Omar King USA TODAY Thursday 20240509

Porn star Stormy Daniels testified against former President Donald Trump in a criminal prosecution. She accused Trump of trying to hush up their encounter in a hotel room and hiding a $100,000 payment to her. Daniels described the meeting in detail, including Trump's behavior and conversation topics. The defense requested a mistrial, but it was denied. In another article, Israel seized control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt as part of their offensive against Hamas. The crossing is important for humanitarian aid, and its closure could worsen the situation for civilians in Gaza. Ceasefire talks were ongoing, and there were calls for international pressure to stop the escalation. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged both sides to work towards a truce to prevent further bloodshed. This program is intended for a print-impaired audience and is brought to you by the Georgia Radio Reading Service, GARS. Welcome to our reading of the USA Today. I'm Omar King for the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Today is Thursday, May 9, 2024. Our first article comes to us from the USA Today front page. Our first article is titled, Porn Star Testifies Against Trump, Judge Denies Mistrial Request by Defense, by Aisha Bakshi, Kenzie Crowley, and Bart Jansen of the USA Today, from New York. On the 13th day of the first ever criminal prosecution of a former president, after all the dreary testimony about leisures and bookkeeping, Stormy Daniels got to the heart of what Donald Trump is accused of, wanting to hush up, a night in his hotel room. It was a tawdry account of gold tweezers and silky pajamas, punctuated by a defense demand for mistrial, that the judge rejected. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records for allegedly trying to hide a $100,000 hush money payment to Daniels through his lawyer, Michael Cohen. Trump denies having had sex with the adult film actor and has pleaded not guilty. With Trump's son Eric looking on, Daniels unspooled a salacious and unflattering tale. Daniels said she was 27 years old when she met the reality TV star, then 60, at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe in July 2006. Jurors were shown a photo of Daniels and Trump together. Trump wore a red cap and a yellow polo shirt. At the tournament dinner, a Trump bodyguard named Keith approached Daniels, inviting her to meet the real estate mogul for dinner. Daniels said she went up to Trump's hotel suite for the meeting. It was three times the size of her apartment, she testified. What about your wife? Trump greeted Daniels wearing silky pajamas, she testified. She made a joke, asking if Hugh Hefner knew that Trump was wearing his clothes. She told Trump to go change and he obliged. She said, putting on a dress shirt and dress pants. They made getting to know you chit chat, she said. Trump asked if she had a boyfriend. She didn't. He asked business questions about the adult film industry. Were there unions? Was there testing for sexually transmitted diseases? How did she get paid? He asked if she had ever tested positive for an STD. No, never, she told him. She commented on a photo of Melania Trump that was in the suite. She's very beautiful. What about your wife? Trump told Daniels not to worry about that. That he and his wife didn't sleep in the same room, Daniels testified. The light conversation continued. Daniels said she grew annoyed by Trump's frequent interruptions and asked him, are you always this arrogant and pompous? He dared her to spank him with a magazine, and she did. That's bullshit, Trump appeared to say. He was much more polite after that, Daniels said. Trump said he might be able to get her on The Apprentice, she said. At this point, Judge Juan Merchant told the prosecution to limit the detail. Daniels used the restroom, noticing old spikes and gold tweezers. When she came out, Trump was on the bed posing in his underwear, she described. She said she thought, oh my God, and asked herself what she had misread. She laughed nervously. She said Anne at first tried to make a joke and step around to leave. She said she didn't feel physically threatened. Daniels said she blacked out despite consuming no drugs or alcohol and woke up on the bed naked. She did not tell Trump to stop. I didn't say anything at all, she said. I was trying to think about anything other than what was happening there. She made a reference to their sexual position, and the defense objected, which the judge sustained. Asked by the prosecution whether Trump wore a condom, Daniels said no. As Daniels was readying to leave the suite, Trump said that they were fantastic together and that she should be gotten on his show. Daniels said she later met Trump on other occasions and discussed The Apprentice. At one point, he made passes. She declined, saying she had her period. Eventually, Daniels said Trump told her he couldn't get her on the show. They didn't talk to him again, she said. She decided to keep the incident private after she said she was threatened in a parking lot in 2011 but changed her mind during Trump's 2016 presidential bid when he faced multiple accusations of sexual misbehavior, she testified. After lunch, the defense demanded a mistrial, saying Daniels' testimony was unduly prejudicial. Aside from pure embarrassment, the only purpose of her comments was to inflame this jury to not look at the evidence that matters, lawyer Todd Blanche said. He was particularly furious that Daniels seemed to raise the possibility that the encounter was non-consensual. Such testimony is impossible to come back from, Blanche said. Merkin declined to grant the mistrial. Some of Daniels' statements would have been better left unsaid, he said, but the court has done everything that I can possibly do to protect both sides and to ensure fairness. Then the defense began grilling Daniels. Am I correct that you hate President Trump? Lawyer Susan Nichels asked. Yes, Daniels said. You've been making money by claiming to have had sex with President Trump for more than a decade, right? Nichels asked. Daniels responded that she's been making