Shai Gilgeous-Alexander overcame a slow start to score 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 to move within one win of a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first four shots of game five of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City, but recovered with five consecutive points to help the Thunder overturn an early eight-point deficit.

The hosts took an 11-point lead into half-time before scoring the first nine points of the third quarter to pull away and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Two-time MVP Gilgeous-Alexander made only seven of his 19 shots from the field but succeeded with 16 out of 17 from the free-throw line.

“If it was four or five of me out there, we would’ve been down 20 after the first quarter,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “[I] probably should never start like that again.”

Jared McCain came into the team for Cason Wallace, and after a tricky start scored 18 points after the break to finish with 20.

Alex Caruso bounced back from a scoreless night in game four with 22 points.

The energy price cap will rise by 13 per cent from 1 July for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales, Ofgem has said.

Based on the energy use of a typical domestic household, from July the price cap will rise by £18 a month for the average household using both electricity and gas if this level was sustained for a year.

The current price cap for a typical household paying by direct debit for gas and electricity is £1,641.

This is a breaking story – more follows…

Donald Trump says negotiations with Iran are “proceeding nicely” as he urged Muslim nations to join the Abraham Accords.

The US president said it will only be a great deal for all or, no deal at all – with the latter meaning a return “to the battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before”.

Trump added it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain to sign onto the Abraham Accords, given “all the work done by the US to try and pull this very complex puzzle together”.

“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be,” he added.

“I am mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords, and that, if Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition.”

“Nothing makes me happier and more fulfilled than watching the animals head off to their new homes happy and healthy”

Meet the woman saving and campaigning for reptiles and exotic animals needing a home in Northern Ireland.

Lindsey Adams has been nominated for ‘Hooman’ Hero of the Year at the National Pet Awards 2026, taking place in Belfast next month, for her work at Northern Ireland Exotic Sanctuary.

Founded in 2021, the rescue is dedicated to providing a safe haven for reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates in need, with a mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome animals while educating the public about their needs.

READ MORE: RNLI warning to swimmers after person carried offshore in Co DownREAD MORE: EastEnders star’s new series puts spotlight on ‘amazing’ care stories across Northern Ireland

With a passion for animals starting when she was just a child, she could never have imagined that in a few short years, she would have saved the lives of countless exotic animals across the country.

Lindsey said: “Growing up I loved watching shows like David Attenborough’s ‘Life’; Mark O’Shea’s ‘O’Shea’s Big Adventure’ and Steve Irwin’s ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, so there’s always been a curiosity for the cold-blooded.

“It was only in adult life that I was able to keep reptiles of my own, rather than admiring others and it all bloomed from my very first pet snake.

“While researching before getting her, I noticed just how many reptiles were constantly being passed from home to home, and that just didn’t sit right with me how little their lives were being valued and how their condition and welfare seemed to drop with every resale.”

What started in a spare bedroom with a couple of rehomed animals has grown into a space that can house upto 100 animals at at time and runs close to or at full capacity for most of the year.

“Looking back, it’s clear now just how much demand there was but owners had no other option than to pass them around on free sites as no rescue for reptiles existed until we came along,” she explained.

“I generally see the rescue as a very positive place – as somewhere that is a temporary stop gap for reptiles coming from one home to another, getting the care, rehabilitation and socialisation they may need to fully prepare them.

“I see it as a place for those who have been neglected to heal and decompress and put their history behind them; and for the animals that stay with us permanently, I try to give them the best life possible and make adaptations as needed for their medical conditions or disabilities.

“While it is very upsetting at times to see animals coming in injured and neglected, I remind myself that it stops with us and will never be allowed to happen to them again.”

Northern Ireland Exotic Sanctuary receives no government funding and has no paid staff, relying on a team of fantastic volunteers, who help to do everything from cleaning, feeding and socialising animals, to attending fundraising events and helping to plan future fundraisers.

Lindsey runs the rescue on top of working a full-time job, getting up as early as 5.30am to walk her pets before heading into work and managing the sanctuary on her breaks and after she finishes for the day.

She continued: “My family and friends are also incredibly supportive and understanding of the work I do and my sometimes unavoidable absences from events or meet-ups.

“It’s important for everyone in rescue to have a support network whether internally or working together with other rescues.”

At present, Lindsey and the team are looking after tortoises, turtles, snakes, lizards and invertebrates, ranging in size from a little Western Hognose snake at 10/11 inches, to a 10 and a half foot common boa and everything in between.

A big part of their work is not only rescuing but also educating on the ownership of reptiles and exotic animals.

