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(Bloomberg) -- As Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears poised to indict former President Donald Trump, some of the prosecutors most prominent New York critics have gathered under one roof.

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Tali Farhadian Weinstein, who is the wife of Saba Capital co-founder Boaz Weinstein, poured more than $8 million into her 2021 bid to become district attorney but lost to Bragg after a hard-fought Democratic primary race. Since her defeat, shes taught law, entered private practice and positioned herself as a legal affairs commentator.

In January, she added to her resume board chair of Free and Fair Litigation Group. But thats not just any legal nonprofit the group was founded by Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, the two prosecutors who once led the Trump investigation for the DAs office but quit last year over Braggs supposed reluctance to indict the former president. Pomerantz put out a book last month harshly critical of the DA.

Read More: What Is an Indictment? Everything You Need to Know

The team-up has raised some eyebrows in the New York legal scene.

She ran for DA once before, and Pomerantzs criticism of Bragg is well-documented, said Daniel Horwitz, a former prosecutor in the office. It does raise a question about whether there are multiple agendas at work here.

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a feather flock together, observed public defender Eliza Orlins, who ran against both Bragg and Farhadian Weinstein in the DA race.

Farhadian Weinstein, Pomerantz and Dunne didnt respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Bragg declined to comment.

Free and Fair was announced as a nonprofit law firm designed to counter the new authoritarian threat to our democracy and individual rights, citing gun safety, voting rights and book bans among its core issues. But Dunne and Pomerantz also touted their democracy-defending credentials in the announcement by noting that they resigned their government posts when their grand jury presentation was shut down, a clear dig at Bragg.

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In his February book People v. Donald Trump, Pomerantz claims Bragg balked at an ambitious criminal fraud case he and Dunne had been building against Trump, possibly because the DA was afraid to risk losing at trial.

Pomerantz also wrote that a zombie prosecution of Trump over his alleged hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels would be a very peculiar and unsatisfying end to the investigation because the charge might end up being only a misdemeanor.

Wall Streets Pick

Bragg, who called Pomerantzs criticisms appalling, began ramping up the investigation again earlier this year and now appears close to charging Trump over the hush-money payment.

During the DA primary, Farhadian Weinstein, a Rhodes Scholar and Yale Law School graduate, positioned herself somewhat to the right of Bragg, though both ran as ex-federal prosecutors who would balance social-justice concerns while still being tough on crime. Bragg more heavily emphasized decriminalizing certain offenses though, an approach Farhadian Weinstein attacked during the campaign.

She was undeniably Wall Streets pick for the office. David Einhorn, Bill Ackman and Jason Mudrick were among the donors who funded a primary campaign that raised more than all her opponents combined and even more than any mayoral candidate, according to public records. Farhadian Weinstein was also endorsed by a number of leading Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and former Attorney General Eric Holder.

Some think she still has her eyes on the prize.

Orlins, who ran for DA on explicitly defunding the prosecutors office, says its a given that Farhadian Weinsteins team-up with Pomerantz and Dunne is aimed at setting up a challenge to Bragg in a future Democratic primary, the only race that matters in deep-blue Manhattan.

Civil rights lawyer Janos Marton, another progressive DA candidate who fell out of the race early due to lack of funds, shares that view. Its always been clear to me that Tali is preparing to run again for this position, he said.

--With assistance from Greg Farrell.

(Updates with additional background.)

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As Manhattan DA Bragg Targets Trump, His Rivals Are Teaming Up - Yahoo Finance

In his nightly monologue this past Monday, Tucker Carlson gave his assessment of what caused the meltdown at Silicon Valley Bank. He began by noting that, after the 2008 financial crash, the Obama Administrations Department of Justice, led by Eric Holder, instituted D.E.I.diversity, equity, and inclusionstandards for the financial sector. According to Carlson, this meant that women and minorities, who, in his estimation, were clearly incompetent, now worked in pivotal positions in the banking industry. Ideologues used the 2008 bank bailout to kill American meritocracy, Carlson concluded. Andy Kessler, an opinion columnist at the Wall Street Journal, published a similar take in that days paper, speculating that the banks leadership may have faltered because it was distracted by diversity demands.

