Why LeBron James Chose the LA Lakers

The first time, LeBron James sat clumsily with Jim Gray on national TV, announcing that he was taking his talents to South Beach.

That didn't go over too well.

Upon returning to Cleveland, the announcement came in the form of an elaborately written essay in Sports Illustrated. Lots and lots of words.

This time? There was only an old-school press release sent out into the world by his representation agency, Klutch Sports. It contained exactly one sentence, which stated simply that James had agreed to a four-year, $154 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Then came the customary three pound signs (###) at the end of the release, which in public relations lingo is an indication to the news media that there is no more copy to come.

That couldn't be further from the truth, because LeBron James' latest chapter—the Hollywood chapter, the Showtime chapter—might just be the most fascinating yet.

"If I'm going to leave Cleveland again," James told a confidant leading up to this decision, according to a person familiar with their conversation, "it needs to be like what I dreamt of as a kid."

Remember, this is a man who grew up in Northeast Ohio rooting for the Cowboys and the Yankees. It's the go-big-or-go-home sports fan mentality.

In 2014, James went home. Now, he's going big.

Archbishop Philip Wilson sentenced for concealing child sex abuse

A Catholic archbishop in Australia has been given a maximum sentence of 12 months in detention for concealing child sexual abuse in the 1970s.

Philip Wilson, now archbishop of Adelaide, is the most senior Catholic globally to be convicted of the crime.

He was found guilty by a court last month of covering up abuse by a paedophile priest in New South Wales.

On Tuesday, the court ordered Wilson to be assessed for "home detention" - meaning he will probably avoid jail.

Magistrate Robert Stone said the senior clergyman had shown "no remorse or contrition". He will be eligible for parole after six months.

Wilson has not resigned as archbishop, despite relinquishing his duties in the wake of his conviction.

In May, a court found he had failed to report his colleague James Patrick Fletcher's abuse of altar boys to police.

Wilson, then a junior priest in the Maitland region, had dismissed young victims in a bid to protect the Church's reputation, Magistrate Stone ruled.

Facebook’s Privacy Blunders Continue – Company Reports a New Bug That Unblocked People

Someone needs to go help Facebook… The company continues to hit itself with disaster after disaster. What seems like an unending saga of privacy mishaps, Facebook has now announced a fresh new problem. The social networking giant that doesn’t consider itself a monopoly has said that a software “bug” unblocked some people who had been blocked by another user.

This means that if you blocked someone after an abusive or a frustrating incident, they were able to see at least some of your posts. Over 800,000 users were affected by this bug between May 29 and June 5. It remains unclear why it has taken the company an additional one month to inform the affected users.

“Starting today we are notifying over 800,000 users about a bug in Facebook and Messenger that unblocked some people they had blocked,” the company wrote today. “The bug was active between May 29 and June 5 – and while someone who was unblocked could not see content shared with friends, they could have seen things posted to a wider audience. For example pictures shared with friends of friends. We know that the ability to block someone is important – and we’d like to apologize and explain what happened.”

Portland State University police fatally shoot man who was trying to break up a fight

Portland State University police shot and killed a man who was trying to break up a fight outside a sports bar early Friday, multiple witnesses told our affiliate KATU, sparking outrage and protests against the university's armed police force.

Witnesses said the man, whom they identified as Jason Washington, was fatally shot by campus police after a fight at 1:30 a.m. Friday outside a local bar.
The Multnomah County, Oregon, Medical Examiner's office also identified the deceased as Jason Washington. Portland police said in a statement there was an "officer-involved shooting" at that time outside the Cheerful Tortoise bar, but did not identify the person who was shot.
Witnesses told KATU that Washington was trying to break up a fight. During the scuffle, a gun fell out of his holster, witnesses told the news station, and when he reached for it, officers fired at him.
"From there it just kind of took a turn for the worst, and the good guy ended up getting shot," Keyaira Smith, who filmed the shooting, told KATU.

Philippines v Australia basketball: Mass brawl at World Cup qualifier

Punches, kicks and chairs were thrown as a mass brawl broke out between players in a Philippines v Australia World Cup qualifying tie.

The Philippines ended the game with just three players left on court after nine of their side were ejected.

Four Australia players were also ejected from the game, which their side went on to win 89-53 in Manila.

