Avoided

Towering superstar Victor Wembanyama toppled onto his face Tuesday night — timberrr!!! — and the NBA playoff scenario immediately became as scrambled as the San Antonio Spurs’ 7-foot-4 center’s thoughts must have been moments after he suffered a concussion.

Without Wembanyama for nearly three quarters, the Spurs fell to the underdog Portland Trail Blazers, 106-103, with the first-round series tied 1-1 and headed to Portland for Game 3 on Friday.

Meanwhile, without superstar guard Luka Doncic, the Lakers powered past the Houston Rockets, 101-94, to take a 2-0 series lead. Guard tandem Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard combined with the ageless LeBron James to make up for the absence of injuries to Doncic as well as fellow starting guard Austin Reaves.

Peering forward, an extended absence by Wembanyama would seem to place the Spurs in serious jeopardy of a first-round exit. After all, “Wemby” is the league’s defensive player of the year in addition to averaging 25 points and 11.5 rebounds a game. He is a two-way force of unprecedented magnitude.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have responded to the loss of Doncic so well that Times columnist Bill Plaschke declared “believe it, this series is already over” after their Game 2 victory Tuesday night. The absence of Doncic and his 33.3 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds a game was masked by the exceptional play of teammates.

Does that make Wembanyana more valuable than Doncic? Does it raise Wembanyana’s NBA Most Valuable Player credentials to the level of fellow finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic?

That’s a topic worth debating on another day. For now, the pertinent questions are how severely Wembanyana is injured and how long will he be sidelined. The Spurs and Trail Blazers play Game 3 on Friday night, Game 4 on Sunday and Game 5 on Tuesday night. The median time lost to concussion in the NBA is seven days.

“He has a concussion and he is in the protocol,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said afterward. “We’ll obviously take the proper and appropriate steps.”

A player in concussion protocol must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and undergo neurological testing while meeting certain criteria without symptoms before being cleared to play. A decision on clearance will come from the NBA concussion protocol director Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher in consultation with the Spurs’ team doctor.

The injury occurred early in the second quarter. After backing into the paint with the ball, Wembanyama turned to explode toward the basket. Portland defender Jrue Holiday executed a maneuver termed “pulling the chair” — moving completely away from the Spurs center, who clearly was expecting contact.

Wembanyama lurched forward, toppled and slammed the right side of his face on the floor. He stayed down for several seconds before sitting up and putting his hands on his face. Television analyst Reggie Miller exclaimed, “He is dazed.” Wembanyama finally stood and jogged directly to the locker room. He did not return.

Meanwhile at Crypto.com Arena, Doncic and Reaves cheered from the bench throughout the Lakers’ inspired dismantling of the Rockets. Smart scored 25 points and Kennard added 23.

“I know we just kind of flipped the switch,” Kennard said. “We told each other, this is what we got right now. We’ve got to believe in what we have.”

Added Smart: “The word is, ‘elevate’ for us, and that’s all we’ve been trying to do, is elevate our play on both ends.”

Wembanyana’s backup is Luke Kornet, who has played for six teams since going undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2017. He was effective during a 14-minute stint in the Spurs’ Game 1 victory over Portland and had 10 points and nine rebounds in Game 2 after Wembanyana exited. He’ll need to step up the way Smart and Kennard have for the Lakers.

Injuries are inevitable. How teammates respond when a superstar is sidelined provides insight on multiple levels. So far, the loss of Doncic — and Reaves — has been overcome by the Lakers while the loss of Wembanyama could cripple the Spurs.

IN A time where most stars are terrified they’re one post away from getting ‘cancelled’, influencer Brittany Miller has somehow managed to maintain her legion of 3.5M fans despite a very controversial past.

TikTok star Brittany’s fame comes despite being at the centre of a massive scam which saw her admit to faking cancer – something which has been career-breaking for several others.

Six years ago, Brittany, now 29, was convicted of fraud by false representation after it was revealed that her claim to have been suffering from stage 3 gastric cancer was in fact a lie.

Brittany pretended to have been diagnosed with the cancer and even had a JustGiving page to raise money for the alleged illness.

Rather than keep a low profile following the scandal, Brittany grew her profile even further via videos on TikTok.

Posting videos which saw her dishing up her dinner and documenting her pregnancy – many fans assumed she was nothing but a sweet young mum as her follower count catapulted.