In Carlsons and Kesslers imagining, meritocracy has always been the foundation of American prosperity, and normal peopleread: none of the people who would benefit from diversity-hiring initiatives at a bankare being guilted or even strong-armed into giving up the fruits of their labor. Women, immigrants, the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community, and Black Americans, in this story, are trying to create a rigged system in which people receive jobs, plaudits, and wealth for having marginalized identities.

Carlsons and Kesslers anti-woke interpretations of the bank collapse provoked a predictable outrage cycle online. The usual progressive counter-argument is to point out that the conservative vision is ahistoricalthat the U.S. has never been a meritocracy, and that race- and gender-conscious remediations are the only way to address the countrys legacies of slavery, disenfranchisement, and exclusion. But Ive always been a bit unsettled, or at the very least dissatisfied, by this response, even if I agree with its basic tenets. Its true that the U.S. isnt a country where every person starts at the same spot, and makes their way by some combination of talent and grit. Still, I worry that progressives hesitation to defend meritocracy may actually work against progressive aims. It seems like meritocracy could go the way of free speech, as a bedrock principle that the left allows the right to claim as its own, even if it matters to a great number of Americans. Just as suppressing free speech will never be popularI wrote on Tuesday about Ron DeSantiss doomed crusade to punish teachers and remove books from librariesleaving behind the idea of meritocracy is a losing proposition.

At the very least, the lefts hesitation to defend meritocracy has given conservatives a chance to monopolize the conversation around it, albeit to varying degrees of success. Last month, Vivek Ramaswamy, the Harvard- and Yale-educated entrepreneur who is running for President on the Republican ticket, announced his candidacy with a video that felt, more than anything, like it had been produced by some ambitious entry-level employees at a consulting firm who had been given access to the A.V. room. Were in the middle of a national identity crisis, Ramaswamy narrates in a voice that sounds like Ben Shapiro impersonating Barack Obama. Patriotism, hard work, and family have disappeared. We now embrace one secular religion after another. From COVIDism to climatism, and gender ideology. He goes on to say that the basic tenets of the woke left have created psychological slavery in the United States, which has completely replaced our culture of free speech in America. At first blush, his message doesnt seem all that out of line: he says most Americans agree on the core values of the country, which include basic, if somewhat abstract, freedoms and the promise of meritocracy. In his speeches and social-media posts, Ramaswamy has clarified a bit what all that means for him. He wants to eliminate the United States Department of Education and eliminate affirmative action because of its inherent anti-white & anti-Asian racism.

For the past five years or so, Ive reported on the rightward shift among immigrant voters, which, in many parts of the country, has been influenced by concerns about public safety and educational merit. There have been signs of an emerging conservative Asian American movement that galvanizes around schooling issues, in both big cities and in affluent suburbs with competitive public-school systems. In New York City, majority-Asian precincts shifted twenty-three points to the G.O.P. In San Francisco, the temporary elimination of merit-based admissions at Lowell High Schoola magnet school where more than half of the student body is Asian Americanprompted political mobilization that led to the removal of three members of the citys school board, and spilled over to the recall of Chesa Boudin, the citys progressive district attorney. These fights have resonated with Asian Americans across the countryespecially Chinese Americanswho believe that equity reforms in education, and moves like the elimination of standardized testing, are all engineered to diminish their academic accomplishments and squeeze off their childrens access to class mobility.

These developments, combined with a similar shift among Latino voters in the past two Presidential elections, and the Democratic Partys failed attempts to reach its imagined coalition of voters of color, has led to a lot of theorizing about a multiracial future for the Republican Party. Ramaswamys strategy, I imagine, is to broadcast a vision of meritocracy that, outside of establishing his culture-war bona fides, also appeals to immigrants who are anxious about their childrens educational and economic prospects. The possibility of a multiracial right that flips states like Virginia, Georgia, and Arizona into Republican strongholds may sit with those voters. Ramaswamy will almost certainly fail in his political ambitions because he cannot tell a story without veering into screeds about wokeness and comically dense monologues about banking law and bureaucratic legal ideas. His conservatism, clearly designed for bankers and tech workers who are worried their kids wont get into the Ivy League, is both weird and off-putting. But that doesnt mean he is wrong to see that the idea of meritocracy resonates with most Americans, that a perceived abandonment of it would make many of those people nervous.

