SAN ANTONIO — Ron Harper, father of San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper and a five-time NBA champion, suggested players should physically punish opponents who flop during the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Harper posted on X after Game 3 on May 22, 2026: “I wish players would start stepping on players as the flop hands chest fingers chest make them pay a price.”
The comment came after the Thunder defeated the Spurs 123-108 to take a 2-1 series lead. The game featured multiple instances of physical contact, foul calls and post-game debate over flopping and officiating.
Technical fouls were issued in the second half after a hard foul on Stephon Castle involving Ajay Mitchell and Devin Vassell.
Harper’s Background
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Ron Harper won NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000 and 2001. He played 15 seasons known for physical defense and toughness.
His son Dylan Harper, a rookie guard for the Spurs, has been limited in the series due to injury. Dylan Harper started Games 1 and 2 in place of De’Aaron Fox.
NBA Flopping Rule
The NBA has a rule allowing referees to assess a non-unsportsmanlike technical foul for flopping and award one free throw to the opposing team. Critics argue the penalty is not strong enough to deter players from exaggerating contact, particularly in playoff games where fouls can shift momentum.
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The league has increased fines for repeated offenders in recent seasons, but the issue remains a frequent topic of discussion.
Series Physicality
The Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and Spurs have featured notable physical defense and complaints about foul-baiting. Oklahoma City has utilized its depth and defensive versatility, while San Antonio has relied heavily on Victor Wembanyama.
The Thunder lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, 2026, at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
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Broader Context
Flopping has been a long-standing issue in the NBA. The league introduced specific penalties to address it, but many former players and observers believe the current enforcement does not sufficiently discourage the practice.
Ron Harper’s comment reflected frustration shared by some viewers and former players regarding the balance between physical play and protection of players in the modern game.
The Spurs-Thunder series has drawn attention for its intensity, with both teams featuring young cores and strong defensive capabilities. Oklahoma City, the defending champions, have emphasized bench production and adjustments after Game 1.
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The University wants to make it easier for potential partners to use its research capabilities
Estelle Blanks, director of Newcastle Innovations.(Image: Newcastle University)
Newcastle University hopes to help more entrepreneurs, businesses and investors turn ideas into growing companies with the launch of new scheme.
Bosses say Newcastle Innovations will be a single “front door” to the University’s expertise, talent, funding pathways and commercial support for those developing business ideas. The work intends to build on the university’s success in the field with 42 active spin-out companies that are said to have attracted more than £90m of investment in the past two years alone, and created more than 370 jobs.
The team there are appealing to those who want to co-develop new technologies, access specialist research facilities, commission applied research, invest in high-growth spin-outs or build skills for the future workforce.
Estelle Blanks, director of Newcastle Innovations at Newcastle University, said: “From a business perspective, the idea is simple – a clear route into expertise, talent, facilities, and partnerships. We are responding directly to feedback from industry, so that more companies can access our support and expertise to accelerate growth, attract investment and create a skilled workforce.”
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Prof Jane Robinson, pro‑vice‑chancellor for business, partnerships and place at Newcastle University, added: “Partnership working is at the heart of what we do. Newcastle Innovations is about removing barriers to turn ideas into impact.
“We are making it easier for organisations to collaborate with us locally, nationally and internationally, to deliver innovation and growth and tangible benefits for businesses, communities and society.”
At an event launching Newcastle Innovations, the university pointed to its partnerships with a wide range of businesses, from small firms and scale-ups through to global names such as Procter & Gamble and Siemens. And to evidence that its National Innovation Centre for Data and Arrow programme, which provides innovation support to SMEs, had delivered productivity gains for businesses.
Among those business partners is outdoor clothing maker Pentland, the owner of the Berghaus brand. The firm used Newcastle University expertise to develop new legwear technology that can adapt to women’s bodies and support them to feel more comfortable when exploring the outdoors.
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Biomechanical modelling and physiological analysis was carried out at Newcastle University’s advanced sport and exercise research facilities to refine the final design of the new product, and Berghaus is now incorporating ZonalAdapt into all of its legwear.
