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Sports

Kevin Durant on friendship with Kyrie; LeBron-like influence

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NEW YORK — Kevin Durant was tired, not broken.

Discouraged, but still confident about his personal future with the Brooklyn Nets and his friendship with Kyrie Irving.

The Nets were swept by the more cohesive and determined Boston Celtics, a sweep that registered as the first in Durant’s 14 NBA seasons. The same is the case for Irving, who missed a huge chunk of the season due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19.

Irving told the media he has no plans on leaving Brooklyn, as he can opt out of his contract and go into free agency this summer.

Durant didn’t hesitate when asked by Yahoo Sports following his news conference whether he wants to continue to have Irving as a teammate.

“Of course,” Durant said. “I would love for him to play more. Life is way more important to me than that. I can’t be pissed off. I can’t end the friendship based on something like that. Our friendship is based off who we are as human beings. The basketball adds to it. If we don’t get along on the basketball court, we can easily talk it out as friends.”

He yelled a demonstrative “hell, no” when asked if the season put a strain on his friendship with Irving, but admitted it went through some tough moments as Durant had to carry a heavy load. Initially, the Nets banished Irving, not allowing him to play road games until attrition hit the team around the new year.

“Yeah, yeah. Him not being around, wanting to be around,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “Having conversations, missing games, missing playing together. It was not much more I could do. It was out of my control. The best I could do was come to work and be me and make sure the situation in the building was right for everybody.”

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant reacts during Game 4 of the Nets’ first-round playoffs series against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center on Monday. The Celtics swept the Nets. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)

He knew he couldn’t force Irving to get vaccinated, so he said his frustration was contained to just the immediate period after tough nights.

“I would be mad after a game, not having him out there,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “Being triple-teamed or whatever, like Kai would definitely help tonight, but [mad at] him individually? Nah.”

There was only so much Durant could control, like James Harden coming into training camp out of shape and acting up a bit behind the scenes, leading to his deadline-day trade to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons — who went an entire year without playing.

As diminished as Harden has looked, it seemed like he would’ve at least helped compared to Simmons being inactive for the entire series.

“James? Him leaving? I wish things would’ve been different,” Durant confessed to Yahoo Sports. “Being mad? I wish it was different. I can’t say I was that emotional.

“They’re grown-assed men. I can’t control how they feel. They might change their minds. Everybody gets that grace. Life is too amazing for me to be that upset. I get that people want me to feel a way.”

Durant is the reason Brooklyn is relevant in the NBA ecosystem. He understands that and knows the perception is he runs the organization, from Irving being around to Steve Nash being selected as a head coach.

He bites back against that, putting “franchise player” in air quotes, calling himself another part of the machine. Durant, LeBron James and former teammate Steph Curry are the biggest names in the sport. James’ influence with the Lakers has been widely speculated, and the Lakers flopped — not too dissimilar from the Nets underperforming this season with speculation of Durant having similar sway.

“I feel like that’s a narrative that [media created]. I don’t even think LeBron does that,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “He might have input or know some information. But him saying [pointing left], ‘This is who you should get.’ [Points right.] ‘That’s who you should get,’ I don’t think it works like that.

“I’ve been around Steph, he doesn’t work like that. Let people do their jobs. It’s not on me to overstep what they do. I’m just here to support. If they need me to text or call somebody that may come, of course.”

Durant said he aided in the recruitment of Goran Dragic when Dragic was bought out and released by San Antonio in February.

“I’m not, ‘This is the list of guys,’ ” Durant said. “Sean [Marks, Nets general manager] will hit me, like, ‘Goran is interested, what you think?’ I [contacted] him. That’s always who I’ve been since I got here. I’ve never had control. I don’t want it.

“I don’t want to know because I’m the ‘franchise player,’ it’s just the fact I want to know who my teammates are. It’s disrespectful for me to come and try to override what they do because of my status in the league. That’s not fair to them. Everybody has a career. I just want to know.”

Durant turns 34 in September and will be coming off a playoff performance he’d like to forget as the years become more precious.

His best showing was a 39-point performance in Game 4, but shot just 38.5% this series and had a tough time with Boston’s swarming defense, turning the ball over more than in any playoff run through his career.

It’s a far cry from last summer, when his playoff performance earned him a level of acclaim in defeat that Finals wins in Golden State didn’t from a decent segment of folks.

Unfair as it seemed, this was supposed to be the year a Durant-led team stomped its way to the top. And while he played up to MVP standards before injuring his knee in January, that reputation takes a hit with the sweep.

“It’s objective. Whoever played well that night is the best player,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I never really believed in that [stuff]. That’s not my mentality as a player.”

Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant embraces and congratulates Boston’s Jayson Tatum after the Celtics swept the Nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs on April 25, 2022. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Being knocked out so early and definitively could register this as a lost season as nobody knows how long he still has playing at this high of a level.