money by telling the story of what happened to her. It has also cost me a lot of money, she said. She clarified that Trump did not force her into sex. Nichels asked Daniels to confirm she started shopping her story in 2016 because she wanted to extort Trump. False, Daniels said. Well that's what you did, right? Nichels asked. False, Daniels repeated, putting emphasis on the word. Wednesday is an off day for the trial. Daniels' cross-examination is expected to resume Thursday. This concludes the reading of our first article from the front page, Porn Star Testifies Against Trump, Judge Denies Mistrial Request by Defense, by Aisha Bakchi, Kenzie Crowley, and Bart Jansen of the USA Today. Our second article from the front page is titled, Israel Seizes Border Crossing, Military Says Offensive in Rafah Will Press Ahead, by Kim Jamal Gard and John Bacon of the USA Today. Israel's military said it took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday as leaders vowed to push ahead with a plan to pursue Hamas in the enclave's southernmost city and as ceasefire talks resumed in Cairo. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the military advancement a very significant step toward destruction of the remaining military capabilities of Hamas. In a briefing, Israel's military said its troops established operational control of the Rafah border crossing following intelligence it was being used for terrorist purposes. The crossing is a crucial gateway for humanitarian aid between Gaza and Egypt. It was not immediately clear whether the presence of Israeli tanks and soldiers at the crossing had halted the flow of aid. The Israeli government issued a statement saying aid was still flowing and blaming hunger on Gaza on Hamas but the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, said it was denied access to the crossing. Hamas called on the U.S. and the rest of the world to put pressure on Israel to stop this escalation that threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians across Rafah and the entire Gaza Strip. The Israeli advance confirms the intention to disrupt ceasefire talks and the release of prisoners for the personal interests of Netanyahu and his extremist government, the Hamas statement says. The storming of the occupation army to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt at dawn today is a dangerous escalation against civilian facilities protected by international law, the Hamas statement says. It adds that closing the border crossing aims to exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the Strip by preventing the flow of emergency relief aid through it to our besieged people. After warning Palestinians to evacuate eastern parts of Rafah on Monday, Israel carried out strikes on the city as it appeared to ramp up its preparations for a bigger military offensive in the area where more than one million Palestinians have been sheltering. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appeared to Israel and Hamas to work toward a truce and warned Israel that a full assault on Rafah would be a strategic mistake, a political calamity and a humanitarian nightmare. Guterres in a social media post said he was disturbed and distressed by Israel's latest military activity. I reiterate my appeal for Israel and Hamas to show political courage and spare no effort to secure an agreement now, he wrote, to stop the bloodshed, to free the hostages, to help stabilize the region. This is a critical opportunity we cannot afford to miss. A diplomatic push to reach a ceasefire seven months into the war was in flux. Israel sent a delegation to Cairo after Hamas leaders said Monday that they would accept a recent proposal for a deal, but it was not clear whether the proposal Hamas said it would accept met Israel's requirements. Egypt warned that Israel's operation in Rafah threatened ceasefire efforts. The Biden administration said it was reviewing Hamas's ceasefire agreement and would be discussing it with its partners. Netanyahu is facing intensifying pressure to accept an Egypt-Qatari ceasefire proposal and avert the planned full Rafah ground invasion. Aid groups in Israel's international partners said that a humanitarian crisis for civilians in the Gaza Strip would further exacerbate by any such invasion and that there is no credible plan to protect them. The families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas are demanding their loved ones are given priority. At this crucial moment, while a tangible opportunity for the release of the hostages is on the table, it is of the utmost importance that your government manifests its strong support for such an agreement, said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that represents hostages' families, in a statement Tuesday. Netanyahu is trying to appease far-right nationalist partners in his ruling coalition, who have appeared to signal that they would withdraw support for his government if the Rafah invasion, aimed at rooting out what Israel has characterized as Hamas's last stronghold in Gaza, does not happen. OCHA spokesman Jens Lark said aid agencies in Gaza have only one day of fuel on hand. If no fuel comes in, it would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave, he told the Times of Israel. The two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza are currently choked off. He said referring to the Rafah crossing for Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing for Israel, the World Health Organization said Israel is also not allowing patient transfers through Rafah. Though some non-fuel supplies have entered Gaza via the northern Erez crossing in recent days, the UN agencies said they were insufficient and difficult to deliver to Rafah because it meant crossing active combat zones. Erez will simply not be enough, said James Elder, a spokesperson for the United Nations Children's Agency. If Rafah gate closes for an extended period, it's hard to see how famine in Gaza can be averted. The World Food Program said later on the social media platform X that its stocks would last only one to four days for southern and central Gaza. Even before the latest escalation in the