Sam Munson, new product development lead at Pentland Group, said: “Our collaboration with Newcastle University has been a fantastic example of how industry and academia can work together to better solve challenges real people experience in the outdoors. Working with Newcastle University brought a level of scientific rigour and technical expertise that was invaluable to this project, helping us to push our innovation further and better support women as they hike.”
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Travelers walk through the terminal at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on May 1, 2026.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
Higher fuel prices are testing how badly consumers want to travel this summer, whether flying or driving.
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Airfare hasn’t been this high since May 2022, when airlines stumbled out of the pandemic with aircraft and employee shortages to face hordes of consumers ready for “revenge travel.” Gasoline is above $4 a gallon and could go higher, AAA warned this week.
Jet fuel prices doubled in the span of less than three months this year after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, kicking off a conflict that has left a key shipping channel effectively closed.
Domestic round-trip airfares in April averaged $623, the highest in nearly four years, according to data from the Airlines Reporting Corporation, which tracks travel agency ticket sales. Jet fuel is the second-biggest expense for airlines after labor, and carriers say they are increasingly passing those costs along to customers.
Separately, airlines are also trimming their growth plans because of higher fuel costs. Even if a route isn’t cut, fewer flights on certain routes means that customers will have fewer seats to choose from and, with demand robust, that could drive up prices even more.
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Spirit Airlines, the most famous budget carrier in the U.S., shut down earlier this month, and partially blamed jet fuel prices for its failure to emerge from near back-to-back bankruptcies. It was the biggest U.S. airline collapse in decades. Other airlines swooped in to snatch up those customers in the aftermath, but the carrier’s demise removes a main purveyor of low fares.
Read more about jet fuel’s impact on travel
The fuel spikes have set the stage for higher fares and more expensive gas station visits this summer. The start of the peak travel season Memorial Day weekend will be a taste of how much travelers will shell out to fly while everything from groceries to clothing has become more expensive this year.
The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen 18.3 million people between Thursday and next Wednesday, compared with the 18.5 million it saw over a similar period last year.
Lackluster road trip growth
Road trips won’t be a bargain either. AAA this week forecast 39.1 million people will drive at least 50 miles between Thursday and Monday, up just 0.1% compared with last Memorial Day weekend. That was the least growth in a decade, AAA told CNBC.
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Gasoline price site GasBuddy forecast this week that prices across the U.S. will average $4.48 on Memorial Day, up from $3.14 last year, and that prices could average $4.80 through Labor Day “if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a significant portion of the summer.”
A customer fills his vehicle with fuel at a gas station in Miami, April 13, 2026.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Still flying
Leisure travel intentions in the U.S. were slightly lower in March — at 82.8% compared with 83.1% the same month a year earlier — though they are still relatively high, UBS said in a note Monday.
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“We believe the year-over-year moderation in travel intentions this year was likely due to higher jet fuel and other geopolitical concerns,” UBS airline analyst Atul Maheswari wrote. He added that the intent to travel is near the highest points in the past nine years.
So far, airline executives said, customers are still booking, and executives are optimistic about the summer travel season. They’ve also said they’re expecting a boost from the FIFA World Cup, which will be held in June and July in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and from major concerts such as Harry Styles’ residencies in Amsterdam and London this summer.
United Airlines said it expects to carry 53 million travelers between June and August, up 3 million people from last year. American Airlines has forecast 75 million customers between May 21 and Sept. 8, after Labor Day, topping its previous record, in 2019.
Refueling trucks at LaGuardia Airport in New York, April 23, 2026.
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Zhang Fengguo | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images
‘What are you waiting for?’
Airlines have been pruning their schedules and axing unprofitable or less profitable routes but have been eager to fill in the gaps after Spirit’s collapse.
Travelers can still find deals if they’re flexible, said Kyle Potter, who runs the Thrifty Traveler website. He recommended using tools such as the “Explorer” tool in Google Flights that allows users to look up destinations by the length of trip and by month in a map view.