“I’m maxing my years out by how I get up and approach my craft. It ain’t always about the result of the game,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I do this because I genuinely [enjoy] getting up and enjoy going to work. It’s simple for me. Winning championships and averaging a certain amount of points, All-Star Games, don’t get me wrong. I want all of that. But if I don’t get that, I’m still excited I get to be in the NBA.”

All the principles have acknowledged the Eastern Conference is getting stronger, as evidenced by the Celtics’ performance. Durant was matched up against Jayson Tatum at times — although Tatum had the benefit of the Celtics’ infrastructure and defense Durant did not — but he was impressed nonetheless.

“I told Jayson when he was in high school, he gonna sell shoes, he gonna be an All-Star,” Durant said. “So for him to do this? I expect him to do this; it’s no surprise to me. I expect him to be a Hall of Famer, 30,000 points, three-time Olympian. I expect that out of him because that’s how talented he is. That’s how great he is.”

Durant now becomes a fan of the game as opposed to a participant, a feeling that seems odd considering his standing — but a feeling he can change, whether he admits to having the influence or not.

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Business

Beats expectations, reduces Russia exposure

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FABRICE COFFRINI | AFP | Getty Images

UBS has beat expectations for the first quarter of 2022 and said it has further reduced its exposure to Russia.

The Swiss bank on Tuesday reported net profit attributable to shareholders of $2.136 billion, above forecasts compiled by the bank of $1.79 billion.

It marks a 17% rise from the $1.82 reported for the same period of 2021 and follows a drop in quarterly net profit to $1.35 billion at the end of the year.

The bank has previously described its market risk exposure to Russia as “limited” and on Tuesday said it had reduced its exposure to $0.4 billion as of March 31, compared with $0.6 billion at the end of 2021.

In addition, it said it had no material exposure to Ukraine or Belarus, and that it is not conducting any new business in Russia or with Russia-based clients.

“Macroeconomic, geopolitical and market factors created a high level of uncertainty in the first quarter, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, COVID-related restrictions and lockdowns, higher volatility, the lower economic growth outlook, and concerns about higher inflation and the monetary policy response,” the bank said in a release Tuesday.

Here are some other key metrics for the quarter:

  • Operating income came in at $9.36 billion, versus $8.71 billion a year ago.
  • Return on tangible equity, a measure of profitability, stood at 16%, up from 14% a year ago.
  • CET 1 ratio, a measure of bank solvency, was 14.3%, versus 15% at the end of 2021.

The company’s stock is flat for the year so far.

—This is a breaking news story and it is being updated.

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Sports

Packers, Lions Interested In Deebo Samuel?

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Staying in character, the Jets are prepared to make an offer involving the No. 10 overall pick for Deebo Samuel. In addition to the persistent wide receiver-chasing team, NFC squads are interested in the disgruntled 49er.

The Lions and Packers are believed to be on the radar for Samuel, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). Green Bay is on the verge of entering the draft with a glaring hole at the position, and although Detroit saw Amon-Ra St. Brown progress down the stretch last season, Samuel would step in as a clear-cut No. 1 weapon with the rebuilding team. The prospective price would hover around a mid-first-round pick, per Rapoport. The 49ers dealt DeForest Buckner for a mid-first-rounder in 2020, doing so after extension talks reached a price point too high for the team.

[RELATED: Samuel, Brown, McLaurin To Skip Offseason Workouts]

Of course, this all might be premature. The 49ers are not believed to be listening to Samuel proposals, and while John Lynch said these recent hiccups have surprised the team, the plan remains to find a way to salvage this partnership.

“I can’t ever imagine wanting to move on from Deebo,” Lynch said Monday. “He’s just too good of a player. You don’t let guys like that walk.”

Samuel trade rumors have only emerged in the past week, though the trade-and-extend sequences involving Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill have impacted the receiver market for several weeks. The 49ers have planned Samuel and Nick Bosa extensions, but the team’s initial offer — less than $19MM per year — did not go over well with the All-Pro wideout. Samuel submitted a trade request last week, with issues like his frequent backfield usage and not wanting to live in California any longer surfacing. The 49ers, however, have thus far closed off this route.

The 49ers trading their top receiver to the Packers, one of their top conference rivals, seems farfetched. An interconference deal to the Jets would add up, especially given ex-49ers coach Mike LaFleur running the Jets’ offense. The Lions (Nos. 2 and 32), Jets (Nos. 4 and 10) and Packers (Nos. 22 and 28) each have two first-round picks, providing additional ammo in the event the 49ers do decide to enter trade talks. The team still holds considerable leverage, with Samuel under contract through 2022 and the franchise tag in play for 2023, but may well be able to recoup better value ahead of the draft.



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Sports

MLB star Trevor Bauer sues ex-lover for falsely accusing him of rape

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer, 31, has sued a woman who accused him of sexual assault after what he insists was consensual rough sex.

Bauer’s legal team filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on April 25 against the accuser, Lindsey Hill, and her lawyer, Fred Thiagarajah, TMZ reported.

Neither has commented on the allegations they now face. 

The suit was filed two months after prosecutors in Los Angeles said they wouldn’t file charges against the sportsman, although he remains suspended from his team while a Major League Baseball internal investigation continues. 

