Tua Tagovailoa, Falcons agree to one-year deal

Tua Tagovailoalanded on his feet quickly after being released by the Miami Dolphins.

Tagovailoa has agreed to a one-year contract to join theAtlanta Falconsin 2026 NFL free agency, according toreports. He is signing the veteran minimum which will be $1.3 million for 2026.

The deal cannot be finalized until Tagovailoa is released Wednesday.

The Falcons entered the 2026 NFL offseason in need of a veteran quarterback behind 2024 first-round pickMichael Penix Jr.after parting withKirk Cousins. Tagovailoa will fill that need, and the 28-year-old left profiles as a good fit for Kevin Stefanski's offense.

OT Tytus Howard: Traded to Cleveland Browns (previous team: Houston Texans)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> CB Trent McDuffie: Traded to Los Angeles Rams (previous team: Kansas City Chiefs)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> RB David Montgomery: Traded to Houston Texans (previous team: Detroit Lions)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> WR DJ Moore: Traded to Buffalo Bills (previous team: Chicago Bears)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

2026 NFL offseason tracker: Player signings, trades

OT Tytus Howard:Traded to Cleveland Browns(previous team: Houston Texans)

Tagovailoa is coming off his first losing season as an NFL starting quarterback. The 2020 first-round pick posted a 6-8 record across 14 starts while completing 67.7% of his passes for 2,660 yards, 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions – good for second-most in the league behind only Geno Smith (17).

The Dolphins benched Tagovailoa in favor of rookieQuinn Ewersfor the final three games of the 2025 NFL season, throwing his future with the team into question.

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Days before free agency, Miami officially announced it would be releasing Tagovailoa – and absorbing an NFL-record $99.2 million in dead-cap space to do so – at the start of the new league year.

The Falcons will be hoping Tagovailoa – who made the Pro Bowl in 2023 – can enjoy a bounce-back season with a change of scenery.

Falcons QB depth chart

It isn't yet clear whether Tagovailoa will battle Penix for the team's starting job or just serve as high-upside insurance in case the third-year pro needs extra time to return from a torn ACL he suffered midway through last season.

Here's how things will look when Tagovailoa officially signs on Wednesday:

• Michael Penix Jr. (injured)

• Tua Tagovailoa

Easton Stick– the third quarterback on the Falcons' roster in 2025 behind Penix Jr. and Cousins – is a free agent.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tua Tagovailoa signs: Falcons to sign QB to deal in NFL free agency

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March 09, 2026

Tua Tagovailoa, Falcons agree to one-year deal

Tua Tagovailoalanded on his feet quickly after being released by the Miami Dolphins. Tagovailoa has agreed to ...

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Pats' Christian Barmore battery, assault charges dropped by prosecutors

Prosecutors in Massachusetts are dropping the case againstNew England Patriotsdefensive lineman Christian Barmore.

During an arraignment Monday in Attleboro District Court, prosecutors said they would not be able to prove a case against Barmore, 26, who faced assault and battery charges.

A woman who shares a child with Barmore and was previously his girlfriendfiled a criminal complaint in Decemberthat said Barmore threw her to the ground during a domestic dispute that allegedly occurred Aug. 8, 2025. The woman did not want to travel out of state for the case, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III told reporters,according to the Associated Press. Barmore was never arrested.

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The NFL and Patriots were aware of the charges and let the legal process play out. Barmore had been the second Patriots player charged with a physical crime after former wide receiver Stefon Diggs had been accused of felony strangulation of a former personal chef (Diggs pleaded not guilty Feb. 13).

"I think that these are allegations, like you mentioned in your question, it's things that we have to handle," Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said after the charges against Barmore were reported. "Everyday there are distractions. Some are smaller than others. Confident that we'll focus on the Dolphins and those two individuals that you mentioned will be able to handle the ongoing legal process."

Barmore started 16 games last season and had 2.0 sacks. He's been with New England since the organization drafted him in the second round (38th overall) of the 2021 draft. The Alabama Crimson Tide product is under contract with the team through the 2028 season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Patriots' Christian Barmore has battery, assault charges dropped

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March 09, 2026

Pats' Christian Barmore battery, assault charges dropped by prosecutors

Prosecutors in Massachusetts are dropping the case againstNew England Patriotsdefensive lineman Christian Barmore. ...

