Latest news with #Fredette
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ban on state seizure of Wabanaki land passes Legislature, but likely to be vetoed
William Nicholas, chief of the Passamoquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, testifies in support of prohibiting eminent domain on tribal lands before the Judiciary Committee on April 4. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) Legislation that would prevent the state from being able to seize tribal land for public use passed with bipartisan support in the Maine Legislature Friday, winning over many Republicans who generally were less supportive of previous attempts to provide the Wabanaki Nations greater sovereignty. However, initial votes show that support may not be enough to override an expected veto from Gov. Janet Mills. With 11 Republicans joining the Democratic majority, the Maine House of Representatives voted 86-60 on Friday in favor of the bill, preceded by ample debate. The Senate followed suit with a 20-12 vote but no discussion. However, a two-thirds vote in both chambers would be needed to override a veto. LD 958, which has bipartisan co-sponsors and received a favorable committee vote, would prohibit the state from exercising something called eminent domain on current trust and reservation land. 'This is an issue that small government conservatives and civil justice liberals can agree on,' bill sponsor House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) told Maine Morning Star. However, others in his caucus spoke against the bill during floor debate, highlighting that their opposition to this issue is attached to their overall opposition to tribal sovereignty efforts. 'I cannot support this measure because I believe the issue is an issue to some degree less about eminent domain than it is about tribal sovereignty,' Rep. Ken Fredette (R-Newport) said. Fredette went on to compare the Wabanaki Nations to states and municipalities. Governor opposed to latest change to Settlement Act backed by Wabanaki Nations 'Our states are not absolute sovereign from our federal government,' Fredette said. 'Our towns are not absolute sovereign from the state in and the reality is that the tribes are not absolutely sovereign from the state of Maine.' Most other federally recognized tribes are already afforded protection against states being able to seize tribal land for public use. However, the Wabanaki Nations are not, due to repercussions from the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. This land settlement agreement has resulted in the tribes being treated more akin to municipalities than sovereign nations like other federally recognized tribes. Overhauling this act in its entirety is the Wabanaki Nations' broader goal for greater recognition of their sovereignty. The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, a principle known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws. In 1834, the federal Indian Nonintercourse Act prohibited land transactions with tribes unless authorized by Congress, but the Settlement Act specified that that federal law was not applicable to the Wabanaki Nations. 'As an ardent supporter of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights I stand opposed to the government taking people's property through eminent domain,' Faulkingham said. 'It is even more egregious to threaten seizure of property from sovereign tribes who have suffered from historic injustices of land seizures in the past.' LD 958 would amend the Settlement Act to prohibit the state from exercising eminent domain on trust and reservation land, which is protected under federal law, though fee land — or private property for which the owner owns the title — would still be subject to the state taking. The bill would also amend the 2023 Mi'kmaq Nation Restoration Act to make this change for the fourth Tribe of the Wabanaki Nations, the Mi'kmaq Nation, which wasn't included in the Settlement Act. 'I feel like this is a no brainer,' Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance Maulian Bryant told Maine Morning Star. 'We should have tribal land protected from state seizure, just like other tribes around the country.' Throughout committee consideration of the bill, it was amended to incorporate a proposed change from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce that the prohibition would only apply to current reservation and trust lands, and not land that may be put into trust in the future. Each of the Wabanaki Nations are eligible to acquire up to 150,000 acres of trust land in specific areas identified in the Settlement Act. Several tribes have already acquired most of that. While the Judiciary Committee accepted that amendment, Passamaquoddy Tribal Rep. Aaron Dana, who is on the committee, told Maine Morning Star that some tribal leaders believed that compromise shouldn't have been made. 'We don't want to keep negotiating away everything,' Dana said. 'We've been negotiating everything away since the 1980s.' 'What we don't know is what we don't know,' Fredette said on the floor. 'Would we, as a state, for the best interest of the state, require a sliver of a piece of land? I don't know the answer to that.' Fredette repeated many of the same talking points that the governor's counsel, Jerry Reid, told the Judiciary Committee during a work session in which he shared that Mills is opposed to the bill. After not testifying during the bill's public hearing, Reid said on April 9 that Mills is concerned the bill could prevent the state government from addressing unpredictable future infrastructure needs, an issue also raised in written testimony from the Maine Department of Transportation. When pressed by committee members, Reid said he didn't have a specific example of an infrastructure project that would warrant seizing tribal land but that, 'We need to write the law mindful of the potential for problems.' Republican Sen. David Haggan of Penobscot, who was one of four committee members to vote against the bill in committee, invited Reid and Tim Woodcock, attorney with Eaton Peabody, to provide a question and answer session about the bill, which was only attended by Republican legislators on May 8. A handout from that meeting listed similar key points, pointing to uncertain future needs and arguing that the state needs to be mindful of the interests of the 1.4 million non-tribal Maine citizens, as well. 'Informational sessions like this are not unusual,' the governor's press secretary Ben Goodman said when asked why the session was held. So far, sweeping changes to the Settlement Act have failed due to opposition from Mills, though an omnibus sovereignty bill has been carried over into next year. Instead, the governor, lawmakers and Wabanaki leaders have successfully made some targeted adjustments, including expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes last year. Craig Francis, a tribal attorney and Passamaquoddy citizen, told Maine Morning Star that the Wabanaki Nations hadn't expected the eminent domain issue to garner the pushback from the Mills administration that it has. 'We're trying to approach change that way because of what the governor has laid that out as a path forward,' Francis said, referring to the piecemeal approach. 'We didn't really see eminent domain as that big of an issue as her office is making it out to be.' The state has not exercised eminent domain over tribal lands since the Settlement Act, a point Fredette also made on the House floor. This also means that, currently, the state's ability to exercise eminent domain over tribal lands is not actually clear. 'I suspect that even if the state were going to attempt to take a piece of tribal land by eminent domain, it would be sufficiently litigated frankly for years before that were to happen,' Fredette said on the floor, 'and so I think this is a bill that's in search of a problem.' Meanwhile, Francis said the likelihood of litigation is a reason to clarify rights now in the bill. 'It leaves open legal questions that ultimately will end up having to be resolved by a court,' Francis said. 'We're trying to resolve it amicably because there's always room for conversation in the future if [the state] needed land.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
USA Rare Earth cuts ribbon on new lab in Stillwater
STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) — Rare earth minerals is a term we've heard a lot since President Trump took office. The U.S. needs them and other countries have them. The country's first fully domestic mine-to-magnet rare earth supply chain is under construction in Stillwater. The ribbon was cut Tuesday on the new USA Rare Earth lab in Stillwater. The company is capable of building small rare earth magnet prototypes. 'It translates electricity into motion,' said Josh Ballard, CEO of Rare Earth. 'Everyone wants smaller lighter motors with lots of energy in them,' said Bob Fredette, Director of Magnet Operations. 'the only way do that is centered neodymium iron boron magnets.' LOCAL NEWS: Veterans get free flight on WWII plane Fredette, also known as 'Magnet Bob,' said these magnets are in everything from your smartphone, to electric vehicles, and even fighter jets. 'Your life would cease to exist as you know it without these rare earth magnets,' said Fredette. They're also the strongest magnets known to man. 'You can see how strong they are. Right through your hand,' said Fredette. 'If you smack them together they're even harder to break apart.' Ballard said right now, China controls a majority of the supply chain. 'We have this choke-point with china where they can basically control what technologies we can build and what we cannot,' said Ballard. 'That's not a good place to be.' Now, the US is trying to take advantage of rare earth state-side. 'We're also pursuing energy and mineral deals all over the world,' said Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff at a recent press conference. Staying in the USA, once their mine at Round Top Mountain is up and running, the long-term goal is to process minerals in Texas. Then, it will ship processed minerals to this 310,000 sq/ft facility to make hundreds of millions of magnets. 'This facility, once it's fully complete, will be the largest domestic-centered magnet facility in the united states by a long shot,' said Ballard. LOCAL NEWS: Husband and wife, both veterans, living life to fullest after husband's severe stroke Ballard said Stillwater was strategically chosen. 'There's low-cost electricity here, there's plenty of water,' said Ballard. The goal is also to attract engineers from OSU and create a couple hundred new jobs in Stillwater. 'It also just increases activity in town right? More visitors around town,' said Mayor Will Joyce of Stillwater. 'That rising tide lifts all boats.' The plant's full potential will take a couple of decades to realize, but Stillwater is excited to be at the center of the red hot rare earth industry. 'We can find all of that here in Oklahoma,' said Ballard. The goal is to start commercial manufacturing the magnets by early next year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
BYU legend makes major announcement about future plans
Jimmer Fredette isn't just rewriting his own story—he's looking to reshape an entire sport. On a recent appearance on The Today Show, the former BYU sensation shared his excitement about taking on a powerful new role: managing director of USA Men's 3x3 basketball. His mission? Simple, but ambitious. 'We're trying to bring some more notoriety to the 3x3 game here in the U.S.,' Fredette said. 'I'm excited to be a part of it… and be able to hopefully win something in LA.' Fredette's journey from Provo legend to international basketball ambassador is well-documented. In 2011, he was the NCAA's National Player of the Year, averaging 28.9 points per game while electrifying Cougar Nation. Now, at 36, he's pivoting from scorer to strategist, tasked with building the coaching staff and player pool for a sport still carving out its American identity. Advertisement After retiring from professional basketball in April, Fredette's appointment came swiftly—but not surprisingly. USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley praised him as a 'beloved athlete on the halfcourt' and a 'natural fit' for this pioneering role. Fredette's competitive resume includes gold medals from the 2023 Pan American Games and 2022 AmeriCup, and a stint on the U.S. team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The U.S. men's 3x3 team fell short in Paris, missing the podium after Fredette suffered a tournament-ending injury. That loss still stings—but it's fueling his vision for 2028. 'I'm determined to help build a sustainable program for years to come,' he said. His leadership marks the first time USA Basketball has named a dedicated figurehead to oversee the 3x3 men's national program. Related: BYU sparks major buzz with another addition through the transfer portal Fredette's BYU days were legendary—but his next act might just be his most impactful. Cougar fans, take notice: Jimmer isn't done winning. He's just moved to a new court. Advertisement Related: Getting to know Xavion Staton: BYU's 7-foot shot-blocking sensation Related: BYU Basketball players are turning heads for unexpected choice
NBC Sports
08-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Jimmer Fredette talks new USA Basketball role, retirement, Olympic 3x3 change he'd like to see
Jimmer Fredette announced both his retirement from basketball and his new role in the sport — USA Basketball men's 3x3 national team managing director — last month. Fredette recently discussed both moves as he ventures into the administrative side of the sport. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity: OlympicTalk: When did you know you were ready to retire? Fredette: My original plan was play the Paris Olympics, hopefully medal, and then be able to ride off into the sunset, right? Of course, what happened — getting injured right in the beginning of the Olympics and not being able to compete the full time — was definitely difficult. I had a long rehab ahead of me. I knew it was going to be an eight-, nine-month rehab. As I was going through it, I wasn't playing basketball, but I was just kind of preparing to kind of get back into shape. As I thought about it, I was like, man, I kind of don't love the grind anymore. I don't love being out there and trying to work out and be in the gym every single day like I had been. For me, that was a big sign, because I loved that throughout my career. That was my favorite part was the grind of it, was the practicing, was the getting better. That's what made me the player that I was. So when I had that type of feeling, I was like, I don't want to force it, it's probably a good sign. Then decided to make it official. It just felt like the right time. Now being home with the three kids, and being the dad and doing all those things has been really rewarding. OlympicTalk: If you could change one thing about Olympic 3x3 basketball, what would it be? Fredette: I would have, in our case of what happened in Paris, if someone does get injured, that you would be able to sub a guy in so that they could still have four players. That's one of the biggest things that we've talked about, just because it's such a difficult and unfair advantage to have four versus three players when you're going through the Olympic process. I get it completely (why they don't have it). There's costs involved. There's stuff that goes on, but a general FIBA 3x3 event is only two days, and you only play five games if you win it. You can play with three guys and get away with it. Whereas the Olympics, you're playing seven days and 10 games (if you get to the final). It's just a way longer period. It's a way different time frame than we normally do, so if someone does go down with a rolled ankle or whatever happens, I feel like you should be able to have at least one person that's an alternate that can sub in, and then that's it, just one time, and then it's over with. OlympicTalk: Would you like to see a U.S. Olympic Trials type event for 3x3? Fredette: It's fun to watch trials, right? People like to get familiar with the players before the Olympics. I think we can do some type of form of that, but it's a little interesting. With 3x3, you're not just going through and being like, all right, I'm going to pick this guy, this guy, this guy, and they're just going to come together, and then I pick the team, and then it's over. These guys are going to be playing a lot for the next three to four years. It'd be fun to have, maybe, a tournament or a trials or something like that, where you could see the collection of players together that we would be able to at least showcase — this is who is in the pool. These are the guys that have been playing for the last two to three years that care about the sport, that have gotten better. They're playing professionally, and now you get to see them and know who they are. It wouldn't be like the final pick or anything like that for me, because it would be a whole long process, right? From that perspective, you can have a bad tournament, but still be on the team, because you have had a whole body of work. But I think it would be fun to be able to do that in a capacity where the USA would be able to see