World
Hamby Disputes WNBA Claim That It’s Not Her Employer
Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby insists the WNBA is misapplying case precedent concerning the prospective employment of college athletes and minor league baseball players as a way to avoid scrutiny in her employment retaliation lawsuit, a new court filing asserts.
Hamby’s attorneys filed a memorandum responding to a recent WNBA court filing where the league insisted that Hamby’s employment lawsuit fails in part because—the league maintains—the WNBA is not her employer. While Hamby contends the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces were her joint employer during a time when she says she experienced unlawful discrimination on account of being pregnant, the WNBA argues it is not a joint employer of players who are employed by, and sign employment contracts with, privately owned WNBA franchises.
The WNBA drew support from Lamar Dawson v. NCAA, a 2019 case where a USC football player failed to establish the NCAA and Pac-12 were his joint employers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reasoned that while the NCAA and Pac-12 regulated the relationship between Dawson and USC–including by setting eligibility rules and football scheduling–they didn’t hire or fire Dawson and didn’t place him at USC. The WNBA described its relationship with WNBA teams in an analogous light. The WNBA regulates the employment relationship between teams and players, including by enforcing disciplinary rules and overseeing a player draft process that gives teams the chance to draft (and employ) a player. But the WNBA insists it doesn’t directly control players.
Not so fast, Hamby argues in a brief authored by Artur Davis, Dana Sniegocki and Erin Norgaard of HKM Employment Attorneys.
Hamby maintains a key distinguishing feature between Dawson and her is that while college athletes are not (save for Dartmouth College men’s basketball players) unionized employees, WNBA players are unionized. The WNBPA negotiates a collective bargaining agreement with the WNBA that specifies terms and conditions of employment and outlines league authority. There is no such equivalent in college sports since unionization requires, among other things, employment recognition.
As Hamby tells it, the WNBA player-WNBA arrangement empowers the league with considerably more influence over WNBA players than the NCAA or Pac-12 enjoyed over USC football players in 2019. More specifically, Hamby cites “the structure of compensation and benefits, the rules of the free agent market, and the power to discipline and police misconduct” as distinguishing the WNBA’s role.
Hamby also points out that while Dawson was decided only five years ago, that was a different era in college sports. The world of college athlete compensation has changed dramatically since then. The days of amateurism, as that term was understood in 2019, are over and never coming back.
To that point, in NCAA v. Alston (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the NCAA is subject to ordinary antitrust scrutiny and violated antitrust law by limiting how colleges compensate college athletes for education-related expenses. That same year, the NCAA withdrew its restraint on college athletes using their right of publicity by adopting the interim NIL policy.
Since 2021, college athletes have generated earnings in NIL deals while some NIL collectives operate as pay-for-play vehicles. The NCAA is also attempting to settle the House, Carter and Hubbard antitrust cases by paying athletes for lost opportunities to earn compensation via NIL, video games and broadcasts and letting colleges directly pay athletes for media rights, ticket sales, sponsorships and NIL in a salary-cap like model. Most on point, college athletes have had recent success arguing they’re employees. It’s logical to assume that if Dawson were litigated in 2024, its trajectory would be different in ways that better align with Hamby’s arguments.
Further, Hamby accuses the WNBA of giving short shrift to another joint employment case in sports: Aaron Senne, et al. v. MLB. That 2022 case, which concluded via a settlement, concerned minor league baseball players suing MLB, which they argued was their joint employer and on the hook to pay them no less than minimum wage and overtime pay as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. A U.S. magistrate judge found that MLB functioned as a joint employer given its control over the entry level draft, the ability to discipline players and set first-year salaries. The WNBA reasoned Senne is inapplicable since it didn’t involve the types of claims pleaded by Hamby and didn’t concern a unionized employee like Hamby.
But Hamby argues the WNBA, which she criticizes for “cosign[ing] Senne to a footnote” in its brief, is “silent” as to whether the elements of joint control discussed in Senne apply to her case. She said it “speaks volumes” that the WNBA, at least as Hamby tells it, doesn’t adequately address analogous conduct by the WNBA in economic and disciplinary powers.
U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon, who presides in Nevada, will weigh the competing arguments in deciding whether to dismiss Hamby’s lawsuit.
World
2 people killed in collision between jet and vehicle at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, source says
NEW YORK (AP) — An Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on the runway after landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, crushing the nose of the plane, according to authorities and photos of the wreckage.
Two people were killed, according to a person familiar with the investigation into the crash. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an active investigation.
Two Port Authority employees who were traveling in the fire truck also were injured, the person said.
There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline. The flight originated at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement that the jet had struck a rescue and firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident at about 11:45 p.m. The airport was closed as of 3 a.m. to facilitate the investigation, officials said.
Photos and videos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the aircraft, with cables and debris hanging from a mangled cockpit. Nearby, a damaged emergency vehicle lay on its side.
