Category Archives: Yahoo

NEW YORK (AP) Rudy Giuliani filed for bankruptcy on Thursday, acknowledging severe financial strain exacerbated by his pursuit of former President Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election and a jurys verdict last week requiring him to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers he defamed.

The former New York City mayor listed nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts, including almost $1 million in state and federal tax liabilities, money he owes lawyers, and many millions of dollars in potential judgments in lawsuits against him. He estimated he had assets worth $1 million to $10 million.

Giuliani had been teetering on the brink of financial ruin for several years, but the eye-popping damages award to former election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Shaye Moss pushed him over the edge. The women said Giulianis targeting of them after Republican Trump narrowly lost Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.

Ted Goodman, a political adviser and spokesperson for Giuliani, said in a statement that Giuliani's decision to seek bankruptcy protection should be a surprise to no one because no person could have reasonably believed that Mayor Giuliani would be able to pay such a high punitive amount.

The Chapter 11 filing will give Giuliani the opportunity and time to pursue an appeal, while providing transparency for his finances under the supervision of the bankruptcy court, to ensure all creditors are treated equally and fairly throughout the process, Goodman said.

But declaring bankruptcy likely wont erase the $148 million verdict. Bankruptcy law doesn't allow for the dissolution of debts that come from a willful and malicious injury inflicted on someone else. A judge said Wednesday that Freeman and Moss could start pursuing payment immediately, saying any delay could give Giuliani time to hide assets.

This maneuver is unsurprising, and it will not succeed in discharging Mr. Giulianis debt to Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, their lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, said.

After the verdict, Giuliani repeated his stolen election claims, insisted he did nothing wrong and suggested hed keep pressing his claims even if it meant losing all his money or going to jail. His rhetoric prompted Freeman and Moss to sue him again this week.

The Dec. 15 verdict was the latest and costliest sign of the mounting financial toll incurred by the 79-year-old Giuliani, a one-time Republican presidential candidate and high-ranking Justice Department official once heralded as Americas Mayor for his calm and steady leadership after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Once swimming in cash as a globetrotting security consultant, Giulianis money woes intensified amid investigations, lawsuits, fines, sanctions and damages related to his work helping Trump try to overturn the 2020 election.

Among his potential debts, he listed lawsuits brought by two voting machine manufacturers who say he and others defamed them with claims of a stolen election.

A lawyer for Giuliani, Adam Katz, suggested at an August court hearing in one of those cases that Giuliani was close to broke, and unable to pay a number of bills, including a $12,000 to $18,000 tab for a company to search through his electronic records for evidence.

In court papers rebuffing voting machine-maker Smartmatics demand for an accounting of his finances, Giulianis lawyers disclosed that he was so hard up for money that he solicited third-party donations to pay a prior $300,000 bill to the electronic discovery firm.

In September, Giulianis former lawyer Robert Costello sued him for nearly $1.4 million in unpaid legal bills. Giuliani claimed he never received them. The case is pending.

Costello represented Giuliani from November 2019 to this past July in matters ranging from an investigation into his business dealings in Ukraine, which resulted in an FBI raid on his home and office in April 2021, to investigations of his work in the wake of Trumps 2020 election loss.

Investigators noted Giulianis dwindling finances in court papers unsealed this week from the 2021 raid, raising his need for money as possible motivation for his interest in aiding a Ukrainian official. Citing bank records and other information, they said Giuliani had gone from having about $1.2 million in the bank and $40,000 in credit card debt in January 2018 to about $288,000 in cash and $110,000 credit debt in February 2019. Giuliani was never charged with a crime as a result of that investigation.

Giulianis other lawsuits, which he listed as potential liabilities, include one brought against him by Bidens son Hunter, who alleges Giuliani was responsible for the total annihilation of his digital privacy by accessing and sharing his personal data from his laptop computer.