“We are lucky to have a lot of adopters that would rather rescue than buy, but we still have a lot of work to do to convince others that rescue animals aren’t ‘second hand’ or damaged animals,” she explained.

“Exotic animals, in particular reptiles, I do believe are often overlooked, despite being the third largest group of pets after cats and dogs.

“I feel that education should be a huge part of any rescue’s ethos, but particularly in exotics. A large amount of the neglect we see is purely accidental and as a result of the previous owner’s poor knowledge.

“If I can demonstrate or teach proper care and husbandry, I hope that it will help improve the lives of these people’s animals and reduce the potential for suffering.

“I know I will never be able to educate everyone, but if I can make a difference to even one animal and person’s life, then it’s worth the effort for me. Research into care and keeping has changed so much over the last 20-plus years, and there is so much misinformation online that it is easy to get confused or believe the wrong thing, especially as a beginner.”

Lindsey launched an education programme aimed at the younger generation earlier this year to try to “break the stigma around reptiles and invertebrates as gross and scary”.

She added: “I feel if kids have positive experiences when young, that will help influence an attitude change in future generations.”

Starting off with a dream to make a difference has grown into a community and space that she is so proud of and she is continuously looking ahead to see how she can change perspectives on these pets across the country for the better.

“Nothing makes me happier and more fulfilled than watching the animals head off to their new homes happy and healthy, and receiving updates from those homes down the line makes the tough days that little brighter.

“I think as well, the more I have achieved, the more determined it has made me to continue to grow and develop the rescue as an organisation, and I’m already planning for 2027 and beyond.

“The rescue for me is a lifelong commitment and has become so ingrained in my life that I cannot imagine it not being around or my not being a part of it.”

Find out more about Northern Ireland Exotic Sanctuary and their work here

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LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — A massive chemical tank holding nearly a million gallons of a highly corrosive liquid imploded and collapsed Tuesday at a Washington paper mill, killing at least one worker and leaving nine others unaccounted for with no hope for rescue, authorities said.

Another nine people were injured, some severely, in the spill at Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. in Longview. The cause remained unclear.

“At the moment we are not aware of any rescues that are yet to be made,” Cowlitz Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein said during a Tuesday evening news conference in which officials repeatedly referred to the situation as a recovery effort.

That effort would not resume until Wednesday morning, when emergency responders planned to work on stabilizing the collapsed tank, which still had about 90,000 gallons (more than 340,000 liters) of a chemical brew known as “white liquor” inside, and then search for the missing, Goldstein said.

The severity of the injuries ranged from minor to critical, with some suffering burns or inhalation injuries, authorities said. Among those injured was a responding firefighter.

Officials said they would only work during daylight hours because there was a risk of the tank leaking more caustic liquid and potentially collapsing.

“We don’t know until we know, hopefully tomorrow, how we can stabilize the tank. Do we remove the product first? Do we stabilize the tank first or the vice versa?” Goldstein said.

Authorities said there was no threat to the public.

Community waits for more information

At a community vigil Tuesday night, dozens gathered at a local park to pray, light candles and embrace teary-eyed loved ones.

Crystal Moldenhauer, a Longview resident who served on the school board, said she has friends who work at the plant and remained unaccounted for. She described the stress of the day as people called and texted each other trying to figure out what happened.

“We’re all still waiting for answers,” she said. “There’s families that have been torn apart, and we don’t know why.”

Two upset parents who said their two sons worked at the plant interjected at the end of the news conference, saying they hadn’t been contacted. While officials including Gov. Bob Ferguson, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez addressed those gathered, no one from the company spoke at the news conference.

Some people waited at the company’s visitor entrance earlier Tuesday, seeking information about loved ones. They declined to comment to an Associated Press reporter. At a nearby union hall that was serving as a family assistance center, three women shared a tearful embrace before heading inside. Others coming and going were also in tears.

Facility is central to the community

The Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. facility is a pulp and paper mill and liquid packaging plant along the Columbia River in Longview, a city of about 38,000 that has had a relationship with the paper and lumber industries since its founding by a Kansas City timber baron in the 1920s.

The facility, which employs about 1,000 people and dates to 1953, makes material for tissues, printing paper, cups, plates, cartons and other goods. It is located in an industrial zone shared by other timber, paper and chemical businesses, and it remains central to the community.

“The people who are responders here have friends and relatives that work on site,” Cowlitz Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein noted. “It is something that is impactful, and we have support networks to support the workers as well as the emergency responders.”

