The agent of Arsenal star Bernd Leno has on Monday spoken out over his client’s future, at the same time providing something of a bizarre personal insight into the goalkeeping situation in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
The future of German international Leno has of course taken its place front and centre in the headlines when it comes to ongoings at the Emirates over the course of the last 48 hours.
This comes with the shot-stopper subject to altogether intense interest on the part of Premier League newcomers Fulham.
The Cottagers are understood to have identified Leno as their first-choice option to reinforce the club’s ranks between the posts ahead of next season, desperate to prolong their stay back in the top-flight of English football beyond 12 months.
🚨 EXCL: Fulham in talks to sign goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Arsenal. 30yo among #FFC options + currently favoured candidate but nothing agreed. Has 1y on contract & keen to stay in London. #AFC have Ramsdale, Turner, Hein. W/ @gunnerblog for @TheAthleticUKhttps://t.co/XkWakC9g20
Speaking on Monday, it therefore came as no surprise when the subject of his client’s future was put to the 30-year-old’s agent.
And, during an interview with German outlet Bild, Joannis Koukoutrigas first took advantage of the opportunity to, somewhat bizarrely, suggest that Leno remains the ‘clear no.1’ on the red half of north London.
This of course comes despite the ex-Bayer Leverkusen star having long been usurped by Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal pecking order.
“He is a German national goalkeeper, has always performed well at Arsenal and is an absolute team player,” Koukoutrigas explained.
“For me personally, Bernd is also the clear No.1 at Arsenal. With all due respect to the competitors.
From here, Leno’s representative went on to confirm Fulham’s interest in the experienced shot-stopper, albeit with the capital outfit far from the only club in the race for the out-of-favour Gunners star:
“Fulham is trying hard to get Bernd. Very professionally. This is also true for some other clubs and shows his status. But, as I said, for me he is the No.1 at Arsenal and we are therefore also relaxed.”
Bernd Leno’s agent has spoken out over the Arsenal goalkeeper’s future.https://t.co/JGTCogZhZt
Noeleen Heyzer said that since she took up the job six months ago, Myanmar has “continued to descend into profound and widespread conflict”.
Already one of the world’s largest refugee emergencies, she reminded that multidimensional crises there have left over one million internally displaced people (IDPs) across the country with “serious regional and international ramifications”.
Nearly one million mainly Muslim Rohingyas live in refugees camps in neighbouring Bangladesh, and hundreds of thousands of others are scattered across the region.
‘Disillusioned’ generation
This crisis has resulted in collapsing State institutions, disrupting social and economic infrastructure – including health, education, banking, food security and employment – while increasing criminality and illicit activities.
And over the past five years, the number of people living in poverty has doubled to encompass half the population.
“Today, 14.4 million people, or one-quarter of the entire population of Myanmar urgently require humanitarian assistance,” said the Special Envoy.
At the same time, following the COVID-19 pandemic and political crisis, school enrolment has dropped by up to 80 per cent in two years, leaving at least 7.8 million children shut out of the classroom.
“A generation that benefitted from the democratic transition is now disillusioned, facing chronic hardship and, tragically, many feel they have no choice left but to take up arms,” she warned.
Conflict, the norm
As military violence and distrust have continued to deepen, including against peaceful protestors, armed conflict “has become the norm” for all Burmese.
“The military continues its disproportionate use of force, has intensified its attack on civilians and increased operations against resistance forces, using aerial bombings,” said the senior UN official. “Civilian buildings and villages have been destroyed by fire and internally displaced populations have been attacked”.
Meanwhile, there are reports of up to 600 armed resistance groups, or “people’s defense forces” engaged in fighting, with some conducting assassinations targeting those seen as “pro-military”.
Unsplash/Pyae Sone Htun
Protesters attend a march against the military coup in Myanmar.
Feel of abandonment
Ms. Heyzer said she was continuing to work closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to de-escalate hostilities.
However, she pointed out that continued differences, regionally and more broadly among UN Member States, “have left the people of Myanmar feeling abandoned in their time of need.”
“I will continue to play a bridging role…in Myanmar, in the region, and the international community to address the protection needs and suffering of the most vulnerable, and to support the will of the people for a future federal democratic union based on peace, stability and shared prosperity.”
Remembering the Rohingya
Instability and conflict place vulnerable communities at further risk, including the Rohingya.
