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21-YEAR-OLD MARINE INJURED IN TIMES SQUARE SHOOTING BETWEEN CD VENDORS
New York City’s Times Square will see an increased police presence following the shooting of a 21-year-old Marine who became caught up in an altercation among street vendors. The incident occurred Sunday evening near Broadway at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 46th Street when a small group of vendors got into an argument, police told ABC News station WABC. One vendor then pulled a gun and fired a single shot that ended up striking 21-year-old Samuel Poulin, who was standing just a few feet away near a Starbucks, WABC reported. Poulin, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the shooting, was grazed in the back by the bullet and immediately taken to Bellevue Hospital to be treated. He graduated from The Citadel’s class of 2021, the military college said in a statement. Authorities told WABC that Poulin was the only person injured in the shooting and that he was not the intended target.
[SOURCE: abcnews.go.com / ENGAGEMENT: 18.17%]
GB NEWS VIEWING FIGURES PLUMMET BEHIND WELSH LANGUAGE PAW PATROL
GB News has taken a hit in its viewing figures, with the latest stats revealing that it has fallen below Welsh language S4C shows such as Pobol y Cwm and Paw Patrol. The new channel, chaired by Andrew Neil, debuted on June 13 with ratings of 336,000, beating rivals Sky News and BBC News. However, new figures showed a substantial fall, with only a maximum of 32,000 people tuning in on Thursday for Great British Breakfast and Neil’s own flagship show only attracted 31,000. The nosedive means that ratings are now higher over on Welsh language S4C shows such as Pobol y Cwm, which rakes in 44,000 viewers according to the latest S4C stats. Meanwhile, Welsh language Paw Patrol, Patrol Pawennau, attracted over five times as many viewers, with 161,000 tuning in on Thursday. GB News rivals BBC News at Ten had 3.6million viewers on Thursday with ITV News at Ten seeing 1.5million. The latest figures come just days after Neil, 72, announced that he would be taking a break from presenting on the network. The presenter told viewers of absence at the end of his show on Thursday following a rocky start. ‘That’s it for tonight and from me for the next few weeks,’ he said. ‘But I leave you in the safe and professional hands of Colin Brazier.’ Despite the break, he insisted he will be back when we ‘least expect’ it.
[SOURCE: metro.co.uk / ENGAGEMENT: 10.90%]
SCOTTIE PIPPEN SAYS PHIL JACKSON IS A ‘RACIST’ WHO TRIED TO ‘EXPOSE’ KOBE BRYANT
NBA Hall of Famer and Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen isn’t holding back anymore when it comes to his feelings about the past. He’s continuing to discuss his infamous decision to take himself out of a 1994 playoff game, and opening up more than ever before. In that game, head coach Phil Jackson drew up the game-winning shot for Toni Kukoc. In an interview with GQ last week — the same interview in which he criticized Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons — Pippen said that he felt insulted disrespected by Jackson, but that’s not all. He also said that he felt that Jackson denying him the final shot was a “racial move.” Dan Patrick asked Pippen about the comment in an interview on his show Monday, and Pippen didn’t back away from it. In fact, he doubled down and called Jackson a racist instead of just implying it. After Pippen said that he has no problem calling Jackson a racist, he used Jackson’s relationship with Kobe Bryant as an example of how he took advantage of Black players. Jackson coached Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004, then left the team and wrote “The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul,” a book about the tumultuous 2003-2004 Lakers that was very critical of Bryant. Jackson then returned as head coach in 2005. Patrick then brought up how Michael Jordan didn’t have a problem passing the ball to Steve Kerr for the game-winning shot of the 1998 NBA Finals. But Pippen wasn’t having it, telling Patrick he doesn’t think that’s a fair comparison at all. Pippen believes Jordan only said he would pass the ball to Kerr because there were cameras filming him in the huddle, and even thinks MJ rehearsed that moment ahead of time. Pippen even hopped on Twitter after the interview to pour a little more gasoline on the fire. He clearly knows what kind of kerfuffle his comments are going to cause and is totally OK with it.
[SOURCE: sports.yahoo.com / ENGAGEMENT 10.23%]
INSTAGRAM MODEL MULAN HERNANDEZ SAYS SHE TURNED DOWN $5K FROM HER NBA PLAYER BOYFRIEND BOL BOL BECAUSE SHE TRULY LOVES HIM
Instagram model Mulan Hernandez wants everyone to know she’s not dating NBA player for his money. For the past few months, Hernandez has been linked to the Denver Nuggets’ big man after he posted a photo of her rocking his jersey on his Instagram story. Over the weekend, Hernandez revealed that she had turned down a $5k “bribe” from her boyfriend because she truly loves him. It seems like Bol Bol has himself a keeper on his hands.
[SOURCE: brobible.com / ENGAGEMENT: 4.85%]
SERENA WILLIAMS ANNOUNCES SHE WILL NOT PLAY IN TOKYO OLYMPICS
Tennis superstar Serena Williams announced on Sunday that she will not be heading to the Tokyo Olympics. “I’m actually not on the Olympic list — not that I’m aware of. And if so then I shouldn’t be on it,” Williams told reporters during a pre-Wimbledon press conference after being asked if she planned to participate. Williams, who is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, did not give a reason as to why she did not plan to attend. When asked to elaborate on why she was not playing in the Olympics — and if it had anything to do with the fact her 3-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., would not have been able to go with her due to Covid-19 restrictions — she declined to specify. “There’s a lot of reasons that I made my Olympic decision and I don’t feel like going into them today,” she said. “Maybe another day. Sorry.” In previous Summer Games, Williams won gold for the United States in both singles and doubles tennis at the 2012 London Olympics, in doubles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her gold medals for doubles were all shared with her older sister Venus. The Olympics opens on July 23 in Tokyo after being postponed due Covid-19. NBC Universal, the parent company of NBC News, owns the U.S. media rights to the upcoming Olympics.
