A fuel delivery truck rollover on the Gold Star Bridge caused a catastrophic fire and shut down both lanes of the Interstate 95 in Groton for hours on Friday. Although the northbound lanes have reopened, the southbound side remained closed as officials investigate how the crash and subsequent fire started. Sadly, the driver of the truck died in the accident with injuries unknown in other drivers. The mayor of New London confirmed that the southern span of the bridge was closed for a structural inspection; there are reports of buildings below the bridge on fire too. The Long Island Cross Sound Ferry is still operating, but many drivers are stuck in traffic to make the boat departure times. The fire melted some of the guardrails, and engineers had to evaluate the southbound side of the bridge. The incident delayed trains but did not affect the Naval Submarine Base in New London as their firefighters rushed to help.

Donte DiVincenzo will come off the bench for the Golden State Warriors in Monday's game 2 against the Sacramento Kings as Andrew Wiggins returns to the starting lineup. This season, DiVincenzo has been a key player for the Warriors with impressive averages of 8.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.9 triples and 1.2 steals per contest on 45.4 percent shooting in 22.3 minutes per night. Despite primarily being utilized by the team as a reserve player, his career year letting it fly started with him going back to his college roots at Villanova. An assistant coach at Villanova helped DiVincenzo with drills that have greatly improved his shot. The drills emphasized base and lower body, with his objective being to reset himself from the ground up. DiVincenzo’s success is also attributed to a simple tip from one of the game’s most accurate shooters ever. With his impressive shooting skills, DiVincenzo has become an elite shooter, thus giving the Warriors yet another sharpshooter to fear.

Golden State Warriors' guard Gary Payton II will not be playing in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings due to an illness, according to the NBA’s official injury report. Payton II was listed as “questionable” ahead of Thursday's game, but he didn’t attend the Warriors' pregame shootaround session due to his illness. The 30-year-old guard was acquired by Golden State at the trade deadline recently as a short-term solution when the team focused on the playoffs. Payton II showed his defensive skills in the two games he had played against the Kings, where he was the only Warriors’ player who could keep pace with Sacramento point guard De'Aaron Fox, who had been pivotal to Kings' progress. Golden State is already down to a 2-0 series deficit and instead will depend on guard Andrew Wiggins, who has been listed as “available,” to step up, as well as their other players, as they look to avoid elimination. Guard Jordan Poole, who has been struggling with ankle sprain, will also be playing. Draymond Green, the Warriors’ defensive player, remains out due to a one-game suspension, along with Payton II, with concerns regarding the team’s defensive capabilities against the fast-paced Kings.

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors is set to make NBA history. Currently, with 4,212 assists to his name, Green is slated to surpass Hall of Famer Charles Barkley with just four more assists during Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Although Green hasn’t put up massive numbers, he is one of the best all-around players in the league, which includes being an elite passer and defender. His assists numbers have been consistent as in 64 out of 69 games this season, he has dished out 4+ assists. Given Green's playmaking abilities and the Warriors' strong offensive presence, the feat seems almost certain. Warriors are set to enter the playoffs as the No. 6 playoff seed in the Western Conference after a unique regular season. Despite some weaknesses, Green believes the defending league champions should be favored for the West Finals. In the past eight seasons, the Warriors have won the NBA Championship in four times and have been to the NBA Finals six times.

The Golden State Warriors played against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night in a pivotal late-season matchup. While the Kings have already clinched their playoff spot and are likely to finish as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, the game was critical for the defending champions. The only way for the Warriors to avoid the play-in tournament is by winning both their final two games. They currently sit in sixth place in the West and need to finish in the top six to avoid the tournament. Warriors coach Steve Kerr emphasized the importance of not letting their guard down and the necessity of winning both their final games. The Kings rested their top three scorers, which some believe could indicate that they are not taking the game seriously. Nevertheless, both teams have a chance of meeting again in the first round of the playoffs, which would be the first time for both to make the playoffs in the same season. The game ended with the Warriors winning 120-108, putting them in a stronger position to make the playoffs without the play-in tournament.

