Barbie has had many jobs throughout the years like astronaut, chef & fashion designer! Now, she’s going to be add Queen of Christmas to her resume! Mariah Carey is officially getting her own Barbie this year in her classic sparkly red dress! Maybe she’ll sing All I Want For Christmas Is You!!
Image: (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An initial toxicology report for ex-One Direction singer Liam Payne, who died last week after falling from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, showed that he had cocaine in his system after his death, an Argentine official said.
The final toxicology results are not expected to be made public for some weeks. But the preliminary toxicology report of the wildly famous boy band star, handed to local prosecutors on Monday, suggested evidence of exposure to cocaine, the official said, stressing that these initial results don’t offer an accurate reading of just how much was circulating in his blood when he died.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists. The preliminary report was widely reported in local media on Monday.
Argentina’s public prosecution is investigating the case — which is not uncommon when a death is sudden or unexpected.
Payne’s autopsy concluded that the traumatic injuries that caused his death were consistent with his three-story fall from the hotel window. Prosecutors have ruled out anyone else being involved.
Argentine investigators found what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol strewn about broken objects and furniture in 31-year-old Payne’s hotel room, leading the public prosecution to surmise Payne had suffered a substance abuse-induced breakdown around the time of his fall. The prosecution said Payne could have plunged from his hotel room balcony in a state of “semi or total unconsciousness.”
Photos purportedly taken from inside Payne’s hotel room published by local media showed snowlike powder left on a table and a smashed-in TV screen. Police also discovered a blister pack of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, and over-the-counter medications scattered among Payne’s belongings. Shortly before Payne’s death, the hotel manager called 911 to report a guest acting aggressively and under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Investigators are also trying to figure out who sold Payne the drugs he took at the CasaSur Hotel in Palermo, a chic neighborhood of the Argentine capital. Police have taken statements from at least three hotel employees, as well as two women who visited Payne’s hotel room a few hours before his death.
Fans and major pop industry figures around the world have reacted with an outpouring of grief.
The late singer’s father, Geoff Payne, was still in Buenos Aires meeting with the prosecutors and other local officials Monday in an effort to organize the repatriation of the remains.
Argentine authorities expect to release the body next week, clearing the way for Geoff Payne to fly home and hold a funeral back in England, where on Sunday hundreds of fervent One Direction fans gathered to mourn the musician.
NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart joined the New York Liberty two years ago with one goal in mind: to bring the long-suffering franchise it’s first championship.
WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones soon joined her and the pair helped the Liberty accomplish their mission, a year after they suffered a disappointing loss in the Finals to Las Vegas.
“The wait was so, so, so worth it,” Stewart said. “We talked about it two years ago when it was free agency, and we wanted to come together. You look back and me, JJ, (Courtney Vandersloot), we all came together to win a championship. Last year we lost in the Finals. But look at us, now we’re here.”
Now with the core group mostly intact, winning more championships might be in the future for Stewart and the Liberty after Sunday’s 67-62 overtime victory against the Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.
She had won two titles before with Seattle, but this was special for her as the only player born in the state of New York on the roster.
“This is more personal because I’m from New York. I’m from upstate,” she said. “I came here for a reason, and that’s to win a championship.”
With Stewart, Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and other key players signed for next year, there’s no reason to think the Liberty couldn’t repeat.
“I think it’s been fun. Hey, let’s not stop at one, though. Let’s go for two,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “It’s hard to win because this league is so good. You need a little bit of luck on your side, but you also need talent. You also need talent, the right talent to put together.”
It won’t be easy. The league will look different with the addition of Golden State as a 13th team. They’ll also be squads like Minnesota, Las Vegas and others hungry to knock them off. In the past 20 years, only the Aces have repeated as champions, winning in 2022 and 2023.
This series was a fitting conclusion to a record-breaking season for the league. All five games came down to the last few possessions and have included two overtime games and a last-second shot, which have led to record ratings.
The five games produced a record attendance for a WNBA Finals. Many of those New York fans, dying for a championship in a city known for winning titles in other sports, will celebrate at a parade on Thursday in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan — right across the bridge from Barclays Center where the Liberty play.
Then it’s on to the offseason with the first order of business for the league and players being whether either side will opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement. They have until Nov. 1 to do it.
For now the Liberty can enjoy their first-ever title. They had been this far five times before, losing each time, including last season’s defeat. Some of the great Liberty players of the past like Teresa Weatherspoon and Sue Wicks, who came up short in their time of winning a championship, were in the sellout crowd Sunday to see the team win.