He also suggested flyers consider traveling on a Tuesday or Wednesday, when fares and traffic are often lower.
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“That, in many cases, can save you hundreds of dollars per ticket, and multiply that by a family of four,” he said.
He had a simple message for travelers sitting on piles of frequent flyer miles.
“Now is the time to use your miles or your credit card points or both,” he said, warning that miles can end up devalued. “What are you waiting for? I think a lot of people hoard their miles because they want to go to to Europe in 2027.”
CEDAR PARK, Texas — Firefly Aerospace Inc. shares rose 15.49% to close at $49.50 on May 22, 2026, extending recent gains as investors reacted to the company’s first-quarter financial performance and ongoing defense and space contract momentum.
The stock traded in a range between approximately $42.93 and $49.80 during the session with elevated volume. In after-hours trading, shares moved to around $49.85.
Q1 2026 Financial Results
Firefly Aerospace reported record first-quarter 2026 revenue of $80.9 million on May 4, representing a 40% increase from the prior quarter and 44.7% growth year-over-year. The results were driven by spacecraft solutions and defense-related work.
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The company provided full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $420 million to $450 million. Firefly ended the quarter with total liquidity of $811.6 million, including $551.6 million in cash and equivalents.
Key Contract Wins
Firefly’s subsidiary SciTec was awarded a contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory for advanced algorithm research and verification architecture. The work focuses on deep learning and advanced algorithms on small size, weight and power processors for enhanced target detection, tracking and custody.
SciTec also received a $109 million engineering change proposal under the U.S. Space Force’s FORGE Enterprise OPIR Services contract to accelerate and expand data center delivery. Additionally, SciTec was selected to support the Space Force’s space-based interceptor program under Golden Dome.
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Operational Milestones
Firefly completed critical milestones for its Blue Ghost lunar lander mission. The company successfully launched Alpha Flight 7 earlier in 2026 and continues to advance its spacecraft production capabilities.
On May 19, 2026, Firefly announced the expansion of its spacecraft production campus and the opening of a new innovation lab in Central Texas to accelerate manufacturing.
Analyst Sentiment
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Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on Firefly Aerospace with analysts citing strong growth prospects in the space and defense sectors. Other firms have offered positive outlooks, though some price targets were adjusted downward in recent weeks.
The stock has experienced significant volatility in 2026, trading in a 52-week range between approximately $16 and $73.80. Market capitalization stood near $6.87 billion with about 160.24 million shares outstanding.
Company Background
Firefly Aerospace, which went public in August 2025, develops small to medium launch vehicles, spacecraft and defense technologies. The company operates primarily from facilities in Texas and focuses on responsive space capabilities for commercial and government customers.
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Its Alpha rocket has achieved successful launches, and the company is advancing toward higher cadence operations. Firefly also provides spacecraft solutions and supports national security missions through its SciTec subsidiary.
Industry Context
Firefly operates in a rapidly growing space sector driven by increased defense spending and commercial demand for launch and satellite services. The company benefits from U.S. government initiatives focused on space superiority and responsive capabilities.
Broader sector optimism has lifted multiple space-related stocks in 2026, including Rocket Lab and Intuitive Machines. Firefly’s combination of launch vehicles, spacecraft manufacturing and defense contracts positions it within this expanding market.
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Outlook Factors
Management has expressed confidence in achieving 2026 revenue targets, with approximately 80% of the guidance range already contracted or in backlog. The company continues to invest in production capacity and technology development to support future growth.
Upcoming milestones include further Blue Ghost mission progress and potential additional government contract awards. Analysts will monitor execution on revenue guidance, gross margin trends and operational cadence in subsequent quarters.
This summer, mega artist Harry Styles will take the stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City for an exclusive 30-show residency – his only planned stop in the country and a show that’s garnered intense attention since its announcement.
Despite her best efforts, Shira Elfassy won’t be there.
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“His tickets were absurd,” Elfassy, 29, told CNBC. “It felt like an insult going in and seeing, like, not only can I not get in, not only are there no tickets left, but even then, the most basic price point is $500 for a nose-bleed seat — and this is becoming commonplace.”