The Special Envoy has developed a multi-track strategy that focuses on humanitarian and protection needs; a return to civilian rule; effective and democratic governance; and durable solutions for the Rohingya – the majority of whom fled following violent persecution by Government forces in 2017, characterized by the then UN human rights chief as a text-book example of ethnic cleansing.
“Sustainable solutions for the Rohingya people must be built into the design of a peaceful, inclusive and democratic Myanmar,” she said.
‘Face of human tragedy’
In direct contact with the Burmese people, Ms. Heyzer said: “I have learned the face of human tragedy behind these figures.”
Rohingya refugee women shared with her how prolonged camp displacements in Bangladesh and elsewhere, have affected their daily lives and limited opportunities to build skills and livelihoods.
They also mentioned that camp shops in Cox’s Bazar and community-run learning centres have shuttered.
“Women also told me of the many protection risks that face women and girls, including trafficking, child marriage and sexual violence”, she stated. “They described how the lack of accountability has normalized violence against women and girls in the camps.”
A young girl in Myanmar whose education has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Durable solutions
Ms. Heyzer advocated for “integrated and inclusive humanitarian, peace and development action” to strengthen rights and support Rohingya.
Turning to the Rakhine Advisory Commission, which aims to improve conditions in Rakhine state, from which many Rohingya fled north across the border, she told the General Assembly that she supported their recommendations for changes at both a “vertical” level – involving the de-facto authorities, pro-democracy actors and the separatist ethnic militia known as the Arakan Army – and the “horizontal”, such as grassroots initiatives that promote inclusivity, peaceful co-existence, and equality for all.
Ultimately, she said, it was “Myanmar’s responsibility” to address these fundamental issues.
In the immortal words of the late, great Audrey Hepburn, “I’m just CRAZY about Tiffany’s!” To be honest, aren’t we all? Thankfully, London’s Saatchi Gallery is making all our wildest jewelry dreams come true by giving a home to the house’s traveling “Vision & Virtuosity” exhibition, open now through August 19. Featuring 400 archival pieces and Tiffany-adjacent items, from the original Breakfast at Tiffany’s script to the first-ever Blue Book—the O.G. Tiffany & Co. catalog—a deep dive into the history of what is arguably the jewelry world’s most illustrious brand is the perfect way to mark its 150th anniversary since arriving in the British capital.
Regarding the title of the exhibition, “Vision is the concept that an artist or creative person has an inkling, a spark of a concept or idea that hasn’t happened before…and has the boldness to realize it,” curator Christopher Young exclusively tells ELLE.com. “Virtuosity, on the other hand, is the excellence of the ability to do that—incredible craftsmanship, incredible materials.” The duality of vision and virtuosity is inextricably linked to Tiffany’s founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany, who first dreamed up the idea of fancy store in New York City that sells exotic goods from overseas, like sapphires and Mississippi River pearls.
Tickets for “Vision & Virtuosity” are currently available on the Tiffany & Co. Exhibition app, available on the iOS and Google Play app stores. If you can’t make it across the pond, take a look inside the exhibition here.
One of hip hop’s most notorious bachelors may be off the market.
During the premiere episode of REVOLT’s Caresha Please show on June 10, host and City Girls rapper Yung Miami had rumored boyfriend Diddy, 52, as her first celebrity guest. During the episode, the pair kept it all the way real about their current relationship status.
“I’m single,” he said, adding, “But I’m dating. I’m just taking my time with life.”
Diddy’s response prompted Miami, 28, to ask for a better description of what their deal is, to which he replied, “We date. We’re dating. We go have dates. We’re friends. We go to exotic locations. We have great times. We go to strip clubs, church.”
As for what attracted Diddy to the “Twerkulator” rapper—who is a mom to son Jai, 8, and daughter Summer, 2—Diddy shared that she is authentic. “You’re like one of the realest people I’ve ever met,” he added. “You’re authentically yourself and you’re a great mother and a great friend. We just have a good time.”
El-Ghassim Wane, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali, urged ambassadors to support the renewal of the mandate of the UN Mission there, MINUSMA, which he heads.
Although the West African country continues to face political, security and humanitarian challenges, “they are far from being insurmountable,” he said.
Deep aspirations
“If anything, the Malian people…harbor a deep aspiration for reform, transparent governance, and accountability. These aspirations and the forces driving them, including civil society, have shown great resilience and deserve the full support of the international community,” he told the Council.