Bauer and his lawyers haven’t specified the amount of damages they’re seeking, with an award likely to be decided at trial if they win.   

The one-time Cy Young award winner has long denied any wrongdoing in his sexual encounters with Bauer, which occurred in April and May 2021 at his home in Pasadena.

Texts exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com show Hill texted him after their first encounter urging Bauer to ‘choke me out’ and ‘gimme all the pain.’  

Trevor Bauer steps out of the courthouse after the last day of the hearings in August 2021. During those hearings, a restraining order imposed upon Bauer against Lindsey Hill was lifted

Bauer says that Hill concocted her a story about non-consensual sex alongside her lawyer Fred Thiagarajah. Thiagarajah told The Washington Post in February 2022 that his client had been ‘brutalized’ by Bauer

The attorney for Bauer’s alleged victim, Bryan Freedman, asked TMZ Sports to publish an unredacted photograph showing his client’s alleged injuries saying the damage could NOT possibly be part of a consensual encounter

Hill’s lawyer Fred Thiagarajah, pictured, is also being sued over claims he lied on his client’s behalf 

At the time of the sexual encounters, Lindsey Hill was 27 years old.  

Bauer has been suspended from playing in the MLB since July 2, 2021. 

The latest suspension expires on April 29. At the time of writing, MLB is continuing to investigate the allegations against Bauer.

In his lawsuit, Bauer admits to the sexual encounters with Hill but says that she gave him consent to sodomize, choke and hit her. 

Bauer’s suit accuses Hill of pursuing him after their first sexual encounter to entrap him into a ‘a rougher sexual experience.’

Texts obtained by DailyMail.com in July 2021 showed Hill telling Bauer how much she’d enjoyed rough sex with him after their first encounter  

The conversation then becomes increasingly sexual as Bauer asks her to describe what she wants him to do during their next meeting 

He alleges that she did that ‘so she could later claim this sexual experience was not what she requested and thereby lay the groundwork for a financial settlement.’ 

The lawsuit says that Bauer earnestly believed that Hill was just expressing sexual preferences during her pursuit of him.  

Due to Hill’s allegations, Bauer said that his relationship with the L.A. Dodgers was damaged thus costing him millions of dollars. 

Bauer was banned from playing shortly after he joined the Dodgers from the Cincinnati Reds. 

Following their liaisons, Bauer alleges that Hill concocted a story to police about sexual assault for financial gain. The suit says that Hill ‘generated a media blitz based on her lies,’ reports ESPN.

Her lawyer, Thiagarajah, is accused in the lawsuit of aiding Hill in creating her story.

Bauer goes on to say that the graphic images Hill’s face apparently battered and bruised were edited to appear worse, he says that Hill deleted phone records during the investigation and as well of making inconsistent statements. 

Initially, Hill alleged that she awoke following her second dalliance with Bauer with a bruised vagina and buttocks, black eyes, swollen and cut lips, scratches as well as bruising on her gums.

Hill said that following her second encounter with Bauer, she went to a hospital where she was diagnosed with an acute head injury while he says she left with a slightly swollen lip

In the latest lawsuit, Bauer says that Hill merely had a slightly swollen lip when she exited his home in May 2021. While Hill alleges that she went to a hospital where she was diagnosed with a head injury.  

One section of the suit read, ‘At all times during both sexual encounters, Mr. Bauer respected the boundaries established and agreed upon with [the woman].’ 

The lawsuit cites alleged text messages that Hill sent to her friends about a potential financial windfall stemming from her relationship with Bauer.  

The Los Angeles County District Attorney announced in February 2022 that no sexual assault charges would be forthcoming against Bauer. 

Bauer’s latest suspension from action expires on April 29. He’s been out of contention for the Dodgers since July 2021, shortly after he first joined the team from the Cincinnati Reds

At that time, Thiagarajah told The Washington Post that it would be ‘daunting’ for prosecutors to pursue charges against Bauer. 

He said that the decision not to move forward with charges was ‘not a declaration of innocence; it’s a declaration of ‘I don’t have enough evidence to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt.’ And there’s no doubt that Mr. Bauer just brutalized [the woman].’

The new lawsuit says that, ‘At the time that Mr. Thiagarajah made these statements, he knew that his client had submitted a `materially misleading’ Petition to the California Superior Court in order to obtain a restraining order,’ reports USA Today.

Earlier, in August 2021, the restraining order that Hill had implemented against Bauer was lifted after a judge ruled that he posed no threat to the alleged victim. The same judge ruled against Bauer’s legal team’s request for access to Hill’s phone records in April 2022.

This lawsuit is the latest legal action that Bauer has taken in relation to the allegations. 

In March 2022, Bauer filed suit against online publishers Deadspin and The Athletic, as well as the latter’s former reporter Molly Knight, over articles written about the original allegations. 

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US

North Dakota lawmaker Ray Holmberg quits after texting with child porn suspect

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North Dakota’s longest-serving state senator will be resigning after a report revealed the lawmaker exchanged text messages with a man jailed on child pornography charges.