seven-month-old conflict, the United Nations has repeatedly accused Israel of restricting aid access despite famine warnings. Faced with a growing international pressure, Israel had pledged to improve access but says the UN agencies are to blame for not distributing aid more efficiently within the enclave. This concludes our second article from the front page, Israel Seizes Border Crossing, Military Says Offensive in Rafah Will Press Ahead by Kim Jamalgard and John Bacon of the USA Today. Our third article from the front page of the USA Today is titled, Why is Cancer Deadlier in Black Women? New Study to Examine Risk and Outcomes by Karen Wintrob of the USA Today. A cancer diagnosis is terrifying for anyone, but black women have an extra reason to be afraid. Although black women have a significantly lower risk of developing cancer once they've been diagnosed, they are more likely to die and die faster than non-black women. We always say cancer affects everyone, but it doesn't affect everyone equally, said Alpa Patel, a senior vice president at the American Cancer Society, to understand why the American Cancer Society on Tuesday launched the largest ever study of cancer risk and outcomes in black women. The society, which has run other large long-term studies over the last 70 years, aims to enroll more than 100,000 black women between the ages of 25 and 55 who are cancer-free and follow them over three decades. They are focusing enrollment in 20 states and the District of Columbia, areas where the majority of black women live. Previous long-term studies by the Cancer Society solidified the link between smoking and lung cancer, tied obesity to a variety of health problems, and showed that regular aspirin use can reduce the risk of colon cancer. So organizers are hopeful that 30 years of data on black women will reveal important insights. This study has so much potential to change what cancer means to generations of black women, said Patel, an expert in population science. The ACS chose to launch the study because the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted health disparities by race and because over the last decade black women have become more interested in health issues, said Lauren McAuliffe, co-principal investigator of the study. We're trying to engage a community that is already activated and really wants this opportunity to understand why they have disproportionate rates of cancer and other diseases, and said in a Monday call with reporters, participants will be asked to fill out an initial questionnaire that takes about 15 minutes, followed by an hour-long, more detailed questionnaire about their lives and family histories and their mental and emotional health, McAuliffe said. Then there will be a 30-minute online follow-up survey every six months for the next 30 years. Anyone is eligible to participate as long as they identify as black, were assigned female at birth, or self-identified as a woman, don't have a history of cancer except basal or squamous skin cancer, are between 25 and 55, and live in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. More information about the Voices of Black Women study and how to participate are available at voices.cancer.org. Patel said the answers will begin coming once large numbers of black women join the study. The faster we get to 100,000, the faster we get to the first wave of answers, Patel said. Participant information will be de-identified, and the Cancer Society has been careful to center black women in developing the study to help build relationships with participants and combat historic mistrust, she said. Overall, about 10% of all breast cancer falls into the most aggressive category, called triple negative, because it lacks receptors for any hormones. Among black women, however, 20% of breast cancer are in this category, but it's not clear whether that's because of genetics, environment, diet, the stress of enduring racism, or some other factors. This is something we really need to be able to learn to find successful ways to intervene, Patel said. Black women also experience higher rates of colon and endometrial cancer at an earlier age. The study will collect tumor samples if a study participant is diagnosed with cancer. We're at a point in time where we have to say we can't keep talking about it. We have to solve it, she said. In an unrelated study published May 4th, researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that their peers had been too focused on identifying racial disparities, rather than investing in efforts to reverse them. Cancer deaths have fallen substantially over the last three decades, the study noted, but those benefits have not been spread equally. Most of the federal funds available for addressing disparities have been spent on public education and research, rather than on efforts to reduce differences in care. The study found, what is the use of developing new therapies if the communities that could benefit the most are the very ones that cannot access them? The author, Dr. Christopher Latham, Dana-Farber's associate chief medical officer, said in a statement, To try to reduce racial and socioeconomic health disparities in cancer diagnosis, real estate developer Bruce Ratner announced Monday he would help fund increased lung and breast cancer screening across New York. The Ratner Early Detection Initiative will invest in better early detection tools, patient navigation, and practices to increase screenings in under-resourced areas in collaboration with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the MEDICIS Healthcare Network, which includes Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center. Ratner, who co-wrote a new book, Early Detection, Catching Cancer When It's Curable, with science writer Adam Bernalowski, has been interested in the early detection of cancer since his brother Michael Ratner died of the disease in 2016. This concludes our third article from the front page, Why is Cancer Deadlier in Black Women? New Study to Examine Risk and Outcomes, by Karen Weintraub of the USA Today. Our first article from the money section is titled, Tesla Laying Off 316 Workers at