/WR: Travis HunterIt’s unlikely Deshaun Watson will be able to suit up next season, and Kenny Pickett may not be the answer to the Browns quarterback woes. But the Browns will go with the prospect who could be the best all-round player in this draft class.3). New York Giants: QB Shedeur Sanders Shedeur Sanders (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images)Despite the addition of Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson and veteran signal-caller Jameis Winston, the Giants are still in the hunt for their franchise quarterback. Cam Ward is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft this month, clearing the way for New York to take the Colorado star with the No. 3 pick. 4). New England Patriots: EDGE Abdul CarterThe ideal scenario for the Patriots is for both Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders to go before them, so they have either Carter or Hunter to chose from at No. 4. In our draft, the Patriots got what they wanted and run to the podium to hand the pick of Carter into Roger Goodell’s hands. With the addition of defensive tackle Milton Williams in free agency coupled with the selection of Carter, the Patriots defensive line would be revamped going into Mike Vrabel’s first year as head coach.5). Jacksonville Jaguars: DT Mason GrahamIf Abdul Carter didn’t exist, Mason Graham would be in the mix for the first defensive player off the board. But with two gone ahead of Jacksonville’s pick, Graham falls to No. 5 in an obvious selection.6). Las Vegas Raiders: RB Ashton Jeanty Ashton Jeanty (Brian Losness-Imagn Images)Arguably the best running back prospect since Saquon Barkley, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is the star splash the Raiders need to get the Las Vegas faithful in the stands. With a dependable veteran quarterback now in place with Geno Smith, Jeanty brings balance to an offense that is attempting to execute a short-term turnaround.7). New York Jets: EDGE Jalon WalkerThe New York Jets were 11th in the league in sacks last season with Quinnen Williams leading the interior. But the interior isn’t something the team has to really worry about; it’s getting to the edges consistently. New York takes Jaleon Walker here. The 6-foot-2 Georgia standout has a nose for the ball and can only add some significant depth to the Jets’ front four. He had 6.5 sacks and 60 tackles in his final collegiate season.8). Carolina Panthers: WR Tetairoa McMillanCarolina needs more playmakers for Bryce Young, so the consensus top receiver in this year’s class comes off the board.McMillan’s catch radius is insanely impressive, as he’s able to secure the ball no matter where it’s put in his vicinity, no matter who is covering him. But the route tree and technical skills are all there for the man who had 1,319 yards with eight touchdowns on 84 receptions for the Wildcats last year.9). New Orleans Saints: OT Will CampbellThe Saints have plenty of options here, but considering they appear to be sticking with Derek Carr in 2025, New Orleans gets one of the top-rated blockers to protect their quarterback.10). Chicago Bears: TE Tyler Warren Tyler Warren (G Fiume/Getty Images)Tyler Warren has largely emerged as the top tight end in this year’s draft class, and the Bears are hot on him for the 10th overall pick. New head coach Ben Johnson recently called him the “definition of a football player” after a stellar season at Penn State. Warren wrapped up the 2024 season with a school record for tight ends with 153 receptions, 1,839 receiving yards and 19 receiving touchdowns. 11). San Francisco 49ers: TE Colston LovelandGeorge Kittle was fantastic last season with 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games last season. However, the six-time Pro Bowler is 31 years old. With Loveland, the 49ers are securing the future of the tight end position in a post-Kittle world while also giving another weapon for Kyle Shanahan to deploy on offense alongside Kittle next season. If Tyler Warren fell one more pick, he would have been the selection.12). Dallas Cowboys: WR Matthew GoldenDallas has its choice of the crop here, desperately needing a No. 2 wide receiver behind CeeDee Lamb. It’s a tough call with lots of options, but we’ll go with the speedy Golden.13). Miami Dolphins: OT Kelvin Banks Jr.With protecting Tua Tagovailoa more important than ever going into next season, Kelvin Banks Jr. bolsters Miami’s offensive line with a potential day-1 starter, according to scouts. Banks likely starts out at guard but gives the unit as a whole a dependable, strong and athletic blocker.14). Indianapolis Colts: S Malaki StarksGeorge Odum was the first and last time the Colts had an All-Pro safety in their secondary. With Malaki Starks slotted here, Indianapolis is getting a great ball hawk and someone quarterbacks may fear in the future. The former Georgia safety was