Latest from Veto Gate
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Booking.com parent enters $9.5 million 'junk fee' settlement with Texas
(Reuters) -The parent of and other travel websites will pay $9.5 million to settle Texas' lawsuit claiming it deceptively marketed hotel rooms by omitting mandatory fees, enticing consumers with artificially low prices that didn't exist. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Tuesday the settlement with Booking Holdings is the largest by a U.S. state related to "junk fee" practices against any hotel or online travel agency. Booking also operates the websites and Kayak. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Asylum seekers to be removed from Essex hotel as council granted injunction
Asylum seekers to be removed from Essex hotel as council granted injunction Asylum seekers will be removed from an Essex hotel after a council was granted a temporary High Court injunction blocking them from being housed there. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel in Epping. The injunction sought by the council meant the hotel's owner, Somani Hotels Limited, would have had to stop housing asylum seekers there within 14 days. The hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary injunction, but extended the time limit by which the hotel must stop housing asylum seekers to September 12. He also refused to give Somani Hotels the green light to challenge his ruling, but the company could still ask the Court of Appeal for the go-ahead to appeal against the judgment. In his judgment, he said that while the council had not 'definitively established' that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, 'the strength of the claimant's case is such that it weighs in favour' of granting the injunction. He continued that the 'risk of injustice is greater' if a temporary injunction was not granted. A further hearing on whether the injunction should be made permanent is expected to be held at a later date, and is expected to last two days. Several protests and counter-protests have been held in the town since a then-resident at the hotel was accused of trying to kiss a teenage girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied charges against him and is due to stand trial later this month. A second man who resides at the hotel, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, has separately been charged with seven offences, while several other men have been charged over disorder outside the hotel. The council said last week it was seeking an injunction due to 'unprecedented levels of protest and disruption' in connection with asylum seeker accommodation. Chris Whitbread, leader of the council, said the situation 'cannot go on' but the Government 'is not listening'. At a hearing on Friday, barristers for the council said that the site's 'sole lawful use' was as a hotel and that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by using it to house asylum seekers. Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was 'wholly unacceptable' and provided a 'feeding ground for unrest'. He said: 'There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.' Mr Coppel continued: 'It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully. It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.' He added: 'It really could not be much worse than this.' Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels, said that 'disagreement with Government policy' did not justify a 'draconian' injunction and that there would be 'hardship' caused to the company and those housed at the hotel. He also said that contracts to house asylum seekers were a 'financial lifeline' for the hotel, which was only 1% full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers. Mr Riley-Smith said: 'It is clear that recent protests have expanded far beyond the local community and have gone into concerns about wider ideological and political issues from those outside the community. 'Those particular ideological, non-community concerns are not relevant to planning.' Following the ruling, Mr Whitbread said: 'I am delighted. This is great news for our residents. The last few weeks have placed an intolerable strain on our community but today we have some great news.' He continued: 'Home Office policy ignores the issues and concerns of local residents that the council represents. 'Today we have made a step towards redressing the imbalance and showing that local people do have some say, whatever the Home Office thinks.' Before judgment was handed down on Tuesday, barristers for the Home Office asked to intervene in the case, citing the 'substantial impact' caused to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, in performing her legal duties to asylum seekers. Edward Brown KC, for the department, told the court that moving asylum seekers in 'extremely short order' would cause a 'very significant operational burden' and 'particular acute difficulties' for the Government. But Mr Justice Eyre dismissed the Home Office's bid, stating that the department's involvement was 'not necessary'.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
