The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of the shooter who murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4.

This increases the cumulative reward offered by law enforcement agencies to $60,000, following the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) previous statement of a $10,000 reward for leads regarding the suspect’s identification.

In a recent statement, the FBI announced on Friday that it is working alongside the NYPD in “requesting the public’s help in locating the unknown individual” responsible for the death of the 50-year-old.

Thompson was shot fatally by an attacker wearing a mask in what authorities suspect was a targeted shooting. The motive behind the murder remains undisclosed.

The shooting incident took place outside 1335 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, at approximately 6:40 a.m. on December 4, according to the FBI’s report.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is encouraged to reach out to the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-225-5324 or contact the NYPD’s tipline at 1-800-577-8477.

Authorities believe that the shooter arrived in New York City on November 24 via a bus service from Atlanta and allegedly shot the victim ten days later.

On Friday, police stated they discovered a backpack in Central Park, which is believed to be associated with the shooter. The suspect is thought to have left New York City after the incident.

Footage from video cameras captured the assailant fleeing the scene on an e-bike to Central Park in Manhattan, and then leaving the park near 77th Street. He subsequently walked to another location before flagging down a taxi that took him to the Port Authority bus terminal close to 178th Street and Broadway, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny informed CNN on Friday.

“Those buses are interstate buses. That’s why we suspect he may have exited New York City,” he noted, adding that authorities are investigating which bus the individual might have taken.

Kenny later indicated that the NYPD has secured video footage of the man entering the Port Authority Bus Terminal but mentioned that no footage exists of him leaving, leading them to “think he may have boarded a bus.”

The Atlanta Police Department announced on December 6 that it is providing support to the NYPD “as required” in the investigation.

UnitedHealthcare is widely regarded as one of the largest health insurance providers in the United States, and its parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., ranks among the largest corporations in America.

President-elect Donald Trump held a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Saturday evening.

Macron was observed giving a thumbs-up as Trump and Zelenskyy stood beside him for a photo at the presidential palace.

Though Macron had initially intended to meet with Zelenskyy, his office announced that he suggested the trilateral meeting just before Trump’s arrival.

This meeting occurs as Trump has indicated a desire to swiftly negotiate a resolution to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict, although there are still uncertainties about how he plans to put an end to the hostilities.

If a cease-fire merely solidifies the fronts as they are, Russia could keep a substantial portion of Ukraine’s territory it controlled before the war.

Zelenskyy has indicated a willingness to discuss a cease-fire if NATO extends its alliance to encompass areas of Ukraine that are not currently under Russian control.

In a November 29 interview, the Ukrainian president stated, “To halt the active phase of the war, we need to place the territory of Ukraine that we control under the NATO umbrella.”

Zelenskyy also mentioned that Ukraine might eventually recover the territory occupied by Russia through some form of diplomatic negotiations.

It remains unclear whether Trump will consider Zelenskyy’s proposals as a basis for discussions on a cease-fire.

To foster trust with the new U.S. administration, Zelenskyy’s senior aide Andriy Yermak engaged with key members of Trump’s team during a two-day visit earlier this week.

Elon Musk, who is the richest individual in the world, gave over $250 million to campaign committees that back President-elect Donald Trump, with the majority of this amount contributed in the closing weeks of the 2024 presidential race, according to recent federal disclosures.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social media platform X, donated $238.5 million to America PAC, a prominent political action committee supporting Trump’s campaign, as reported in a Thursday filing to the Federal Election Commission. His donations included three consecutive $25 million contributions made each week in October.

The donations from Musk also included $40.5 million in contentious daily payments of $1 million to Trump supporters across seven key swing states. He described these payments as a kind of lottery for individuals who signed a petition endorsing the Constitution.

Federal regulations prohibit the buying of votes. However, a judge in Pennsylvania dismissed Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s effort to stop Musk’s daily $1 million giveaways.

Elon Musk, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, who is set to co-lead Trump’s proposed new Department of Government Efficiency, walked through Capitol Hill with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the day they met with Congress members, as Musk carried his son on his shoulders in Washington on December 5, 2024.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the watchdog organization Public Citizen, criticized Musk’s financial support for Trump as “obscene.”

