NFL Rumors: Odell Beckham Jr. to Be Released by Ravens After Contract Restructure

The Baltimore Ravens are expected to release wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. before midnight on Wednesday. ESPN’s Dan Graziano explained why the Ravens will formally release Beckham with a post-June 1 designation after restructuring his contract in January: Beckham signed a one-year deal worth up to $18 million last offseason. He finished the 2023 campaign with 35 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns. The Ravens have seen a host of departures from their 13-4 team, which earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Players who have left via free agency or trade include running back Gus Edwards, right tackle Morgan Moses, guard John Simpson, safety Geno Stone and linebacker Patrick Queen.

Now it appears Beckham will head elsewhere after just one season in Baltimore. The Ravens have a bona fide No. 1 wideout already in Zay Flowers, and they have depth behind him in Rashod Bateman and the re-signed Nelson Agholor. But sans Beckham, they could still use more reinforcements at the position to help reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. Baltimore has already done work on offense to do just that, notably signing ex-Tennessee Titans superstar running back Derrick Henry. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Ravens use an early draft pick on a receiver once again to bolster the offense.

Georgia judge dismisses some charges in Trump 2020 election case

The judge overseeing former President Trump’s Georgia election subversion case on Wednesday dismissed six counts in the indictment, including three against the former president. Judge Scott McAfee’s order said prosecutors could seek to refile the quashed charges. It comes ahead of a highly anticipated decision over whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case. It’s a win for the former president, who has not seen any of his charges across his four criminal cases dismissed.

Trump still faces more than half a dozen counts in the Georgia case. The former president and presumptive GOP presidential nominee originally faced 13 counts related to his alleged efforts to subvert 2020 election results in Georgia. Driving the news: McAfee in his Wednesday filing wrote that the six counts he’s dismissing against Trump and some of his co-defendants “contain all the essential elements of the crimes” but “fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission.” “They do not give the Defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently, as the Defendants could have violated the Constitutions and thus the statute in dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways.” The counts that McAfee tossed relate to allegations that Trump and some of the co-defendants solicited the violation of oath by a public officer.

Dollar Tree to close nearly 1,000 Family Dollar stores

Dollar Tree will close nearly 1,000 stores and swung to a surprise fourth quarter loss as the discount retailer took a related $1.07 billion goodwill impairment charge.⁠ ⁠ Shares tumbled 15% before the opening bell Wednesday.⁠ ⁠ Dollar Tree plans to close about 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of this year and 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores over the next several years.⁠ ⁠ Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar for more than $8 billion almost a decade ago after a bidding war with rival Dollar General, but it has had difficulty absorbing the chain.⁠ ⁠

Years of mismanagement and poor conditions in stores have hurt Family Dollar’s brand. Family Dollar, which is owned by Dollar Tree, was recently fined more than $40 million for a rat infestation at a warehouse that forced hundreds of stores to temporarily close. Decades-high inflation has hit shoppers hard, and a general consumer pullback has impacted Family Dollar customers and the chain’s profits, exacerbating its battle with discount competitors such as Dollar General, Walmart and others.

Associated Press

Beyoncé Reveals ‘Act II’ Album Name: ‘Cowboy Carter’

Beyoncé has revealed that her Act II album will be titled Cowboy Carter. The chart-topping vocalist revealed the country record’s name on Tuesday, posting an image of a tacked-up saddle with a ribbon boasting its moniker in bold text to her Instagram Story. The post included a link to the artist’s webstore, which is now stocked with CD boxsets featuring limited-edition cover photos of Bey’s face, as well as exclusive vinyls in colors including red, white, blue and black. Notably, the CD boxsets have a bonus track and T-shirts boasting the record’s name. Beyoncé first announced the album on Super Bowl Sunday, quenching fans’ thirst with two new singles: “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The singer has not revealed further information about the record’s tracklist; however, in a recent interview with Knox News, Dolly Parton did hint that Bey’s countrified body of work would include a rendition of “Jolene.”

