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Hugh Jackman may spend some of the Christmas holidays either without his two children or his rumored new girlfriend, Sutton Foster, because his ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness isn’t ready to created a “blended,” “modern-family” dynamic with all of them celebrating together. The 56-year-old Jackman reportedly wanted to introduce Foster, 49, to his adult children, Oscar, 24, and Ava,19, but Furness is not “keen” on the idea, Woman’s Day reported. “It’s going to take more time for loved ones to adjust to the new normal and so that means Hugh and Sutton are bracing themselves for way less time together than they’d like during the holidays,” an insider told Woman’s Day. Even without saying anything publicly, Furness, 68, has reportedly made it clear that she’s not happy with how her marriage ended. A report last month said she appeared to confirm a social media post that said that Jackman’s alleged backstage affair with Foster , his co-star in the hit Broadway revival of “The Music Man,” is the reason behind their divorce after 27 years of marriage. For that reason, Furness feels like Jackman is “moving on quickly” even after she “gave so much of herself to their marriage,” the Woman’s Day source said. She definitely doesn’t want a “blended” Christmas, in which she’d presumably include Foster and even her 7-year-old daughter in their family celebrations. “Hugh and Sutton would love to get together with their kids for the holidays, but it’s still awkward, and Hugh is conscious of respecting Deb’s feelings,” the source said. Tensions are “still simmering,” according to Woman’s Day. “Deb feels like Hugh hasn’t properly acknowledged the hurt he caused by moving on so quickly,” the insider also said. Jackman and Furness shocked fans when they announced their separation in September 2023. One of a few Hollywood couples known for a long and seemingly happy marriage, they issued a statement that sounded polite and amicable, saying that their journey together was “shifting,” and they had “decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.” But then came reports in October, saying that Jackman had developed a “close relationship” with Sutton when they starred together in “The Music Man,” which ran from late 2021 to January 2023 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Manhattan. At the time, both were married to other people. The reports about a rumored affair began as soon as the Tony Award-winning Foster filed for divorce from screenwriter Ted Griffin after 10 years of marriage. A source close to Foster told Us Weekly: “Sutton and Hugh’s relationship is the reason Hugh and Deb (separated).” In October, gossip blogger Tasha Lustig also said that Furness was “blindsided” by her husband’s romance with his co-star, even after she had given her “whole life and career to him,” Us Weekly also reported. Lustig said that the Broadway stars were planning to “soft launch” their relationship publicly. But even if Furness was “blindsided” by her husband’s alleged romance, she had concerns about him working with Foster, the Daily Mail reported . A source told the Daily Mail that the relationship was “not a secret to her.” The relationship also was “not a secret” among the New York theater community. It was in fact an “open secret” in Broadway circles, multiple reports said. The romance allegedly developed while Jackman and Foster were working together on the classic musical comedy, which is set in small-town America at the turn of the 20th century. His conman and her librarian fall in love through a series of music and dance numbers. As Jackman and Foster promoted the show, they didn’t hide their regard for each other. During a 2022 interview on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” Foster admitted that she and Jackman developed a very close bond and explained how they started a pre-performance ritual that took place when they were alone in her dressing room. “We call it carpet chat,” Foster revealed in the interview. Woman’s Day reported that Jackman and Furness’s children are handling the upheaval with “remarkable maturity.” The source said, “They just want peace and happiness for their parents. But they’re definitely aware of the tension.” Meanwhile, Jackman and Foster are “shocked by the backlash,” another insider told Woman’s Day. With a blended family Christmas off the table, the new couple are reportedly planning a romantic getaway in the New Year. “They’re determined to make it work, but for now, they’re trying to keep things as low-key as possible out of respect for everyone involved,” the source said.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The president of South Korea early Wednesday lifted the martial law he imposed on the country hours earlier, bending to political pressure after a tense night in which troops surrounded parliament and lawmakers voted to reject military rule. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who appeared likely to be impeached over his actions, imposed martial law late Tuesday out of frustration with the opposition, vowing to eliminate “anti-state” forces as he struggles against opponents who control parliament and that he accuses of sympathizing with communist North Korea. Police and military personnel were seen leaving the grounds of parliament following the bipartisan vote to overrule the president, and the declaration was formally lifted around 4:30 a.m. during a Cabinet meeting. Parliament acted swiftly after martial law was imposed, with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring that the law was “invalid” and that lawmakers would “protect democracy with the people.” In all, martial law was in effect for about six hours. The president’s surprising move harkened back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and it was immediately denounced by the opposition and the leader of Yoon’s own conservative party. Lee Jae-myung , leader of the liberal Democratic Party, which holds the majority in the 300-seat parliament, said the party’s lawmakers would remain in the Assembly’s main hall until Yoon formally lifted his order. Woo applauded how troops quickly left the Assembly after the vote. “Even with our unfortunate memories of military coups, our citizens have surely observed the events of today and saw the maturity of our military,” Woo said. While announcing his plan to lift martial law, Yoon continued to criticize parliament’s attempts to impeach key government officials and senior prosecutors. He said lawmakers had engaged in “unscrupulous acts of legislative