Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Festival(LOS ANGELES) — Despite multiple reports claiming that Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguezhave split, sources tell ABC News that the couple are, in fact, still together.
The two were reportedly blindsided by the news of their split yesterday. While the two are said to be working out their issues, they have not broken up. Nor, as some have insinuated, is there anyone else involved.
“All the reports are inaccurate. We are working through some things,” the pair said in a statement to ABC News.
Currently, Jennifer is filming a new movie in the Dominican Republic, while Alex is working in Miami.
As previously reported, the two began dating in 2017 and got engaged in 2019. They had to postpone their wedding twice due to COVID-19, and in January, Jennifer told ELLE magazine that there was “no rush” to wed.
(NEW YORK) — An Oklahoma sports announcer was captured during a livestream directing racial slurs and expletives toward members of a girls’ high school basketball team who were kneeling during the national anthem.
The racist comments came shortly after Norman High basketball players knelt during the playing of the national anthem before a quarterfinal state tournament game against Midwest City at Sapulpa High School in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.
“F— them, I hope they lose,” one of the announcers can be heard saying, apparently not realizing his microphone was audible on the live broadcast. “They’re going to kneel like that? Hell no.”
“F—— n——,” the announcer later says toward the end of the anthem.
Footage capturing the remarks during the online broadcast of the game on the NFHS Network was shared on Twitter Friday morning.
The outcry — and fallout — was immediate.
“We condemn and will not tolerate the disgusting words and attitudes of these announcers,” Norman Superintendent Nick Migliorino said in a statement. “This type of hate speech has no place in our society and we are outraged that it would be directed at any human being, and particularly at our students.”
Migliorino said the school will no longer use the NFHS Network to stream the tournament.
The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association contracted the broadcast crew to announce the state tournament on the NFHS Network. The association said the crew will not be doing any games for the remainder of its championships.
“This kind of behavior will never be tolerated by anyone representing the NFHS or OSSAA,” OSSAA Executive Director David Jackson said in a statement. “State tournament playoffs are a special time for our schools, their students, and their communities, and anything that is counter-productive to education-based activities will be addressed immediately and appropriately.”
The NFHS Network, which also cut ties with the production crew, apologized for the remarks.
“The thoughts expressed in no way represent our network, and we are outraged that they found their way into the production,” the network said in a statement. “The NFHS Network firmly condemns racism, hate and discrimination. We also deeply apologize to the students, their families, and the entire community for having such ignorant and hurtful comments expressed during the broadcast.”
As news of the comments spread Friday, others in the Oklahoma community reacted. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister called them “sickening and vile,” and Norman Mayor Breea Clark said she was “livid and absolutely disgusted.”
“These young athletes were simply expressing themselves as hundreds of professional athletes around the nation have done, and no one, let alone a child, deserves to experience this kind of racist and toxic behavior,” said Clark, who announced plans to hold a town hall with the youth of Norman “so we can learn how this incident has impacted them and hear directly from our kids how we can improve our community going forward.”
The mayor called on OSSAA to end its contract with the NFHS Network.
The announcer released a statement to several local news outlets, including The Norman Transcript and The Frontier, apologizing for his racist remarks — which he blamed on being a Type 1 diabetic and “spiking” blood sugar levels.
ABC News has reached out to the announcer for comment.
Norman went on to beat Midwest City, 53-40, Thursday. During Friday’s semifinals against Tulsa Union at Sapulpa, both teams knelt, The Oklahoman reported. Norman advanced to the finals with a win Friday.
Daniel Prude/Courtesy of the Prude familyBy MEREDITH DELISO, ABC News
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) — An independent investigation into the city of Rochester’s response to the death of Daniel Prude nearly one year ago determined that officials “suppressed” information and lied.
Prude, 41, was restrained by Rochester police officers in March 2020 during a mental health emergency. His death a week later, of complications from asphyxia after he was taken off life support, was ruled a homicide by the the Monroe County medical examiner.
The incident became widely known after his family released body-worn camera footage of the arrest in September that showed Prude appearing to go unconscious while he is being pinned to the ground, sparking protests and calls for reform. Former Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary was fired amid criticism over the handling of Prude’s death, and the seven officers involved in the arrest were suspended.
