“I don’t wanna disappoint my coaches, my fan base, and owners who expect me to be on the floor so I apologize,” Durant told reportersMonday.
Durant was thrown out alongside Clippers guard Patrick Beverley in the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 121-104 win. The pair dueled for most of the game and each received a pair of double technicals.
“Nah,” Durant said when asked if there was any animosity with him and Beverley, perLogan Murdockof NBC Sports Bay Area. “I love Patrick Beverley.”
“I’ve been playing against Pat Beverly since he was at Arkansas, so I kind of know what he brings. He’s a Chicago kid, grew up and played in the Chicago area, so those dudes play with a different type of grit, so I can appreciate that about Pat. You know what he’s going to bring to the table, just physically mucking up the game a little bit with his physicality. That’s what he brings to each team he plays on.”
Durant said he was not worried about picking up two technical fouls in the first game of what should be an extended postseason run for the Warriors. A seventh technical foul results in a suspension during the postseason. Durant led the NBA with 17 technicals during the regular season.
“That’s two technicals,” Warriors coach Steve Kerrtold reporters. “You get seven technicals, your seventh one is a suspension in the playoffs, whether you play four playoff games or 24, seven is the magic number. So, he’s got four to play with after one game. And that’s what Beverley does.
“We talked about it the last couple days. He’s a hell of a defender who plays hard. We have a lot of respect for him. But you cannot take the bait because that’s a bad trade for us. You just can’t do it. The Clippers have made a lot of good trades this year, and that was maybe their best.”
Neither Beverley nor Durant saw the situation as one for which they should have been ejected. The infraction that led to them being tossed seemed like a relatively minor war of words—perhaps worthy of a first double technical but not a second, which officials are typically conservative about handing out.
Adam Schiff and Devin Nunes’ letter makes clear there’s rare bipartisan unity on the Intelligence Committee to see the information hidden behind redactions in Robert Mueller’s findings. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and top GOP committee member Devin Nunes have briefly united to request a classified briefing from special counsel Robert Mueller and his team on every aspect of their findings.
The two men, who have clashed repeatedly over the Russia probe, similarly requested every scrap of evidence that Mueller collected or produced, “regardless of form and classification.”
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In a three-page letter sent late last month to Attorney General William Barr, Schiff and Nunes said it’s their role on the Intelligence Committee to review and understand any counterintelligence findings that Mueller may have reached — including those related to the Kremlin’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election and whether any Americans aided the effort, wittingly or unwittingly.
The letter, obtained from an Intelligence Committee source, was sent on March 27 and emerges just three days before Barr is expected to deliver a redacted version of Mueller’s findings to Congress. That version of the report is expected to exclude several categories of information, including classified material, evidence related to ongoing investigations and grand jury information.
Schiff and Nunes’ letter, however, makes clear there’s rare bipartisan unity on the Intelligence Committee to see the information hidden behind those redactions.
The lawmakers want some of the most sensitive work products investigators produce, including “raw reporting” as well as interview notes known as FD-302s, from as early as January 2015 to the present “which relate to any U.S. government contacts with any person formally or informally associated with the Trump campaign.
House Judiciary Committee members have also indicated they’d like Mueller to testify.
Top Republican on the panel Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia urged Democrats to seek a briefing next week — while Congress is in recess — but Democrats said it was likelier to come later, after Barr testifies to the committee in early May.
Nunes has lately slammed Mueller’s work as partisan and unreliable.
“The Mueller report, we can just burn it up. It is a partisan document,” Nunes said in a Fox News interview on March 24, adding that he had no interest in seeing the report.
Nunes has also been seeking a private audience with Barr to discuss eight criminal referrals he intends to lodge, encouraging prosecutors to investigate the FBI and Justice Department officials who helped launch the Trump-Russia probe in July 2016.
Just one day after Nunes and Schiff signed the letter, Nunes joined Republicans on the Intelligence Committee to call for Schiff to resign as chairman, arguing that his commentary throughout the Mueller probe had damaged his ability to lead the panel.
