Month: August 2022

Categories
Sports

Heath Davis first New Zealand cricketer to come out as gay

A New Zealand cult hero has become the country’s first male cricketer to come out as gay.

Heath Davis, 50, played five Test matches and 11 one-day internationals for the Black Caps between 1994 and 1997.

He was known for his express pace but erratic accuracy with the ball. For a period he was widely considered the most feared fast bowler in New Zealand, and his highlights feature short balls making batters duck and dive out of the way.

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His most famous YouTube video is, unfortunately, titled “worst first ball in Test cricket history” – showing his first ever Test delivery flying wide past the batter and wicketkeeper.

Davis retired from professional cricket in 2004 and later moved to Brisbane, where a workplace accident resulted in his foot being amputated.

In a documentary series by The Spinoff titled, “Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends”, Davis opens up publicly about his sexuality.

He reveals while on tour with the Black Caps he would regularly venture out on his own, “going to saunas and seedy places to get sex because you didn’t want to be seen”.

“It was lonely,” Davis said, in becoming the first professional male cricketer from New Zealand to come out publicly.

“On the other side of the world no one is going to know you. So I went out to Soho and a couple of places by myself, did what I needed to do, and left that part of my life there.

“I was repressing it. I wasn’t leading a gay life, I wasn’t out in Wellington.

“I just wanted a normal life. There was a part of me that needed to break free and I wanted a partner to love. That was really all.”

Davis’ parents are religious, and he has now found religion and is “living single” in Australia.

“I’m seeking Christ now. I’m living single, part of a men’s Christian group,” he said.

If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

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US

Family, friends remember Rolling Meadows mom, 4 children killed in head-on crash

Family, friends remember Rolling Meadows mom, 4 children killed in head-on crash

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — At the park where Lauren Dobosz spent countless hours watching her kids cheering and playing football, members of the Oriole Park Falcons gathered Monday night, along with her brother, to remember them.

“Lauren and Tom were never not busy,” said Tyler Johns, Dobosz’s younger brother. “They took care of everyone else’s kids, even there’s, before themselves.”

Luis Hernandez coached Dobosz’s youngest son Nicky.

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“These kids always had the brightest smile on their face,” Hernandez said. “How can that be possible for them to all be here on Friday and then be gone?”

Hernandez says Nicky and his siblings, Lucas, Ella and Emma, ​​were headed north to Minnesota for a vacation with their parents, along with Emma’s 13-year-old friend.

  • 13-year-old Emma pictured with dad Thomas Dobosz. (Photo:Submitted)
  • 5-year-old Ella Dobosz. (Photo:Submitted)

The crash occurred around 2 am Sunday on I-90 near mile marker 33, roughly 50 miles from Chicago.

Illinois State Police said 32-year-old Thomas Dobosz and his 31-year-old wife, Lauren, both from Rolling Meadows, were driving westbound on I-90 near Hampshire in a full-size Chevrolet van carrying five children.

According to ISP, 22-year-old Jennifer Fernandez was driving in the wrong direction on the highway “for unknown reasons” and collided head-on with the van. Both vehicles became engulfed in flames.

Lauren Dobosz and the five children were killed.

Fernandez also died, police said.

Thomas Dobosz, 32, was the sole survivor and was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center.

Sharon Swank with the Oriole Park Falcons shared an update on his condition.

“Tom, right now, is not doing so well. Please keep him in your prayers,” Swank said. “I don’t know if he’ll make it. Hopefully, I will. If he does, he’s going to need everyone’s love and support. I’m sure this is going to be the hardest thing he’s ever had to deal with.”

Dobosz works as a carpenter and his wife was a bartender at Lulu’s Gaming in Rolling Meadows.

Lauren’s boss, Kenny Felten, spoke about Lauren’s passing.

“That was her number one love…her kids and her family,” he said. “It’s so sad it’s ended this way. I can’t believe it. We’re still in shock here.”

The family’s neighbor, David Moreno, spoke with WGN News Sunday upon hearing the news.

“The kids were very friendly,” Moreno said. “They were always talkative. We would always run into them at the supermarket.”

Having known the family for 10 years, Moreno says the loss is hitting the entire neighborhood.

Anyone interested in donating to the family’s GoFundMe can do so by clicking here.

“It’s going to impact it a lot,” Moreno said. “Especially the neighbors just because we all get along very well. We all talk and communicate. It will definitely be hard. The kids always played in the front yard and waved ‘hi.’”

Hernandez said the tragedy remains painful and difficult to comprehend.