Buffalo, New York Facility Amid Global Staff Reductions, by Eric Legata of the USA Today. Tesla is planning to lay off 316 workers at its Buffalo, New York site as Elon Musk's company has sought to slash its global workforce amid highly publicized revenue drops, vehicle recalls and price cutting. In its latest filing with the New York State Department of Labor, Tesla indicated that five more employees are expected to be laid off beginning August 1st at the Buffalo plant. The notice was filed Friday and made public Tuesday. Prior to its most recent notice, Tesla has already indicated that more than 300 employees in Buffalo, New York would be targeted for layoffs this summer. The filing was posted under the WARN Act, a U.S. labor law that requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide 60-day notifications in advance of planned closing or mass layoffs to protect workers and their families. A total of 2,025 employees work at the Buffalo plant, according to the latest WARN notice. The news comes a week after Tesla laid off two executives and nearly 500 employees on its EV charging team amid publicized plans for the company to reduce its global workforce by 10%. The tech giant announced in mid-April that it would lay off 10% of its global workforce to eliminate duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas amid its rapid growth. Musk said in a memo obtained by Electric and CNBC, As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity, Musk said in a memo. Since the memo came to light, it's been revealed that Tesla is planning to lay off nearly 2,700 workers at its Austin, Texas factory in June, along with 2,735 workers in the Bay Area, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Last week, the company announced that it would be cutting almost its entire supercharging team. A few of those charging team employees were to be reassigned to other teams, according to the information. Hopefully these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hardcore about headcount and cost reduction, CEO Elon Musk wrote in an email to company executives, according to the information. While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so. The layoffs came amid an April company earnings call where a drop in year-over-year revenue was announced for the first time since 2020 amid layoffs, recalls and price cutting, and a fight over a potential $56 billion pay package for Musk. During the same tumultuous week, the company recalled nearly 4,000 Cybertrucks over a defect with the accelerator causing it to get stuck when pressed, increasing the risk of crash. This covers all the trucks Tesla has sold since the vehicle reached market in November. This concludes the reading of our first article from the money section, Tesla laying off 316 workers at Buffalo, NY facility amid global staff reductions, by Eric Legata of the USA Today. Our next article from the money section is entitled, Starbucks rolling out new boba-style drinks with a fruity pearl that pops in your mouth, by Mike Snyder of the USA Today. For the summer, Starbucks is serving up its own take on bubble tea drinks. The coffee chain is now offering three new Starbucks refresher beverages with the raspberry flavored pearls at the bottom of the cup, adding fruity flavors to the drink. The new beverages are available nationwide for a limited time, while supplies last, the company say. The trio of beverages, Summer Berry, Summer Berry with Lemonade, and Summer Skis drinks are each served with colorful raspberry flavored pearls at the bottom of the cup. The chain's drink grooves were inspired by East Asian beverages made with boba or bubble tea tapioca balls. We started with fruit pieces, but we wanted something even bolder, said Starbucks beverage developer Simon Vuong said in a story on the Starbucks website. So we thought, let's put fruit flavored pearls in the beverage and try it out. It's very fun, the way it delivers the flavor when it pops in your mouth. Also on tap for the summer at Starbucks, the White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew. The returning limited time drink is made with sweet macadamia syrup and topped with white chocolate macadamia cream, cold form, and toasted cookie crumbles. Two new limited time snacks now available are Orange Cream Cake Pop and Pineapple Cloud Cake. Here are some details about Starbucks new drinks with raspberry flavored pearls. Summer Berry, Starbucks describes the drinks as a sweet summer blend of raspberry, blueberry, blackberry flavors shaken with ice poured over raspberry flavored pearls to deliver a delicate and deliciously sweet burst of summer fun. A Grande drink has 110 calories, 25 grams of sugar, and zero grams of fat. The Summer Berry with Lemonade, lemonade with raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry flavors shaken with ice poured over raspberry flavored pearls, Grande, 160 calories with 37 grams of sugar, zero grams of fat. Summer Skis Drink, those berry flavors mixed with coconut milk shaken with ice served on raspberry flavored pearls, Grande, 150 calories, 29 grams of sugar, and 2.5 grams of fat. Asia Pacific Starbucks stores have served drinks with pearls already, including a Dark Caramel Coffee Sphere Frappuccino and a Peach Oolong Tea with Plum flavored pearls. If you are a bubble tea fan, these Starbucks pearls will be a bit different. Antonia DiBattere, an associate editor of Food and Lifestyle, writes on People.com, My first taste of the raspberry pearls was very surprising. I expected it to be chewy like boba, but it wasn't at all, she wrote. Instead, Starbucks pearls really pop and burst in your mouth in an instant. Since they're not made of tapioca, they aren't chewy. The bright flavor makes a fun complement to the three beverages. This concludes the reading of our second article from the money section, Starbucks rolling out new boba style drinks with fruity pearl that pops in your mouth, by Mike Schneider of the USA Today. Our next article comes to us from the sports section, Jalen Bronson banged up OG Anobe injured in Knicks game 2 win vs the Pacers by Sydney Henderson of the USA Today. New York Knicks all-star Jalen Bronson returned to game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series vs the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday after injuring his foot early in the contest, but the Knicks lost another key player. Still they were able to find a way to win, 130-121. Bronson exited the game with 3 minutes and 32 seconds remaining in the first quarter as the Knicks led the Pacers 24-17. He immediately called for a sub after tweaking his foot under the basket alongside Pacers center Myles Turner. Bronson had 5 first quarter points, was 2 for 2 from the field and 1 of 3 from 3 point before his early exit and was absent the entire second quarter. He was listed as questionable with a sore foot, but returned to start the third quarter. The Knicks were up 7 against the Pacers when Bronson exited. New York was then outscored 56-39 by Indiana with Bronson off the floor to take a 10 point halftime lead at Madison Square Garden 73-63. Bronson returned after halftime though and the Knicks responded by outscoring the Pacers 36-18 in the third quarter to take a 99-91 lead. But the Knicks were dealt another blow. Ford O.G. Anobe grabbed at his left hamstring after driving to the cup with 4 minutes and 2 seconds remaining in the third. He hobbled off the court and went directly back to the locker room. Anobe had a team high 28 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists when he exited. Anobe was later ruled out of the contest with a sore left hamstring. Next man needs to step up and get it done. Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said on the TNT broadcast at the start of the fourth quarter. Despite being shorthanded, the Knicks were able to hold off the Pacers to win and take a 2-0 lead in the Round 2 series. Bronson finished the game with 29 points, 24 in the second half, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds. Dante DiVincenzo added 28 points, 2 for 20 from the field, 6 of 12 from three-point and Josh Hart, who played the entire game, had a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds. I'm just happy I did return. We found a way. That's it, Bronson said post-game. When asked if he will be ready for Game 3 in Indiana, Bronson gave an unclear answer. I'll try to be. Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was ejected with 33.2 seconds remaining in the game after getting in the face of an official. Tyrese Halliburton had a team-high 34 points, Obi Toppin had 20 points and 3 rebounds off the bench. The injuries were the latest for the shorthanded Knicks. The New York Knicks are already without all-star forward Julius Randle after he had season-ending surgery in April to repair his dislocated right shoulder. Ford Bogdanovich underwent season-ending surgery last week to repair wrist and ankle injuries and center Mitchell Robinson was effectively ruled out for the remainder of the postseason Tuesday with a stress injury to his left ankle. The Knicks starters have been playing a lot of minutes in the postseason as a result. Postseason is averaging a league-high 36.6 points and 43.7 minutes per game, though seven games in the 2024 NBA playoffs. Anobi, who was traded to the Knicks from the Toronto Raptors in December, is averaging 14.7 points and 41.7 minutes per game this postseason. This concludes our first article from the sports section. Jalen Brunson banged up OG Anobi injured in Knicks game to win vs. the Pacers, Cindy Henderson of the USA Today. Our second article from the sports section is titled Nuggets Nikola Jokic wins 3rd NBA MVP award in 4 seasons by Jeff Zilget of the USA Today. Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic's amazing and unique story continues. From the number 41 pick in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft to one of the best basketball players in the world, the 6'11'' Serbian won his third regular season MVP in four seasons, beating out Oklahoma City's shy Gilgit Alexander and Dallas' Luka Doncic for the award. Jokic joins an elite group of NBA players with three or more MVPs, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 6, Bill Russell 5, Michael Jordan 5, Wilt Chamberlain 4, LeBron James 4, Moses Malone 3, Larry Bird 3, and Magic Johnson 3. It is the sixth consecutive season that a player born outside of the United States has won MVP. A compelling argument could be made for why each finalist, which also included Gilgit Alexander and Doncic, should have won the award. Jokic got the nod from the voting panel, earning 79 first place votes and 926 points. Gilgit Alexander finished second with 15 first place votes, 640 points, and Doncic third with four first place votes, 506 points. Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only other player to receive a first place vote. Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 1.4 steals, almost one block per game, and shot 58.3% from the field, 35.9% on three-corners, and 81.7% on free throws, and was number two in triple-doubles with 25. The Nuggets finished 57-25, tied for the second best record in the league, and they earned the number two seed in the Western Conference. He became just one of four players to have multiple seasons with 20-plus triple-doubles. During a stretch earlier in the season, Jokic became the first player in NBA history to record at least 14 rebounds and at least 14 assists in three consecutive games, and just the second player since steals became an official stat 50 years ago to have at least 30 points, 15 rebounds, 15 assists, and 4 steals in a game. He had a career-high 708 assists, passing Will Chamberlain for the most assists by a center in one season, and led the league in PER, player efficiency rating, which measures a player's contributions. This third MVP solidifies Jokic's spot as one of the most gifted and skilled big men in NBA history. He has the ability to score inside and outside, pass and rebound. He combines extraordinary footwork, a soft touch, and incredible vision into an offensive force that is difficult to defend, creating scoring opportunities for himself and teammates. Jokic led the league in scoring with a career-high 33.9 points per game and was a triple-double