What would it look like for progressives to embrace the idea of American meritocracy? There is an argument to be made that the equity model pushes a vision of merit in which disadvantaged people are finally given a fair chance to compete with the privileged. But its expressionwhether in attempts to scale back standardized testing, diversify corporate boardrooms, or place D.E.I. infrastructure into storied institutionsonly really exists in the same lite, educated spaces where DeSantis and the like have waged their war against wokeness. But the promise of meritocracy can be found elsewhere; it can be found in supporting public schools and community colleges, providing broad economic protections for families, and taxing the super-wealthy. These policies, which are already popular among Democrats, might advance a better story of meritocracyone that could appeal to voters who worry about the overreaches of the equity approach, and one that doesnt abandon an ideal that very few Americans, of any political leaning, would ever leave behind.

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Why Progressives Shouldn't Give Up on Meritocracy - The New Yorker

By FRED SHUSTERCity News Service

LOS ANGELES (CNS)Opening statements are expected tomorrow in the federal criminal trial of suspended Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who while a member of the Board of Supervisors alleg- edly steered county contracts to USC's social work school in exchange for benefits for his son.

Ridley-Thomas, 68, was suspended from the Los Angeles City Council following the October 2021 federal indictment. He is charged with one count each of conspiracy and bribery, two counts of honest services mail fraud and 15 counts of honest services wire fraud. He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

A jury was seated in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday to hear the case against Ridley-Thomas.

Prosecutors contend that in exchange for Ridley-Thomas' efforts on behalf of the then-dean of the social work school, Marilyn Flynn, the politician's son Sebastian was given admission to USC, a full tuition scholarship, and a paid professorship.

Flynn admitted helping to disguise and funnel $100,000 from Ridley-Thomas' campaign account through the school to another nonprofit, United Ways of California, for the benefit of the Policy, Research & Practice Initiative, a new nonprofit initiative founded by Sebastian, according to her plea agreement.

By funneling the payment through USC, Ridley-Thomas and co-defendant Flynn attempted to disguise the true source of the payment to make it appear as though USC, not the then-supervisor, was the generous benefactor supporting his son and PRPI, prosecutors say.

The US Attorney's Office alleges that Ridley-Thomas delivered on his end of the bargain. As a supervisor in 2018, he voted on three county proposals that Flynn had sought to shore up her school's shoddy financialsituation, including a vote approving a much more lucrative amended TeleHealth agreement with the USC School of Social Work, prosecutors contend. He also allegedly sought to influence key county decision-makers associated with the approvals and made sure Flynn knew of his efforts.

Flynn, 84, of Los Feliz, pleaded guilty in September to one count of bribery, admitting that she agreed to route money from Ridley-Thomas to Sebastian's nonprofit. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 26.

Prosecutors say the amended Telehealth contract was expected to generate about $9 million a year for the social work school.

As a result of the deal, Sebastian became a professor of social work and public policy at USCdespite lacking a graduate degree. He was later terminated over questions about his original appointment and concerns by the university over the $100,000 donation. He also obtained a full-tuitionscholarship and graduate school admission, papers filed in Los Angeles federal court show.

Flynn was dean of the School of Social Work at USC for 21 years until her departure in 2018. She had originally been facing the same slate of federal charges as Ridley-Thomas.

Responding to news of Flynn's plea agreement, USC issued a statement last year saying that after the university learned during the summer of 2018 about unethical conduct by the former dean, "we quickly disclosed the matter to the US Attorney's Office. Marilyn Flynn has not been employed by the universitysince September 2018. USC is not a party to the criminal case but respects the judicial process."

Ridley-Thomas is a giant figure in local politics, previously serving on the Los Angeles City Council from 1991-2002, then serving in the state Assembly and state Senate before he was elected to the powerful county Board of Supervisors in 2008, serving until 2020 when he returned to the City Council.

He has a doctorate in social ethics from USC and spent 10 years as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, beginning in 1981.

By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH

LOS ANGELES (CNS)A man who gunned down rapper Nipsey Hussle in front of the musician's Crenshaw District clothing store, but whose attorney insisted the killing was an impulsive act committed in the heat of passionwas convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder.