Before Sunday night’s (April 14) Season 8 premiere, I went into my rewatch of Game of Thrones as I usually do, a hardcore Daenerys Targaryen fan and true believer that the Mother of Dragons should be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Don’t get me wrong — I love Dany and she is still arguably my favorite character (she walks through fire and has dragons, how can I not love her?) — but after watching every season of GoT again, and the beginning of this final season, a new front-runner came to mind who would be better-suited to sit on the Iron Throne than anyone in Westeros: Sansa Stark.
When we first met Sansa, she was a young, highborn Westerosi with a love for fancy things and a longing to become queen. Then, well, lots of shit happened. She became the target of constant abuse by her once-betrothed King Joffrey (who cut off her father’s head, mind you), a chess piece to be manipulated by Cersei and Lord Baelish, and was tortured and abused by Lord Ramsay Bolton.
But through it all she’s had a quiet, enduring strength. She’s smart, she’s resilient, she’s a survivor, and she’s the kind of hero who would make a great queen. “Many underestimated you. Most of them are dead now,” Tyrion Lannister said to Sansa in the Season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones. And he’s right.
Here are seven reasons why Sansa Stark should sit on the Iron Throne — if there even is an Iron Throne after the Night King and his undead army invade the Seven Kingdoms.
She has the Stark name
The North remembers, and they seem to remember a lot. The Northerners are also extremely loyal and, among the people of this kingdom, the Stark name holds a lot of weight. While Jon, who was named King of the North, is still known as Ned Stark’s bastard (even though we know the truth about his Targaryen and Stark blood), Sansa is the daughter of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully, giving her more claim to the North than even her half-brother. If she were queen, her lineage would give her a level of loyalty and support that the North hasn’t given a king or queen since her dearly departed brother Robb. And it would be the first time someone from the North (and a Stark) has sat on the Iron Throne, which, considering all that the Stark family has been through, would be pretty epic.
She’s learned from the best, and the worst
Being the daughter of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully meant Sansa grew up with two great examples of strong and honorable leaders. But apart from what she gleaned as a child at home, Sansa has also been around some people on her journey — Cersei, Lord Baelish, King Joffrey, Margaery Tyrell, Lord Bolton — who have shown her what to do and what not to do. One of Sansa’s greatest strengths is learning from those around her — and she certainly paid attention to Cersei, especially in regards to keeping your enemies close, trusting no one, and observing everyone. (In fact, Sansa seems to be the only one in Winterfell who knows Cersei shouldn’t be trusted — when did they all become so trusting anyway?) Arya said it best to Jon in the Season 8 premiere, “[Sansa]’s the smartest person I’ve ever met.”
She slayed as the Lady of Winterfell
One of the best things that resulted from Jon leaving Sansa in charge of the North while he ventured to Dragonstone was seeing Sansa’s abilities as a leader. Not only did calling all the shots come naturally to her, Sansa also showed wisdom beyond her years by not falling for Lord Baelish’s scheme to put a wedge between her and her sister, Arya. She sentenced Little Finger to death (by Arya’s hand), showing him that messing with a “wolf” is never a good idea.
She won the Battle of the Bastards
Remember the Battle of the Bastards between Jon Snow and Ramsay in Season 6? Well, if it wasn’t for Sansa, Jon would have never been able to take Winterfell back and he might even be dead. After realizing Jon didn’t have enough men for the battle, Sansa sent a raven to Lord Baelish, and the knights of the Vale showed up to lead Jon to victory. This decision showed Sansa’s keen ability to advise during wartime, an obvious asset for any queen.
She’s already lived in King’s Landing
Unlike Jon and Daenerys, Sansa has already lived in King’s Landing and in the royal castle, the Red Keep. She’s already familiar with the people and the politics, and not having to be spend time learning about a new city would give her more time to do the things that she does best — like ruling. (Of course, this is assuming King’s Landing is even still standing after the Night King is done with it.)
She has the respect of almost everyone
While Cersei definitely has it out for Sansa (but come on, she has it out for everyone!) it appears that most people in Westeros wish her well. She has the respect of Lord Tyrion Lannister (her former husband), and Brienne of Tarth and her sister Arya are both by her side. The Tyrells liked her when they were around. Daenerys, in spite of a salty look or two, appears to have nothing against her (yet). The Boltons, who had it out for her family, are dead. Lord Frey is gone. The Vale supports her, as do Jon, his men, and the North. That kind of likability could help bring some much-needed peace to the Seven Kingdoms.