threat every game at 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game, and a career-high 38.2% on three pointers. Gilchrist Alexander led the Young Thunder to a number one seed in the West and posted 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 2 steals per game, and shot 53.5% from the field and 35.3% from three. This concludes our second article from the sports section, Nuggets Nikola Jokic Wins Third NBA MVP Award in Four Seasons by Jeff Zilget of the USA Today. Our third article from the sports section is entitled, Ipi Mazura Faces Prison Sentence Must Pay Nearly $17 Million to Shohei Ohtani and Plea Agreement by Gabe Lacks of the USA Today. Ipi Mazura, the former interpreter for baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, pled guilty to two felony charges of bank fraud and filing a false tax return, and was ordered to pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani, according to details of a plea agreement filed Wednesday. Mazura, 39, faced up to 30 years in prison had his case gone to trial after federal agents alleged he stole millions of dollars from Ohtani and funneled them to an illegal bookmaker to cover his gambling debts. As part of Mazura's agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, prosecutors will recommend a two-level reduction in Mazura's prison term. With the reduction of Mazura's status as a first-time offender, the recommended prison sentence would range from seven to nine years, according to the Washington Post, although the agreement stipulates that prosecutors cannot guarantee the length of sentence once he goes before a judge for sentencing in the Central District of California. Mazura also must pay a $1.15 million fine to the Internal Revenue Service after he failed to report more than $4 million in income, ostensibly thieved from Ohtani in tax year 2022, and then knowingly signed a false return. Michael Freeman, Mazura's attorney, declined comment Wednesday. Muzahara's plea puts much of the burgeoning scandal behind Ohtani, who was befriended by Muzahara a decade ago and retained him when he switched Los Angeles clubs this off-season, agreeing to a record 10-year, $700 million contract to the Dodgers in December after six seasons with the Angels. Yet the relationship among Ohtani, the Dodgers, and Muzahara fractured just as it began when ESPN reported in March that Muzahara used Ohtani's bank account to cover millions of dollars in gambling losses to an alleged operation run by the Orange County resident Matthew Boyer. Muzahara claimed he never bet on baseball and gave conflicting answers to ESPN regarding Ohtani's knowledge of his theory. The Dodgers fired Muzahara after the first game of the season, played and sold South Korea, and Muzahara surrendered his cell phone to federal agents returning to the USA. That resulted in a 37-page indictment that cast a grim light on Muzahara's gambling habits, frequently requesting to bookmakers that his credit limit be raised. Muzahara's bank fraud spanned November 2021 to March 2024, according to federal prosecutors, and began after he changed a registered email address and phone number on Ohtani's account from the then Los Angeles Angel to himself. Prosecutors said Muzahara did not notify or seek permission from victim aid before transferring money from the account. Muzahara aided in interpreting when Ohtani opened the Bank of America account in February shortly after joining the Angels after a decorated career in Japan. The agreement also states that Muzahara must forfeit all assets derived from or acquired as a result of illegal activity, including collectible baseball cards and sports memorabilia. Prosecutors say Muzahara purchased approximately $325,000 of baseball cards between January and March of 2024, including valuable cards featuring Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra, Yankee Slugger, Juan Soto, and Ohtani. This concludes the reading of our third article from the sports section, Ipe Muzahara Faces Prison Sentence Must Pay Nearly $17 Million to Shohei Ohtani in Plea Agreement by Gay Blacks of the USA Today. Our fourth article comes to us from the sports section and is entitled Roger Pence Suspension from the Indy 500 Right Thing by Nathan Brown via the Indianapolis Star in Collaboration with the USA Today Network from Indianapolis. After a pair of tumultuous weeks inside the IndyCar team and a week of independent internal review of Pence Corp's General Counsel, Roger Pence maintained no members of Team Pence had any malicious intent in its push-to-pass scandal that led to a pair of disqualifications, $75,000 in fines, and now four multiple race suspensions that will include this month's Indianapolis 500. Tuesday, the team announced two race suspensions for Team President Tim Sendrick, Managing Director Ron Rutherwick, Race Engineer Luke Mason, and Data Engineer Robby Atkinson following Pence's visit Monday to the team's Mooresville, North Carolina shop to make final decisions on how the team would move forward. Through that process, it was obvious there was malicious intent with anybody. Pence told IndyStar on Tuesday morning of the coding error from hybrid testing last year that was left in software all three of Pence's cars for the season opener, giving them the use of push-to-pass on starts and restarts that their competitors didn't have. Nothing was done on purpose, but unfortunately, it was left in the car and used during St. Pete Race by Joseph Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. We determined that the people involved would be penalized, and the leadership said they had to take responsibility too. In clarifying, Pence noted that the decisions for Sendrick and Rutherwick, who also served as race strategists for Newgarden and Will Power, respectively, to sit out the 500 rested on the shoulders of the two veteran team officials. Tim and Ron led like real leaders should lead, Pence said. There was a process and communication failure, and they certainly weren't going to leave two people out on an island. They felt they needed to take responsibility also. Atkinson, Pence said, had been involved in inserting the software in the