Tiger Woods expected to plead guilty to reckless driving
Tiger Woods is expected to appear in court Friday afternoon to plead guilty to reckless driving and agree to enter a diversion program following his arrest in May on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Police said the golfer was found asleep at the wheel in a running Mercedes in Jupiter, Florida. The car was stopped in the right lane and partially in the bike lane. Woods, who allegedly had extremely slow and slurred speech, "stated that he did not know where he was," according to the police report. "Woods had changed his story of where he was going and where he was coming from. Woods asked how far from his house he was."
Woods had two painkillers, two sleep drugs, and the active ingredient for marijuana in his system when he was arrested, according to reports.
Source-ABC
Cardi B shuts down rumor about Beyoncé collaboration
Cardi B fans have been in heaven this week with speculation about their favorite artist recording with Beyoncé. Sorry to break it to you, though -- the “Bodak Yellow” rapper denies the collaboration.
Engineer Michael Asby ignited the rumors when he posted a photo on social media of a music file featuring Cardi B and Beyoncé's names. But Cardi tells Billboard she has no knowledge of the song, or the engineer.
“I don’t even know why people are making those speculations,” she says. “I don’t know that man.”
Cardi did record with Nicki Minaj and Migos for a new track titled "Motor Sport" which dropped Friday. She also confirms she's recording a song with Kehlani, saying “Yes, it’s so beautiful…Oh, Kehlani! I love her. She’s such a sweetie.”
Source-ABC
Eminem donating proceeds from “Lose Yourself” lawsuit win to hurricane relief
Eminem is donating the settlement from a copyright lawsuit involving one of his classic songs to assist victims of recent hurricanes.
Slim Shady was awarded $415,000 in court this week for unauthorized use of his Oscar- and Grammy-winning number-one hit, “Lose Yoursel,f” from 8 Mile, and he’s donating the proceeds to hurricane relief, Variety reports. The New Zealand National party was found guilty of copyright infringement for using a song similar to “Lose Yourself,” titled “Eminem Esque,” in a 2014 election campaign.
In 2003, “Lose Yourself” became the first rap single to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also earned Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance.
Eminem was been very active in hurricane relief, and has raised an additional $444,000 in conjunction with the e-commerce firm, Stock X.
Source-ABC
Weather in the TCI for Thursday & Friday
GENERAL SITUATION: A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY ACROSS SOUTH FLORIDA IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS THIS MORNING THEN QUICKLY MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS BY TONIGHT.
SPECIAL WARNINGS: BEACHGOERS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR MODERATE RIP CURRENT ALONG NORTH AND EAST COAST BEACHES.
FORECAST FOR THURSDAY
WEATHER: MOSTLY SUNNY AND WINDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS MAINLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY TURNING FAIR AND A BIT COOL AT NIGHT
WINDS: NORTHWEST TO NORTH 15 TO 20 KNOTS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, 15 TO 25 KNOTS IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS, SOUTHWEST TO WEST 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, 5 TO 8 FEET IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS AND 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE TURKS & CAICOS.
FORECAST FOR FRIDAY
WEATHER: MOSTLY SUNNY AND WINDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS MAINLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY TURNING FAIR AND A BIT COOL AT NIGHT
WINDS: NORTHEAST TO EAST 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE NORTHWEST BAHAMAS, 15 TO 20 KNOTS IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS AND EASTERLY 10 TO 15 KNOTS IN THE TCI
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET IN THE NORTHWEST AND SOUTHEAST BAHAMAS AND 4 TO 6 FEET IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK: A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CENTERED NEAR THE EAST COAST OF NICARAGUA IS PRODUCING DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
CLOSE PROXIMITY TO LAND IS LIKELY TO LIMIT DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM FOR THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE OF 10 PERCENT FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION THROUGH 48 HOURS AND A MEDIUM CHANCE OF 50 PERCENT THROUGH 5 DAYS.
Twitter bans RT and Sputnik ads amid election interference fears
Twitter is banning two of Russia's biggest media outlets from buying advertising amid fears they attempted to interfere with the 2016 US election.
The ban on advertising from Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, and all linked accounts, was "effective immediately".
US authorities say both act as "a platform for Kremlin messaging".
The social media giant will donate an estimated $1.9m (£1.4m) made from the outlets into research on Twitter's use in "civic engagement and elections".
Twitter said the decision "was based on the retrospective work we've been doing around the 2016 US election and the US intelligence community's conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government".
The statement, published on the social media platform's blog, continued: "We did not come to this decision lightly, and are taking this step now as part of our ongoing commitment to help protect the integrity of the user experience on Twitter."
The decision has provoked an angry response in Russia, with the country's foreign ministry accusing Twitter of bowing to pressure from the US intelligence services, saying the move was "another aggressive step" aimed at blocking Russian media in the US.
It added "retaliatory measures" would follow, according to RIA Novosti news agency [in Russian],
Meanwhile, responding to the allegations, RT's deputy editor-in-chief Kirill Karnovich-Valua said the outlet "has never been involved in any illegal activity online, and that it never pursued an agenda of influencing the US election through any platforms".
His comments followed those of RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, who used Twitter's own platform to accuse the social network of pushing them to "spend big" during the election.
Twitter is one of a number of companies keen to show they can self-regulate after it was found that Russian-backed groups were exploiting its ad platform.
Russia has repeatedly denied claims that it interfered in the 2016 elections. US intelligence services accuse the country of trying to sway the vote in Donald Trump's favour in various ways, including by spreading fake news and hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) networks in order to undermine rival Hillary Clinton.
