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The head coach of American football team Buffalo Bills has apologised for using the September 11 hijackers as an example of teamwork during a talk with his players.

Sean McDermott said he regretted making the reference at a training camp session in 2019 and that he “immediately” said sorry to his team following the incident.

McDermott “cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection,” according to a report by US journalist and blogger Tyler Dunne.

He then reportedly quizzed his players about what obstacles the attackers had faced, as well as asking them: “What tactics do you think they used to come together?”

Players were said to be stunned by the “strange” comments, with one member of the team left “horrified”, Dunne said.

Sep 11, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks on before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
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Sean McDermott. Pic: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Nearly 3,000 people died during the September 11 attacks in 2001, when 19 men hijacked four passenger planes before crashing them into targets including the World Trade Center in New York.

The attempt to steer the fourth plane into a high-profile target, possibly the White House, failed when passengers staged a rebellion, causing the aircraft to crash in a field in Pennsylvania instead.

Read more:
How the 9/11 attacks continue to shape the world

At a press conference on Thursday, McDermott appeared to admit he made the comments and acknowledged he “didn’t do a good enough job of communicating clearly the intent of my message”.

He told reporters: “My intent in the meeting that day was to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team.

“I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day, and I immediately apologised to the team.

“Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country’s history, but a day that I lost a good family friend.”

He added: “If anyone misinterpreted or didn’t understand my message, I apologise.

“That was about the importance of communication and that everyone needs to be on the same page, ironically enough. So that was important to me then and still is now.”

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9/11: How the day unfolded

The revelation about his comments came in a lengthy series of blog posts by Dunne about the Buffalo Bills and their alleged McDermott “problem”.

The 49-year-old is in his seventh season in charge of the NFL team and had previously won praise for turning around their fortunes.

But he has come under scrutiny in recent months following claims from fans and pundits that the side has underachieved this year.

Dunne said he had spoken to multiple anonymous players and sources at the Buffalo Bills, with one claiming the coach was “awkward” and lacking in social skills.

McDermott also allegedly perplexed players during a team talk when he discussed the attempted rescue of a woman who died after driving into the river by Niagara Falls in December 2021.

“The coach explained how members from the coast guard did everything they could to save the woman. He built up the drama. Players held on tight for an inspiring apex, and… nothing. He said the woman died. End of story,” wrote Dunne.

McDermott told the press conference he did not want to comment on other alleged issues raised in Dunne’s article.

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Luigi Mangione charged with murder as an act of terrorism after healthcare boss shooting

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Luigi Mangione charged with murder as an act of terrorism after healthcare boss shooting

The man accused of killing an insurance firm chief in New York has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism.

Luigi Mangione is suspected of shooting Brian Thompson, chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, on 4 December.

He had already been charged with murder but the terror allegation is new.

Police arrested him after a manhunt that ended with them finding the 26-year-old in a McDonald’s.

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs allegations are ‘tip of the iceberg’, says lawyer for alleged victim Dawn Richard

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Sean 'Diddy' Combs allegations are 'tip of the iceberg', says lawyer for alleged victim Dawn Richard

A lawyer representing an alleged victim of Sean “Diddy” Combs has told Sky News she believes the criminal case against him is “just the tip of the iceberg” and there are “hundreds” more who may be “too afraid to come forward”.

Lisa Bloom is representing singer Dawn Richard, a former member of two groups formed by the rapper, who has filed a civil lawsuit against him.

Richard is one of dozens of people suing Combs following his arrest in September. The 55-year-old is currently in jail in New York awaiting trial over criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering, which he has strenuously denied.

Warning – this story includes details some may find upsetting

Rap group Diddy Dirty Money, consisting of Sean Combs (C), Dawn Richard (L) and Kalenna Harper, arrive at the 2011 BET Awards in Los Angeles, California, June 26, 2011. REUTERS/Jason Redmond (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)
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Dawn Richard performed with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in Diddy – Dirty Money. Pic: Reuters/Jason Redmond 2011


“I think this is just the tip of the iceberg, what we’re seeing right now,” said Bloom. “I think we’re going to see a lot more accusers come forward.”

The lawyer said she had “no doubt there are hundreds more people” who have allegations of “sexual assault, physical violence, threats, sex trafficking” against Combs, as well as “people associated with him”.

However, she says many alleged victims may feel scared or unable to speak out, or “think they have no rights” after signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

The criminal case against Combs claims that, with the help of some employees, he coerced and abused individuals for years, and used blackmail and violence to silence alleged victims.

On top of the criminal charges, the hip-hop mogul also faces a mounting number of civil suits, with more than 20 filed so far.

