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Free agent Odell Beckham Jr. is speaking out after comments he made about managing a five-year, $100 million NFL contract ignited conversation online. The wide-ranging discussion began in October during an episode of “The Pivot Podcast,” where Beckham outlined why a contract of that size may not last as long as it appears once expenses are taken into account. The wide receiver, who was drafted No. 12 overall by the New York Giants in 2014, went on to play for the Cleveland Browns and Las Angeles Rams. Beckham last played for the Miami Dolphins before he became a free agent in 2024. According to Spotrac, his total career earnings sit at $102 million. His podcast remarks resurfaced this week and drew reactions from fans, commentators, and former players. On Tuesday, Dec. 2, Beckham posted a response to the attention on X. “Boy u can’t say nothin in this world nowadays, that’s why I been in my own lane my own world n put the way,” he wrote. “People love to take Shxt completely outta...
Americans may have to wait until next year to learn whether a proposed $2,000 tariff-funded dividend check becomes a reality, according to new comments from President Donald Trump. President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Nov. 17, that his administration is preparing for what he described as “dividends” tied to national tariff revenue, USA TODAY reports. He said the goal is to send “thousands of dollars” to Americans, estimating that the earliest timeline would be sometime around mid-2026. According to the outlet, during his conversation with the press, Trump said the government expects to start issuing payments “probably in the middle of next year, a little bit later than that,” adding that the proposed amounts would specifically support “moderate income, middle income” households. His remarks echo messaging he has repeated for months, including a Nov. 10 post on Truth Social where he said $2,000 checks would go to “low and middle income USA Citizens.” The idea...
Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has announced plans to invest at least $1 billion in Zimbabwe to develop large-scale projects in cement production, power generation, and fuel infrastructure. The announcement followed his meeting with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the capital of Harare, Reuters reports. According to Reuters, the Dangote Group’s planned investment includes a cement plant, a power generation facility, and a fuel pipeline. Business Insider Africa adds that the initiative represents one of Zimbabwe’s most significant private-sector commitments in recent years. Dangote said the timing reflects improvements in Zimbabwe’s economic environment under Mnangagwa’s administration. “Mnangagwa has turned the economy around,” he said, per the outlet. “That really gave us the confidence that this is the right time for us to come and invest.” This is not Dangote’s first attempt to establish operations in the country. In 2015, Dangote Cement...
AT&T will pay out $177 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over two customer data breaches revealed last year — and the deadline to file a claim is approaching, according to CNET. In one breach, which occurred in 2019 but wasn’t reported until March 30, 2024, hackers released sensitive information, including “a combination of names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, account passcodes, billing account numbers, and Social Security numbers,” on the dark web, according to the court-authorized settlement website managed by the Kroll Settlement Administration LLC. Another breach, disclosed on July 12, 2024, involved the illegal download of limited data on April 14, 2024, including customer details and phone numbers linked to affected accounts. The exposed information may have included call data of current and former AT&T customers, such as “the telephone numbers with which those customers interacted, counts of those interactions, aggregate call durations...
The U.S. Mint in Philadelphia , PA, produced the last penny on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, The Associated Press (AP) reports . “God bless America, and we’re going to save the taxpayers $56 million,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said as he pressed the final penny , per AP, officially ending the manufacture of the 1-cent coin that has circulated since 1793. Beach noted that the half-cent was the last coin to be discontinued in 1857. President Donald Trump ordered the penny’s phase-out in February 2025, citing rising production costs that had climbed to nearly 4 cents per coin. “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let’s rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.” Pennies will remain legal tender, but no new ones will be made. Mint officials shared...
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the world’s largest movie theater chain, reported a net loss of $298.2 million for the third quarter of 2025, while generating $1.3 billion in revenue for the period ending Sept. 30, according to Variety. The outlet reports that the company’s revenue slightly exceeded analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion for the quarter. However, the net loss widened significantly compared to the $20.7 million loss reported during the same period last year. AMC attributed the steeper loss to non-cash charges tied to a debt refinancing completed in July 2025, Variety notes. On an adjusted basis, the company reported a loss of $110 million, or 21 cents per share, compared to 4 cents per share in the third quarter of 2024. Admissions revenue for the quarter was reported at $715.1 million, a drop from $744.2 million in the prior year, according to Variety. Food and beverage sales also declined, reaching $451.8 million compared to $490.4 million in 2024. These numbers...
Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick have ordered an investigation into alleged financial mismanagement at Texas Southern University (TSU), one of the nation’s largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities . Abbott announced Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, that he directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to investigate after State Auditor Lisa Collier reported significant “deficiencies in oversight, contracting, processes, and reporting” — affecting “hundreds of millions” of state funds. He also asked the Texas Comptroller’s Office to help the Texas Rangers “fully analyze” the university’s finances. “The Texas State Auditor uncovered significant financial and operational issues with Texas Southern University’s accounting procedures, alleging the potential misappropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Abbott said. “Waste, fraud, and abuse will not be tolerated. TSU’s Board of Regents and all university officials must fully cooperate with these investigations...
President Donald Trump has proposed a bold plan to return some of the tariff revenue collected by the federal government directly to Americans — potentially putting $2,000 in the pockets of middle- and low-income households, according to Business Insider. Trump outlined the idea in a series of posts on Truth Social, where he described a “dividend” funded by tariffs. “A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” he wrote, emphasizing that those earning above certain thresholds would not be included. Although posts about the tariff rebate checks have attracted significant attention, they do not represent official government action. How The Proposal Would Work In corporate terms, a dividend is a distribution of profits to shareholders. In this case, Trump’s plan, according to Business Insider, would treat Americans as “shareholders” of the federal government, distributing a portion of revenue collected from import tariffs. Trump...