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign – “CARNIVAL” Music Video

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign officially released a video for “CARNIVAL,” the Vultures Volume 1 track featuring Rich The Kid and Playboi Carti.

Jon Rafman, who also contributed to Hypebeast Magazine Issue 32, helmed the visual while Dario Alva and Garrett McGale worked on the CGI. The video arrives as “CARNIVAL” moved up to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving West his fifth chart-topper, Ty’s second and Rich the Kid and Carti’s first. This also makes Ye the only rapper in history to have topped the Hot 100 chart in three different decades — the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.

“CARNIVAL” earned 33.7 million streams, 3.9 million radio airplay impressions and sold 3,000 downloads in the week of March 1 to March 7. It retained its third week on top of the Streaming Songs chart and jumped to No. 13 on the Digital Song Sales chart.

Watch the video for “CARNIVAL” above.

Ravens signing ex-Titans RB Derrick Henry to two-year, $16 million deal

Backfields are going to look a whole lot different in the NFL next season after a run on free agent quarterbacks and running backs during the league’s two-day legal tampering period. After QBs ruled Day 1 , running backs continued to make strides in free agency Tuesday with four-time Pro Bowler Derrick Henry agreeing to a two-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, a person with knowledge of the contract told The Associated Press. Henry’s jump from the Tennessee Titans, where he spent his first eight seasons, was among the biggest moves on the eve of the league’s new year, which officially begins at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday. That’s when free agents can sign contracts they’ve agreed to this week.

Henry’s deal is worth up to $20 million and includes $9 million guaranteed. The two-time NFL rushing champ joins a Baltimore team that annually produces one of the league’s leading ground games.

Running backs have struggled to earn big money in recent years — to the point where Henry organized a group chat among top players at the position last summer. This year’s free agent class included Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard, all of whom found new homes during Monday’s free agency frenzy . Barkley, Jacobs and Pollard were the three running backs franchise tagged a year ago at $10.1 million, and none signed long-term deals with their teams by the July deadline. All three became free agents this year when their teams declined to tag them again, this time at $12 million. Henry turned 30 in January. The four-time Pro Bowler led the NFL in 2023 with 280 rushing attempts and ranked second to Christian McCaffrey with 1,167 yards rushing. His 12 rushing TDs were fourth in the AFC. Henry leaves Tennessee ranked second in franchise history with 9,502 rushing yards, trailing only Eddie George (10,009).

The Ravens finished with the NFL’s best regular-season record in 2023 before losing to Kansas City in the AFC championship game. Now they add another proven offensive playmaker to work alongside quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is coming off his second MVP season.

Mayor Brandon Scott adds insight on police plans to address rise in traffic violators

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is discussing a plan to increase traffic enforcement across Baltimore City. Appearing on WBAL Radio this Wednesday, the mayor said a directive to pay closer attention to traffic violators came from him, the police commissioner, and demands from the community.

“When people are not obeying traffic laws, when they’re speeding, when they’re blowing through stop signs, they will be pulled over,” Scott said. “People are driving like maniacs.”

As far as having enough cops to do it, the mayor said they’re continuing to work on recruiting and retaining officers, but that they must enforce the basic laws.

Scott explained that authorities were stopping violators, but that it wasn’t a big focus, and that things have changed to allow police to shift that focus.

“As we continue to drive down homicides and shootings in the city, they also have a responsibility to be helping keeping people safe in every way,” Scott said.

House passes bill that could ban TikTok

The House passed a bill that could ban TikTok in a 352-65 vote Thursday, putting the spotlight on the Senate on how to handle the controversial legislation that has support from President Biden. The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was introduced March 5 by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Two days later, House members on the Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously to approve the bill, which refers to TikTok as a threat to national security because it is controlled by a foreign adversary. The bill now heads to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future as senators appear divided about the legislation, and other federal and state-led efforts to ban TikTok have stalled.