driver's setup profile software last August, with the implication that he should have removed it ahead of regular season competition this season. Sendrick told IndyStar on April 25th that the coding ended up in the three cars due to a copy and paste error. On race weekends, Atkinson also serves as Power's data engineer. Mason Newgarden, race engineer, was part of the number two crew that Newgarden said during a press conference at Barber Motorsports Parkway two days after the punishments were levied that had convinced themselves the rules on overtake use on starts and restarts had changed for the 2024 season rather than just a $1 million challenge. When asked Tuesday how that rule change misunderstanding could have taken place solely on the number two car, when Sendrick leads the entire team, and when Newgarden said at Barber that he asked during St. Pete to be reminded of the change, Pence noted that a failure in communication was a major part of the findings of his general counsel. Moore and McLaughlin told reporters at Barber that there had been no team-wide discussion after season-long push-to-pass rules changes, and both were perplexed as to how Newgarden and his crew had come to that conclusion. His competitors, drivers, and team owners alike were similarly confused and weren't shy publicly and privately to levy claims of an outright cover-up by the number two entry. I can't put words in the mouth of people in the paddock. They make their own comments on their actions we took, but I stand 100% behind Joseph, Pence told IndyStar. Pence, too, was adamant, as he was to team owners in a private meeting held inside his motor home ahead of qualifying at Barber, that he was and is deeply sorry on behalf of the team, that he remains disappointed, and that he knew nothing of Team Pence running afoul of the rules until it was caught during warm-up at Long Beach last month. I can look you and anybody else in the eye and say we've done a proper investigation on this, Pence said. This was a process and communication failure. You could decide however many races you wanted for the suspensions based on the circumstances, but certainly with the Indy 500 coming up and the impact that it has on the team and everyone else, we thought this was something we had to do now, rather than wait and make it some other time to try and skip over the 500. I felt that wouldn't be the right thing to do. I can look you in the face and say I wasn't involved with this, I'm disappointed, and I know many people have their own thoughts on the situation, but I can tell you from my perspective that we've taken the action that I think was needed and we're going to move on. Those suspended will not be at the track or in the Indianapolis area for the Sunco Grand Prix May 10-11 or any activity around the 500, practice for which starts May 14, Pence said. They also won't have any contact with the cars or people during any on-track activity, Pence said, including practice, qualifying, and races. When asked whether they may be allowed to have communication with the team members while cars aren't on the track, i.e. texting or talking on the phone ahead of or after on-track activity for typical debrief sessions, Pence said he wasn't certain. He also didn't yet know who would take over any of the four temporary vacant roles. When asked why no drivers, namely Newgarden, who played the most effective role in the failures among his teammates, received any internal penalties, suspension or otherwise, and why he opted not to fire anyone, as Michael Andretti said last week, that he would have, Pence affirmed he thought the decisions were fair and fitting of the investigation's findings and that the drivers deserved nothing more than points penalties that series leadership handed down. He also pushed back against any idea of a culture of stretching rules too far after his NASCAR driver, Joey Logano, was found wearing a legal webbed glove during qualifying this year at Atlanta to gain a competitive aerodynamic advantage. Last year, his IMSA GTP program with Porsche was stripped of a win at Watkins Glen after a car's skid plate was less than one millimeter out of tolerance at the completion of the six-hour endurance race. There was nothing on purpose in IMSA, and Joey's situation with the glove was obviously something he did that I didn't like, and he understands that, but to think we're on some root here to circumvent the rules, I wouldn't say that's not the case, Pence said Tuesday. I don't think there's anyone out there who hasn't had some issues that have affected their race or qualifying or their car going through inspection more than once. I don't want to get into what other people have and or haven't done. I have to look out at our own situation, but my conscience is very clear on this situation that going forward, we'll put the processes in so that this cannot happen. This was a process failure and communication failure. As to whether there would be any consideration toward selling IMS, IndyCar, or the race team among concerns of a conflict of interest, which Pence shot down during his initial acquisition press conference November 4th, 2019, but which have cropped back up in recent weeks, Pence was perhaps his most resolute. I will do nothing different than I've done since we bought IMS and own the series and act as the owner of the race team. My head is high and we've taken action. It's unfortunate and I'm going to move on, Pence said. I'm operated as the owner of IMS and IndyCar since the sale and I haven't been in the pits at any race and certainly haven't been in race control. I feel I've honored my responsibility during the last four years. I can say to you that the track and the series are not for sale. I feel my reputation and actions I've taken the last 50 years aren't good enough for people to understand how we do business, then I'm obviously disappointed. This concludes the reading of our fourth article from the sports section, Roger Penske, Suspension from Indy 500, Right Thing, by Nathan Brown via the Indianapolis Star in collaboration with the USA Today Network. Our next article comes to us from the life section, Selleck's In the Know