Category: Uncategorized

INDIANAPOLIS — There’s a phrase that’s ubiquitous in Indiana. You see it on chalkboard signs outside of bars. You hear it from fans, coaches and players. It was emblazoned on T-shirts at Game 3 of the NBA Finals. It’s even the slogan for the state’s basketball Hall of Fame.

In 49 other states, it’s just basketball. But this is Indiana.

It was in 1925, after all, that the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, watched a state high school tournament and declared Indiana “the center of the sport.”

Now, 100 years later, between a stunning Indiana Pacers run to the finals and the exploding popularity of the Indiana Fever, Naismith’s observation has never been more true.

“I realized that basketball was really special when I took my official visit here,” said Pacers center Thomas Bryant, who played two years at Indiana University before entering the NBA in 2017. “It just felt right. You felt the energy, you felt the tenacity, you felt the love of the game, and the passion that everybody brought. That’s what made me fall in love with Indiana.”

“Basketball is king,” said actor Drew Powell, a native of the town of Lebanon whose recent credits include the medical drama “The Pitt.” “It’s everywhere. The entire state buys in. Like Brazilians are born with soccer, Hoosiers are born with basketball.”

“I’ve been here for a few years now,” Fever guard Lexie Hull explained. “And getting to go to high schools and see just even at that level, people are so passionate, excited and supportive of women’s and men’s basketball. I don’t think you find that everywhere.”

Hoosier Hysteria dates back well into the early 1900s. The state’s love of basketball in particular grew out of the single-class high school system, which pitted every school in the state against one another in one massive basketball tournament that whipped fans into a frenzy — and impressed Naismith.

In 1954, the Milan High School Indians, with an enrollment of only 161 students, won the state tournament, which served as the inspiration for the 1986 film “Hoosiers.” In 1955, Sports Illustrated wrote about what it deemed the “statewide mania” of basketball in a story headlined “The Hoosier Madness.”

Since then, Indiana has produced well over 100 professional players, most notably Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who, after stints as the head coach and the president of basketball operations, is an adviser for the Pacers.

And now, Indiana is home to both another underdog story in the Pacers, who are on the cusp of their first NBA championship, and the ascending Fever, who employ the biggest star in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark.

“As someone who grew up in the state of Indiana … it’s such a fun time to be in the city,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said. “I was here the last time the Pacers were in the finals. I remember being in the building and feeling the energy. There’s no better place.”

The simultaneous success of the men’s and women’s professional teams gives Indiana a real chance to become the first state to have an NBA and a WNBA champion in the same year since 2002, when the Lakers and Sparks won for Los Angeles. (The Fever may not be title favorites, but then again, neither were the Pacers.)

The teams have also shown up for each other, with players from both sides often attending the other’s games this spring. (Through Game 3 of the finals, the Pacers were 8-0 in playoff games attended by Clark.)

“It’s been real fun,” said Fever forward Natasha Howard, who has attended multiple postseason games. “To see our guys come from being 10-15 to being in the NBA Finals, anything is possible. I’m extremely proud of what they overcame.”

“It’s electric,” added Hull, who attended Game 3 with Howard and Clark. “They’re selling out Gainbridge [Fieldhouse], we’re selling out Gainbridge. We love to support them and they love to support us.”

Israel’s major early-morning attack on Iran killed military leaders and scientists, damaged the country’s nuclear facilities and escalated long-running tensions in the region.

More than 200 Israeli jets fired on targets across Iran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian promised a “powerful response,” before Iran launched a round of retaliatory missile attacks into Israel.

Source link

Consumers in the early part of June took a considerably less pessimistic view about the economy and potential surges in inflation as progress appeared possible in the global trade war, according to a University of Michigan survey Friday.

The university’s closely watched Surveys of Consumers showed across-the-board rebounds from previously dour readings, while respondents also sharply cut back their outlook for near-term inflation.

For the headline index of consumer sentiment, the gauge was at 60.5, well ahead of the Dow Jones estimate for 54 and a 15.9% increase from a month ago. The current conditions index jumped 8.1%, while the future expectations measure soared 21.9%.

The moves coincided with a softening in the heated rhetoric that has surrounded President Donald Trump’s tariffs. After releasing his April 2 “liberation day” announcement, Trump has eased off the threats and instituted a 90-day negotiation period that appears to be showing progress, particularly with top trade rival China.

“Consumers appear to have settled somewhat from the shock of the extremely high tariffs announced in April and the policy volatility seen in the weeks that followed,” Joanne Hsu, survey director, said in a statement. “However, consumers still perceive wide-ranging downside risks to the economy.”

