New Steelers TE Donald Parham Jr. reportedly tears Achilles in OTAs, likely out for season

New Steelers TE Donald Parham Jr. reportedly tears Achilles in OTAs, likely out for season

Donald Parham Jr.'s first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers is likely over before it could even begin. Parham tore an Achilles during OTAs on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Specifics of the injury aren't known, but he's likely to miss all of the 2025 campaign. Sources: Steelers tight end Donald Parham Jr. suffered a torn Achilles during today's OTAs that now is likely to end his 2025 season. A brutal injury.https://t.co/fyipieiizUpic.twitter.com/Mxyxkqh8id — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)June 3, 2025 Parham signed a one-year, $1.17 million deal with the Steelers this offseason. He got his start with the Los Angeles Chargers, where he played sparingly over the past four seasons after going undrafted out of Stetson. The 27-year-old is coming off a career campaign, and would have likely played a decent role in the Steelers' offense this fall. Parham had 285 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 27 catches last season in Los Angeles. The news came shortly after reports that the Steelers had renewed conversations with Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith, who is seeking a new contract. The possibility for a trade between the two organizations is now still alive,according to Schefter, which makes sense if Parham is out. Smith had a career-high 884 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 88 catches last season in Miami while picking up his first Pro-Bowl nod. While the tight end situation is in flux — the Steelers still have last year's starter Pat Freiermuth available — it's far from the biggest piece missing from the Steelers' offense. Theteam is still waiting on free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgersto make his decision, which feels like it's down to them or retirement at this point. There is no timetable for Rodgers' decision. If Rodgers doesn't move to Pittsburgh, the team is likely looking at Mason Rudolph leading their offense. The Steelers went 10-7 last season and lost in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth straight time. They'll open the season on the road against the Jets, Rodgers' former team, on Sept. 7.

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

New Steelers TE Donald Parham Jr. reportedly tears Achilles in OTAs, likely out for season

New Steelers TE Donald Parham Jr. reportedly tears Achilles in OTAs, likely out for season Donald Parham Jr.'s first season with the Pit...

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Severe weather delays Pacers' arrival in Oklahoma City for NBA Finals

Severe weather delays Pacers' arrival in Oklahoma City for NBA Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Indiana Pacers waited 25 years to get back to the NBA Finals. And then they waited a few more hours to actually get to the NBA Finals. The Pacers' travel plans to the NBA Finals were impacted Tuesday by severe weather. The team's charter was first diverted to Tulsa, Oklahoma — and then, after refueling there, the plane took a scenic route around another band of weather before finally landing in Oklahoma City about 3 1/2 hours behind schedule. It was sunny when the team arrived around 7 p.m. local time. That wasn't the case an hour or so earlier. Forecasters had issued a tornado warning, flood watch and severe thunderstorm watch for Oklahoma City and much of the surrounding areas on Tuesday afternoon, all while the Pacers' charter flight out of Indianapolis was in the air. The flight was diverted and Oklahoma City's airport arrivals and departures were interrupted by heavy rain and wind. Delays were expected to impact other flights coming into Oklahoma City for much of the evening. The Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder are scheduled to appear at the NBA Finals media day on Wednesday at the arena that will host Game 1 of the title series on Thursday night. It's the first finals appearance for the Pacers since 2000 and the first for the Thunder since 2012. "You spend so much time thinking about getting there, but it's like, you're here now," Pacers center Myles Turner said before the team left Indianapolis. "You didn't really spend a lot of time thinking about, 'OK, when I'm here, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.' It's like, 'Let's just get there.' So now, that milestone has been achieved. It's about doing something with the opportunity." There was at least one tornado spotted in Norman, Oklahoma, near the University of Oklahoma campus, on Tuesday afternoon when the Pacers were waiting things out in Tulsa. It was not immediately known if the tornado touched down or caused any damage. Norman is about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. Tulsa is about 120 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. ___ AP NBA:https://apnews.com/nba

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

Severe weather delays Pacers' arrival in Oklahoma City for NBA Finals

Severe weather delays Pacers' arrival in Oklahoma City for NBA Finals OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Indiana Pacers waited 25 years to get bac...

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Stephen A. Smith rips Knicks president Leon Rose for ‘weak-a** statement’ after firing coach Tom Thibodeau

Stephen A. Smith rips Knicks president Leon Rose for 'weak-a** statement' after firing coach Tom Thibodeau