an All-American in 2023 with three interceptions and 52 tackles. In 2024, he had 77 tackles and one interception. The Colts were 24th in points allowed and 29th in yards allowed last season.15). Atlanta Falcons: EDGE Mykel WilliamsThe Falcons could use some more edge rush help, and though there is a stigma about them taking Bulldogs despite being so close to the school, they take one here in Williams.Williams had five sacks, two passes defended and two forced fumbles. And he secured nine tackles for loss among his 21 on the year.16). Arizona Cardinals: CB Will Johnson Will Johnson (IMAGN)While Johnson suffered an injury during his final year at Michigan, his upside should be enough to convince the Cardinals to take a shot at bolstering its secondary.17). Cincinnati Bengals: LB Jihaad CampbellAfter settling up the offense by locking down Joe Burrow’s two favorite targets – Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase – the Bengals can focus on bolstering up their defense in the draft. At 6-foot-6 and 319 pounds, Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell is a good start. Campbell led the team last season with 117 tackles and five sacks and received First-Team All-SEC honors.18). Seattle Seahawks: OT Josh SimmonsThe Seahawks signed Sam Darnold to replace Geno Smith, traded away wide receiver DK Metcalf and released wide receiver Tyler Lockett. They signed Cooper Kupp to help soften the blow, and with their first-round pick they are going to fortify their offensive line with Simmons. The offensive line, since the days of Russell Wilson, has not been a strong unit. Despite the season-ending injury Simmons suffered at Ohio State, the Seahawks trust that he can be an immediate impact player.19). Tampa Bay Buccaneers: EDGE Mike GreenThe Bucs’ arguably biggest need is an edge rusher, and thankfully for them, this is a defense-filled class. The Bucs get a good one out of Marshall at 19.20). Denver Broncos: EDGE Donovan EzeiruakuThe strength of the Broncos was their defense last year, and they can keep it that way by adding a versatile and athletic linebacker who can bring the boom on all three downs. Ezeiruaku has the skills to rush the passer, chase down runners and even drop into coverage, and he certainly won’t have to carry the load on a very deep defense and brings a youthful feistiness that can make it that much stronger.21). Pittsburgh Steelers: QB Jaxson Dart Jaxson Dart (Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images)The Steelers’ quarterback issue is still a mystery just weeks away from the draft. Even as Aaron Rodgers may be in the picture, he will not be the answer for the long term. Jaxson Dart impressed scouts at his pro day and may have done enough to pull a Bo Nix and sneak into the first round. The Ole Miss standout threw for more than 10,000 while with the Rebels.22). Los Angeles Chargers: RB Omarion HamptonWith J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards both finding new homes, and Najee Harris only joining on a one-year deal, the Chargers are going with the consensus second-best running back on the board in Hampton.The Tar Heels product is the type of runner Jim Harbaugh loves for his offense: north-to-south, powerful, ability to fight through tackles and pick up positive yardage. He also has the explosive ability – he ran a 4.46 40-yard dash – and jump cuts to make guys miss.Hampton had his best year in 2024 with 1,660 yards rushing with 15 touchdowns.23). Green Bay Packers: DT Kenneth GrantThe Packers don’t let Grant get past them here. The former Michigan standout would be a big presence on Green Bay’s defensive line.24). Minnesota Vikings: S Nick EmmanworiAfter making a splash at the NFL Combine, South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori might not be available with the 24th overall pick. But if he is, the Vikings will make their move. A difference-maker with size and speed, Emmanwori led the team last season with 88 tackles and recorded four interceptions with two returned for touchdowns, earning First-Team All-SEC honors.25). Houston Texans: OL Donovan JacksonCJ Stroud was the second-most sacked quarterback in the NFL last season. Despite that, the team traded away five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Commanders and guard Kenyon Green to the Eagles. In need of help on the offensive line, the Texans turn to Jackson to come in as an immediate starter to help upfront.26). Los Angeles Rams: OG Tyler Booker Tyler Booker (Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)After bringing in Davante Adams, extending Matthew Stafford and another year of Kyren Williams manning the backfield, the Rams need a guy to keep their weapons moving. So, the Rams get the big man out of Alabama.27). Baltimore Ravens: DB Azareye’h ThomasThomas is a project player but has a high ceiling and versatility due to his above-average