But the ensemble that somehow is greater than the sum of its star-studded parts continues — albeit now under the title “NBA Tip-Off.”
The familiar lineup of Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson reunited for a pregame show ahead of ESPN’s doubleheader Wednesday, with the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs visiting the Dallas Mavericks.
And they poked fun at themselves and at the Worldwide Leader. Any fears that ESPN suits would tone down the rollicking, often hilarious dynamic the quartet brought to the last decade-plus of the 36-year “Inside the NBA” run were quickly doused.
O’Neal opened by admonishing Johnson for mentioning the NBA‘s opening games Tuesday night, which broadcast on NBC and the Peacock streaming service.
“You are supposed to say, this is TRON — the real opening night,” O’Neal said to laughs. “Don’t forget who we are, boys.”
Johnson gently pushed back, replying, “Don’t be that way!” to more laughs.
O’Neal said Smith was almost late for the show, and Smith said, “I haven’t been that nervous since Game 7 of the NBA Finals.”
Barkley, who had been the most vocal skeptic of leaving TNT for ESPN, seconded that sentiment, saying “I was nervous all day.” But before he could continue in a more serious vein, Johnson interrupted and clips were shown of Barkley expressing doubts about ESPN on the “Dan Patrick Show” and other outlets.
More laughs ensued, although Barkley did his best to toe the company line, saying, “I’m not gonna lie. Every person who ever touched a ball wanted to be on ESPN. They are the greatest sports network ever. And to be working with these guys is an honor and a privilege.”
Johnson echoed Barkley, saying, “It is a dream come true,” and asked Smith if he felt the same way. Smith sighed and replied, “I will answer yes, but do you all want a napkin for all that kissing up?”
The laughs continued when a clip of Barkley earlier expressing worry about the workload at ESPN was followed by a graphic that displayed his Thursday work “schedule,” which included appearances every hour of the day, including during broadcasts of World Axe Throwing League and the American Cornhole League.
Basketball analysis did eventually follow the jokes and jabs, with O’Neal making a somewhat-bold prediction regarding oft-injured former Lakers big man Anthony Davis, who now plays in Dallas: “If A.D. plays 65 games, the Dallas Mavericks will be in the Western Conference finals.”
“NBA Tip-Off” was set to air segments pregame, halftime and postgame during Wednesday’s doubleheader, and ESPN announced it will air 20 days during the regular season around games broadcast on ESPN and ABC.
Formats will be different on each network. Pregame shows on ESPN will begin an hour before tipoff and postgame shows will start right after the final horn. Pregame shows on ABC will begin 30 minutes before tipoff. with postgame shows airing only after Saturday prime-time games. The NBA Sunday Showcase series on ABC also will feature an “NBA Tip-Off” pregame show.
“We’re proud that ‘Inside the NBA’ — one of the most iconic and beloved shows in all of media — will play a leading role in our NBA coverage,” ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said in a statement two weeks ago. “Fans should expect the same great show they’re accustomed to watching as it becomes an essential part of the highest-profile events in the NBA, including the NBA Finals.”
There was talk a few months ago that TNT could produce a separate show with the same cast, since this season’s “NBA Tip-Off” will continue to be produced in TNT’s Atlanta studios. Barkley seemingly put the kibosh on that notion when he said a pilot TNT taped was “just stupid stuff.”
“Number one, we won’t have basketball highlights [on TNT],” Barkley said in June. “But also, we’re probably gonna be going up against an NBA game. And anybody who likes basketball ain’t gonna say, ‘Hey, you know what? Let me turn off an NBA game on Amazon, ESPN or NBC to go watch these four dudes sit around and talk about nothing.’”
Instead, the quartet will continue to talk hoops and trade zingers, but only on ESPN and ABC.
“Inside the NBA” 2025-26 regular season broadcast schedule
2025 Oct. 22: ESPN and ESPN2 Oct. 23: ESPN Oct. 29: ESPN Nov. 12: ESPN Dec. 25: ESPN and ABC
2026 Jan. 24: ABC Jan. 28: ESPN Jan. 31: ABC Feb. 7: ABC Feb. 20: ESPN Feb. 21: ABC Feb. 22: ABC Feb. 27: ESPN Feb. 28: ABC March 1: ABC March 6: ESPN March 7: ABC March 8: ABC March 14: ABC April 12: ESPN
STUDENT accommodation, colleges and disused tower blocks may replace migrant hotels as councils continue to revolt.