Giuliani is also being sued by a woman who said she worked for him. She alleges he owed her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages and coerced her into sex. Another lawsuit involves a man who claims Giuliani defamed him after he slapped the ex-mayor on the back at a supermarket. Giuliani has denied the womans claims and has asked for the mans lawsuit to be thrown out.

In August, Giuliani was indicted with Trump and others in Georgia on charges he acted as Trumps chief co-conspirator in a plot to subvert Bidens victory. He was also described as a co-conspirator but not charged in special counsel Jack Smiths federal election interference case against Trump.

Giulianis bankruptcy filing did not detail his assets or add to what is already known about how hes been making money in recent years.

Giuliani hosts a daily radio show in New York City and a nightly streaming show on social media. On social media, hes pitched various products, including wares sold by election denier Mike Lindell. He also has hawked autographed 9/11 shirts for $911 and has appeared on Cameo, a service where celebrities record short videos for profit. Giuliani was charging $325 for his greetings, though a recent check shows theyre temporarily unavailable."

After his Georgia indictment, he directed social media followers to the website of his legal defense fund. To save money, Giuliani has represented himself in some legal matters.

In July, Giuliani put his Manhattan apartment up for sale. He was initially asking $6.5 million for the three-bedroom residence a block from Central Park, but that might have proved a bit steep. Three months later, he trimmed his ask to $6.1 million. The apartment still hasnt sold.

In September, Trump hosted a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for Giuliani at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. Giulianis son, Andrew, said the event was expected to raise more than $1 million for Giulianis legal bills.

Andrew Giuliani also said that Trump had committed to hosting a second fundraiser for the former mayor at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, though that doesnt appear to have happened.

___

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington contributed to this report.

The rest is here:

Rudy Giuliani files for bankruptcy days after being ordered to pay $148 million in defamation case - Yahoo News

Joe Biden exchanged emails with his son Hunters business associate 54 times while he was serving as vice president, and some of the messages were sent around the time the elder Biden was traveling to Ukraine and his son was working for a Ukrainian gas company, according to records released by House Republicans.

A White House spokesperson declined to comment but pointed to statements by House Democrats that Hunter Bidens business associate, Eric Schwerin, worked as Joe Bidens financial adviser from 2009 to 2017 and helped him file his tax returns. Schwerin did not respond to requests for comment.

The records released describe the dates of the emails and who exchanged them, but do not include the messages themselves. NBC News has not reviewed the contents of the emails.

All told, then-Vice President Biden emailed Schwerin 35 times before and after his 2014 trips to Ukraine. Five emails were exchanged just prior to a trip by Vice President Biden to Ukraine on June 7, 2014, and 27 emails were sent from the end of June to a second trip to Ukraine by Biden on Nov. 21, 2014.

The bulk of the communication occurred in the lead-up to and following an agreement for Hunter Biden to serve on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma.

Earlier this year, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a news release that Schwerin told House Ways and Means Committee staff in a March interview that the elder Biden was not involved in the business of his son or any of his relatives.

Raskin said Schwerin stated that he was not aware of any involvement by President Biden in the financial conduct of the Presidents relatives businesses, much less any transactions into or out of the then-vice presidents bank account related to business conducted by any Biden family member.

The email disclosures were part of law enforcement records released by House Republicans following the testimony of IRS whistleblower Joseph Ziegler. This month, Ziegler provided the documents to the House Ways and Means Committee in conjunction with a sworn affidavit. The committee, which also heard the testimony of a second IRS whistleblower, Gary Shapley, is led by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo.

Ziegler told Congress that there were multiple emails found with Hunter Biden and his business associates but the investigative team was unaware at the time that then-Vice President Biden used an alias in his private emails.

Hunter Biden earned nearly $1.2 million from Burisma in 2014, according to emails contained on a copy of his hard drive and obtained by NBC News. In their recent tax indictment of Biden, federal prosecutors alleged he made over $1.4 million from 2016 to 2019, when Bidens engagement with the Ukrainian firm ended.

