—Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors celebrated another NBA championship in a White House ceremony on Tuesday, the team’s first visit since 2016.
They were being honoured for their NBA finals victory over the Celtics in June 2022, their fourth title in eight years.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Bay Area and a was US senator from California, called the team “a constant source of joy and pride”.
Ms Harris then shared a personal story before introducing President Joe Biden and team captain Curry.
“We were headed to the game but stuck in stand-still traffic, and we were worried that we were going to miss the tip off,” Ms Harris said.
“Now I was attorney general of California at the time, and to the dismay of my security detail, I decided to jump out the car and take Bart [public transit] instead.”
The crowd packed into the East Room responded with laughter as she continued her story.
“[Husband Doug Emhoff and I] got on a jam-packed train with all the other fans and we got to the game on time. And yes, the Warriors did win.”
An invitation to the White House in 2017 was withdrawn by then president Donald Trump after Curry said he would not attend if asked.
Mr Biden prefaced his remarks by mentioning the devastating California storms and his plan to visit the ravaged area on Thursday, and then good-naturedly spoke about the team’s struggles.
“Critics wondered if this team was gone for good as a championship team — but fellas, I know what it feels like. I've been there,” h said.
“My dad said, ‘Joe get up just get up and never give up.’ But you never gave up and you always believed, coached by one of the greats, a man of courage and humility … Steve Kerr.”
Curry, is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and as the greatest shooter in NBA history,
Earlier in the day, Curry and Kerr appeared at the White House briefing where the player thanked Mr Biden for bringing WNBA star Brittany Griner home from Russia.
Griner had been sentenced to nine years in prison and was moved to a penal colony last month.
The Phoenix Mercury basketball star, who played in Russia during the off-season, pleaded guilty to drug smuggling in July after customs officials found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
"A great opportunity for us from the basketball community to thank President Biden and his staff for all their hard work and diligence on getting Brittney Griner home," Curry said.
"It means a lot to know that she's here, at home safe with her family.”
Teammates Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson joined Kerr in a discussion with White House staff members on gun control reform and measures planned to affect the hardest-hit communities.
Kerr's father, Malcolm Kerr, was assassinated by terrorists outside his office at the University of Beirut, where he was campus president, in 1984.
"We learnt a lot about what this administration is doing to help create a safer environment in our country, something that's very close to my heart," Kerr said.
Adam Sandler and celebrities watch Lakers' NBA win - in pictures
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
Wonka
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