The International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has opened disciplinary proceedings against both sides.

The fight broke out in the third quarter of the game at the 55,000-capacity Philippine Arena.


"Basketball Australia deeply regrets the incident in tonight's match between the Boomers and the Philippines in Manila. We are extremely disappointed with what happened and our role in it," Basketball Australia chief executive Anthony Moore said.

Tech’s ‘Dirty Secret’: The App Developers Sifting Through Your Gmail

App developers can sift through the emails of millions of Gmail users, The Wall Street Journal reports. This practice has been known in the industry for a long time, but Google had promised last year that it would stop its computers from scanning the messages of Gmail users to personalize advertisements.

While that may be true, the tech giant continues to give access to “hundreds of outside software developers scan the inboxes of millions of Gmail users who signed up for email-based services offering shopping price comparisons, automated travel-itinerary planners or other tools,” WSJ reports.

This access enables these third parties to view Gmail users’ emails, recipient addresses, timestamps, and the entire content of those messages. Google suggests that all of this happens “with” user consent, however, it may be another case of tricking users into giving consent without properly informing them about it first.

Man accused of plotting terror attack on July 4th parade in Cleveland

A Cleveland man was arrested after allegedly telling an undercover agent he was planning a terrorist attack on the city's downtown July 4th parade, authorities said Monday morning.

Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts, who used the name Abdur Raheem Rafeeq on Facebook, was taken into custody Sunday and has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Stephen Anthony of the FBI said in a news conference. He was scheduled to appear in court later Monday.
Pitts told the undercover agent he had surveyed Voinovich Park and the US Coast Guard Station in Cleveland and had scouted locations to park an explosives-filled vehicle that would be detonated during crowded Independence Day festivities, Anthony said.

Actress Tessa Thompson comes out as Bisexual as she reveals Janelle Monáe and herself "Love each other deeply"

American actress, Tessa Thompson, 34, has opened up on her sexuality and her relationship with singer Janelle Monáe in a new interview with Porter magazine.

According to the Westworld and Thor: Ragnarok star, 'I’m attracted to men and also to women. If I bring a woman home, [or] a man, we don’t even have to have the discussion.'

'That was something I was conscientious of in terms of this declaration around Janelle and myself. I want everyone else to have that freedom and support that I have from my loved ones. But so many people don't.'

Speaking on her relationship with Janelle Monáe who came out as pansexual months ago, she said: 'We love each other deeply.'

She added:

Bystanders To Fatal Overdoses Increasingly Becoming Criminal Defendants

Alexis Santa Barbara is a 39-year-old mother of three from a working-class suburb of Philadelphia.

Santa Barbara's addiction story follows a familiar course: she had been prescribed Percocet years ago to treat back pain. When the drug became unavailable, she turned to heroin. And she became hooked — not long after getting laid off from her job at a local deli.

Across the street from her, her neighbor, identified just as "J.M." in court papers, was also in the grip of an opioid addiction.

How the two of their lives intersect next dramatically altered their connection, from two people in the same community dealing with the same sickness to something else: an alleged victim and a perpetrator, cast that way because of a drug transaction that took a deadly turn.
One evening in late March, that neighbor handed Santa Barbara $10 and asked if she'd score him a fix of heroin.

"He just asked her to grab it, so she did," said Emily Mano, Santa Barbara's 18-year-old daughter. "She doesn't always do stuff like that. It was just a favor. She'd never mean to harm someone. Never."

To prosecutors, it wasn't just a favor. It was crime. Authorities say Santa Barbara obtained heroin, and whether she knew it or not, the batch was laced with the powerful and often deadly synthetic drug, Fentanyl. Shortly after, court records show, Santa Barbara texted her neighbor: "Are you OK??"

He wasn't.

"His wife comes home and finds him collapsed on the floor of a bedroom," said George Yacoubian, Santa Barbara's defense lawyer.

Notorious gangster Redoine Faid escapes French prison, again, on hijacked helicopter

A notorious French gangster has managed to escape prison again. This time, with help from armed friends using a hijacked helicopter and smoke bombs.

Redoine Faid, 46, who escaped prison five years ago using explosives, broke out of a prison near Paris on Sunday. He was serving a 25-year sentence for planning a robbery where a police officer was killed.