size for the cornerback position. A switch to safety or even potentially linebacker might be in his future due to lesser speed, but his tackling ability and aggression make him a disruptive force on the Ravens’ defense.28). Detroit Lions: EDGE Shemar StewartAidan Hutchinson’s injury last season cost him the year and likely altered just how deep the Lions could have gone in the playoffs. At No. 28, Detroit will add depth with Shemar Stewart. The edge rusher has moved up the draft boards since the combine. The Texas A&M standout had 31 tackles and 1.5 sacks and interest is growing.29). Washington Commanders: EDGE James Pearce Jr.Washington filled the gap left by Jonathan Allen quickly with the addition of Javon Hargrave. Now they go with some more edge rush help in the Vols product.Pearce had 19.5 sacks in his three years at Tennessee, while totaling a career-high 38 tackles in 2024, 13 of which were for loss. He is quite explosive at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, running a 4.47 40-yard dash and a 1.56 10-yard split, which is one of the best marks in the class.30). Buffalo Bills: WR Luther Burden IIIThe Bills make the surprise pick and take Luther Burden III. Burden could make a play to be WR1 for Josh Allen and an offense that’s in need of a top-flight wide receiver.31). Kansas City Chiefs: RB TreVeyon Henderson TreVeyon Henderson (Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)The Kansas City Chiefs will look to boost their run game after Isiah Pacheco went down with an injury last season, prompting the team to bring back Kareem Hunt. He re-signed in the offseason, hinting at the Chiefs’ desire to add to the backfield. Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson is a good option after having a 1,000-yard-plus rushing season during the Buckeyes’ national championship run.32). Philadelphia Eagles: DT Derrick HarmonThe Eagles have the most desirable selection in the NFL Draft – the last one. As reigning Super Bowl champions, the Eagles have seen a lot of players capitalize on their market in free agency and depart in free agency. One of those players was defensive tackle Milton Williams, who had two sacks in Super LIX. By taking Harmon, the Eagles will replace Williams and have another first-round defensive tackle in their rotation alongside Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis.

It is not often that the arts section of a newspaper finds itself concerned with the aesthetic merits of a sewage works. But then there are few facilities designed with the finesse of the new €139m (£117m) wastewater treatment plant in Arklow, which stands like a pair of minty green pagodas on the edge of the Irish Sea. Nor are there many architectural firms who have thought so deeply about the poetics of effluent as Clancy Moore.“There’s a wonderful passage in Ulysses,” says practice co-founder, Andrew Clancy, summoning James Joyce as we tiptoe along a metal gantry above a gigantic vat of bubbling brown sludge. “The narrator turns on the tap to fill a kettle, sparking a lengthy rumination on where the water comes from, how it flows from reservoirs, through aqueducts and pipes, describing each step in minute detail, from the volume of the tanks to the dimensions and cost of the plumbing.”There can’t be many sewage works designers quoting Joyce (despite the Irish author’s scatological inclinations). But Clancy’s point is that there is an entire universe of water treatment, storage and distribution that is rarely celebrated, or even much thought about. It takes place beneath our feet and out of sight, in a world hidden below ground and squirrelled away in anonymous sheds behind tall fences, far from town.Not in Arklow. For generations, sewage has been at the forefront of the place’s mind – and unavoidable on the beach – because it had no water treatment plant at all. Since time immemorial, this town – 45 miles south of Dublin in County Wicklow, on Ireland’s south-east coast – has pumped the waste produced by its 13,500 inhabitants into the Avoca river which takes it straight out to sea. The European Commission took note. Successive rulings by the European court of justice over the last two decades have found Ireland in continual breach of its wastewater treatment directives, and slapped with hefty fines for its repeated failure to remedy the situation. The lack of waterworks has also been a brake on the town’s development: without a treatment plant, no new homes could be built. Something had to be done.View image in fullscreenA sewage works was first proposed for Arklow in 1988, but it became mired in a generation-long dispute over its location, one of the longest planning battles in the county’s history. It was originally going to be built in the north docks, then an area known as Seabank, which bitterly divided the town. Some argued the site was prone to erosion, others that it was home to a rare species of horsehair worm. The well-resourced owners of a nearby caravan park decided to take the council to the supreme court. Twelve years on, in 2011, they finally lost the case. But they ultimately won the battle: by then, the plant’s 10-year planning permission had expired.