Instead, Elfassy said she got tickets to see other artists live, like Florence + the Machine and Olivia Rodrigo, at far lower price points. She said feeling “priced out” of some concerts is now a common occurrence.
“It’s just a weird dynamic now. … At this point, if I have to make the decision between making more summer plans or hanging out with my friends — or even just [to] pay rent — or I can go to this concert, it’s a no-brainer,” she said. “But it didn’t used to be that way.”
Elfassy represents a growing cohort of consumers who aren’t willing to keep up with the rising prices for live music, creating a K-shaped demand curve where higher-income consumers are spending more — and keeping prices inflated — while lower-income consumers are pulling back.
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That dynamic has played out across discretionary spending categories, like retail, dining and travel, as Americans grapple with persistent inflation, economic uncertainty and, now, soaring gas prices.
In live music, this K-shaped environment is spurring fears that the lower end of the market is falling out entirely.
Some are calling the demand shifts “blue dot fever,” named for the blue dots on Ticketmaster seating maps that denote an unsold ticket. For some artists, it’s forcing them to take a critical look at their performances. Post Malone, Zayn and The Pussycat Dolls are just a few examples of artists who have canceled shows or tours in recent months, with the last group openly admitting that poor ticket sales was the catalyst.
Last summer, even before the most recent pricing pressures, industry research suggested higher ticket prices were helping to prop up the overall health of the market. Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a 2025 report that demand for live music was expected to grow at a 7.2% compounded annual growth rate between 2024 and 2030.
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Average ticket price for a concert in one of the top 100 global tours, the report found, was $136 in 2024, up 50% from an average of $91 in 2019.
How inflation is changing concert spending
Several of the major ticketing companies told CNBC they’re not seeing more show cancellations this summer than an average year.
“Of all the shows Live Nation has on the books this year, less than 1% have been cancelled,” a spokesperson for the Ticketmaster parent said. “That’s not ‘blue dot fever’ — it’s a normal touring year; in fact, 2026 is shaping up to be a record with concert ticket sales up 11% for the year.”
The spokesperson added that roughly 70% of tickets sold on its platform are priced under $100.
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Live Nation and Ticketmaster have faced scrutiny over the company’s ticketing practices and dominant influence in the music industry. The company faced legal challenges over alleged anticompetitive behavior and reached a settlement with the Department of Justice in March. A federal jury found last month that Live Nation held an anticompetitive monopoly, though the company said in a statement at the time, “The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter.”
The Live Nation website arranged on a laptop in New York, US, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
StubHub, a ticket reseller, told CNBC that the company is seeing the K-shaped pattern take shape in live music, with demand diverging fast between various events.
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While StubHub said overall concert demand is up nearly 10% year-over-year, it’s not across the board. Ticket demand for stadium-scale events is up significantly, while demand for mid-size and smaller venues is waning.
The events that are struggling to sell are facing a “supply-sizing problem,” according to Jill Gonzalez, head of consumer communications at StubHub. The events earning the strongest fan attention, she said, are stadium tours, residencies and marquee festivals.
“What our data makes clear is that fan demand for live music hasn’t softened, but it’s sharpened,” Gonzalez told CNBC. “Fans are making deliberate choices about where they spend, and when they decide a show is worth it, the demand signal is as strong as anything we’ve seen on our platform.”
Ticket platform SeatGeek said while more artists are announcing tours, the resale environment remains healthy.
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“If you have more artists that are flooding the market with tours, you’re going to have the gross number of cancellations pick up year-over-year, so that’s expected,” said Oliver Marvin, the company’s senior director of strategic finance. “But the overall number, cancellations as a percentage of people who are out on tour, is not too much different than what we’ve seen in prior years.”
He added that the company is seeing some consumers dive in for last-minute tickets out of hope the prices will drop for tours that aren’t garnering as much immediate demand.
Why stadium tours still draw big demand
Experts say dropping demand for some shows may be more nuanced than what meets the eye.
