Betnijah Laney-Hamilton embodies a selfless athlete who prioritizes the needs of her team over personal grievances.

However, this season has pushed her boundaries in unforeseen ways, presenting her with unexpected challenges.

She has strived to keep any discontent about her changing role under wraps.

Yet, Laney-Hamilton acknowledges her strong desire to be out on the court.

“As a fierce competitor who has dedicated immense effort and been with the organization for a long time, there are moments it gets disappointing and frustrating,” Laney-Hamilton expressed on Tuesday prior to the Liberty’s clash with the Dallas Wings. “But this is also part of the journey. So, I’m focusing on being the best I can in these circumstances,” she added.

Laney-Hamilton missed all of last season rehabbing from knee surgery.

She put in a lot of work behind the scenes so she could enter this year the healthiest she had been for quite some time. 

“Physically, I feel really good,” Laney-Hamilton said. “Physically, I feel better than I felt in a long time and so just taking it a day at a time, working through everything.” 

Yet her role has varied, and doubt regarding her future in Brooklyn has started to surface.

Laney-Hamilton went from being a starter to coming off the bench. She missed time for personal reasons early on then was sidelined for two games after receiving an injection in her surgically repaired knee before a June 14 game in Chicago. 

In the past two weeks, Laney-Hamilton hasn’t played in three games, despite being available, including last week’s Commissioner’s Cup win against the Las Vegas Aces and Friday’s win against the Minnesota Lynx. 

Coach Chris DeMarco explained some of Laney-Hamilton’s benchings as the result of him tightening the rotation. He has repeatedly expressed confidence in Laney-Hamilton. 

“She is valuable to us,” he said. “We have had a lot of communication, and she’ll be ready to go [Tuesday].”

Laney-Hamilton said she’s discussed her situation with DeMarco and general manager Jonathan Kolb several times.

“We’ve had a lot of different conversations,” she said, “and so now just trying to figure everything out and work through things.” 

The WNBA trade deadline is Aug. 2. Laney-Hamilton took a brief pause when asked directly if she expected to be with the Liberty beyond that date.

“We’re working on things,” Laney-Hamilton said. “I don’t know what everything looks like right now. I’m just trying to take everything one step at a time and just stay in the moment. It’s been difficult. But today, right now, I feel pretty good. I just want to be able to focus on the game, go out there, do what I do at least for the fans, for the teammates, all the things.”

Fans have started to make known their support of Laney-Hamilton, a beloved franchise cornerstone. 

The chant started like background noise but gradually amplified. An undeniable chorus of “We want Laney” chants sang throughout Barclays Center on Friday as she sat on the bench. 

Laney-Hamilton never entered the game, much to the dismay of the team’s biggest supporters. But the former All-Star took notice. She said the fans’ outward support means “a lot” to her.

“It’s also a little overwhelming with the situation and everything and emotions and all the things,” she said. “But it’s something that I don’t take for granted, something that I do really appreciate to just know that the fans continue to have my back through a difficult time.

“I worked really hard to come back and to be in this position.”

A couple from Minneapolis, accused of racial discrimination against two Somali women searching for a home, claim they were the ones subjected to racial slurs.

Brian and Jen Wagner became the center of attention when a video of their confrontation with two Somali sisters in Shakopee went viral last month. Shakopee is located just southwest of Minneapolis.

Identified by their first names as Hamdi and Sumaya, the sisters reported being approached by the Wagners while they were viewing properties in the neighborhood.

The video, which the sisters posted online, captures Brian stating, “Nobody wants you here. Not a single person here wants you. I can smell you from here.”

Brian told Alpha News that the portion of the altercation shared on social media didn’t capture the entire incident, suggesting there is more context not shown in the video.

‘The public saw a shortened, selective clip showing my reaction, but not the events that led up to it. Before that video began, racial slurs were directed at me,’ he said. 

According to Brian, the sisters called him a ‘f***ing white cracker’, as well as a ‘redneck’ before they started recording him. A ‘cracker’ is an offensive term for a white person. 

The couple also released footage captured by a passenger, in which the two women can be seen shouting angrily at the Wagners.

Brian added: ‘Their vehicle doors remained open and the cars were left running in the street while I remained on the sidewalk.’

The sisters have since spoken with Kare11, claiming they had just left a home tour when they were approached by the couple. 

