With a new wireless brand from the hosts of SmartLess emerging last week, and the debut of Trump Mobile this week, it sure seems like there’s a hot new trend in Celebrities Selling Things: phone service. How did it come to this? Why can’t they just stick to tequila? I talked to a couple of experts about the situation, and it’s not entirely the Deadpool actor’s fault. But also: it is kind of his fault.
To be clear, none of these celebrities / political figures are building new cell networks from scratch. What they’re launching are Mobile Virtual Network Operators, or MVNOs. These are companies that buy wireless service from the three big US carriers and re-sell it. It’s a business model that has existed for decades, Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart tells me. “They address market segments that carriers can’t or don’t want to address with their main brands,” he says. Older customers, people whose first language isn’t English, people with bad credit – they’re all prime targets for MVNOs.
It’s an attractive arrangement for the big carriers since they may have extra network capacity that would otherwise go unused. “They get a guaranteed return on their networ …
This season, one of the most exciting and dynamic players in recent memory enters the NFL, as wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, debuts for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While his story isn’t quite equal to that of another two-way athlete, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, Hunter’s arrival brings similar strategic and scoring complexities to fantasy leagues.
His versatility sheds more light on a rare style of fantasy football play.
If maximizing the excitement that Hunter might bring to the fantasy game appeals to you — and it should! — consider switching your league from using team defenses (D/STs) to individual defensive players (IDPs).
IDP formats bring a new dimension of play to your fantasy league, and deepen your knowledge in a manner that will bring a whole different level of joy to the game — both fantasy and on the field. What’s more, the IDP format is the only one in which you’ll truly be able to reward Hunter for his many contributions on both sides of the ball.
IDP leagues credit specific players for their big plays on defense. To name a few from last season, there was Pat Surtain II‘s 100-yard pick-six in Week 5, Aidan Hutchinson‘s four-sack game in Week 2, and Travon Walker‘s 35-yard fumble recovery touchdown. Best yet, IDP leagues grant you the flexibility to introduce defensive play into your league as simply or as complex as you wish.
I’ve played in a pair of IDP leagues for more than a decade and a half, and one even awards bonus points for big plays such as Surtain’s. Given the choice, I prefer IDP over D/ST as a scoring format.
Here’s how to set up an IDP league on ESPN
NOTE: The commissioner/league manager (LM) or anyone with LM powers can make changes to roster and scoring settings.
IDPs are broken down three ways in ESPN custom leagues:
Defensive players as a whole (DP, a position that can also be used as an IDP “flex,” which we’ll get into later, with the other two formats)
Defensive linemen (DL, which includes defensive ends and defensive tackles), linebackers (LB), and defensive backs (DB, which includes cornerbacks and safeties)
More specific defensive positions including defensive ends (DE), defensive tackles (DT), linebackers, cornerbacks (CB) and safeties (S)
Once you decide upon your desired number of active defensive starters, change your lineup settings by clicking on “LM Tools” and then “Edit Roster Settings.” Adjust the drop-down menu accordingly and you’re all set.
You can even consider using both D/STs and IDPs, if dipping your toes into the IDP pool is preferred to taking a full dive. Or maybe using just a D/ST and one DP for 2025 is appealing.
Thinking about giving it a try? Here are several reasons to make the switch:
IDP leagues give you the freedom to choose what rewards defenders deserve.
When it comes to defensive play, what matters to you? Is a big-time tackling linebacker like Zaire Franklin a star in your eyes? Is an interception king like Kerby Joseph the most valuable defender? How about a top sack-getter like T.J. Watt? Or maybe it’s a master fumble creator and pass defender like Jessie Bates III?
However you regard each defensive statistical accomplishment, our IDP settings afford you the luxury of weighting each the way you want them.
Play around with the point totals until you find weights you like, but this is ESPN’s default IDP scoring system:
Solo tackle: 1.5 points
Assisted tackle: 0.75 points
Tackle for a loss: 2 points
Sack: 4 points
Interception: 5 points
Forced fumble: 4 points
Fumble recovery: 4 points
Defensive touchdown: 6 points
Safety: 2 points
Pass defensed: 1.5 points
I prefer a league that most heavily credits sacks, tackles for a loss, interceptions and forced fumbles, plays that are the most prominent and require a certain level of skill on defense. In the case of fumbles, bear in mind that fumble recoveries involve a degree of randomness — which player was lucky enough to be closest to, and quickest to jump on, the ball at the bottom of the pile? — whereas forced fumbles credit the player who initially caused the turnover to happen.