Jurors also found Eric Holder Jr., 32, guilty of two counts each of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm involving two other people who were injured in the March 31, 2019, shooting, along with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. Jurors also found true allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a handgun and that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on one of the victims.

Holder's attorney argued throughout the trial that the shooting was carried out in the "heat of passion," and did not rise to the level of first-degree murder. He argued that, at most, Holder committed manslaughter when he killed the 33-year-old rapper, whose real name was ErmiasJoseph Asghedom, outside Hussle's story near Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue.

Jurors deliberated for nearly five hours on Friday, then met for just over a half-hour Wednesday morning before announcing they had reached a verdict.

Holder is facing a potential life prison term when he is sentenced Sept. 15. Shortly after the verdict, Deputy District Attorney John McKinney told reporters, "I want to say on behalf of the District Attorney's Office that we are both proud and I am personally a little relieved that the verdict came in a complete, absolute agree- ment with the charges that Eric Holder murdered Ermias Asghedom in cold blood."

"... We hope that today is a day in which the Asghedom family, the friends and fans of Nipsey Hussle around the world find some measure of closure," the prosecutor said. "Obviously nothing that happened here today can heal the wound. Nothing that happened here today can restore Mr. Asghedom to this world. But again, we hope that there is some resounding peace in the fact that his killer will be in prisonlikely for the rest of his life."

Defense attorney Aaron Jansen said in a statement that he was "deeply" disappointed with the jury's finding of first-degree murder, but that the defense was "grateful that the jury agreed with us, in part, that the case was over-charged" involving the other two men.

He said the defense will present Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke with "substantial evidence relating to Mr. Holder Jr.'s mental health," along with filing a notice of appeal on behalf of Holder.

When the trial began last month, Holder's attorney conceded that his client "shot and killed" the rapper, but said the crime in which his client fired with one gun in each hand occurred in the "heat of passion."

In his closing argument, Jansen told jurors: "This was an act of impulse and rashness."

The defense attorney said his client had "no cooling-off period" after being "called publicly a snitch by some- one as famous as Nipsey Hussle" nine minutes and 10 seconds earlier.

"This is a provocation that stirs up rage and powerful emotions," Jansen said. Holder's attorney also con- tended that the case was "overcharged from the beginning,'' and that the correct charge against Holder involving the rapper's slaying should have been voluntary manslaughteran option Judge H. Clay Jacke told jurors earlier they could consider.

The prosecutor told jurors that the killing was "cold-blooded" and "calculated," saying Holder had "quite a bit of time for premeditation and deliberation" before returning to the parking lot near Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard where the rapper was shot 11 times.

"He's not consumed by rage," the prosecutor said, elaborating the defense's argument that he had been provoked was "nonsense."

Hussle was a "successful artist from the same neighborhood as Eric Holder, who's an unsuccessful artist," the prosecutor said.

"I submit to you that the motive for killing Nipsey Hussle had little to do with the conversation they had. ... There's pre-existing jealousy," the prosecutor said, prompting a quick objection from the defense attorney.

"Saying, 'You're through,' before shooting him and shooting him a number of times ... kicking him in the head, that's personal ... What makes this murder first-degree is premeditation and deliberation," McKinney said.

McKinney told the panel Hussle joined a gang as a youngster, changed over time and "wanted to change the neighborhood," but remained accessible without an entourage, security or fanfare while standing outside his business when he was shot by somebody with whom he had shaken hands just minutes before on "just another beautiful Sun- day afternoon in Los Angeles."

"You can't bring Nipsey back ... But you can do justice. Please do justice," McKinney told the panel shortly before the case was handed over to the jury.

The deputy district attorney said the attempted murder charges were a "closer question," but said he believed that jurors would ultimately con- clude that they were "not mere accidental shootings."

Jurors acquitted Holder of the attempted murder charge involving Kerry Lathan, who was shot in the back, finding the defendant guilty instead of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm. The prosecutor said the panelwhich found Holder guilty of the same charges involving a second victim who was grazed by a bulletmay not have been given the verdict form for attempted murder involving that victim.

Holder's attorney said there was "no hatred" and "no jealousy towards Nipsey Hussle" over his successful music career, telling jurors the allegation of snitching was a "serious" accusation made in public by some- one of the rapper's stature and that Hussle didn't provide his client with any details when questioned.