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Tarik Skubal won't make another WBC start, citing spring plan and contract stakes

HOUSTON (AP) — Tarik Skubal didn't get a lot of sleep the last two nights as hemulled whether to pitch againfor the United States in the World Baseball Classic.

In the end, theDetroit Tigersace and reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner decided against it.

"My spring training start days were scripted out in January with the original plan being starting and then being done," Skubal said. "And obviously when I got here my emotions kind of changed a little bit, my thought process changed a little bit and tried to make it work but just couldn't. And I hate it, but it's all right."

He said he made the decision after consulting with the Tigers and manager A.J. Hinch, his agent Scott Boras and his teammates in Houston and at spring training in Florida.

"The resounding message was to kind of be done but still be around the team as much as I can," Skubal said.

Skubal is eligible to become a free agent after this season and is expected to secure a nine-figure contract. He said his decision would have "probably" been different if not for the contract implications.

Skubal gave up a home run to Nate Eaton on his first pitch Saturday night but allowed just one single after that while striking out five in three innings ofa 9-1 victoryover Britain.

Manager Mark DeRosa fully understands why he chose not to start again and supports his decision.

"I know what's at stake for him," DeRosa said. "I'm over the moon he decided to show in the first place for us — I really am — and take the ball for us. I think it meant a lot to a lot of guys in that room. We know where his heart is. If he was in a different situation, he wouldn't be leaving."

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Last month, Skubal said he intended to make only one WBC start regardless of how far the U.S. advanced because he wanted to remain on a regular spring training regimen and ramp up for opening day with Detroit.

He said he was surprised with how emotional pitching for his country made him and it caused him to rethink his decision.

"I totally misread how I would feel," he said. "And I feel like I'm genuinely a guy that kind of understands emotions, I pitch with a lot of them, but, yeah, I missed it there, and that's what made this decision tough."

He added that he will make the trip from Tigers camp in Lakeland, Florida, to Miami to be with the team if the U.S. advances there for the semifinals and the finals.

He was asked if he was at peace with his decision.

"No, no, I'm still not," he said. "I think the only way I'll be at peace with it is in Miami celebrating after we win the whole (expletive) thing."

Skubal added that he would love to pitch in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if MLB players are allowed to participate and that he'll be the first to sign up for the next WBC.

"I love America," he said. "I love our country. I love everything that this tournament is about."

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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March 09, 2026

Tarik Skubal won't make another WBC start, citing spring plan and contract stakes

HOUSTON (AP) — Tarik Skubal didn't get a lot of sleep the last two nights as hemulled whether to pitch againfor the U...

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Alexander brothers, top NY real estate brokers, convicted at sex trafficking trial

By Luc Cohen and David Thomas

High profile real estate agent brothers Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander, and Tal Alexander in New York

NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - Three wealthy brothers, including two of New York's top real estate brokers, were found guilty on Monday at a closely watched sex ‌trafficking trial over allegations they lured women and girls to exclusive parties where they drugged and raped ‌them.

Oren Alexander, 38, Tal Alexander, 39, and Alon Alexander, 38, had each pleaded not guilty to all charges they respectively faced in an ​indictment alleging trafficking and other criminal conduct related to seven victims.

A federal jury in Manhattan convicted the three brothers after deliberations began on Thursday following a months-long trial.

"This verdict cannot undo the effects of heinous abuse the Alexanders' many victims endured, but it does send a message: New Yorkers want to bring an end to sex trafficking in all our ‌communities," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said ⁠in a statement.

Howard Srebnick, an attorney for Alon Alexander, said in a statement they disagree with the jury's verdict and they plan to appeal. Attorneys for Oren and Tal ⁠Alexander did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oren and Tal Alexander co-founded the luxury real estate brokerage Official, while Alon Alexander was an executive at a private security company.

Tal Alexander faced seven charges in total, and his twin brothers Oren ​and ​Alon faced six.

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Over the course of a six-week trial in ​Manhattan federal court, 11 women testified that one ‌or more of the brothers sexually abused them.

In his closing argument on March 3, prosecutor Andrew Jones said the brothers masqueraded as party boys but really were predators.