One recommendation: Be extra cautious with the way you weight tackles. As linebackers routinely top the leaderboard, including 22 of the top 25 players in total tackles in 2024 alone playing the position, crediting the category alone, or awarding it too many points could mean your IDP league quickly becomes a linebacker-centric league. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but if you want to diversify your positions, consider spreading the points across multiple categories.
Speaking of those positions, the two IDP leagues in which I play use the DL/LB/DB format, with two starters apiece at each of those positions, for six total IDP starters. That has come to be a popular format among IDP players, but you could consider one, or three, at each position, or stick to the two apiece but add that aforementioned “flex,” or “DP,” position.
Why IDP > D/ST
It can be maddening to see your high-quality defense unexpectedly deliver a stinker, or worse, play a respectable game but get stuck with a terrible fantasy score simply because the opponent’s offense was on its A-game in an exciting, higher-scoring affair.
Last year’s Denver Broncos, the top-scoring fantasy D/ST, give us one of our best examples of this, during the fantasy championship round in Week 17. In that game, a 30-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Denver D/ST scored a mere 3 points, if only because they faced a loaded Bengals offense, a bad matchup many owners saw coming, causing them to be started in only 42% of ESPN leagues that week.
But that doesn’t mean that every member of that team’s defense had a terrible game! Zach Allen (26.75 points in ESPN default scoring), Brandon Jones (16.5) and Surtain (15.5) still had strong games.
Wouldn’t it have been nice to have the ability to start those quality defensive players, from an elite defensive unit, and not worry about the opposing offense?
We’ll see another prospective example of this in Week 1 of 2025, when the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, two of the best offenses in football, square off. The Ravens are rostered in nearly 90% of ESPN leagues that have drafted thus far, and selected seventh among D/STs thus far, but do you really want to start them against the Bills? (I don’t!)
In IDP leagues, you can start a superstar like safety Kyle Hamilton with confidence, especially knowing he’ll probably be heavily involved in that game. Much more fun.
You’ll gain much more insight into the NFL game with an IDP league.
D/ST play in fantasy leagues presents a more rudimentary process to draft analysis, with schedules and individual matchups having as much if not more to do with identifying positional success than does player skill.
IDP formats allow us to better understand who are the most talented players, granting us greater knowledge of the league as a whole.
For example, the New York Giants were one of the worst fantasy D/STs from a team perspective last season (24th with 4.5 fantasy PPG). A player like Dexter Lawrence II, who finished 20th among defensive linemen in fantasy points per game (minimum 12 played), wouldn’t have even been noticed in traditional formats, but in IDP leagues, he’d have been one of the more important defensive linemen to consider.
IDP leagues bring more scoring to your lineups.
Everyone loves more fantasy points! As IDPs are rarely subject to the negative point totals that team defenses are — 16% of all D/ST weekly scores in 2024 finished in the red — you’ll notice a sizable jump in scoring from your active lineup in an IDP format.
Last season, the 10 most-started D/ST by week averaged 7.6 fantasy points.
The 10 most-started IDPs in ESPN leagues at each of the three major positions (defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs) averaged a collective 33.5 fantasy points.
That’s a heck of a scoring spike — and that’s by starting only three defensive players! Make it six starters, like my IDP leagues, and that number would swell to 63.0. That’s a lot more opportunity for Sunday excitement tracking your scoring.
And that’s the goal, more excitement, right? Give individual defensive players a try in 2025, and perhaps, like me, you’ll never want to go back.
The actress provided some rare insight into her life at home with husband Colin Jost and their son Cosmo, 3, when discussing her love for Chappell Roan‘s music.
“I mean, my son’s favorite Chappell song is H-O-T T-O G-O, ‘HOT TO GO!,'” Scarlett told MTV UK at the London premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth June 17, “and I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but because he sings it, it has become my favorite.”
The 40-year-old—who also shares daughter Rose, 10, with ex Romain Dauriac—added, “But I love it, too! I mean, who am I kidding? I listen to it like 20 times a day.”