The allegations have sparked an investigation into possible links between Russia and Mr Trump, led by special counsel Rob Mueller, a former FBI director.
Mr Trump denies there was any collusion.
Source-BBC
Commissioner gives crime statistics for this quarter
In keeping with a commitment made last year the Commissioner of Police James Smith today released some limited crime data for the second quarter of the current year to RTC News, covering the period 1st July up to and including 30th September 2017. In releasing the date the CoP stated:
"My Force is committed to continuing our efforts to combat crime in the country and bring offenders to justice. We have not been able to release our second quarter figures for this year as quickly as we would have wished, following on from the disruption caused by hurricane Irma and it is also necessary to note that whilst we have great confidence in most of the data, some very limited crime reported in September may not be 100% up to date. Any anomaly will be rectified when we are fully operational again.
I am pleased to report that in the second quarter of this year (July, August, and September), we recorded a total of 477 crimes. When compared to the same period last year this means a reduction of some 215 crimes ( a 31% reduction). If we compare to the same period for 2015/16 then the reduction is some 311 less crimes ( a 40% reduction). This is a continuing downward trend over the last two years. For the first six months of 2015/16, we recorded 1597 crimes, for the same period in 2016/17 we recorded 1368 crimes and for this year over the same period we have recorded 937 crimes, a decrease of 660 offences over the first six month period two years ago. This is a significant achievement and means that in the first six months of this year overall crime is down 33% compared to the first six months of last year, and 42% down on the same period two years ago.
Clearly, we are delighted with this, but we are not complacent. We know things can change quickly and we continually assess our deployment profile to match the intelligence we receive or the change in crime patterns. In the next week or so I will release more detailed data and will also include some significant statistics on the arrests we have made and charges preferred against serious criminals.
However, at this point, I can report that persons have been arrested and charged with the most recent Murder of Mr. John PENN and in another case for conspiracy to commit robbery involving tourists at the Regent Palms and at The Royal West Indies this year. We are determined to bring serious criminals to book and prevent as many acts of criminality as we can. I am extremely grateful for the hard work done by all officers and staff particularly working in very challenging conditions, they deserve the credit for this success and I commend them for their efforts," added the Commissioner.
EU provides additional €500,000 in humanitarian aid to Dominica
The European Union is providing an additional €500,000 in humanitarian aid to Dominica, following the severe destruction caused by Hurricane María last month.
On September 18, María, a category 5 hurricane, hit Dominica leaving more than 70,000 people in need of urgent relief.
“We aim to increase our support to families who are displaced and living in collective centres or with host families since the hurricane, and are in need of shelter, food and water,” said Androulla Kaminara, ECHO's Director of Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The additional aid will provide immediate shelter and household material for 5,000 vulnerable families in Dominica. Shelter kits, as well as housing repair materials, training and technical support will be provided to the most vulnerable whose homes have been damaged.
”The EU has been committed since the very beginning to support Dominica after the tragedy. We are now committed to further assist Dominica in early recovery and reconstruction,” said Daniela Tramacere, EU Ambassador to the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
This additional humanitarian aid complements an initial grant of €250,000 which was allocated last month to alleviate the affected population's most urgent needs.
Source-CMC
Hurricanes dent profits at insurance giant Munich Re
One of the world's biggest insurance firms has said it will take a loss in the third quarter because of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Munich Re expects the hurricanes that ravaged parts of the US and the Caribbean to cost it €2.7bn (£2.4bn) owing to major loss expenditure.
The firm, which insures other insurance companies, said estimates were "still fraught with considerable uncertainty".
The insurer now projects a "small" profit for 2017 because of the claims.
"High losses from severe natural catastrophes are part and parcel of our business," said Joerg Schneider, chief financial officer of Munich Re. "We will continue to offer our clients full reinsurance capacity."
Mexican earthquakes and other disasters will take overall losses for the quarter to about €3.2bn.
Munich Re is not the first major insurance company to see its profits dented by the hurricanes.
Swiss firm Zurich Insurance this month estimated the three hurricanes would result in about $700m (£529m) in claims for the quarter, with losses expected to reach about $620m.
Swiss Re projects that claims from the hurricanes coupled with the earthquakes in Mexico may reach up to $3.6bn.
Source-BBC
Venus Wiliams knocks out Garbine Muguruza to reach semi-finals
Venus Williams beat Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza in straight sets to reach the last four at the WTA Finals, ending the Spaniard's hopes of finishing the year as world number one.
The American, 37, won 7-5 6-4 in Singapore to secure second place in the White Group behind Karolina Pliskova.
Czech Pliskova had already qualified, but ended the round-robin stage with a 6-3 6-1 loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
Williams will play Caroline Wozniacki or Caroline Garcia in the semis.
Denmark's Wozniacki has guaranteed a semi-final place with two wins, and will win the White Group with victory over French eighth seed Garcia on Friday.
World number one Simona Halep of Romania then takes on Ukraine's fourth seed Elina Svitolina, with both women still able to reach the semi-finals heading into the final group matches.
Source-BBC
NFLPA invites Colin Kaepernick to next meeting with league owners
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is expected to be invited to the next meeting between the NFL Players Association and the league's owners, a league spokesman said Wednesday.
NFL Spokesman Joe Lockhart said the invitation had been offered by the NFLPA and not the league, but that "we look forward to him joining the conversation." The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday in Manhattan.
Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL owners on October 15, alleging that they colluded to keep him from earning a roster spot for this season. He did not attend a meeting on October 17, despite receiving an invitation from Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins.
Kaepernick got national attention last season when he chose to kneel during the national anthem before games. He said he was protesting social injustice.
Source-ABC