and budgetary manipulation that are paralyzing the functions of the state.” Jo Seung-lae, a Democratic lawmaker, claimed that security camera footage following Yoon’s declaration showed that troops moved in a way that suggested they were trying to arrest Lee, Woo and even Han Dong-hoon, the leader of Yoon’s People Power Party. Officials from Yoon’s office and the Defense Ministry did not respond to requests for comment early Wednesday. Seemingly hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Assembly, waving banners and calling for Yoon’s impeachment. Some protesters scuffled with troops ahead of the lawmakers’ vote, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage. At least one window was broken as troops attempted to enter the Assembly building. One woman tried unsuccessfully to pull a rifle away from one of the soldiers, while shouting “Aren’t you embarrassed?” Under South Korea’s constitution, the president can declare martial law during “wartime, war-like situations or other comparable national emergency states” that require the use of military force to maintain peace and order. It was questionable whether South Korea is currently in such a state. When martial law is declared, “special measures” can be employed to restrict freedom of press, freedom of assembly and other rights, as well as the power of courts. The constitution also states that the president must oblige when the National Assembly demands the lifting of martial law with a majority vote. Following Yoon’s announcement of martial law, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said. The military said anyone who violated the decree could be arrested without a warrant. In Washington, the White House said the U.S. was “seriously concerned” by the events in Seoul. A spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden’s administration was not notified in advance of the martial law announcement and was in contact with the South Korean government. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said there was no effect on the more than 27,000 U.S. service members based in South Korea. The South Korean military also said that the country’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said. Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools. Soon after martial law was declared, the parliament speaker called on his YouTube channel for all lawmakers to gather at the National Assembly. He urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions. All 190 lawmakers who participated in the vote supported the lifting of martial law. At one point, television footage showed police officers blocking the entrance of the National Assembly and helmeted soldiers carrying rifles in front of the building. An Associated Press photographer saw at least three helicopters, likely from the military, that landed inside the Assembly grounds, while two or three helicopters circled above the site. The leader of Yoon’s conservative party called the decision to impose martial law “wrong.” Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, said Yoon’s announcement was “illegal and unconstitutional.” Yoon said during a televised speech that martial law would help “rebuild and protect” the country from “falling into the depths of national ruin.” He said he would “eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect the constitutional democratic order.” “I will eliminate anti-state forces as quickly as possible and normalize the country,” he said, while asking the people to believe in him and tolerate “some inconveniences.” Yoon — whose approval rating dipped in recent months — has struggled to push his agenda against an opposition-controlled parliament since taking office in 2022. His party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill. The opposition has also attempted to impeach three top prosecutors, including the chief of the central Seoul prosecutors’ office, in what the conservatives have called a vendetta against their criminal investigations of Lee, who has been seen as the favorite for the next presidential election in 2027 in opinion polls. During his televised announcement, Yoon also described the opposition as “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces who are plundering the freedom and happiness of our citizens.” He did not elaborate. Yoon has taken a hard line on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, departing from the policies of his liberal predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who pursued inter-Korean engagement. Yoon has also dismissed calls for independent investigations into scandals involving his wife and top officials, drawing quick, strong rebukes from his political rivals. Yoon’s move was the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987. The country’s last previous martial law was in October 1979, following the assassination of former military dictator Park Chung-hee. Sydney Seiler, Korean chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, argued that the move was symbolic for Yoon to express his frustration with the opposition-controlled parliament. “He has nothing to lose,” said Seiler, comparing Yoon’s move to the Hail Mary pass in American football, with a slim chance of success. Now Yoon faces likely impeachment, a scenario that was also possible before he made the bold move, Seiler said. Natalia Slavney, research analyst at the Stimson Center’s 38 North website that focuses on Korean affairs, said Yoon’s imposition of martial law was “a serious backslide of democracy" that followed a “worrying trend of abuse” since he took office in 2022. South Korea “has a robust history of political pluralism and is no stranger to mass protests and swift impeachments,” Slavney said, citing the example of former President Park Geun-hye, the country’s first female president, who was ousted from office and imprisoned for bribery and other crimes in 2017 . Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Matt Lee, Didi Tang and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.AEW Dynamite ratings down on Christmas night