“We had to start from scratch,” says Michael Tinsley, project manager at Irish Water, or Uisce Éireann, the state-owned water company founded in 2013, which took on the contentious project. “This time around, we made a point of talking to absolutely everybody.” After considering numerous options, they hit on a location close to where the plant had originally been proposed, on the site of a former wallboard factory in Ferrybank, on Arklow’s north quay. It was a topographical low point, and therefore required the least pumping. Unusually, the national planning board insisted that an architect be involved, given the visual prominence of the site, on a key promontory overlooked by the whole town, where future development is planned. In Clancy’s eyes, that’s exactly where such a monument of civic infrastructure should be.“Think of the Sydney Opera House,” he says, drawing a comparison to the world’s most famous waterfront building. “It occupies the most prominent site in the city. But not many people actually go to the opera. If you were building a town, you would probably think of the poo before you thought of the opera.”View image in fullscreenHe’s got a point. Rather than trying to beckon the Bilbao effect by building a palace of culture, Arklow has elevated the prosaic, with a cathedral of crap, like many a grand Victorian pumping station before it. It is an earthy hymn to the fact that locals may finally be able to swim without fear of floaters.Even on a drizzly grey day, the complex is an elegant thing to encounter. The two vast processing sheds stand like ocean-liners on the horizon, their profiles serrated with angled louvres, giving them the look of concertina paper lanterns, gently glowing by night. A single Cyclopean window punctures each building – one looking out to sea, one looking back to the town – while the louvres are inverted and enlarged at the top, forming a cornice-like crown. They have an almost cartoonish presence from afar, their oversized gills a caricature of ventilation, while also providing habitats for bats and birds.Close up, they take on another character. The long horizontal louvres (made of fibre cement panels, bolted to a demountable steel frame) are corrugated, recalling the fluted pantiles of a Chinese temple. Their celadon green hue reinforces that allusion, although here the colour references local sports teams, as well as sea thistle and the hulls of Arklow Shipping boats. A third laboratory building – scaled like a Dinky Toy in comparison – looks like a cheeky creature, keeping a beady eye on proceedings. Its facade greets you with a wink at the entrance to the site, a single eye-like window above a protruding nose-like canopy, and a butterfly roof forming two perky ears.Compositional games are played with form and scale. The walls of the smaller building are clad with smooth panels of the same minty colour as its big siblings, each layer tilting out at an angle to echo their louvres. Both the lab building and the treatment sheds sit on chunky triangular buttress-like supports, the concrete power-washed to reveal its gritty aggregate, giving a rusticated heft in contrast to the paper-thin louvres above. The attention to detail is remarkable for an industrial complex, with even the corners of the sheds carefully cut and folded inwards where the louvres meet, as if sliced with a scalpel. It all has a model-like quality, wrought more with the precision of one of the German artist Thomas Demand’s beguiling paper sculptures than your usual wastewater sheds.The process of protecting these design details – which are so often lost on projects of this scale – was unusual. “There are no drawings in the tender package for a water treatment works,” says Clancy, whose firm is more used to designing private houses. “Because it rightfully assumes that technological developments are outpacing the speed of public procurement.” As a result, the architects had to translate their design into precise passages of text, enshrining the ratios and proportions of their facades in exacting legalese, making the design contractually binding.View image in fullscreen“We also made sure the architecture was the cheapest thing,” he adds, “so it would be the last to be cut on the ‘value engineering’ list.” Tinsley estimates the architecture amounts to about 3% of the total project cost. “At one point, we had some internal debates at Irish Water, with colleagues thinking we were lavishing money on a big, fancy building,” he says. “But it’s within the margin of error – the architecture cost was dwarfed