“I told her I hope you enjoy this because this is for you,” Vandersloot said she told Weatherspoon. “You laid the foundation and, you know, sometimes it doesn’t show right away. … I hope she feels appreciated because, you know, she kind of started this and now the city has won and that can never be taken away.”
By TERRY TANG Associated Press
The men formerly known as the Central Park Five before they were exonerated filed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
With Election Day two weeks away, the group accused the former president of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during last month’s presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. The group is asking for a jury trial to determine compensatory and punitive damages.
“Defendant Trump falsely stated that plaintiffs killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false,” the group wrote in the federal complaint.
The men are upset because Trump essentially “defamed them in front of 67 million people, which has caused them to seek to clear their names all over again,” co-lead counsel Shanin Specter told The Associated Press in an email.
Specter had no comment when asked if there were concerns some see the lawsuit as purely political because of the group’s support for Harris. “We are seeking redress in the courts,” Specter said.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung decried the suit as “just another frivolous, Election Interference lawsuit, filed by desperate left-wing activists, in an attempt to distract the American people from Kamala Harris’s dangerously liberal agenda and failing campaign.”
Trump campaign officials did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise were teenagers when they were accused of the 1989 rape and beating of a white woman jogger in New York City’s Central Park. The five, who are Black and Latino, said they confessed to the crimes under duress. They later recanted, pleading not guilty in court, and were later convicted after jury trials. Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after another person confessed to the crime.
After the crime, Trump purchased a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty. At the time, many in New York believed Trump’s ad was akin to calling for the teens to be executed. The jogger case was Trump’s first foray into tough-on-crime politics that preluded his full-throated populist political persona. Since then, dog whistles and overtly racist rhetoric have been fixtures of Trump’s public life.
In the Sept. 10 debate, Trump misstated key facts of the case when Harris brought up the matter.
“They admitted, they said they pled guilty and I said, ‘well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately … And they pled guilty, then they pled not guilty,” Trump said.
He appeared to be confusing guilty pleas with confessions. Also, no victim died.
The now Exonerated Five, including Salaam, who is now a New York City councilman, have been campaigning for Harris. Some of them spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, calling out Trump for never apologizing for the newspaper ad.
They have also joined civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton for a get-out-the-vote bus tour.
Prior defamation suits involving Trump have led to sizable amounts awarded to the plaintiffs. In January, a jury awarded $83.3 million to advice columnist E. Jean Carroll over Trump’s continued social media attacks against her claims he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store in 1996. In May 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing her and issued a $5 million judgement.
Seven current and former Long Island Rail Road employees who were assaulted while on the job have filed lawsuits against the MTA.
Six LIRR conductors and a station cleaner have filed lawsuits, alleging that the railroad failed in its duty to provide workers with a safe workplace.
A spokesman for the MTA says there are extensive safety protocols in place, and that if any employee feels unsafe, they are encouraged to contact the MTA Police for assistance.
Anna bought a hidden camera detector from Amazon, but the big question is, does it work?!
Image Source: Getty Images
In case you missed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony over the weekend you can watch it on Disney+
Cher was inducted by Zendaya and sang her song “Believe” with Dua Lipa. Also inducted were Jimmy Buffet, Dave Matthews Band, Dionne Warwick, MC5, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, and Mary J. Blige.
(Image: AP Newsroom)
Raven will sometimes make references to movies or music that are so old, Anna thinks no one knows what he’s talking about. Guess what? He did it again. Catch up with the podcast and decide if Raven could have used a better reference for a “hot singer”.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani carried the injury-riddled Los Angeles Dodgers to baseball’s best record during the regular season. Tommy Edman joined the team in late July and helped them reach the World Series.
It’s been that kind of year for the big-spending Dodgers. When Ohtani isn’t amazing with his power at the plate and prowess on the basepaths, someone else is stepping up.
Edman and Will Smith homered to send Ohtani into the World Series for the first time, and the Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 victory in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Sunday night. Los Angeles opens the World Series against the New York Yankees on Friday.
“I really feel like we finally arrived, I finally arrived at this stage,” Ohtani said through a translator. “A lot of the games we played were really tough and hard to win, and it was truly a team effort to get here.”
The Dodgers clinched their record 25th NL pennant, their fourth in eight years and first won at home since beating the Mets over seven games in 1988. They moved on to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they beat Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season.