John Wall announces retirement from the NBA after 11 seasons: 'I gave this game everything I had'
Washington Wizards superstar John Wall is calling it a career. Wall announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday in an emotional video thanking his fans, family and teammates for their support during his 11 years as a player. Wall said he's leaving the game with no regrets, saying, "I gave this game everything I had." Wall rose to prominence as a high schooler, receiving an invite to the Reebok All-American Camp as a sophomore. He continued to show out during high school, and entered college as one of the top-ranked players in the country. That ranking turned out to be accurate. Wall spent just one season at the University of Kentucky before going pro. He entered the 2010 NBA Draft, where the Wizards made him the No. 1 overall pick. He more than lived up to that promise early in his career. Wall was a dominant force in the NBA over his first nine seasons before injuries limited his production. This story will be updated.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Top 5 biggest winning bets in U.S. sports betting history: One bettor wagered $3.46 million against Patrick Mahomes
The U.S. now has legal sports betting in 40 states (with Missouri set to come online later this year) thanks to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Professional Sports and Amateur Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018. The increase in available outlets for big bettors and the prevalence of social media has led to an increase in large wagers reported by different sportsbooks. Previously, those wagers could (legally) be made only in Nevada, and speaking with many veteran Vegas bookmakers for this story, there certainly were plenty of seven-figure wagers made before legalization. However, there's little doubt that we hear more about them in the present era of sports betting. And there have been plenty of seven-figure parlay wins off of smaller wagers, as well. For this article, though, we're focusing on the largest reported winning wagers in U.S. sports betting history — all of which have happened since 2018. And wouldn't you know it, the largest of all comes from just a few months ago from a BetMGM bettor in Ohio who wagered $8 million on the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the 2025 NBA Finals over the Indiana Pacers at -700 odds. Here are the five biggest reported bets that cashed in legal U.S. sports betting history: 1. $8 million on Oklahoma City Thunder (-700) to win 2024-25 NBA championship Date: June 5, 2025 Sportsbook: BetMGM State placed: Ohio Bet won: $1,142,857.15 How it happened: Placed a few hours before tipoff of Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals in June, a bettor in Ohio had serious conviction on the Thunder — and with good reason, as Oklahoma City opened at -800 odds to win the series and was one of the largest NBA Finals favorites since 1968, according to Sports Odds History. Oklahoma City was a massive 10-point home favorite in Game 1, but lost 111-110 on Tyrese Haliburton's buzzer-beater. This bettor had a much bigger sweat than anticipated, as Indiana pushed the series to the limit before losing Haliburton early in Game 7 to a torn Achilles and eventually falling 103-91 in the final game in Oklahoma City. 2. $3.46 million on Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3.5 (-127) in Super Bowl LV Date: Feb. 3, 2021 Sportsbook: DraftKings State placed: Colorado Bet won: $2.72 million How it happened: Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale — the Houston furniture salesman known for placing large sports bets as hedges for promotions — flew into Colorado Springs, logged onto the DraftKings mobile app and wagered a cool $3.46 million on Tom Brady's Buccaneers to beat Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl in early February of 2021. McIngvale paid a little extra juice to move the line from Bucs +3 to +3.5, which didn't end up mattering. Tampa Bay fell behind 3-0 before scoring 14 unanswered points en route to a 21-6 halftime lead and eventual 31-9 victory. Mahomes was sacked three times and under duress all game. Brady was named the MVP (for the fifth time in his Hall of Fame career) and won his seventh and final Super Bowl. 3. $3.1 million on Philadelphia Eagles ML (-700) to beat Carolina Panthers in Week 14 Date: Dec. 5, 2024 Sportsbook: Circa Sports State placed: Kentucky Bet won: $442,857 How it happened: One bettor at Circa Sports' Kentucky sportsbook plopped down $3.1 million on Jalen Hurts' Eagles (10-2 record at the time) on a Thursday this past December to simply defeat Bryce Young's Panthers (3-9 record at