“It’s hard,” he said. “How do you explain to your 7-year-old that his teammate won’t be coming back?”

Added Swank: “Please, everyone, hug your kids tighter tonight. Life is short and you never know what’s going to happen.”

Categories
Technology

Discord says Android users won’t be left hanging anymore

Discord says Android users won't be left hanging anymore

Discord announced new measures to bring its Android app into parity with its iOS counterpart today. The changes will improve the app’s experience for Android, which has historically lagged behind the iPhone version of Discord.

Discord says the app is now “rebuilt from the ground up” using React Native, a developer framework for making apps that work uniformly across platforms. Some of the changes have been rolling out already in recent weeks, but the overhauled version of Discord for Android should be available to all users within the next few weeks.

The chat app is about as cross-platform as they come and the company offers a version of the experience for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux. Discord also recently added a new integration for Xbox Live that lets users forward their chats to their consoles.

The company says that the new development method will allow it to expedite new feature releases and bug fixes, getting those changes to the multi-platform app uniformly and more quickly than before. Prior to the new system, Android users got the short end of the stick, often waiting for features and updates that their iOS counterparts received first.

“React Native allows us to streamline and consolidate our processes, which helps our engineers work more efficiently and push out updates more frequently, especially now that the team won’t be spending as much time maintaining different codebases for different devices,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Categories
Entertainment

BTS may be among K-pop stars to serve shorter military service under South Korean law change

BTS members sing into their microphones on stage while wearing suits

South Korea is debating shortening mandatory military service for K-pop stars such as BTS from about two years to three weeks.

The issue is coming sharply into focus due to the oldest member of the band, Jin, turning 30 next year.

Under a 2019 revision of the law, globally recognized K-pop stars were allowed to put off their service until they were 30.

Military service is hugely controversial in South Korea where all able-bodied men aged between 18 and 28 must fulfill their duties as part of efforts to defend their country against nuclear-armed North Korea.

Over the years, some exemptions have become available to people such as Olympics and Asian Games medal winners, classical musicians and dancers who win top prizes at certain competitions, allowing them to either put off service or do it for a shorter time.

Parliament is now debating a bill that would shorten military service for K-pop stars.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, speaking at a parliamentary session, said that by allowing BTS to continue performing, the military could serve national interests without affecting the already shrinking pool of personnel resources due to low birth rates.

BTS’s management, Big Hit, did not respond to a request for comment.

“Even if they join the military, there would be a way to give them a chance to practice and perform together if there are scheduled concerts abroad,” Mr Lee said.

“As many people highly value [artists serving] in the military, that may help increase their popularity even more.”

The seven-member band announced in June a break from group musical activities to pursue solo projects, saying they were exhausted.

In April, a Big Hit official said some members were having a “hard time” because of uncertainties over the debate in parliament, calling for a decision.

Since their 2013 debut, BTS have become a worldwide sensation with their upbeat hits and social campaigns aimed at empowering youth.

BTS became the first Asian band to win artist of the year at the American Music Awards last year, and they met US President Joe Biden at the White House in May to discuss hate crimes targeting Asians.

A South Korean think tank estimated in 2018 that BTS would bring an economic benefit totaling 56 trillion won ($61 billion) between 2014 and 2023.

Reuters

.

Categories
Sports

Tiger Woods spurned offer in $800m range to join LIV Golf, Greg Norman says | Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods turned down an offer that Greg Norman says was in the region of $700m to $800m to take part in the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series.

During an appearance on Fox News with Tucker Carlson that aired Monday night, Norman confirmed what he told the Washington Post in a story two months ago. Norman told the Post in June the offer was “mind-blowingly enormous; we’re talking about high nine digits.”

Woods has been opposed to LIV Golf since late last year, and he delivered his strongest comments at the British Open when he said players who took the money funded by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund had “turned their back” on the PGA Tour that made them famous.

When an offer was made to Woods it was not clear.

“That number was out there before I became CEO. So that number has been out there, yes,” Norman said in the Fox News interview, which took place Sunday at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the third LIV Golf Invitational was held.

“And, look, Tiger is a needle-mover and of course you have to look at the best of the best,” Norman said. “So they had originally approached Tiger before I became CEO. So, yes, that number was somewhere in that neighborhood.”

Various reports out of the United Kingdom have said Phil Mickelson received a $200m signing bonus, while Dustin Johnson received $150m. The 48-man fields, which play 54 holes with no cut, offer $25m in prize money at each event. Norman announced a 14-tournament schedule for next year.

