Day: November 18, 2025
LeBron James’ closest allies now in the spotlight for shocking NBA gambling probe
Two members of LeBron James’ inner circle are being investigated as part of the NBA’s ongoing inquiries into gambling and insider tipoffs.
It’s been nearly a month since the FBI released the shocking indictments of an NBA coach and player, along with a former NBA player.
‘That player was not named in the team’s injury report at the time. James did not play in that game.’
Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, current Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones were indicted. Rozier was accused of sharing insider information to gamblers, while Billups was allegedly involved in illegal poker games hosted by Italian mob families; Jones was reportedly involved in both.
Now as the NBA continues its investigation, disaster could be around the corner for the league as Los Angeles Lakers personnel and those in close contact with James have reportedly surrendered their cell phones to an inquiring law firm hired by the NBA.
According to the Athletic, firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz has been contacting NBA teams to ask for cell phones, phone records, and other items. The firm has reportedly sought information from 10 Lakers employees, including assistant trainer Mike Mancias and executive administrator Randy Mims. Both have very close ties to James and reportedly gave up their cell phones voluntarily.
RELATED: NBA coach, former player arrested in Mafia-tied nationwide gambling bust
Randy Mims (L) and LeBron James attend a quarterfinal game of the 2018 NBA Summer League between the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 15, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Mancias, 48, has reportedly been training James for around 20 years, while 50-year-old Mims has been associated with James since he was in high school in Akron, Ohio. James was drafted out of high school at 18 years old in 2003. Mims was described as James’ uncle in a 2003 Sports Illustrated article.
The player connection
The following information reported by the Athletic is circumstantial in nature, and it is important to note that neither James, Mancias, nor Mims have been charged with any crimes.
As part of his alleged betting scheme, former player Jones is accused by law enforcement of selling information about the injuries of two Lakers players to bettors on at least two occasions. In his indictment, Jones is labeled as a coach or teammate of a “prominent NBA player,” described as “Player 3,” whose relationship he abused to sell information to professional gamblers.
According to prosecutors, Jones found out on February 9, 2023, that “Player 3” would not play in a game between the Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks and told someone to place a “big bet” on the Bucks based on Player 3’s absence. That player was not named in the team’s injury report at the time. James did not play in that game.
Furthermore, on January 15, 2024, Jones allegedly sold his knowledge on a “Player 4,” who was allegedly injured. Jones was accused of passing on knowledge that Player 4’s performance would be impacted by the injury in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Federal authorities reportedly said that Jones “claimed to have learned from the trainer for ‘Player 3’ and ‘Player 4’ that ‘Player 4’ was hurt.”
RELATED: Former NBA star Paul Pierce tells men to CHEAT on their girlfriends
The Miami Heat’s LeBron James gets stretched by trainer Mike Mancias during practice for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida, Saturday, June 16, 2012. David Santiago/El Nuevo Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
More connections, more charges
James’ business manager and known business partner Maverick Carter reportedly told federal agents in 2021 that he bet on NBA games with an illegal bookmaker. In November 2021, Carter told federal agents he “could not remember placing any bets on the Lakers” and also denied placing bets for others, ESPN reported.
Carter revealed he put down about 20 bets on football and basketball games over the span of one year, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. The bookie Carter used, Wayne Nix, pleaded guilty to participating in a large, offshore betting ring.
Carter was named in the aforementioned 2003 Sports Illustrated piece as one of those “closest to James on a daily basis,” along with Mims. At the time, he was described as a former high school teammate who was three years older than James and employed by Nike to “take care of their $90 million man.”
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Mike Johnson changes course ahead of key Epstein vote
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is following in President Donald Trump’s footsteps ahead of the House vote to release the Epstein files.
After months of pushing back on Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s Epstein discharge petition, Trump changed course and encouraged House Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution Tuesday.
‘We have nothing to do with Epstein.’
“As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown,'” Trump said in a Truth Social Post Sunday.
Rank-and-file Republicans followed suit and began to embrace Massie’s petition publicly, and Johnson, who previously expressed misgivings about the discharge petition, later announced that he will vote for the resolution.
However, there are a few caveats.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Johnson conceded that he would vote in favor of the resolution but maintained that there were several “dangers” regarding victim privacy, inadequate handling of child sexual abuse materials, and the lack of protections for whistleblowers.
“There’s a handful of Republicans, Judiciary Committee members, and a few others who are really struggling, as I have been, about whether or not they can even vote yes today because of this,” Johnson said during the presser. “Because we don’t have an absolute guarantee that this will be fixed in the Senate.”
Despite these “dangers,” Johnson said he has a “high degree of confidence” that the Senate will implement the necessary changes, allowing him to vote yes on the resolution.
“Having now forced the vote, none of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency,” Johnson said. “So the only intellectually consistent position to have right now … is to allow for everyone to vote their conscience and to go on record to say, ‘Of course we’re for maximum transparency.'”
RELATED: ‘Temporary crumbs’: Out-of-touch Democrat gives stunning rebuke of Trump’s ‘No Tax on Tips’ policy
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Massie and Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna of California co-led the discharge petition, securing 218 signatures Wednesday to force a vote on the House floor. All 214 Democrats signed on to the petition alongside four Republicans: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Massie.
Although the petition received the support of only four Republicans, the vote is expected to pass with overwhelming GOP support after Trump gave the conference the green light on Sunday.
He also confirmed Monday that he would sign the resolution once it passes Congress.
“We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “All of his friends were Democrats.”
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Socialism ‘will f**k you’: Bill Maher warns Democrats the radical left is leading party to ruin
Bill Maher criticized those behind the Democratic Socialist movement, stating that the Democratic Party must move to the center if it wants to win elections.
During a Friday episode of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Maher described how Democrats have become divided, with some pushing socialist ideals and others advocating for a more centrist position. He compared the comments of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist, to those of Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger (D), who stated that the party should never “use the words ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again.”
‘Because socialism, to put it simply, just doesn’t work and has never worked.’
Spanberger also previously stated that if the party does not shift toward the center, “We will get f**king torn apart.”
“So how do we decide who’s right?” Maher asked. “Well, it turns out we don’t really have to flip a coin; we have the evidence. In 2024, 13 Democrats won in districts Trump also won.”
Maher noted that all of those Democrats were “moderates.”
“All the left-leaning think tanks have done autopsies on 2024, and they all came up with the same message: Move to the center,” he said.
RELATED: Bill Maher destroys the left on the trans issue: ‘You can’t just say s**t’
Zohran Mamdani. Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Maher stated that Generation Z has warmed to socialism because they attribute current affordability challenges to capitalism.
“No one wants to be approaching middle age and still writing their name on food before they put it in the fridge. So they’re quitting, quiet quitting, capitalism and texting socialism that they’re down to f**k,” Maher continued. “The thing is, socialism will f**k you. Because socialism, to put it simply, just doesn’t work and has never worked.”
“If you think New York can somehow reinvent this wheel, you’re in for a rude a-woke-ning,” Maher said.
He contended that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and Mamdani are “not Democrats.”
“They’ll be the first to tell you that. They’re Democratic Socialists, and that’s a very different thing, and I don’t think people know that yet,” he added.
RELATED: Mamdani sells socialism — and Republicans peddle the Temu version
Bernie Sanders. Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images For Fane
Maher explained that the U.S. already has “a lot of socialism,” citing Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, veteran benefits, Pell grants, COVID-era payments, farm subsidies, disability payments, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, corporate bailouts, and the military-industrial complex.
He slammed the Democratic Socialists of America as “radicals” who want “completely open borders.” He also accused the group of “p***y politics,” stating that they required convention attendees in 2025 to submit a negative COVID test. Maher criticized the DSA’s request for attendees not to clap but to use “jazz hands” instead, as well as the stipulation against wearing “aggressive scents” during the conference to accommodate those sensitive to sensory overload.
“This is who the Democrats are thinking of following? You know, Chuck Schumer ain’t perfect, but at least he doesn’t crumble into a heap when confronted with Chanel No. 5,” Maher stated.
“You may not clap in the traditional way,” he told his audience.
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Activist Democrat judge sabotages National Guard surge in Memphis after 100 children rescued
Officials, including activist judges, refuse to let Republican efforts to fight crime go unpunished, with the most recent challenge coming from Tennessee.
On Monday, a Tennessee judge blocked the deployment of the National Guard to clean up the city of Memphis.
‘I’m grateful for the President’s commitment to keeping Memphians safe by ensuring we have every federal resource at our disposal.’
According to the AP, Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal, a Democrat, decided that Republican Governor Bill Lee does not have the power to deploy the Tennessee National Guard in the absence of rebellion or invasion.
The judge found that the deployment of the National Guard likely violates the state’s military code and that state officials “are suffering or will suffer irreparable harm” if the injunction isn’t granted, according to NBC News.
Photo by AUSTIN JOHNSON/AFP via Getty Images
Moskal paused the order for at least five days to give the government time to file an “immediate application for permission to appeal.”
Democrat Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, a plaintiff in the case, said he was “pleased” with the decision.
“This is a positive step toward ensuring the rule of law applies to everyone, including everyday Tennesseans and even the Governor,” Harris said on X.
The National Guard arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 10 as part of the so-called Memphis Safe Task Force.
Upon the task force’s establishment in the middle of September, Governor Lee posted on X, “I’m grateful for the President’s commitment to keeping Memphians safe by ensuring we have every federal resource at our disposal.”
Democrat Memphis Mayor Paul Young, who is not party to the lawsuit, said that he wanted the task force to target violent offenders, a major problem in the city.
The Memphis Safe Task Force has been highly successful by many metrics, including recovering over 100 children from human trafficking networks by November.
Newsmax host Todd Starnes said in response to the judge’s ruling, “Will the Democrats also demand that the missing children recovered by the task force be returned to the human traffickers?”
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Aira at Jopay, ikinuwento ang ‘resbak” ng Sexbomb girls sa mga nanghihipong male fans
Ikinuwento nina Aira Bermudez at Jopay Paguia na may mga pagkakataon na nabibiktima silang mga miyembro ng “Sexbomb Dancers” ng mga lalaking fans na hindi mapigil ang panggigil sa kanila. Alamin kung papaano nila protektahan ang isa”t isa at ang ginagawa nilang “resbak.”