MINUSMA has been actively involved in efforts aimed at overcoming the deadlock over the transition to civilian rule in Mali, where the military seized power in a coup nearly two years ago.
The 18-month political transition was supposed to conclude in March of this year, prompting regional bloc ECOWAS to impose sanctions on the country.
Last week, the authorities announced that the timetable would be extended to 24 months, effective from March.
“During the coming period, MINUSMA will pursue its efforts in support of a consensus exit from the crisis and, as needed, it will continue to provide support to set up a detailed electoral timetable, as well as a robust monitoring mechanism and the creation of an appropriate climate for the holding of free, regular and credible elections,” said Mr. Wane.
MINUSMA has also supported preparations for a high-level meeting, first planned for last October, to finalize details on the government’s proposal to reintegrate some 26,000 combatants into the State forces, in addition to institutional reforms.
‘Ultimate sacrifice’
Meanwhile, insecurity remains a concern in Mali. Mr. Wane paid tribute to peacekeepers who have died serving with the UN Mission since it was established nearly a decade ago.
“Their ultimate sacrifice illustrates the challenges and complexities we face and further underscores the need to ensure that the Mission has the requisite capabilities, including armed and utility helicopters,” he said.
The security situation remains volatile, particularly in central Mali, and along its borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, known as the Liptako-Gourma region.
A marked deterioration in the tri-border area has affected the Ménaka and Gao regions in northern Mali. Attacks by self-styled Islamic State terrorists have left hundreds dead and displaced thousands more, at a time when French and other European forces are redeploying from the area.
MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko
The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, has supported peace and reconciliation efforts in the country.
Potential threat
“I was in Ménaka two weeks ago and saw first-hand the impact of this developing situation. My interlocutors did not rule out an attack on Ménaka town where 5,000 IDPs (internally displaced persons) have to date sheltered,” said Mr. Wane.
“Should this scenario come to pass, the MINUSMA base is likely to be perceived as the last haven for civilians fleeing violence. With limited Malian forces in the area and only some 600 peacekeepers available to protect civilians, UN personnel and assets, MINUSMA’s ability to mount an effective response is limited.”
The UN Mission is making contingency plans, including temporarily relocating additional troops, cooperating more closely with the Malian security and defence forces, and redistributing tasks to increase situational awareness and protection.
Proactive response
This ability to adjust quickly in response to a threat is just one example of how peacekeepers have become more proactive in their operations, Mr. Wane said.
Elsewhere, they are also prioritizing civilian protection through long-range patrols in parts of Gao region, and establishing temporary operating bases in Ansongo, a town there, and in Ogossagou, located in the central Mopti region. Peacekeepers have also been deployed along main roads and supply routes to both ensure freedom of movement and deter terrorist attacks.
Mr. Wane told the Council that in central Mali, insecurity continues to be driven by a combination of intercommunal conflicts, long-standing governance issues, and the activity of violent extremists, targeting civilians, Malian forces, and MINUSMA.
The Malian army has stepped up operations in the region, which is home to more than 30 per cent of the population.
“While there has been undeniable improvement in some areas, and a concomitant weakening of the extremist groups, the latter continues still to conduct frequent attacks against Malian and MINUSMA forces as well as civilian populations suspected of collaborating with Malian forces,” he said.
Factors for success
The envoy outlined two factors critical to the success of Malian-led operations, stating that they must first be anchored in an approach that addresses the institutional, governance and socio-economic challenges conducive to the spread of violent extremism.
“In this respect, progress has been made towards developing a Malian politically-led strategy,” he said, highlighting MINUSMA’s support to the process.
Military operations also must be undertaken with due regard for human rights and international humanitarian law, which Mr. Wane said, is absolutely essential for successful counter insurgency.
He reported that during January through March of this year, there was a sharp increase in human rights abuses during military operations, when compared with the previous quarter.
“The list of presumed perpetrators of human rights abuses continues to be led by extremist groups, but has unfortunately seen a rise in violations associated with operations by the Malian defence forces allegedly supported by foreign security personnel in central Mali,” he said.
Insecurity has further compounded the humanitarian situation in Mali. This year, 7.5 million people will require assistance, compared to just under six million last year.
Additionally, more than 1.8 million people will be in immediate need of food aid by August, the highest level since 2014. However, a $686 million appeal for the country is only around 11 per cent funded.