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As news of the scam began circulating on TikTok again last year, Brittany took to the platform in November with a teary apology – claiming that her lies were a result of “extremely bad mental health”.

In her groveling apology, Brittany claimed that she wasn’t the one who set up the JustGiving page to raise money for her “illness”.

But a friend told The Sun that she wasn’t being truthful in the videos, claiming Brittany did try to raise money for herself via the fake illness.

“Brittany lied to us all – not just her friends but also her followers online. 

“Now people are following her and they have no idea what she is really like,” they said last year.

They added: “Yes it happened years ago but lying about cancer is really wrong.

“Lots of her followers will have family members living with cancer but little do they know that every time they watch one of her videos, they are giving money to a fraud.”

Since then, Brittany has returned to posting her usual content on the app, such as cooking videos and clips detailing family life with her kids and partner Ash.

It’s a stark contrast to other stars who have been “cancelled” for similar crimes, with the likes of Belle Gibson – who famously lied about having brain cancer – losing their entire careers.

So, how has Brittany managed to continue business as usual despite the scandal?

According to PR and Influencer expert Chloe Franses, taking accountability for the scandal is what kept Brittany in the spotlight.

Whilst others, such as Belle Gibson, have opted for the “deny, deny, deny” strategy, Brittany’s teary apology video struck a chord with fans.

“I think that the main reason for her avoiding total cancellation was because she publicly lent into her vulnerability and her issues with mental health,” said Chloe, who owns PR agency HelloFranses.

She added: “This, especially nowadays, is something people are open to empathising with.”

TikTok also uses features where creators can block certain words, or profiles, from their comment section and page, something which could have helped water down the chatter of the scandal on Brittany’s page, says Chloe.

“There have been reports suggesting that she has retained this large following by using filters on her comments to block words related to the scandal and actively deleted negative remarks.

“As with a lot of things in the world of influencers, the past can be glossed over, with a shiny, scroll stopping, new focus.

“Admitting you were weak and you have done something wrong, saying sorry to your fans (and deleting anyone who isn’t) and committing to being better… This is the reinvention playbook that she is, well, walking into…”

In fact, the shocking scandal could have even worked in her favour, as Brittany could be raking in up to £20,000 per post through her blooming social media career, says PR guru Nick Ede.

He told The Sun: “With her following, she could be earning £5,000–£20,000 per post and potentially hundreds of thousands a year across TikTok and YouTube.

“She will have lost deals but brands know that she has a good conversion rate and no one is calling her or them out – so its business as usual”.

April 10 (Asia Today) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the spread of artificial intelligence in workplaces cannot be avoided, while urging labor groups to help develop safeguards for workers affected by the technology. Lee is South Korea’s president, and the Korea.net government portal uses the spelling “Lee Jae Myung.”

Lee made the remarks during a meeting at Cheong Wa Dae with 24 officials from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, or KCTU, after its leader raised concerns about job losses tied to automation and what he called “physical AI.” The labor group’s chairman is commonly rendered in English as Yang Kyung-soo.

“The question is how to respond,” Lee said. “Simply saying it should not happen is not a solution. It cannot be avoided.”

Yang said workers could accept AI if it takes over dangerous, difficult or overnight work, but warned that automation has historically been linked to job losses. He said the emergence of “physical AI” raises deeper concerns because it may not just change jobs but eliminate them altogether.

Yang called for a broader response that goes beyond employment policy alone, saying discussions should also cover the social safety net, labor rights and ways to recover excess corporate profits generated through AI.

Lee said the government is already pursuing policies to accelerate the adoption of digital AI through public investment in an effort to stay globally competitive. At the same time, he acknowledged that a government push to replace labor too aggressively could be seen as anti-labor.

He urged the labor sector to propose alternatives and additional protections, saying the government would accept as much as possible where feasible.

Lee also said workers do not need to be overwhelmed by fear over AI, pointing to the example of smart factories. He said there had been similar concerns when those systems were introduced, but several years later more workers were needed to improve and operate them.

He proposed joint research by the government and industry on how AI should be understood and used in workplaces.

“If skilled labor is replaced by robots, workers’ cooperation and management will still be needed,” Lee said. “This is not something we should try to avoid.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260410010003172