Stairways used to evacuate passengers from aircraft were pushed up to the emergency exits on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ. The impact left the jet with its crumpled nose tilted upward.
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.
“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller can then be heard frantically diverting incoming aircraft from landing.
Jazz Aviation issued a statement confirming the accident and noting the passenger and crew list was preliminary and subject to confirmation.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the incident.
World
Trump, Starmer agree Strait of Hormuz must reopen as Middle East conflict escalates
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President Donald Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday to discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, with a focus on the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore global shipping.
The leaders discussed the current situation in the Middle East, and in particular, the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping, Downing Street said in a statement.
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Keir Stamer, UK prime minister, during a news conference providing an update on the situation in the Middle East, at Downing Street in London, UK, on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“They agreed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market. They agreed to speak again soon.”
The call came amid a rapidly intensifying conflict in the region, with Iran blocking the strategically vital strait since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iranian targets on Feb. 28.
The military action triggered swift retaliation from Tehran and has since escalated into a broader regional war as Iran has sent missiles into numerous neighboring countries not directly involved in the initial conflict.
UK NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DEPLOYED TO ARABIAN SEA BEFORE IRAN TARGETS KEY US-UK BASE: REPORTS
President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House, on St. Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
On March 21, Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran demanding the reopening of the key maritime route, through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that failure to comply would result in further U.S. action, including potential strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure.
EU PUSHES FOR END OF IRAN WAR IN A MANNER WHERE ‘EVERYBODY SAVES FACE’
Bulk Carrier, Belray, in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz on March 22, 2026 in northern Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
Sunday’s conversation between Trump and Starmer perhaps reflected a thaw in the tense relationship between the two leaders.
Trump had publicly criticized the U.K. government, stating that Britain “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing the U.S. to use British military bases for strikes targeting Iranian missile sites.
Starmer had also maintained that the use of U.K. bases could only be justified under the principle of “collective self-defense” in the region.
He had initially declined to support the U.S.-Israeli military operation, drawing repeated criticism from the White House.
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Meanwhile, Trump appeared to apply public pressure, sharing a “Saturday Night Live” clip Sunday mocking the British prime minister’s handling of the crisis.
World
French elections: Paris stays left as far right makes mixed gains
France’s municipal runoff delivered a mixed verdict for the country’s main political forces on Sunday: the Left held Paris with Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire, the far-right and its allies scored a major symbolic win in Nice, and mainstream parties pointed to resilience in several big and mid-sized cities ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
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Municipal elections in France are local contests to elect mayors and local councils, but they are closely watched because they test party organisation, alliance-building, and grassroots strength before national campaigns begin.
In the capital, Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire defeated conservative rival Rachida Dati, ensuring Paris remains under left-wing control after outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo chose not to seek another term.
The result extends a quarter-century of left-led rule of the capital and hands to the Socialists one of the most visible prizes of the night. Grégoire presented the result as a mandate for a progressive vision of the city.
Elsewhere, the left also had reasons to celebrate. In Marseille, Socialist incumbent Benoît Payan was re-elected after the far right had hoped to seize France’s second-largest city.
While in Lyon, Green mayor Grégory Doucet held on after a hard-fought race against his conservative rival, which was reshaped by a last-minute merger with the list of hard-left party France Unbowed.
Socialists record strong showing
The Socialists also held or performed strongly in several regional cities, reinforcing the impression of a broader recovery for the traditional left.
For the far right, the picture was more complex. National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella hailed what he called the party’s biggest local breakthrough, and RN kept the southwestern city of Perpignan while also winning smaller municipalities.
But the party fell short in several of the larger cities it had targeted, notably Marseille, Toulon and Nîmes. The exception was Nice, where Éric Ciotti — once a senior figure in the mainstream right and now allied with RN — won the race, giving the far right and its partners control of France’s fifth-largest city.
The elections also brought clearer signs of fragmentation on the centre-right and in President Emmanuel Macron’s camp.
Former prime minister Édouard Philippe was re-elected in Le Havre, strengthening his standing as a possible 2027 contender, while Macron’s centrist forces could point to a symbolic win in Bordeaux, where Renaissance candidate Thomas Cazenave defeated outgoing Green mayor Pierre Hurmic.
At the same time, the loss of Macron’s former PM, François Bayrou, in southwestern Pau, underlined the vulnerabilities of the broader presidential alliance.
Turnout remained a concern. According to the Interior Ministry, participation in mainland France stood at 48.1% at 5 p.m., higher than the Covid-disrupted 2020 election but still below pre-pandemic levels.
Taken together, the results do not predict who will succeed Macron in 2027. But they do sketch the political landscape from which that contest will emerge: a left that can still win major cities, a mainstream right that remains locally entrenched, a centre searching for durable footholds, and a far right that is growing but may still face limits in the country’s biggest urban battlegrounds.
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