LIV Golf currently has only one player – Johnson at No 18 – from the top 20 in the world.

The source of the funding has led to sharp criticism of the series and the players who have enlisted because it is viewed as an attempt to distract attention from its human rights record and links to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Asked why his rival tour has caused such an uproar among American golf fans, Norman responded plainly, “I don’t know.”

“I really don’t care,” Norman said. “I just love the game so much and I want to grow the game of golf and we at LIV see that opportunity not just for the men but for the women.”

The LIV Golf Invitational is off for a month during the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour, returning over Labor Day weekend about an hour west of Boston, and then two weeks later plays in the Chicago suburbs.

Categories
US

Man Charged in Fatal Stabbing During River Tubing Confrontation in Wisconsin

Man Charged in Fatal Stabbing During River Tubing Confrontation in Wisconsin

A 52-year-old Minnesota man was charged Monday with killing a teenager and stabbing four other people at a popular summer tubing spot in Wisconsin in a confrontation with a separate group that, according to the man, began as he searched the river for a lost phone.

The man, Nicolae Miu, of Prior Lake, Minn., was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the Saturday killing of the teenager, identified by his family as 17-year-old Isaac Schuman of Stillwater, Minn. Mr. Miu also faces four charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, a felony, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in the Circuit Court of St. Croix County, Wis.

The complaint described a bloody scene in which Mr. Miu “waved” a knife at a group of young people during a dispute on the Apple River, a tributary to the St. Croix River, that is frequented by tubers and campers who visit from nearby St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Mr. Miu — described in the complaint as “an older male” with gray hair, weighing approximately 250 pounds — was captured on video running toward a group shirtless and carrying a snorkel, according to the documents. In the video, the group can be heard telling him to “get away,” according to the documents.

According to interviews with witnesses and victims, Mr. Miu was “bothering a group of juveniles on their tubes.” Members of this group “were yelling for help from other individuals floating down the river nearby,” according to the documents.

Witnesses said that a group of people came and stood between Mr. Miu and the juveniles and told him to leave. They also said that he punched or slapped a woman in the second group who was confronting him. According to the witnesses, Mr. Miu was then punched by a man and fell into the river, documents say.

Mr. Miu then began “stabbing multiple individuals who were near him,” according to the complaint. They describe the knife as having a three-inch silver blade. After the stabbing, “there was enough blood in the river that the water turned a red tint in places,” court documents say.

The authorities have not released the names of the victims. The teenager was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital. The four other victims were in stable condition, the authorities said.

In an interview with the authorities, Mr. Miu claimed he was acting in self-defense, and that he had initially approached the group because he was looking for a lost phone and thought one of them might have found it.

In a statement, the teenager’s family described him as an honor roll student looking forward to his senior year at Stillwater High School. They said he had hoped to pursue a degree in electrical engineering, and in the last year, he had started a car and boat detailing business.

“Isaac entered every room with a big smile, infectiously positive aura, and lifted everyone around him up,” his family said in the statement. “He had an incredibly bright future ahead of him and we are all heartbroken and devastated.”

The injured were described as two men, ages 20 and 22, from Luck, Wis.; a woman, 24, from Burnsville, Minn.; and a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minn., Sheriff Scott Knudson of the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Sunday.

On a GoFundMe page, Ryhley Mattison said that she was among those injured in the attack.

Credit…St. Croix County’s Sheriff’s Office

Deputies waded about 100 yards through waist-deep water to reach the victims, who were also assisted by others in the river and emergency medical workers, Sheriff Knudson said. Mr. Miu had left the scene and was taken into custody at an exit point for tubers, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Mr. Miu was with a group of friends, including his wife, Sondra Dee Miu, according to documents. She told the authorities that she and her husband de ella had arrived at the river around 10:45 am, and that at some point, he had left their group to try to find “a member of their parties’ phone that was lost.”

Ms. Miu told the authorities that while her husband was looking for the phone, a group of men got off their tubes and began to hit Mr. Miu, and that two members of her party had run toward Mr. Miu and the men who were fighting. Ms. Miu said that “all she heard was screaming” and that she did not see what happened, documents say.

She told the authorities that Mr. Miu had a knife in his pocket that was not very big. “Those guys grabbed it from him,” she said, adding that her husband de ella had told her that a group of people “were calling him a pedophile and attacked him.”

After the stabbing, he ran back upriver and entered the woods, according to the complaint. The authorities arrested him after receiving reports at about 4:45 pm that witnesses had spotted him, documents say.