“We found out that Elon Musk contributed an astonishing $250 million to place Donald Trump in the presidency,” Gilbert stated on Friday. “We witnessed wealthy billionaires and corporate funds dominate the 2024 election. They highlighted the urgent need for robust campaign finance reforms to cleanse our political system of big money.”

Since taking office, Trump has appointed Musk as an advisor for reducing government expenditures, making him co-leader of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has been engaging with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington this week in preparation for Trump’s inauguration on January 20, aiming to eliminate $2 trillion from a federal budget of $6.75 trillion.

“I believe it’s essential to ensure that we wisely allocate the public’s funds,” Musk told reporters on Thursday, though he stopped short of providing any specifics.

Forget the random statistics and data points, along with the subjective analysis of the College Football Playoff selection committee.

Boise State has excelled in all aspects.

The No. 10 Broncos made a compelling case for the committee with their 21-7 win over No. 19 UNLV in the Mountain West Conference championship on Friday night. They left no question.

The Broncos have secured 12 victories. They claimed a conference title. Their two victories against the Rebels account for more wins against College Football Playoff top 25 teams than any of the four teams competing in the Big 12 and ACC championship games.

They’ve met every shifting criterion set by the committee – including possessing the best loss of anyone in contention – and have made it clear: they merit one of the four first-round byes designated for the top-ranked conference champions.

Make the right decision, College Football selection committee. Award the Broncos a first-round bye.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty makes a run against UNLV during the first half of the Mountain West Championship at Albertsons Stadium on December 6, 2024, in Boise, Idaho.

This isn’t solely about the outstanding season of star tailback Ashton Jeanty, who is deserving of Heisman Trophy consideration. Nor is it just about the biggest victory in the school’s history.

This pertains to a program that has been striving for the BCS and CFP postseason for the past two decades, yet for various reasons, has never made it. Now that the Broncos have met every evolving CFP standard, there’s no escaping their deserving position.

Two Indianapolis police officers were acquitted of manslaughter and other charges Friday in the death of a man after officers shocked him with a Taser and restrained him face down while handcuffing him.

Jurors began deliberating Friday morning and took less than three hours to come up with a verdict following five days of testimony in the trial over the 2022 death of Herman Whitfield III, local news outlets reported.

Officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez were tried together. The jury acquitted them on all charges: one felony count each of involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, battery resulting in serious bodily injury and battery resulting in moderate injury, and one misdemeanor battery charge.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement after the verdicts were handed down that he was “heartbroken” for Whitfield’s family.

John Kautzman, one of the officers’ attorneys, told The Associated Press that the defense team was “very, very pleased with the outcome of the case” and police officers shouldn’t go to prison for doing their jobs.

“We felt that they acted appropriately under very difficult circumstances and we’re really happy they were exonerated,” Kautzman said.

Ahmad, 32, and Sanchez, 35, were indicted by a grand jury in April 2023 after Whitfield’s family spent nearly a year demanding that authorities release full body camera videos of his encounter with police and called for the firing of up to six officers.

The videos, which were released in January 2023, document Whitfield’s final moments.

Both officers have remained on administrative duty with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department during the case. Chief Chris Bailey posted on X that both officers will resume their normal duties after completing refresher training.

Bailey also extended his sympathies to Whitfield’s family and commended, Ahmad, Sanchez and other officers and detectives who testified during the trial for their “professionalism and resilience.”

“Cases like this are deeply difficult, and there are no true winners,” Bailey wrote.

Whitfield’s parents, Herman Whitfield Jr. and Gladys Whitfield, called 911 on April 25, 2022, and reported that their 39-year-old son, a gifted pianist, was in the throes of a mental health crisis at the family’s Indianapolis home.

Whitfield was pronounced dead at a hospital after Sanchez shocked him with a Taser and he and Ahmad held Whitfield face down on the floor of his parents’ dining room as he was being handcuffed.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office ruled Whitfield’s death a homicide, caused by heart failure as he was being restrained and shocked.