Just a few months after the game’s release, Dying Light 2 is already diving into its five year plan for free continued content expansions. Patch 1.4, which launches on June 14, will introduce a number of new features through “In the Footsteps of Nightrunner,” the first Chapter in the game’s new Chapters program.
According to a press release, each Chapter will introduce new characters and factions with “absolutely free content that’s being permanently added to the game and will be available to players at any time.”
“Chapters are a new thing for us: an experiment from our science lab,” lead designer Tymon Smektała tells IGN.
“We have quite a lot — though never enough! — experience in supporting our games in the long run, but this kind of seasonal format is something we never did before in the history of the Dying Light franchise. It has quite a few good things in it, all of it free to all our Players, so we hope it will excite them and inspire them to share their opinions with us.”
Best Reviewed Games of 2022
Through this Chapter’s additions, players will be able to help Nightrunner Harper ward off the Special Infected and protect the people of Villedor “in exchange for access to some powerful, never-before-seen equipment.”
The patch will also include a variety of features, including:
New rank system and unlockables
Daily and Weekly Bounties in exchange for reputation points
2 new currencies to purchase new items
New enemies including the Mutated Infected, the Volatile Tyrant, and the Volatile Hive
Chapter Mission time trials that will test your stealth, parkour, or combat skills
We gave Dying Light 2 a 7, praising its interesting combination of “serious end-of-days themes with silly characters and minigames” while also docking points for its rushed, buggy mechanics.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
One can hardly name a document more long-hoped-for as the crypto bill, co-sponsored by United States Senators Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, was for the crypto community. And, it’s finally here. Last week, Lummis and Gillibrand introduced a 69-page bill in the U.S. Senate. What’s inside? The projects of study on the environmental impact of digital assets and advisory committee on innovation, a tax structure, a mandate for analysis of the use of digital assets in retirement savings and much more.
Should it become law, the bill would undoubtedly implement major changes to the current regulatory landscape. Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis have confirmed that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) will be classified as commodities and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). At the same time, bill authors consider most altcoins securities subject to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. “It will be a struggle to decipher what exactly is in the SEC bucket, but it could be the exception that swallows the rule,” a worried expert told Cointelegraph.
Legal troubles mount for Terraform Labs
Terraform Labs, the parent company behind the collapsed Terra ecosystem, continues its struggle with enforcement agencies and courts in both hemispheres. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency received an intelligence tip informing them of possible embezzlement of BTC by one of the firm’s employees, though not Do Kwon himself. But Kwon is still in enough trouble, as The United States Court of Appeals rejected his dispute of a subpoena by the SEC, ruling that it was served correctly.
Major crypto exchange Binance suffered some heavy blows last week. The SEC investigated whether Binance Holdings broke securities rules when it launched its native token BNB in an initial coin offering (ICO) five years ago. Then, Reuters alleged that Binance processed at least $2.35 billion of transactions from hacks, investment frauds and narcotics sales between 2017 and 2021. In its written statement, the company snubbed the journalists’ allegations as disinformation attempts by certain interested parties to “mislead the general public.”
Writing letters is cool once again. A week after the open letter by tech scientists against the lobbying effort of the industry comes the new one, this time from human rights activists. Campaigners from 20 countries have submitted an open letter to the U.S. Congress in support of a “responsible crypto policy” and praising Bitcoin and stablecoins as essential tools aiding democracy and freedom for tens of millions. The human rights coalition lashed out at the authors of last week’s anti-crypto letter who come from countries with “stable currencies, free speech, and strong property rights” and that they most likely haven’t experienced hyperinflation or “the cold grip of dictatorship.”
Souta Oshiro, Seoul, Korea. “This is a meme that I created. It is about donating foods that you overbought to food banks. I tried to make it funny and effective.”
Opinion by Sungjoon Ham – Souta Oshiro – Alex Yoon (seoul, tokyo, boston)
Inter Press Service
Seoul, Tokyo, Boston, Jun 13 (IPS) – Johnny, living in the United States (US), goes to his school and gets free breakfast and lunch there. There may not be enough food for dinner at home. But he knows that he can get fed at school. Sadly, however, after the pandemic, schools were closed, which meant no breakfast and no lunch for him.
Living in the United Kingdom (UK), Peter faces the same problem. He is lucky because he has a caring teacher who painstakingly walks five kilometers every day to deliver his meals. But not everyone is as lucky as Peter.
Farmers produce about 4 billion tons of food globally, but 1.3 billion tons (about one-third) are wasted and lost. Can you imagine how much that is? 100 kg of food loss and waste for every person on the planet!