To be sure, all of the sentiment indexes were still considerably below their year-ago readings as consumers worry about what impact the tariffs will have on prices, along with a host of other geopolitical concerns.

On inflation, the one-year outlook tumbled from levels not seen since 1981.

The one-year estimate slid to 5.1%, a 1.5 percentage point drop, while the five-year view edged lower to 4.1%, a 0.1 percentage point decrease.

“Consumers’ fears about the potential impact of tariffs on future inflation have softened somewhat in June,” Hsu said. “Still, inflation expectations remain above readings seen throughout the second half of 2024, reflecting widespread beliefs that trade policy may still contribute to an increase in inflation in the year ahead.”

The Michigan survey, which will be updated at the end of the month, had been an outlier on inflation fears, with other sentiment and market indicators showing the outlook was fairly contained despite the tariff tensions. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve of New York reported that the one-year view had fallen to 3.2% in May, a 0.4 percentage point drop from the prior month.

At the same time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics this week reported that both producer and consumer prices increased just 0.1% on a monthly basis, pointing toward little upward pressure from the duties. Economists still largely expect the tariffs to show an impact in the coming months.

The soft inflation numbers have led Trump and other White House officials to demand the Fed start lowering interest rates again. The central bank is slated to meet next week, with market expectations strongly pointing to no cuts until September.

There are American bases in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.

Trump has not shied away from the U.S.’s close ties to Israel’s military.

The “United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come,” he posted on Truth Social on Friday.

Even before Israel’s strike, President Donald Trump announced some personnel were being moved out of the region because “it could be a dangerous place.”

Afterward, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad reminded Americans across the Middle East of the “need for caution” and to “know the location of the nearest shelter in the event of hostilities.”

The U.S. has made a clear attempt to distance itself from the attacks, saying Israel acted alone and insisting it will still attend Sunday’s talks with Iran in Oman aimed at limiting its ability to build a nuclear bomb, something Tehran denies pursuing.

Even so, Trump did not shy away from the incident in a post on Truth Social, lamenting the lack of progress in these talks.

“Iranian hardliners spoke bravely,” he wrote. “They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!”

Iran did sign a landmark nuclear agreement with the U.S. and others in 2015, which many Western analysts said successfully hindered Iran’s progress toward a bomb. That was, until Trump tore up what he termed “one-sided deal” in 2018 and Iran began to increase its enrichment again.

Despite saying Thursday that the latest round of nuclear talks was “fairly close to a pretty good agreement,” Trump warned that the lack of progress could result in a “massive conflict.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said the U.S. was not involved in strikes.

Iran said it does not buy Washington’s assurances, and that the attack was impossible without Washington’s “coordination and approval,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

That view is shared by Vali R. Nasr, a professor of Middle East studies and international affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, in Washington.

“It is difficult to believe that Israel would and could have attacked at this scale without U.S. knowledge and green light,” Nasr, a former senior adviser to Washington’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, posted on X.

LONDON — British soccer legend David Beckham, a sporting icon and one of the world’s most recognizable faces, has received a knighthood from King Charles III for services to sport and charity, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.

The award, the highest Britain’s antiquated honors system can bestow, seems inevitable given Beckham’s success as a player and his contribution to the country’s culture. For years, Britons have wondered how he has not already been elevated to Sir David.

He gets the “gong,” as it’s known in British parlance, as part of the king’s birthday honors list, which rewards notable people from across British society.

The move also means his famous wife, Spice Girl-turned-fashion mogul Victoria, will now be known as Lady Beckham. Their marriage in 1999 made them Britain’s most famous couple and a near permanent fixture in tabloid newspapers and magazines, an obsession that has lasted into the age of social media.

Beckham, 50, rose from an unremarkable east London upbringing to reach sporting glory with his beloved Manchester United, before going on to star for several of Europe’s elite teams. He played more than 100 games for the English men’s national team, many as captain, and scored at three World Cups.

He was part of the famous “Class of 92,” a supremely talented group of young players who signed professional deals in 1992 and went on to form the basis of United’s imperial phase of dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s. This culminated in the club winning an unprecedented “treble” of titles in 1999: the Premier League, the European Champions League, and the English FA Cup, under manager Alex Ferguson.

Beckham won 19 major trophies in his career and became the first English player to win major titles in four different countries.

An elegant player, Beckham’s intelligence made up for his lack of pace and trickery. He was famous for his long passes that opened up defenses and for devastating free kicks, which, according to former teammates, he spent countless hours perfecting.