“Every year I get to spring training and I wonder how we’re going to make a baseball team fit because we have so many talented players,” reliever Evan Phillips said. “I wouldn’t say we planned for injuries but we planned to have multiple guys contribute throughout the year.”
Next up for Ohtani and Co. is Aaron Judge and the Yankees, back in the World Series for the 41st time and first in 15 years. The matchup, which opens at Dodger Stadium, features the top two home-run hitters in Judge (58) and Ohtani (54).
“It’s kind of what the people wanted, what we all wanted,” Dodgers star Mookie Betts said. “It’s going to be a battle of two good teams, a lot of long flights across the country.”
It’ll be the 12th time the franchises meet in the World Series and the first in 43 years. The Yankees have beaten the Dodgers eight times, while the Dodgers’ three championships against the Bronx Bombers came in 1955, 1963 and 1981.
“It’s the place that I’ve dreamt of playing all my life,” Ohtani said, “and to be able to finally come to this stage and be able to play and hopefully win it is my next goal.”
Playing his first season with the Dodgers after agreeing to a record $700 million, 10-year contract as a free agent, Ohtani had two hits and scored two runs in Game 6. He hit .364 with two homers and six RBIs in the NLCS.
“The goal was to get to this far,” Ohtani said. “And I also pictured myself getting this far with the contract that I’ve signed.”
Ohtani spent his first six MLB seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or reached the playoffs during his tenure.
“We wouldn’t be here without him,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “We went through a lot of injuries and there was a good stretch during the regular season where he singlehandedly carried us.”
The Dodgers, who were eliminated in the Division Series the previous two years, spent a combined $1 billion last winter to sign Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to lucrative long-term contracts in hopes of winning the franchise’s eighth World Series title.
Rookie Ben Casparius got four outs for the win and Blake Treinen the save in his first two-inning outing since the 2021 NLCS.
Los Angeles trailed after Pete Alonso’s run-scoring single against starter Michael Kopech.
Edman gave the Dodgers the lead for good with a two-run double in the bottom half off Sean Manaea that drove in Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, who both singled. Hernández snapped an 0-for-18 skid.
Edman drove in the Dodgers’ first four runs and his 11 RBIs in the NLCS tied a franchise record set by Corey Seager in 2020 against Atlanta. Edman, who won the NLCS MVP award, joined the Dodgers at the July trade deadline from St. Louis.
“I think the common theme for this season has been a lot of people, different guys have been stepping up over the course of the season,” Ohtani said.
Edman sent a 406-foot shot to left-center for a two-run homer in a four-run third that included Smith’s 416-foot drive to center off Phil Maton that extended the lead to 6-1.
“I never imagined once we acquired him, he’d be hitting fourth in a postseason game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Edman. “But I trust him. The guys trust him. He’s made huge defensive plays for us and had huge hits.”
Vientos hit his fifth postseason homer, a two-run drive in the fourth Ryan Brasier that cut the deficit to 6-3 in the fourth.
The Dodgers, whose starting pitching has been decimated by injuries, used seven pitchers in finishing off the Mets, whose $332 million payroll was the biggest in baseball.
New York twice stranded the bases loaded, when Anthony Banda struck out Jeff McNeil in the third and when Jesse Winker flied out against Phillips in the sixth.
Los Angeles outscored New York 40-26 in the six games. The Mets came within two wins of reaching the World Series after overcoming a 22-33 start and earning the NL’s last wild card.
“This should be our expectations moving forward every year, we should be playing games deep into October,” first year-manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Manaea lasted just two innings, giving up five runs and six hits. Alonso had two hits and drove in a run in what could have been his final game for the Mets. The first baseman is eligible for free agency after the World Series.
“I love this team. I love this organization. This fanbase has treated not just myself, but my family so, so well,” Alonso said.
The sellout crowd of 52,674 included Tom Hanks, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Magic Johnson, Rob Lowe, Josh Groban, Jenny McCarthy and Vanessa Bryant.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: 1B Freddie Freeman sat out for the third time in the postseason because of his sprained right ankle. He also missed Game 4 of the NLCS and Game 4 of the NLDS.
NEW YORK (AP) — As confetti fell and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blared through the arena, the New York Liberty celebrated the end of a long odyssey.
The team that always fell short, starting from their days in Madison Square Garden, through detours to Radio City Music Hall and Westchester County Center, finally found their way to the top.
