Latest news with #Peters
Fox Sports
21 minutes ago
- Politics
- Fox Sports
Commanders GM says non-football topics such as President Trump's comments don't reach him
Associated Press ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington's NFL franchise used to be in the news all the time for reasons other than football. That seemed to have changed under new team ownership, but President Donald Trump's remarks about the team name and possibly holding up a stadium deal are making waves just as training camp opens. Still, Commanders general manager Adam Peters made clear Tuesday — at a news conference with coach Dan Quinn a day before the team's first training camp practice — that he doesn't expect any of that sort of outside conversation to interfere with their real jobs. 'Whether it's the stadium or anything else (non-football-related), those things don't really make it to us,' Peters said. 'We're just trying to focus on what's going on here and getting ready for the season.' Trump said Sunday on social media that he 'may put a restriction' on the Commanders' anticipated deal with the District of Columbia government to build a new stadium in the nation's capital 'if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders.'" In 2020, under previous owner Dan Snyder, the franchise changed its long-standing name, which was considered offensive to Native Americans. After last season's surprising run to the team's first NFC championship game since 1991, managing partner Josh Harris said that the current name will stay. 'I think it's now embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff. So we're going with that,' Harris said in February. Harris and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser agreed on a plan to build a new stadium on the same federal land where the club played for 35 years before bolting to its current home in the Maryland suburbs. The deal, which still must pass through the D.C. City Council, came about after Congress agreed to a 99-year lease with the city government. For Peters, the matters at hand involve contract extension talks with receiver Terry McLaurin, the recent signing of Von Miller and building a roster capable of repeating last season's success. Veterans were expected to report and take their physicals on Tuesday. 'We're really focused on everything in the building and getting ready for the season and getting our guys in here,' Peters said. ___ AP NFL: recommended Item 1 of 3
NZ Herald
23 minutes ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Foreign buyers ban: Winston Peters says change to be announced this year, denies NZ First ‘softening'
But it's unlikely changes to loosen the current ban would face resistance from Seymour, who has been critical of the ban. A proposal to loosen the current ban is unlikely to face resistance from David Seymour (right). Photo / Mark Mitchell It was introduced in 2018 when Labour was in a coalition with NZ First. Classifying residential housing as 'sensitive' in the legislation meant non-residents and non-citizens couldn't purchase existing residential homes. Rumours have swirled for months that the Government is eyeing changes to the ban, with Peters suggesting on several occasions he is open to considering an adjustment. Foreign investment has been a critical focus for ministers as part of the coalition's growth agenda. The Government has changed the Active Investor Plus Visa – the so-called Golden Visa – to reduce the minimum amount foreigners need to invest, and has begun establishing Invest New Zealand to streamline overseas investment. In an interview with the Herald this week, Peters denied his party was 'softening' its approach but did say an announcement will come this year. Asked about a possible reversal of the policy, Peters rejected allowing foreigners to purchase houses worth $2 million. It was National's 2023 election policy to impose a 15% tax on overseas people who want to purchase property valued at more than $2m. The policy's costings received criticism during the campaign, but National stood by it. However, the tax proposal did not make it through coalition negotiations. 'The idea that for $2 million you could come into this country and get a key and that's your investment was a nonsense,' Peters told the Herald. 'We said so before the election. We also debunked the costings for it, and were joined not long after that by economists who said that New Zealand First was right. 'We're saying if you're coming here with millions of dollars to invest in this country, then yes, you could buy a house, and we're setting the terms for that.' And what is the threshold, if not $2m? Peters said: 'We will announce it to you before too long.' He confirmed that would be this year. NZ First's Winston Peters says an announcement will be made this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell The Herald asked if someone who invested in New Zealand through the Active Investor Plus Visa (it previously required a minimum investment of $15m, but the minimum option is now $5m) should be able to buy a property. 'If you are going to put $15 million in the country, I think you should be able to buy a house, yes. But not a $2m house,' Peters said. He said any investors purchasing property in New Zealand would need to do so on 'our conditions' like 'smart economies' require. National didn't want to comment for this story, but Luxon has previously admitted his party's previous $2m threshold may have been too low and has suggested lifting it to around $5m. Former Prime Minister Sir John Key last week spoke about investor immigrants being put off by the foreign buyer ban. 'If I'm turning up with $100 million, are you telling me the best I can do is rent a house?' Key said. 'We're a little country at the bottom of the world. And to make that work, you need foreign capital. You need smart foreigners to come here. You need positive population growth, migration.' He didn't think the ban was keeping house prices down as intended. 'If I'm a billionaire in China, I'm not going to wake up and think I want to buy a $800,000 house in Pakūranga,' he said. 'They might buy a $50m property on the lakefront in Queenstown.' Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Minnesota Vikings draft new CB in 2015 NFL re-draft from PFF
