Nuggets Nab NBA Championship

downing the Miami Heat 94-89 at Ball Arena in Denver to take Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Two-time MVP Nikola Jokić led the way for the Nuggets with a game-high 28 points and 16 rebounds.

“It was an amazing effort by the team,” he said. “It was an ugly game. We couldn’t make shots, but at the end, we figured out how to defend.”

The Serbian big man was voted Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals and is the first center to win the award named after the late Bill Russell since Shaquille O’Neal of the Lakers in 2002.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone hailed Jokić, 28, who is rapidly establishing himself as one of basketball’s best ever centers, as “a great person.”

“He’s a great husband, father and son and brother,” Malone told reporters. “And on the basketball court, he has proven time and time again that he’s the best player in the NBA. He’s our MVP –we love him and we’re thankful that he’s wearing a Nuggets’ uniform.”

Denver struggled from the free throw and 3-point lines but led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter. But the Heat went on a 13-5 run and led by one point, 89-88, with 1:58 left in the game.

“There’s no regrets on our end. There’s just sometimes where you get beat, you know, and Denver was the better basketball team in this series,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I would say that it will probably rank as our hardest, competitive, most active defensive game of the season, and it still fell short.” tronauts’ brains prior to and after space flights, scientists observed that those who spent six months or longer in space showed evidence of significant brain ventricular enlargement.

The Nuggets, who played in the American Basketball Association for nine seasons beginning in 1967, joined the NBA before the 1976-1977 season. Before this season, the team’s 47th in the NBA, Denver had advanced to the conference finals four times in franchise history (1978, 1985, 2009, 2020), losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on each occasion.

The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship on Monday night,

“All the hard work, all the sacrifice, all the dedication, all culminated with us winning a championship,” Malone told ABC. “But I got news for everybody out there: We’re not satisfied with one. We want more. We want more.”

Space Affects Astronauts’ Brains

New studies suggest that long space missions can lead to harmful effects in an astronaut’s brain.

When comparing scans of thirty as-

“The more time people spent in space, the larger their ventricles became,” said Rachel Seider, a professor of applied physiology and kinesiology at the University of Florida, who served as the lead author in this study. “Many astronauts travel to space more than one time, and our study shows it takes about three years between flights for the ventricles to fully recover.”

There were three groups in the study: A group of eight who spent two weeks in space, a group of eighteen who spent six months, and a group of four who spent a year.

The space travelers who spent two weeks on the mission showed little to no ventricular enlargement, while those who spent six months showed significant enlargement. And when comparing the size of ventricles in the six-month participants and the one-year participants, researchers observed no difference at all, indicating that expansion likely stops after a period of six months.

Cerebrospinal fluid, a fluid that protects, cleans, and supplies the brain with nutrients, is contained within these ventricles. When one stays in space for extended periods of time, these fluids rise, causing the brain to push against the skull. This ultimately leads to the enlargement researchers have been observing.

“We don’t yet know for sure what the long-term consequences of this is on the health and behavioral health of space travelers, so allowing the brain time to recover seems like a good idea,” Seider added, disclaiming that while three years are likely needed for recovery, “astronauts have very specialized skill sets and training and there may be rationale to include them on additional missions before this time.”

New Vaccine for RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV, is an illness that affects almost every child in the first two years of their life. While generally mild, the virus is responsible for nearly 1 in 50 deaths for children under the age of five, globally. to be safe, with only minor common side effects appearing, such as a rash. As for the drug’s effectiveness, trials showed that the likelihood of hospitalization from RSV-related illness was reduced by about 78%, and chances of getting lower respiratory tract infections caused by the virus that required medical attention went down by about 75%. containing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, and for obstructing justice by purportedly hiding some records from investigators.

As of last week, Nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody developed by AstraZeneca and Sanofi to prevent RSV, had been nearly unanimously endorsed by advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The first of its kind, this monoclonal antibody would be administered as a single-dose and would create immediate immunity in the child’s body.

In a vote on Thursday, the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee voted that the advantages of the drug likely outweigh the disadvantages, with 21-0 endorsing it for infants, and 19-2 endorsing Nirsevimab for children up to the age of two who are especially susceptible to the virus. With the committee’s advice in mind, the agency will make the final decision as to whether the antibody will be approved.

In clinical trials, Nirsevimab proved

There are alternatives to Nirsevimab. Palivumab, also known as Synagis, for example, is an approved monoclonal antibody meant to prevent RSV; five doses are required. Another alternative is a new vaccine made by Pfizer, which can be given to a pregnant woman in order to protect the infant from RSV for the first six months of his or her life.

Trump Indicted

On the former U.S. President’s social media platform, Donald Trump wrote that he was “summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM,” having been indicted on seven counts for allegedly storing boxes

In response to these federal charges, Trump wrote, “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been indicted, seemingly over the boxes hoax,” with his attorney, Jim Trusty, agreeing that the indictment is “ludicrous.”

Never before has a United States president faced federal prosecution. Many individuals have publicly reacted to this news, including several Republican officials. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted that it was “a dark day for the United States of America,” and many of McCarthy’s fellow Republicans have voiced similar objections to what many conservatives consider a political witch hunt aimed at banning Trump from running as president again.

In a video response, Trump said, “I am an innocent man. I did nothing wrong.”

News of this indictment came as a surprise to many, including the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Marshals, who were not told of the indictment prior to its announcement on Truth Social.

These events come nearly a year after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago in August of 2022, taking with them thousands of documents, one hundred of which are said to be classified. In the months prior to these charges, many people who worked for Trump testified before a Washington, D.C., grand jury, and most recently, several people have come before a southern Florida grand jury.

Supreme Court Rules For Redistricting

In the court case Merrill v. Milligan, plaintiff Evan Milligan sued the state of Alabama, claiming that the state’s congressional map, which only has one Black majority district out of seven, restricts Black Alabamians’ voting power.

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, ruled in favor of Black voters, stating that Alabama needs to redraw their congressional map in order to allow for equal, or close to equal, representation of Black people, who make up 26% of Alabamian citizens.

Justice Thomas heavily criticized the ruling, claiming that the decision actually guarantees racial discrimination and that it hijacks the districting process in order “to pursue a goal that has no legitimate claim under our constitutional system: the proportional allocation of political power on the basis of race.” ty of continued heightened activity, and with foreclosure completions seeing the largest monthly increase this year, we will continue to monitor the potential impacts this may have on the housing market.”

In a surprise move, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, two conservative justices, sided with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who comprise the court’s liberal faction, voting in favor of Milligan. This left Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barret in dissent.

The majority’s 5-4 ruling was made with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in mind, particularly the law’s second section which prohibits the “denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race.”

Justice Roberts insisted that he intended only to maintain the status quo with this ruling but acknowledged that there could be genuine issues with the law, asserting that it “may impermissibly elevate race in the allocation of political power within the states” and added that “our opinion today does not diminish or disregard these concerns. It simply holds that a faithful application of our precedents and a fair reading of the record before us do not bear them out here.”

Some protest and others rejoice over the court’s decision. The plaintiff called the ruling a “win for democracy and freedom not just in Alabama but across the United States,” while Steve Marshall, the attorney general of Alabama, insisted in a statement that the “case is not over” and that he intends on defending his state’s current congressional map at a full trial.

More Foreclosures Coming

When ranking all U.S. cities with over 200,000 people, the ones with the highest percentages of foreclosures in May included Elkhart, Indiana, and Cleveland, as well as Palm Bay and Ocala, Florida, all of which saw foreclosure notices in about 1 in every 1,600 housing units.

As for metropolitan areas with more than 1 million people, the following cities had the highest foreclosure rates last month: Jacksonville, Florida (1 in every 1,699), Chicago (1 in every 1,991), Baltimore (1 in every 1,908), and Orlando (1 in every 2,049).

These high rates are likely caused by the ever-increasing cost of living. At the same time, wages have gone down over the past few years, and inflation has risen significantly since the pandemic, only beginning to fall with recent interest rate hikes.

With that being said, unemployment rates are not currently elevated, and as such, experts do not anticipate a foreclosure crisis.

Hawaii Volcano Eruptions

Newly released statistics, which have been published by real estate data group ATTOM, shed light on fast-rising U.S. foreclosures.

The group observed a 4% increase from April to May and a 5% increase from May 2022 to May 2023, accounting for 23,245 properties starting the foreclosure process last month.

Florida, California, and Texas had the most foreclosure starts in May, with 2,901, 2,451, and 2,286 incidents respectively. Illinois and New York also ranked high, with Illinois at 1,358 and New York at 1,287.

“The recent increase in foreclosure filings nationwide indicates a trend that has been observed throughout the year, and what we have expected to occur,”

ATTOM’s CEO, Rob Barber, stated. “This upward trajectory suggests the possibili-

Last week on Wednesday, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano began erupting, initially prompting U.S. officials to warn of the danger such an eruption may present to locals. However, only a day later, the bursts of lava became less of a threat, allowing thousands to observe from a safe, yet close distance.

On the first day of the eruption, over 10,000 people came to watch, with lava bursts reaching heights of 200 feet in the morning, eventually going down to somewhere between 13 to 30 feet later in the day.

“While an eruption is an exciting experience, keep in mind you are observing a sacred event,” Hawaii Volcanoes National Parks officials said, with the tourism authority urging “mindfulness when planning a visit to the volcano.”

“Don’t just get out your camera and take photos. Stop and be still and take it in,” urged Cyrus Johnasen, an Hawaiian spokesperson for Hawaii county. “It’s something that you can’t pay for. In that moment, you are one with Hawaii.”

Many watched from two miles, one mile, or even half-a-mile away from the volcano, with the closest place to watch the spectacle being the overlook near Keanakākoi Crater, according to the NPS.

It is unknown how long these eruptions are going to continue, but as long as they do, people “are getting a spectacular show,” said Hawaii Island mayor Mitch Roth. “And it’s happening in a safe place that was built for people to come view it.”

While the lava won’t go outside the Volcanoes National Park and as such presents little danger to locals, there are still other health issues to consider.

“Large amounts of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)—are continuously released during eruptions of Kīlauea volcano,” the NPS warned on their website, noting that “this hazard can have far-reaching effects down-wind.” Thin pieces of volcanic glass can also pose health concerns, such as skin and eye issues, and exposure to volcanic ash can cause lung problems.

While at this time eruptions at

Kilauea are relatively safe, its eruption in 2018 caused significant destruction and left many with no choice but to evacuate, leaving their homes to be destroyed by the lava.

“I can now announce that with a time of 93 hours and 11 minutes, Hilda Baci is the new holder for the Guinness world Records title of the longest cooking marathon,” an adjudicator said.

The 26-year-old cooked in a makeshift kitchen, starting on Thursday, May 11, and finishing on Monday, May 15, producing almost 100 pots of food.

“When I found out, I cried, prayed and screamed,” Bassey said after learning of her record-breaking feat.

Cooking Like Crazy

“Then I called my mum, and we cried some more. I am so happy. Everything and all the hard work was worth it. I said I wanted to be a record holder and now I am. This is for all my team members and for all the hard work,” she added.

Although Bassey cooked for 100 hours, she was penalized for an error in her scheduled rest breaks, according to the world record committee.