Hamdi told the outlet that Wagner said ‘we don’t want you guys here’, adding: ‘That was our first interaction. It wasn’t even a “hi, what are you guys doing here?”‘

In the footage, Brian also appeared to reference ongoing fraud investigations in Minnesota that have been connected to the Somali community. 

He questioned the two, saying: ‘Where’d you get your money for the house? All you do is steal.’

Sumaya told the outlet: ‘To take an entire group and say the whole Somali population commits fraud is heartbreaking.

‘We’ve been in this country, we were born and raised here, our parents have been here for a very long time. We don’t own any businesses; we are very hardworking individuals.’ 

The sisters said they planned to file a police report against the Wagners.

The two women wore face coverings during their sit-down with the outlet, with Wagner telling Alpha News he wanted them to show their faces. 

He said: ‘Show the world who you are. You showed the world who we are.’ 

Wagner and his wife have been left dealing with the consequences, saying he had lost his job and his wife’s daycare business had been targeted. 

Besides that, he claimed their phones had been bombarded with threatening texts and voicemails, causing them to change their numbers.

He added: ‘We have asked our legal team to pursue and seek prosecution for any criminal acts committed against us.

‘We are lifelong Minnesotans and proud Americans. We intend to put these events behind us and move forward with the next chapter of our lives.

‘We are deeply grateful for the support we have received from our neighbors, family, friends, and members of our community.’ 

Seidlich Law, who represent the couple, said the video was being ‘weaponized’ to ‘create a false narrative to negatively characterize the Wagner family as ‘racist.’

‘This incomplete video is being used to coordinate a cyberbullying campaign against an honest, patriotic, kind, and hard-working family,’ the law firm said.

The firm said they ‘categorically deny’ any implications that they were racially targeting the Somali family, and accused the person filming of ‘playing the victim.’

Meanwhile, across the country in California, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed a significant acquisition. Investing $1.5 billion, DHS purchased two major migrant detention centers from CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based private prison company. This acquisition included the California City Detention Facility, which accommodates 2,560 beds, and the Otay Mesa Detention Center with its capacity of 1,994 beds. The transaction, involving two of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the state, was finalized earlier this month.

The funds for this purchase were sourced from President Donald Trump’s spending bill enacted last summer, which aimed to further his administration’s agenda for mass deportations. DHS officials reiterated that this expenditure aligns with efforts to expand detention capacity significantly, a mandate granted under the terms of what was humorously called Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This expansion is intended to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in fulfilling the administration’s objectives regarding immigration enforcement.

DHS said it used funds from President Donald Trump’s spending bill signed last summer to purchase the facilities, as the administration seeks to continue the president’s mass deportation agenda.

“The Department of Homeland Security purchased the California City Detention Facility and the Otay Mesa Detention Center,” a DHS spokesperson told News Media. “This purchase was made possible by President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that allowed ICE to expand detention space to fulfill the President’s promise of mass deportations.”

The facilities will equip the federal government with more resources to carry out Trump’s immigration policies without relying on private prison companies, as DHS says California’s so-called sanctuary polices attempt to block immigration officials from using private prisons to hold migrants living in the country illegally.

“Unlike in states like Florida and Oklahoma, ICE can not rely on local state and county partners for detention space in California,” the DHS spokesperson said. “The state’s sanctuary politicians continue to push legislation to outlaw or make private prisons financially infeasible. Now, with federal ownership of these detention centers, which are crucial to ICE’s detention network on the west coast, ICE retains the detention capacity needed to arrest, detain, and remove illegal aliens.”

CoreCivic said it expects net proceeds to be about $1.1 billion after income taxes and transaction expenses.

“We are pleased with the sales of these two mission-critical facilities for the Company’s government partner, which demonstrates the value of the Company’s underlying real estate portfolio, while reflecting our role as a long-term, flexible solutions provider to government,” CoreCivic Chief Executive Patrick Swindle said in a statement.

“The sale of these facilities at what we believe is a fair valuation provides the Company with significant balance sheet flexibility and positions us well to grow the Company’s businesses and return value to its shareholders, while remaining a dependable partner for government,” he added.

The company said it expects to continue managing the two facilities under existing management contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, although the terms of the management contracts could be modified to reflect the change in ownership.

The California City facility contract expires in August 2027 and the contract for the Otay Mesa facility, which is located in San Diego, expires in December 2029, with the option to extend for five more years.

CoreCivic said it is in discussions with ICE about potentially selling additional detention facilities, although it said those talks are in various stages and cannot provide assurances that those sales will happen.

Eight ICE detention facilities are currently operating in California and combine to hold nearly 9,000 people.

The newly purchased California City and Otay Mesa facilities have both faced lawsuits by detainees over alleged mistreatment. CoreCivic has denied those allegations.

Authorities in California have reported that two teenagers allegedly misused a Waymo robotaxi for more than just a ride. The teens engaged in target practice while consuming alcohol, but their antics were cut short thanks to the automated vehicle’s intervention.

While traversing San Mateo on Monday afternoon, the self-driving vehicle company noticed that the teens were possibly drinking and shooting from inside the car. Police were soon alerted, according to a report by NBC.

The robotaxi eventually halted, which allowed police to determine that the teens had been drinking and firing Orbeez water beads from within the vehicle.

The San Mateo Police Department shared on social media, “Though inventive, using toy guns, water guns, and BB guns can be quite dangerous, particularly to those who might not recognize them right away.”

They continued, “Handling these items can incite fear in onlookers or those without a clear view. Rapidly releasing projectiles can cause significant harm. Additionally, underage drinking compounds the poor decisions. Although, choosing the Waymo was likely the only prudent choice, as driving under the influence could have turned out far worse.”

In another bizarre Waymo-related crime, San Francisco cops are still hunting a yoga pants thief who allegedly used a driverless Jaguar as a getaway car after swiping merchandise from a Marina District yoga studio in January.

Despite obtaining a search warrant for Waymo footage, investigators have been unable to identify the suspect because interior video had already been deleted and exterior footage blurred faces for privacy.

“It’s highly unusual in the first place that a Waymo is even used by a suspect,” Sgt. Tim Faye said. “It was disappointing that the internal video was not able to lead to the recognition of a suspect.”

Last month another Waymo mishap made headlines when a San Francisco passenger found himself in an unintended police chase after his driverless taxi barreled through a freeway construction zone.

“It went through the cones and then sped up straight away,” rider Elliot Slade said after the robotaxi ignored barriers and drew the attention of patrol officers.

The incident was one of more than a dozen similar construction-zone blunders that prompted Waymo to recall more than 3,800 vehicles and temporarily limit freeway service.

SAN MATEO, Calif. — In an unusual incident, two 15-year-olds were apprehended after being found consuming alcohol and firing gel ball blasters from a self-driving vehicle in San Mateo, California, according to police reports.

The San Mateo Police Department shared on social media, “Once we received the call and halted the vehicle, we safely extracted the individuals. It was revealed they were shooting Orbeez (water beads) while sipping drinks, using the autonomous car as their mobile lounge around the city.”

Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company, alerted the authorities, who promptly intercepted the vehicle.

SEE ALSO: California passenger stuck inside self-driving Waymo car through construction zone, followed by police

Egypt’s head coach, Hossam Hassan, has vehemently accused FIFA of manipulating World Cup outcomes following several controversial refereeing calls that adversely affected his team in their match against Argentina in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Argentina, trailing 2-0 with only 12 minutes remaining in regulation and additional stoppage time, appeared set for an early exit from the tournament. However, a stunning turnaround led by late goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandez secured Argentina a 3-2 victory in a dramatic comeback.

The atmosphere reached a fever pitch when Fernandez scored the winning header in the 93rd minute. This triggered chaos on the Egypt touchline, as livid team officials fiercely protested against referee Francois Letexier. The situation escalated with the expulsion of goalkeeper coach Saafan El-Sagheer, while manager Hassan was forcibly restrained from further confrontations with the official.

The Egyptian team was particularly incensed by the lack of a penalty call from both the referee and VAR, following an incident where Mohamed Salah was tripped by Julian Alvarez inside the box just moments before Argentina’s decisive goal.

Adding to their grievances, Egypt had previously seen a second-half goal annulled by VAR due to a foul in the lead-up. The series of decisions throughout the match seemed to favor Argentina, who have now advanced to the quarter-finals as they continue their quest to defend their title in North America.