She’s tough but also kind
Sansa has shown time and time again that she’s much stronger than she gets credit for. She’s not a victim, she’s a survivor, and that strength has been made all the more evident these last two seasons. But even though she’s been forced to make tough decisions (as any leader would), she remains kind — unlike, say, Cersei. The best leaders are those who can be strong when they must, but kind when they can; Sansa embodies both of those attributes. She is not the queen that Westeros deserves, but the queen they so desperately need.
YouTuber Seth Everman, whose channel focuses on recreating popular songs using household items, donned a silver wig and chains in his attempt to take on Billie Eilish’s “bad guy.”
Everman perfectly captures the song’s heist-like mood by angrily scrubbing a pan, rapidly tapping a Nintendo 64 console, and rhythmically beating a couch cushion against his couch. He tops it off by crooning Eilish’s trippy “I’m the bad guy” into a spinning fan.
When it all comes together, it’s actually pretty close to the original version. Honestly, someone fly him out to Coachella already.
Next time you’d like to support a friend in meme form (a vital part of any friendship), no need to pull out that Amy Poehler GIF from Mean Girls.
Turn instead to Janelle Monáe, who had a great time in the audience at Lizzo’s Coachella set on Sunday. She danced, she laughed, she wore cool sunglasses, she took videos like a stage mom — she really made the most of the experience.
People on Twitter latched on to the moment instantly. “We love a supportive friendship,” wrote one user. Others applauded Monáe’s choice to wear earplugs — responsible!
Both Monáe and Lizzo retweeted photos of Monáe in the crowd. “Thanks for not posting my sweaty arm pits,” Monáe added.
She also brought Lizzo onstage during her own set on Coachella’s first night, which resulted in this extremely good twerk-off. Lizzo also interviewed Monáe for a Them. cover story that came out last week. Hmm … seems like these two together is a foolproof combo.
Thousands of environmental protesters have blocked access to landmarks and roads in central London, in an attempt to force the British government to declare climate change an emergency.
Activists converged on Marble Arch, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus and Parliament Square on Monday, while some smashed windows and daubed graffiti at the offices of energy giant Shell, near Waterloo.
At sites across the British capital, campaigners chanted slogans and held placards that read “There is no Planet B” and “Extinction is forever”.
Activists say the roadblocks will continue overnight and could last for two weeks.
Police said three men were arrested and there was “a proportionate policing plan in place”.
‘Extinction Rebellion’
The protests are being led by the Extinction Rebellion group and will involve demonstrations in 80 cities in 33 countries around the world in the coming days.
The group, which made headlines earlier this month when some of its members held a semi-nude protest in the British parliament during a Brexit debate, has warned its members they could face arrest for participation in non-violent civil disobedience.
“The aim is to contribute to an escalating series of acts of civil disobedience which bring about change,” said Larch Maxey, 46, a spokesman for the movement.
“The plan is disruption and that disruption escalates until you get the attention of the people you are persuading to change,” he said.
Extinction Rebellion, which was launched in October by academics, wants the government to declare a climate and ecological emergency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025, halt biodiversity loss and create “citizen assemblies on climate and ecological justice” to oversee climate policy.
Reporting from Marble Arch in central London, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said the protesters planned to camp there for at least three days.
“They are using this new type of civil disobedience to get the message of climate change across,” he said. “They have even set up solar panels, because their intention is to camp out here.
“They say they are doing it because of the frustration over decades of warnings over climate change being ignored – and the only way they can get people to take notice is to do this sort of civil disobedience.”
‘Our children will die’
On Waterloo Bridge, demonstrators set up a skateboard ramp and vegetarian food stalls, while others marched up and down the bridge behind a groups of drummers.
Ruby Brookman, 22, a volunteer who helps refugees, told AFP news agency: “I’m here because our generation is going to be affected by this.
“I work with refugees and we saw people moving with climate change: drought in East Africa a while ago, the recent hurricanes in Zimbabwe.”
Protester Olivia Evershed, 23, said climate policies must be altered quickly to prevent catastrophic changes.
“If we don’t do anything to change this, our children will die,” she told The Associated Press.