Jeremiah Harrelson, a public defender who represented Mr. Miu at Monday’s hearing, said he could not comment further on the case as he was no longer representing him.

In an interview with Brandie Hart, a lieutenant with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Miu said that he worked as a mechanical engineer, had bachelor’s degrees in engineering and mathematics, and that he had “never been in trouble with the law before.”

He said that his actions were an act of “self-defense” and that he had been looking for a lost cellphone which he believed was inside a “floater” — one of the bags provided to tubers to prevent valuables from sinking.

The group, he said, had insulted him for being in the water with his snorkel gear, calling him a “child molester.”

“They attacked me,” he told Lieutenant Hart, according to the complaint. “Everything happened so fast.”

A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 12.

Vimal Patel contributed reporting.

Categories
Technology

How Do Optus’ New Phone Plans Stack Up?

Optus Has Changed Its Postpaid Mobile Plans, Here’s How They Stack Up

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Optus has refreshed its postpaid mobile phone plans, upping both prices and data allowances.

Optus’ SIM-only postpaid phone plans previously started at $45 per month with 20GB, but you’re now looking at $49 per month with 30GB. The $55 per month plan with 80GB is now $59 per month with 100GB. $65 per month previously got you 200GB, which has now become $69 per month with 220GB. And lastly, the $85 per month plan with 240GB is now an $89 per month plan with 360GB.

In addition, Optus has rejigged its Optus Plus Promo plan. It still comes with 500GB, but you’re now looking at $69 per month for your first six months, and $119 per month thereafter. This offer runs until August 4.

So how do these new plans compare to Telstra and Vodafone? Before we start, here’s the new core range of Optus SIM-only plans:

No contract SIM-only plans

Despite Optus’ plans now costing $4 per month more across the board, Telstra is still the most expensive option on a SIM-only plan.

Vodafone has the cheapest SIM-only plan out of the three, offering 40GB of data for $40 per month. On the other hand, you’re looking at $49 per month for 30GB on Optus, or $58 per month for 40GB on Telstra.

Stepping up, Vodafone gets you your best data for dollar option: you’ll pay $60 per month for 300GB. For comparison, Optus charges $59 for 100GB, or Telstra $68 for 180GB.

If you go over your allowance, all three providers offer unlimited data at capped speeds. On Telstra and Optus, you’ll get restricted to 1.5Mbps. Vodafone plan capped speeds vary between 2Mbps and 10Mbps, depending on how much your monthly spend is. The more expensive your bill, the faster your capped speeds are. Vodafone also has a truly unlimited plan currently available for $65 per month.

Optus plans with a phone

All telcos now sell phones the same way: you pick from one of their SIM-only plans, and then add on a handset. You’ll then pay it off over 12, 24 or 36 months, interest-free, at an overall cost that’s roughly equivalent to the outright price. Telstra doesn’t consistently offer 36-month repayments, but Optus and Vodafone do.

The similarity between how all three telcos now sell phones means pricing is a lot more predictable: you’re just taking the outright price of the phone and tacking it onto your chosen plan. However, a few other factors can alter this equation. We’ve seen telcos apply discounts to the outright price of a phone to make them a little cheaper, for example.

Here’s a look at how the cheapest options from the Big Three providers compare for some of the latest devices:

iPhone 13 (128GB)

iPhone 13 Pro (128GB)

Samsung Galaxy S22 (128GB)

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (128GB)

Google Pixel 6a plans (128GB)

Google Pixel 6 Pro (128GB)

OPPO Find X5 Pro (256GB)

International calls

Optus postpaid plans worth at least $59 per month (excluding handset repayments) include unlimited talk and text to 35 countries.

For comparison, Telstra’s Upfront mobile plans include unlimited SMS and MMS to all international numbers and 30 minutes of calls to any standard international number. If you want to make more than 30 minutes of international calls in a month, you’ll need to add on a $10 per month International Calling Pack.

Lastly, Vodafone postpaid plans start to get international calling inclusions from the $45 per month and up mark. These are typically broken down into Zone 1 and Zone 2 destinations. For example, Vodafone’s $50 per month plan includes 1,000 minutes to Zone 1 destinations and 100 minutes to Zone 2. All Vodafone postpaid plans include unlimited standard international SMS.

Additional features

On top of talk, text and data, plans from the Big Three all include a couple of extras.

Optus customers don’t have as many extras as they used to. While Optus Sport used to be a free inclusion on all Optus postpaid plans, Optus customers now get a discounted rate. Instead of paying $24.99 per month, you’ll pay $6.99 per month if you’ve got a postpaid mobile plan with Optus. Optus customers also get discounted tickets through Hoyts.

Telstra plans to get you discounted movie tickets from Event Cinemas and data-free access to Apple Music. You’ll need to join Telstra Plus if you want cheap movie tickets, however.

Joining Telstra Plus also earns 10 points for every dollar you spend on your monthly bill as part of a Frequent Flyer style rewards scheme. You can spend these points on selected gadgets or use the points discounts on devices. Telstra Plus is free to join.

Telstra customers are also currently eligible for a one-month free trial of Foxtel Now and a one-month free trial of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Vodafone doesn’t have much in terms of extras, but if you’ve got multiple postpaid plans on the same Vodafone account, you’ll save 5 per cent on your total bill for each plan after the first, up to a maximum of 20 per cent This includes SIM-only, mobile, tablet, and mobile broadband. Vodafone mobile customers can also get a discount on Vodafone 4G home internet, 5G home internet, and NBN plans.

What are my other options?

If you’re looking for a cheaper plan on the Optus network, these plans with at least 40GB start at $20 per month. The standout offer comes from Circles.Life where you can pay $25 per month for 50GB with the promo code FREEZE50. This pricing lasts for the life of your plan.

Alex Choros is Managing Editor at Whistle OutAustralia’s phone and internet comparison website.

Categories
Sports

Heath Davis becomes first male New Zealand cricketer to come out as gay | New Zealand cricket team

Former New Zealand Test player Heath Davis has become the country’s first male international cricketer to publicly speak about being gay.

Davis, 50, played five Tests and 11 one-day internationals for the Black Caps between 1994 and 1997 and was known as an intimidating, if inconsistent, pace bowler.

Three decades after his Test debut, Davis publicly revealed his sexuality for the first time, in an episode of the documentary series Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends.

The first international male cricketer to come out publicly was the former England wicketkeeper Steven Davies in 2011.

It was during Davis’s first tour to England in 1994 when he started to really discover himself, he told The Spinoff, though he had told his mother at an early age he was gay.

“I went to a few bars and things privately, just to see what life was like. You’re on the other side of the world, no one’s going to know you,” he said. But he left that part of his life there. “There was a lot of that, keeping your personal life separate.”

He guessed some of his teammates knew he was gay before he told a couple of them in 1997 but he was never questioned about it. “I certainly wasn’t living a gay life, wasn’t part of the scene, didn’t have a partner. There was nothing to tie it to, if you know what I mean,” Davis said.

Davis entered his first gay relationship when he was 27 years old, while playing for Wellington, but he was reluctant to appear in public as a couple. When an offer of a contract came from Auckland, Davis saw an opportunity to move away from the city he did not feel comfortable being out in.

After the couple made the move to Auckland, Davis told his new team’s manager he was gay, which was passed on to his team members and “didn’t seem to be that big an issue”.

Davis is now on a new journey – one that exists in tension with his sexuality. “I’m living single, part of a group of other men as a Christian group.”

Heath Davis during his playing days.
Heath Davis during his playing days. Photograph: supplied by Heath Davis

An international study on homophobia in sport, released in May, revealed that New Zealand gay and bisexual men were the most likely to keep their sexuality secret in both youth and adult sports, with many saying they feared bullying from teammates and discrimination from coaches and officials .

More than half of all participants believed team sport is more homophobic than the rest of New Zealand society, while gay men were much more likely to believe this (69%) than anyone else.

Former Wellington Firebirds player, Stephen Mather, said Davis told him about his sexuality in 1997, when there were no other outwardly gay men playing first class cricket at that time.

“There were 80 or 90 men – so that doesn’t make a huge amount of sense on a probability scale,” Mather said in the video. “There was some pretty free thinking people in the cricket circles at that time but there were also some pretty old school attitudes as well.”

Homophobic attitudes in sport still very much exist, said Madeleine Chapman, The Spinoff’s editor and producer of the documentary series.

“But I do think that [Davis’s story] could potentially be an opening for other athletes to share parts of themselves if they’re comfortable with it,” Chapman said.

The responses have so far been very positive, she said. “I think other athletes, particularly young athletes being able to see that sort of honesty and vulnerability be warmly accepted by readers and viewers can only be encouraging.”

Categories
US

Trump baffles GOP by endorsing ‘Eric’ in the Missouri Senate primary — a race with three Erics

Trump baffles GOP by endorsing 'Eric' in the Missouri Senate primary — a race with three Erics

Former President Donald Trump injected some last-minute confusion ahead of Missouri’s Senate primary on Tuesday by endorsing “ERIC” in a Monday night statement.