"They used a consistent playbook to lure, isolate and rape their victims," Jones said. "They did it with callousness and a perverse sense of pride."

Defense lawyers acknowledged that the brothers had discussed sex amongst themselves in crass terms and behaved in ways that angered women with whom they had relationships. But ‌they argued the sexual encounters at issue were consensual.

"He should ​be and is embarrassed by how he behaved over these years," Srebnick, ​a lawyer for Alon Alexander, said in his ​closing argument on March 3. "That doesn't make the conduct a crime."

The three brothers were arrested ‌in December 2024 and have been jailed since ​then at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention ​Center.

Each brother had his own legal defense team. Oren Alexander's lawyers include Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, who last year defended rapper and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs at his sex trafficking trial.

Combs is serving a ​four-year prison sentence after being convicted on ‌prostitution charges, but acquitted of the more serious sex trafficking charges he faced that could have ​landed him in prison for life.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and David Thomas in ​Chicago; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Rosalba O'Brien and Lincoln Feast.)

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Alexander brothers, top NY real estate brokers, convicted at sex trafficking trial

By Luc Cohen and David Thomas High profile real estate agent brothers Alon Alexander, Oren Alexander, and T...

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North Korean leader's sister criticized US-South Korea for proceeding with joint drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized the United States and South Korea for proceeding with theirannual joint military exercisesat a perilous moment for global security and warned that any challenge to the North's safety would bring "terrible consequences."

North Korea Party Congress

Kim Yo Jong'sstatement Tuesday came a day after the allies started their 11-day Freedom Shield exercise involving thousands of troops, while Washington also wagesan escalating warin the Middle East.

Without directly referring to the Iran war, Kim said the U.S.-South Korea drills undermine regional stability at a time when the global security structure is "collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues."

Freedom Shield is one of two annual command-post exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korean militaries. The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies' joint operational capabilities while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. As usual, Freedom Shield will be accompanied by a field training program, called Warrior Shield.

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Mentioning the country'sexpanding nuclear program, Kim Yo Jong said North Korea will continue to bolster its "destructive power" against what it sees as external threats and "constantly and repeatedly convince the enemies of our war deterrence and its fatality."

North Korea has long portrayed the allies' joint drills as invasion rehearsals and often used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations or weapons tests. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry last week described the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran as an "illegal act of aggression" carried out under the pretext of "fake peace."

Amid a yearslong diplomatic freeze with Washington and Seoul, Kim Jong Un has increasingly framed his foreign policy around the idea of a new Cold War, deepening ties withMoscowand Beijing while portraying Pyongyang as part of a united front against Washington.

Pyongyang and Tehran were among the few governments to support Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and both have been accused of supplying Russia with military equipment.

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March 09, 2026

North Korean leader's sister criticized US-South Korea for proceeding with joint drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticized the United States and South K...

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Video appears to show U.S. Tomahawk missile hitting the area of the deadly school strike in Iran

Newly surfaced video adds toevidence that the United States likely struck a school in Iran, killing more than 170 people, including scores of children.

The video, geolocated by NBC News, shows what experts say appears to be an American Tomahawk missile hitting a compound belonging to Iran'sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corpsnext to theShajareh Tayyebeh elementary schoolwhere witnesses said children were trapped under the rubble and "people were pulling out children's arms and legs. People were pulling out severed heads."

NBC News has tried to contact the person who shot the video for further comment about the strikes, which the individual recorded Feb. 28 in the southern town of Minab. The person has not responded.

Published Sunday by Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency, the video was first geolocated by theonline research group Bellingcat, which said a Tomahawk — an American-made, long-range cruise missile — was used in the attack near a compound that was once home to a Revolutionary Guard military facility.

Several munitions experts agreed with that analysis, including N.R. Jenzen-Jones, the director of arms intelligence firm Armament Research Services.

The video "appears to show a Tomahawk missile," he said in an email Sunday. "This would indicate a U.S. strike," he said, adding that the U.S. was the only party in the war known to have Tomahawk missiles.

Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California, also said in an interview Monday that he thought "the munition that is visible in that video is clearly a Tomahawk."