Hollywood actor Willem Dafoe said he was sending a video message in support of the activists, telling them: “I’m with you.”
The group is also supported by US academic Noam Chomsky, as well as the Canadian author Naomi Klein.
The Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere saw plenty of reunions, callbacks, and major moments, but nothing can beat telling us the fate of Ed Sheeran’s Season 7 character.
In a scene with Bronn and three women (some old school GoT sexposition), two girls discuss a Lannister soldier named “Eddie” who got on the wrong side of Drogon at the Loot Train Attack.
Reddit picked up on the Easter Egg right away, with fans speculating that it was the show’s way of acknowledging Sheeran’s confusing cameo.
“That boy Eddie…” “The ginger?” “That’s him. Came back with his face burned off. He’s got no eyelids now.” “How does he sleep with no eyelids?”
Sheeran appeared in the Season 7 premiere as a Lannister soldier – part of a small but rare group of uncannily kind and empathetic Lannister soldiers who Arya meets on her way south. While Sheeran’s character leads the group in singing, another man makes sure she gets food, while a third offers her his own homemade mead.
The scene was generally dismissed by viewers for having no bearing on the plot and no ostensible purpose besides having Maisie Williams share screen time with the pop star. The fate of Sheeran’s soldier was a running joke throughout Season 7, with him presumed dead at Arya’s hand or the Loot Train Attack.
But hey, this show is full of surprises! Your fave could die at any moment, but somehow Ed Sheeran is alive somewhere in the South and sleeping with no eyelids. Suck it, Night King!
It’s no surprise that Game of Thrones Season 8 would lead to long-awaited character reunions. After all, almost every character was headed to Winterfell in the Season 7 finale.
We were gifted several of these reunions in the first episode alone. They ranged from somewhere between extremely emotional to extremely uncomfortable.
Here’s a breakdown of the many meetings that took place in Winterfell and elsewhere, ranked by just how awkward they are (lookin’ at you, Bran!).
They were closest of the Stark children, even if one of them isn’t really a Stark child.
Image: helen sloan/hbo
Arya and Jon’s long-anticipated reunion was perfect. It was overwhelming, full of callbacks to their last scene in Season 1 (that darn hug! Needle!), and Jon was definitely the most emotional I’ve ever seen him. They shared a quip about Jon’s Valyrian steel sword and Arya admitted she’s used Needle “once or twice.”
Their conversation about Sansa was interesting and an understated acknowledgement of everything they’ve been through to get here. I totally did not shed a tear at their second hug. (Reader, I did!).
9. Theon and Yara
Yara’s a little worse for wear but at least Theon made it.
Image: helen sloan/hbo
Certainly one of the least awkward reunions of the season premiere was when Theon and a small group of reavers boarded one of Euron’s ships and murdered a bunch of Euron’s men to save Yara. After cutting Yara’s bonds, Yara stood and headbutted Theon right in the face, then extended a hand to help him up.
It’s honestly what everyone expected, probably including Theon. Yara is a hard-ass woman and she lost a lot of people the last time she tried to rescue Theon from Ramsey Bolton. Plus, he didn’t stop her from getting captured by Euron last season (although he was overpowered and couldn’t really do anything). As a nice gesture after Yara was cleaned up, she told Theon to go to Winterfell, the place he considers home. How sweet.
8. Edd and Tormund
Who knew watching a crow and a wildling happily reunite would make such an impact? Edd and Tormund bro-out at Last Hearth after realizing Tormund always had blue eyes. It’s nice and all but immediately cut short because of The Night King’s spiral message.
7. Arya and Gendry
Sparks are flying, and not just from hammers hitting hot dragonglass.
Image: helen sloan/hbo
I expected their reunion to be sweet but I did not expect them to get their flirt on immediately. And you know what, it was fabulous.
Arya flexing her weaponry, Gendry’s throwback to calling her Lady Stark and milady, and that final twirl she gave him while leaving. Yeah, they were fully vibing even after all these years.
6. Arya and The Hound
The love/hate relationship between Arya and Sandor Clegane is so strong.
Image: helen sloan/hbo
“You’re a cold little bitch, aren’t you? I guess that’s why you’re still alive,” Sandor Clegane tells Arya when they reunite after she left him to die. Sorry, first she robbed him and then she left him to die.