"It's not victim-blaming, it's not an excuse and it's not a justification," Jansen said.

The defense attorney also said his clientwho was "just living his life in Long Beach" and wasn't in a gang any longerhad been overcharged with attempted murder involving the two other men who were injured in the gunfire, saying that "he had no reason to kill these other two individuals."

Jurors heard eight days of testimony during the trial, which was delayed for a day last Tuesday following what Holder's attorney said was an attack on Holder in jail.

Jansen told reporters outside court last Wednesday that his client lost consciousness after being attacked the previous morning in a jail holding cell with other inmates while waiting to be taken to court. He subsequently underwent an MRI and required three staples to the back of his head, also suffering a swollen left eye and swelling on the left side of his face, according to the attorney.

The jury was shown autopsy photos during the testimony of a medical examiner who said Hussle suffered 11 gunshot wounds from his head to one of his feet.

Dr. Lawrence Nguyenwho reviewed the results of the autopsy done by another medical examiner who is unavailable to testifytold jurors that he concluded the cause of the rapper's death was "multiple gunshot wounds."

"I believe the number of shots to be within the realm of 10 to 11," Nguyen told the downtown Los Angeles jury. One of the rapper's wounds caused by a bullet that entered through the rapper's right abdomensevered his spinal cord and would likely have caused paralysis in the lower extremities if he had survived the shooting, the medical examiner testified.

During the defense's portion of the case, private investigator Robert Freeman told jurors that being called a snitch could put a gang member at risk of being beaten or killed. He noted that it would be more dangerous for an accusation about snitching to be made against someone in public where others could hear it and that something said by someone with a high status within a gang is "almost gold" on the streets.

Freeman, a former Los Angeles police officer who acknowledged being terminated from the force while he was still on probation, also told jurors that the firing of two gunsone in each hand that Holder allegedly wielded during the shootingwould lessen the accuracy of the shots. He noted that a two-handed grip on a gun is the best way to shoot with accuracy.

Holder did not testify in his own defense.

He has remained behind bars since his arrest two days after the shooting. His attorney told jurors that he surrendered himself at a mental health clinic in Bellflower.

After Hussle's death, thousands of people were on hand in April 2019 for a service in his honor, with singer Stevie Wonder and rapper Snoop Dogg among those paying tribute to him.

In a letter that was read during the service, former President Barack Obama wrote, "While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighborhood where he grew up and see only gangs, bullets and despair, Nipsey saw potential. He saw hope. He saw a community that, even through its flaws, taught him to always keep going."

The rapper-entrepreneur was posthumously honored with two Grammy Awards in 2020 for best rap perfor- mance for "Racks in the Middle" and for best rap/sung performance for "Higher."

Herman "Cowboy" Douglas, who was at the shopping center that day and testified as a prosecution witness, cried softly outside court after the verdict.

He told reporters later that he still wants to understand why his close friend was shot and killed, saying that the rapper "never called that man a snitch."

"It was so senseless. Why?" he said, adding that a "good person" was taken from the world.

"He had finally arrived. He had finally made it," Douglas said of Nipsey Hussle.

LOS ANGELES (CNS)Los Angeles rapper Drakeo the Ruler has died after being stabbed at a star-studded 12-hour concert at Banc of California Stadium at Exposition Park, according to multiple media reports Dec. 19.

Officials have not confirmed the victim's death or identity, but one of the rapper's representatives confirmed the information with Rolling Stone magazine and the Guardian, and colleagues were posting their shock andcondolences on social media.

The California Highway Patrol released the following statement Sunday:

"On Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021, at approximately 8:36 PM, a fight broke out behind the main stage of the Once Upon A Time In LA music festival in Los Angeles. During the altercation, one man was severely injured by a suspect wielding an edged weapon. Officers from the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Police Depart- ment, and Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene. The victim was transported to a local area hospital. The case is currently under investigation by the CHP. Any witnesses with information about this incident are asked to contact Southern Division Investigative Services Unit at 323-644-9550.''

Drakeo, whose real name was Darrell Caldwell, was taken to a hospital in critical condition where he later died, according to multiple outlets including the Los Angeles Times, TMZ and the online publication Complex. He had just turned 28 on Dec. 1.

The Once Upon a Time in LA Music Festival, which was slated to run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, was shut down early by police and firefighters after the violence broke out, according to Officer G. Todd of the LAPD's Operations Center.

Artists including Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Ice Cube, George Clinton, Al Green, the Isley Brothers and Cypress Hill were scheduled to perform. Video from the scene showed several people arguing and fighting outside the concert just before the stabbing, but it was unclear what sparked the confrontation.

"There was an altercation in the roadway backstage," a Live Nation spokesperson said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. "Out of respect for those involved and in coordination with local authorities, artists and organizers (we) decided not to move forward with remaining sets so the festival was ended an hour early."

The LAPD tweeted at 10:34 p.m. Saturday that "There has been an incident at the Once Upon A Time in LA festival at the Banc of California. The festival has concluded early."

Overnight, social media was filled with tributes to Caldwell, including one from fellow rapper Drake, who collaborated with him earlier this year on the song "Talk to Me."

"Nah man this s--- isn't right for real, wtf are we doing," Drake wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the

two together. "Always picked my spirit up with your energy. RIP Drakeo."

Snoop Dogg tweeted a statement about the incident Sunday morning.

"I'm saddened by the events that took place last night at the Once Upon a Time in LA festival. My condolences go out to the family and friends of Drakeo the Ruler," he wrote. "I'm not with anything negative and as one of the many performers, I was there to spread positive vibes only to my city of LA. Last night I was in my dress-ing room when I was informed about the incident and chose to immediately leave the festival grounds.

"My prayers go out to everyone affected by tragedy," the Long Beach rapper continued. "Please take care,

love one another and stay safe ya'll. I'm praying for peace in hip hop."

Journalist Jeff Weiss shared his thoughts on Twitter.

"RIP Drakeo, the greatest West Coast artist of a generation, a legend who invented a new rap language of slippery cadences, nervous rhythms, and psychedelic slang, who beat life twice only to suffer the most tragic fate conceiv- able," Weiss wrote, punctuated with a broken heart emoji. "The Ruler, once, always, and forever."

Caldwell was a Los Angeles native who has released 10 mixtapes since 2015 and put out his first studio album earlier this year titled, "I Am Mr. Mosely."

Critics have cited his unique flow and "oddly expressive, poetic word-choices."The Times called him "the

most original West Coast stylist in decades."

He recorded the mixtape "Thank You For Using GTL" at Men's Central Jail while awaiting trial in the 2016 killing of a 24-year-old man, according to The Times, which said he was acquitted of murder and attempted murder charges. Caldwell later pleaded to conspiracy charges in connection with the killing and was released in November 2020, the newspaper added.

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Ridley-Thomas - Compton Herald

Modified Mar 22, 2023 19:01 GMT

For a fresh perspective on her training, 'Android 18' Itsuki Hirata moved from her home in Japan and now trains in New York City, USA. The Japanese-born Judoka has found it majorly beneficial and may look for further moves in the US.

Hirata currently trains at the Serra-Longo Fight Team. She has been preparing for her upcoming MMA match alongside notable fighters such as Chris Weidman, Aljamain Sterling, and Matt Serra, among others.

However, Hirata may have her eyes on training at fight camps such as American Top Team. ATT's main coaches are former WEC champion Mike Brown and Strikeforce champion 'King' Mo Lawal.

ATT has produced some highly notable athletes in MMA such as former ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes, Joanna Jdrzejczyk, Dustin Poirier, Kayla Harrison, Kyoji Horiguchi, and many others.

On potentially visiting the American Top Team camp, Itsuki Hirata said:

A little nervous, Hirata continued:

To get ready for her upcoming atomweight showdown, 'Android 18' trained in New York to prepare for 'Hamzzang' Ham Seo Hee. These two are booked for a battle on March 24 at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video. ONE Fight Night events are broadcast live and for free in North America via Prime Video.

Itsuki Hirata discussed training in New York for Ham Seo Hee. While speaking in an interview with ONE Championship, she said:

Excerpt from:
Itsuki Hirata eyes training stint with American Top Team - Sportskeeda

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Learning a new business skill is an excellent way to break into an industry,make yourself more attractive to employersor earn more money and responsibility in your current career.

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But between work, family and life, the thought of spending years in a classroom can be overwhelming. Fortunately, you don't have to. It's possible to learn many in-demand skills in less than a year -- some in just a few weeks or months.

Potential earning increases for adding new skills to your resume are wide-ranging, but the more skill you can bring to the table for an employer, the better your advantage over other candidates, the higher your value in your industry and the more negotiating power you'll have when discussing your wage or salary. Enrich your career and increase your paycheck with these money-making skills and certifications.

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Project managers oversee various projects from start to finish. Project management skills are useful in many industries, including healthcare and information technology. Udemy's Project Management Professional Certification Program takes about 45 hours to complete and costs $109.99.

Take Our Poll: How Much Salary Would Buy You Happiness?

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Becoming proficient in search engine optimization and search engine marketing helps you excel as a marketing professional and opens the door to opportunities in digital marketing and website development. With SEO knowledge, you can develop successful internet marketing campaigns and provide multiple industries with website content. The SEO course and certification fromClickMindedis $997 and three to six hours long.

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Learning video editing and production can open the door to opportunities with marketing and promotional companies, or help you land entry-level work in television and video editing. Training costs and program lengths vary. For example, theNew York Film Academyoffers 15-week digital workshops with tuition starting at $2,000.

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Learning how to develop apps enables you to create your own web applications from scratch. You can work as an independent contractor developing apps for companies or get a job as an app developer. You can find several free and low-cost online training opportunities --edXoffers a variety of app development courses that last about six weeks. Courses are free, but you'll have to pay to become certified.

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Translators work in private and public schools, courthouses, hospitals and conference centers. Becoming a translator might be a great opportunity if you already speak and write in another language. The University of Arizona offers an online Spanish/English Translation Certification program made up of 3 courses and lasts 16 weeks. This program costs $2,475, but there are many online courses and programs available for a variety of price ranges.

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Several industries use data analytics -- including travel, energy, finance, education and health -- to identify patterns and trends they can leverage for growing their businesses. Online learning center General Assembly offers an accelerated one-week course and a 10-week, part-timeData Analytics coursefor $4,500. Upon completing the course, you might be eligible to receive credit toward an online graduate program.

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Cloud computing technology is an excellent skill to learn because it's one of the fastest-growing businesses in the IT industry.Cloud Academyprovides a wealth of ongoing training to help you learn cloud computing and prepare for Amazon Web Services certification,starting at $39 a month. The course has no end date, and you can learn as little or as much as you like.

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You don't need a four-year computer science degree to learn basic computer programming and get entry-level jobs in information technology or roles related to website or software development and database management. Complete the Penn Foster Career School's online ComputerProgramming Languages Certificate programin nine months and learn programming skills as well as JavaScript, Microsoft Visual Basic and Access. The program costs between $499 and $589.

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Developing strong leadership skills can help you guide a team. These skills are valuable if you are working toward becoming a manager, supervisor or director. eCornell offers a four-monthExecutive Leadership Cornell Certificate Programfor people in executive roles that costs $4,999.

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Network systems administration training teaches you how to install, configure and troubleshoot problems within an organization's computer network. DeVry University offers an online undergraduate certificate in networking essentials that consists of 8 courses that take a minimum of 23 credit hours to complete. Cost per credit hour starts at $514 for new students.

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Whether you're working in healthcare, administration or business, excellent writing skills are essential for drafting emails and memos. Online writing courses help you hone these skills at little to no cost. Udemy'sBusiness Writing & Technical Writing Immersion course, for example, is offered to help you improve your writing skills in just a few minutes per day and costs only $89.99.

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A basic bookkeeping course teaches you how to manage a company's financial accounts. Bookkeepers are employed in all types of industries, including healthcare, government, private businesses and retail. Penn Foster'sonline bookkeeping coursestake about five months, and tuition starts at $749.

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Learning a second language can not only help you establish relationships with clients who don't speak English, but also can make you a viable candidate for jobs that require international travel -- from sales and business development to training and leading others on tours. You can also use this skill for call center jobs, telephone or online sales jobs and customer service jobs with employers who need bilingual employees. Check out foreign language or American Sign Language classes at a community college or online. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, for example, offers an online, four-monthBusiness Spanish Certificate Programstarting at $649.