Stephen A. Smith didn't hold back after the New York Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday. The ESPN commentator ripped Knicks president Leon Rose for acting like a "coward" and putting out a "weak-ass statement" afterparting with the coachthat led them to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000. "To be quite honest with you, I think we all as New Yorkers should find Leon Rose's statement offensive," Smith said on ESPN. "Get the hell in front of a microphone and a camera and answer questions. Stop being a coward." "Get the hell in front of a microphone and a camera and answers questions. Stop being a coward."3 minutes of Stephen A. Smith torching Leon Rose for his "weak-ass statement":pic.twitter.com/G6CYWzFona — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing)June 3, 2025 TheKnicks announced on Tuesday that they had fired Thibodeauless than a week after the franchise fell to the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the conference finals. Thibodeau led the Knicks to the playoffs in four of his five seasons with the franchise, and is coming off back-to-back 50-win seasons. Perhaps most importantly, Thibodeau brought the Knicks back to prominence in the NBA. The team hadn't been to the playoffs in seven years before he landed in Manhattan. Rose said in his statementthat the decision to fire Thibodeau was what was "best for our organization." "Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans," Rose said, in part. "This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction." While Smith's comments came in the immediate aftermath of the decision, his issue is that Rose very rarely speaks to reporters about the moves he's making with the franchise. "This is the problem with the arrogance of the New York Knicks, OK? They deserve credit for what they have achieved," Smith said. "I applaud them for lifting us from basketball purgatory into relevance … but in the same breath when you make the potpourri of decisions that you have made, can you have the decency to stand before the media and answer the questions? … That statement is as weak as it gets." Smith isn't alone in his criticism, either. Plenty of others in the Knicks world had similar thoughts. This is a startlingly terrible decision.#Knickshttps://t.co/gO18A215zD — Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny)June 3, 2025 WOW WOW WOW. I can't believe the NY Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was fired today after leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals! 🤯 The biggest question is why was he fired? Now, who will be the next coach of the Knicks? — Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson)June 3, 2025 Instant Reaction - Tom Thibodeau Firedpic.twitter.com/7AnN2jYGs2 — Jon "Stugotz" Weiner (@stugotz790)June 3, 2025 TheKnicks will now start their search for a new head coach. While there are plenty of questions about the Knicks' moves now, and those aren't going away anytime soon, Smith doesn't expect anything to change. Rose's statement, which is likely all he's going to get, wasn't good enough. "I don't care about that damn statement," Smith said. "I want to see Leon Rose stand before the camera and justify firing a man that just took you within two games of a berth to the NBA finals right after you decided to trade five picks for a guy that never even made an All-Star … Stand before the media and answer them damn questions."

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

Stephen A. Smith rips Knicks president Leon Rose for ‘weak-a** statement’ after firing coach Tom Thibodeau

Stephen A. Smith rips Knicks president Leon Rose for 'weak-a** statement' after firing coach Tom Thibodeau Stephen A. Smith didn...

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We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary

We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -The world will never forget China's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, Taiwan's president and the top U.S. diplomat said on the 36th anniversary of an event Beijing treats as taboo. The events on and around the central Beijing square on June 4, 1989, when Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led pro-democracy protests, are not publicly discussed in China and the anniversary is not officially marked. Public commemorations now take place in overseas cities including Taipei where senior Taiwan government leaders often use the anniversary to criticise China and urge it to face up to what it did. Lai, in a post on Facebook on Wednesday, praised the courage of those who took part in the protests, saying human rights are a concept shared by Taiwan and other democracies that transcend generations and borders. "The commemoration of the June 4 Tiananmen incident is not only to mourn history, but also to perpetuate this memory," Lai said. "Authoritarian governments often choose to silence and forget history, while democratic societies choose to preserve the truth and refuse to forget those who gave their lives - and their dreams - to the idea of human rights," he added. "Not only do we refuse to forget history, we will implement our core values every day." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday praised the courage of the Chinese people who were killed in the bloody crackdown. "Today we commemorate the bravery of the Chinese people who were killed as they tried to exercise their fundamental freedoms, as well as those who continue to suffer persecution as they seek accountability and justice for the events of June 4, 1989," Rubio said in a statement. "The CCP actively tries to censor the facts, but the world will never forget," he said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Before dawn on June 4, 1989, Chinese tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square, crushing weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations by students and workers. China has never provided a full death toll, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into thousands. China blamed the protests on counter-revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the ruling Communist Party. (Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary

We will never forget Tiananmen crackdown, Taiwan and US say on 36th anniversary By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -The world ...

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White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress

White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress

The White House has sent itslong-awaited spending cuts requestto Congress as it seeks to formalize a slew of DOGE slashes to federal funding. The $9.4 billion package – known as "rescissions" on Capitol Hill – would claw back previously appropriated government funding. The move to cancel the funding through Congress would insulate the administration from legal challenges related to its cuts to federal funding. As anticipated, the cuts target the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a small chunk of the federal budget that provides some public funding for NPR and PBS, as well as the United States Agency for International Development. This initial request, however, is far more limited in scope than themore than $1 trillion in spending cutsthat DOGE has promised. The lengthy time it took the White House to send over a first round of cuts underscores the uphill battle for even a Republican-led Congress to codify DOGE's work. Congress will have 45 days after the White House submits the request to consider it. It can pass both the House and Senate with a simple majority, meaning it could clear the chambers without Democratic support. House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed in statement Tuesday that "the House will act quickly on this request." "This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE's findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity. Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible," Johnson said in part. Johnson said in a joint statementposted on Xlater Tuesday that House GOP leaders will put the package on the House floor next week. CNN has reached out to the Office of Management and Budget on the package. OMB Director Russell Vought told Fox News the administration is "intending to be strategic, work with Congress, see what they're willing to do, and if they pass this, we'll send up many more." The Republican speaker had told reporters Monday that he expects there may be "multiple" such packages coming to the hill in the next few months. "It's a big priority for me," Johnson said. As with all things, the challenge for him will be muscling the package through the House with his narrow majority. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said ahead of the White House transmitting the package that it was his "full expectation that, as has been the case up until this point, they will confront strong and unified Democratic opposition in the House, struggle to get any bill out of the House of Representatives, and then it's dead in the United States Senate." Trump has before sought to employ the maneuver to pull back funding. During his first administration, theSenate rejected a packagethat would have canceled $15 billion in unspent funds from the prior fiscal year. This story has been updated with additional details. CNN's Samantha Waldenberg, Veronica Stracqualursi, Annie Grayer and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byAlex Perish

in

June 03, 2025

White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress

White House formally sends its DOGE spending cuts request to Congress The White House has sent itslong-awaited spending cuts requestto Congr...

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