by the cost of inflation.”Besides, the architects brought more than just a pleasing wrapper. Working as mediators, negotiators and catalysts within a team of specialist engineers – from odour control to tunnelling, marine ecology to highways – they were the glue that bound it all together. They also brought fresh innovation. While a conventional plant pumps wastewater multiple times from tank to tank, in Arklow the system is stacked, meaning the water is only pumped once, with the rest of the process happening by gravity, reducing energy consumption. Roofing the whole structure (which is usually open air) also allowed gantry cranes to be installed for future maintenance and servicing, along with a solar farm that generates about a third of the total energy requirements.It has been a long time coming, and the people of Arklow are rightfully relieved. As Tinsley puts it plainly: “No one wants to be the biggest town in Ireland with shite going into the river.”On the British mainland, we can only dream of such civilisation. Since England’s water industry was privatised in 1989, it has seen a race to the bottom, with infrastructure left to crumble while shareholders profit from bumper dividends. Leaving the EU has only accelerated the decline, fuelling a rampant increase in raw sewage being dumped into our waterways. As Ireland has shown, nationalisation is the only way to clean up the mess – and it may even bring things of beauty in the process.

SHIPLEY, England — Sitting around a wrestling ring, churchgoers roared as local hero Billy O’Keeffe body-slammed a fighter named Disciple. Beneath stained-glass windows, they whooped and cheered as burly, tattooed wresters tumbled into the aisle during a six-man tag-team battle.This is Wrestling Church, which brings blood, sweat and tears — mostly sweat — to St. Peter’s Anglican church in the northern England town of Shipley. It’s the creation of Gareth Thompson, a charismatic 37-year-old who says he was saved by pro wrestling and Jesus — and wants others to have the same experience. Thompson says the outsized characters and scripted morality battles of pro wrestling fit naturally with a Christian message.“Boil it down to the basics, it’s good versus evil,” he said. “When I became Christian, I started seeing the wrestling world through a Christian lens. I started seeing David and Goliath. I started seeing Cain and Abel. I started seeing Esau having his heritage stolen from him. And I’m like, ‘We could tell these stories.’”Church attendance in the U.K. has been declining for decades, and the 2021 census found that less than half of people in England and Wales now consider themselves Christian. Those who say they have no religion rose from 25% to 37% in a decade.That has led churches to get creative in order to survive.“You’ve got to take a few risks,” said the Rev. Natasha Thomas, the priest in charge at St. Peter’s. She acknowledged that she “wasn’t entirely sure what it was I was letting myself in for” when she agreed to host wrestling events.“It’s not church as you would know it. It’s certainly not for everyone,” she said. “But it’s bringing in a different group of people, a different community, than we would normally get.”At a recent Wrestling Church evening, almost 200 people — older couples, teenagers, pierced and tattooed wrestling fans, parents with excited young children — packed into chairs around a ring erected under the vaulted ceiling of the century-old church.After a short homily and prayer from Thomas, it was time for two hours of smackdowns, body slams and flying headbutts. The atmosphere grew cheerfully raucous, as fans waved giant foam fingers and hollered “knock him out!” at participants.Some longtime churchgoers have welcomed the infusion of energy.“I think it’s absolutely wonderful,” said Chris Moss, who married her husband Mike in St. Peter’s almost 50 years ago.“You can look at some of the wrestlers and think” — she scrunched her face in distaste. But talking to them made her realize “you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”Thompson, whose wrestling moniker is Gareth Angel, both wrestles and presides over the organized mayhem. He’s a mix of preacher and ringmaster, wearing a T-shirt that says “Pray, eat, wrestle, repeat.”He’s loved wrestling since it provided solace and release during a troubled upbringing that saw him survive childhood sexual abuse and a period of homelessness as a teenager.“I could watch Shawn Michaels and the Rock and Stone Cold (Steve Austin) and I could be like, I want to be like them,” he said. “So it’s always been an escape for me, and a release and a way to get away from stuff. But then God has obviously turned that around now and it’s become this passion.”He found Christianity in 2011, ran his first Wrestling Church event in a former nightclub-turned-church in 2022, and moved to St. Peter’s last year.As well as the monthly Saturday night shows, his charity Kingdom Wrestling runs training sessions for adults and children in a back room of the church, along with women’s self-defense classes, a men’s mental health group and coaching for children who have been expelled from school.For many in the close-knit community of U.K. wrestlers and fans, religion is a new ingredient, but not an unwelcome one.