Golden State Warriors guard, Klay Thompson, is reportedly seeking a max extension contract that could cost the team over $500 million. The team is already facing a budget crunch due to several other lucrative contracts, including Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, kicking in. Thompson, who has one year left on his current $189 million deal, has been instrumental in the Warriors' success this season, averaging 21.9 points per game over 68 games. However, with the risk of overspending, the team's future remains uncertain. The Warriors have remained loyal to Thompson through his recent post-injury struggles, and he has played a vital role in helping the team make the playoffs following Stephen Curry's injury. Despite this, some insiders are questioning whether the team should risk overspending on his contract extension. With the team already facing a payroll and luxury tax of over $500 million, there is much debate around the future of the Warriors team.

Mike Brown, head coach of the Sacramento Kings, has been named the National Basketball Coaches Association's 2023 Coach of the Year. The award is voted on by the NBA's 30 head coaches, and it goes to the coach who has made the greatest positive impact on his team. Brown is expected to also win the NBA's Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by the media and will be announced during the playoffs. This is Brown's first season with the Kings, and under his leadership, the team went 48-34, finished third in the Western Conference, and made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. Brown has overseen one of the greatest turnarounds in NBA history, taking a franchise that had been a doormat for years and turning it into a team that plays with high energy and confidence. The Kings have been one of the most potent offensive teams in NBA history, scoring a league-best 118.6 points per 100 possessions in the regular season.

The whereabouts of a key player on the NBA's most marquee and best-covered team, Golden State Warriors, remained mostly a secret for nearly two months until Andrew Wiggins' return last week. The Athletic's Shams Charania reported the reason for Wiggins' absence was his father had a serious medical situation. Multiple reporters and editors involved in Wiggins coverage described the reporting experience as bizarre, as they debated how to pursue the story, but also one that threatened to upend the Warriors' season as it dragged on. Warriors communications director Raymond Ridder said he was surprised that no national reporters had come up with more details but said he never asked any beat writers not to look into it.

The coverage of Wiggins' absence brought up issues such as what is newsworthy, how much privacy athletes are entitled to, and how journalists and news organizations that cover them balance that with the main tenets of their jobs: reporting news. During Wiggins' return news conference, neither he nor Myers mentioned Wiggins' father and no reporters asked about him. The Warriors confirmed Charania's report. Myers thanked the media for respecting the personal life of someone in a public job, which is a pretty rare thing in the business.

Bay Area rapper, E-40, was ejected from Game 1 of the Warriors-Kings Western Conference playoff series on Saturday night as he claims due to racial bias. E-40 was reportedly standing excessively, blocking the view of attendees behind him, and was repeatedly yelled at by a woman to sit down, leading to a verbal back-and-forth between E-40 and her. Kings security then escorted E-40 from his ringside seat near the Golden State bench in the fourth quarter. E-40 noted in a statement that the incident was yet another reminder of racial bias, and he hopes that those involved are held accountable. The Kings are investigating the situation, and the Warriors have tweeted their support for E-40. The platinum-selling East Bay rapper has been a loyal supporter of the Warriors for years, and several players have shown their solidarity with him. Klay Thompson revealed that E-40 has been their biggest supporter for years, and he hopes that the situation gets sorted out because the rapper deserved to be there.

Andre Iguodala is the latest to heap praise on Paul George, stating that he is the second-most skilled player in the NBA behind Kevin Durant, according to his interview on the Point Forward podcast. While both players are undeniably talented, the comparison between them is not so straightforward. Durant has had the better career so far, with two championships, two Finals MVPs, and 13 All-Star and 10 All-NBA selections. George, on the other hand, has yet to make it to an NBA Finals, but has shown his scoring prowess with an average of 20.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals throughout his career.

However, injuries and LeBron James' dominance in the Eastern Conference have hindered George's chances of winning a championship. Even with his recent knee sprain, he remains a skilled player and a key component of the Clippers' success in the playoffs. A championship win for George would solidify his legacy as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and would also justify the greatness of his teammates, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard.