"It's long, cylindrical. It has a set of wings. And really no other country in this conflict has a munition that looks like that," he said. He added that it was "incredibly accurate" because it had digital scene matching built in. There will be "an onboard photograph of the thing that it's supposed to hit, and Tomahawk will look, it will match, and then it will strike," he said.

It is "rare that a Tomahawk misfires" but the U.S. does "have a history" of making targeting errors, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, a Bronze Star winner who served for 21 years, said Monday. "Everybody does."

"If you just have a satellite image, it's just a building and so if you misidentify what's in the building because of other intelligence, then that can lead to improper targeting," added Davis, now a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities, a Washington-based think tank.

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The Pentagon has said it is still investigating the strike, while the Israeli military has maintained it is not aware of any connection between its operations in Iran and the school strike.

Trump on Saturday, told reporters onboard Air Force One that the U.S. was not responsible for the bombing, saying: "In my opinion, based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran."

U.S. Central Command did not comment on the latest video. The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.

But the Defense Department has acknowledged the use of Tomahawk missiles in the war. On the day of the strike on the school, the Defense Visual Information Distribution Servicepublished a photo and video onlineof the USS Spruance, firing a Tomahawk land attack missile. It published a similar picture March 3.

The Spruance, an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided-missile destroyer, is part of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group.

Iranian officials said that more than 170 people, mostly children, were killed in the strike near the school. NBC News has not been able to independently verify the death toll of the attack.

The attack came hours after the U.S. and Israel launched multiple air and missile strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sparking retaliatory attacks by the Islamic Republic on many of its Middle Eastern neighbors including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and several Gulf states.

Trump administration officials told members of Congress in a closed-door meeting last week that the U.S. had been targeting the area where the school was struck, two U.S. officials told NBC News last week. The administration officials also said their military partner, Israel, was not responsible for the school's bombing.

And a map published online by the Defense Department highlighting strikes on Iran over the first 100 hours of the military operation appeared to show that the area of Minab had been targeted.

"It is increasingly clear that the U.S. military was responsible for the deadly attack," Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a text message Monday, adding that it was "hit by a precision weapon, not an errant attack."

If an error was made, he said, it raises "urgent questions regarding why U.S. intelligence was so shoddy that it treated the school as no different from the adjacent military facility."

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March 09, 2026

Video appears to show U.S. Tomahawk missile hitting the area of the deadly school strike in Iran

Newly surfaced video adds toevidence that the United States likely struck a school in Iran, killing more than 170 people,...

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Ravens, Eagles and Steelers get 4 comp picks, and Vikings get a 3rd-rounder for losing Sam Darnold

Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh each were awarded a league-high four compensatory picks in next month's NFL draft based on their losses and signings in last year's free agency.

The NFL announced on Monday the 33 compensatory picks for the draft that will be held in Pittsburgh on April 23-25, including a third-rounder for Minnesota after losingSuper Bowl-winning quarterback Sam Darnoldto Seattle in free agency last offseason.

Picks are awarded to teams in the third through seventh rounds with 32 of the picks based on teams losing more or better free agents than they acquired last offseason and the other given for minorities hired as head coaches or general managers for other organizations.

Detroit was awarded a third-round pick for Aaron Glenn being hired as head coach last year by the New York Jets. That pick, which will be the final one in the third round at No. 100 overall, has been subsequently traded to Jacksonville.

There were three third-round picks handed out with Minnesota getting the 97th overall pick for losing Darnold, Philadelphia getting the 98th pick for losing defensive tackle Milton Williams to New England and Pittsburgh getting the 99th pick for losing Dan Moore to Tennessee.

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The Eagles also got picks in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. Pittsburgh got an additional fourth-round pick and two sixths. Baltimore got two picks in the fifth round and two in the seventh.

The Ravens have received a league-high 64 comp picks through free agency since the program started in 1994.

The San Francisco 49ers got three picks — all in the fourth round — while Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Jets each got two picks.

Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. Not every free agent lost or signed by a club is covered by this formula.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

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March 09, 2026

Ravens, Eagles and Steelers get 4 comp picks, and Vikings get a 3rd-rounder for losing Sam Darnold

Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh each were awarded a league-high four compensatory picks in next month's NFL dr...

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