Start spreading the news, indeed: There’s finally a pro basketball champion in New York again after a 67-62 overtime win over Minnesota in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday night.
“I’ve been manifesting this moment for awhile, There’s no feeling like it,” Breanna Stewart said. “Credit to Minnesota, they gave us a tough series. The fans have been amazing everywhere we’ve gone. To bring a championship to New York, first ever in franchise history it’s an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to continue to celebrate with the city. It’s going to be bonkers.”
Jonquel Jones scored 17 points to lead New York, which was one of the original franchises in the league. The Liberty made the WNBA Finals five times before, losing each one, including last season. This time they wouldn’t be denied, although it took an extra five minutes.
With stars Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggling on offense, other players stepped up. Leonie Fiebich started off OT with a 3-pointer, and then Nyara Sabally, who finished with 13 points, had a steal for a layup to make it 65-60 and bring the sellout crowd to a frenzied state.
“Whoever scores in overtime first usually wins,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said.
Minnesota didn’t score in OT until Kayla McBride hit two free throws with 1:51 left. The Lynx missed all six of their field goal attempts in overtime. After Ionescu missed a shot with 21 seconds left, her 18th miss on 19 shot attempts, the Lynx had one last chance, but Bridget Carleton missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left.
Stewart, who missed a free throw with 0.8 seconds left in the end of regulation in Game 1, hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left in overtime to seal the victory.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock the players hugged and streamers fell from the rafters at Barclays Center. Stewart and Jones hugged. The two prize free agent signees two years ago helped get this team its first title.
New York trailed by two in regulation when Stewart was fouled with 5.2 seconds left. After a lengthy video review, Stewart calmly hit two free throws to tie the game at 60. Minnesota had challenged the foul call and after the game coach Cheryl Reeve still questioned it, saying the title was stolen from her team.
McBride, who finished with 21 points, had an open look for a 3, but it fell off the rim and the game went to OT.
Many of the former Liberty greats were in the audience, including Teresa Weatherspoon, who hit a half-court heave in the 1999 WNBA Finals to force a decisive Game 3 that year. That was the last time that New York had a chance to play in a championship-deciding game until this year.
Jones, who was the only player on the Liberty to compete in a Game 5 before when she was with Connecticut in 2019, earned MVP honors.
“I could never dream of this. You know how many times I’ve been denied. It was delayed. I am so happy to do it here,” she said.
Napheesa Collier scored 22 points to lead Minnesota before fouling out with 13 seconds left in OT.
The Lynx were trying for a record fifth WNBA title, breaking a tie with the Seattle Storm and Houston Comets. Minnesota won four titles from 2011-17 behind the core group of Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore. That was the team’s last appearance in the WNBA Finals until this year.
“Congratulations to the Liberty on their first championship,” Reeve said. “It took them 28 years, congrats to them. We were that close to our fifth, it just didn’t happen.”
This is the first time since 2019 that the WNBA Finals have gone the distance. Since the league switched to a best-of-five format in 2005, seven other series have gone to a Game 5 and the home team had won five of those previous contests, including in 2019.
This series has been a fitting conclusion to a record-breaking season for the league. All five games came down to the last few possessions and have included two overtime games and a last-second shot, which have led to record ratings.
The first three games each had over a million viewers on average, with the audience growing for each contest. They also have had huge crowds in attendance.
Liberty fan Spike Lee was courtside over an hour before tipoff chatting with the media while wearing his Ionescu jersey. Once Ionescu finished warming up pregame, the pair had a brief exchange and hugged. Lee was part of a sellout crowd of 18,090 that helped this series set both the overall attendance record for a WNBA Finals as well as the average attendance mark.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Juan Soto was supposed to be the difference-maker, the one who pushed the New York Yankees back to the top.
They’re one step away.
Soto hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and the Yankees advanced to their 41st World Series — and first in 15 years — by beating the Cleveland Guardians 5-2 in Game 5 of the AL Championship Series on Saturday night.
Baseball’s biggest brand is going back to October’s main stage.
Soto, who was acquired in a seven-player trade from San Diego in December, pushed the Bronx Bombers into position with one big swing.
This was why he came, for this moment and for so many more.
“Obviously he put up an amazing season statistically speaking, but in the biggest moments, that’s what he does,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “And it shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
The Yankees, who missed the playoffs a year ago, will try to win their 28th title, facing either the New York Mets or Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 6 of the NL Championship Series is Sunday night at Dodger Stadium.