According to the report, Whitfield weighed 389 pounds. The coroner’s office listed “morbid obesity” and “hypertensive cardiovascular disease” as contributing factors in his death.

Daniel Cicchini, the chief trial deputy for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, said in his opening statement on Dec. 2 that the two officers acted “recklessly” by restraining Whitfield face down longer than necessary.

“Essentially, his heart and lungs could no longer function properly,” Cicchini told the jury. “When they kept him in that position, they did so recklessly.”

He said the officers’ actions left Whitfield “unable to breathe.”

“In April 2022, Herman Jr. and Gladys Whitfield reached out for help, hoping that the police would protect their son in a moment of desperate need and the result of what ensued was a tragedy,” Mears, the prosecutor, said in his statement Friday.

Ahmad and Sanchez’s attorneys argued that the officers did nothing illegal.

One of their attorneys, Mason Riley, said during his opening statement that Whitfield suffered from an enlarged heart. He said Whitfield, according to his autopsy, died “before the handcuffing concluded.”

“Neither of them have committed a single criminal act,” Riley said of the co-defendants.

He also said neither officer, nor other officers who responded to the family’s home, heard Whitfield say that he couldn’t breathe.

The officers’ attorneys had sought to have the charges dismissed against both men, arguing in part that the grand jury proceedings were “defective” and that “the facts stated do not constitute an offense.”

The court dismissed a second count of involuntary manslaughter that Sanchez had faced, but it allowed the remaining charges against the officers to proceed to trial.

A lawsuit filed by Whitfield’s family against the city of Indianapolis and six police officers, including Ahmad, Sanchez and Clark, states that Whitfield “died because of the force used against him” and calls the force used against him “unreasonable and excessive.”

“Mr. Whitfield needed professional mental health care, not the use of excessive force,” the lawsuit contends.

The family is seeking unspecified damages. That civil case is set for trial in July 2025 in federal court in Indianapolis.

A panel of three judges dismissed on December 6 TikTok, ByteDance, and a collective of TikTok users’ challenge against a legislation mandating the app to dissociate from the Chinese communist government to remain operational in the United States. TikTok is now at risk of a ban effective January 19, 2025, unless President Joe Biden grants a 90-day extension, as the company contends that the regime in China will prevent any sale to a non-Chinese entity. This situation arises from the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), which Biden signed into law in April, prohibiting apps owned by foreign adversaries from functioning within the U.S.

The appeal was presented before a panel of judges, including U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, and Senior Circuit Judge Douglas Ginsburg. Petitioners claimed that the law is unconstitutional, infringing upon users’ First Amendment rights regarding free speech.

The U.S. government contended that the statute does not target the content of the app but rather its ownership concerning national security regulations. According to Ginsburg’s opinion for the panel, “The Act satisfies strict scrutiny.” He added, “We emphasize from the outset that our conclusion here is fact-bound.”

The protracted efforts made by both branches of the government to investigate the national security threats posed by TikTok and to consider remedies put forth by TikTok significantly support the Act’s validity. TikTok indicated intentions to take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, although it remains uncertain whether the court would entertain an emergency petition before the January 19, 2025, cutoff.

TikTok expressed, “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue.” The judges were convinced that the Chinese communist regime posed a national security risk, referencing notable instances of cyberattacks and cyberespionage backed by the Chinese state.

The government began scrutinizing TikTok in 2018, and from 2019 onwards, it engaged in numerous discussions with TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, to seek a resolution that wouldn’t involve divestment. Washington was not content with TikTok’s final proposal made in August 2022, believing it failed to address security concerns adequately. Consequently, federal lawmakers proposed legislation necessitating ByteDance’s divestment from TikTok.

The underlying security issue is that Chinese national security laws mandate all companies operating in China to comply with requests from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to provide data, even if this conflicts with laws in the data’s country of origin. The panel also dismissed TikTok’s claim that it was unfairly targeted, asserting that data collection was not the government’s principal concern.

The petitioners did not “identify any company operating a comparable platform in the United States with equivalent connections to the PRC,” the judges wrote, finding that the executive and legislative branches’ multiyear efforts to work with TikTok toward a solution showed that it was a legitimate “pressing concern.”