Two or three men armed with assault rifles hijacked a helicopter and forced the pilot to fly to Faid's prison in Seine-et-Marne. When the helicopter landed, two men dressed all in black, opened the prison door using a grinding machine and took Faid. At the time, he was meeting with his brother in a visitation room, members of the guards’ union, told France's BFM television. The men set off smoke bombs to blur the scene from video surveillance, union member Loic Delbroc said.

France’s Justice Ministry said the escape was over in just "a few minutes."

Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet, who travelled to the Sud-Francilien prison in Réau on Sunday evening, called it "a spectacular escape," BBC reports.

In the 1990s, Faid led a gang known for robbing banks. He escaped prison in 2013 using explosives hidden in packs of tissues.

Soccer team found alive after 9 days trapped in cave

Rescue teams have found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive in a cave in Thailand nine days after the group went missing, according to a high-ranking person involved in the search and rescue operation.

The boys, who range in ages from 11 to 16 years old and are all members of the Wild Boar soccer team, entered the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system on Saturday, June 23, for a team outing, but became stranded in the dark tunnels by a sudden and continuous downpour.
The international rescue operation -- which includes the Thai Navy SEALs as well as experts from the US, China, Australia and the UK -- had been working to reach a large, deep chamber, informally named Pattaya Beach, where they believed the missing boys had taken refuge.

The missing boys, with their coach, are seen here in a photo taken from the coach's Facebook page.
"I confirm they are all safe," Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn told reporters on Monday night.

Air pollution linked to 3.2 million new diabetes cases in one year

Levels of air pollution well below what is considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization are causing an increased risk of diabetes worldwide, according to a study published Friday in the journal Lancet Planetary Health.

In 2016 alone, the study found that air pollution contributed to 3.2 million new diabetes cases --14% of the total -- around the world. In the United States, air pollution was linked to 150,000 new cases of diabetes per year.
"There's an undeniable relationship between diabetes and and particle air pollution levels well below the current safe standards," said senior study author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University. "Many industry lobbying groups argue that current levels are too stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened."
Particulate or particle air pollution is made up of microscopic pieces of dust, dirt, smoke and soot mixed with liquid droplets. The finest particles regulated by the EPA are 2.5 micrometers; to put that in perspective, a strand of human hair is 70 micrometers, or more than 30 times larger.
Anything less than 10 micrometers can not only enter the lungs, it can pass into the bloodstream, where it is carried to various organs and begins a chronic inflammatory reaction thought to lead to disease.

California father's killing at campsite leads to investigations into 7 past shootings

Authorities are looking into whether the death of a man who was shot while camping with his daughters in California is linked to previous shootings at the campsite.

Tristan Beaudette was shot once in the head on June 22 as he slept in a tent with his 2- and 4-year-old daughters at the Malibu Creek State Park, officials said.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled his death a homicide this week.
In a statement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it's looking for links between the 35-year-old's killing and seven shootings dating to November 2016.

Detectives have not determined a motive behind the shooting and currently there's no evidence that suggest all the incidents are connected, the statement said.
The shootings detectives are investigating took place on November 3 and 9, 2016; January 7, June 6, July 22, July 30, 2017 and most recently on June 18.
Incidents include a man shot in the 8,000-acre park in 2016, and a woman whose car was hit by a bullet while she was camping there with her boyfriend in January 2017, CNN affiliate KABC reported. It's unclear whether the shootings resulted in fatalities.
Earlier this week, the sheriff's department said it was reviewing only three prior shooting incidents.
The Malibu Creek State Park is a scenic recreation area 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles that's been used as a backdrop for movies and television shows.

Baby boom at Texas hospital: 48 babies born in 41 hours

The nursery at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth has never been as full as it has in the last 41 hours. And the halls have never been so busy.

Since June 26, 48 babies were born in less than 2 days, 3m360 Dallas / Fort Worth reports. That's an average of more than one baby an hour. And, there's definitely a lively discussion here about why.

"There's always talk about full moon, we definitely had a big full moon this week," OB-GYN Dr. Jamie Erwin said. "Maybe there is something to that as well, maybe not. But it's always a busy time of the year."
It is a busy time indeed. According to Texas state records, most babies are born in the months of July, August and September.

Nursing director Michelle Stemley's phone blew up with messages on Wednesday.