For anyone hoping that new IRS direct deposit relief payments would arrive this November, the IRS and federal officials say no new stimulus or relief payments have been approved for 2025. IRS Direct Deposit Relief Payment The claims follow months of online discussion about potential federal aid programs. According to USA Today, payments have been referred to under labels such as “direct deposit relief,” “tariff rebate,” or “DOGE dividend.” The IRS says no new federal stimulus payments or rebates have been authorized, per the outlet. The only proposal under consideration is the American Worker Rebate Act of 2025, introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), which would provide payments ranging from $600 to $2,400 to qualifying taxpayers if enacted. As of November, the bill has not moved through Congress, and no payments are currently authorized. USA Today also noted that the last round of federal stimulus payments was distributed in response to the pandemic. Individuals who did not...
Citibank has lowered its base lending rate by 0.25% on Oct. 30, 2025, from 7.25% to 7.00%, according to a Citibank news release. This follows a similar reduction in September, the bank announced, and comes a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its policy rate to a 3.75%–4.00% range, the lowest in three years, CNN reports. Borrowers with floating-rate loans tied to Citibank’s base rate may see lower interest payments, potentially saving hundreds of dollars annually, according to The Economic Times. The cut aligns the bank’s lending rate with the U.S. prime rate, standardizing borrowing costs for individuals and businesses. Loans such as mortgages, auto financing, and business credit lines tied to the base rate will see immediate changes in monthly payments. Citigroup, Citibank’s parent company, operates in more than 180 countries, offering personal banking, wealth management, and capital markets services, the outlet notes. Citi has a market capitalization of $177.36 billion,...
Millions of people across the U.S. felt the effects of Amazon Web Services (AWS) going offline. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the global outage on Monday, Oct. 20, disrupted access to websites, apps, and services across sectors. As recovery continues, new details are emerging about just how integral AWS is to everyday digital life. According to CNN, the outage rippled through nearly every aspect of daily routines. People couldn’t order coffee through mobile apps, teachers couldn’t access lesson plans, and smart home systems like Ring and Blink cameras stopped working. For many, it was more than just an inconvenience. Hospitals also lost key communications tools, and customers at digital banks such as Chime couldn’t access their money. The shutdown underscored how essential AWS has become to digital infrastructure. The platform provides the behind-the-scenes computing power for millions of businesses, offering storage, servers, and data management tools that keep operations...
The U.S. government has been shut down since Oct. 1, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Two weeks later, both the Republicans and Democrats show little sign of compromise. Senate Votes On Government Shutdown On Oct. 14, the Senate rejected the House-passed stopgap funding bill for an eighth time, a bill that would have funded the federal government through Nov. 21, NBC News reports . Another vote is scheduled for Oct. 15, according to the outlet. Republicans argue that Senate Democrats should approve the short-term funding measure to reopen the government and address policy differences separately, while Democrats insist that any funding bill must include provisions to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. Republicans have accused Democrats of holding the government “hostage” to their healthcare priorities. On the other hand, Democrats see the debate over healthcare funding as a strategic opportunity to unite their party after the 2024 election and reset the narrative ahead of the 2026...
Will there be another round of a federal stimulus or state-issued refund? The Austin American-Statesman reports that officials have no confirmed plans for new payments for Texans. The outlet shares that any federal relief would require approval from Congress. Some states have recently issued their own relief payments. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, New York is sending one-time inflation refund checks of up to $400 to more than 8 million residents throughout the state. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Treasury Department announced in September that it would send property-tax relief payments to nearly 300,000 residents, including renters, according to the New Jersey Digest. Texas, however, has not launched a similar program, per the Austin American-Statesman. At the federal level, lawmakers have not authorized a fourth round of stimulus payments, and the IRS has not scheduled any new direct deposit checks. President Donald Trump suggested rebate payments funded by revenue from recent...
The IRS has announced several updates that will impact how Americans file their taxes over the next two years. According to CNN, the agency released new details about inflation-based adjustments and changes resulting from the tax law passed in July. These updates will affect federal tax filings for both 2025 and 2026. How much the changes matter will depend on an individual’s income and deductions, but CNN reports that most taxpayers may see “modest relief” as thresholds move higher in response to inflation. Standard Deduction Increases The IRS confirmed that the standard deduction — the amount most taxpayers claim vs. itemized — is rising again. For tax year 2025 (returns filed in 2026), the deduction increases to $15,750 for single filers, compared to the planned $15,000 before the tax law passed; $31,500 instead of $30,000 for married couples filing jointly; and $23,625 for heads of households, up from $22,500. By 2026, those amounts will rise further due to inflation adjustments...
Electronic Arts (EA), the video game publisher behind major franchises like “Madden NFL” and “The Sims,” is being taken private by a group of investors. According to AP News, EA will reportedly be acquired in the largest private equity-funded buyout in history, valued at $55 billion. EA shareholders will receive $210 per share in cash. So, who bought EA? The consortium includes: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF): Held a 9.9% stake in EA before the deal, the largest insider stake, and will roll over that investment. With “intentions to scale,” PIF owns Savvy Gaming Group and has purchased companies such as ESL, FACEIT, and Scopely. Silver Lake Partners: A private equity firm focused on technology and media investments. Silver Lake is also part of the new Oracle-led joint venture set to take on management of TikTok’s U.S. operations. Affinity Partners: Led by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the firm is a participant in the buyout. The transaction requires...