Are you surprised?
Did you think that the issue of hunger concerns children in developing nations only during COVID-19?
Hunger now extends to countries like the UK, South Korea, Japan, and the US.
In other words, especially during the pandemic, hunger is not their problem but OUR problem.
Therefore, the urgency in solving this issue has become more apparent to those living in developed countries. We hope to inspire a movement of change through our efforts and inspire others to fight hunger by stopping food loss and waste.
We have to ask a fundamental question: Why does Johnny have nothing to eat while Sam in the neighborhood has too much food to eat?
Extending this question to an international level, why are children in Somalia starving while children in the US have obesity problems for overeating? What causes such inequality? And what can we do about it? We know that it sounds like a daunting challenge. How can kids like us, young and inexperienced, make a difference in world hunger?
A contingent of adults thinks we have neither the experience nor the expertise to bring changes to the “real world”.
No one said stopping hunger would be easy, especially during this pandemic. But it’s necessary, and it’s worth it.
From our research, the solution to world hunger, especially during COVID-19, can be two-fold. Firstly, the redirection of excess foods towards those in need, and secondly, the ‘untact’ method.
Let us start with the redirection of excess foods. There is a saying: “Someone’s trash is someone else’s treasure.” In other words, the food that Sam wastes can feed Johnny’s entire family.
If food could be redistributed to people or nations in hunger before it is wasted or lost, we would end the hunger pandemic.
Indeed, many countries are running soup kitchens and making donations of food. But after the COVID-19, many countries closed their borders, banned social gatherings, and even eating-in facilities.
Furthermore, a survey from the Borgen Project revealed that half of the people surveyed had concerns about exposing themselves to the virus in these eating spaces.
So not only less economically developed countries (LEDC) but also more economically developed countries (MEDC) are facing a hunger pandemic due to COVID-19.
According to Feeding America, an estimated 42 million people, or one in eight Americans, faced food insecurity in 2021.
How can we solve this hunger crisis during the COVID pandemic? We are suggesting our second solution: using the ‘untact’ method.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, a new term, ‘untact’ (a combination of the prefix’ un’ and the word ‘contact’), has been floating around our society to indicate contactless movement in our daily affairs.
Can we somehow use the ‘untact’ method to redirect and redistribute foods before they are wasted or lost?
We find the answer in technology – in apps. For example, COPIA is an app created in the US to redistribute surplus food to feed the hungry.
This is how it works: Any restaurants, hotels, hospitals, cafeterias, and other businesses with food can use COPIA’s app to schedule pickups of their surplus food. Then a COPIA donation delivery driver picks up their excess food and delivers it safely to a local nonprofit recipient.
But COPIA’s job doesn’t stop there.
They track surplus trends for those donors so that they can reduce their food waste and loss.
Businesses can also get significant tax savings by using COPIA: For every $1 a company invests in food waste reduction, they can expect a $14 return on investment.
So, it is a win-win situation for all.
And this kind of ‘untact’ technology via an app is observed in other parts of the world: Wakeai app in Japan, Damogo in South Korea, Makan Rescue App in Singapore, Karma app in the EU and the UK, JustNow app in Africa, Flashfood app in Canada, Bring Me Home app in Australia and the list goes on.
We see this ‘untact’ technology as a possible solution that can reduce food loss and waste worldwide. We hope people try these apps and join our efforts to fight the hunger pandemic.
Besides the apps, there are practical solutions that we exercise in our daily lives as middle school students. We will share them here, hoping our actions can inspire others to do the same.
Alex Yoon inside the Stop and Shop, Massachusetts, USA. “I found these unwanted ugly fruits in this cart and decided to buy them to show that I am trying to reduce food waste instead of throwing them away. I blended them and made juice out of them.”
“When I go to a grocery store, I go for the unwanted ugly fruits because most people want to buy perfect-looking fruits only, and those ugly fruits end up in a trash can later because nobody wants them. I bring those ugly fruits home and make juice out of them. I find that they taste the same! So, I am holding up a sign in front of a fruit corner saying, ‘Aesthetics should not matter in produce selection!’, hoping to inspire people to buy all fruits regardless of their appearance,” says Alex Yoon.
Alex’s public campaign in the grocery store encourages many to follow suit by making mindful choices when choosing what to buy.