“Recent news stories have become a distraction for the important work of the legislative assembly during its interim meetings,” Republican Ray Holmberg, 79, said in a statement announcing his resignation, effective June 1.

“I want to do what I can, within my power, to lessen such distractions.”

Holmberg’s term was scheduled to end on Nov. 30 and he had already announced in March that it would be his last.

The Forum of Fargo reported on April 15 that Holmberg had exchanged 72 text messages in August with Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier. 

Morgan-Derosier has been behind bars on charges of possessing several thousand images and videos depicting sexually abused children. He is also accused of taking two children under the age of 10 from Minnesota to his home in Grand Forks with the intent to sexually abuse them.

Holmberg, whose political career spans 46 years, initially told the paper he had read about the charges before saying in a later interview that he had not, according to the Forum.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said in a statement that he “supports” Holmberg’s decision to resign.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP

He said the texts were about “a variety of things” including patio work Morgan-Dosier did for him. He told the paper he no longer has the texts.

“They’re just gone,” he said.

Holmberg has not been charged with any crime, and his lawyer Mark Friese said there is no indication that he will be.

GOP Gov. Doug Burgum said in a statement that he “supports” Holmberg’s decision to resign without commenting further.

Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner said he had spoken to Holmberg before his resignation announcement.

“No charges have been brought against Sen. Holmberg at this time … he felt it was in the best interest to resign at this time,” Wardner told The Associated Press.

With Post Wires

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Sports

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Trevor Bauer files lawsuit vs. woman who accused him of sexual assault

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer filed suit Monday against the San Diego woman who accused him of sexual assault, claiming defamation and tortious interference while seeking unspecified monetary and punitive damages.

In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Bauer’s attorneys say that the woman “fabricated allegations of sexual assault,” “pursued bogus criminal and civil actions,” “made false and malicious statements” and “generated a media blitz based on her lies” in an effort to “destroy” Bauer’s reputation, “garner attention for herself” and “extract millions of dollars.”

In a petition seeking a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) that was filed on June 29, 2021, the woman — whom ESPN has chosen not to name — stated that Bauer took consensual rough sex too far during two encounters at his Pasadena, California, home in April and May 2021, alleging that he choked her unconscious on multiple occasions, sodomized her without consent and punched her all over her body, leaving her with injuries that prompted medical attention.

Bauer and his attorneys have firmly denied the accusations, calling them “fraudulent” and “baseless.”

The woman was denied a permanent restraining order following a four-day hearing in August, and six months later, in February 2022, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office decided not to pursue criminal charges against Bauer. But Major League Baseball, which has the autonomy to suspend players for “just cause” under its domestic violence policy, is still investigating Bauer, who recently had his administrative leave extended through Friday.

In the suit, Bauer’s attorneys deny that he engaged in anal sex with the woman, punched her in the face, stomach or vagina, or scratched her on her cheek or on her back, as the woman said.

“At all times during both sexual encounters,” the suit reads, “Mr. Bauer respected the boundaries established and agreed upon with [the woman].”

The suit says that the woman, who at the time was 27 years old, continued to pursue Bauer after the first encounter with a goal of luring him into “a rougher sexual experience so she could later claim this sexual experience was not what she requested and thereby lay the groundwork for a financial settlement.”

The suit also references text messages the woman sent to friends in which she seemingly bragged about a potential payout, while noting inconsistent statements in her testimony during the DVRO hearing, saying that pictures of her injuries were altered and alleging that she “deliberately” deleted phone records during the process.

The woman, who provided photographs and medical records as part of her DVRO declaration, said she woke up the morning after the second sexual encounter with two black eyes, a swollen jaw and cheekbones, dark red scratches on the right side of her face, bruised gums, a lump on the side of her head, a split upper lip, black bruising over the top of her vagina and multiple bruises on her right butt cheek. The woman has acknowledged consenting to being choked unconscious.

The suit says that the woman instigated rough sex, citing a text message that was sent between their first and second encounters. In the text message, which became a central part of the August hearing, the woman invited Bauer to “gimme all the pain.”

The suit also says that the woman “did not have any visible markings or bruising on her face or body except for a slightly swollen lip” upon leaving Bauer’s house after the second encounter on May 16.

The suit also accuses one of the woman’s attorneys, Fred Thiagarajah, of defamation after he told the Washington Post following the District Attorney’s declination that Bauer “just brutalized” the woman and that the conduct she alleged was established with “100 percent certainty.”

Over the past two months, while MLB continued its investigation, Bauer’s lawyers filed defamation lawsuits against two media companies, saying that Deadspin knowingly published false information in its coverage of the sexual assault allegations and that The Athletic led “a campaign to maliciously target and harass” Bauer.

Bauer’s lawyers also subpoenaed the Pasadena Police Department for missing phone records from the San Diego woman, writing in a court filing that “the requested materials will further reveal Petitioner’s plan to ruin Respondent’s reputation and career and to earn a large paycheck by making false and misleading allegations in her Petition.”

