Zelenskyy says he backs Turkish proposal for a meeting with Trump and Putin

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Associated Press

10 minutes ago

Associated Press

AP top stories June 3

Suns reportedly hire Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as head coach

NBC Sports

11 minutes ago

NBC Sports

Suns reportedly hire Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as head coach

Vincent Goodwill joins Dan Patrick to unpack the fallout of Tom Thibodeau's firing, explaining why he believes the Knicks will keep an "open mind" in their search before previewing the NBA Finals. PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns hired Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as their head coach, opting for a young, emerging leader to rebuild a franchise that has regressed over the past few seasons, a person familiar with the search told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the hire hasn't officially been announced. Ott will be the team's fourth head coach in four seasons and replaces Mike Budenholzer, who was fired following a miserable 36-46 season that ended without a trip to the playoffs despite the high-priced trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. The 40-year-old Ott has worked for the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and the Cavaliers. He also worked as a video coordinator under Tom Izzo at Michigan State, which is where Suns owner Mat Ishbia played as a walk-on from 1999 to 2003. It remains to be seen if Durant or Beal will be on next season's roster — both could be moved in trades. Booker seems like the only player on the roster who is truly untouchable after 10 seasons in the desert, including four All-Star appearances. Ott and fellow Cavs assistant Johnnie Bryant were the two finalists for the job. Both worked under Kenny Atkinson, helping lead Cleveland to a 64-18 record this season, which was the best record in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Ishbia and general manager Brian Gregory led a lengthy, deliberate search that lasted 1 1/2 months and included more than a dozen candidates. Gregory also has Michigan State ties as a former assistant coach. ESPN first reported the hiring. Ott takes over a franchise that's had a quick rise and fall over the past five years. The Suns made the NBA Finals in 2021 with a core that included Booker, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Chris Paul, Cameron Johnson and coach Monty Williams, but lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Phoenix had the best record in the NBA the next season before losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Ishbia blew up that nucleus shortly after purchasing the team in 2023, trading for superstar Kevin Durant, but the Suns lost again in the postseason's second round, this time to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. Williams was fired following the season, which started the franchise's sideline shuffle. The Suns traded for three-time All-Star Bradley Beal and hired coach Frank Vogel during the ensuing offseason, but the group never seemed to gel. Phoenix was swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round of the playoffs in 2024, leading to Vogel's firing. Budenholzer replaced Vogel before last season, but the Suns didn't even make it to the play-in tournament in 2025.

Smoking Weed and Eating Edibles Share This Surprising Health Risk

Gizmodo

13 minutes ago

Gizmodo

Smoking Weed and Eating Edibles Share This Surprising Health Risk

A new study has found a startling link between chronic cannabis use and increased risk of cardiovascular disease—regardless of whether you smoke it or consume edibles. The finding challenges commonly held beliefs about the health impacts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which many see as a relatively harmless drug—especially when ingested. The study, published Wednesday, May 28 in the journal JAMA Cardiology, found that THC smokers suffer from significantly worse artery function than non-users. They observed the same effect in edible consumers, though their arteries were not as severely affected. In either case, vascular function was reduced by roughly half compared to those who do not use cannabis, according to a statement from the University of California, San Francisco. 'Scientifically, this THC result is really interesting but boy does it screw up the public health messaging,'' co-author Matt Springer, a cardiovascular researcher at UCSF, reportedly said to lead author and UCSF physician-scientist Leila Mohammadi when he saw the data. These results add to a growing body of evidence that suggests long-term weed use can lead to cardiovascular damage and life-threatening events such as heart attacks and strokes, though experts still lack consensus on its precise impacts. A 2024 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that people who consume cannabis daily had a 25% increased risk of heart attack and a 42% increased risk of stroke compared to non-users. For this new study, researchers investigated how cannabis impacts vascular function. To isolate the effects of chronic cannabis use, they recruited 55 otherwise healthy adults aged 18 to 50 who did not use any form of nicotine and were not frequently exposed to secondhand smoke. These participants were sorted into three groups: marijuana smokers, edible users, and non-users. Those in the two cannabis user groups reported taking the drug at least three times per week, either exclusively through smoking or edibles. To assess the participants' vascular function, the researchers measured dilation of the brachial artery—located in the upper arm—to determine whether it could properly expand in response to increased blood flow. To that end, they used an inflatable forearm cuff to briefly block blood flow to the artery, then used ultrasound to measure its diameter before and after inflating the cuff. Matt Springer, a cardiovascular researcher at UCSF whose lab led the study, told Live Science that his test offers a 'window into the future.' When blood vessels cannot fully dilate, he said, the risk of heart attack and other poor cardiovascular outcomes increases. Participants who did not consume cannabis showed an average vessel dilation—represented as the percent change from the baseline measurement of artery diameter—of 10.4%. This value was significantly reduced among weed smokers and edible users, who showed an average vessel dilation of 6.0% and 4.6%, respectively. For reference, average values for brachial artery dilation in healthy individuals typically range from 8.0% to 15%. In a previous study, Springer's lab found similarly reduced levels of vessel dilation among e-cigarette and cigarette smokers. To better understand how THC causes this change, the researchers ran lab tests to determine how endothelial cells—which form the linings of blood vessels and release nitric oxide to trigger dilation—responded to the participants' blood samples. These tests revealed that the blood of chronic cannabis smokers inhibited nitric oxide production in the cells, which may explain why these participants showed reduced vessel dilation. This effect was not observed in edible consumers, however, suggesting that ingestible THC may impact arterial function via an entirely separate mechanism. Figuring out what that mechanism may be will require further research. What's more, subsequent studies will need to reproduce these findings in a larger population to validate the results. Within the last several years, cannabis use among U.S. adults has reached new heights, according to the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse. As such, investigating the health effects of THC is more important than ever before—especially as mounting evidence challenges perceptions of weed as a harmless high.