South Korean law enforcement officials have requested a court warrant to detain impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived declaration of martial law earlier this month amounted to rebellion. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the brief power grab, confirmed it requested the warrant from the Seoul Western District Court. They plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Yoon has dodged several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and has also blocked searches of his offices. It's not clear whether the court will grant the warrant or whether Yoon can be compelled to appear for questioning. Under the country's laws, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge, and it's unlikely that Yoon will voluntarily leave his residence if he faces detainment. Source: AAP, AP / Ahn Young-joon The application by investigators marks the first attempt in South Korea's history to forcibly detain a president before the impeachment procedure is complete. Why was Yoon Suk Yeol impeached? Yoon's presidential powers were suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December over his imposition of martial law on 3 December, which lasted only hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. It marked South Korea's first declaration of martial law in 40 years. Yoon's fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. Yoon has defended the martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, describing it as a warning against the liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has been obstructing his agenda with its majority in the parliament. Political turmoil continues in South Korea Parliament voted last week to also impeach his replacement Prime Minister Han Duck-soo , who had assumed the role of acting president after Yoon's powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court's review of Yoon's case. The country's new interim leader is deputy prime minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the finance minister. Yoon is being investigated by prosecutors as well as the joint team of police, defence and anti-corruption officials. He faces criminal charges of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even the death penalty. A 10-page prosecutors' report stated Yoon authorised the military to fire their weapons if needed to enter parliament during his failed martial law bid. Yoon's lawyer Yoon Kab-keun dismissed the prosecutors' report, telling Agence France-Presse it was "a one-sided account that neither corresponds to objective circumstances nor common sense".
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter's in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter's path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That's a very narrow way of assessing them," Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn't suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he'd be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter's tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter's lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor's race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival's endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King's daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters' early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan's presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan's Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.
Arkansas receiver Andrew Armstrong said Tuesday that he is entering the NFL Draft. Later in the day, a school spokesman told reporters that Armstrong will skip the Razorbacks' bowl game. The destination isn't yet known. Armstrong led the Southeastern Conference in both receptions (78) and receiving yards (1,140) but caught just one touchdown in 11 games this season. His catches and yardage were both second-most in Arkansas history behind Cobi Hamilton, who had 90 receptions for 1,335 yards in 2012. "It's been a journey for the books and I wouldn't trade it for anything because it has made me into the man I am today," Armstrong said of his Razorbacks tenure in a social media post. "... I will never forget all the moments that were shared here in Fayetteville." Armstrong played two seasons at Texas A&M-Commerce before transferring to Arkansas ahead of the 2023 season. In two seasons with the Razorbacks, he caught 134 passes for 1,904 yards and six scores. --Field Level MediaTreysen Eaglestaff scores 19 as North Dakota cruises past Waldorf College 97-57
There are "a number of defects" in the new tennis courts at Beaton Park, according to Wollongong City Council. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading The council announced the upgrade of the tennis centre in June 2024 , which would see the 14 existing courts replaced with the same number, including eight International Tennis Federation-standard acrylic hard courts. A council spokesperson said the first stage of the work was almost completed, with six new courts planned to be ready for use in January. However, there has been issues with the blue courts, which make up the second stage of the revamp. "The project has not been without its challenges, including the need to identify the source of and rectify a number of defects affecting a number of the new courts," the spokesperson said. "That work is ongoing and is expected to be done in time for the completion of Stage 1B and reopening of the centre in autumn 2025." The Mercury understands those defects relate to water seeping in under the courts' surface and creating bubbles as it evaporates. The second stage of the project also includes the completion of the car park and other temporary facilities to allow people to continue to use the Beaton Park centre until the overall project is complete. "The project is the culmination of years of planning to deliver a world-class multi-sports precinct at Beaton Park and provide significant tennis facilities for the Illawarra region," the spokesperson said. "As one of NSW's major regional tennis venues, Wollongong is expected to draw international, national and state level competitors to the city in the future and carry on the region's proud association hosting significant tennis events. "The venue will also continue to provide a full range of local and district offerings supporting recreational and competitive play opportunities, tennis coaching, school programs, casual court hire and [a] community programming focus." There is a second stage outlined in the Beaton Park master plan that includes upgraded player facilities and a pro shop. This stage is not yet under contruction. I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading. I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading. More from Latest News Newsletters & Alerts DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Get the latest property and development news here. WEEKLY Find out what's happening in local business. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!
Jhon Duran suspended for three games as Aston Villa lose appeal into red card
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