But during a hearing held on April 4, L.A. County Superior Court judge Dianna Gould-Saltman — who dissolved the temporary restraining order against Bauer in August — ruled that the pitcher would not be privy to the woman’s phone records, stating that his attorneys did not file the proper motion and that the judge nonetheless would have been skeptical of an argument that the records would help them show the woman misled the legal process and must pay his attorneys’ fees.

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Entertainment

Across the Spider-Verse’ – The Hollywood Reporter

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An invigorated Sony put on a spectacle opening night show at CinemaCon as it took a well-deserved victory lap for Spider-Man: No Way Home and teased its upcoming slate with impressive footage from Bullet Train and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Tom Rothman was in rare form as he went through the studio’s lineup, including announcing that there will be next installments in the Ghostbusters and Venom franchises (no details were announced). Sony made plenty of noise first by showing more than 10 minutes of Bullet Train, followed quickly by the announcement that Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, best known as global superstar Bad Bunny, will star as Marvel antihero comic character El Muerto. He’ll be the first Latino actor to lead a Marvel live-action film. “This is the perfect role to me. It will be epic to me,” Bad Bunny said when taking the stage alongside Sony’s Sanford Panitch. (Bad Bunny’s first feature is Bullet Train.) Panitch announced the El Muerto movie will hit theaters on Jan. 12, 2024.

While the bulk of the studio’s presentation focused on releasing exclusive footage, a confident Rothman took a quick walk down memory lane to last year’s event. “I stood here in August and said the heart and soul of our business remains theatrical. What happened? ” he asked more than 3,000 seated guests in The Colosseum, doubling down on how the naysayers projected the death of the exhibition business (“Don’t you know you’re dead? Can you read? You’re finished!”) “Sony movies did $3.3 Billion at the worldwide box office during that time.”

To enthusiastic applause, Rothman then welcomed writers/producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller to show off their work in progress from Sony Pictures Animation, including storyboards, of the first 15 minutes of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the wildly-anticipated first chapter in a two-part sequel to 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which pushed the boundaries of animation and collected a best animated Oscar for its efforts.

It once again voice stars Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, a teenage Spider-Man who is transported to another universe, where he comes in contact with Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, voiced by Oscar Isaac. Miles Morales will also reteam with Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) as well as a new roster of Spider characters including Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, voiced by Issa Rae.

The clip begins in Gwen Stacy’s dimension, with Gwen and her father, the police chief, as he gets a call. Gwen follows and meets Vulture. O’Hara’s Spider-Man and Spider-woman/Jessica Drew are introduced from another dimension. In the scene, Gwen’s father arrives and tries to arrest her for the murder of Peter Parker, and she removes the mask and reveals her identity. Next we cut to Miles Morales’ world, which introduces Miles in a parent-teacher meeting at his school.

Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson direct the sequel from a screenplay by Lord, Miller and David Callaham. The film was set for release Oct. 7, 2022, but the studio announced last week that it was pushing back the theatrical release to June 2, 2023. Spider-Man: Behind the Spider-Verse is the name of the second of the sequels, which is slated for a March 29, 2024 release.

Rothman closed the segment of the presentation: “To the opposition, ‘Watch the fuck out.”

He wasn’t alone in promoting Sony’s commitment to theatrical.  “I’ve spoken about Sony’s commitment to protecting the exclusive theatrical window. When I was here last, I said it would thrive and it did and we did it together,” said Sony Motion Pictures President John Greenstein said.

Greenstein welcomed the “visionary director” driving Bullet Train, David Leitch. Upon taking the stage, he said that he and producing partner Kelly McCormick set out with lofty goals to make something “incredibly original, something that would get people back into the cinema. “I believe we did that.”

Leitch’s film, due July 29, is described as a fun, delirious action-thriller with Brad Pitt leading an ensemble cast of eclectic, diverse assassins – all with connected yet conflicting objectives – set against the backdrop of a non-stop ride through modern-day Japan. It’s a Pitt “like you’ve never seen him before,” praised Leitch. And the footage backed up that claim with Pitt walking the streets of Tokyo while speaking to Sandra Bullock’s character on the telephone as she details his mission — to retrieve a briefcase with a train sticker on it.

Meanwhile, on the train, Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry are waiting with Logan Lerman after rescuing him from a kidnapping. After the latter wakes up, the two assassins offer up a bloody recap of the 17 people they had to kill in order to free him. That energetic sequence debuted to cheers and laughs as did the full 10-minute footage which ended with Bad Bunny’s explosive fight scene with Pitt.

Sony’s presentation also shined a light on the anticipated The Woman King from label TriStar Pictures. Division topper Nicole Brown took the stage to recall the brief story of when Viola Davis came to her office to present the story of “all-female badass warriors.” Brown said she couldn’t believe it was true. “They were real-life Amazons,” she explained. “A real-world Black Panther.” She credited the Oscar, Emmy and

Tony Award-winning talent with being a producer who championed the film “like a general.” Brown then welcomed Woman King director Gina Prince Bythewood to the stage. The filmmaker, who said it was incredibly cool to be attending her first CinemaCon, praised her star as someone whom every director wants to work with. Marrying the material with an in-demand star allowed Prince Bythewood to “touch greatness.”