the time) on that Sunday. It's thought to be one of the biggest wagers ever on a regular-season NFL game. The Eagles closed as 13.5-point favorites, but were winning only 14-10 at halftime and actually were losing 16-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Grant Calcaterra's 4-yard touchdown catch from Jalen Hurts (and Saquon Barkley's subsequent successful 2-point conversion run) put the Eagles ahead 22-16 with 13:45 remaining. But this game is remembered for Panthers WR Xavier Leggette letting a would-be 32-yard TD pass in the end zone go through his hands with under a minute remaining. The Eagles eventually turned the Panthers over on downs and won 22-16, but this bettor probably sweated profusely through the game. T4. $3 million on Philadelphia Eagles ML (+160) to win Super Bowl LII Date: Jan. 24, 2018 Sportsbook: MGM State placed: Nevada Bet won: $4.8 million How it happened: A bettor known in the sports betting community only as "Bettor X" really liked Nick Foles and the Eagles to win outright against Brady's New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The bettor went around to several sportsbooks in Las Vegas — remember, this was several months before the Supreme Court repealed PASPA — and placed several large six- and seven-figure wagers on Philadelphia to win the game, including a $3 million money-line wager at +160 at MGM, confirmed to Yahoo Sports by Jay Rood, former MGM Resorts vice president of race and sports. The Patriots closed as 4.5-point favorites. Foles threw for 373 yards and three TDs and the Eagles upset New England 41-33 — a game that included the famous "Philly Special" play in which Foles caught a 1-yard TD pass from TE Trey Burton late in the first half on fourth-and-goal. T4. $3 million on Houston Astros to win 2022 World Series (10-1) Date: May 13, 2022 Sportsbook: Caesars State placed: Louisiana Bet won: $30 million How it happened: Mattress Mack was back again in 2022, placing a $3 million bet in May in a parking lot in Louisiana, per ESPN's David Purdum, on the Astros to win the World Series in 2022 at 10-1 odds. It was part of roughly $10 million worth of wagers the Houston furniture salesman put down on his hometown Astros to win it all. The Astros ended up defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games in the World Series, and Mattress Mack won roughly $75 million. Of course, he had to use the money to pay back his customers who bought mattresses over $3,000. "What can we say? We just wrote the biggest check in sports betting history to Mattress Mack for $30,000,000," Ken Fuchs, chief operating officer for Caesars Digital, said in a press release after the Astros won the World Series. "Would we do it all again? You bet."
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Real American Freestyle announces apparel partnership with Takedown, talks with Gable Steveson
Real American Freestyle wrestling announced a partnership with Takedown apparel on Tuesday and said it is in talks with Gable Steveson, one of Takedown's most prominent endorsers, about a possible rematch with Wyatt Hendrickson. Hendrickson, who stunned Steveson to win the 285-pound national title at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships in March, will headline Real American Freestyle's inaugural event Aug. 30 in Cleveland. Hendrickson's victory over Minnesota's Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo, drew national attention beyond the sport. The Oklahoma State wrestler's dramatic late takedown in the final gave him the 5-4 win, closed out a 27-0 season and ended Steveson's win streak at 70 matches. Steveson already has a line of apparel with Takedown — one of many reasons Chad Bronstein, RAF's co-founder and CEO, believes Steveson would be a natural fit. 'There's no signed contract, but we've been in conversation,' he said. Hulk Hogan, Real American Freestyle's honorary commissioner who died July 24, told The Associated Press in April the league was in talks with Hendrickson. It signed him a little more than a month later. The partnership with Takedown is RAF's first official apparel collection. It will include looks worn by athletes in and out of competition. Bronstein said the partnership is a step toward building a professional freestyle wrestling ecosystem. The line will deliver a new revenue stream for competitors beyond live events. 'I think we're going to do really well in the merch game,' he said. 'We're going to sell a lot of good apparel and just keep being edgy with it. We'll have street wear and then the sports wear. So you'll have the typical, but we also are developing a street wear line too.' Takedown CEO and founder Dustin Kawa said it's a significant moment for his company. 'Both brands share a deep love for wrestling and a commitment to fighting for the sport, the athletes, and the community that raised us. Now is our time to make history – together,' he said. ___ AP sports:
