USA Update

BILL Belichick turned to the son of a former NFL quarterback after the disastrous start to his college football coaching career.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are currently 2-3 after back-to-back losses under new coach Belichick.

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Bill Belichick turned to Max Johnson, son of Brad, in the hopes of revitalising the Tar Heels’ season[/caption]

Reuters

Brad Johnson led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the 2002 Super Bowl[/caption]

Max Johnson, son of Super Bowl-winning QB Brad, received his first start for the Tar Heels since last year’s season opener.

Belichick was forced to turn to Johnson after first-choice starter, Gio Lopez, was ruled out with a lower-body injury.

North Carolina slipped to a 38-10 defeat to the Clemson Tigers, who have had a similarly challenging start to the season.

Clemson QB Cade Klubnik threw for over 250 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

Johnson, on the other hand, struggled within the game.

He managed over 200 yards at a 62% completion rate, but failed to throw any scoring passes.

The 24-year-old replaced Lopes in the Tar Heels’ previous blowout to the UCF Knights a week prior.

He did find the end zone with a pass on that occasion, but it wasn’t enough to change the result as his side lost 34-9.

North Carolina’s other defeat came in the opening game of the season to the TCU Horned Frogs.

This was another game Johnson played in.

These have been his first games since he suffered a major leg injury against Minnesota in the first week of the 2024 season.

Johnson’s father, Brad, led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Super Bowl championship back in 2002.

He was originally selected in the 9th round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

This makes him the lowest-drafted quarterback to ever win the NFL.

He was originally picked up as a third-string QB by the Vikings, but eventually rose to be a starter.

But he was never consistently the first choice in Minnesota and moved to the Washington Redskins for two seasons before heading to Florida.

In his first season with the Bucs, he broke the team records for passing yards (3,406), completions (340), and attempts (540).

The following year, he led the team to the Super Bowl.

And alongside this, he broke the team record for most touchdown passes in a season (24).

He broke that record again the following year with 27 this time.

A LITTLE girl has been left orphaned after her parents died in a boiling motel bathtub following a night of partying for her fourth birthday.

Military police officer Jeferson Luiz Sagaz, 37, and his partner Ana Carolina Silva, 41 — a nail salon owner — were found dead in a motel suite in Brazil.

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A couple died in a motel bathtub after celebrating their daughter’s fourth birthday[/caption]

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Toxicology tests revealed high alcohol levels and cocaine traces in their systems[/caption]

The couple had spent the day celebrating their daughter’s birthday at a food park, drinking before heading to a nightclub.

They then checked into the Dallas Motel in São José, Santa Catarina state, just after midnight on August 11.

But Jeferson and Ana Carolina never returned to collect their child the next morning at Jeferson’s sister’s home.

Worried relatives reported them missing, and police later found the pair lifeless in the bathroom.

Investigators say the couple passed out in a bathtub filled with 50°C water while a space heater blasted heat into the room.

Toxicology tests revealed very high alcohol levels and traces of cocaine, Globo G1 reported. 

As well as the room, officers examined the the couple’s car and the motel’s CCTV.

Chief Medical Examiner Andressa Boer Fronza said: “The cause of both deaths was exogenous poisoning, favouring the process of heatstroke with intense dehydration, thermal collapse, culminating in organ failure and death.”

Civil Police carried out 16 forensic tests, ruling out electric shock, drowning, carbon monoxide poisoning or foul play.

Chief of Police Felipe Simão Gomes said: “These circumstances, combined with the substances found on the bodies, led the Civil Police to conclude that the cause of death was sudden and not due to third-party intervention.”

Friends described the couple, together for nearly 20 years, as sociable and devoted parents.

Police said there was no history of violence.

Ana Carolina’s family rejected claims she was a habitual drug user, raising fears she could have been forced to ingest cocaine.

Chief Simão added: “It may be that the physical constitution, both his and hers, were not compatible with the use of a substance like that, especially when combined with alcohol.”

The couple’s daughter, just four years old, is now in the care of relatives after the tragic birthday celebration turned fatal.

It comes after a law student was found dead inside a hot tub as she celebrated her 22nd birthday with friends.

Alexandra Săsărman was staying at her parents’ mountain cabin in April when her shocked friends discovered a body in the water.

Young Alexandra passed away after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest just moments after she got into the hot tub, according to local media.

Reports suggest a leading theory is that her heart may have stopped due to the water temperature being excessively high in the Jacuzzi.

Alexandra had just turned 22 and had invited friends round on April 12, in her hometown of Bistrița in northern Romania.

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The couple had checked into the Dallas Motel in São José, Santa Catarina state[/caption]

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Ana Carolina Silva owned a nail salon in Brazil[/caption]

NFL fans have reacted furiously to a roughing the passer call during the New Orleans Saints win over the New York Giants.

The Saints saw off the Giants 26-14 at the Super Dome to snap a four-game losing streak.

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New Orleans Saints defensive end Carl Granderson was penalized for roughing the passer against the Giants[/caption]

CBS

Granderson appeared to sack Jaxson Dart with a legal tackle – only for flags to fly[/caption]

But it was a play late in the fourth quarter that really got social media talking.

Chasing the game and in desperation mode, Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart dropped into the pocket.

Looking deep downfield, he was unable to get a throw away before being sacked by edge rusher Carl Granderson.

Granderson’s arms made contact with Dart’s shoulders as he hauled him to the ground.

He didn’t land with his weight on the rookie – but was controversially flagged for roughing the passer.

“Someone at the league office needs to give Granderson that sack back,” fumed one fan on X.

“We might actually have the worst roughing-the-passer call in NFL history against Saints DE Carl Granderson on Giants QB Jaxson Dart,” said another.

“NFL refs have a very difficult job. I get it. But calling this roughing the passer in the Giants-Saints game is why football fans are so fed up with the league’s officiating. Simply pathetic and inexplicable,” added a third.

“He was supposed to lay him down on a pillow,” joked a fourth.

“Agreed, clean sack, flagged anyway. Refs turning football into flag football with that call,” raged a fifth.

The call even nonplussed some analysts, with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt weighing in.

“The roughing call on New Orleans just now is the worst I can recall,” Van Pelt wrote.

“It was a sack. That’s it. Not allowed. Ridiculous.”

It was a messy outing for the Giants offense, who despite racing into a 14-3 lead were unable to come away with the win.

They turned the ball over five times, racking up three fumbles and two interceptions.

“Yeah, those [turnovers] suck,” Dart told the media after the game.

“Obviously, you don’t win many games when you have five and you don’t get any on the other side of the ball.

“I felt like we had a lot of opportunities where we were just moving the ball down the field, and then we would just hurt ourselves.  

“In the NFL, every team’s a good team, every team has talent, and I just felt like we just gave the game away by those turnovers.”

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Dart was messy in his second NFL start, with the Giants committing five turnovers[/caption]

WBNA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been slammed over he feud with Napheesa Collier.

Engelbert, 60, has faced significant criticism over her comments made ahead of the 2025 WNBA finals.

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WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has faced criticism from several WNBA stars[/caption]

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ESPN’s Andraya Carter is the latest to call Engelbert out[/caption]

Her latest comments have drawn the attention of ESPN reporter Andraya Carter, 31.

Minnesota Lynx power forward Collier, 29, has publicly ridiculed the commissioner’s leadership.

Collier has claimed that the WNBA has the best players and fans in the world.

But, she argues that Engelbert’s leadership is holding the league back.

It had also been reported that Engelbert said Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, 22, should be grateful for her influence over the league.

Suggestions had been made that Engelbert demanded more respect after landing multiple sponsorship deals for Clark.

However, Engelbert has denied making this statement.

ESPN’s Carter has now taken aim at the commissioner for her response to these claims.

“When you are asked a question, you should probably answer that question,” Carter said.

“And when Malika asked, ‘Did you say’ and then quoted Cathy, Cathy didn’t say, ‘No, I didn’t say that.’ If you didn’t say that, that should be the first.”

Carter’s criticism came during ESPN’s Game 1 coverage of the WNBA finals between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury.

The Aces are 2-0 up in the finals series after cruising to a 13-point Game 2 win.

They will now travel to Phoenix with the hopes of wrapping up the 2025 title.

Engelbert was appointed as the WNBA’s first commissioner in July 2019 after four years as Deloitte’s first female CEO.

Her tenure has seen widespread growth, but tensions are now rising over a proposed new collective bargaining agreement.

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, 29, has also hit out at the commissioner.

Cunningham has defended her teammate Clark from Engelbert’s supposed comments.

Reporter Carter remains unsatisfied with the commissioner’s media responses as the controversy continues.

“Instead, she said, ‘There have been a lot of inaccurate statements’,” Carter added. “I just have more questions. What is the answer? I’m not feeling confident.”

This has created a significant rift between the WNBA’s players and management.

The actress and auteur wears four custom Eton shirts: “She represents the shift in menswear — a move toward deeper cultural resonance, individuality and relevance — and brings that clarity to Eton.”

“Don’t tell me this is your last album?” "BBC Radio 2" host Scott Mills asked the singer Monday.

“Don’t tell me this is your last album?” "BBC Radio 2" host Scott Mills asked the singer Monday.

Sea Point Films and Media, which will specialize in nonfiction but will also tackle narrative projects, already has several films in the works.

Three of the brightest minds in paediatrics will embark on research projects over the next year in a bid to improve children’s healthcare from hospital to home.

Harvey explains why Col Blanch decided to get ahead of the curve and disarm self-confessed sovereign citizens in his jurisdiction by seizing more than 100 guns during a five-day police operation.