Biden is scheduled to be arraigned on misdemeanor and felony federal tax charges in Los Angeles in early January. After his indictment last week, Bidens attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement, After five years of investigating with no new evidence and two years after Hunter paid his taxes in full the U.S. Attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors.

Bidens addition to Burismas board as head of legal affairs was reported in a news release in May 2014. At some point from May to December 2014, Burisma allegedly paid a bribe to a Ukrainian official to help stop a joint British-U.S. money-laundering investigation into Burismas top executive, according to a State Department email that quotes a Ukrainian prosecutor.

Former President Donald Trump has falsely claimed that Joe Biden helped oust a Ukrainian prosecutor, Victor Shokin, when he was prosecuting Burisma. Multiple U.S. officials testified to Congress that Shokin was forced out in a joint American and British effort because he himself was corrupt.

Hunter Biden later wrote in his 2021 book, "Beautiful Things: A Memoir," that few of his business deals brought tangible results. He said he wasnt desperate before he landed a position on the board of Burisma in 2014 but that the money was helpful and that it came at a fortuitous time.

He said it meant he didnt have to work hard to find clients, the most time-consuming part of my work drilling twenty dry wells to finally hit pay dirt, and that it allowed him to spend more time with his dying brother, Beau.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

Continued here:

Records released by House Republicans show that Joe Biden repeatedly emailed Hunter Biden's business associate ... - Yahoo News

Ukrainian defenders shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers in the south of Ukraine on Dec. 22, the commander of the Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk has reported on Telegram

The aircraft were destroyed at around noon. Oleshchuk called it a response to a nighttime "message" from the Russian military written on one of its downed kamikaze drones.

Read also: Aftermath of Russian drone attack on Kyiv photo report

"They wrote on it: Die, b**ches," Oleshchuk said.

"Great idea! Here is our answer to you! Eternal flight, brothers!" Oleshchuk wrote.

Su-34 aircraft are carriers of guided bombs and X-59 missiles, which Russians are using to attack Kherson Oblast and other regions of Ukraine.

According to the Ukrainian militarys General Staff, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost 324 warplanes and helicopters.

Russia is thought to have had 155 Su-34s before it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. More than 20 of them were reported shot down by Ukraine before todays losses.

Read also: Photos of drone attack aftermath on military airfield in Russia

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine

Read this article:

Ukrainian forces shoot down three Russian Su-34 fighter jets on southern front - Yahoo News

A man found guilty in a 1975 murder has spent what the National Registry of Exonerations calls the longest prison sentence on a wrongful conviction. Glynn Simmons, now 71 years old, was named a suspect in an armed robbery that left the clerk of a liquor store in Edmond, Okla. dead, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

A witness to the incident and a patron who was shot but survived both told the police they couldnt make out who the robbers were. However, somehow Simmons ended up getting swept into a lineup and was charged with both robbery and capital murder.

Read more

Read more from AP News:

The ruling makes Simmons eligible for up to $175,000 in compensation from the state for wrongful conviction and opens the door for a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma City and law enforcement involved in Simmons arrest and conviction, defense attorney Joe Norwood said Wednesday.

Compensation, though, is likely years away, Norwood said and Simmons is currently living on donations while undergoing treatment for cancer that was detected after his release from prison.

Oklahoma law states that the maximum compensation an exonerated person can receive is $175,000. However, democratic state Rep. Cyndie Munson is behind a bill to change that to $50,000 for every year they spent in prison, per KOCO News. So far, 35 states have implemented this into law.

Until the bill becomes law, Mr. Simmons is living off GoFundMe donations which have now reach up to over $100,000, surpassing his goal of $50,000. Simmons plans to use the funds to put a roof over his head, clothes on his back, food and pay for the medical treatments he needs for liver cancer.