“I’m mainly here for the wrestling,” said 33-year-old Liam Ledger, who wrestles as Flamin’ Daemon Crowe. Sitting in a pungent changing room as wrestlers discussed fight plans, donned knee pads and laced up their many-holed boots, he said it’s a bit “surreal” when baptisms are held between bouts.“It works both ways,” he said. “There’s people that come here that are big on religion, and they’re here for all of that sort of stuff. And then they go, ‘Oh, actually this wrestling is sort of fun.’”Kiara, Kingdom Wrestling’s reigning women’s champion, said the organization has helped her bring her Catholic faith into her wrestling life.“It’s thanks to Kingdom Wrestling that I’ve had the confidence to pray in the locker room now before matches,” said Kiara, 26, known outside the ring as Stephanie Sid. “I invite my opponent to pray with me, pray that we have a safe match, pray that there’s no injuries and pray that we entertain everybody here.”Only a handful of people have gone from watching the wrestling to attending Sunday-morning services at St. Peter’s, but Wrestling Church baptized 30 people in its first year. Thompson, whose brand of born-again Christianity is more muscular than many traditional Anglicans’, plans to expand to other British cities. One day, he says, he may start his own church.There has long been overlap between Christianity and wrestling in the U.S., where figures like Thompson’s hero Shawn Michaels proudly proclaim their faith. But Britain is a less religious place, and Shipley, a former mill town 175 miles (280 kilometers) north of London, is a long way from the Bible Belt.Thompson, though, is unfazed by doubters.“People say, ‘Oh, wrestling and Christianity, they’re two fake things in a fake world of their own existence,’” he said. “If you don’t believe in it, of course you will think that of it. But my own personal experience of my Christian faith is that it is alive and living, and it is true. The wrestling world, if you really believe in it, you believe that it’s true and you can suspend your disbelief.“You suspend it because you want to get lost in it. You want to believe in it. You want to hope for it.”___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

KIGALI, Rwanda — More women than men working in Africa’s outsourcing sector will likely see their tasks in the workplace replaced by automation and artificial intelligence by 2030, a report said Thursday.The report, released at a conference on AI in the Rwandan capital, also said that the now-surging growth of the outsourcing industry on the African continent may slow, and it urged workers to boost their skills so that they can trade up to better jobs.More than 1,000 policymakers, business leaders, and interest groups were gathered in Kigali for the first-ever Global AI Summit for Africa. Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who addressed the conference on its opening day, called for more investments, innovation and creativity.African countries should “go back to the drawing board and build a strong foundation for connectivity,” Kagame said. “Let’s continue working together, and driving AI to reduce inequality, and allow more and more of our citizens to benefit from the good AI can deliver to all of us,” he said.The new report by Caribou and Genesis Analytics in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation says that tasks performed by women are on average 10% more vulnerable to automation than those by men in the same sector. This disparity will exacerbate gender-based inequalities in the sector’s workforce if not proactively addressed, it said.The study finds that lower-paying jobs, which make up 68% of the workforce, are particularly at risk. It found that up to 40% of human tasks in Africa’s outsourcing sector could be automated.But AI experts at the summit said that with the right investments and training, women and youth could access better-paid, higher-skilled work than what the currently do.Jeremy Jurgen, managing director of the World Economic Forum, which is co-hosting the conference, said there was a shortage of AI workers and a need to invest in developing talent to address that. African leaders present called for more collaboration.“African countries need to have clarity on what they want to do with AI and what they’re bringing to the table, then we can start talking about collaborating on AI without compromising our sovereignty,” Nigerian Communication Minister Bosun Tijani said during the conference.