As prices everywhere rise, and consumers begin to be more intentional about how they’re spending their money, the blame of unsold tickets may be more appropriately placed on the macroeconomic environment rather than on the artists themselves, according to Sam Howard-Spink, the director of music business at New York University.
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“It’s really mostly to do with the economics of live performance and touring right now, which is also at the moment, I would say, very closely tied to economic conditions and cost-of-living questions,” Howard-Spink said.
Tighter spending among fans can turn a tour misstep into a disaster, he suggested, like if an artist plans dates at an inappropriately sizes venue or in an off-base market. While nostalgia for older acts can occasionally draw crowds, it’s struggling to outweigh all other factors.
And while bigger artists can still sell out a stadium, less-popular acts are falling short.
“Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande — these are acts of, ‘I’m not really going to have too much trouble,’” he said. “But if you’re talking about like … an early 2000s band that might not just be able to pull in those crowds, maybe they are overconfident in the kinds of venues that they think that they can fill up.”
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Artur Debat | Moment | Getty Images
Howard-Spink added that the business of music has long been considered largely “recession-resistant,” even weathering the pandemic well. But because concert tickets are a scarce resource, as opposed to music streaming, it’s allowed the prices to rise rapidly.
Music publicist Eric Alper noted artists couldn’t have foreseen these macroeconomic factors currently at play when booking out their tours months in advance. There’s also more artists on tour this year than past years, he said, crowding the schedule.
With prices broadly higher, fans are also seeking out more experiences that give them a bang for their buck, he added, as the live music scene sees a rise in residencies, along with unique new venues like The Sphere in Las Vegas.
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“What people want, they want the choreography, they want the lights, they want the superior sound, they want great sightlines,” Alper said. “They’re not just going to sit there and spend $150 to go watch a band play with very bare bones.”
Still, Alper said, he believes the diehard fans are willing to pay up.
“If you’re a fan of an artist, I don’t think you care about the high ticket prices as much as people think that they do,” Alper said. “People want the experience, and they also want to tell people that they were there.”
Gokaldas Exports reported a net profit of Rs 36 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 (Q4 FY26), up 146% sequentially from Rs 15 crore in the previous quarter, reflecting an improvement in operating performance amid a challenging trade environment.
On a year-on-year basis, however, profit was lower than Rs 53 crore reported in Q4 FY25.
The company also reported a 9% quarter-on-quarter rise in consolidated total income to Rs 1,087 crore, compared with Rs 998 crore in the preceding quarter, aided by a recovery in its Africa business and steady performance in India despite tariff-related disruptions. The year-on-year total income growth stood at 5%, over Rs 1,035 crore recorded in Q4 of FY25.
The apparel export sector has spent much of the past year adjusting to shifts in US trade policy. In April 2025, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on trading partners as part of a broader effort to reshape trade relationships, creating uncertainty across global supply chains and export markets.
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“Disruption due to penal US tariffs and volatile geopolitical events impacted our costs and margin during the year. Exceptional teamwork, strong customer relationships and relentless execution in the face of adversities helped us deliver a superior business performance,” said Sivaramakrishnan Ganapathi, vice chairman and managing director of Gokaldas Exports.
Live Events
Operating performance also strengthened during the quarter, with EBITDA rising 40% sequentially to Rs 135 crore from Rs 96 crore in Q3 FY26. On a year-on-year basis, EBITDA declined 5% from Rs 142 crore, while margins stood at 12.4% compared with 13.7% a year earlier. Sequentially, margins expanded by 275 basis points, supported by productivity gains and tighter cost management initiatives. For the full year FY26, total income rose 4% to Rs 4,065 crore, while EBITDA increased 2% to Rs 434 crore. EBITDA margin for FY26 stood at 10.7%, marginally lower than 10.8% in the previous year.The company said India operations grew 2% year-on-year during the quarter despite tariff-related challenges, even as apparel exports from India declined by 10%. Africa operations grew 17% year-on-year following the renewal of AGOA and comparatively more favourable tariff treatment for the region.
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