[SOURCE: nbcnews.com / ENGAGEMENT: 4.85%]
NUDE SUNBATHERS FLEEING DEER FINED FOR BREAKING SYDNEY LOCKDOWN
New South Wales police have fined two men for breaching coronavirus restrictions after they were startled by a deer while sunbathing naked on a beach south of Sydney and ran into the bush, becoming lost and needing to be rescued. Police sent a helicopter to search for the pair, who were fined $1,000 for breaching public health orders amid a coronavirus outbreak that has seen residents in greater Sydney locked down and banned from travelling outside their local area. It is unclear how the deer startled the men, and what made them dash into the bush to escape it. Authorities located a 30-year-old man naked and carrying a backpack on the walking track near Lady Wakehurst Drive in the Royal national park, about 40km south of Sydney’s city centre. After a further search, they were also able to find a 49-year-old man, who was “partially clothed” according to a statement from NSW police. The men told officers they had been on a nearby beach when they ran into bushland after being startled by a deer. The men were taken to St George police station and issued the fines for the breach of public health orders that prohibit residents of greater Sydney from travelling outside the city. The news also provided a diversion for many on Twitter, who had tuned into Monday morning’s NSW press conference to get an update on the state’s Covid-19 outbreak. The NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, told reporters about the sunbathers at the press conference, saying it was “difficult to legislate against idiots”. Police said 44 fines had been issued on Sunday for breaches of public health orders, with four of those also being $200 infringements for failing to wear a fitted face covering.
[SOURCE: theguardian.com / ENGAGEMENT: 4.31%]
DISNEY HAS CHANGED WANDAVISION’S POST-CREDITS SCENE ON DISNEY+
Even in the weirdness that is much of Marvel Studios’ Phase Four slate of projects, WandaVision stood out as the oddest of the bunch as it took the MCU into its first sitcom. Across the nine-episode season, writer Jac Schaeffer told a unique story that is set to continue in next year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Throughout the series, fan theories went wild with expectations of universe-altering changes to the MCU and deep connections to the long-awaited sequel, with many speculating that an appearance from the Sorcerer Supreme himself was coming. While some were left disappointed by the lack of Stephen Strange in WandaVision, the finale’s post-credit scene set the stage for the Scarlet Witch’s role in the upcoming Doctor Strange continuation. The second after-credits scene to “The Series Finale” showed Wanda studying the Darkhold in an isolated cabin before hearing the voices of her two children, Billy and Tommy, who were previously thought to have disappeared with the rest of The Hex. Several months after the series concluded, eagle-eyed fans have spotted some potentially significant changes that have been made to the finale’s concluding moments since the March release. The cryptic scene — which shows Wanda Maximoff studying the Darkhold in an estranged cabin — has seen significant alterations made to the overall color palette as well as the cabin’s surrounding scenery. Most notably, more trees have been added around Wanda’s scenic abode, giving the Scarlet Witch’s hideout a more woodland setting. On top of the visual changes made to the scenery of Wanda’s post-Westview home, the episode’s credits have been updated to note the inclusion of the “Doctor Strange Theme,” which was composed by Michael Giacchino. The Direct can confirm this change was made several weeks prior to its discovery on June 27.
[SOURCE: thedirect.com / ENGAGEMENT: 3.50%]
FOUR-TIME PRO BOWL RECEIVER DEMARYIUS THOMAS RETIRING FROM NFL AS A BRONCO
Demaryius Thomas announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday in a typically understated fashion for the four-time Pro Bowl selection. Quiet off the field, driven to succeed on it, Thomas — known as “D.T.” to most everyone associated with the Denver Broncos — simply sat down for a short video and opened with: “I’m Demaryius Thomas. I finally came to a decision to hang it up … I’m going to retire and I’m going to retire a Denver Bronco … I’m done and I did well.” Thomas, 33, will be honored by the Broncos during their home opener on Sept. 26 against the New York Jets, the team he finished his career with in 2019. Thomas was the first of two first-round picks for the Broncos in the 2010 NFL draft — Tim Tebow was the other — and spent nine seasons with the Broncos and finishes his career as the team’s second-leading receiver (9,055 yards), behind only Rod Smith. He is third in franchise history in catches (655) behind Smith and Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe. He played in 10 seasons overall and finished with 724 catches for 9,763 yards to go with 63 touchdowns. For many among the team’s faithful, Thomas’ signature play is the catch-and-run 80-yard touchdown, on a short pass from Tebow, in the first play of overtime to give the Broncos a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wild-card game following the 2011 season. Thomas’ teammates, coaches and friends have often referred to all he had overcome to reach first Georgia Tech and then the NFL. His mother, Katina Smith, went to prison on drug charges when Thomas was 11 years old. With his father in the military, Thomas began working before school, picking corn, peas and butter beans for farmers to help support himself. His mother’s sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in 2015, and Smith saw her son play football in person for the first time in the Broncos’ playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in January 2016. Quarterback Peyton Manning, who kneeled down on the game’s final play, gave Thomas the football from that play to give to Thomas’ mother.
[SOURCE: espn.com / ENGAGEMENT: 3.36%]
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