Ezra Mam will have to pay $120,000 in fines to Brisbane and the NRL, after the under-fire five-eighth accepted his nine-game ban for driving offences. The Broncos confirmed late on Friday evening that Mam would accept his NRL sanctions, which included a $30,000 fine. Brisbane have slapped the 22-year-old with an additional $90,000 fine for being caught drug driving while unlicensed after crashing his ute into an oncoming car in October. In a statement, the Broncos said Mam would also have to complete a safe-driving program, work or study placement and commit to ongoing wellbeing support. Mam was also fined $850 and had his license suspended for nine months in court last week , with a magistrate telling Mam he had a “cocktail of cocaine and other matters” in his system, and that he “could’ve injured or killed” someone. That punishment was widely been criticised as too lenient, after a woman and her young daughter were injured in the collision. Ezra Mam leaves Brisbane Magistrates Court after a hearing earlier this month. Credit: William Davis “Whilst we are extremely disappointed that we have been placed in this position, we believe both the NRL and club-imposed penalties adequately reflect the gravity of what’s transpired and should act as a deterrent from this type of risky and anti-social behaviour,” Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy said in a statement. “Ezra clearly did the wrong thing, but he has taken responsibility for his actions and shown genuine remorse towards those involved. “He understands the impact this has had on everyone around him, and the game. Ezra has taken steps to get his life back on track since this incident and that must continue. We have been very clear about that. “We believe the additional measures in place are important and will go hand in hand with integrating Ezra back into the work underway at the Broncos.” Mam will not be able to include the Indigenous All-Stars fixture to his ban, meaning he will not be able to return until Brisbane play South Sydney in round 10 of 2025. Ben Hunt is set to partner Adam Reynolds in the Broncos’ halves for the first two months of the season after his move from St George Illawarra. It is then possible Hunt could shift to hooker if Mam and Reynolds are fit, allowing him to share dummy-half duties with Billy Walters under new coach Michael Maguire. Hunt will also need to bring significant leadership to Brisbane, with Broncos bosses admitting it is lacking. Mam was one of their best players in 2023 as they went within a few minutes of ending a 17-year premiership drought, scoring a hat-trick in the grand-final loss to Penrith. But off-field issues returned to Red Hill in 2024, with co-captains Pat Carrigan and Reynolds involved in a scuffle outside of a bar following a pre-season fan day. Mam and Reece Walsh were then investigated by the NRL’s integrity unit over a post-season interaction with a fan, weeks before Mam’s driving offence. AAPNEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen's stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday's showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn't paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.”Insurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule
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Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolvedThe countdown to 2025 begins. With less than a week remaining to the new year, rapper Pitbull helped unveil Times Square's iconic New Year's Eve ball on Friday. The Waterford Crystal ball is a geodesic sphere covered with 2,688 crystal triangles and measuring 12 feet in diameter. It weighs 11,875 pounds with has more than 32,000 LED lights. While AccuWeather meteorologists have predicted a rainy New Year's Eve in New York, it's not expected not to dampen any of the celebrations too much. Here's what to know about the annual Times Square tradition and how to watch on TV and streaming. What is the New Year's Eve ball drop? On New Year's Eve, the massive shimmering ball will be lowered at Times Square in New York City to kick off the new year. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Though the ball drop tradition at Times Square began in 1907, New Year’s Eve celebrations at the iconic venue were first held in 1904. Seven versions of the ball have been designed over the years. The first ball, measuring 5 feet in diameter and weighing 700 pounds, was made of iron and wood and was covered with 100 25-watt light bulbs. It was made by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, according to the Times Square official website . 'Proud tradition' Over the years, the ball witnessed major changes. It went from a 400-pound iron ball in 1920 to a 150-pound aluminum ball with 180 light bulbs in 1955. In 1995, the aluminum ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, and computer controls. The crystal New Year’s Eve Ball, meanwhile, was introduced in 1999 to welcome the new millennium. Modern LED technology replaced light bulbs in 2007 for the 100th Anniversary of the New Year’s Eve Ball and the next year in 2008, the "permanent Big Ball was unveiled atop One Times Square shining brightly above Times Square throughout the year." "This proud tradition is now a universal symbol of the New Year," Times Square says, adding that more than a ton of confetti will also be dropped. When is the ball drop? The Times Square Ball Drop celebration will kick off shortly before 6 p.m. on Dec. 31 and the New Year's Eve Ball will be raised to the top of the pole at One Times Square. At exactly 11:59 p.m., the ball will make its 60-second descent down the flagpole to signal the start of the new year. Who is performing? The Times Square New Year celebrations will include performances by rock legend Lenny Kravitz, Mark Ambor, Grammy-nominated country singer Mickey Guyton, Carrie Underwood, Megan Moroney, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, the Jonas Brothers, TLC, Greeicy, De La Ghetto, Kapo, and the dance group AGNEW among others. Underwood will perform just before the ball drops at midnight with a medley of some of her biggest hits, followed by Guyton, who then perform the special Times Square New Year tradition of singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” moments before the ball drop. See full list of performers: 'New Year's Rockin' Eve 2025' headlined by Carrie Underwood, Jonas Brothers How to watch Times Square ball drop While multiple broadcasting corporations will be airing the New Year's Eve celebrations live on their TV channels and streaming platforms (details below) audiences can also catch the live webcast on Times Square's official website starting 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31. "Enjoy commercial-free, webcast coverage of the festivities leading up to the Ball Drop at midnight, including backstage access, behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with performers and other celebrities," Times Square says on their website. A livestream with open captions and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will also be available on YouTube. How to watch on CNN Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will return for the eighth consecutive year as co-hosts of CNN’s "New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen" and will host the show live from Times Square. The show will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 31. Guests include 50 Cent, live from his residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Sting, Meghan Trainor, Shania Twain, Diplo, Lil Jon and Patti LaBelle. Comedians Whitney Cummings, Amy Sedaris, Sasheer Zamata, Ziwe and Adam Devine also will be part of the show. The new year show will stream live on Max for subscribers and on CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps for pay TV subscribers. How to watch on CBS CBS will air "Nashville's Big Bash," hosted by Keith Urban and Rachel Smith. The show, scheduled to air live on Tuesday, Dec. 31, will begin at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will go on till 10 p.m. before taking a half-hour break and resuming at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT and going on till 1:30 a.m. The show will air on the CBS Television Network and will also be available to stream on Paramount+. Dustin Lynch and WCBS-New York weather anchor Lonnie Quinn "will count down with the East Coast at midnight ET for New York’s Ball Drop," CBS said in a news release. Watch 'Nashville's Big Bash': Subscribe to Paramount+ How to watch on ABC Ryan Seacrest, who is marking his 20th year as host, will host "Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025," alongside co-host Rita Ora from Times Square on ABC. Carrie Underwood is set to perform just before midnight. The show will live on Tuesday, December 31, on ABC starting at 8 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Hulu the next day. Watch 'Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025': Subscribe to Hulu Beyond Times Square: A giant Peep, a wrench, a crab. A look at the weirdest NYE drops. How to watch on NBC NBC will not be doing any live programming this year and will instead air recorded specials with “TODAY’s" Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager and Seth Meyers, among others. We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage. Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he'd let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen's stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday's showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn't paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.”Bay-O-Net Assembly: Essential for Overload Protection in High-Voltage Power Systems and TransformersNone
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