PRC refers to communist China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

“In this case, a foreign government threatens to distort free speech on an important medium of communication,” the opinion reads. “Using its hybrid commercial strategy, the PRC has positioned itself to manipulate public discourse on TikTok in order to serve its own ends. The PRC’s ability to do so is at odds with free speech fundamentals.”

The judges wrote that the law does not attempt to influence content on TikTok, but only acts to prevent a foreign adversary from influencing this content. PAFACA does not address content and would allow TikTok to host the same content under new ownership.

TikTok had argued that the government could not prove the Chinese regime had manipulated content on the app. The government had submitted piecemeal evidence of content manipulation, which it admitted did not point to a particular source, along with evidence of the CCP’s foreign influence campaigns. Judges noted that TikTok would not deny allegations that the Chinese regime was manipulating content.

“Notably, TikTok never squarely denies that it has ever manipulated content on the TikTok platform at the direction of the PRC,” the opinion reads. “Its silence on this point is striking.”

“With today’s opinion, all three branches of government have reached the same conclusion: ByteDance is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance is a national security threat that cannot be mitigated through any other means than divestiture,” he stated.

“Every day that TikTok remains under the Chinese Communist Party’s control is a day that our security is at risk.”

House Select Committee on the CCP Chair Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich) stated the divestiture would end the CCP’s ability to “exploit ByteDance’s control over TikTok to undermine our sovereignty, surveil our citizens, and threaten our national security.”

Moolenaar expressed confidence that President-elect Donald Trump could facilitate a sale of TikTok to an American company.

“I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” he said.

On the campaign trail, Trump had echoed the national security concerns about TikTok but said he would be able to get the app to sell. He had said he was not in favor of a ban, as the app’s exit from the market could give social media giants such as Meta a monopoly.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, founder of Advancing American Freedom, commended the ruling and urged Trump to hold TikTok to the divest-or-ban law.

Melania Trump stated on Friday during her first interview since the election that President-elect Donald Trump has been taking advice from their 18-year-old son, Barron Trump, praising him for his role in helping his father secure the victory in the 2024 presidential election.

While speaking on “Fox & Friends,” the future first lady mentioned that Barron “was very vocal” in guiding his father on which media appearances would help attract younger voters.

“He had a clear understanding of who his father should reach out to and engage with,” Melania noted on the Fox News show, emphasizing that younger voters have shifted away from television and primarily obtain information through podcasts, social media, and live streaming platforms. Consequently, Barron “contributed to the campaign’s success,” she stated.

“He is a mature young man. I take great pride in his understanding, even regarding politics and the advice he provides to his father—he attracted a significant number of young individuals. He relates well to his generation, as today’s youth no longer gather in front of the TV,” Melania Trump expressed.

In the final phases of the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump engaged with various popular podcasters like Joe Rogan, who boasts millions of followers, along with Theo Von, Lex Fridman, Adin Ross, among others. Vice President-elect JD Vance also made appearances on several podcasts, including Rogan’s show shortly after Trump.

Many of the podcast episodes featuring Trump amassed millions of views, with the Rogan episode achieving 52 million views in slightly over a month.

Earlier this year, the president-elect said he would trust his son’s political advice.

“He’s seen it. He doesn’t have to hear. He is a smart one. He doesn’t have to hear much. But …  he’s a great guy,” Trump said in an interview with Philadelphia’s Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, as he was on trial in New York City on falsification of business records charges.

Melania Trump also fielded questions from Fox News on how their son is dealing with college as the son of a former president and now incoming president. An 18-year-old freshman, Barron Trump currently attends New York University in Manhattan.

“I don’t think it’s possible for him to be a normal student,” Melania Trump said in the interview. “This is your road,” she added, describing advice she had given to her son. “This is your life.”

Also in the interview, the soon-to-be first lady said that preparing to enter the White House for the second time looks a lot different from the first go-around. Now, she and her husband know what to expect, she said.