The 2015 NFL Draft was one of the best in Minnesota Vikings history. They landed three future Pro Bowlers, even adding another one in undrafted free agency. The class was a driving force in the team's NFC Championship run in 2017. But it could have been better. With the 11th overall pick, the Vikings took Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes with their first pick. Waynes played mostly special teams as a rookie, making only one start. He began making his way into the lineup in 2016, starting eight of the 15 games he played in. Waynes was a regular starter by the 2017 season, intercepting seven passes from 2015-19. The pick was far from a disaster, but Waynes was constantly compared to the next cornerback taken in the draft. With the 18th pick, the Chiefs took Marcus Peters, a player with off-field issues but plenty of playmaking ability on the field. Peters won Defensive Rookie of the Year, intercepting a league-leading eight interceptions, returning two for scores. He followed that up with an All-Pro season in 2016. Because of that, PFF had the Vikings take Peters in their 2015 re-draft. Marcus Peters, on the other hand, instantly became an interception machine — first with the Chiefs, then the Rams and Ravens, and finally with the Raiders. Peters recorded 36 interceptions over his eight-year career and earned single-season coverage grades above 79.0 in 2016, 2017 and 2019. To be fair to the Vikings, Peters' off-field issues led to him being traded after the 2017 season. But that probably doesn't justify the decision. Even if he was good enough for a shorter stay, he had more of an impact than Waynes ever did, and his playmaking ability opposite Xavier Rhodes would have given the Vikings a terrifying cornerback tandem for three seasons.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Greyhound ban gathers pace: Compensation plan; rehoming strategy revealed
'All aspects to do with the ownership, the compensation and the conclusion of this business [the greyhound industry] is under the committee's consideration,' Peters told the Herald. However, Peters said compensation will not extend to payouts for not being able to race any more, or for assets accrued by those involved in the sport which will become redundant. Greyhounds chase a lure at Cambridge Raceway in January. Photo / Yvette Bodiam He said just like saddle makers lost money when transport changed from horseback to cars, 'change is inevitable and that's the point'. 'It won't be compensation for not being able to do dog racing anymore but in dealing with the dogs as they're being rehomed – that cost,' Peters said. It's estimated about 1500 ex-racing dogs will need to be rehomed when the sport ends in July next year, although the exact time it'll take to rehome all dogs isn't known. Edward Rennell is the CEO of Greyhound Racing NZ and has announced plans to fight the Government's plan to ban the sport in the High Court. Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) CEO Edward Rennell suggested it would cost $40 million to look after greyhounds for a period of three years post the end of racing. In June, he said that was a cost that would need to be fronted by the taxpayer. 'Current rehoming costs are met by GRNZ, funded by revenue from racing. There will be no racing after July 2026, so rehoming costs post-closure will have to be funded from alternative sources,' Rennell said. The committee's compensation plan means the TAB – now operated by international sports betting and gambling company Entain – will be asked to help pay for rehoming rather than the taxpayer. Peters said new laws may be introduced which would effectively force the TAB – which earns millions from greyhound racing – to help pay for rehoming costs. 'Bear in mind of course that if there was universality and acceptance, legislation may not be required.' Peters said GRNZ's three-year estimate to rehome dogs was a pessimistic outlook and he was confident the job could be done much quicker. Any recommendations made by the committee would need to be considered by Cabinet before any decisions are made. Co-ordinated rehoming strategy SPCA chief science officer Dr Arnja Dale. Photo supplied. The committee also wants a shake-up of the current greyhound rehoming model with the creation of a single entity to co-ordinate efforts to get dogs adopted. GRNZ currently co-ordinates greyhound rehoming under its 'Great Mates' programme. The programme has contracts with various agencies, including adoption kennels in Feilding known as Nightrave Greyhounds. The Herald understands the committee wants to reorganise and expand rehoming efforts by: Establishing a single, co-ordinated rehoming programme. Use common branding for all advertising. Introduce a standard set of welfare and contractual arrangements. Increase the number of locations where dogs can be viewed. The SPCA's chief scientific officer Arnja Dale told the Herald her agency 'absolutely supports' improving rehoming efforts. 'It's really critically important that we have consistent standards and policies that govern the rehoming and that there's a central port, so essentially a central website where all the greyhounds are listed for adoption,' she said. Dale backed moves to ask the TAB to help fund rehoming costs providing the industry also pitched in. 'We support it if Greyhound Racing New Zealand and their millions and millions in reserves help support that as well,' she said. The SPCA is willing to be involved in a future greyhound rehoming drive and Dale is 'confident New Zealanders will stand up' and help with adoptions when the need arises. 'When we made a call out [for adoptions] when Covid-19 got to New Zealand, we got thousands of animals into homes over a very short period of time,' she said. Greyhounds as Pets spokesperson Daniel Bohan Daniel Bohan from Greyhounds as Pets – NZ's oldest adoption charity – told the Herald he backs a co-ordinated approach to rehoming. 