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Six teams leave regional sports network Main Street to join MLB

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Six teams officially left their regional sports network, Main Street Sports, and joined Major League Baseball on Monday, essentially shedding their local-media contracts.

The Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays have decided they will partner with MLB, which will produce their games for the 2026 season and beyond, as first reported by Puck’s John Ourand.

The Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers, the remaining baseball teams in Main Street Sports’ portfolio, have yet to announce their plans, though a report from Sports Business Journal said the Angels and Tigers will also join MLB. In a statement, the Braves said they are “well on our way towards launching a new era in Braves broadcasting,” adding that they will be “sharing our path forward in the coming weeks.”

On Jan. 8, all nine of Main Street Sports’ baseball teams terminated their contracts as the company scrambled to find a buyer while in the midst of more financial turmoil — just one year after it emerged from a lengthy bankruptcy proceeding. Those teams promised to continue negotiating with the company but, with spring training approaching, gave it until the end of the month to resolve its situation. The departures seem to indicate that the RSN provider might be headed toward a liquidation, though previous reports stated that it would continue to broadcast NBA and NHL games through the end of those leagues’ seasons.

Main Street, which broadcasts its games under the name FanDuel Sports, began the year with 29 NBA, NHL and MLB teams in its portfolio.

“FanDuel Sports Network is continuing to broadcast NBA and NHL games, and we appreciate the leagues’ engagement in ongoing discussions on our go-forward plans,” a spokesperson for Main Street Sports wrote in a statement. “We appreciate the relationships we have had with these MLB partners and their fans over many years, and we wish them the best.”

MLB — which hopes to possess the local rights for all 30 of its teams by the end of 2028 and sell them as a national package, a process that would help to eliminate blackouts — also holds the rights to the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals.

Two years ago, MLB installed a local-media department to handle RSN turmoil in the wake of massive cord-cutting rates throughout the country. Under that scenario, MLB broadcasts games, negotiates cable and satellite distribution agreements, generates advertising revenue, and makes local streaming available through MLB.tv — owned by ESPN under a new media rights agreement — for teams that fall off their local media contracts.

That arrangement, though, does not come close to matching the value generated from traditional cable deals, which account for 20% to 30% of team revenues and are a source of fixed, reliable income. The potential loss of that revenue for nine additional teams could have a major impact on spending in the near future, further exacerbating payroll-disparity concerns as the linear cable model continues to crumble.

In 2024, MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to use some of the money generated from luxury tax overages to help fund teams that took local-media losses up to $15 million. That, however, was only a one-time occurrence. That was only a one-time occurrence, though seven of the nine teams that could lose their Main Street Sports deals — all except the Angels and Braves — receive revenue sharing and could be eligible for a portion of luxury-tax payments, which totaled about $400 million for the 2025 season.

Main Street was once Diamond Sports Group, a subsidiary of Sinclair that took on nearly $9 billion of debt to purchase 21 regional channels from Fox, pushing it into bankruptcy in March 2023. Twenty-two months later — after several missed payments, continual angst, bitter court battles and a three-month period in which Comcast pulled its channels off the air — the company emerged from bankruptcy.

By Jan. 2, 2025, the company had secured a new naming rights deal, retained a robust portfolio across three leagues and signed a commercial agreement with Amazon. There was hope for sustained operations — but those did not last even a whole year. Sports Business Journal reported in late December that Main Street Sports had missed a payment to the Cardinals and that it was pitching a last-ditch sale to streaming and entertainment platform DAZN to save its business.

That deal with DAZN eventually disintegrated. More missed payments followed, prompting all MLB teams to shed their previous deals. Another investor seemingly has not emerged.

Main Street Sports currently owns local rights for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs, LA Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. In the NHL, the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets and St. Louis Blues.



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Iran president seeks ‘fair and equitable negotiations’ with U.S.