“She is everything we all believe her to be,” Prince-Bythewood said of her star. “She kicks ass in the movie.”

To honor her contributions, Prince-Bythewood revealed that she would be presenting Davis with an inaugural Trailblazer Award, noting that the trophy will now be presented at CinemaCon every year to come. The bar is set pretty high as Davis was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation.

“The five words I don’t want to take to my grave would be I was not brave enough. I didn’t risk jumping through a plate of glass to risk discomfort, failure, exposure,” Davis said to kick off her acceptance speech. She then credited late legend Cicely Tyson with inspiring her choice of career when she saw her for the first time at 9 years old. “The transformational, radical power it gave me to believe in something bigger than even my world. It touched down and landed in me. I touched down and landed in a generation of artists and I wanted to do that with my work. As an actor, I wanted to play characters that have never been seen before in a body that looked like mine.”

Davis said that when The Woman King was brought her way, she believed it to be “divine intervention.” She called the film her “magnum opus,” same for her director. “I felt it was the absolute conduit with introducing a whole new area of storytelling to the world.” She then introduced an exclusive clip reel of never-before-seen footage that displayed fierce action sequences.

Set for release on Sept. 16, the film centers on the untold story inspired by true events that took place in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. From a story by Maria Bello with a screenplay by Dana Stevens and Prince-Bythewood, The Woman King casts Davis opposite Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and John Boyega.

Reese Witherspoon turned up on the big-screen via video message to introduce Where the Crawdads Sing. Set for release July 15, the film is based on the best-selling novel and tells the story of Kya, an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. “It’s a gorgeous film,” Witherspoon praised. “Everybody has worked so hard to bring this to life. … Gorgeous scenery and gorgeous acting, beautifully told.”

Sony ended its presentation with footage of George Tillman’s upcoming George Foreman biopic. The real Foreman made a special appearance via video and Rothman offered him the final words of the evening. “It took me a long time until I was ready to tell my story on the big screen. But I felt trusted in Tilman’s hands,” Foreman. “When you get knocked down you get back up again, both in life and in the ring. Have fun in vegas — not too much fun — and God bless you all.”

Hollywood studios and cinema operators are gathered together this week in Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual convention hosted by the National Association of Theatre Owners. This year is especially crucial for exhibitors as they try to emerge from the ravages of the COVID-19 crisis and compete with streamers.

CinemaCon was canceled altogether in 2020, while last year’s event was a pared-down version held in late August, versus its traditional late spring slot.

This year, all five major Hollywood studios plus Lionsgate and Neon are touting their upcoming slates during their time on stage inside the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

CinemaCon 2022 runs April 25-28.



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US

Lily Peters news live: Police give update after body of missing 10-year-old found in Wisconsin woods

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Iliana “Lily” Peters, 10, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, was found dead by police in a wooded area near her aunt’s house. Lilly was reportedly walking home but never arrived. Her body was found the morning after she was reported missing.

(provided)

The body of a 10-year-old girl from Wisconsin was found a day after she was reported missing.

The remains of Liliana “Lily Peters was found on Monday around 9:15am in a wooded area near a walking trail by the Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls.

No suspects have been arrested in connection to the fourth grader”s death. Police are investigating the death as a possible homicide.

“We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Lily Peters during this tragic time,” Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said.

He also warned the public that a threat to their safety could still be present in the community.

“We encourage anyone with information to please contact the Chippewa Falls Police Department and to maintain a state of vigilance as there may be a danger to the public,” he said.

Lily was last seen leaving her aunt’s house on Sunday evening, according to police. They believe she was headed home, but she never arrived. Her father called the police around 9pm to report her missing.

Police began searching for the girl on Sunday night, eventually finding her bicycle near a wooded area by a walking trail near her aunt’s house. When their initial searches failed to turn up the girl, additional police units, including K9 teams and drones, were asked to assist.

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Lily Peters: Everything we know so far

On Monday morning, ten-year-old Lily Peters was found dead of a suspected homicide in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Though no suspect has yet been arrested, police say they are actively pursuing multiple leads.

Here’s what we know so far:

Nathan Place26 April 2022 05:20

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Vigil held Monday night for Lily Peters

A vigil is being held in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where 10-year-old Lily Peters was found dead of a suspected homicide.

Community members are invited to mourn and pray for Lily at a church on Bridgewater Avenue in Chippewa Falls, WEAU reported.

Nathan Place26 April 2022 04:40

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Local parent remembers Lily as ‘always happy’

A father whose children knew Lily Peters says she frequently played with other kids near the trail where her body was found.

“I see her and her cousins all the time, either biking, rollerblading on a hoverboard, going up and down the street,” Jeremy Machnik told WCCO. “They sled in the back hill of our yard, and she’s always happy, always happy, even if it’s 15 degrees and snowing out.”

Nathan Place26 April 2022 04:00

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After tragic announcement, an outpouring of support

After police announced the death of Lily Peters on Facebook, supportive comments poured in from across the country.

“This is so sad,” one person wrote below a post about the new tip line. “Poor baby that cannot even take a stroll by herself without the risk of getting kidnapped. We need to do better for our communities and take care of each other.”

“Prayers for my hometown and her family from AZ,” another wrote.

“My heart is broken; prayers to all involved,” someone else commented.

Nathan Place26 April 2022 03:20

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Lily Peters’ bicycle was found not far from her remains

Before Lily Peters’ remains were discovered, her bicycle was found near the walking trail where her body was eventually located, police say.

Around 9pm on Sunday, the girl’s father reported her missing after she didn’t come home from a visit to her aunt’s house. Her bike was later found between that house and the trail.

Nathan Place26 April 2022 02:40

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Police say tragedy ‘threatens our sense of security’

At a press conference on Monday evening, police noted how deeply Lily Peter’ death has shaken her community.

“It is almost impossible to believe that something this horrific could happen in our city,” Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said. “And an event like this threatens our sense of security. However, I believe we will come together as a community to overcome this fear.”

Nathan Place26 April 2022 02:00

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School district releases statement on Lily Peters investigation

Lily Peters’ school district has put out a statement on the homicide investigation into her death.

“The school district is working closely with the police,” the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District said on Facebook. “If you have any information please contact the Chippewa Falls Police Department directly. Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.”

Nathan Place26 April 2022 01:20

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Lily Peters: Everything we know so far

The remains of Iliana “Lily” Peters, 10, were discovered on Monday in a wooded area of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

Police are investigating the death as a homicide, but have not arrested anyone in connection with the girl’s death.

Here’s a look at everything we know so far:

Nathan Place26 April 2022 00:40

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Police create new tip line for investigation

Police have created a new tip line for their investigation of the Lily Peters case, and urge anyone with information to call it – especially because no one has been arrested yet.

“The simple fact is that we have not made an arrest in this case, so the suspect is still at large,” Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said on Monday night.

The phone number for the tip line is 1-800-263-5906.

Nathan Place26 April 2022 00:00

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Police say case ‘transitioned’ to homicide investigation when remains were found

At a tight-lipped press conference on Monday night, police said the Lily Peters case became a homicide investigation as soon as her body was found.

“Once we located the deceased, at that point it transitioned from a missing person into what we believe to be a homicide investigation,” said Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm. “I can’t speak as to what the evidence is, or the specifics as to that decision making.”

Mr Kelm said he could not elaborate further, because the investigation is still being conducted.

Nathan Place25 April 2022 23:30

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World

Top Russian diplomat warns Ukraine against provoking WWIII

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat warned Ukraine against provoking World War III and said the threat of a nuclear conflict “should not be underestimated” as his country unleashed attacks against rail and fuel installations far from the front lines of Moscow’s new eastern offensive.

Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Russian forces had taken the Ukrainian city of Kreminna in the Lukansk region after days of street-to-street fighting.

“The city of Kreminna has reportedly fallen and heavy fighting is reported south of Izium as Russian forces attempt to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east,” the British military said in a tweet. It did not say how it knew the city, 575 kilometers (355 miles) southeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, had fallen. The Ukrainian government did not immediately comment.

The U.S. has been rushing more weaponry to Ukraine and said the assistance from Western allies is making a difference in the 2-month-old war.

“Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared Monday after he and the U.S. secretary of defense made a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Blinken said Washington approved a $165 million sale of ammunition — non-U.S. ammo, mainly if not entirely for Ukraine’s Soviet-era weapons — and will also provide more than $300 million in financing to buy more supplies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin went further, saying the U.S. wants to see Ukraine remain a sovereign, democratic country, but also wants “to see Russia weakened to the point where it can’t do things like invade Ukraine.”

Austin’s remarks appeared to represent a shift in U.S. strategic goals since earlier it said the goal of American military aid was to help Ukraine win and to defend Ukraine’s NATO neighbors against Russian threats.

In an apparent response to Austin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has “a feeling that the West wants Ukraine to continue to fight and, as it seems to them, wear out, exhaust the Russian army and the Russian military industrial war complex. This is an illusion.”

Weapons supplied by Western countries “will be a legitimate target,” Lavrov said, adding that Russian forces were targeting weapons warehouses in western Ukraine.

Lavrov accused Ukrainian leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to become involved in the conflict. NATO has effectively “entered into a war with Russia through proxies and is arming those proxies,” he said. NATO forces are “pouring oil on the fire,” Lavrov said, according to a transcript on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.

“Everyone is reciting incantations that in no case can we allow World War III,” he said in a Russian television interview.

Lavrov said he would not want to see risks of a nuclear confrontation “artificially inflated now, when the risks are rather significant.”

“The danger is serious,” he said. “It is real. It should not be underestimated.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that Lavrov’s comments underscore Ukraine’s need for Western help: “Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a ‘real’ danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine.”