His career took him to the United States in 2007, where he played for the LA Galaxy and helped to build soccer’s profile in the country.

Beckham has been an ambassador for Unicef, the United Nations’ children’s fund, since 2005. Ten years later, the organization launched a fund in his name.

Beckham’s post-playing career was shaped in part by media entrepreneur Simon Fuller, formerly manager of the Spice Girls. Fuller was instrumental in putting a clause in his contract that would give him a stake in an MLS franchise for $25 million when he finished playing.

As a result, he is now president and co-owner of the Inter Miami MLS franchise, currently home to Argentine legend Lionel Messi, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.

Beckham has maintained a higher profile than any footballer of his generation. From waiting for hours in the miles-long line to see Queen Elizabeth’s coffin (apparently without asking for special access) in 2022 to a four-part Emmy-winning docuseries on Netflix last year, his star profile remains huge.

In 2017, it looked like a knighthood was a long way off when leaked emails allegedly written by Beckham were highly critical of the honors system. A spokesperson for the Beckhams said at the time that the stolen emails were “hacked and doctored.”

While awarded by the king, or at least a senior royal, honors are actually decided by committees of politicians, civil servants, and leading business figures. The overall process is managed by 10 Downing Street, the private office and residence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who received a knighthood in 2014.

Four people detained at an immigration detention center in New Jersey have gone missing, according to two senior officials.

The detainees were being held at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been holding individuals who are facing possible deportation. The four people were unaccounted for Thursday night, and federal authorities were looking into whether they were still on the grounds of the facility, or had somehow escaped, senior officials said.

Chopper 4 was over the scene Thursday afternoon showing law enforcement and ICE agents canvassing the area.

The wife of one detainee told NBC New York she rushed over to Delaney Hall after she got a call from her husband about a lockdown in his pod and a protest about inhumane conditions at the detention center. The wife of that detainee said she was worried about her husband’s safety.

A search was ongoing.

Local and state authorities were notified of the missing detainees, and some additional resources were called in to assist with the situation, according to the senior officials.

Delaney Hall made headlines in May after protests broke out at the 1,000-bed, privately owned facility.

Democratic U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was charged in a criminal complaint with two assault charges stemming from a May 9 visit to the center. She was indicted on Tuesday; The indictment includes three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials.

By law, members of Congress are authorized to go into federal immigration facilities as part of their oversight powers, even without notice. Congress passed a 2019 appropriations bill that spelled out the authority.

McIver said in a statement that she had “serious concerns about the reports of abusive circumstances at the facility,” and that her office had reached out to ICE for answers.

At the same visit that resulted in McIver’s charges, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on a trespassing charge, which was later dropped. Baraka later filed a lawsuit against acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba over what he said was a malicious prosecution.

In a statement, Baraka expressed concern for what had transpired at Delaney Hall on Thursday, “ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees.”

The mayor went on to say the situation “lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail — including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights. This is why city officials and our congressional delegation need to be allowed entry to observe and monitor, any why private prisons pose a very real problem to our state and its constitution…We must put an end to this chaos and not allow this operation to continue unchecked.”

The Schwartz will be with us again.

Mel Brooks will reprise his “Spaceballs” role as Yogurt in the upcoming sequel to the hit 1987 “Star Wars” spoof that will be released in theaters.

The comedy legend, 98, hyped the new movie in a post on X on June 12.

“I told you we’d be back,” Brooks captioned the post.

The clip features words scrolling on the screen, “Star Wars”-style, with music underneath.

The video begins by poking fun at how many “Star Wars” movies have been made in the years since “Spaceballs” came out in 1987. It goes on to joke about the high volume of films and TV series in other franchises, including “Dune,” “Jurassic Park,” “Avatar,” Marvel, DC Comics, “The Lion King,” “Harry Potter,” “Star Trek,” “Alien,” “Predator” and even the Beatles, as well as “Oppenheimer.”

“But in thirty-eight years there has only ever been one … ‘Spaceballs.’ Until now …” the text reads before Brooks appears wearing a sweatshirt that says “‘Spaceballs’ the sweatshirt,” a nod to the merchandising jokes that run throughout the original film.

“After 40 years, we asked, ‘What do the fans want?’ But instead, we’re making this movie,” Brooks says at the end of the video before a giant Dark Helmet head appears with the words, “The Schwartz awakens in 2027.”

“May the Schwartz be with you,” Brooks then says as the clip draws to a close.