Souta Oshiro, Seoul (Raemian APT, Due Cose Hannam Branch, Shinsegae Department Store). “I am teaching food waste and loss to my friend. Some tips include buying food that has a shorter shelf time, eating everything on my plate, and planning for dinner to reduce food waste.”
Looking at Souta Oshiro’s efforts, we can see how beneficial food loss education can be on a personalized level.
“I run a private campaign with my friends. I go to their homes and educate them about food loss and waste issues in the world. In addition, when I go to a grocery store, I opt for foods that will expire soon and be wasted rather than freshly new products. When I come home with these foods, I feel so good because I saved them from going to a trash can,” Souta says.
“This feeling of satisfaction in preventing food from being wasted does not end here. As a household, when we purchase too much food during our weekly shopping, we choose to donate the extras to a food bank. This encourages us to not only be mindful during our shopping but also beyond the exit doors of the grocery store. The waste is not in landfills but in someone’s mouth. This simple redirection of excess foods means my family is relieved that our surplus will not end up in the trash.”
Chris Ham, Seocho Middle School, Seoul, Korea: “I am holding up a large sign to passionately champion the increase of awareness on the severity of the hunger issue.”
Chris Ham has chosen to participate in a public campaign in front of his school grounds so that his peers and teachers can be swayed to make mindful choices in their own lives. He aims to make students, who are hungry at lunchtime, think twice before piling up excess foods. These foods are not likely to be eaten because the students are too full. Furthermore, he hopes this can allow all those more fortunate to take a step back and reflect on being a part of the solution rather than the problem.
“During my campaign efforts, I hoped to increase awareness through my actions and artistic choices, which was why I decided to make my poster large with bold lettering. However, I did not want my efforts to end there. I hope that my actions can spread throughout social media with the help of my friends. Through inspiration from the Ice Bucket Challenge, I plan to upload this picture with the tag #NoFoodLoss. This process will allow many more people to join my campaign that will hopefully not end in Korea but spread worldwide,” says Chris.
After looking at our efforts to end food loss and waste, we hope to encourage others to take part and spread awareness.
We agree that everyone should stop wasting food. However, this cannot be solved simply through a proclamation.
Therefore, we focused on compiling extensive research and explored the depths of this issue, which we found to be enjoyable.
Sadly, many people are not aware of hunger and food waste.
In conclusion, we hope that through reading this article, the depths of food waste and loss are understood and will encourage our audience to develop forward-thinking solutions for the betterment of our future.
Sungjoon Ham, Souta Oshiro, and Alex Yoon are middle school learners living in the USA and Asia. They participated in a joint APDA, and IPS training on developing opinion content. Hanna Yoon led the course and edited the opinion content.
It has been a while since we’ve seen James Wiseman on the basketball court, but Warriors fans could receive some good news in the coming weeks on the status of their young center.
According to Shams Charania, Wiseman could be ready to go for NBA Summer League as he nears clearance for full-contact basketball activities.
Following plasma injection treatment in London, Warriors center James Wiseman is nearing clearance for full contact, and there’s optimism he could return to action in Summer League, per sources.
Wiseman hasn’t been on an NBA floor since April 4, 2021, when he played six minutes in a win over Houston, but hasn’t appeared since due to knee troubles. Wiseman flew to London to receive plasmic injection treatments with Warriors GM Bob Meyers and has been progressing ever since, per the Athletic:
“Wiseman underwent an orthobiologic injection during a multiday trip to London with Warriors general manager Bob Myers in April, multiple sources told The Athletic, as both sides worked to find a way to promote healing in the knee. The plasma-rich injection in Wiseman’s arm was a therapeutic treatment used to increase healing throughout the body.
Having played in 39 NBA games, Wiseman holds career averages of 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds on 51.9 percent shooting from the field (31.6 percent from distance). Wiseman is included in a young core of Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody behind the leading group of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to maintain Golden State’s stranglehold on the Western Conference.
Wiseman’s upcoming summer will be critical for his career. Golden State will be hosting the California Classic on July 2 and 3, giving Wiseman his first big opportunity to return to play before heading out to Las Vegas.
The one big theme on the second day of hearings by the Jan. 6 committee was that former President Trump was told repeatedly — including by his own attorney general — that his “big lie” about a fraudulent election was baseless. But he made the fake claim on election night anyway, and hasn’t stopped since.
As they did during the opening hearing, committee members used video testimony from some of Mr. Trump’s closest friends and advisers — including blunt comments from former Attorney General William P. Barr — to show that the president must have known that his claims were baseless.