‘She alleges she was groped and grabbed’

Dawn Richard arrives at the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
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Richard attended the Grammy Awards earlier in 2024. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Richard appeared on the TV show Making The Band, for which Combs was an executive producer, in the early 2000s.

She was a member of Danity Kane, a girl group formed on the show who signed to his label, and later performed alongside the rapper in the trio, Diddy – Dirty Money.

She accuses him of subjecting her to years of inhumane working conditions, and threatening her life.

“She alleges that during the show, she and the others were subjected to horrendous conditions,” Bloom said. “They weren’t allowed to eat, they weren’t allowed to sleep, they were locked in places and not allowed to leave.

“They were subjected to all kinds of gender comments… calling them names, insulting them.

“She alleges that she was groped and grabbed by Sean Combs, that she witnessed him physically assaulting other women, that he restrained her, locked her into cars and other places, falsely imprisoned her, and it was just a really terrifying experience for her.”

When Richard tried to speak out on behalf of other women Combs was allegedly abusing in her presence, she was threatened and felt “very fearful”, Bloom said.

Combs’s lawyers say Richard’s allegations are “an attempt to rewrite history”. They say they are false claims manufactured by a singer who has an album out and who’s “trying to get a pay day”.

They also say that if she had such “a negative experience” working with the rapper and producer while in Danity Kane, she would not have returned to work with him a second time in Diddy – Dirty Money.

‘People turned a blind eye’

Richard has spoken with the officers from the US Department of Justice, Bloom said. She believes there will be “more criminal charges to come” against Combs, as well as more civil lawsuits.

“She’s sat and answered questions,” Bloom said. “I assume other people probably have as well. So [criminal charges] could very well be forthcoming… I think there will be more civil suits as well.

“Sean Combs is the top of the pyramid, he was the one orchestrating everything, but those who helped him also need to be brought to justice.

“We want to hold accountable anybody who’s complicit, because to victimise people on this scale where we’re probably talking about hundreds of people, you can’t do that alone, you have to have helpers… people who actually saw incidents of abuse turned a blind eye to it and continued funding these events where things happened. They should be held accountable, and we intend to do that in our case.”

Bloom said she also expects other famous names to be brought up.

“People used to brag about going to Diddy parties, a lot of people were there, maybe some of them didn’t know what was happening but surely many of them did,” she said. “Being a celebrity does not mean that you’re above the law, as I think some of them think.”

Read more from Sky News:
‘They share women. They share secrets’
The allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

For now, the civil cases against Combs are running concurrently to the criminal case against him.

The rapper has not asked for a stay, “which would essentially freeze” the civil cases, Bloom said, so she is “aggressively moving ahead” with Richard’s claim.

From behind bars the rapper, through his lawyers, has said he is “confidently standing on truth and looks forward to proving that in court”.

“I look forward to taking Sean Combs’s deposition in prison,” Bloom said. “For one thing, he can’t say he’s unavailable and out of town.”

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Wisconsin: Teacher and student killed as teenage girl opens fire in school

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Wisconsin: Teacher and student killed as teenage girl opens fire in school

Three people, including a teenage suspect, have died and several are injured after a shooting at a school in Wisconsin.

A teacher and a teenage student were killed in the attack at Abundant Life Christian School in the state capital Madison.

The suspect has been identified as a 15-year-old female student Natalie Rupnow, who went by the name Samantha and was a pupil at the school.

Police said the body of the teenager was found by officers who stormed the school, suggesting the suspect killed themselves.

A handgun was recovered after the attack.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said that it was a second-grade student who made the initial call to report the shooting to authorities just before 11am.

“I’m feeling a little dismayed now, so close to Christmas,” Mr Barnes said.

“Every child, every person in that building is a victim and will be a victim forever. We need to figure out and try to piece together what exactly happened.”

Emergency vehicles at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. Pic: AP
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Emergency vehicles at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. Pic: AP

He said officers had found “multiple victims with gunshot wounds when they arrived at the scene”.

“Officers located a juvenile, who they believed was responsible for this, deceased in the building.”

At least six people were wounded, with two students in a critical condition with four other people having non-life-threatening injuries.

Emergency vehicles at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Video posted from the scene on social media showed a significant emergency response, including police, ambulance and fire vehicles.

The school is a private institution that teaches some 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, according to its website.

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Wisconsin school shooting: ‘I’m very aware the world is like this’

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, the White House said.

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers said: “As a father, a grandfather, and as governor, it is unthinkable that a kid or an educator might wake up and go to school one morning and never come home.

“This should never happen, and I will never accept this as a foregone reality or stop working to change it.”

There have been a total of 486 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Of the 15,992 killed in 2024, 236 were children between the age of 0-11 and 1,100 were teenagers between 12-17.

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