I plan to use my remaining time to help others who are still stuck where I was. We need to fix this system so that what happened to me will never happen to anyone else, ever again! Simmons donation page reads.

More from The Root

Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.

Read more:

Innocent Black Man Spent 50 Years in Prison, His Compensation Will Annoy The Hell out of You - Yahoo News

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas sent a plane with more than 120 migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago in an escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's busing operation that has given more than 80,000 migrants free rides to Democratic-led cities across the country since last year.

The first flight, which Abbott's office said left from El Paso and arrived Tuesday, was arranged a week after Chicago's city council took new action over the busloads of migrants that have drawn sharp criticism from Mayor Brandon Johnson. The city has said bus operators began trying to drop off people in neighboring cities to avoid penalties that include fines, towing or impoundment.

Bus operators could now face tougher penalties in Chicago for not unloading new arrivals at a designated location or failing to fill out city paperwork. Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Wednesday that the flights were the result of Johnson targeting migrant buses from Texas.

The flight took off a day after Abbott signed a new law this week that would allow police in Texas to arrest migrants who illegally cross the border, ratcheting up a series of aggressive measures the state has taken in protest of President Joe Biden's immigration policies.

Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue taking historic action to help our local partners respond to this Biden-made crisis, Mahaleris said.

The White House criticized the flight and accused Abbott of using migrants for politics.

Yet again, Governor Abbott is showing how little regard or respect he has for human beings, White House spokesperson Angelo Fernndez Hernndez said in a statement. This latest political stunt just adds to his tally of extreme policies which seek to demonize and dehumanize people.

More than 23,000 migrants have been sent to Chicago on buses as part of Abbott's border mission known as Operation Lone Star, according to the governor's office.

The multibillion-dollar operation has also included stringing razor wire along the frontier, installing buoy barriers in the Rio Grande and deploying more officers. On Tuesday a federal appeals court ordered the Biden administration to temporarily halt cutting the concertina wire on the border while a legal challenge plays out.

Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the flights to his city.

Concerns have arisen about the living conditions and medical care provided for asylum-seekers arriving in Chicago, spotlighted by the death last weekend of a 5-year-old boy living at a temporary shelter for migrants.

___

Associated Press reporter Acacia Coronado contributed.

___

A previous version of this story was updated to correct that the first flight arrived in Chicago on Tuesday.

Continued here:

Texas begins flying migrants from southern border to Chicago. The 1st plane carried over 120 people - Yahoo News

Donald Trumps lawyers are trying to prevent an expert witness from testifying in his upcoming defamation trial against writer E. Jean Carroll. In a fun twist, the expert witness is the same woman who helped set massive damages for Rudy Giuliani.

A federal judge ruled in September that Trump is liable for defaming Carroll in 2019 and owes her monetary damages. The exact amount will be set during the trial, which will begin in January.

Trumps lawyers filed a motion on Wednesday asking presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan to bar Ashlee Humphreys, a Northwestern University marketing professor who analyzes social media trends, from testifying against the former president next month.

In the court documents, lawyer Michael Madaio argued that the damages estimates Humphreys had previously submitted were too high.

The damages estimations in her initial report are egregiously inflated (to the tune of millions of dollars), utilize methods which ascribe harm in an unreliable and incorrect manner; and do not accurately reflect the actual harm to plaintiffs reputation, Madaio wrote.

Madaio took particular issue with the fact that Humphreys had initially included estimates for alleged damage caused by three different comments Trump made. Carroll is no longer suing over one of those statements, but Madaio argued Humphreys had not adjusted her estimate accordingly.

Carrolls lawyer hit back Monday, pointing out that Humphreys had indeed accounted for the change in estimated damages in a supplemental report.

Trump is understandably desperate to get rid of Professor Humphreys, Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge) wrote in a filing asking to reject Trumps request. That Professor Humphreys recently testified in another case that resulted in a $108 million defamation verdict likely adds to Trumps sense of urgency.