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With photography, you can explore your creative side and find opportunities in photojournalism or studio or commercial photography. Becoming a photographer doesn't necessarily require a degree. You can complete online classes with theNew York Institute of Photography, for example, within six to 12 months, and tuition ranges from $699 to $899.

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Consider a virtual reality certificate program if you want to learn basic VR programming and develop VR applications. Learning how to write VR programs opens the door to entry-level positions with software design companies. University of California San Diego offers aprofessional certificatein Virtual Reality (VR) App Development that includes three courses over five months for $267.30.

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Becoming a certified personal trainer qualifies you to work in fitness gyms and wellness centers to help beginner and advanced fitness enthusiasts transform their bodies. You can become certified in as few as 15 weeks at theNational Academy of Sports Medicine, where the cost ranges from $649 to $1,484.

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Companies with websites often need people knowledgeable in online marketing to increase traffic to their sites. Learning online marketing skills can help you snag a digital marketing job. Online marketing skills are also beneficial when launching your own business. Udemy has a 30-dayOnline Marketing Crash Coursefor $19.99that covers basic online marketing strategy, social media, blogging and more. Other online education options include eCornell, which offers a two-month, $3,699Digital Marketing Certificate Program.

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Information security training paves the way for a career in cybersecurity. Work with government agencies, retailers and other businesses to protect sensitive information from hackers. Boston University, for example, offers an onlineInformation Security Graduate Certificate program, which students can complete in eight months. Tuition is about $15,160, and scholarship opportunities are available.

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Certified financial planning certification is an asset if you work in banking, insurance, investing or another financial field. You must have a bachelor's degree or higher to complete a CFP Board-Registered Program and take the CFP exam. Program schedules vary, but you can usually complete training in less than a year. For example, you can finish theCFP Certification programat Barry University in South Florida in about 10 months -- it costs $6,150for seven courses.

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Graphic design training lets you express your creativity and convey messages visually. Put your skills to good use as a freelancer or work for a web design company, internet marketing company, publisher or interior design company. Udemy offers a Graphic Design Bootcamp that only requires 16 hours to complete with a certificate, and the price starts at $129.99.

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Learning time management skills helps you become a more efficient worker, which employers consider a strong point. When you know how to balance priorities your overall productivity improves. Learning Tree International offers a two-day, onlineTime Management Training coursefor $1,950.

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Completing a basic tax preparation class is one way to make extra money during tax season. The course can also help you gain valuable tax experience if you're working toward becoming an accountant, certified public accountant or financial planner.The Income Tax Schooloffers 10-week, online tax preparation courses starting at $497.

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An entrepreneurship certificate is worth the investment if you're looking to start your own business. You'll learn skills for successfully managing a business, handling company funds, creating a business plan and marketing a business. St. Petersburg College, for example, offers an online Business Entrepreneur Certificate program that includes 12 credit hours that can be completed in a year or less. Tuition per credit hour ranges from $111.75 to $386.90.

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A notary public witnesses and records the signing of important papers like mortgage closing documents and legal affidavits. In addition to notary public service providers -- like shipping service retail stores -- real estate companies, banks and law firms also employ or use notaries. A notary public course takes about three to six hours to complete, and you'll have to pass a notary exam approved by your state. In Florida, the cost of a three-hour online training is $59. Some employers cover or reimburse this cost.

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Learning how to handle a bar can help you earn extra money working at a bar, restaurant or private party. Different states will have different requirements for bartenders, but you can find a wide variety of resources for your state online. Online mixology and bartending courses are offered for every skill level, entry to advanced, and can range from free to $400. Typsy, an online platform for hospitality courses and training, offers a number of bartending courses to individual subscribers for free.

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If you're interested in legal work but don't want to attend law school, consider a career as a paralegal and work alongside lawyers. AtBlackstone Career Institute, for example, you can complete paralegal studies in as few as eight to 12 months. Tuition ranges from $1,214 to $1,442.

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Ashleigh Ray, Joel AndersonandGabrielle Olyacontributed to the reporting for this article.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 26 Money-Making Skills You Can Learn in Less Than a Year

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