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Iran’s president said Tuesday that he instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.The announcement marked a major turn for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who broadly had warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. It also signals that the president received support from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric previously had dismissed.Video above: Iran warns of “regional war” if U.S. attacksTurkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling in the region.But whether Iran and the U.S. can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as President Donald Trump now has included Iran’s nuclear program in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.Iran’s president signals talks are possibleWriting on X, Pezeshkian said in English and Farsi that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.”“I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” he said.The U.S. has yet to acknowledge the talks will take place. A semiofficial news agency in Iran on Monday reported — then later deleted without explanation — that Pezeshkian had issued such an order to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who held multiple rounds of talks with Witkoff before the 12-day war.Khamenei adviser speaks on the nuclear issueLate Monday, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, which is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, aired an interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top Khamenei adviser on security.Shamkhani, who now sits on the country’s Supreme National Security Council and who in the 1980s led Iran’s navy, wore a naval uniform as he spoke.He suggested if the talks happened, they would be indirect at the beginning, then moving to direct talks if a deal appeared to be attainable. Direct talks with the U.S. long have been a highly charged political issue within Iran’s theocracy, with reformists like Pezeshkian pushing for them and hard-liners dismissing them.The talks would solely focus on nuclear issues, he added.Asked about whether Russia could take Iran’s enriched uranium like it did in Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Shamkhani dismissed the idea, saying there was “no reason” to do so. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Russia had “long offered these services as a possible option that would alleviate certain irritants for a number of countries.”“Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in return for this,” he said.Video below: “HELP IS ON ITS WAY:” Trump weighs response to deadly protests in IranIran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasn’t armed with the bomb.Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war.“The quantity of enriched uranium remains unknown, because part of the stockpile is under rubble, and there is no initiative yet to extract it, as it is extremely dangerous,” Shamkhani said.Witkoff traveling to IsraelWitkoff is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli security officials on Tuesday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. He will travel to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, later in the week for Russia-Ukraine talks, the official said.“We have talks going on with Iran, we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate.“I’d like to see a deal negotiated,” Trump said. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that’d be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.” Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

Iran’s president said Tuesday that he instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

The announcement marked a major turn for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who broadly had warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. It also signals that the president received support from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric previously had dismissed.

Video above: Iran warns of “regional war” if U.S. attacks

Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling in the region.

But whether Iran and the U.S. can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as President Donald Trump now has included Iran’s nuclear program in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

Iran’s president signals talks are possible

Writing on X, Pezeshkian said in English and Farsi that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.”

“I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” he said.

The U.S. has yet to acknowledge the talks will take place. A semiofficial news agency in Iran on Monday reported — then later deleted without explanation — that Pezeshkian had issued such an order to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who held multiple rounds of talks with Witkoff before the 12-day war.

Khamenei adviser speaks on the nuclear issue

Late Monday, the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, which is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, aired an interview with Ali Shamkhani, a top Khamenei adviser on security.

Shamkhani, who now sits on the country’s Supreme National Security Council and who in the 1980s led Iran’s navy, wore a naval uniform as he spoke.

He suggested if the talks happened, they would be indirect at the beginning, then moving to direct talks if a deal appeared to be attainable. Direct talks with the U.S. long have been a highly charged political issue within Iran’s theocracy, with reformists like Pezeshkian pushing for them and hard-liners dismissing them.

The talks would solely focus on nuclear issues, he added.

Asked about whether Russia could take Iran’s enriched uranium like it did in Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Shamkhani dismissed the idea, saying there was “no reason” to do so. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Russia had “long offered these services as a possible option that would alleviate certain irritants for a number of countries.”

“Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in return for this,” he said.

Video below: “HELP IS ON ITS WAY:” Trump weighs response to deadly protests in Iran

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasn’t armed with the bomb.

Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war.

“The quantity of enriched uranium remains unknown, because part of the stockpile is under rubble, and there is no initiative yet to extract it, as it is extremely dangerous,” Shamkhani said.

Witkoff traveling to Israel

Witkoff is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli security officials on Tuesday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. He will travel to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, later in the week for Russia-Ukraine talks, the official said.

“We have talks going on with Iran, we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate.

“I’d like to see a deal negotiated,” Trump said. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that’d be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.”

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.



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Australia’s central bank raises interest rate to 3.85% after 3 cuts

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MELBOURNE, Australia — MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank lifted its benchmark interest rate Tuesday by a quarter percentage point to 3.85%, after three rate cuts last year and as inflation surges.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has boosted its cash rate for the first time since November 2023, when the rate rose from 4.10% to 4.35%.

The rate hike was widely expected after government data last week showed that inflation had run away to 3.8% for the 12 months through December. The annual rate had been 3.4% through November.