With the score tied 2-2 in the third consecutive tight game in three nights at Progressive Field, Austin Wells walked with one out in the 10th and Alex Verdugo followed with a grounder to Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez, whose soft toss to the bag was dropped by rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio for an error.
Hunter Gaddis struck out Gleyber Torres and had Soto in a 1-2 count before New York’s stylish outfielder, who fouled off four pitches, sent a towering shot over the wall in center.
“Just an at-bat for the ages,” Boone said.
Soto danced down the first-base line and paused to celebrate with his teammates before circling the bases.
“I was just saying to myself: ‘You’re all over that guy. You’re all over that guy. He ain’t got anything,'” said Soto, who moved alongside Boone as the only New York players to homer in an extra-inning, series-clinching win.
Luke Weaver got the final three outs, with Lane Thomas flying out to right field for the last one, which was caught by Soto — naturally.
When he got to New York, there were those who wondered how he would fit in. Could he handle the searing spotlight of playing in the Big Apple, where every game is dissected like a season? Could he co-exist alongside Aaron Judge?
Not only has Soto fit in, he’s led the charge.
“He’s just easy to be around,” Boone said. “You bring a superstar player in, how is he going to look? What’s he going to be like? He’s just one of the guys. That’s been rewarding to see, man, I don’t have to go out of my way to worry about him. He’s good. I feel like I’ve developed a great relationship with him, but he’s one of the guys.”
The 25-year-old Soto is eligible for free agency this winter, and Yankees fans chanted “Re-sign Soto!” during the postgame festivities. He’s expected to get a contract upward of $600 million, and his heroics in Game 5 may have raised his price.
“I think we should re-sign Soto,” third baseman Jazz Chisolm Jr. said. “Seven-hundred million dollars, final offer!”
Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer and was named ALCS MVP as the Yankees took care of the Guardians in five games. It wasn’t easy.
New York won the first two at Yankee Stadium without much fanfare or any major drama. However, it was a different story in Cleveland as all three games at Progressive Field were nail-biters.
The Guardians rallied to win Game 3 on two, two-run homers in their last two at-bats, and the Yankees held on to win Game 4 after blowing a four-run lead.
“This was a roller coaster and we were able to just keep punching back,” Stanton said. “We know there’s much more work to do and it’s only uphill from here and we got to get it done.”
Cleveland just didn’t have enough and a surprising season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt ended just short of a World Series. The franchise remains without a title since 1948, baseball’s current longest drought.
“There’s only one team that gets to win the last game of the year, and unfortunately it’s not going to be us,” Vogt said. “But we accomplished a lot as a group. We got better. We worked extremely hard. I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We just didn’t get quite as far as we wanted to.”
The Yankees are back in the World Series, where their fans expect them to be every year.
The club’s 82-80, fourth-place finish in the AL East last season led to some “soul searching as an organization” during the winter, according to Boone, who has been widely criticized but is one of just three managers to take New York to playoffs in six of his first seven seasons.
While the team’s core stayed mostly intact, getting Soto in a blockbuster trade on Dec. 7 — New York sent five players to San Diego for the three-time All-Star — accelerated the team returning to title contender.
“That was a good day,” Boone said with a laugh before the game.
Stanton’s 446-foot rocket into the left-field bleachers tied it at 2 in the sixth and chased Tanner Bibee, who had struck out New York’s dangerous DH in his first two at-bats and held the Yankees scoreless for the first five innings.
It was Stanton’s fourth homer in this series — his third in three days — and his 16th in the postseason, moving him into fourth place on the club’s career list behind Bernie Williams (22), Derek Jeter (20) and Mickey Mantle (18).
“That’s as good a swing that you can put on a ball,” Boone said.
Boone, who is from one of baseball’s royal families, finally eased the pressure after falling short of expectations.
“We’ve had some great groups, some great camaraderie, some great clubhouses,” Boone said. “This group is as close as I’ve ever seen, and they trust each other. They lean on each other. They love each other. They play for each other.”
Like Soto, Chisholm was an outsider before joining the Yankees in a July trade from Miami. But from the moment he arrived, he knew he joined something special.
“I thought I was just going to come to baseball team,” he said. “But came into a family.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: LHP Nestor Cortes (elbow strain) had another successful live batting practice session. The reliever remains on track to join the Yankees on their World Series roster. Boone said Cortes would throw again early next week. Cortes went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts.