Month: August 2021

Harvey Sutton, or “Little Man,” as he is known on the Appalachian Trail, won’t have long to bask in the glory of hiking its full length. After all, he starts kindergarten Friday.At 5 years old, Harvey is one of the youngest — and the latest of several youngsters in recent years — to complete the trail, after tagging along with his parents over more than 2,100 miles in 209 days.It was hard work, but it was fun checking out frogs, lizards and other wildlife. So was sprinkling Skittles onto peanut butter tortillas as fuel for the walk, he said.“The rock scrambles were really fun and hard. We were not bored,” he said cheerfully in a phone interview from Virginia, where he lives with his parents, Josh and Cassie Sutton.His parents were so busy keeping him engaged and entertained that it distracted them from the physical pain of trudging over so many miles.“It gave us a bond and a strength that we hadn’t realized before,” Cassie Sutton said.Other youngsters have hiked the 2,193-mile (3,530 kilometers) trail that starts at Springer Mountain, Georgia, and ends atop Maine’s Mount Katahdin. Some babies have even been carried in backpacks by their determined parents.Harvey was 4 years old when he and his parents began their walk in January and he turned 5 before the family completed the journey last week in Maine.He’s several months younger than “Buddy Backpacker,” a boy who held the record for youngest to complete the trail in 2013, Harvey’s parents say.But the youngest of all may be Juniper Netteberg, who finished the trail at age 4, wearing a Wonder Woman costume, with her parents and three siblings on Oct. 13, 2020, said her parents, who are missionary doctors.Her family hiked sections over a period of months, but that still counts as long as they didn’t skip any part of the trail, said Ken Bunning, president of Appalachian Long Distance Hikers Association.It may seem extreme for a kid, but a pediatrician sees no harm.Kids are resilient enough to handle the experience as long as parents keep their social and emotional development in mind and scale the hike to kids’ abilities, said Dr. Laura Blaisdell, a pediatrician and medical adviser to the American Camp Association.For Harvey’s hike, his parents decided to take a “mini retirement” from their real estate jobs in Lynchburg, Virginia. They’d been hiking with Harvey since he was 2, so the Appalachian Trail made sense to them.It was mostly smooth sailing after a snowstorm in the Smoky Mountains forced them to backtrack more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) to safety over 2 1/2 days.The family became accustomed to sleeping in a tent, waking at 5:30 a.m. and hiking all day. There was a simplicity to the routine and a camaraderie with other “thru hikers” that kept it from getting boring, Josh Sutton said.Karl Donus Sakas, a hiker known as “Sugar Man” who accompanied the Suttons from Pennsylvania to the end in Maine, said Harvey had boundless energy.“He’s pretty strong and tough. So often we’d get to camp and I’d be beaten and tired. And Little Man would say, ‘Let’s play freeze tag!’” he said.The parents said the biggest challenge was keeping their son’s imagination engaged. Harvey made plans to build homes, construct space ships and host a lava party in discussions over miles and hours of hiking, Sakas said.Sakas helped out by setting up a treasure hunt with faux maps, hidden toys and glow sticks on the trail over several days in New Jersey.Some other thru hikers gave Little Man toys, including a pet rock, Hot Wheels and a pocket watch. At a Dollar General store, the boy bought a calculator to keep track of the miles.The hike showed the strength of teamwork and further solidified the Suttons’ relationship, Cassie Sutton said. “We’re closer than ever before,” she said.They completed the hike Aug. 9 atop Mount Katahdin. Now it’s off to kindergarten for Little Man and back to work for his parents.Harvey’s journey earned accolades from another hiking legend, Dale “Greybeard” Sanders, the oldest person to hike the trail, at age 82 in 2017.“It’s going to change his life forever, and his parents’ life, too. The kid went through some hardships, but don’t we all? Hardships make us stronger,” said Sanders, now 86, of Bartlett, Tennessee. “That kid is going to smile through life.”
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“Stillwater” is a drama involving an American father who travels to Marseilles, France, to help exonerate his daughter of murder. Amanda Knox, who faced the same fate in real life in Italy, has criticized filmmaker Tom McCarthy for tailoring the story of her wrongful murder conviction in Perugia, Italy, “too closely and inaccurately” to the film’s plot. The Academy Award-winning filmmaker told VOA his film is not about Knox, but about a father-daughter relationship. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.
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For World Photography Day, VOA’s Jesusemen Oni speaks with American photojournalist Vanessa Charlot, who is being honored for her iconic images of what it means to be Black during the pandemic and protests over racial injustice in the U.S. Here is her report.Producer: Rob Raffaele  
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R&B star R. Kelly is a predator who lured girls, boys and young women with his fame and dominated them physically, sexually and psychologically, a prosecutor said Wednesday, while a defense lawyer warned jurors they’ll have to sift through lies from accusers with agendas to find the truth. The differing perspectives came as the long-anticipated trial began unfolding in a Brooklyn courtroom where several accusers were scheduled to testify in the next month about the Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling singer whose career has been derailed by charges that have left him jailed as he goes broke. Jerhonda Pace, the first government witness, told jurors Wednesday that she was a 16-year-old virgin and a member of Kelly’s fan club when he invited her to his mansion in 2010. He immediately told her to take off her clothing, Pace said. “He asked me to continue to tell everyone I was 19 and act like I was 21,” she said. In this courtroom artist’s sketch made from a video screen monitor of a Brooklyn courtroom, defendant R. Kelly, top left, listens as Jerhonda Pace, far left, testifies against the R&B star during the singer’s sex abuse trial, Aug. 18, 2021.Kelly responded “that’s good” when she revealed her virginity, said that he wanted to “train her” sexually and ordered her to call him “Daddy,” she said. They continued to see each other for another six months, with Kelly growing more and more controlling and erupting in violence when she broke what she called “Rob’s rules.” One time he grew so angry, “He slapped me and choked me until I passed out,” she said with no hint of emotion. Afterward, he spit in her face and forced her to have oral sex, she said. She kept a blue T-shirt from the episode that has provided DNA evidence of the misconduct, prosecutors said.  The Associated Press doesn’t name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent unless they have spoken publicly extensively. Pace has appeared in a documentary and participated in media interviews. Prior to Pace’s testimony, lawyers gave jurors an outline of the trial in their opening statements. “This case is not about a celebrity who likes to party a lot,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez told the jury as she explained the evidence to be revealed at his federal trial. “This case is about a predator.” She said he distributed backstage passes to entice children and women to join him, sometimes at his home or studio, where he then “dominated and controlled them physically, sexually and psychologically.” The prosecutor said Kelly would often record sex acts with minors as he controlled a racketeering enterprise of individuals who were loyal and devoted to him, eager to “fulfill each and everyone one of the defendant’s wishes and demands.” “What his success and popularity brought him was access, access to girls, boys and young women,” she said. But Kelly’s attorney, Nicole Blank Becker, portrayed her client as a victim of women, some of whom enjoyed the “notoriety of being able to tell their friends that they were with a superstar.” “He didn’t recruit them. They were fans. They came to Mr. Kelly,” she said, urging jurors to closely scrutinize the testimony. “They knew exactly what they were getting into. It was no secret Mr. Kelly had multiple girlfriends. He was quite transparent.” It would be a stretch to believe he orchestrated an elaborate criminal enterprise, like a mob boss, the lawyer said. Becker warned jurors they’ll have to sort through “a mess of lies” from women with an agenda. “Don’t assume everybody’s telling the truth,” she said. R. Kelly’s attorney Deveraux Cannick is surrounded by reporters as he leaves U.S. District Court in Brooklyn during the R&B star’s trial, in New York, Aug. 18, 2021.The remarks fit a theme set by the defense in court papers prior to the trial describing Kelly’s alleged victims as groupies who turned up at his shows and made it known they “were dying to be with him.” The women only started accusing him of abuse years later, when public sentiment shifted against him, they said. Kelly, 54, is perhaps best known for his smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly,” a 1996 song that became an inspirational anthem played at school graduations, weddings, advertisements and elsewhere. The openings and testimony came more than a decade after Kelly was acquitted in a 2008 child pornography case in Chicago. It was a reprieve that allowed his music career to continue until the #MeToo era caught up with him, emboldening alleged victims to come forward.The women’s stories got wide exposure with the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly. The series explored how an entourage of supporters protected Kelly and silenced his victims for decades, foreshadowing the federal racketeering conspiracy case that landed Kelly in jail in 2019. Prosecutors in Brooklyn have lined up multiple female accusers — mostly referred to in court as “Jane Does” — and cooperating former associates who have never spoken publicly before about their experiences with Kelly. They’re expected to offer testimony about how Kelly’s managers, bodyguards and other employees helped him recruit women and girls — and sometimes boys — for sexual exploitation. They say the group selected victims at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly in the New York City area and elsewhere, in violation of the Mann Act, the 1910 law that made it illegal to “transport any woman or girl” across state lines “for any immoral purpose.” An anonymous jury made up of seven men and five women was sworn in to hear the case. The trial, coming after several delays due mostly to the pandemic, unfolds under coronavirus precautions restricting the press and the public to overflow courtrooms with video feeds. The New York case is only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota. 
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Hawaii had a thriving native-language press through the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now there is an effort underway to preserve and renew Hawaiian-language journalism, as VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports from Honolulu. Camera: Mike O’Sullivan 
 
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Following a 5½-year-civil war and as intercommunal clashes continue, fashion is not the first thing that usually springs to mind for many about South Sudan.   But a small group of young fashion designers say they want to help change the country’s image by showcasing locally designed clothes that are increasingly capturing eyes in the fashion world. “If we can come up with something that can help us boost and empower ourselves, then we can do it,” said Ghum Barnabas Kulang, founder of Kulang Enterprises. Kulang began creating his own designs in 2019 with a focus on fashionable suits and colorful dresses made from African prints. He believes creating a national brand is important for the morale of South Sudanese people.    “So, the inspiration is, I want us to have an identity, as well,” Kulang told South Sudan in Focus. “We should have something that is commonly known in us, (because) it’s not basically the rivalries of the war. We also have good architecture in terms of culture, as well as fashion designs.” About a dozen designers earlier this month put on the sixth annual South Sudan Fashion Week in the capital, Juba.South Sudanese models wear swimwear collection of South Sudanese designer Wilma Amito at the 6th Annual South Sudan Fashion Week in Juba. (VOA/Winnie Cirino)The show’s founder, Dawson Dau Amou, a successful East African model, wants to change the world’s focus on South Sudan from a war-torn country to a nation that can build on self-sustaining enterprise.  “What we are up to here is all about growing the fashion industry, because it is a business industry, so that we don’t rely on brands that are made from outside,” Amou told South Sudan in Focus. Six years ago, five designers participated in South Sudan Fashion Week. This year, 20 designers sent their fashions down the runway with South Sudanese models sporting designs of local designers. Most of the designers say their biggest challenge is finding the money to fund their small businesses.  David Shegold, founder of D’Gold’s Fashions, began designing clothes five years ago after graduating from a fashion school in Uganda. Shegold told South Sudan in Focus that he decided to specialize in designing wedding gowns and party clothes because many South Sudanese attend these occasions but usually wear clothes imported from foreign countries.  “I have seen people doing a lot of weddings and a lot of parties, so I see most of my people go abroad and get the wedding gowns from there,” he said. “Then I was like, ‘Why can’t I do a wedding gown since I am a professional in this?’” South Sudanese designer Wilma Amito, who designed a swimwear collection for this year’s fashion show, said she was inspired by learning how to knit online during last year’s COVID-19 lockdown. Amito took up knitting to keep herself busy, but her hobby quickly led to her designing bathing suits, tops and shorts.  Amito believes fashion can be a uniting factor in South Sudan.  “People bring in their different ideas, so it is a sign of unity,” she said. “When I come from a different tribe and someone else comes from a different tribe, we combine and develop the love and the understanding among ourselves.”   There are no compiled business figures for South Sudan’s nascent fashion industry. I But the designs are attracting attention in the diaspora. South Sudanese fashion designers displayed their creations for a fashion show for the Luol Deng Foundation’s annual conference in Minneapolis in 2019. 
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Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said Tuesday. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer.   Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think too hard. Its name is made up of the Japanese characters for “number” and “single,” and players place the numbers 1 through 9 in rows, columns and blocks without repeating them.   Ironically, it wasn’t until 2004 when Sudoku became a global hit, after a fan from New Zealand pitched it and got it published in the British newspaper The Times. Two years later, Japan rediscovered its own puzzle as a “gyakuyunyu,” or “reimport.”   Kaji was chief executive at his puzzle company, Nikoli Co., until July and died Aug. 10 at his home in Mitaka, a city in the Tokyo metro area.   Maki traveled to more than 30 countries spreading his enjoyment of puzzles. Sudoku championships have drawn some 200 million people in 100 countries over the years, according to Tokyo-based Nikoli.   Sudoku was also never trademarked except within Japan, driving its overseas craze, Nikoli said.   “Kaji-san came up with the name Sudoku and was loved by puzzle fans from all over the world. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the patronage you have shown throughout his life,” the company said in a statement.   Originally, Sudoku was called “Suji-wa-Dokushin-ni-Kagiru,” which translates to, “Numbers should be single, a bachelor.” In recent years, Sudoku, believed to be the world’s most popular pencil puzzle, has come out in digital versions.   Born in the main northern island of Hokkaido, Maki started Japan’s first puzzle magazine after dropping out of Keio University in Tokyo. He founded Nikoli in 1983, and came up with Sudoku about the same time.  Yoshinao Anpuku, who succeeded Kaji as Nikoli’s chief executive, said Kaji made friends easily and had a “unique and playful approach toward life.”   “Our mission is to pursue Maki’s vision and possibilities,” Anpuku said.   Nikoli has provided original puzzles to more than 100 media companies, 10 of them foreign ones.   Major Japanese newspaper Mainichi in its obituary credited Kaji for starting the puzzle sections at bookstores, as well as introducing the word “Sudoku” into the Oxford English dictionary.   Kaji is survived by his wife Naomi and two daughters. Funeral services have been held among close family. A separate memorial service is being arranged by Nikoli, but details were still undecided. 
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Hawaii had a thriving native-language press through the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Now there is an effort underway to preserve and renew Hawaiian-language journalism, as VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports from Honolulu Camera: Mike O’Sullivan 
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The resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations comes four years after the #MeToo movement exploded across the world. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti examines what the campaign to stamp out sexual harassment has — and has yet — to achieve. Camera: Aaron Foder.
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Britney Spears’ father said in a court filing Thursday that he was planning to step down from the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years, but his departure is not imminent.James Spears filed legal documents saying that while there were no grounds for his removal, he would step down after several lingering issues were resolved. The document gives no timetable for his resignation.”Mr. Spears continues to serve dutifully, and he should not be suspended or removed, and certainly not based on false allegations,” the filing said. “Mr. Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court.”Those matters include the next judicial review of the pop singer’s finances, which has been delayed by months of public and legal wrangling over James Spears’ role and the legitimacy of the conservatorship by Britney Spears and, in recent weeks, her new attorney.’Target of unjustified attacks’The documents say that James Spears has been “the unremitting target of unjustified attacks” but “he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests.”The filing says James Spears will fight the petition to force him out but will work with the court and Britney Spears’ attorney, Matthew Rosengart, on the next phases.”We are pleased that Mr. Spears and his lawyer have today conceded in a filing that he must be removed,” Rosengart said in a statement. “It is vindication for Britney.”Spears said he was working on a plan to give up his role before his daughter hired Rosengart last month.For most of the existence of the conservatorship, which was established in 2008, James Spears oversaw his daughter’s personal affairs and money. In 2019, he stepped down as the so-called conservator of her person, and maintained control of her finances.He was nevertheless the target of much of his daughter’s ire in a pair of speeches before the court in June and July, in which she called the conservatorship “abusive.”Spears in her June remarks said she had been required to use an intrauterine device for birth control, take medications against her will and was prevented from getting married, having another child or even riding in her boyfriend’s car unsupervised.’I deserve to have a life'”This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good,” the 39-year-old Spears said at the time. “I deserve to have a life.”James Spears was fighting to remain in control in court filings as recently as last week. He said the allegations in his daughter’s testimony were “untested,” needed investigation and involved issues that have long been out of his control.He suggested that Jodi Montgomery, who took over for him as conservator of Britney Spears’ personal affairs, deserved scrutiny if the allegations were accurate.Rosengart said that while he welcomed the move, he would not take the pressure off James Spears, who should not wait to step down.”We look forward to continuing our vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr. Spears, and others, over the past 13 years, while he reaped millions of dollars from his daughter’s estate, and I look forward to taking Mr. Spears’ sworn deposition in the near future,” Rosengart’s statement said. “In the interim, rather than making false accusations and taking cheap shots at his own daughter, Mr. Spears should remain silent and step aside immediately.”
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Despite rising infections from COVID-19’s delta variant, Americans are gathering together at sporting events in large stadiums and summer festivals.   Saqib Ul Islam takes us to the Around the World Cultural Food Festival in Alexandria, Virginia, where thousands celebrated the summer and international culture.  Camera:  Saqib Ul Islam    Produced by:   Saqib Ul Islam  
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More than three decades after Field of Dreams seeped into the country’s cultural consciousness, with a one-year delay caused by the pandemic, one of the most famous cornfields in Hollywood history finally gets the opportunity to host real major league ball.”Is this heaven?” the ghost of John Kinsella asked in the movie that inspired the game to be played Thursday between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees next to the actual site used in the 1989 film, which is maintained as a tourist attraction.”No, it’s Iowa,” dutiful farmer Ray Kinsella — played by Kevin Costner — responded to his father with a smile before they played catch under the lights in the movie’s most poignant scene.This week, the ball-playing isn’t fiction.”Shoeless” Joe Jackson and other long-ago players who took the field in the movie will be replaced by José Abreu and Aaron Judge.The proud and quintessential Midwestern state, usually only in the spotlight every four years during presidential campaigns, will be hosting a Major League Baseball game for the first time when the White Sox and Yankees play at a temporary venue built for about 8,000 fans in tiny Dyersville — population “about 4,400, we’re hoping for in the next census,” said mayor Jim Heavens.The event, part of MLB’s increased effort to grow the game by setting up shop in places without in-person access to the highest level of the sport, has been in the works for years. The original plan to play in 2020 was postponed when the coronavirus forced a shortened schedule at mostly empty ballparks, but if the White Sox, the Yankees or the Iowans became impatient then they were out of step with the spirit of the film.”The one constant through all the years,” as the sage author Terence Mann declared to Ray Kinsella in the film, “has been baseball.”Dyersville found its place on the map through the movie that starred Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Amy Madigan, but the sport has been entrenched in the town for more than a century. Commercial Club Park is where the team from Beckman Catholic High School and the local semipro club play, a spot as much at the heart of the community as the well-kept farms around it.About one-third of the crowd on Thursday is expected to be Iowa residents.”I see a lot of people as I travel around the state, and when they find out you’re from Dyersville, they all know about this MLB game,” Heavens said. “I think there’s a real element of pride in Iowa that MLB is coming. It’s kind of warmed my heart to see that the people of Iowa are so honored that this is happening.”FILE – Jeremiah Bronson, of Ames, Iowa, plays catch with his son Ben on the field at the ‘Field of Dreams’ movie site, June 5, 2020, in Dyersville, Iowa.The original movie site was quickly deemed too small for a standard game, so the made-for-the-moment ballpark required removal of 30,000 cubic yards of material and the installation of 4,000 tons of sand and 2,000 tons of gravel. The bullpens were designed to mimic those at old Comiskey Park, the former home of the White Sox. There’s even a just-for-fun corn maze beyond right field.This has been an especially hot and dry summer in this part of the country, so an irrigation system was installed to keep the prime crop in good shape for its time to shine on national TV — between 10 and 12 feet high.”We wanted to make sure we didn’t show up in the middle of August with brown corn,” said Chris Marinak, MLB’s chief operations and strategy officer.Just about everything about this event is unique.”When we first heard that this game would happen, I think everybody had that kind of initial rush of ‘Oh, this is going to be amazing to be a part of this broadcast,'” said Brad Zager, executive vice president of production and operations for Fox Sports. “When you start looking at it, there are very few events that we get a chance to produce that there’s no blueprint for.”Both teams will wear throwback uniforms harkening back to 1919, when Jackson played for the White Sox and was one of eight players banned for fixing the World Series. The history of that team is one of the many themes woven into a film that transcends sports.FILE – In this June 5, 2020, photo, an Iowa flag waves in the wind over the field at the ‘Field of Dreams’ movie site in Dyersville, Iowa.The White Sox and Yankees were also the two favorite teams of the John Kinsella character in the movie, at different points of his life.”I was an actor for 40 years, and nobody stops and asks me about the episodes of ER that I did, but a certain amount of people look at me strangely from across the room and then come over and tell me some amazing story about how that movie changed their relationship with their dad,” said Dwier Brown, who played John Kinsella. “All I did was take off my catcher’s mask and walk right in, so I’m grateful for my little piece in the whole puzzle.”
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Lionel Messi said he’s “in the right place” to win another Champions League trophy and cited a reunion with Neymar as a key factor in his decision to sign with Paris Saint-Germain.The 34-year-old Argentina star spoke at his introductory news conference at Parc des Princes stadium on Wednesday, the morning after signing a two-year deal with the option for a third season after leaving Barcelona.”My goal and dream is to raise another Champion’s (League Trophy) and I believe that I am in the right place to have the best chances to achieve that,” Messi said.”When you see this squad, you really want to play with them because there are so many possibilities,” he added. “We have the same goal. And Neymar of course did a lot and was important for my choice.”Qatari-backed PSG has been desperate to win the Champions League, falling just short when it lost the 2020 final to Bayern Munich. Messi helped Barcelona win four Champions League trophies.Messi’s arrival gives PSG formidable attacking options as he links up with not only Neymar — his former teammate at Barcelona — but also France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe.”I’m going to play with best players, it’s very nice, it’s incredible to be able to experience this,” said Messi, who also cited Argentina teammates and PSG players Ángel di Maria and Leandro Paredes.
“Obviously, one of the reasons (I came) was the locker room: Neymar, Dí María, Paredes, whom I know.”Messi said he is “ready” to start playing with PSG, which hosts Strasbourg on Saturday night.
“When I feel it, when the staff thinks I’m ok, I’ll be ready. I’m willing to play,” he said.Messi became the most high-profile free agent in soccer history after his attempts to stay at Barcelona were rejected last week by the Spanish league because the salary would not comply with financial regulations, with the Catalan club burdened by debts of more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion).PSG moved quickly to sign the Argentina star. The team, Messi said, “positioned themselves and everything went really fast and it was easy. It happened in little time. It was a difficult situation and they were efficient.”PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino quickly made contact with his fellow Argentine after Barcelona announced last Thursday that Messi would be leaving the club he joined as a 13-year-old boy.Messi won every major honor with Barcelona and was granted a tearful exit news conference on Sunday to signal the end of an era. Only Cristiano Ronaldo in the current era challenges Messi’s status as an all-time great.While PSG had to pay 222 million euros (then $261 million) to sign Neymar from Barcelona in 2017, there was no transfer fee for Messi.No salary details were given, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations earlier told The Associated Press that Messi is set to earn around 35 million euros ($41 million) net annually. The person said on condition of anonymity before the contract was signed.PSG will be hoping not only that Messi helps the team regain the French title it lost to Lille last season but finally win the Champions League.Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi praised “a historic day for the club, football world and it is a fantastic moment for us.””Everybody knows Leo… He makes the football magic, beautiful and he’s a winner. It will be very exciting for our supporters and the fans worldwide,” he added. “We have big ambition.”Messi said it was “very hard” to leave Barcelona after so many years but added “the moment I arrived here I felt very happy.”PSG supporters have seen their club transformed over the last decade since the influx of Qatari sovereign wealth investment linked to the emir. Once Messi’s Barcelona contract expired — and the Catalan club was unable to afford to keep him — PSG was one of the few clubs that could finance a deal to sign the six-time world player of the year.Messi will wear the No. 30 jersey — the same number he wore in his first two seasons with Barcelona before switching to No. 19 and then the prized No. 10, which Neymar gets to keep at PSG.
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Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi received a hero’s welcome after flying to France on Tuesday to join Paris Saint Germain (PSG) following his shock departure from Barcelona.The agreement to sign the 34-year-old Argentine is a major coup for wealthy PSG, who will add one of the best soccer players of all time to an already formidable front line that includes Brazil’s Neymar and young Frenchman Kylian Mbappe.Wearing a T-shirt that read “This is Paris,” Messi beamed and waved at scores of fans who had come to greet him at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of the French capital after his flight from Barcelona.Chanting “Messi, Messi, Messi,” the fans cheered and let off firecrackers.”It’s going to be mad. After all, it’s a legend who is arriving,” said Florent Chauveau, a PSG fan who has been back and forth to the airport every day since Sunday in the hope of seeing Messi arrive.Messi gave no details of the deal, which was reached days after Barcelona said it could not afford to keep the midfielder because of Spain’s La Liga’s fair play rules.Emotional Messi Says He Wasn’t Prepared to Leave Barcelona Lionel Messi calls his unexpected departure from Catalan club ‘the most difficult’ moment of his careerBut his father, speaking to reporters at Barcelona’s airport, confirmed reports by French newspaper L’Equipe and Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo that Messi had reached an agreement with PSG, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investment.L’Equipe said the deal would be for two years. It also said Messi would have medical tests on Tuesday, and that a news conference to mark his arrival was likely on Wednesday.PSG did not comment on the reports but released a short video showing scenes of Paris, a plane landing and a close-up of someone putting pen to paper. In the background, upbeat music can heard and the words “new diamond in Paris” and “mercato update” appear.The video, seen on Twitter, does not show Messi but depicts an image of six Ballons d’Or – an annual award given to the player deemed the best in the world – by the Eiffel Tower.Many Barcelona fans were distraught at the end of Messi’s glittering, trophy-laden career at the club he joined as a schoolboy.But the arrival of Barcelona’s all-time record scorer with 682 goals will boost PSG’s ambitions to win the Champions League for the first time. Messi won four Champions League titles while at Barcelona, as well as 10 La Liga titles.PSG AmbitionsMessi is the latest big-name arrival at PSG on a free transfer this summer after coach Mauricio Pochettino’s side snapped up Spanish defender Sergio Ramos after he left Real Madrid. Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum also joined after running down his contract with Liverpool.Italy’s Euro 2020-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma has also joined after his contract with AC Milan ran out, while Moroccan fullback Achraf Hakimi joined from Inter Milan for a reported 60 million euros ($70 million).The arrival of Messi, whose last contract with Barcelona was worth a total of 555 million euros and reported to be the most lucrative in world sport, is also set to provoke a renewed new debate about UEFA’s financial fair play rules.The rules were first introduced in 2009 to restrict some of the worst excesses of the game but have been criticized by some leading figures for being ineffective.The arrival of Messi, who has 245 million followers on Instagram and is Barcelona’s most decorated player of all time, is also welcome news for France’s Ligue 1, embroiled in a crisis over TV rights.
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Lionel Messi finalized agreement on his Paris Saint-Germain contract and was flying to France on Tuesday to complete the move that confirms the end of a career-long association with Barcelona.The 34-year-old Argentina star has agreed a two-year deal with the option for a further season, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.  The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the contract ahead of it being signed and the official announcement.Emotional Messi Says He Wasn’t Prepared to Leave Barcelona Lionel Messi calls his unexpected departure from Catalan club ‘the most difficult’ moment of his careerMessi is set to earn around $41 million net annually, the person said. Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, also confirmed Messi was moving to PSG in a brief exchange with reporters at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport on Tuesday.  Funded for a decade by Qatari sovereign wealth, PSG is one of the few clubs in the world that could finance the signing that links Messi up with Brazil forward Neymar and France World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe.While PSG had to pay some $261 million to sign Neymar from Barcelona in 2017, there was no transfer fee for Messi.Messi became the most desired free agent in soccer history after his Barcelona contract expired. The Catalan club had hoped to keep Messi, who agreed to a pay cut but it still wouldn’t have complied with the Spanish league’s financial regulations.PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino was in contact with his fellow Argentine as Barcelona announced last Thursday that Messi would be leaving the club he joined as a 13-year-old before winning every major trophy.Messi has won six Ballon d’Or titles in a sign of his status as one of the greatest of all-time.  PSG will be hoping not only that Messi helps the team regain the French title it lost to Lille last season but finally win the Champions League.  If the club uses a 4-3-3 formation, the front three could see Messi deployed on the right with Neymar on the left and Mbappe between them as the center forward.
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New Zealand cycling was plunged into mourning on Tuesday after Olympian Olivia Podmore’s sudden death at the age of 24. Podmore represented her country at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games but was not part of New Zealand’s team at the recent Tokyo Games. A New Zealand police spokesman said police attended a sudden death at a property in Waikato on New Zealand’s upper North Island about 4 p.m. (0400 GMT) Monday. Podmore’s cause of death was not confirmed, but friends and sports officials said her passing had raised concerns about her mental health. Former Olympic rowing champion Eric Murray, a friend of Podmore, told New Zealand media he was with her on Monday and said her death was a “shock and a tragedy.” “I wish she had said something,” the 39-year-old said. “We have lost a sister, a friend and a fighter who lost that will of fight inside of her. “If you had seen her in the last 72 hours,” he said, “you wouldn’t have thought this could happen. That’s why there’s so much talk about mental health at the moment.” The issue of athletes struggling with their mental health has been in the spotlight since Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open. American Simone Biles pulled out of most of her Olympic gymnastics events in Tokyo, citing a need to take care of her mental health. New Zealand media reported Podmore had recently described the pressures of elite sport in a post on her social media. The New Zealand Olympic Committee said news of Podmore’s death had reached the New Zealand cycling team in Tokyo, which was expected to return home on Tuesday. “We are providing well-being support for members of her team and the wider team as we return home from Tokyo,” NZOC said in a statement. Podmore’s brother Mitchell wrote in a Facebook post: “Rest in peace to my gorgeous sister and loved daughter of Phil Podmore. You will be in our hearts forever.” Sport New Zealand boss Raelene Castle said Podmore had been “reaching out for support.” “Support for athletes in programs is not perfect. Her legacy has to be that we make improvements,” Castle told a media conference. She added that “extra layers of support” were being given to New Zealand’s cycling team. 
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Organizers of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival have cancelled this year’s event due to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the region.In a statement on the festival’s website, the organizers said they made the decision based on “recent exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency.”The event commonly known as “Jazz Fest” is traditionally held over the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May. After the event was cancelled in 2020, organizers had hoped to hold the event in October. But as deadlines for guaranteeing acts and building the festival site were approaching, they had to make an immediate decision.In the first 50 years of Jazz Fest, which began in 1970, the event had never been cancelled. While featuring big name international stars such as the Rolling Stones and Jimmy Buffett, the event also celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana, featuring nearly every music style imaginable: blues, R&B, gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk, Latin, rock, rap, contemporary and traditional jazz, country, bluegrass and others.The festival is now scheduled to return to its usual spring dates in 2022, three years after it was last held.While a disappointment to music fans, cancellation of Jazz Fest is also a setback for the economic recovery of New Orleans, a city that relies heavily on tourism. Officials from the area’s hospitality industry told NOLA.com hotels in the city had been nearly totally booked for the two weeks of the festival.The city had attempted to return to normal in recent months, with popular local music venues requiring proof of vaccination to enter. But the recent COVID-19 surge, driven largely by the highly contagious delta variant, have forced many of those venues to cancel concerts through August.(Some information in this report came from the Associated Press.)
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After several delays, the first phase of the sex trafficking trial of R&B hitmaker R. Kelly will begin with jury selection Monday in New York City. A judge in federal court in Brooklyn will question potential jurors about whether they can keep an open mind about Kelly two years after he was charged with abusing women and girls for nearly two decades. The proceeding will occur amid coronavirus pandemic precautions restricting the press and the public to overflow courtrooms with video feeds.     Kelly, 54, has been locked up since he was indicted, mostly housed in a federal jail in Chicago. He was moved last month to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to face trial in a case that’s further diminished his superstar status. Last week, defense attorney Devereaux Cannick told a judge that Kelly needs to be measured for new clothing because he’s gained so much weight in jail. And he asked that court transcripts be provided at no cost because Kelly has been unable to work for two years, saying: “His funds are depleted.” The Grammy-winning, multiplatinum-selling singer has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of leading an enterprise of managers, bodyguards and other employees who helped him recruit women and girls for sex. Federal prosecutors say the group selected victims at concerts and other venues and arranged for them to travel to see Kelly.     Defense lawyers have said Kelly’s alleged victims were groupies who turned up at his shows and made it known they “were dying to be with him.” They only started accusing him of abuse years later when public sentiment shifted in the #MeToo era, they said.     The trial had been expected to start earlier in the year. But opening statements were moved to Aug. 18 after Kelly fired his original defense team. Jurors are expected to hear testimony from several of his accusers. A judge has ruled that the women will only be referred to by their first names.     Prosecutors have said the jury will also hear evidence that Kelly schemed with others to pay for a fake ID for Aaliyah, a singer on the rise at 15 years old, whom he married in a secret ceremony in 1994.     Aaliyah is identified as “Jane Doe #1” in court papers because she was still a minor when Kelly began a sexual relationship with her and believed she had become pregnant, the papers say. “As a result, in an effort to shield himself from criminal charges related to his illegal sexual relationship with Jane Doe #1, Kelly arranged to secretly marry her to prevent her from being compelled to testify against him in the future,” the papers say.     Aaliyah, whose full name was Aaliyah Dana Haughton, worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” She died in a plane crash in 2001 at age 22.     The case is only part of the legal peril facing the singer, born Robert Sylvester Kelly. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.     Kelly won multiple Grammys for “I Believe I Can Fly,” a 1996 song that became an inspirational anthem played at school graduations, weddings, advertisements and elsewhere.    Nearly a decade later, he began releasing what eventually became 22 musical chapters of “Trapped in the Closet,” a drama that spins a tale of sexual deceit and became a cult classic. But Kelly has been trailed for decades by complaints and allegations about his sexual behavior, including a 2002 child pornography case in Chicago. He was acquitted in that case in 2008. Scrutiny intensified again amid the #MeToo movement in recent years, with multiple women going public with accusations against the singer. The pressure intensified with the release of the Lifetime documentary “Surviving R. Kelly” in 2019.     Criminal charges soon followed. 
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Bobby Bowden did it all. He put Florida State on the map by taking the football team from an afterthought to a dynasty, and he left an indelible mark on the game with a rare combination of coaching acumen, gracious demeanor and a compassion for those he coached and competed against. The beloved, folksy Hall of Fame coach who built one of the most prolific college football programs in U.S. history died early Sunday at 91 at his home in Tallahassee, Florida, surrounded by his wife, Ann, and their six children following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Bobby’s son, Terry, called his passing “truly peaceful.” And while he’s gone, Bowden’s legacy as a top-notch coach — and human being — will live on. The numbers are staggering: Bowden piled up 377 wins during 40 years as a major college coach and his teams won a dozen Atlantic Coast Conference titles and national championships in 1993 and 1999. Perhaps the statistic that jumps off the page is his sustained success with Florida State, which finished the season ranked in the top five of The Associated Press college football poll an unmatched 14 straight seasons (1987-2000) under his tutelage. Bowden’s legacy can’t just be told in numbers. “This guy was probably the greatest ambassadors of all time because he had success coaching, but he was also one of the greatest people and set an outstanding example for everyone in our profession in terms of you don’t have to dislike somebody, you don’t have to discredit somebody that you’re competing against,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “That example of being a good person is something that can help us all professionally. He wasn’t always just about him; he was always about helping other people.” Bowden, a devout Christian, said last month, after announcing he had a terminal illness, he had always tried to serve God’s purpose and he was “prepared for what is to come.” “My wife, Ann, and our family have been life’s greatest blessing,” he said then.  Bowden retired following the 2009 season with a Gator Bowl win over West Virginia in Florida State’s 28th straight postseason appearance, a victory that gave him his 33rd consecutive winning season.  A month after he resigned, the NCAA stripped Florida State of victories in 10 sports because of an academic cheating scandal in 2006 and ’07 involving 61 athletes. Still, only Penn State’s Joe Paterno is credited with winning more games (409) as a major college football coach. Bowden’s win total ranks fourth across all divisions in college football history. Bowden was also the patriarch of college football’s most colorful coaching family. Son Tommy Bowden had a 90-49 record at Tulane and Clemson, and Terry was 47-17-1 at Auburn. Another son, Jeff, served 13 years coaching wide receivers for his father at Florida State and six seasons as offensive coordinator before he resigned in 2006. By 1979, Bowden had Florida State positioned for one of the great runs in the annals of college football.  Led by All-American nose guard Ron Simmons, the Seminoles enjoyed an 11-0 regular season but lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. In 1993, despite a late slip at Notre Dame, Florida State won its first national title after nearly getting there in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1992.  Bowden’s lone perfect season came in 1999 when the Seminoles became the first team to go wire-to-wire in The Associated Press rankings, No. 1 from the preseason to finish. Success also brought a glaring spotlight, and Bowden’s program was touched by scandal on a few occasions. The school was put on NCAA probation for five years after several players in 1993 accepted free shoes and other sporting goods from a local store.  Bowden prided himself on giving players a second chance, but critics said he was soft on discipline with an eye on winning games.  The cheating scandal that led to the loss of a dozen wins from Bowden’s final resume took place in an online music history course from the fall of 2006 through summer 2007. The NCAA said some athletes were provided with answers to exams and in some cases, had papers typed for them. Bowden stayed in the public eye after retirement, writing a book, making speeches and going public with his treatment for prostate cancer in 2007. His fear of retiring from coaching resulted in part from the death of his longtime idol, former Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who died within weeks of leaving the sidelines. “After you retire, there’s only one big event left,” Bowden frequently said. Bowden stayed active into his 80s, finally slowing down over the last year or so. He was hospitalized in October 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19. The test came a few days after he returned home from a long hospital stay for a leg infection. Born Nov. 8, 1929, in Birmingham, Alabama, Robert Cleckler Bowden overcame rheumatic fever as a child to quarterback Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, then attended Alabama for a semester before transferring back to his hometown Howard College, where he starred at quarterback. He married his childhood sweetheart, Ann, and they stayed together for 72 years. Bowden is survived by wife Ann; sons Terry, Tommy, Jeff and Steve; and daughters Robyn Hines and Ginger Madden. Services were scheduled for Saturday at the Donald L Tucker Center, Florida State’s basketball arena. 
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Struggling to control his emotions, Lionel Messi said Sunday in his farewell to Barcelona that he wasn’t prepared to leave the club.Messi began crying even before he started speaking at his farewell ceremony at the Camp Nou Stadium.”This is very hard for me after so many years, after being here my entire life,” he said. “I wasn’t prepared.”Messi called his unexpected departure from the club “the most difficult” moment of his career.Messi’s family and some of his teammates were at the Camp Nou for the player’s farewell.Messi avoided speaking specifically about his future, saying he received offers from several clubs after the announcement that he would leave the Catalan club.Barcelona announced Thursday it could not keep its greatest player because it wasn’t able to fit a new contract within the Spanish league’s financial fair-play regulations. The club’s salary cap has been significantly slashed because of its huge debt. President Joan Laporta blamed the club’s struggles on the coronavirus pandemic and particularly on the previous administration led by Josep Bartomeu.Messi asked to leave at the end of the 2019-20 season but had his request denied by Bartomeu. The Argentina star had agreed to stay and had reached agreement with Barcelona on a new contract, but the club wasn’t able to make it work because of its dire financial situation.Messi spent nearly two decades with the Catalan club after arriving from Argentina as a teenager to play in its youth squads. He made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in 2004, then played 17 seasons with the main squad. He helped the club win the Champions League four times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times.Messi leaves as Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 672 goals. He played in 778 matches with the club, also a record. He is also the overall top scorer in the Spanish league with 474 goals from 520 matches.He led the Spanish league in scoring in eight seasons, and was the top scorer in the Champions League six times. His 26 goals against Real Madrid are a record for the “clasico” matches against Barcelona’s fiercest rival. 
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