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.
Image: 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.
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”.
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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.
“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.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s ex-partner has given birth two weeks after testifying against him – as his legal team failed in a bid to declare a mistrial.
Cassie Ventura gave birth to her third child with partner Alex Fine after going into labour on Tuesday, a close source told Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Wednesday.
The news was later confirmed by her friend and former stylist Deonte Nash, who told Diddy‘s trial that he last spoke to her “after she had the baby yesterday [Tuesday]”.
Combs, 55, is accused of two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, and one of conspiring to racketeer. He denies all the charges.
Cassie had given evidence while she was more than eight months pregnant. The 38-year-old told the trial that Diddy subjected her to physical, sexual and mental abuse for much of their 11-year relationship.
She alleged he forced her into “hundreds” of drug-fuelled sex sessions with male escorts while he watched, which he referred to as “freak offs”.
News of the birth came on the same day Combs’s legal team tried in vain to get the judge to declare a mistrial.
Image: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs depicted in a court sketch on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
Image: Diddy and Cassie at an event in 2016. Pic: zz/JMA/STAR MAX/IPx/AP
Alexandra Shapiro, one of Diddy’s attorneys, moved for the mistrial just before the court broke for lunch, during evidence by Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) arson investigator Lance Jiminez.
According to Ms Shapiro, Mr Jiminez’s claim that police destroyed fingerprint evidence collected at the scene of an alleged 2012 Molotov cocktail attack on rapper Kid Cudi’s car would lead the jury to believe Combs had something to do with it.
She accused the prosecution of “misconduct” and claimed their questioning of Mr Jiminez was “designed to play into that” narrative.
Another of Diddy’s defence lawyers Marc Agnifilo described the prosecution’s conduct as “outrageous”.
However, prosecution attorney Christy Slavik hit back by saying a mistrial was “completely unwarranted”.
She insisted questions about the destruction of evidence were asked to highlight the poor quality of the police investigation.
Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed the motion and instead told jurors to disregard any reference to the fingerprints.
Earlier on Wednesday, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer Chris Ignacio detailed the alleged break-in at Kid Cudi’s home in December 2011.
Image: LAPD officer Chris Igancio is questioned by Diddy’s attorney on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
He was called to the scene and noticed a Cadillac Escalade parked in front of the property, the number plate for which later transpired to be registered to Bad Boy Productions, Diddy’s record label.
During his evidence, Cudi alleged it was Diddy who was behind the break-in.
Image: Rapper Kid Cudi outside court last week. Pic: AP
Mr Jiminez then testified about an alleged Molotov cocktail attack on Cudi’s car the following month.
Having investigated the incident, he concluded it was “not a random act” and that the makeshift firebomb had been placed there deliberately, in line with Cudi’s claims.
Image: LA arson investigator Lance Jiminez is questioned in court. Pic: Reuters
When Diddy and Cassie’s former stylist Mr Nash took to the stand, he detailed several incidents of alleged violence inflicted on the singer by her then partner.
On one occasion, Diddy turned up at her LA flat, “grabbed her by the hair”, “kicked her” and “hit her pretty hard”, he claimed.
Image: A court sketch of Deonte Nash, a former stylist to Sean Combs and Cassie Ventura. Pic: Reuters
When she hit her head on a bed frame, she suffered a gash to her forehead and eyebrow, he said.
Both he and Mia, a second alleged witness, jumped on the rapper’s back to get him to stop, he told the court.
Following another incident when Diddy demanded to see Cassie, she threatened to “go over the balcony”, Mr Nash told the jury.
Diddy was violent towards him too, he said, once choking him against a car and threatening him not to go out with Cassie and without him.
Despite all this, Mr Nash said he “doesn’t hate” Diddy – and that he had been compelled to give evidence as part of a subpoena.
Mia, which is a pseudonym used to protect her identity, was due to start her evidence on Wednesday but Mr Nash’s testimony overran.
He will resume giving evidence on Thursday, with Mia’s evidence due to last until the court breaks for the weekend.
A trade court in the US has blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping global tariffs on imports.
The ruling from a three-judge panel at the Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits arguing Trump has exceeded his authority, left U.S. trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos.
“The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,” the court wrote, referring to the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The White House is yet to respond.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
The Trump administration has stopped the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US while it prepares to expand social media vetting of applicants.
A US official said on Tuesday the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who already have visa interviews scheduled.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an internal administration document.
A downturn in enrolment of international students could hurt university budgets in the US.
To make up for cuts in federal research funding, some colleges previously shifted to enrolling more international students, who often pay full tuition.
Now, an internal cable signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubioand seen by the Associated Press news agency shows how new student visa interviews are being halted as the US State Department plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting.
The cable says that “in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity” until the guidance is issued.
It also says the halting of new visa interviews is “effective immediately”.
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Asked about the suspension at a briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the US uses every available resource to vet people applying for visas.
“We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that’s coming here, whether they are students or otherwise,” Ms Bruce said.
The move, first reported by Politico, is the latest in the White House’s crackdown on international students.
Last week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students, removing the college from the programme that allows schools to sponsor foreign students for visas.
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Harvard foreign student ban blocked
This spring the Trump administration also revoked the legal status of thousands of international students already in the country, leading some to leave the US out of fear of deportation.
After many students filed successful legal challenges, the administration said it was restoring the students’ legal status.
But the government also expanded the grounds for terminating international students’ legal status going forward.
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US President Donald Trump’s previous administration stepped up scrutiny of all visa applicants, introducing reviews of their social media accounts.
The policy remained during President Joe Biden’s administration.
An extended pause in scheduling student visas could lead to delays that may disrupt college, boarding school or exchange students’ plans to enrol in summer and autumn terms.