in his Good Natured Memoir, by Brian Alexander of the USA Today. Magnum P.I. star Tom Selleck pours out fond memories as thick as his feigned mustache in You Never Know, a memoir by HarperCollins, 339 pages out now. Selleck, 79, working on his final blue blood season, writes about life lessons, his charmingly accidental Hollywood career, and global superstar rides spurred by his iconic 1980 Magnum role as the famed red Ferrari driving Hawaiian private investigator. You Never Know dishes nice, doesn't settle scores, or talk politics, and the Magnum heavy memoir doesn't dwell on Selleck's movies, such as the 1987 Three Men and a Baby, or even discuss his long-running friend's role as Courtney Cox's much older boyfriend. Here are Selleck's best You Never Know revelations. Selleck won despite being a double dating game loser. A University of Southern California basketball player and underachieving student, Selleck got his Hollywood start on blind date competition, The Dating Game. Selleck's first TV appearance pitted against two other bachelors was a disaster with nervously bumbled responses to the female contestants' flirty questions. I had lame answers and I lost it. I wasn't funny. I didn't enjoy it, he writes. The producers called for a return appearance. For some bizarre reason, I went back. I was still terrified. I still wasn't funny and I lost again. The double loss somehow turned into a key career move. Selleck got a Pepsi commercial and was noticed by a casting director. Selleck tips Fedor to Harrison Ford after losing Indiana Jones. After shooting the promising Magnum pilot, Selleck was the unknown actor Steven Spielberg and George Lucas wanted to play Indiana Jones in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark. Selleck wasn't allowed to see the script before his first high-pressure reading, but that hat and leather jacket helped me understand the period, Selleck writes. Reading along with actress Shawn Young and Marian Ravenwood, that part went to Karen Allen. Selleck was called back for a second meeting. We want you to play Indiana Jones. I think it was Steven who told me, Selleck writes. Look, I don't have a clue how I responded. I hope at least I said thank you. This was a new franchise and they thought it needed a new face. I guess I was it. But after Magnum was sold to CBS, the network president wouldn't release his stars fearing that if he let me do Raiders, I wouldn't want to do Magnum and I would try and get out of it, Selleck writes. I, of course, knew I would never do that. Friends warned him not to watch Raiders. Selleck bought a movie ticket and Juicy Fruits, Indiana Jones was Harrison Ford. The one errant thought that never entered my mind was that could have been me, Selleck writes. Somehow it didn't bother me. It was such a good movie. How much did Frank Sinatra bill for expenses for his Magnum shoot? Frank Sinatra, a friend of Magnum star Larry Minetti, reeked right, had one condition about shooting a season 7 guest appearance. Just make sure I get to beat somebody up. The ailing Sinatra, then 70, committed to the part of an NYPD sergeant searching for the men who murdered his granddaughter, even from his bed, after being hospitalized for colitis. Sinatra assured, don't worry, I said I'll be there, I'll be there. Sinatra's energy was limited in the shortened 6 day shoot, making every moment count, especially for the final fight scene that Sinatra insisted on performing. Somehow a forbidden on set camera flash ruined a key scene of a power Sinatra punch. Frank was not happy and we were not happy, Selleck says. Our eyes landed on Larry holding his Polaroid camera with a photo sticking out of it and it didn't do it, was Larry's defense. The picture developed Frank throwing a perfect punch. The scene eventually worked. The season landmark episode was the highest rated Magnum in two years. It was a huge score even if production bosses were shocked when they got the bill for Frank's expenses. Selleck writes, I don't know the exact number, but it was in the six figures, still a bargain. A license flub nearly derailed Selleck's top secret Reno wedding. Selleck and his partner, British actress, Jilly Mack, were intent on a secret family only wedding. The clandestine event in Reno, Nevada, in August 1987, before shooting the final season of Magnum, was a super feat in paparazzi-fied time. Mack hid her wedding dress in her hand-held garment bag and Selleck flew in with only a carry-on to avoid suspicion. The star hid in his car and his father sized his wedding ring at a quickie Reno wedding store. The Reverend Dave agreed to perform the wedding and pick up a new license himself as the family celebrated. The Magnum superstar's marriage to Mack was not reported until late the next month and has lasted 36 years. In celebrity land, keeping our secret for a month might be a record, Selleck writes. Selleck refused to cut in on John Travolta's dance with Diana. John Travolta is a tough act to follow on the dance floor, so Selleck and Clint Eastwood steered clear as Travolta famously danced with Princess Diana at a White House state dinner thrown by President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan in November 1985. We slipped away from all the dancers and moved to a spot slightly around the corner. By now John and Princess Di were dancing to an up-tempo number, rocking out, and everybody else stopped dancing and formed a circle around them, clapping their hands, Selleck writes. Clint and I stood around our ground. I'm not cutting in on John Travolta, was my reply, probably in too loud a voice. She was not pleased. Selleck gallantly stepped in for a third dance, working his way through a thankfully slow song. Princess Diana was lovely and there was a very shy quality about her, in spite of her being well-schooled in the art of conversation, Selleck writes. This concludes our reading of the article from the Life section, Selleck's In the Know, In the Good-Natured Memoir, by Brian Alexander of the USA Today. That concludes our reading of the USA Today. This has been Omar King for the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Thank you for listening to GARS.