According to the independent investigation, which was commissioned by Rochester’s city council and released Friday, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren lied at a Sept. 2 press conference when she said she didn’t learn of the arrest until August. She spoke with Singletary about it on March 23, the day it happened, according to the report.
The investigation also determined that Singletary “disclosed but consistently deemphasized the role of police restraints in the death of Daniel Prude, and his statements did not capture the disturbing tenor of the entire encounter.”
“Chief Singletary’s characterization of the Prude arrest likely impacted how the city officials he informed of the matter viewed what had occurred,” the report stated.
Senior police department officials expressed concerns about releasing the footage in June, according to the report, due to ongoing protests against the police killing of fellow unarmed Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis the prior month.
Investigators also found that city counsel “actively discouraged” the mayor from publicly disclosing the arrest in early August, after she first saw the body camera footage, “citing reasons that were factually incorrect, legally without basis, or both.”
ABC News reached out to the mayor’s office, city counsel and Singletary’s attorney for comment.
In a statement to Rochester ABC affiliate WHAM, Warren said, “I welcome today’s report because it allows our community to move forward.”
She pointed to reforms in the wake of Prude’s death, including the creation of Person In Crisis teams, changing the city’s Freedom of Information Law and body-worn camera processes and “calling for the right to fire officers for cause.”
In comments to WHAM, Carrie Cohen, counsel to the city of Rochester during the independent investigation, challenged the report’s finding that Warren made untrue statements to the public.
“At all times, Mayor Warren spoke based on the facts known to her at the time and to the extent those facts were misleading in any way, that is a direct result of the misleading way in which former Chief Singletary relayed information to the Mayor,” Cohen said.
Cohen also charged that Singletary “intentionally obscured” information on the case provided to city officials.
“It is most notable that the City Council’s Special Counsel did not find any evidence that any city employee, outside of former Police Chief Singletary, acted with ill-intent to hide or cover-up the circumstances related to the death of Mr. Prude or to intentionally deceive the public in any way,” she said.
Malik Evans, a city councilman and mayoral candidate, said the investigation does “little to restore confidence” in government.
“The report makes clear that this tragedy was compounded by the fact information related to Daniel Prude’s death was not handled in an open and transparent manner,” he said in a statement. “I share the community’s frustration that there was almost a five-month delay before they and all City Council Members received any information on this tragedy.”
The delay in the release of the video resulted in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office implementing a new policy in which body camera footage will now be released earlier in the investigation process.
The Rochester Police Department is conducting an internal investigation of the case. The officers involved in the incident remain on leave pending its outcome.
Last month, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against any of the officers.
In announcing the grand jury vote, James’ office released a comprehensive report on its investigation into Prude’s death “to provide maximum transparency into the case.”
Earlier this week, attorneys for Prude’s five children filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Rochester and at least six police officers.
“His family sought help from the Rochester police, and that was a mistake — a fatal mistake,” the complaint stated. “Instead of providing him with care and assistance, officers of the Rochester Police Department cruelly abused him, mocked him, and killed him.”
Lawyers representing several of the suspended officers have said they were following their mandated training.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Looks like the wedding is off forJennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez.
The couple, who got engaged in 2019 and had twice postponed their nuptials during the pandemic, have decided to go their separate ways, sources told multipleoutlets Friday.
J-Lo, 51, and A-Rod, 45, were photographed just last month together in the Dominican Republic, where J-Lo is filming her new movie, Shotgun Wedding. According to the New York Post‘s Page Six, A-Rod is now in Miami getting ready for baseball season, while J-Lo continues to film in DR.
In an interview last month with Allure, Jennifer revealed that she and Alex had been to couple’s therapy while in quarantine.
“I miss being creative and running on 150. But Alex, of all people, was like, ‘I love it. I love being at home. I love doing my Zooms. I love knowing the kids are there, and you’re there all the time,'” explained Lopez.
“It has been actually really good. We got to work on ourselves,” she continued. “We did therapy. I think it was really helpful for us in our relationship.”
The two had been dating since 2017. They were extremely public in documenting their relationship online and often spoke about how well their families blended together. Lopez has two children from her former marriage to singer Marc Anthony, and Rodriguez has two children as well with his former wife, Cynthia Scurtis.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Festival(LOS ANGELES) — Despite multiple reports claiming that Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have split, sources tell ABC News that the couple are, in fact, still together.