Scarlett also recently opened up about what it was like having Colin and Cosmo on set with her while she was filming Jurassic World Rebirthand why they didn’t accompany her to film her other new movie, The Phoenician Scheme.
The Princess of Wales has pulled out from a planned attendance at Royal Ascot.
Catherine, who is making a gradual return to public life after her cancer diagnosis last year, is trying to find the right balance as she fully returns to public engagements, according to royal sources.
The princess was said to be disappointed to miss the sporting occasion in Berkshire, where she would have appeared in the carriage procession.
She was due to attend on Wednesday with her husband the Prince of Wales and the King and Queen.
Racegoers had been hoping to see Catherine as William was named as one of the figures awarding race prizes during the second day of the meet.
Kensington Palace confirmed she would not be attending the races.
The princess was last seen smiling and joking with other royals on Monday during the Order of the Garter service in Windsor.
Recently her public appearances have increased with attendances also at Trooping the Colour and a visit to the V&A East Storehouse museum in London.
Catherine revealed in January she is in remission from cancer after making an emotional return to the hospital where she received treatment.
She announced her diagnosis last March before she revealed in September she had completed her chemotherapy, saying: “Doing what I can to stay cancer free is now my focus.”
Catherine did not attend Royal Ascot last year, saying at the time she had been “blown away” by the messages of support she had received since her diagnosis and had been “making good progress” but was “not out of the woods yet”.
Are NPR and PBS doomed? Despite the Trump administration’s sound, fury and executive orders aimed at cutting off federal funding for public media, “defunding” is not a sure thing.
It is far from clear that President Trump’s May 1 executive order “ending taxpayer subsidization of biased media” will survive legal challenge. It instructs a legally independent nonprofit organization, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as to what it must do. Nor is it clear that another means toward that end — firing many of the current CPB board members — will survive its own legal challenge.
The real test for the most serious effort to defund public media since its creation in 1967 has come in Congress. The House last week passed the White House’s $9.48 billion spending rescission package, including its request to claw back $1.1 billion funds that Congress has already appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes those funds to NPR, PBS and local stations. Federal public media funding will survive only if the Senate doesn’t go along.
For that to happen, PBS and especially NPR — which stirs the greatest animosity — must change their strategy. Its self-righteous defense of the status quo must shift quickly toward an acknowledgment of shortcomings, along with compromise alternative approaches for public media funding rules — including one already found in the president’s executive order.
As with any major vote in the current Congress, a handful of individual votes can make the difference. So will the rules of the vote. The up-or-down vote in the House made it difficult even for Republican moderates not to support recission.
In the Senate, however, the rules could permit individual votes on each element of recission package — meaning each senator would be on record. Many senators are fond of their local public media stations, which often serve as the only source of local journalism. Politicians like to be on local talk shows and to have their press releases get attention.
But Republican moderates will need good reason to resist White House pressure — and that will require change at NPR and PBS. To date, public media leaders have simply dug in.
NPR President Katherine Maher, for instance, in response to the executive order, stated that “NPR is a non-partisan news organization that adheres to and upholds the highest standards of public service in journalism.” She may well believe that — but there has to be some reason that a 2012 Pew Research Foundation survey found that only 17 percent of NPR listeners were Republicans.
In a polarized country, NPR and the PBS News Hour are too often comfort food for progressives — just as Fox News is for conservatives. But Fox is not subsidized by taxpayers.
To survive the defunding effort, NPR and PBS must do more than cling to Big Bird, now flying thanks to Netflix. They should rather acknowledge that, especially in their public affairs programming, they are not serving a broad cross-section of Americans, either geographically or culturally.
Moreover, NPR and PBS should recognize that, even in Trump’s seemingly draconian executive defunding order, there is a section that suggests compromise. The order includes detailed instructions regarding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s $267 million in “community service grants” to local stations and which, as the order notes, provide “indirect” NPR and PBS funding when used to purchase national programming. The White House wants that to end.
The public media bodies should agree to support amending the Public Broadcasting Act to allow local stations to keep their grants and not be required to pay dues or programming fees to NPR or PBS. Instead, they should use the funding as seed money for something “underserved” markets desperately need — local journalism.
