California to let college athletes sign endorsement deals
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Defying the NCAA, California opened the way Monday for college athletes to hire agents and make money from endorsement deals with sneaker companies, soft drink makers, car dealerships and other sponsors, just like the pros.
The first-in-the-nation law, signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and set to take effect in 2023, could upend amateur sports in the U.S. and trigger a legal challenge.
Newsom and others cast it as an attempt to bring more fairness to big-money college athletics and let players share in the wealth they create for their schools. Critics have long complained that universities are getting rich off the backs of athletes — often, black athletes struggling to get by financially.
“Other college students with a talent, whether it be literature, music, or technological innovation, can monetize their skill and hard work,” the governor said. “Student athletes, however, are prohibited from being compensated while their respective colleges and universities make millions, often at great risk to athletes’ health, academics and professional careers.”
Newsom predicted other states will introduce similar legislation.
Collins resigns from Congress ahead of expected guilty plea
NEW YORK — Rep. Chris Collins, a Republican from western New York, submitted his resignation from Congress on Monday ahead of an expected guilty plea in an insider trading case in which he was accused of leaking confidential information during an urgent phone call made from a White House picnic.
Collins’ resignation will take effect when Congress meets in a brief session on Tuesday, according to a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
A federal judge in Manhattan scheduled a hearing for Collins to enter a guilty plea to unspecified charges in the case Tuesday afternoon. A similar hearing has been scheduled Thursday for the congressman’s son, Cameron Collins.
Collins’ congressional office declined to comment on Monday. His attorney didn’t immediately respond to a message. The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan also declined to comment.
Collins, who was among the first members of Congress to support President Donald Trump’s run for the White House, had been scheduled to go to trial next year on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Prosecutors accused him of sharing non-public information from a biopharmaceutical company with his son, allowing Cameron Collins and another man to avoid nearly $800,000 in stock losses.
Forever 21 bankruptcy reflects teens’ new shopping behavior
NEW YORK — For years, teens flocked to Forever 21’s massive stores at the nation’s malls for its speedy take on fashion, like its $5 shimmery halter tops and $25 dresses.
But the chain that helped popularize so-called fast fashion has moved too slow for a new generation of young customers.
The Los Angeles-based privately held chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday, a victim of rapidly changing shopping tastes among teens who are increasingly turning away from malls and heading to trendy online sites.
They’re also interested in buying eco-friendly fashions, like pants made from recycled plastic, not stuff they’ll just throw away after a few uses. And they’re gravitating toward online second sites where clothes can be used over and over again. In fact, the secondhand fashion business is projected to reach $64 billion by 2028, nearly 1.5 times the size of fast fashion, according to a report by Global Data Retail.
The bankruptcy marks a dramatic fall for the retailer. Forever 21 was founded in 1984 and, along with other fast-fashion chains like H&M and Zara, rode a wave of popularity among young customers that took off in the mid-1990s. It even stole customers from traditional stalwarts like Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle.
Afghanistan to Taliban: Peace or ‘we will continue to fight’
UNITED NATIONS — As Afghans await the results of a presidential election roiled by Taliban threats, the government used its platform at the U.N. General Assembly on Monday to tell the insurgents: “Join us in peace, or we will continue to fight.”
Afghanistan was not the only country sending a message: North Korea had one for the United States , saying it was up to Washington whether now-stalled nuclear negotiations “become a window of opportunity or an occasion that will hasten the crisis.”
And even in the final hour of this year’s U.N. gathering of world leaders, Iran and Saudi Arabia traded barbs sharpened by a recent missile and drone strike on major Saudi oil facilities.
Monday’s speeches wrapped up a meeting marked by global worries over the rising tensions in the Persian Gulf region , the changing climate and the very future of the idea of large-scale international cooperation that the U.N. represents.
As General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande put it in his closing remarks, “The world will not survive for long unless we cultivate the give-and-take spirit” of multilateralism.
UK’s Johnson denies allegations of patronage, groping
MANCHESTER, England — United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson battled to fend off allegations of improper patronage and groping a woman as he prepared a final push Monday to fulfill his pledge to lead his country out of the European Union in just over a month — and, he hopes, move British politics beyond its fracture over Europe.
Johnson sought to energize Conservative members and lawmakers — weary after three years of Brexit gridlock — at the party’s annual conference, but he was forced to deny a journalist’s claim that he had grabbed her thigh at a private lunch two decades ago.
Sunday Times columnist Charlotte Edwardes said the incident took place when she worked at The Spectator, a conservative newsmagazine, while Johnson was its editor.
Asked if the allegation was true, Johnson said: “No.”
Edwardes stood by her story, tweeting: “If the prime minister doesn’t recollect the incident then clearly I have a better memory than he does.”