"People were asking about staffing," she recalled. "I was like, 'what's going on?' "

But, she said the hospital was prepared. Extra staff was called in; pizza ordered and even after 48 babies in a short span of time, they are ready for more. "We are trained for this," she said.

Two-day old Isaiah Johnson is one of the 48 babies born this week.

Glimmer of hope in search for soccer team missing in Thailand cave

The effort to locate 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a cave in Thailand for a week picked up pace Saturday. A break in the rain eased flooding in the system of caverns and more experts from around the world joined the rescue mission.

The search effort in the northern province of Chiang Rai has been going slowly, largely because flooding has blocked rescuers from going through chambers to get deeper into the cave.

Thai prime minister tells families of soccer team missing in cave to have faith
There were hundreds of civilian volunteers here helping out Saturday, BBC News reports. On Saturday morning, BBC News correspondent Howard Johnson said he saw three cavers going off into the hills to try and find routes into the caverns below.

Pumping out water hasn't solved the problem, so increasing efforts have been made to find shafts on the mountainside that might serve as a back door to the blocked-off areas where the missing may be sheltering.

The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach entered the sprawling Tham Luang Nang Non cave after a soccer game on June 23, but near-constant rains have thwarted the search for them. Authorities have nevertheless expressed hope that the group has found a dry place within the cave to wait, and that they are still alive.

A solution for kids' social media addiction? Teach them to use tech more responsibly

The World Health Organization declared last week that “gaming disorder,” or video game addiction, is a “mental health disorder” similar to an addiction to gambling. Less than 24 hours later, at a standing-room-only session at the Cannes Lions festival, two prominent executives, Tristan Harris of Google and Scott Hagedorn of Omnicom, issued a dire warning that we are on the verge of a global public health crisis, particularly among teenagers, because of an “addiction to likes.” And data from the analytics firm Flurry shows that we spend five hours a day interacting with about 88 apps, including those connected to video games, on our smartphones.

Is it any wonder, then, that Cam Adair, the founder of the online support community Game Quitters, stressed recently in an interview that, “There’s a massive tsunami coming that we’re not prepared for.”

Truth be told, we should have been. Technology’s dark side was actually brought to bear a decade ago by Dr. Karen Sobel-Lojeski, a researcher at Stony Brook University and tech entrepreneur who identified the problem as "virtual distance," the mathematically quantifiable and scientifically researched measure of what is lost when human beings rely heavily on smart, digital devices to communicate.

America's oldest man, 112, had bank account compromised by thieves, family says

America's oldest man, a 112-year-old who served in World War II, had his bank account compromised by thieves, his family said.

Richard Overton's account was infiltrated and used to purchase savings bonds without his knowledge, his cousin, Volma Overton Jr., told KVUE.

He said he noticed on June 27 that there were several debts from Overton's bank account for savings bonds. He wouldn't say how much was in the account, or how much was taken, but Overton Jr. said a very large amount of money was taken from Overton.

A police report was filed Friday. Overton Jr. said both Social Security and banking account numbers were used to make withdrawals.

World Cup 2018: All you need to know about the last 16

2018 Fifa World Cup last 16
Venue: Russia. Dates: 30 June - 3 July
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, Red Button and iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; listen on Radio 5 live; follow text updates online.
The knockout stage of the World Cup gets under way on Saturday, when France face Argentina in Kazan at 15:00 BST, a match you can watch live on BBC One.

The last 16 features eight matches over four days in seven cities across Russia.

Hosts Russia are through, along with former winners Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, England, France and Spain.

Defending champions Germany were among the 16 teams who did not qualify from the group stage.

3m360 to show France-Argentina last 16 - TV picks announced
World Cup last-16 line-up in full
Lawro's predictions for last-16 matches
World Cup Daily: Hodgson's tattoos and being Ronaldo's translator
The 21st edition of the World Cup has provided 122 goals, 36,349 completed passes, 158 yellow cards and lots of video assistant referee drama.

'Blood moon' to stun UAE with longest eclipse of century

The last blood moon phenomenon took place in January.
The UAE will bear witness to a total lunar eclipse which will stun the senses next month.

The longest "blood moon" lunar eclipse of the century will take place for nearly 103 minutes.