The White House notes correctly that the media world has changed dramatically since the Public Broadcasting Act was passed in 1967 — but one market failure has been the emergence of news deserts, thanks to the closures of thousands of local newspapers. At its best, NPR local journalism — in St. Louis, Akron, Dallas, Chicago and elsewhere — is filling that void.
For their part, NPR and PBS should commit to raising their own funds privately, while still making use of local reporting produced by affiliate stations. What’s more, they should commit to diversifying their funding sources. Progressive foundations such as Ford, Rockefeller and MacArthur have used generous funding to influence which stories get covered.
NPR and PBS should also report annually to Congress about the source of their funds — where donors live — and their ratings in all states and metro areas. Their goal must be to reach a broader audience in order to make their case for continued funding. A stick Congress could wield is the potential to revoke their tax-exempt status.
But to start, public media has to acknowledge it has a problem with perceived bias to succeed in what is now an uphill fight to survive. To do so, it must admit its shortcomings and offer specifics about how it will change.
Howard Husock served as a Republican member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Directors from 2013 to 2017. His films for WGBH-TV, Boston won national and New England Emmy Awards.
India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has announced the creation of a dedicated unit for auditing approximately 1,600 state public sector undertakings (PSUs).
The Economic Times reported that this initiative aims to enhance the speed and efficiency of audits conducted on these enterprises.
The new vertical is designed to streamline the auditing process, similar to the existing structure for Central Public Sector Enterprises.
CAG officials noted that the current method, which involves senior management auditing multiple states, is time-consuming and inefficient.
Deputy CAG A M Bajaj highlighted that the separate unit will facilitate the consolidation of information across state PSUs.
This will enable stakeholders to make easier comparisons and improve overall transparency in the auditing process.
In addition to the new vertical, the CAG is leveraging digital transformation to enhance auditing capabilities.
The integration of technologies such as generative AI and optical character recognition (OCR) is expected to reduce errors and improve accuracy in voucher verification.
Bajaj also mentioned that a standardised risk assessment model is being developed to ensure data-driven and risk-focused audit planning nationwide.
This model will utilise tools like IDEA and Tableau to enhance the auditing framework.
The upcoming State Finance Secretaries Conference, scheduled for September 2025, will address these developments as key agenda items. The CAG aims to discuss the implications of the new vertical and technological advancements in auditing.
In addition, the CAG clarified that the hiring of empanelled Chartered Accountant (CA) firms for auditing central autonomous bodies will not compromise the autonomy of the apex audit body.
Instead, it is expected to bolster the auditing process. The office of the CAG is currently in the process of selecting CA firms for 30 locations, with final decisions anticipated within the next two weeks.
“CAG establishes new vertical for state public sector audits” was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand.
The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
U.S. President Donald Trump will issue another extension to decide the fate of TikTok, pushing it by 90 days, the White House said on Tuesday. The current extension, which was signed in April, was set to expire on Thursday, June 19.
“President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to keep TikTok up and running,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to CBS News.
“As he has said many times, President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark. This extension will last 90 days, which the Administration will spend working to ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure,” she added.
It’s exciting to think about Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter playing on both sides of the ball in the NFL. Now imagine having the dynamic WR/CB on your fantasy football team and accumulating points for everything he does both on offense and defense.
Wouldn’t it be great to get points for his 30-yard touchdown catch and his five tackles and interception? That’s possible only if your league uses IDP scoring.
Tristan H. Cockcroft explains how to play in an IDP league and why it’s more fulfilling than simply using a D/ST slot.
If you’re wondering about Hunter’s positional eligibility in ESPN Fantasy leagues, how he can score fantasy points this season and how best to utilize him in IDP leagues, we’ve got answers below.
At which positions is Travis Hunter eligible in ESPN leagues?
Hunter is eligible at wide receiver and cornerback.
In traditional (non-IDP) leagues, he can be placed in the following lineup slots: WR, Flex and OP.
In IDP leagues, he can placed at WR, Flex, OP, CB, DB and DP.
How can Hunter score fantasy points in each league type?
In a traditional league, you get the points he scores on offense and you get credit for any touchdown, even those that come on defense and special teams. So, if Hunter gets a pick-six you’ll get 6 fantasy points for the touchdown, but nothing for the interception.
However, if you want to maximize the Travis Hunter Experience, play in an IDP league.