it. OlympicTalk: For the first two Olympics in 3x3, eligibility rules made it difficult for NBA players to participate — they needed to have competed in 3x3 events outside of the Olympics. Would you like to see those rules relaxed to make it more accommodating for NBA players? Fredette: I think it would be great for the sport somewhat. But I also do love the fact that it's (currently) kind of like a true Olympic story, where these guys are going through for years, and some of them have had other jobs, or do other things or play in other leagues, and then they play 3x3 as well professionally. It's fun to see guys that have been homegrown, that have been doing 3x3 for so long, to be able to get rewarded and play in the Olympics at the end. I think it would be good from a marketing standpoint. Obviously, if you had some of the top NBA players that aren't on the 5x5 team, maybe come and play 3x3. From a branding perspective, obviously, people would watch and be aware of that. But I do like the idea of guys that are kind of homegrown and playing professionally being able to get their shine as well. OlympicTalk: The 3x3 World Cup is next month. Are you selecting that team so early in your USA Basketball tenure, and if so, how is that looking? Fredette: For sure, I'll still pick that team, but our USA Basketball player pool is pretty small right now. That was intentional, because we had myself and all of my team were kind of playing through the Olympics, and that's who they kind of put their money into, and all that stuff. There were other guys playing, obviously, but not necessarily through USA Basketball. So coming into 2025 we knew we were going to have a little bit of a smaller pool, but we still have a really good team that's out there playing in Team Miami on the FIBA World Tour, which is the team I played for. One of the guys, Dylan Travis, was on the Olympic team. He's still playing on that team. Then some other guys that were alternates and have been playing professionally for a while. So we have some really good guys to play at the World Cup and to build. My opportunity is to now try to find more guys as we move forward for the next several years. These guys that are playing now will continue to be in that mix, obviously, and be able to help us as we push forward and then integrating some new players and some new talent. So by the 2026 World Cup, and all the things that we have coming up, we'll be able to have more players in our pool. Aidan Berg,
New York Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
It's the only Olympic basketball event the U.S. hasn't won. Can Jimmer Fredette fix that?
'JimmerMania' still exists inside the United States' men's 3×3 basketball program, it just took an elevator ride from the court up to the C suite. The hope is still that Jimmer Fredette will bring Olympic gold to the only USA Basketball team that doesn't have one; only he'd do it by making a phone call instead of swishing a winning shot. Advertisement On Monday, USA Basketball named Fredette, 36, the 2011 college national player of the year and a former NBA lottery pick, as its first managing director for its 3×3 men's team. The announcement follows Fredette's announced retirement from his playing career last week, the final two years of which he spent knocking around the FIBA 3×3 World Tour and playing for the USA in international events such as the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics. Think of it as the 'Grant Hill' role for 3×3 — an accomplished, universally respected player in the sport whose job it is to find coaches and players for the big international tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup. Because the international 3×3 game is not open to NBA players (more on that later), there really isn't a player the USA might target who wouldn't take Fredette's call. And he'll be calling. The 3×3 version of Dr. Naismith's game has been in two Olympics now, and the American men have exactly zero medals to show. Last summer in Paris, the men's 3×3 team was the only U.S. basketball team not to win a medal. An injury to Fredette early in the Paris Olympics dealt the U.S. a serious blow, but it would seem the American program should be farther along than it is. And with the next Summer Olympics set for Los Angeles in 2028, there is little time to waste. 'I think that one of the big things for USA basketball is they want to be consistent with how they go about their teams,' Fredette said in an interview. 'You know, the 5-on-5 (men's) team has been doing this for a while with Grant Hill, and he's done an incredible job. And they see the success that that's kind of implemented. And I think that with (3×3), it's such a new sport, that they didn't really have anybody that was necessarily fit for that job, because most of the guys that had been playing from the beginning of (3×3) for USA were still playing. … There's no better person to be involved (than) someone who's actually been in it, been through it, just like Grant has on the men's side.' Advertisement The U.S. women's 3×3 team, which won the first Olympic gold in the sport in Tokyo in 2021 and won bronze in Paris, is also looking to make a hire for the managing director's role. The women's 5-on-5 program has won eight consecutive Olympic gold medals, and the men have won five straight. Fredette, who lives with his wife and children in Denver, is a partner at Tandem Ventures, a venture capital firm in Utah, and will remain in that role in addition to overseeing the U.S. 3×3 men's program. The rules set forth by FIBA — the international governing body for basketball — for men's players to be eligible for the biggest tournaments (again, like the Olympics and World Cup) are that players must compile enough points by competing on the 3×3 World Tour, which lasts