The bank adjusts interest rates to steer inflation toward a target band of between 2% and 3%.

“The board considers that inflation is likely to remain above target for some time,” the bank said in a statement.

Inflation had fallen substantially since it peaked at 7.8% in the last three months of 2022, but had “picked up materially in the second half of 2025,” the statement said.

“Uncertainty in the global economy remains significant but so far there has been little or no depressing effect on the Australian economy; indeed, recent growth and trade in Australia’s major trading partners has surprised on the upside,” the bank said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the rate hike as “difficult news” for millions of Australians with mortgages and businesses.

Chalmers rejected criticism that government spending was fueling inflation. He noted the bank statement blamed growth in private demand driven by household spending and investment.

The bank had reduced the cash rate by 25 basis points last year in February, May and August.

The adjustment in February last year had been Australia’s first rate cut since October 2020.

Last year, annual inflation fell from 2.4% in the March quarter to 2.1% in June, before rebounding to 3.2% in September.

EY Oceania Chief Economist Cherelle Murphy said it was unusual for the bank to boost the cash rate only six months after cutting it.

“There is certainly a possibility here obviously, that last rate cut wasn’t needed. But to be fair to the Reserve Bank, that was not obvious at all at the time,” Murphy told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“In fact, it looked like the inflation numbers had been coming down quite nicely. Obviously that’s not turned out to be the case,” Murphy added.

Murphy said she had been surprised by Australia’s unemployment rate falling from 4.3% in November to 4.1% in December.

“It does seem like the economy is running a little bit too hot,” Murphy said. ”I certainly wouldn’t rule out another rate hike later in the year.”



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Marshals Trailer Pays Tribute To Yellowstone Train Station

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Most of the attention on the new Marshals trailer focused on whether or not Monica Dutton would return. You can be forgiven for missing the return of another major Yellowstone character.

No, the “train station” doesn’t walk and talk but it does play a large part in the original Taylor Sheridan show’s lore. It’s back, for an episode at least.

Related: Is the Train Station On Yellowstone Based On a Real Place?

Kayce Dutton does not look pleased.

What Is the Train Station on Yellowstone?

The train station is first mentioned during Season 1 of Yellowstone. A ranch hand named Fred misbehaves but he knows too much about the Dutton family’s sins to just get fired. So, Lloyd drives him into Wyoming where he’s pushed over a cliff.

“The long black train” are the final words Fred hears before he’s shot in the head.

From there, we see Dutton allies dump bodies over the same cliff and over time learn that this has been going on for decades (or longer, as prequel 1923 indicates). Understandably, viewers had one question:

Is the Train Station Based On a Real Place?

Taylor Sheridan has never confirmed it, but most YS fans believe the idea for this lawless stretch of land comes from a real-life “zone of death.” It’s a slice of Idaho and (to the best our knowledge) no bodies have been tossed over a cliff there.

A 50-mile stretch of land falls outside of any jurisdiction because it’s part of Yellowstone National Park and nobody lives within both the state and district. Thus, you can’t get find 12 people to form a jury to convict someone of a crime committed.

There are several legal holes to this. Most glaring is that a crime would need to have been planned and committed in this little slice of America. Someone shot elsewhere and brought to the Zone of Death could still seek justice where the shooting took place.

Read More: Marshals: Everything We Know About the Yellowstone Spinoff

Kayce Dutton knew all about the train station. It was his family’s single vulnerability — the secret that would ruin them. So, it was a little funny to see his reaction when he’s driven into it by his new Marshals team.

The Train Station Returns To Marshals

The first half of the new Marshals trailer attempts to tell us why Kayce (played by Luke Grimes) joins the U.S. Marshals, hinting strongly that Monica’s (Kelsey Asbille) death pushed him back into law enforcement.

Our full breakdown shows why she may in fact be alive and well, but that’s another article. Skip to the 4:20 mark here to see the part where the new show’s plot focuses on this zone of death.

It’s clearly a tie between the two shows because this fictitious place of lawlessness is in Wyoming, not Idaho, and we see a Welcome to Wyoming sign just before the camera cuts to Kayce who has a very anxious look on is face.

It’d be very cool if those old secrets came back to haunt him, but it seems unlikely if only because the secret to most CBS procedurals is to not spend too much time on the past. We very well may forget this is a Yellowstone spinoff by the end of Season 1.

‘The Madison’ Season 1 Pictures Reveal Friends + Foes

The Madison is coming. Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell star in Taylor Sheridan’s newest drama. Like Yellowstone, it’s set in Montana and the pictures shared ahead of the March 14 premiere are stunning.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes





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Tech, Media & Telecom Roundup: Market Talk

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Find insight on Best Buy, Oracle, Disney and more in the latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom.



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James Harden trade landing spots: Cavaliers have compelling offer, but what about Rockets reunion?

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James Harden is working with the Los Angeles Clippers to find a trade before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, according to ESPN. The two sides are aligned and working with interested teams, potentially setting up the 11-time All-Star and 2018 NBA MVP to play for his sixth NBA team in the very near future.

Harden has had a stellar year all things considered. He’s averaging around 25 points and eight assists per game, maintaining the All-Star-caliber performance he gave the Clippers last season. The only problem has been that the Clippers simply haven’t been as good as a team as they were a year ago. They’ve since fought back into the postseason picture after their 6-21 start, but that hole was so deep that the Clippers likely don’t have a realistic chance of making a deep playoff run in the Western Conference.

Harden, perhaps the most accomplished player in the NBA not to have a championship ring, likely wants to go somewhere that he feels would give him a chance to compete in the twilight of his career. Harden has the right to veto any trade, so he can be picky about his next home. So let’s go over three possible destinations for Harden as the Clippers sift through possible deals.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Sports Illustrated reported Monday that the Clippers and Cavaliers have had advanced discussions on a James Harden-for-Darius Garland swap. On the surface, the deal makes very little sense for the Cavaliers. Harden is 10 years Garland’s senior. Though not quite as outlandish, the obvious comparison would be to Dallas trading Luka Dončić a season ago for Anthony Davis, who is six years older than him.

The more you think about this one, the more sense it seemingly makes. Garland has been fairly injury prone throughout his career. He played 70 games for the first time last season, and then he proceeded to struggle throughout the playoffs due to a toe injury. That toe injury cost him games early in the season and limited his effectiveness when he has been available. He hasn’t played since Jan. 14. He is owed two more years of max money and becomes extension-eligible over the summer. If the Cavaliers don’t feel comfortable playing him, a trade is inevitable.

But most trades would hurt this season’s roster. The Hawks just had to trade Trae Young in a cap dump. The Cavaliers hope to compete for a championship this season, but the league by and large isn’t interested in small guards. Therefore, Cleveland’s best bet for a somewhat fair return would likely involve trading Garland for a different guard. Ja Morant can’t shoot, so he’s an absolute nonstarter for Cleveland. LaMelo Ball may have been in rumors earlier in the season, but the Hornets are rolling now. There just weren’t many options. Enter Harden.

While Harden obviously isn’t a long-term play, he’d represent an upgrade over the version of Garland they’ve had this season at least. He is one of the very few players in all of basketball they could trade Garland for without making this season’s roster worse. Sure, if Cleveland had acted sooner on Garland, things might be different. But any fantasies of, say, a Trey Murphy trade have long passed. This is what’s on the table for Cleveland. The Cavaliers might be able to trade Garland for draft compensation, but doing so would surely involve taking back bad salary. This trade carries long-term risk, but in the short term, it keeps Cleveland in the hunt.

Would Harden, given his Los Angeles roots, be all that happy in Cleveland? It’s hard to say. It famously worked wonders for J.R. Smith, who thrived as a Cavalier because, in his words, “There’s nothing, there’s no going out, there’s no late nights. There’s video games, basketball and basketball.” Maybe Harden could similarly benefit. If he wants to compete for a title, moving East usually makes that easier, and the Cavaliers have a championship-ready roster.

Houston Rockets

This wouldn’t be the first time Harden tried to get back to Houston. There were rumors of a possible return throughout the 2022-23 season, when he was playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets instead elected to use their cap flexibility to sign Fred VanVleet as their point guard, putting Harden in a bind. He had nowhere to go in free agency, so he was forced to pick up his option in Philadelphia and force a trade to Los Angeles.

