NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saddiq Bey has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the New Orleans Pelicans that will pay the veteran power forward $55.5 million.
Bey's agents with Excel Sports Management announced the extension, which was first reported by ESPN on Thursday night.
Bey averaged 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds last season, his first in New Orleans and also his first season since missing all of the 2024-25 campaign with a torn ligament in his left knee.
Drafted 19th overall out of Villanova in 2020, Bey spent most of his first three seasons with Detroit before being traded to Atlanta.
He has averaged 14.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in about 30.4 minutes per game for his career.
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FILE - New Orleans Pelicans guard-forward Saddiq Bey (41) stands in the first half against the Orlando Magic in an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ella Hall, file)
MINNA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian police fired tear gas on Friday at crowds who gathered in protest against the deaths of 37 miners being held in custody.
The civil defense corps said the miners, who were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of illegal mining, had died as a result of a suspected disease outbreak. But survivors told The Associated Press that the deaths were due to suffocation.
The protesters claim the miners were killed in retaliation for earlier attacks by some miners on officers. The government suspended the commandant of Niger state’s civil defense corps on Friday.
“It is an unfortunate incident,” Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said in a statement. “However, a full investigation will be conducted while the commandant under whose watch this happened remains suspended.”
Dozens of young people, including miners and their relatives, gathered near the civil defense corps’ office in Minna, the capital of Niger state. Police cordoned off the area and attempted to disperse the protesters by firing tear gas canisters.
“There will be no attempt to shield anyone found culpable. At the same time, we mustn’t prejudge the outcome of the investigation,” Minister of Information Mohammed Idris said.
Illegal mining is a serious problem in Nigeria, where analysts say it funds activities of armed groups, some of whom control the mines.
Families and relatives of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining wait outside a hospital where their bodies are stored in Minna, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammed Nura)
Families and relatives of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining wait outside a hospital where their bodies are stored in Minna, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammed Nura)
Families and relatives of miners who were arrested on suspicion of illegal mining wait outside a hospital where their bodies are stored in Minna, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammed Nura)