Kaplan was referring to the defamation case against Giuliani. The former Trump lawyer was found liable in August for defaming Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. On Friday, Giuliani was ordered to pay the women a whopping $148 million in damages.

Humphreys testified against Giuliani on December 13, the same day Trumps lawyers filed the motion to bar her from appearing at the Carroll trial. Her testimony was pivotal in determining the exact amount of damages he owed.

Humphreys is no stranger to Carrolls case against Trump. The Northwestern professor already testified in Carrolls first defamation lawsuit against the former president. In May, a jury unanimously found Trump liable for sexual abuse and battery against Carroll in the mid-1990s and for defaming her in 2022 while denying the assault. He was ordered to pay her $5 million in damages, based on Humphreyss estimates.

Carrolls second lawsuit is for comments Trump made in 2019, when he said she made up the rape allegation to promote her memoir. Judge Kaplan ruled that since Trump has already been found liable for sexual abuse, his 2019 comments are by default defamatory. Carroll is now seeking up to $12 million in damages, based on Humphreyss recommendation.

Originally posted here:

Donald Trump Is Running Scared - Yahoo News

Team USA's Jaren Jackson Jr. protects the rim against Reuben Te Rangi of the New Zealand basketball team during the 2023 FIBA World Cup matchup Saturday. (Photo by Earvin Perias/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

MANILA, Philippines Saturdays second-quarter sequence showcased the complete Jaren Jackson Jr. experience. His collection of rare gifts, plus the one foible the NBAs reigning Defensive Player of the Year battles on that side of the floor.

With 1:46 remaining in the first half of Team USAs victory over New Zealand in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Jackson meandered all the way out to halfcourt, helping U.S. starting point guard Jalen Brunson trap a Kiwi ball-handler. Then Jackson, all 6-foot-11 and 242 pounds of the Memphis Grizzlies All-Star, recovered back to the baseline in no time. There are few menacing shot blockers who can handle their own on the perimeter with the agility and quickness Jackson innately possesses.

You gotta be able to switch and guard guards. It helps cause you dont want to always be in a drop, Jackson told Yahoo Sports, flipping a ball into the basket before Sunday mornings Team USA practice. You just have to sit down and get in a stance. You dont want to because youre tired, but thats the job.

Brunson, though, had also recovered to the basket, planting his feet in front of driving Tall Blacks forward Jordan Ngatai. Brunson absorbed the contact, drawing the whistle with his chest. And there was Jackson anyway, reaching for the rafters, skying above the entire play to swat Ngatais attempt. Jackson came crashing onto the hardwood, landing with an awkward thud, to the point Jackson remained on the floor for a breather, wringing his right wrist once he came back to his feet. Speaking of: the slow-motion replay revealed Jacksons massive sneaker nearly squashed Brunsons braids.

He has the ability to block everything, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said. But sometimes he needs to dial it back a little bit.

Jackson was not called for a foul on the collision. In fact, four of Jacksons five fouls, which ultimately disqualified the Americans starting center with 5:55 to play in the fourth quarter, came on questionable positioning and loose-ball calls. And yet Jackson was limited to only 16 minutes in Team USAs tournament opener, forcing Kerr to rely on non-traditional reserve big man Paolo Banchero time and again.

If youve heard this theme regarding Jacksons development into a two-way linchpin for the Grizzlies, you also may have watched the talented 23-year-old watch much of Memphis 2022 first-round playoff matchup with Minnesota from the bench. It was an issue against the Warriors the following series as well. Jackson was then mired in an odd habit this past season, frequently finding foul trouble during nationally televised games.

Hes foul-prone in the NBA, Kerr said. So, theres always one or two plays where you just want him to let it go, because hes too important to us. So we share those clips and just remind him sometimes the best play is to just let the guy go and dont pick up the foul.

There was one classic bugaboo early in the second half against New Zealand. After Jackson shadowed the ball-handlers path under the basket out of a pick-and-roll, he rotated back to Kiwi center Yanni Wetzell and bought the shot fake as Wetzell leaped into Jacksons body for what became his third foul. Kerr quickly called on Banchero to relieve his starting center.

Jackson, though, remains unbothered by the trend. He says the Grizzlies coaches share that stance. They dont care either. Trust me, they dont. Theyre not worried about it all, Jackson said. The Grizzlies want their backline beast hunting for prey at all times. Go get it, man, Jackson said. It comes with it. If Im gonna be less aggressive, Im gonna have less blocks, Im gonna bring less rim protection, and Ima have less fouls with all that. Pick one or the other. Which one do you want? Do you want me to be great or not?

After all, he has the hardware to prove his point. Im doing something right, Jackson said of his Defensive Player of the Year honors. Like an uber-athletic wide receiver praised for his superior catch radius, Jacksons combination of 7-foot-5 wingspan and elite athleticism can reject a wider range of shots than most. I feel like I can get a lot done with my reach and my timing. I think a lot of people dont have that.

With Team USA, Jackson is playing more of a textbook center position than the two-big lineups in which hes deployed with Memphis. The Americans are running the defensive scheme that Golden State used en route to four championships over the past nine seasons, asking Jackson to play up and switch and chase pesky perimeter playmakers. Coach Kerr is using his system. Its just more or less what Draymond [Green] would have ran or [Kevon] Looney, and just with better players, Jackson said. A lot of delay actions and stuff like that.

But in FIBA, where players are afforded only five fouls instead of the six in NBA competition, Jacksons weakness with the whistle is something he and the American coaches are clearly monitoring throughout the World Cup. Its why Kerr made a point early in training camp to tell Banchero of his plan to slate Banchero as a big man, rather than his natural position on the wing.

You know, you always gotta be conscious of it, Jackson said, and hopefully you can move past it.

Continue reading here:

2023 FIBA World Cup: Jaren Jackson Jr.'s elite rim protection and defensive presence come with a price - Yahoo Sports

Hey, even the experts can have a tough time during their draft evaluations. We asked six analysts to reveal which player has been their hardest to rank for the upcoming fantasy football season.

Ranking Richardson is nearly impossible. Thursday's preseason finale offered good and bad moments, summing up what his rookie season could be. Cam Newtons debut game of 422 passing yards and three total touchdowns in 2011 is possible. Newton ended his rookie campaign at QB3, with 4,051 passing yards and 35 total touchdowns.

Or, we might get Justin Fields painful coming-out clunker in 2021, as he passed for 68 yards and got sacked nine times. Fields sat out five games later that season.

I want to rank Richardson higher than his current QB14 (120.9 overall) on Yahoo expert consensus rankings, just ahead of Aaron Rodgers. If head coach Shane Steichen turns Richardson loose on the ground like 2021 Jalen Hurts 784 rushing yards and 21.4 fantasy points per game the Colt would have a high floor. But his 53.8% accuracy at Florida last season could lead to bench time if he doesnt improve.

If you draft him, grab a safe backup like Kirk Cousins or Jared Goff to start when matchups look tough. But Richardsons ceiling is the stars. Jorge Martin

In all honesty, I have no idea what to do with Kupp, and it has nothing to do with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for a chunk of August. The 30-year-old is just two years removed from posting the highest fantasy point total ever by a WR, and last season he tallied a ridiculous 75 catches in nine games.