Well, things have changed. VanVleet was great for Houston, but he tore his ACL before the season. The Rockets lost another key player in Steven Adams to an ankle injury recently, giving them $38 million in dead salary burning a hole in their pocket this season. VanVleet has the right to veto a trade, but Los Angeles would likely appeal to him given the presence of former teammate Kawhi Leonard and the clean books the Clippers can use to pay him longer-term if they so choose. Harden makes just over $39 million. Houston struggles to generate half-court offense. That’s Harden’s speciality. The Rockets are loaded with defenders to protect him on that end of the floor. He’d even be reuniting with former teammate Kevin Durant for a second time following their brief partnership in Brooklyn and longer one in Oklahoma City.

Houston declined its last chance at Harden. Would the Rockets feel differently now? He’s hardly a fit for Ime Udoka’s defense-first style, but they may not be quite as picky with a real title shot on the line and few in-season options. Would Houston give up meaningful draft capital to get this done? The Clippers aren’t running a charity, after all. If Garland is on the table for them, the Rockets would have to put real draft value on the table to match that.

There are hurdles here, but you’d imagine that if Harden has his choice, he’d probably love to get back to Houston. The Rockets turned the haul they got for him in 2021 into a full-fledged contender, and now Harden could potentially get back there right in time for them to fully enjoy the spoils of that rebuild.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota doesn’t have the obvious one-for-one player to swap with the Clippers that the Cavaliers have, and it doesn’t have the same nostalgic and logistical appeal that Houston has. But the Timberwolves have one of the NBA’s most aggressive general managers in Tim Connelly. If he wants Harden and Harden wants the Timberwolves, he’ll find a way to make it possible.

Point guard has been an issue for Minnesota since Mike Conley began to decline. The Wolves have explored lesser players like Coby White, but Harden’s playmaking would pair very well with Anthony Edwards as a scorer and all of the defense and athleticism Minnesota has assembled. Minnesota would have to send out one or two of its expensive role players to make a deal work financially. The easiest path would be Julius Randle, recent No. 8 pick Rob Dillingham and one minimum salary in exchange for Harden. That would conveniently leave the Clippers with 16 players, forcing them to waive Chris Paul and allow him to try to find a new home for the rest of the season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo mock trades: How Knicks, Warriors, more could entice Bucks with wild multi-team deals

Sam Quinn

Giannis Antetokounmpo mock trades: How Knicks, Warriors, more could entice Bucks with wild multi-team deals

The major holdup here, though, is that the Timberwolves are currently pursuing Giannis Antetokounmpo. Minnesota won’t abandon a 31-year-old two-time MVP for a 36-year-old single MVP winner. So for now, the TImberwolves are otherwise occupied. We’ll see if that changes before Thursday’s deadline.





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A couple cold fronts will bring temperatures down slightly through Wednesday

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Mild weather will continue across most of New Mexico to start February, with a couple cold fronts bringing slightly cooler temperatures by Wednesday. Monday turned out warm statewide, with highs reaching the 70s in eastern New Mexico and temperatures running 5° to 15° above normal elsewhere. A weak cold front on Tuesday will bring down […]



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Tulsi Gabbard defends her presence at FBI search of Georgia elections hub

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WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard on Monday defended her presence at an FBI search of an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, that has raised questions about her involvement as director of national intelligence.

In a letter to the top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees, Gabbard said she was at the center last week in keeping with U.S. law and her responsibilities as the country’s top intelligence official.

Gabbard stood by her decision not to brief lawmakers about intelligence on possible threats to election security before her trip to Georgia, saying she would not “irresponsibly share incomplete assessments.”

“I will share our intelligence assessments with Congress once they are complete,” she wrote.

Gabbard went on to say she had broad authority as the director of national intelligence to oversee efforts to ensure U.S. elections are secure and to identify and analyze any potential foreign threats to elections or voting systems. In her letter, she acknowledged that she had arranged a call with FBI personnel and President Donald Trump.

Gabbard wrote that she placed a call in Fulton County to allow Trump to express his gratitude to the FBI agents who conducted the search.

“He did not ask any questions, nor did he or I issue any directives,” Gabbard wrote.

Two sources confirmed the phone call to NBC News on Monday. One source said Trump did not answer initially but eventually called back and briefly spoke with the agents, including the supervisory agent on the case.

The New York Times was first to report the call.

