(INGLEWOOD, Calif.) — The wife of the Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson left SoFi on a stretcher Sunday after going into labor during the Super Bowl LVI, a team spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
The news came hours after Samira Jefferson posted an Instagram Story from an interview with The Atlantic, during which she said she hoped her water wouldn’t break during the game.
The NFL star confirmed the birth of his and Samira’s second child on Instagram late Sunday. On his Story, he posted a photo of himself holding the newborn while in bed. He wrote, “x2!!!!!”
The Jeffersons are also parents to 5-year-old daughter Bella.
The Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23 to 20 Sunday.
ABC News’ Kaylee Hartung contributed to this report.
(BEIJING) — Russian figure skating star Kamila Valieva will be allowed to continue competing at the Winter Olympics despite failing a drug test, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Monday.
“On the basis of the very limited facts of this case, and after consideration of the relevant legal issues, [the court] has determined that no provisional suspension should be imposed on the Athlete,” CAS said in a two-page decision.
Denying Valieva a chance to compete “would cause her irreparable harm,” the court said.
It was revealed on Friday that 15-year-old Valieva tested positive for a banned drug in December ahead of the Russian Figure Skating Championships, according to the International Testing Agency.
“The late notification is extremely unfortunate, as it affects not only the athlete, but also the organizers of the Olympic Winter Games,” Matthieu Reeb, director general of CAS, said in a press conference in Beijing on Monday. “In other words, we would not have this case and I would not be here if these anti-doping test procedures would have been completed in one week or 10 days, as it is generally the case, for example, at the Olympic Games.”
Fridays news had thrown into question the ROC’s gold win in the figure skating team event, because of her participation, and her ability to continue competing in the Olympics. The United States won silver in the team event and Japan won bronze.
Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication, in a sample tested at a World Anti-Doping Agency accredited lab, according to the International Testing Agency. The drug is classified by WADA as a hormone and metabolic modulator, according to the ITA.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency was notified of the result of the test on Feb. 8, one day after the Team Event ended, according to the International Testing Agency. Valieva was provisionally suspended from participating in the Olympics, the ITA said. She is scheduled to participate in the women’s singles event on Feb. 15.
Because she is a minor, and with the case was not under the jurisdiction of the International Olympic Committee, the ITA did not reveal the banned substance was found in Valieva’s blood when it was notified.
Valieva appealed the suspension before the Russian Anti-Doping Agency on Feb. 9 and the body decided to lift the suspension, allowing her to compete, according to the ITA, which is in charge of drug testing in sports.
The ITA was notified of the test result on Feb. 8 after the Figure Skating Team Event, which Valieva participated in, was over, the body said on Friday.
The ITA led the appeal of the decision to lift the suspension along with the IOC and the International Skating Union to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the ITA announced on Friday.
A decision on the results of the team figure skating event will be made by the International Skating Union, according to the ITA.
The ITA said the current appeals procedure will only look into the provisional suspension placed on Valieva, not the full case. CAS said on Saturday it planned to hold a private video conference to examine the case of Valieva on Sunday and announce its decision on Monday.
Valieva made history in Beijing when she became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Winter Olympics. She won the women’s portion of the team event, earning the ROC 10 points.
Russian athletes are competing under the name “Russian Olympic Committee” due to an ongoing ban against Russia participating in the games due to its previous doping violations. This is the second Olympics in a row that Russia has been banned from.
The World Anti-Doping Agency banned the country from all international sporting events because of its doping violations.
The agency allowed Russian athletes who could prove they are clean and unconnected to the cover-up to compete.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
(BEIJING) — American bobsled athletes Kallie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor took gold and silver respectively in the first monobob competition in Olympics history.
Meyers Taylor’s silver was especially impressive considering she spent a week in quarantine after a positive COVID-19 test.
Humphries, meanwhile, who was competing for the United States in the Olympics for the first time after winning two golds for Canada in the two-person bobsled, dominated the competition, winning by more than 1.5 seconds.
Canada’s Christine de Bruin, who had held second entering the fourth and final run, earned the bronze. Meyers Taylor saved her best run for last, passing de Bruin to claim second.
Meyers Taylor, who had been selected as a flag bearer for Team USA at this year’s Winter Olympics, was forced to isolate after testing positive for the virus on Jan. 29 and missed the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games on Feb. 4.
Athletes inside the closed loop at the Olympics, which separates athletes, team officials and members of the press from the rest of the Chinese population, live under a daily regimen of temperature checks and COVID tests administered by workers dressed in full-body personal protective equipment.
She spent isolation away from her teammates, husband and young son, who has Down syndrome and is still nursing, she told ABC News earlier this month.
During that time, she missed crucial training days but was able to get an exercise bike dropped off to train in isolation.
Meyers Taylor was permitted to reenter the Olympic village on Feb. 5 after receiving two negative COVID-19 tests, per Olympics regulation.
Meyers Taylor ranks No. 1 in the world in two-man and monobob and is the only woman to win four Olympic bobsled medals for the U.S.
Going into her fourth Olympics, she had two silver medals and one bronze.