over the late spring, summer, and early fall months. That's why active NBA players are not an option for the U.S. or any other country; NBA players are not allowed to play in other leagues, and the World Tour counts as one. Fredette burst onto the basketball scene with his jaw-dropping shooting and scoring performances at BYU, where he won the award for the top player in Division-I college basketball in 2011. Drafted 10th overall that June by the Sacramento Kings, the best of Fredette's six NBA seasons was his first one, when he averaged 7.6 points in 60 games. His last full NBA season was in 2014-15, when he played 50 games for the New Orleans Pelicans. Fredette matriculated overseas, to China, where he was handsomely paid and starred. In 2016-17, his first season in the Chinese pro league, he scored 50 or more points four different times and dropped 73 points against Zhejiang Guangsha that season, and in his last year with Shanghai, in 2020-21, at age 31, he drained 11 3s and rung up another 70-bill against Sichuan. Advertisement Fredette joined the World Tour late in 2022, at the urging of Fran Frischilla, the former college coach and current ESPN broadcaster who was an adviser to USA Basketball for 3×3. Jimmer said he made more than $100,000 in each of the two full summers he spent on tour, eventually played his way to a No. 1 world ranking as an individual, was on the U.S. team that finished second in the 2023 World Cup, and won gold medals at smaller international tournaments featuring teams from the Americas. 'He's perfect (for managing director),' said Frischilla, whose son, James, was an assistant coach for the U.S. at the Paris Olympics. 'Jimmer brought notoriety to the sport here in the States that we couldn't have paid for. I think guys are going to want to play 3×3 because they saw Jimmer do it.' In the 3×3 game, the shot clock is only 12 seconds. After a made basket, the opposite team throws the ball in bounds from underneath the hoop, and it has to be taken back to the 2-point line (it's a 2-point, 1-point game). After a miss, if the defending team rebounds the ball, it has to go out to the 2-point line. Offensive actions are often limited to one screen-and-roll, maybe one backdoor cut or off-ball screen if the ballhandler is working in isolation. Precision passing and conditioning are key. Also, the U.S. men's program has had some really bad luck. Because of the global pandemic in 2020 that postponed the Olympics and shut down the World Tour, the American men had to qualify for the Tokyo Games through a single qualifying tournament. After weeks of preparation, one of the players — Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry's son, Canyon — suffered a back injury just before the tournament. The last-minute replacement for Barry didn't fit with the other three players, and the Americans failed to qualify for Tokyo. With Fredette on board for the 2024 Olympic cycle, the U.S. was ranked No. 1 in the world heading into the Paris Games. The Americans opened the 2024 Olympics with a loss to Serbia, and early in the second game, Fredette suffered a torn adductor, knocking him out of the tournament. The Americans were not allowed to replace him, so Barry and the remaining two U.S. players Dylan Travis and Kareem Maddox — who was also battling injury — had to play the remaining games without a substitution. The U.S. finished 2-5. Advertisement 'It's just one of those things where you can look back on it in hindsight, people that don't know the sport and haven't really followed it, and say, 'Oh man, that didn't work. We didn't even come close to medaling,' Fredette said. 'But we were the No. 1 team in the world going into that event and really kind of hitting on all cylinders. And then one unfortunate thing like that happens, and it can mess it all up.' Fredette said his main objective, or a change he would try to implement, is to make 3×3 more of a full-time job for players who are fully committed to the sport. In addition to Fredette, who was still working as a venture capitalist while playing 3×3, his teammates in Paris all have regular jobs. Barry is a rocket scientist. Maddox is a video coordinator with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Travis, currently the highest-ranked 3×3 player from the U.S. (16th in the world), is a school teacher in Omaha. One way to create a wider pool of players who are both good enough and available is to encourage and target G League players not under contract with an NBA team to give the 3×3 game a try. 'As the sport grows, I think there is a space for more full-time 3×3 athletes,' Barry said. 'I know Jimmer will do an amazing job leading the charge. … The game and sport is so volatile with such a condensed game that anyone can win the Olympics, and that's part of why it's so exciting.' Yes, there are going to be more variables out of the Americans' control than in, say, a 40-minute, full-court, 5-on-5 Olympics game. One injury, especially to a player like Fredette, can be devastating. The games are so short, a hot shooting stretch by an opponent for even a few minutes can be enough to sink the U.S. But with the Games coming to L.A., and the 3×3 Olympic tournament expanding from eight to 12 teams, the U.S. wants to make sure it is as organized, prepared, and deep as possible for a country so otherwise rich in basketball talent and tradition. Advertisement 'We want to make sure that we're out in front of it and finding the right guys, building an actual culture, building a program, getting them as professionals, and just continuing to get better and better at this game,' Fredette said. 'And I think if we can build that way, we're going to be in good shape.' (Top photo of Jimmer Fredette: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images for the USOPC)