“I know what you need to establish, you know what kind of people you need to hire to be in your office,” she said in the rare television appearance, where she promoted holiday ornaments she’s selling and her memoir as Christmas approaches.

She said her husband’s attitude after his 2024 win was not the same as when he won in 2016.

“The country and the people really supported him,” she said. “I think the energy is different. People around him are different.”

She also described working on her memoir, which was released several months ago, as a process that was “very personal and could be sometimes very joyful, but also traumatic and hard.” In the book, titled “Melania,” she described her feelings after learning and seeing that her husband was shot in the right ear during a Pennsylvania rally in July.

Her husband is due to be inaugurated for his second term as president in about a month and a half, on Jan. 20, 2025. The new Congress will certify the November presidential election results on Jan. 6, 2025.

Recent financial disclosures reveal that in a late effort, Elon Musk surpassed Timothy Mellon to become the largest individual contributor to federal candidates in the upcoming 2024 elections.

On December 5, federal committees registered with the Federal Election Commission submitted their post-general reports detailing their financial activities from October 17 to November 25. These reports indicated that Musk, who has established a significant influence within President-elect Donald Trump’s inner circle, contributed over $238.5 million to a super political action committee supporting Trump’s campaign for the presidency in 2024.

This contribution positioned Musk above Mellon, a descendant of the Mellon family wealth, who has been a significant financier for the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC. MAGA Inc. was a key supporter of Trump during his previous campaign for office. Mellon also funded a group endorsing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent campaign, American Values 2024, in both 2023 and 2024.

Mellon contributed about $197 million in the 2023–2024 election cycle, according to the Money in Politics watchdog organization OpenSecrets.

Musk founded the super PAC America PAC, according to its website. The organization’s main goals are strong borders, safe cities, free speech, sensible spending, a fair justice system, and self-protection. According to its most recent FEC filing, America PAC spent more than $249.9 million in 2024.

Independent expenditure reports attached to the Dec. 5 filing said America PAC spent its money on printing, postage, phone calls, text messages, digital media, canvassing, and field operations largely to boost Trump and oppose the Democratic Party’s candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Smaller expenditures were directed toward helping Republicans in races for the House and Senate.

Musk and the PAC attracted considerable media attention by giving away $1 million per day to registered voters who signed a petition supporting free speech and the right to bear arms in the run-up to the election.

The $1 million check promotion also drew attention from both the U.S. Department of Justice and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who attempted to block the gifts by accusing the PAC of running an illegal lottery. That effort was ultimately blocked on Nov. 4 by a judge from the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

In November, Musk vowed to continue the PAC’s political activities in the coming midterm elections and direct its resources toward smaller local races.

Musk is believed to be among the wealthiest men in the world. Forbes estimates his worth at more than $347 billion. He is the founder and CEO of Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Since the Nov. 5 federal election, Musk has spent much time in Trump’s transitional government organization and is reportedly speaking with foreign leaders and weighing in on cabinet picks. Musk, along with fellow Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy, is leading a nongovernmental advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to slash federal spending.

In addition to his support of America PAC, Musk donated to three other groups in 2024—the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the Calvert Victory Fund, and the Early Vote Action PAC, according to FEC records.

The NRCC is a group dedicated to electing Republicans to the House. The Calvert Victory Fund was a group devoted to reelecting Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.). The Early Vote Action PAC, according to its most recent FEC filing, paid various individuals for “field strategy consulting.”

Additionally, a group registered to a PO Box in Austin, Texas, called the “Elon Musk Revocable Trust,” sent $20.5 million to the super PAC RBG PAC on Oct. 24, according to federal records.

According to its independent expenditure reports, the group supported Trump.

 The New York Rangers found a taker for Jacob Trouba.

They’re shipping their captain to the Anaheim Ducks. In return, New York will receive defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round draft pick.

Most important, the Ducks will take on Trouba’s full $8 million salary cap charge for the rest of this season and the next. That jumps the Rangers’ available cap space to more than $8.5 million and puts them on pace to accrue over $27 million by the March 7 trade deadline, according to PuckPedia.