ABC News’ Ibtissem Guenfoud and Maggie Rulli contributed to this report.
Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
Sunday’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was not only a star-studded event, it made history as the first time that rap was at the forefront of the entertainment.
Dr. Dre set things off as he rose from an all-white platform while the intro to his classic hit “The Next Episode” filled the stadium. Snoop Dogg joined him shortly after and the two headliners got the crowd hyped.
The duo also performed the late Tupac Shakur‘s record “California Love” before handing the performance over to surprise guest 50 Cent, who rapped his debut single, “In Da Club,” while hanging upside-down from the ceiling.
After 50, the Queen of Hip-Hip/Soul, Mary J. Blige, took center stage to sing her hits “Family Affair” and “No More Drama.”
Next up was Kendrick Lamar, the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, who performed his records “M.A.A.D. City” and “Alright, before transitioning to Eminem‘s explosive entrance. Em performed his Academy Award-winning track “Lose Yourself” and ended his performance by taking a knee, a move former NFL quarterback Colin Kapernick used in 2016 to protest police brutality against the Black community.
After Em, it was time for a full-circle moment, which saw Dre and Snoop hit the stage one more time to perform “Still D.R.E.” as the previous artists joined them for a final bow.
The entire Halftime Show was a celebration of Los Angeles, as well as an homage to Dre, his career, and the many careers he had a hand in building.
And to make the deal even sweeter, the LA Rams became the Super Bowl 56 champs, winning 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
Sunday’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was not only a star-studded event, it made history as the first time that rap was at the forefront of the entertainment.
Dr. Dre set things off as he rose from an all-white platform while the intro to his classic hit “The Next Episode” filled the stadium. Snoop Dogg joined him shortly after and the two headliners got the crowd hype.
The duo also performed 2Pac‘s record “California Love” before handing the performance over to surprise guest 50 Cent, who rapped his debut single “In Da Club” while hanging upside down from the ceiling.
After 50, the Queen of Hip-Hip/Soul, Mary J. Blige took center stage to sing her hits “Family Affair” and “No More Drama.”
Next up, was Kendrick Lamar, who performed his records “M.A.A.D. City” and “Alright, before transitioning to Eminem‘s explosive entrance. Em performed his Academy Award-winning track “Lose Yourself” and ended his performance by taking a knee, a move Colin Kapernick used to protest police brutality against the Black community.
After Em, it was time for a full circle moment, which saw Dre and Snoop hit the stage one more time to perform “Still D.R.E.” as the previous artists joined them for a final bow.
The entire Halftime Show was a celebration of LA, an homage to Dre, his career, and the many careers he had a hand in building.
And to make the deal even sweeter, the LA Rams became the Super Bowl 56 champs, winning 23-20 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Shinedown just announced the details of their new album Planet Zero last month, but the “Second Chance” outfit already has a follow-up in the works.
“There’s a whole another record written,” frontman Brent Smith tells ABC Audio.
“That’s another thing that we’re trying to figure out right now, too,” he shares. “We didn’t just go in, write these potential songs, and then that was it. We had a whole other section of things.”
Naturally, of course, Smith and his band mates are focusing their energy for now on Planet Zero and its topical themes.
“These songs are the most important for right now,” Smith says.
That doesn’t seem to be a problem with fans, who’ve helped propel the Planet Zero lead single and title track to the top 10 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in just two weeks since its premiere.
Shinedown now has a total of 28 top-10 Mainstream Rock Airplay hits, tied with Tom Petty for second-most in the chart’s 40-year history. Foo Fighters have the most, with 29.
The ninth installment of the star-studded Rock Legends Cruise, which originally was supposed to take place sail in February 2021, but was postponed because the COVID-19 pandemic, finally sets sail today from Port Canaveral, Florida.
One of the nautical rock extravaganza’s headlining acts this year is Deep Purple, and the famed British hard-rock band’s founding drummer, Ian Paice, tells ABC Audio that this is the first time his group has ever played this type of event.
Asked how he feels about doing the cruise, Paice explains, “I’m not trying to get any pre-formed ideas about it. I’m sure it’ll be very nice to spend a week in Florida in the middle of winter on a boat where I don’t have to work too hard, and I can wander off to a bar whenever I feel like and have a nice exotic tropical drink.”
To warm up for the cruise, Deep Purple played two gigs in Florida this past week, which were among the band’s first live performances since the pandemic began in 2020. Since that time, Deep Purple has released two studio albums — 2020’s Whoosh! and last year’s covers collection Turning to Crime.
Paice says the band likley won’t include too much material from the new albums on the cruise, noting that the performance time is limited and “the people on that boat are gonna want to hear those classic songs.”
Deep Purple currently has no other U.S. shows scheduled for this year, but Paice says, “[A]ssuming that everybody is fit and healthy and still wants to do it…then [the band will tour the States in] 2023.”
The Rock Legends Cruise IX runs through February 18, and also features Styx, Don McLean, ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder, Blue Öyster Cult and many more.
(LOS ANGELES) — It began with a chance encounter at a resort in Cabo. Two men who were both at a proverbial fork in the road in their respective careers.
Matthew Stafford. The 12-year veteran quarterback who just finished up another losing season with the Detroit Lions. With little team success and suffering through several rebuilds, the 34-year-old Stafford could sense his window to win the biggest prize of all, the Super Bowl, was closing quickly. He knew a change of scenery was needed.
Sean McVay is the charismatic 36-year-old head coach of the Los Angeles Rams. The grandson of former NFL head coach and executive John McVay, Sean was coming off another tough playoff exit in the NFC Divisional round, just two years removed from his first Super Bowl appearance against the New England Patriots. The man many around league referred to as the “offensive guru” felt he had to shake up his team.
Stafford and McVay were introduced by a mutual friend. Over drinks, the two hit it off and bonded over their careers.
Now, one year later, both men finally reached the top of the hill that at one point seemed so fleeting and illusive: celebrating their first Super Bowl title, a thrilling 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. And to cap it all off, it was Stafford, with the ball in his hands, who delivered the eventual game winning touchdown pass to Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp with under two minutes to play to secure Los Angeles’s first Super Bowl title since 1999.
Talk about a perfect ending to an unbelievable story only fit for Hollywood.
“You put the ball in your best player’s hands when it matters the most, and that’s what we did with Matthew,” McVay, who became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl, said following the game.
“And he (Stafford) delivered in a big way and is a world champ.”
Despite this being his first-ever Super Bowl, the bright spotlight certainly didn’t faze Stafford.
“I love those kind of drives… you’re sitting in the huddle and the belief that I have and in the teammates that I have is just unwavering,” Stafford said.
“I believe in those guys so much and we got it done.”
But there looked like a time where the Rams would come up short in the big game yet again.
After a back-breaking interception closed out the first half, Los Angeles held on to a tight 13-10 lead. Cincinnati capitalized on this momentum swing to begin the third quarter. In less than five minutes, the Bengals came roaring back, thanks to a one play, 75-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Tee Higgins, and a field goal by rookie Evan McPherson.
But if there is one thing fans who have watched the Rams this season have come to realize, it’s that you can never count this team out. They have been in this spot before many times, including in the divisional round against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, and two weeks prior against the 49ers in the NFC Championship game.
The Rams defense clamped down, not allowing the Bengals to score a single point the rest of the way and sacking Burrow seven times.
Then, Stafford and Kupp rallied the offense after losing key receiver Odell Beckham Junior to a knee injury, finishing off one last comeback with the go-ahead touchdown to keep the Lombardi trophy in Los Angeles.
Finally, vindication for a team that went all-in, acquiring big name players like Stafford, Beckham and former Broncos All-Pro Von Miller to add to the main stays led by Kupp and arguably the league’s top defensive end Aaron Donald.
“You got to be relentless,” said Donald.
“You know it was right in front of us…all offseason you work, you train, you got camp, you got a long season just for this one game. You know we the last team standing.”
Just the way McVay had envisioned his return trip to the big game ending.
“You get over it (loss in last Super Bowl appearance). You know, as a competitor, you have to be able to do that,” said McVay.
“But certainly, this was really satisfying to see these guys and to see the looks on their faces.”
As for Stafford, all the ups and downs and heartbreaking seasons he endured early in his career was all worth it.
“For 12 years, that goal wasn’t reached and it tore me up inside,” said Stafford.
“But I knew I could keep playing and try to find a way. You know, the fact that we reached that goal is so special.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States and its allies will respond “swiftly and decisively” to any further aggression by Russia against Ukraine, according to a White House readout of a phone call between the two leaders.
The Sunday morning call took place as U.S. officials continue to warn that an attack from Russia could come “any day now” and urge all Americans still in Ukraine to leave the country.
“President Biden made clear that the United States would respond swiftly and decisively, together with its allies and partners, to any further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the White House said of the call. “The two leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence in response to Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s borders.”
In a tweet Sunday following the call, Zelensky said he and Biden discussed “security, economy, existing risks, sanctions and Russian aggression.”
The conversation with the Ukrainian president comes one day after Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where Biden similarly warned that should Russia take action against Ukraine, the U.S., along with its allies, “will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia.”
According to a White House official, the call between Biden and Zelensky, who last spoke at the end of January, lasted 51 minutes, a shorter call than Biden’s discussion with Putin on Saturday, which lasted just over an hour.
A senior administration official, speaking with reporters following the Saturday call with Putin, said the tone was “professional and substantive,” however, “there was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks.”
Since Friday, the Biden administration has ramped up its warnings about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine — which they say could happen as soon as this week.
“We have seen, over the course of the past 10 days, dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces and the disposition of those forces in such a way that they could launch a military action essentially at any time,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CBS on Sunday. “They could do so this coming week.”
Despite the warnings, Zelensky has continued to call for calm in the country and seemed to express frustration with the dire tone.
“The best friend of our enemy is panic in our country, and all that information which helps create only panic doesn’t help us,” Zelensky said Saturday.