'Greyhounds as Pets would support any initiative to co-ordinate rehoming efforts at a national level and apply effective, consistent marketing and adoption policies across all agencies,' he said. In terms of funding rehoming, Bohan said he supports any plan that treats all stakeholders 'fairly and equitably'. Court action looms GRNZ is going to court next month in an attempt to overturn the Government's plans to ban the sport. Rennell claimed in May a judicial review of the proposal would expose the Government's 'cavalier attitude' in the lead-up to its decision. GRNZ's High Court application will argue political leaders rushed the decision and failed to consult industry before making the call to end the sport. 'This is an injustice to greyhound breeders, owners, trainers and all other industry participants, as well as a dereliction of duty to New Zealanders,' Rennell said. Rennell told the Herald it was 'deeply cynical' and 'hypocritical' to ban greyhound racing in NZ while accepting millions in revenue from Australian dog races. He said if a ban does proceed, it must be implemented with 'impeccable fairness' to those who will lose their incomes. Peters pushed back on claims the industry wasn't consulted, saying there have been three separate reviews of the sport – including the 2017 review by High Court Judge Rodney Hansen – which found 1140 dogs were euthanised in just four years. Peters, who was Racing Minister in 2017, said at the time the Hansen report findings were 'disturbing and deeply disappointing'. That was followed by another review by Sir Bruce Robertson in 2021 which found issues with data recording, animal welfare and industry transparency. At the time, then Racing Minister Grant Robertson put the industry on notice. In 2023, a Racing Integrity Board report found the industry was making 'slow progress' in five out of 15 key areas including bringing down injury rates. Peters told the Herald he regrets having to make the call to end the sport but said the industry had 'failed to meet their requirements'. He said it was 'breathtaking' to claim the decision was rushed given the longstanding issues identified in multiple reports over consecutive years. 'To say that we're [the Government] being cavalier, is to be perhaps looking in the mirror.' Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald's video team in July 2024.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Strike out power on Bill in Winston Peters' hands
Winston Peters, Christopher Luxon, David Seymour. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES New Zealand First are polling better in government than they ever have. No longer encumbered by the optics of being too close to the baubles of office, its leader Winston Peters is free to control the script at a time when his coalition partners are looking tired. One can expect that the (grand)father of the House will spend the next 18 months oscillating between the seriousness of his job as Foreign Minister and the less serious but equally important job of trolling his political opponents. So far, he's winning. A million or more voters would have seen Mr Peters gleefully wave an A4 print of the Soviet flag while describing the Green Party's alternative budget; a tiny fraction would have read the 43-page manifesto. The modern Greens are not communists or socialists; some are barely even social democrats, but that's all beside the point. Mr Peters' best sales pitch is that his party is neither of the main parties (who he suggests can't be trusted) nor any of the others (who he suggests are bonkers). They are enormous claims for the man who appears to have successfully courted the Freedom movement on his way back to Parliament. The departure of Tanya Unkovich from the NZ First caucus comes at an opportune time for Mr Peters, who will be thinking about how to sensibly pivot his party back to the so-called political centre and by doing so claim an even bigger share of the electoral pie. Party insiders have suggested that new list MP David Wilson will help smooth the ride. A reliable member of the party faithful who shares Mr Peters' liberal underpinnings but frank distaste for the excess of market forces. How might Mr Peters use his clear air to grow support for his party further? The most obvious play is to double down on a position that his party is the only independent voice in town, with each of the major parties being dragged either left or right by the demands of smaller parties. The coalition agreement between National and Act commits to passing a Regulatory Standards Bill as soon as is practicable. Well, it won't be practicable if Mr Peters decides it isn't. It could be his next chance to show his credentials as the voice of the people by pulling up the legislative handbrake. For that to happen, Mr Peters needs someone from across the aisle to explain to the public, in a few sentences or less, why the Regulatory Standards Bill is not in their best interests. Most opposition MPs have been fixated on how the Bill enhances property rights by embedding quasi-libertarian ideology into various pieces of legislation. The obvious rejoinder is that we have been doing that already for the past 40-odd years, starting with the Fourth Labour Government. Submissions on the Bill have been notable for two reasons: how many there are and how many are vehemently opposed. Limiting the number of submitters allowed to give oral presentations and having others dismissed as bots, is neither respecting parliamentary processes, nor the people. Questions of fairness and responsible stewardship give New Zealand First further cause to adapt their position on the Bill. Indeed, it is reverence for our political institutions that differentiates Mr Peters from the less effective theatrical populists in other parts of the liberal world. Usually, legislation that risks upending constitutional norms would be something tested via a referendum, or at the very least, receive a clearer mandate on election night e.g. a National-Act New Zealand majority coalition. How might the coalition partners respond if Mr Peters says that the Regulatory Standards Bill must stay on the order paper until after the next election? In 2018, Prime Minister Ardern dismissed the failure to repeal the three strikes as "simply democracy and MMP". Prime Minister Luxon might be compelled to say something similar. For Act leader David Seymour? Probably just the first strike. — Dr Luke Oldfield is a lecturer of political science at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington.