The deal was finalized Friday after the Blueshirts held the 30-year-old defenseman out of their morning skate in advance of their 7:30 p.m. home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The situation had become increasingly untenable, with lingering awkwardness from when they attempted to trade Trouba over the summer. He knew his days in New York were numbered and he was unlikely to stick around for the final year of a seven-year contract he signed in 2019, with team president Chris Drury deciding to rip the band-aid off now.

It’s believed that Trouba’s approval was required to complete a deal with the Ducks, who may have been on his 15-team no-trade list. Had he refused to do so, the Rangers likely would have placed him on waivers and thereby allowing any team to claim him.

Trouba’s hometown Detroit Red Wings were also involved in the trade talks, according to one person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, but they didn’t have the cap space to make it work unless the Rangers agreed to retain a portion of his salary.

“I was put in a position this summer to make a decision between my career and my family and I chose my family,” he said on a Zoom call. “I would choose my family 100 times over again.

“That made it difficult to play kind of with that hanging over everything and the result is the result. I guess I’m happy with moving forward but I’m not overly thrilled with how it went down. My opinion, things could have been handled better.”

Of course, the problems go well beyond one player. The sinking Rangers have lost six of their last seven games and are clinging to a wild-card spot by one point entering Friday, but their captain is the first to fall on the sword.

Coach Peter Laviolette said he and Drury “are together in our thoughts” about moving on from Trouba.

“It’s not meant to be a message,” he said before the trade. “I think everybody’s understanding of where we’ve been for the last month and how we’ve played. We can’t continue down that road or we’ll find ourselves out of the playoffs. The best thing is we need to set a path that can move us back up in the standings.”

Trouba made his strong preference to stay in New York clear when trade talks were heating up over the summer, which multiple people in the league believe scared off some teams.

How Trouba being cast aside will play in a locker room that has felt increasingly fragile lately is a roll of the dice.

“That’s a decision between the team and him, from what I’m understanding,” center Mika Zibanejad said after the news that Trouba was being held out of the lineup. “As a player, as a teammate, as a friend and human being, we love him to death.”

Chris Kreider, who’s also been shopped by Drury in the last couple weeks, acknowledged that he has thoughts on the situation, but declined to comment.

“Not today,” he said. “We’ve got to focus on winning a hockey game.”

Others recognized it as a potential distraction but expressed their desire to try to block it out.

“It’s hard not to react when you hear things,” Zibanejad said. “But at the same time, I think a lot of us have been in the situation before where there’s been rumors and there’s been talks. There are really a lot of those things that are out of your control. The thing that we can control is our game, and the next game. And that’s what we have to do tonight.”

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is taking a break from social media.

The 39-year-old made the announcement on X Wednesday, writing to his 52 million followers, “I’ll holla at y’all! Getting off social media for the time being. Y’all take care.” He also shared his announcement on Instagram to his 159 million followers.

James didn’t elaborate on what prompted his hiatus, but the four-time NBA champion shared a post on X minutes before his departure that appears to offer insight into his decision. James shared a post from Rich Kleiman, the longtime agent and business partner of Kevin Durant, that criticized the negativity of sports media.

“With so much hate and negativity in the world today, it confuses me why some of National sports media still think that the best way to cover sports is through negative takes,” Kleiman wrote on Oct. 24. “We can all acknowledge that sports is the last part of society that universally brings people together. So why can’t the coverage do the same? It’s only click bait when you say it. When the platform is so big, you can make the change and allow us all an escape from real life negativity. I for one find it all a waste of breath. The Olympics and JJ and Bron’s show was the future of what this can and should all be

One day before his online departure, James chatted with the media following the Lakers’ 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz and noted that “everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time.” He dropped the quote while speaking about his teammate Dalton Knecht’s 37-point performance, saying he’s known how good the rookie is since his collegiate days

“They say I lie about every (expletive) thing. So what am I now? I’ve been said it. I watched him, I watched Tennessee a lot,” James said. “I did not think he was going to fall to us. I thought it would be impossible. I have no idea how that happened but very grateful and very happy that he’s here. I knew exactly what we was getting when he fell to 17.”