An optimistic ranking of Kupp puts him in the top overall pick discussion with Justin Jefferson. But I struggle to be optimistic about anyone on the Rams this season, as their roster is among the worst in football and QB Matthew Stafford enters his age-35 season after missing eight games a year ago. My raw projections have Kupp ahead of Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs. However, I regularly draft one of those two receivers over the Rams standout for the simple reason that I expect Los Angeles to have given up on the 2023 campaign by the time we reach the fantasy playoffs. Fred Zinkie

[2023 Fantasy Draft Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEF | K]

Once upon a time, Calvin Ridley was a special NFL player. He finished as the WR4 and a Top-20 fantasy player (per Value Based Drafting ranks) in 2020, but NFL seasons age like dog years. Consider, Alvin Kamara was the RB2 that season, Dalvin Cook charted as the RB3 and James Robinson was a Top-20 finisher. Ridley's primary offensive teammates that season were Matt Ryan, Todd Gurley and Julio Jones. It's been a long time, man. And Ridleys last regular-season snaps came 22 months ago.

The Jaguars obviously have big plans for Ridley, and maybe emerging quarterback Trevor Lawrence is going to the moon in his third season. But theres other competition for the ball here Christian Kirk, Evan Engram and Zay Jones are all coming off strong campaigns. Sure, the Jaguars would love for Ridley to take over as the featured target, but it takes time to build rapport, crispness and trust in a new city. We need to accept that Ridley carries a wide range of outcomes as he kicks off the rust and steps into his age-29 season. Scott Pianowski

If we would have drafted this season's fantasy football rosters at any point in the weeks leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft, I definitely would have considered Kenneth Walker III somewhere near the first and second-round turn. Walker is of course coming off an efficient 1,000-yard season, which he capped with three straight 100-yard rushing performances. He's awesome.

But then the Seattle Seahawks went and did the thing they always seem to do, drafting a running back at least one day earlier than you thought they would. Zach Charbonnet is plainly going to be a problem for Walker. Both deserve to play. Both have been dinged in camp. Both profile as potential every-down, full-workload runners.

So now we're left with a situation in which Walker's range of potential outcomes in 2023 includes a top-five positional finish which would vault him into next year's first round and also a job-share scenario in which Charbonnet receives the most valuable touches. It's almost impossible to express your feelings for such a player in a position rank. Walker is currently my RB23, which seems pessimistic when you consider his terrific first season. Andy Behrens

The hardest player for me to rank has been Breece Hall. I want to make sure those using my ranks come out of their drafts with the exciting young back but without jumping ADP too far. Hall's draft position has fluctuated throughout summer, as questions remain both regarding his recovery from ACL surgery as well as the addition of Dalvin Cook. Making sure to rank Hall in that sweet spot (currently RB12 for me, the highest among the Yahoo crew) has been a moving target this summer. Dalton Del Don

Watson is easily the most difficult player to rank and thats only gotten more challenging over the course of the summer. Lets start with the player. My main and really only concern with Watson is that he needs to get better on base NFL routes like the slant, curl and dig to be a complete, true No. 1 wide receiver. But that is mostly offset by being a fantastic vertical route runner and special player in the open field. I do not want to be fading a guy Ive compared to Martavis Bryant since I watched his collegiate film. We know hes really good. There are questions beyond him, though, with the overall offensive transition to Jordan Love, who remains a big unknown. Also, after rookies like Luke Musgrave and Jayden Reed (Im a big fan) have emerged as full-time players and clear-starter Romeo Doubs seemingly has developed a connection with Love, the target distribution may be a little less clear. There are a lot more players here to earn targets than consensus believes.

Will Watson settle in closer to 20% or 25% of the overall team passing volume? That could be the deciding factor in whether he emerges as a consistent high-end WR2 or more of a volatile flex play in fantasy. Ive settled on having him near his ADP (79.8, WR27) in my rankings and making it clear hes my favorite of those likely weekly boom-or-bust WR3 types like Jerry Jeudy, Mike Williams, Mike Evans, George Pickens, etc. Ill take him in certain team builds, but Im not all-in or all-out. Matt Harmon

Continued here:

Fantasy Football Rankings: These are the hardest players to ... - Yahoo Sports

The Dallas Cowboys may have made a move for Trey Lance, but Dak Prescott isnt sweating his future in Dallas.