Gabbard said the office of general counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found her actions “to be consistent and well within my statutory authorities as the Director of National Intelligence.”

Monday’s letter — Gabbard’s first direct comments about her actions in Georgia, which have faced criticism as inappropriate in a domestic matter — comes a day after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said “I don’t know why” she was at the FBI’s search.

“She is not part of the grand jury investigation, but she is, for sure, a key part of our efforts at election integrity and making sure that we have free and fair elections,” Blanche said on CNN. “She’s an expert in that space, and it’s a big part of what she and her team look at every day.”

Blanche also said Sunday that he did not believe Trump was involved in the raid, overseen by the FBI and Justice Department. Trump had previously told reporters that federal agents “got into the votes. … You’re going to see some interesting things happening.”

On Friday, Blanche noted that Gabbard “doesn’t work for the Department of Justice or the FBI,” but he said her presence in Georgia is “something that shouldn’t surprise anybody.”

The Georgia raid was related to records from the 2020 presidential election; Fulton County officials have announced plans to sue the Trump administration over the matter. Gabbard’s presence drew scrutiny from national security experts, and it has raised questions about whether Gabbard, who was excluded from the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, was seeking relevance in Trump’s eyes.

It would be highly unusual for a director of national intelligence to accompany FBI agents on a raid. In her role, Gabbard oversees the country’s spy agencies and is barred from taking part in domestic law enforcement.

An official at the Office of Director of National Intelligence told NBC News on Monday that Trump requested that Gabbard go to Fulton County and that federal law gives the person in Gabbard’s position the role of leading counterintelligence efforts related to election security and analyzing foreign interference. The FBI’s intelligence and counterintelligence divisions fall under Gabbard’s authority as national intelligence director overseeing the country’s 18 intelligence agencies, the official said.

FBI headquarters, as well as the FBI Atlanta field office, declined to comment.



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GODSMACK Announces Massive North American Tour With STONE TEMPLE PILOTS & DOROTHY

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Multi-platinum rock titans Godsmack have announced their massive Rise Of Rock World Tour 2026, unveiling a sprawling North American run that sees them joined by special guests Stone Temple Pilots and Dorothy.

The tour kicks off Sunday, May 10 in Bristow, VA at Jiffy Lube Live, before tearing through the U.S. and Toronto, Canada. Along the way, the band will hit major markets including Austin, Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, and California, before wrapping up on Saturday, September 26 at Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater in Nampa, ID. Get your tickets here.

5/7 Daytona Beach, FL Welcome to Rockville
5/9 Camden, NJ MMRBQ
5/10 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
5/12 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
5/14 Charlotte, NC Truliant Amphitheater
5/16 Raleigh, NC Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
5/17 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple
5/19 Franklin, TN FirstBank Amphitheater
5/21 Alpharetta, GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
5/23 Huntsville, AL Orion Amphitheater
5/24 Orange Beach, AL The Wharf Amphitheater
5/27 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
5/29 Austin, TX Germania Insurance Amphitheater
5/30 Houston, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sponsored by Huntsman
6/12 Kansas City, MO Morton Amphitheater
6/14 St Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
6/16 Grand Rapids, MI Acrisure Amphitheater
6/18 Noblesville, IN Ruoff Music Center
6/20 Tinley Park, IL Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
6/21 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre
6/23 Burgettstown, PA The Pavilion at Star Lake
6/24 Toronto, ON RBC Amphitheatre
6/27 Wantagh, NY Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
6/28 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
6/30 Syracuse, NY Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
7/2 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
7/3 Bangor, ME Maine Savings Amphitheater
9/6 El Paso, TX Speaking Rock Casino (Dorothy only)
9/7 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheater
9/9 Denver, CO Junkyard
9/11 Las Vegas, NV Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino (Dorothy only)
9/12 Phoenix, AZ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre KUPD UFest
9/15 Chula Vista, CA North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
9/17 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
9/19 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
9/20 Corning, CA Rolling Hills Casino and Resort (Dorothy only)
9/22 Bend, OR Hayden Homes Amphitheater
9/24 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre
9/26 Nampa, ID Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater KQXR XFest

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What Oracle Has to Lose From OpenAI and Nvidia’s Rocky Relationship

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Nvidia’s OpenAI pivot puts Oracle’s accounting in the spotlight.



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