Here are some other takeaways from the second day of the hearings.
Trump was described as ‘detached from reality’ after the election.
Mr. Barr’s video testimony was some of the most compelling of the morning, with the former attorney general describing Mr. Trump as increasingly “detached from reality” in the days after the election. In his testimony, Mr. Barr said he told the president repeatedly that his claims of fraud were unfounded, but that there was “never an indication of interest in what the actual facts are.”
The unvarnished portrait of Mr. Trump is a linchpin of the argument that the committee is trying to make: that Mr. Trump knew his claims of a fraudulent election were not true and made them anyway. Mr. Barr said that in the weeks after the election, he repeatedly told Mr. Trump “how crazy some of these allegations were.”
The committee is making the case that Mr. Trump was a knowing liar. But Mr. Barr’s testimony offered another possible explanation: that the president actually came to believe the lies he was telling.
“I thought, ‘Boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has, you know, lost contact with, with — he’s become detached from reality, if he really believes this stuff,’” Mr. Barr told the committee.
Two groups surrounded Trump: ‘Team Normal’ vs. ‘Rudy’s Team.’
One thing that came across clearly on Monday was that there were two different groups of people around Mr. Trump in the days and weeks after the election.
Bill Stepien, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, characterized his team as “Team Normal,” as opposed to the team led by Rudy Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer.
A veteran Republican operative, Mr. Stepien was among the campaign aides, lawyers, White House advisers and others who urged Mr. Trump to abandon his unfounded claims of fraud. Mr. Giuliani’s team was feeding the president’s paranoia and pushing him to back unsubstantiated and fanciful claims of ballot harvesting, voting machine tampering and more. “We call them kind of my team and Rudy’s team,” Mr. Stepien told committee investigators in interviews. “I didn’t mind being characterized as being part of Team Normal.”
Committee members are hoping that the description of the two competing groups in Mr. Trump’s orbit is evidence that Mr. Trump made a choice — to listen to the group led by Mr. Giuliani instead of those who ran his campaign and worked in his administration. Mr. Trump chose, in the words of “Team Normal,” to listen to those spouting “crazy” arguments instead.
A picture emerges of election night at the White House.
Monday’s hearing opened with a vivid portrait of election night at the White House, describing the reaction from the president and those around him when Fox News called Arizona for Joseph R. Biden Jr. Using video testimony of the president’s closest advisers and some of his family, the committee showed how Mr. Trump rejected the cautionary advice he received.
Mr. Stepien said in the video that he had urged the president not to declare victory prematurely, having already explained that Democratic votes were likely to be counted later in the night. Mr. Trump ignored him, Mr. Stepien and others said. Instead, he listened to Rudy Giuliani, who aides said was drunk that night, and was urging the president to claim victory and say the election was being stolen.
Chris Stirewalt, the Fox News political editor who was fired after making the on-air call for Arizona, told the committee that the shift in returns that night that prompted the president’s claims of voter manipulation were no more than the expected results of Democratic votes being counted after Republican ones. He expressed pride that his team was first to accurately call the Arizona results and said there was “zero” chance that Mr. Trump would have won that state.
Millions of dollars were sent to a nonexistent ‘Election Defense Fund,’ the committee said.
It wasn’t just the “big lie,” according to the Jan. 6 committee. It was also “the big rip-off.”
In a video presentation that concluded its second hearing, the committee described how Mr. Trump and his campaign aides used baseless claims of election fraud to convince the president’s supporters to send millions of dollars to something called the “Election Defense Fund.” According to the committee, Mr. Trump’s supporters donated $100 million in the first week after the election, apparently in the hopes that their money would help the president fight to overturn the results.
But a committee investigator said there is no evidence that such a fund ever existed. Instead, millions of dollars flowed into a super PAC that the president set up on Nov. 9, just days after the election. According to the committee, that PAC sent $1 million to a charitable foundation run by Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, and another $1 million to a political group that is run by several of his former staff members, including Stephen Miller, the architect of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda.
Representative Zoe Lofgren, Democrat of California, summed up the discoveries this way: “Throughout the committee’s investigation, we found evidence that the Trump campaign and its surrogates misled donors as to where their funds would go and what they would be used for,” she said. “So not only was there that big lie, there was the big rip-off. Donors deserve to know where their funds are really going. They deserve better than what President Trump and his team did.”
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