NOTE: Default settings are reflected below, but the commissioner/league manager (LM) can make adjustments to the rosters and/or scoring settings by clicking on the “LM Tools” tab.
IDP
You can choose non-PPR or PPR scoring to determine his offensive fantasy contributions.
Receptions (only in PPR leagues) 1 point for each catch
Yardage Rushing: 0.1 points for each yard Receiving: 0.1 points for each yard Passing: 0.04 points for each yard
Touchdowns 4 points for each passing TD 6 points for any other TD scored
Two-point conversions Worth 2 points for the passer, rusher or receiver
Deductions Players get -2 points for a fumble lost or an interception thrown
Defense
This is where many scoring possibilities are added. You even get credit for tackles made by an offensive player (for example, when an interception is thrown and a wide receiver, like Hunter, makes a tackle).
Here is an example of a stat line for Hunter and how many fantasy points he would score in an ESPN standard setup.
In which lineup slot should I place Hunter in IDP leagues?
Hunter has “cheat code” potential in IDP leagues.
Provided your league uses a scoring system similar to the ESPN standard, it is highly recommended you place him in a defensive lineup spot. Starting-caliber wide receivers easily outscore defensive backs in fantasy on average — and the ceiling for WRs is considerably higher in any given week — so using Hunter’s dual eligibility to play him in a defensive slot gives you the ability to employ an extra offensive player in your WR or flex slot.
Meanwhile, Stefani was gradually getting used to Shelton’s more rural comfort zone.
“You’ve turned into a proper farm girl now, you really have,” Chelsea Handler teased the No Doubt frontwoman when the singer appeared on the comedian’s Netflix show in 2017.
“My nature growing up was Orange County, the beach, that was our nature,” the SoCal native mused. “That was it, you know. And that was beautiful, incredible. But to be able to experience middle of America and the gorgeous Oklahoma—it is very beautiful there…I actually wrote a Christmas song while I was there.”
“What a coincidence,” Handler cracked.
Stefani continued, “I love going there because I feel like it’s so… I get to do nothing, and I never get that here in L.A.” Asked if she experienced culture shock the first time she visited the Sooner State, she quipped, “Blake is a culture shock.”
But she does not mind that sweet escape feeling of being off the grid with him.
Read on for the sweetest things Shelton and Stefani have said about each other through the years:
Panathinaikos’ visit will mark Russell Martin’s first competitive game as Rangers head coach and the former Southampton boss has been handed the toughest of their possible draws despite the Ibrox side having been seeded.
All three potential opponents were, like Rangers, runners-up in their domestic leagues, but while the Greek side are 111th in the European club rankings, 86 places behind Rangers, Swiss side Servette are 139th (one behind Heart of Midlothian) and Norwegians Brann 189th.
The side managed by former Egypt and Benfica head coach Rui Vitoria finished 16 points behind Olympiakos in the Greek Super League last season, having overtaken AEK Athens after the league split.
Panathinaikos have never lost to Scottish opponents over 90 minutes in four meetings with Rangers, two with Motherwell and one with Aberdeen, winning four of their seven games.
However, it was Rangers who progressed when they last met the Ibrox side.
Having beaten Aberdeen 3-0 at home in the 2007-08 Uefa Cup group stage, the Greeks exited on away goals after a 0-0 stalemate in Glasgow was followed by a 1-1 draw in Athens in the round of 32.
They had beaten Rangers 3-1 at Ibrox, and drew 1-1 at home, in the Champions League group stage in 2003, while they eased aside Motherwell 5-0 on aggregate in their latest meeting with a Scottish side in 2012 – in the Champions League third qualifying round.
Panathinaikos have not reached the Champions League proper since 2010-11 and last season started in Europa League qualifying, beating Botev Plovdiv but losing to Ajax before qualifying for the Conference League by defeating Lens.
They lost 4-1 at home to eventual winners Chelsea and beat The New Saints 2-0 in Wales in the new league stage, finishing 13th, before beating Vikingur Reykjavik in the knockout phase and then losing to Fiorentina in the last 16.
Rangers lost their opening Champions League qualifier to Dynamo Kyiv last season under Philippe Clement but reached the Europa League quarter-finals, by which time interim head coach Barry Ferguson was in charge.
Teams winning their second qualifying round ties face two more rounds to make the league stage.