On July 27, at 9:14pm UAE local time, the moon will enter into the eclipse phase and continue for five hours until 2:19am
This as related by Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Deputy Director of the Sharjah Centre for Space and Astronomy.

Totality will occur from 11:30pm until 1:30am for 103 minutes.

The peak eclipse time will take place at 12:21am.
The blood moon will be visible in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand but excluding America.

The last eclipse had taken place on January 31, a super rare blue blood moon that combined three lunar phenomena - supermoon, blue moon and blood moon.

Royalists have defended The Queen and Prince Philip after a new book made sensational claims about their sex life.

Lady Colin Campbell caused offence after she suggested the Queen had a ‘healthy sexual appetite’ and her husband was a ‘flirt’.

The 68-year-old, who was married to the Duke of Argyll’s son Lord Colin Campbell, said the couple had been discussed among their servants after having a wild wedding night in 1947.
When discussing Prince Phillip in the book entitled, The Queen’s Marriage, she wrote: “He loves the company of beautiful women. He’s a huge flirt.

A young father took his own life outside a probation office when he was told he couldn't see his baby son.

A young father took his own life outside a probation office when he was told he couldn't see his baby son.

Harry Slaughter, 21, was banned from seeing his son because he sent text messages to a schoolgirl he met on a train asking her to perform a sex act. A week before he killed himself last November, Harry Slaughter warned probation services what he was planning to do if he was not allowed to visit three-month-old Frankie.

He was convicted last year and tried to take his own life by drowning but he was rescued by police who saw him walking into the sea. After an assessment by mental health teams, it was found that he should not be admitted.
His mother, Jane Ward, told an inquest that he had tried to kill himself five times since the age of 16 after her marriage with his father broke down. She said he heard voices in his head and had panic attacks.

New music video to XXXTentacion’s single “SAD!” has just been released and it already has over 3 million views

An official music video for slain rapper XXXTentacion's single titled SAD! was released today and it's already got over 2 million views in only a few hours.
It is unclear when the video was recorded but back in April of this year XXXTentacion said on his Instagram Story that he would be releasing a video soon, so that might have been pertaining to this clip.
The video shows XXXTentacion come into the church during his own funeral. As mourners bow their head in sorrow, the rapper walks down the aisle to the pulpit where his body lay in a casket.
He stands for a while, looking at his dead body. Then all of a sudden, his body comes to life and attacks him. For most of the video, he is seen wrestling with his deceased self; a battle that he ultimately wins.

Ed Sheeran 'sued for $100m over Marvin Gaye song'

Ed Sheeran has reportedly been hit with a $100m (£76.5m) lawsuit for allegedly using many of the musical components in Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud”.

A lawsuit filed in the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York claims the "Shape of You" singer copied Gaye’s “melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bassline, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping” for the single that appeared on his album X, according to gossip website TMZ.

“Thinking Out Loud” reached No 1 in the UK chart and No 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while the album has sold over 15m copies.

The lawsuit was filed by Structured Asset Sales, which owns part of the copyright for the song Gaye released in 1973, the website claims.

Best evidence yet for alien life on Saturn's moon found by scientists

Large organic molecules blasted into space from deep-sea vents on one of Saturn's moons, show that it contains "all of the basic requirements for life as we know it”.

Plumes of material from cracks in Enceladus' icy surface were sampled by Nasa spacecraft Cassini, shortly before it plunged to its death in Saturn’s atmosphere.

A study of this data by an international team of researchers has found evidence of carbon-rich substances formed in the heart of the moon.

The scientists said they were “blown away” by the discovery.

Complex organic molecules do not necessarily provide a habitable environment, but on the other hand they are a necessary precursor for life,” Dr Frank Postberg from the University of Heidelberg, who led the research, told The Independent.

BreakingNews Maryland shooting: Five killed in attack on US newspaper

 

A gunman has opened fire at a local newspaper office in Maryland, killing five people and wounding three.

Staff at the Capital Gazette building in Annapolis said he shot through a glass door into the newsroom.

"There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload," tweeted reporter Phil Davis.

Police said a suspect was now in custody and was being questioned.

He is reportedly refusing to co-operate with officers and a police source told CBS News that he had "damaged" his fingertips to avoid being identified.
The suspect, who police say is a white male in his 20s, surrendered to officers without a struggle.