NBA's playoff schedule is causing problems for basketball fans, who are being forced to make tough decisions with Game 3 between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings tipping off at 10:00 p.m. ET on TNT and the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers' kickoff at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV. A number of diehard basketball fans took to social media expressing their anger at the scheduling choices, with many arguing that the games should have been played earlier and spread further apart, given that some fans on the East Coast have to go to school or work the following morning. The scheduling has also caused frustration for fans on the West Coast, who have to choose between two big games. The final outcome of these games will make a significant impact on the playoffs, with the Warriors looking to level the series without the suspended Draymond Green and the Kings hoping to take a step closer to winning their first playoff series since 2004. Meanwhile, the Suns and Clippers will each seek a 2-1 edge in their series, which is said to possess opening round's most star power even without Paul George.

L'Oreal announced three new investments through its Fund for Nature Regeneration that aim to tackle biodiversity loss. The chosen initiatives - NetZero, ReforesTerra, and Mangroves.Now - were picked because of their innovative approaches to carbon capture through reforestation, restoration of ecosystems, and mangrove preservation. The projects promote positive environmental and social impacts and were selected after thorough due diligence. The Fund for Nature Regeneration seeks to support 12 to 15 projects aimed at restoring damaged lands and marine areas, as well as forests and mangroves. By 2030, the fund expects the initiatives to restore one million hectares of degraded ecosystems, capture between 15 million and 20 million tons of CO2, and create hundreds of job opportunities. The fund aims to provide viable economic outcomes over ten years, with projects generating sufficient cash flows within a reasonable timeframe. The Fund is managed by Mirova Natural Capital, a subsidiary of Natixis Investment Managers.

Golden State Warriors' forward, Jonathan Kuminga, had an off night in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series against the Sacramento Kings. In just 10 minutes on the floor, he scored eight points, turned the ball over twice, fouled twice, and failed to pull down a single rebound. In contrast, over the two months leading up to the playoffs where he saw increased minutes, Kuminga proved himself capable. Now, the question is whether or not the versatile combo forward can turn his performance around in Game 2.

Aside from Kuminga's underwhelming performance, the Warriors' primary issue in Game 1 was rebounding. Golden State matched Sacramento's rebounding in the first half but fell behind in the second half, enabling the Kings to mount a comeback victory. Kuminga acknowledged his mistakes and took responsibility for his lack of rebounding, and with coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the team also emphasizing the need for improvement on the glass, Kuminga has an opportunity to redeem himself and contribute to a win in Game 2.

As the NBA playoffs continue, all eyes are on Tyrese Maxey and Stephen Curry to lead their respective teams to victories in their upcoming games. Maxey’s Philadelphia 76ers aim to level with the Brooklyn Nets while Curry’s Golden State Warriors face the Sacramento Kings. With much of the pregame attention focused on these two players, it is worth considering some of the options for prop bets.

A strong option for Maxey would be betting on him to make over 2.5 threes. While he was relatively quiet in game one of the playoffs, Maxey has shown that he can score from beyond the arc and is averaging 14.5 field goal attempts since the all-star break. Against a Nets team that allows opponents to shoot over 36% from deep, Maxey may be poised for a breakout performance.

Meanwhile, Curry’s consistent scoring ability makes picking him for over 29.5 points a safe bet. Despite the Kings’ recent woes, Curry should be able to continue to put up impressive scoring numbers. He has already cleared this line in three of his five games against the Kings this season, including the playoffs.

As always, these prop bets are up for grabs and could go either way. But if Maxey and Curry play as expected, they could very well provide a significant payout for those who bet on them.

The Sacramento Kings have caught everyone's attention this postseason, taking a 2-0 series lead over the Golden State Warriors. However, the talk has not been about their success, but instead about the incident between Domantas Sabonis and Draymond Green in Game 2. Sabonis grabbed Green's leg, which resulted in Green stomping on Sabonis' chest. Green was initially assessed a technical foul, but upon replay review, the officials changed the call to a Flagrant 2 and ejected him. Sabonis was given a technical foul for his part in the incident. The league later announced that Green would be suspended for Game 3. While Sacramento's success is due in part to Sabonis' leadership, rebounding ability, and chemistry with De'Aaron Fox, the storyline has centered on the altercation with Green. The media and NBA Twitter have made headlines out of the story with no X's and O's, and there has even been anger within the organization towards the league. The focus needs to shift back to the game and the series at hand, as the Kings look to continue their success against the defending champions.