Sometimes I wonder whether I should discuss sports on xoNews. While I personally find sports interesting, I'm not sure if there's much interest in them on xoJane. So, whenever something sports-related -- or an athlete’s conduct -- makes headlines, I debate whether or not the story needs to covered.
Will the readers find this interesting or important?
On Monday morning, I woke up and read about Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens and I put the story on my headline list because I wasn’t sure how newsworthy it really was yet (I also hadn’t finished coffee), but as the day went on, so much more was revealed and ultimately it became a very important story that, sadly, is no longer about a much beloved game.
As always, let me know how you feel in the comments or tweet me directly @AmandaLauren.
Ray Rice and The NFL
On Monday morning, TMZ released surveillance footage from February 15th, showing Baltimore Ravens’ running back Ray Rice brutally assaulting his then-fiancée (now wife) Janay Palmer. If you are sensitive to violence, and don’t want to watch the video, let me give you a recap: Rice punches Palmer in the face, knocks her unconscious and drags her out of a hotel elevator.
Initially, both Rice and Palmer were changed with simple assault, but the charges against Palmer were later dropped. In March, Rice was indicted for third-degree assault, which carried a potential prison sentence of 3-5 years. Shortly thereafter, Rice and Palmer married. In May, Rice entered a program for first-time offenders that could clear his record, if he met certain conditions and entered counseling, etc.
Initially, Rice was suspended from football for two games. However, after the video was leaked, Rice was cut from the Ravens and then suspended from the NFL indefinitely.
In August, due to pressure resulting from several incidents, the NFL changed its personal conduct policy regarding domestic violence, instituting a six-game unpaid suspension for those who violate the policy for the first time. If the policy is violated a second time, the offending player is suspended for life.
Tuesday morning, Palmer released a public statement on Instagram regarding the incident:
I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it's reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is a horrific. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don't you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!
Apple Watch Out in 2015
On Tuesday, Apple released information about the much-hyped and highly anticipated Apple Watch. The newest Apple product, which you might already be waiting in line for, should be available early next year, starts around $349. As expected, the watch has a touch screen, but because most fingers are bigger than the faces of the watch, Apple included a handy dandy navigation knob called a “digital crown” on the side, which looks like it’s supposed to wind the watch’s gears (if it had gears). The idea is reminiscent of the first generations of iPods (remember those?).
So, what can this watch do? It can run outside apps, pay for things the same way you may already do with your iPhone, draw a picture and send it to a friend who also has an Apple Watch, track your steps and heart beat, find out how many calories you’ve burned and it’s also a walkie-talkie (isn’t that the point of a cell phone?). And the craziest feature? IT TELLS TIME!
Android users, if you want to get your hands on this watch, you’ll also need to buy an iPhone 5 or 6 because it only works if you also have a late model iPhone in close range.
ISIS Threatens Twitter Employees
ISIS has used social networks (including Twitter) to release horrific videos such as the beheadings of James Foley and Steve Sotloff, and to make other threats. Twitter has reacted to the terrorists by shutting down the associated accounts. Like anyone with a suspended account, ISIS has been none too happy about this. So, they responded by making a series of threats against Twitter employees in Arabic. These tweets were hashtaggged with a phrase that translates to “the concept of lone wolf attacks.” Here are a few of the translated Tweets.
The time has arrived to respond to Twitter’s management by directly attacking their employees and physically assassinating them.
Every Twitter employee in San Francisco in the United States should bear in mind and watch over himself because on his doorstep there might be a lone wolf assassin waiting.
Twitter has not responded to the threats publicly.
Giving Ladies A Lift
Beginning next week, women in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County will have a new way to get around. SheRides is a taxi service staffed fully by female drivers and will only pick up women or groups with at least one woman present. This service will be dispatched through an iPhone app (at least for now). Similar to Uber’s “U” sticker or Lyft’s pink moustache, the SheRides drivers (cringe warning) will be identifiable by their pink pashmina scarves.
However, the company may be facing legal problems, as the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which regulates the taxi and livery cab industry in New York, prohibits drivers and passengers to be discriminated against based on race, religion, sexual orientation, destination and gender.
Headlines
• After ten years together, actor Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka were married last weekend in Italy. The couple has two children, twins Gideon and Harper.
• In Europe, McDonalds has added 7,000 touch-screen kiosks to replace human cashiers.
• Paleontologists discovered a new dinosaur in Tanzania called the (please don’t ask me how to pronounce this) Rukwatitan bisepultus. Rukwatitan bisepultuses are sauropods, the kind of dinosaurs that have very long necks, eat plants and may have weighed as much as two elephants.