“While the title, plot details, and rest of cast are being kept under wraps, the film has been described by those who have not yet read the script as ‘A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film,’” Amazon MGM Studios said in a statement.

Josh Greenbaum will direct the film, which will be written by a team of writers, including Josh Gad, who teased the sequel last year.

Gad shared Brooks’ video while expressing his excitement about joining the “Spaceballs” universe.

“I was that child who saw ‘Spaceballs’ before I ever saw ‘Star Wars’ and then wondered why anyone would do a dramatic remake of the Mel Brooks classic,” he wrote on Instagram on June 12. “It is therefore the greatest gift of my life to now help take the reins and work alongside Mel and this incredible group to do a sequel to the movie that first inspired George Lucas.”

Deadline reports Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis will return for the “Spaceballs” sequel to reprise their roles as Lone Starr and Dark Helmet, respectively. Moranis has not appeared in many movies over the last three decades after being a staple on the big screen in the ‘80s and early ‘90s.

Keke Palmer is also set to star in the movie, according to Deadline, as is Lewis Pullman, the Emmy-nominated son of Bill. TODAY.com has reached out to Amazon MGM Studios for comment on the casting.

Viswashkumar explained that he and his brother had been staying in India for the last eight or nine months and he was bound back home to London, where his family lived.

Viswashkumar told Reuters in Hindi that within a minute after takeoff, the plane felt like it came to a standstill in the air and the green and white cabin lights turned on.

“I could feel engine thrust increasing to go up but it crashed with speed into the building,” he told Reuters.

He explained that the side of the plane he was on landed on the ground floor of the hostel.

“I could see that there was space outside the aircraft, so when my door broke I tried to escape through a little space and I did. On the opposite side (of plane) was the building wall, so nobody could have escaped. The plane crashed there. There was some space where I landed,” he said.

“I don’t know how I managed to escape. It was in front of my eyes that the air hostess and others (died),” he added.

Viswashkumar’s left hand was burned by a fire. An ambulance took him to a hospital where he remains in recovery.

He is “doing well” but “psychologically disturbed” by the event, according to the medical director of the Civil Hospital, where he is being treated.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Viswashkumar in the hospital on Friday.

Viswashkumar summed his extraordinary survival up in a few words: “It’s miracle, everything,” he told DD News.

Nayan Kumar Ramesh, Viswashkumar’s brother in the U.K., told Sky News, NBC News’ international partner, that “this is a miracle that he survived.”

“But what other miracle for my other brother?” he said, referring to their third brother who was on the flight with Viswashkumar.

In total there were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, Air India said, and 241 were killed. Among the passengers were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, a Canadian national and seven Portuguese nationals.

The plane had crashed into a hostel for the B.J. Medical College and Civil hospital (BJMC). As a result, four students at BJMC died, six relatives of resident doctors died and 24 are undergoing treatment, the Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) Doctors Association said Friday.

Oil prices surged and stocks tumbled Friday in the wake of Israel’s strikes on Iran’s top military officials and nuclear sites.

U.S. oil benchmark prices climbed approximately 8% to about $74 a barrel, the highest level since early April. Major stock indexes fell more than 1% in premarket trading, though they pared heavier losses as investors assessed that wider fallout from the conflict was initially limited. Tech stocks like Nvidia and Tesla moved lower, while shares in oil and defense-industry firms like Chevron and Lockheed Martin traded up.

Gold prices also reached a new monthly high, rising more than 1% to as much as $3,440 an ounce. The price of bitcoin fell almost 1% to less than $105,000. U.S. bond prices were little changed.

Israel launched strikes on Iran early Friday local time, a dramatic escalation of long-running tensions between the two countries. Israel officials have warned of a “lengthy operation,” while President Donald Trump said there was “much more to come” from Israel and that Iran should make a deal. Iran has so far retaliated by launching drones toward Israel while also threatening U.S. assets in the region.

While spiking oil prices usually signal higher gasoline prices for consumers in the coming days and weeks, experts said there was no need to rush out to the pump.

“Higher gas prices are coming. But it will not be insane, and ultimately gas prices remain affordable vs income,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at price tracker GasBuddy, said in a post on X.

Higher oil prices could stoke inflation, complicating the Federal Reserve’s calculations as it continues to weigh a weakening job market against fears of the price impact from Trump’s tariffs.

Before the strikes, stocks appeared heading for a wining week after the Trump administration signaled renewed interest in a rapprochement with China over trade concerns. The president said he planned on stabilizing import duties on Chinese goods at 55%, while those on U.S. goods into China would be set at 10%.