Eric who? Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens? State Attorney General Eric Schmitt? Or maybe even little-known Eric McElroy?

“I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Full Endorsement!” Trump said in a statement after emphasizing voters “must send a MAGA Champion and True Warrior to the US Senate, someone who will fight for Border Security, Election Integrity, our Military and Great Veterans, together with having a powerful toughness on Crime and the Border .”

When reached for comment, Trump’s team did not provide any clarity, saying only that the “endorsement speaks for itself.”

Allies of Greitens and Schmitt separately argued that their candidate was the true recipient of the endorsement, or that the other guy wasn’t MAGA enough to win Trump’s approval.

One Trump adviser said the internal bickering demonstrated the former president’s enduring power and influence in the party.

“Instead of talking about Missouri, the Erics are debating what Trump’s endorsement means,” said the adviser. “Yes, it’s an epic troll.”

By not endorsing Greitens, though, Trump could have sealed his defeat.

“A Trump endorsement is a wild card Greitens needs. And if he doesn’t get it, it’s hard to see how he wins,” said John Lamping, a Republican and former state senator from Missouri.

Schmitt has led Greitens in most public polls, reaching about 30 percent support in the crowded GOP field, as Greitens tends to top out at 25 percent. Rep. Vicky Hartzler has statistically tied for second with Greitens in those surveys.

Greitens started to stumble after a withering assault of radio and TV ads from political committees financed by GOP establishment figures who savaged the former governor for his sex scandal, the domestic violence and a trade mission he took to China.

For months, Trump had considered endorsing Greitens but privately fretted to confidants that he was concerned about the sex scandal that helped drive Greitens from office in 2018. And he was troubled by allegations earlier this year from the former governor’s ex-wife that he physically abused her and their 3-year-old son. Greitens campaign manager Dylan Johnson at the time called the allegations “politically motivated” and “outright lies.”

Amid a recent lobbying campaign from Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle — who co-chairs Greitens’ Senate campaign — some Trump-watchers started to believe the former president would give Greitens the nod.

But Schmitt also had Trump allies in his corner, namely former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was part of Trump’s defense team for his first impeachment trial.

Trump’s mood toward Schmitt’s campaign appeared to sour on Sunday when he grousing on his Truth Social website that Schmitt’s pollster, Jeff Roe, had released a survey of Missouri Republicans that failed to show Trump’s dominance in a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary, particularly against Florida Gov . Ron DeSantis. Trump won Missouri by more than 15 percentage points in 2020.

The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary will face either former US Marine Lucas Kunce or Trudy Busch Valentine, heiress to the Busch family beer fortune, in November.

Meanwhile, independent John Wood, a Republican and a former investigator for the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot, said Monday that he has submitted enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in the general election.

Marc Caputo is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

Categories
Technology

Ferrari and Porsche unveil new GT3 challengers

Ferrari and Porsche unveil new GT3 challengers

The Ferrari 296 GT3

Ferrari and Porsche have unveiled their GT3 challengers for worldwide competition next year.

The Italian marque recently took the wraps of its new 296 GT3, while the German brand showcased its new 911 GT3 R.

Set to debut in the 2023 Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Ferrari 296 GT3 is the latest model of Ferrari’s two-seater, mid-rear-engine sports cars, with a six-cylinder engine.

Work on the 296 GT3 project began in 2020, with the first CFD simulations and simulator models.

Testing then moved into the wind tunnel to further define the car’s aerodynamics.

Following Maranello’s endurance testing, the first on-track shakedown came in April 2022.

Since then, the Scuderia has completed thousands of kilometers of testing, prior to the unveiling.

Meanwhile, Porsche showcased its new 911 GT3 R challenger to the public over the weekend at the 2022 24 Hours of Spa.

2023-Porsche-911-GT3-3-unveling-1

The new Porsche 911 GT3 R

Development began on the vehicle, which is based on the latest 992-generation 911, in 2019, and will be ready for competition in 2023.

Compared to its predecessor, the new 911 GT3 R features a larger engine producing up to 416 kW, with Porsche claiming it has a more constant aerodynamic performance, as well as optimized vehicle balance.

Priority was given to improving the drivability for professionals, gentleman drivers, as well as tapping larger performance reserves for different Balance of Performance (BoP) classifications.

Another focus was on streamlining the handling of the car for the teams, as well as reducing the running costs.