After the match, Hassan could not contain his outrage and furiously accused world football’s governing body FIFA of rigging the tournament so that all-time great Messi could remain in the competition for ‘marketing reasons’.

‘We were better, but football is unfair,’ the heartbroken coach said in his post-match interview. 

‘It could be a matter of marketing, they could want to make a World Cup with the champion of the last World Cup, they want Messi to exist (in the tournament).

‘I thank my players very much. To all the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Africans, you can work hard, it’s what you have to do, but sometimes there are other factors that make you struggle. 

‘I wish we could be happier with the loss, but with a severe loss like today I say to them (my players) be upset. We wish we could be happier. Thank God for everything but football is different from what happens in the stadium when we are playing against the world champions. 

‘There is support from all directions for the world champions. Support and marketing.’

He added later: ‘Why isn’t there any fairness in sport? In football? I do not want to try to put it nicely here with beautiful wording. We have been treated unfairly today. We have suffered injustice.’ 

Hassan went on to claim that the result was influenced by ‘internal’ and ‘external’ factors and that Egypt had objected to the selection of Letexier as referee.

Egypt were furious at having a goal disallowed when leading 1-0 during the game, and later showed similar expressions of anger and disbelief after Salah was penalised for a soft foul that would otherwise have seen him charge through on goal for a one-on-one opportunity.

As the touchline bust-up at the end of the game broke out following Fernandez’s winner, Hassan made a gesture that is typically used to draw a referee’s attention to an accusation of racism, holding his hands aloft in an X shape.

It is unclear if Hassan was alleging a specific incident had occurred or whether he was protesting more generally against injustice and the controversial decisions that had gone in favour of Argentina.

Messi, who is widely regarded as the greatest footballer to have graced the game and steered Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in 2022, is spending the last years of his glittering career in the USA as a veteran for David Beckham’s Inter Miami. 

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has already drawn controversy over the World Cup’s integrity after his institution agreed to suspend USA forward Folarin Balogun’s red card following a phone call with Donald Trump, has been targeted with accusations of bias by fans amid Argentina’s World Cup success during his tenure.

The Swiss football chief, who has struck a friendship with Trump after awarding the President with FIFA’s inaugural peace prize in 2025, raised eyebrows when he joyfully congratulated Argentina following their narrow last-32 win over Cape Verde – and immediately backpedalled by insisting he is neutral.

Ahead of Switzerland’s round of 16 clash with Colombia in Vancouver, Infantino raised an Egyptian flag aloft in a possible attempt to rubbish accusations of favouritism towards Argentina after their late comeback. 

It is important to note that, despite claims online, no evidence has emerged to support allegations or corruption or match manipulation against FIFA or Infantino.

The first big decision made by referee Letexier during Egypt’s defeat was to award Argentina a penalty during the first half, although the Pharaohs should have few complaints about the spot-kick, which was ultimately missed by Messi. 

In what was another thrilling round of 16 clash at the World Cup, Yasser Ibrahim put Egypt ahead after just 15 minutes, before Mostafa Ziko doubled their advantage midway through the second half.

Ziko added fuel to the fire after the game by describing Letexier as an ‘unjust’ referee.

‘Referee, not fair,’ he said in tears during his post-match interview. ‘Unjust, unjust referee. An unjust person. An injustice that is so clear.

‘He’s wasting the effort of an entire nation. Since the beginning of the game, we were leaving the game winning 2-0 against Argentina. But the cup has already been given.’

‘I apologise to (the Egypt fans). We wanted to make them happy today. We didn’t know how to do that. But, by God, it’s not in our hands; it’s in the hands of the referee. The cup has already been decided.

‘Congratulations to Argentina on the World Cup. Congratulations. You don’t need anything else.’

Shortly after the game in Atlanta, FIFA confirmed that all officials for France’s quarter-final against Morocco will be Argentinian – the first time this tournament that all match referees will be from the same country, sparking more allegations of favouritism. 

Some fans noted in the fallout of Egypt’s defeat that Argentina have been awarded a remarkable eight penalties in their last 12 World Cup matches, with spot-kicks proving crucial to their triumph in Qatar in 2022.

Argentina will face either Switzerland or Colombia in the World Cup quarter-finals before a potential showdown with England in the semi-finals, should Harry Kane and Co prevail against Erling Haaland’s Norway on Saturday.

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