The Hound doesn’t even know the half of it.
Of course, their reunion wasn’t supposed to end with a warm hug. It was icy yet there was a weird mutual respect. If there wasn’t, she probably would’ve found a way to kill him, but he isn’t on that list anymore.
5. Bran and Jon
Jon and Bran, the last two Stark boys. Kind of. Jon thought he was reuniting with his long-lost half-brother, but Bran knew that was wrong and they were actually cousins. Still, Jon was elated to see Bran and embraced him and kissed him on the forehead, and Bran seemed happy.
When Jon said “Look at you, you’re a man” with beaming eyes and Bran said “Almost…” Um, what the hell? Is Bran trying to say he’s going to have sex soon? Understandably, Jon looked at Bran like he was a weirdo, because he is a weirdo, and walked away pretty swiftly. Not a very smooth meeting, but not Bran’s worst.
No one said meeting your ex husband wouldn’t be awkward, especially if your marital status is still unclear. Tyrion and Sansa’s conversation had its moments thanks to Sansa’s sassy comeuppance.
They talk about the last time they saw each other at Joffrey’s wedding and how they’ve both survived since. The true delight was to see how far Sansa’s come if she can sense Cersei’s betrayal from miles away while the Queen’s wronged brother got tricked.
He tells her she doesn’t have to be afraid of Cersei anymore, then she savagely rebukes him by noting, “I used to think you were the cleverest man alive.”
3. Bran and Jaime
Wow. Just wow. Have eyes ever said so much in Game of Thrones?
These two haven’t seen each other since the very first episode of the series when Jaime shoved Bran out of a tower window at Winterfall because the young Stark saw Jaime having sex with his sister Cersei. It was an attempted murder, but Bran survived and has continued to live his life paralyzed from the waist down.
Just before the two locked eyes, Jaime’s face verging on fear and Bran’s face bearing his goofy all-knowing-smirk, Bran told Sam is that he was waiting for a friend. Is this friend Jaime? Probably. They’re far from friends though, making this one of the most awkward meetings in the entire series.
2. Sam and Jon
There’s a reason that dragon isn’t eating you, Jon.
Image: helen sloan/hbo
Leave it to Sam to break the big news to Jon that he’s not actually Jon Snow, but the heir to the throne of Westeros, Aegon Targaryen. Oh and Sam opened up the conversation with the fact that Daenerys executed his father and brother, so this reunion did not start off on a great note.
As Jon was visiting Ned Stark’s resting place in the crypts of Winterfell, Sam revealed to him that Ned wasn’t actually his father and telling Jon that he, not Daenerys, is the rightful ruler of Westeros. Sam also implied that Jon is a better ruler than her and should take the throne, which mirrors the conundrum that Ned faced when he learned the Baratheon children were actually Lannisters born of incest. It might be seen as treason to say it, but it’s the truth. Not a very happy reunion between best friends at all.
1. Sam and Jorah
Daenerys just had to interrupt this reunion, didn’t she.
Image: helen sloan/hbo
Sam did Jorah a huge favor when he cured him of greyscale, that disease that slowly turns you into a stone person and makes you go mad until you die. It should have been a nice reunion between the two, but Daenerys was standing right between them and informed Sam that she had executed his father and brother for not bending the knee to her.
Oof. Jorah, unfortunately, had to stand there and silently stand by his queen’s actions while Sam unraveled. Thanks, Daenerys for turning what should have been a really happy moment into something heartbreaking.
Don’t worry, there’s still plenty more fun meetings to expect over the next five episodes, including The Hound and Sansa, Theon and Bran, Jaime and Brienne, Arya and Melisandre. The end has only just begun.
Kevin Durant has been inundated with free-agency questions for the entire 2018-19 season, and the Golden State Warriors superstar isn’t interested in having that conversation during the NBA postseason.
“Yo, just watch the game. Just focus on the game and stop nitpicking, because it is a beautiful game going on out there,” Durant told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “What can I do right now? I can’t sign a paper. I got to do the most important thing, and that is play. And that is what we should be focusing on.”
Durant also told Spears he hasn’t made a decision about his future and won’t do so until after the season.
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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