Officials initially reported that the tank had a capacity of 80,000 gallons (303,000 liters), but later revised that number to say it was holding about 900,000 gallons (3.4 million liters) of the “white liquor.” That’s nearly enough to fill a typical Olympic-sized swimming pool one and a half times. The liquid, which consists mainly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, is used with heat to break down wood to make kraft paper, a durable material used in packaging, shopping bags and other products.

Cause is not yet known

It was too early to determine the cause of the implosion, Goldstein said.

Following the tank’s rupture, the white liquor spilled into a drainage ditch, said Brittny Goodsell, a state Ecology Department spokesperson. The department sent a team to evaluate the impacts, Goodsell said.

“I know there’s a lot of questions about how all of this happened and I want to assure you that we will all continue to pressure to get answers to those questions,” Murray said during the Tuesday evening news conference. “This community deserves that.”

The implosion came as thousands of residents of Southern California remained evacuated Tuesday due to a damaged chemical tank at an aerospace plant. All evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday night.

Just over 40 people died between January 2021 and mid-October 2023 as a result of hazardous chemical incidents, according to a paper released by a network of environmental justice organizations in late 2023.

Previous health and safety violations

Safety complaints were filed against Nippon Dynawave on March 4 and May 6. The state’s labor and industries department said on X that both are unrelated to the current situation and remain open. The former was an anonymous complaint about a valve on an aqua ammonia clarifier tank, according to the department, which noted that “it was not the tank that imploded.” The other was opened about a sinkhole created by a drain that failed, according to the department.

Nippon Dynawave, a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Paper Group, has been fined a total of $3,400 for three separate health and safety violations found by Washington Department of Labor and Industries inspectors since the start of 2021, according to the department’s online database.

In one inspection, the company was cited because face coverings were not worn by every employee when required. In another, the inspector determined that an employee was exposed to the risk of falling while working on a platform more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) off the ground.

In the third incident, the department determined that equipment involved in a work-related accident — an amputated finger — was moved from its original position before the state’s investigation into the accident was complete.

___

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporters Gene Johnson and Hallie Golden in Seattle and Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed.

That endorsement never came, however. Paxton, while beset with personal and political scandals over the years, was a favourite among Trump’s populist base in Texas. He campaigned against the 74-year-old Cornyn as too old, too timid, too aligned with the political establishment and too out-of-touch with Texas conservatives.

With the transfer window fast approaching, we’re examining what could represent the ideal start to the summer for Manchester United

After ending the 2025/26 Premier League season on a high, Manchester United will be eager to carry that momentum into what promises to be a crucial summer transfer window.

Having prioritised reinforcements in attack and defence over the past two years, United’s attention is now expected to pivot towards midfield. Several additions are expected to be made, especially with stalwart Casemiro leaving the club after his Old Trafford farewell.

Replacing the Brazilian will be no easy feat but United may already have an ideal like-for-like successor in sight – and for a reasonable price too. Here, the Manchester Evening News takes a closer look at the player who should become United’s first signing of the window.

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Ederson (no, not that one) has emerged as a top target for the Reds, who have made signing a combative central midfielder their No. 1 transfer priority. The Atalanta star, 26, has been turning heads in Serie A this season, helping his side secure a seventh-placed finish in the league.

The Italian club reportedly value him at around £38.3million, a fee United are more than prepared to pay. It’s also understood that the player has not only reached a verbal agreement with Michael Carrick’s side but that he has ‘paused’ transfer talks with other clubs in a bid to secure a move to Manchester.

Atalanta boss Raffaele Palladino recently provided an update on Ederson’s future after the midfielder was an unused substitute in their 1-1 draw with Fiorentina on Friday night.

Palladino said: “Ederson out? It was a decision we agreed with the boy because there’s something going on in the transfer market.

“The fact that such a player is being followed by such a big club should be a source of pride.”

Ederson isn’t the only central midfielder on United’s radar, with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson also a prime target. However, with Forest expected to demand upwards of £100m for the England international – and with City also closely monitoring his situation – any potential deal is likely to prove both expensive and difficult to complete.

For those unfamiliar with him, Ederson is primarily a ball-winning midfielder but has the athleticism and technical quality to operate in a box-to-box role. He reads the game exceptionally well, consistently racking up impressive tackle and recovery numbers by stepping in to choke opposition transitions before they can properly form.

His relentless energy and upper-body strength make him difficult to shrug off in midfield battles, while his first instinct after regaining possession is almost always to drive forward and launch attacks.

Many have drawn comparisons between Ederson and Arsenal’s Declan Rice, while others see elements of both Casemiro and former United favourite Ander Herrera. Either way, signing a player of Ederson’s profile – particularly for such a modest fee – would represent an excellent start to the summer transfer window for Manchester United.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

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