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, its apparent goal was to seize Kyiv, the capital. But the Ukrainians, helped by Western weapons, forced President Vladimir Putin’s troops to retreat.

Moscow now says its goal is to take the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine. Both sides say that campaign is underway, but Russia has yet to mount an all-out ground offensive or make any major breakthroughs.

On Monday, Russia focused its firepower elsewhere, with missiles and warplanes striking far behind the front lines to try to thwart Ukrainian supply efforts.

Five railroad stations in central and western Ukraine were hit, and one worker was killed, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, head of Ukraine’s state railway. The bombardment included a missile attack near Lviv, the western city near the Polish border that has been swelled by Ukrainians fleeing the violence elsewhere.

Ukrainian authorities said at least five people were killed by Russian strikes in the central Vynnytsia region.

Russia also destroyed an oil refinery and fuel depots in Kremenchuk, in central Ukraine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. In all, Russian warplanes destroyed 56 Ukrainian targets, he said.

Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. general who was NATO’s top commander from 2013- 2016, said the strikes on fuel depots are meant to deplete key Ukrainian war resources. Strikes against rail targets, on the other hand, are a “legitimate” effort to disrupt supply lines, he said.

“The illegitimate reason is they know people are trying to leave the country, and this is just another intimidation, terrorist tactic to make them not have faith and confidence in traveling on the rails.”

Phillips P. O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said the war is settling into a campaign of incremental battlefield losses and gains.

“The two sides are sort of every day weakening each other,” he said.

In Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova beside the Ukrainian border, several explosions believed caused by rocket-propelled grenades hit the territory’s Ministry of State Security. There was no immediate claim of responsibility or reports of injuries. Transnistria is a strip of land with about 470,000 people. About 1,500 Russian troops are based there.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said “the aim of today’s incident is to create pretexts for straining the security situation in the Transnistrian region.” The U.S. has said Russia might launch “false-flag” attacks against its own side to create a pretext for invading other nations.

Last week, Rustam Minnekayev, a Russian military commander, said the Kremlin wants full control of southern Ukraine, to open the way to Transnistria.

An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian troops holed up in a steel plant in the strategic southern port city of Mariupol are tying down Russian forces, apparently preventing them from joining the offensive elsewhere in the Donbas. Over the weekend, Russian forces launched new airstrikes on the Azovstal plant to try to dislodge the holdouts.

Some 1,000 civilians were also said to be taking shelter at the steelworks.

The city council and mayor of Mariupol said a new mass grave was identified about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the city. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said authorities were trying to estimate the number of victims. It was at least the third new mass grave discovered in Russian-controlled areas near Mariupol in the last week.

Mariupol has been gutted by bombardment and fierce street fighting over the past two months. Russia’s capture of the city would deprive Ukraine of a vital port and give Moscow a land corridor to the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was maintaining its resistance to “make the occupiers’ stay in our land even more intolerable,” while Russia drains its resources.

Britain said it believes 15,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said 25% of the Russian combat units sent to Ukraine “have been rendered not combat effective.”

Ukrainian officials have said about 2,500 to 3,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed as of mid-April.

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Gambrell reported from Lviv, Ukraine. Associated Press journalist Yuras Karmanau in Lviv and AP staff around the world contributed to this report.

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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Technology

Someone Is Already Playing Nintendo Switch Sports, And It’s Not Even Out Yet

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Image: Nintendo

It seems every Switch release is leaked in some way or form nowadays, and with this in mind, it’s happened again (well, kind of…) – this time with Nintendo Switch Sports.

Although it’s not due out until later this week, one lucky fan known as “i_can_hear_the_world” on Reddit, has taken to the Nintendo Switch subreddit to share their excitement about receiving the game early in the mail.

At the time of writing, the whole thread, which is currently at the top of the subreddit, has already generated more than 270 comments and 4.6K upvotes. In it, you can see pictures of the game case and Switch game card.

In addition to taking questions about the game on Reddit, the same individual has also posted footage on their YouTube channel SupaDaBloopa – sharing a video going through the six sports available at launch. It’s about 50 minutes in length.

“Earlier, I posted photos of my early copy of Nintendo Switch Sports. Now here’s the video. Check it before Nintendo takes it down.”

“What’s kraken dudes, this is SupaDaBloopa! I got insanely lucky and got Nintendo Switch Sports sent to me four days before its official release date. I feel like Nintendo is going to send out their little ninjas to kidnap me, but hey. C’est la vie, right? Enjoy this early look at Nintendo Switch Sports. If you have any questions regarding the game itself, comment below and I’ll do my best to respond to all of you.”

Obviously, as the game isn’t officially out yet, there’s no playable online multiplayer, so everything on display is local play. The game will also seemingly require a patch on release.

It follows on from someone in April gaining access to a digital copy of Advance Wars: Re-Boot Camp early. When Nintendo found out, it cancelled and refunded the purchase.

Will you be picking up Nintendo Switch Sports when it arrives later this week? Drop a comment down below.



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