Ireland believes in open, free trade and has build a strong, resilient economy by being the most globalised in Europe. We are a trading country. That is why the announcement on tariffs came as such a disappointment to us.Imposing tariffs to force companies to locate in the US will fundamentally change how the world sees it. US economic dominance has not been built on scale or purchasing power alone, but on relationships and alliances, something it is now damaging. “Liberation day” risks forcing a realignment of how global trade operates, without the US at its centre, as countries rethink their relationship with the US and seek new, more reliable partners.Last year, Ireland exported €72bn worth of goods to the US. So a 20% tariff is huge. It could have been worse. For now, pharmaceuticals, which represent 60% of those exports, are exempt. However, that may only be a temporary reprieve.Business leaders are predicting that if the tariffs remain unchanged they could have an impact of reducing Irish exports by 2-3% over time: serious but not catastrophic. The Irish economy has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to international challenges and opportunities in the past, and it will do so again by supporting businesses under pressure, focusing on competitiveness and diversifying exports into new markets.Donald Trump’s justification for targeting the EU with a 20% tariff is mystifying. He claims the EU is charging the US 39% in tariffs. However, the average tariff applied to trade on both sides is less than 2%. In 2023, the US collected about €7bn in tariffs on EU exports of €502bn, and the EU collected about €3bn on US exports of about €344bn. It’s hardly justification for a trade war.The question now turns to how we respond. With EU membership, Ireland’s trade policy is EU trade policy, so we have been focused on influencing opinions in Brussels. The EU won’t respond immediately with counter tariffs. It will wait and build consensus on how to respond in a way that’s considered and measured. Most importantly, the EU will seek dialogue and negotiation with the White House to address legitimate US concerns, where they exist, but also to mitigate against the most damaging impacts of the new US approach.If negotiation fails, the EU needs a firm response. Trump respects strength not weakness, and has a history of altering decisions when confronted with consequences for US interests. The EU has powerful cards to play, and while it will be cautious by nature not to escalate tensions, it will also not allow unjustified, aggressive US tariffs to go without consequence.Ireland should urge restraint and a response primarily aimed at defending the interests of our businesses and citizens. That means keeping reciprocal tariffs to a minimum. This is particularly the case as the island of Ireland faces the complex challenge of different tariff rates applying to Northern Ireland, as part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, 10% and 20% respectively. As if the Windsor framework wasn’t complex enough, we now have to resolve further challenges to protect an all-island economy that works for North and South.The EU response should be less about retaliatory tariffs and more focused on our own competitiveness, productivity and ability to diversify away from the US market. While the US retreats from global trade, the EU should do the opposite, accelerate new trade deals and lead on promoting globalised supply chains with reliable partners.Trump has the power to determine US policy on trade, but we should not allow him dictate our relationships with the rest of the world. Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, India, Brazil, China, the Gulf and many other countries will be looking for new trading opportunities as the US turns its back. The UK in particular should be a priority for EU leaders, in a post-Brexit context, to progress on improving trading conditions for both sides. I hope the UK will share that endeavour.There will be voices calling for an aggressive response to the Trump administration, to cut off efforts at transatlantic trade deals and a doubling down on what has been termed “strategic autonomy” for the EU without the US. This would be an expensive mistake.We should not give up on transatlantic relations; they are essential for trade, stability and security in the future. We are living through an enforced reset, but while adapting we must always keep the door open to dialogue and improved relations. In other words, be the adult in the room.Finally, the US is bigger than Trump. The EU must remain open to and supportive of American companies and interests. Their innovation, investment and employment is a huge asset to Europe. Let’s continue to invest in that relationship.

Simon Coveney is a former deputy prime minister, foreign minister and enterprise and trade minister of Ireland

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