Prescott is signed to the Cowboys through the end of next season, and the team has said it wants to sign him to an extension. Though Lance hasnt seen the field much during his time in the league, his presence in Dallas could impact Prescotts next contract with the team.

For now, though, hes ignoring that.

Im going to leave those talks in the office where business is handled, Prescott said Saturday night, via ESPNs Todd Archer.

The Cowboys landed Lance in a deal with the San Francisco 49ers on Friday in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick in 2021, has played in eight games and made four starts in San Francisco. He spent nearly all of his rookie season backing up Jimmy Garoppolo, and then broke his ankle during his second start last season.

Lance will now presumably be the Cowboys third-string quarterback, behind Prescott and veteran backup Cooper Rush. Its easy to see a world where Lance jumps Rush and becomes Prescotts backup in the near future, though thats unlikely to happen right away. Lance was someone the Cowboys had their eye on in the 2021 draft. Hes not just a backup quarterback upgrade, something Dallas didnt need to do this offseason.

Prescott, who threw for 2,860 yards, 23 touchdowns and a career-high 15 interceptions last season, has spent his entire career in Dallas. The 30-year-old is entering the third year of his four-year, $160 million deal this fall.

Prescott said he wasnt given any warning that the Cowboys were planning to bring in another quarterback ahead of time on Saturday, but that he wasnt surprised. It wasnt just Prescott who was in the dark, either.

"I mean obviously understand it's a business," Prescott said, via ESPN. "That's a first-round talent and you're always trying to make your team better. But that was the front office, so we're going to welcome him as we do any teammate and hopefully he just makes us better. We're going to continue to get back at it and know that we've got one goal as a team."

Lances arrival almost certainly means that Will Grier, who has been with the team for the past two seasons, will be cut.

Grier was reportedly told before the Cowboys final preseason game on Saturday night that he wouldnt be making the team. He played the entire game in Dallas 31-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and went 29-of-35 for 305 yards and threw two touchdowns with Prescott calling plays.

Honestly right now, my heart and my mind is with Will, Prescott said after the game, via ESPN. So it's a tough situation, honestly. Love that guy to death over there. Plays his ass off, comes in, prepares the right way each and every day."

See more here:

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott feels for Will Grier after Trey Lance deal, not worried about future in Dallas - Yahoo Sports

Giving off major Jurassic Park vibes, a creature captured in Mississippi broke the record for the longest alligator ever captured in the state.

While its length 14 feet, 3 inches is astonishing, so too is its mass. The alligator captured on the second day of Mississippis hunting season weighed 802.5 pounds with a belly girth of 66 inches, according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

The previous record came in 2017 when a group bagged an alligator that was 14 feet, 0.75 inches and weighed 766.5 pounds, according to Super Talk Mississippi News.

The department said the record alligator was harvested Saturday, Aug. 26, by the foursome of Tanner White, Don Woods, Will Thomas and Joey Clark. Red Antler Processing said the hunters found the monster in the Yazoo River.

Nightmare material! one woman commented on Facebook.

I cant even start to imagine something out there that big, another commenter said.

It took the group seven hours to land the alligator onto their boat, Woods told the Clarion Ledger. He called the outing mentally exhausting.

We hooked him eight or nine times and he kept breaking off, Woods said, according to the outlet. He would go down, sit and then take off. He kept going under logs. He knew what he was doing. The crazy thing is he stayed in that same spot.

Alligator hunting season in public waters is from Aug. 25 to Sept. 4 in Mississippi. The state first offered alligator sport hunting in 2005.

Gator with mouth bound shut found outside Michigan home. Well, Ill be. DISPATCH!

Hunters kill a 524-pound alligator in Alabama. Then they had to get it in the boat

Birthday celebration gets weird when dead alligator starts moving, Florida video shows

Visit link:

Massive alligator captured in Mississippi is a new state record. Nightmare material - Yahoo! Voices