The move is part of Labour’s pledge to stop using hotels to house migrants by 2029,
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The Bell Hotel in Epping, which was used for housing migrantsCredit: Alamy
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Security keep guard for trouble at the Brittania International Hotel in Canary WharfCredit: Gary Stone
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Anti-immigration demonstrators display Union Jack and England flags as they gather outside the Cresta Court hotel, in AltrinchamCredit: Reuters
However, nearly 200 hotels are still in use, putting up more than 32,000 people, according to recent figures.
Labour said it no longer wants to house migrants on large sites like military bases.
Instead, it is reportedly planning to use sites which are easier to make habitable and not as expensive to refurbish.
According to Dame Angela Eagle, the minister for border security, the plan is to use “medium-sized” sites like “voided tower blocks, old teacher training colleges or old student accommodation”.
This is because the Tories’ plans to use large sites like former military bases and the Bibby Stockholm barge would be too expensive.
She said the effort of tackling “asbestos-filled buildings and poisoned land” would be too pricey.
“I think that there are different, better ways of trying to achieve this kind of service than the ones that we’ve inherited,” she said.
But authorities are poised to follow Epping Forest council in Essex after it won a High Court injunction to halt asylum accommodation.
Now, it has been revealed that asylum accommodation contractors working for the Home Office “reached out” to property specialists earlier this month, seeking 5,000 residential units, reports the Telegraph.
Insiders told the outlet that each flat would likely have two bedrooms on average, with space to house four migrants.
ASYLUM SEEKER HOTEL PROTESTS
This Bank Holiday weekend, around 30 migrant hotels are bracing for a wave of protests as campaigners are bolstered by this week’s landmark ruling.
The High Court ordered the removal of migrants from the hotel in Essex, which has become the face of the row over asylum seeker accommodation.
It was the centre of protests after a migrant being housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl – which he denies.
Several other demonstrations cropped up around the UK as communities rebelled against the migrant hotels in their area.
It is understood that there is a fresh wave of protests – at least 27 – planned outside of hotels this Bank Holiday weekend.
However anti-racism groups have warned towns and cities could experience the most disruption since last year’s summer riots.
Councils are also pushing back, following the lead of Epping Forest Council, which argued for the hotel to be closed to reduce the threat of “violent protests” and for the safety of those living nearby.
Mr Justice Eyre ruled the owners may have breached planning rules by housing migrants rather than paying customers.
The Home Office argued that granting this application risks “acting as an impetus for further violent protests”.
The High Court ruling threatens Labour’s asylum seeker plans, as more and more councils express an intention to follow suit.
If more councils take action, ministers are unsure where more than 30,000 people in hotel rooms would live.
However Brighton and Hove City Council refused to launch a legal bid, saying it was a “proud city of sanctuary” and will continue to welcome and support asylum seekers.
Jacob Taylor, the local authority’s deputy leader, said “We will not comment on the location of hotels being used by the Home Office to provide temporary accommodation to people seeking asylum.
“I believe to do so in the current climate is irresponsible and risks causing division and unrest in our communities at a time when more than ever we need to bring people together.”
While some county councils will push for the closures, the legal steps to challenge the use of hotels falls to district and borough councils.
The Local Government Association called on the Home Office to work “much more closely” with authorities on asylum accommodation decisions.
The Home Office is scrambling to find accommodation for up to 138 men housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping before the September 12 deadline to empty it.
Pressed to give details of these contingency options, Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis said: “With respect, the legal judgment was only handed down yesterday.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has written to Yvette Cooper to demand that those in the Bell Hotel are not moved to apartments, houses in multiple occupation, or social housing which is “much needed for British people”.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office – which has a legal obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute – can move people to alternatives such as hotels and large sites, like former military bases.
Amid hotel protests, campaigners including Rape Crisis and Refuge have warned conversations about violence against women and girls are being “hijacked by an anti-migrant agenda” which they argued fuels divisions and harms survivors.
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Protesters outside of The Bell Hotel in EppingCredit: n.c
RECORD NUMBERS OF MIGRANTS
It comes after it was revealed that a record number of people claimed asylum in the UK in the last year – with a massive 32,000 currently living in taxpayer-funded hotels.
Home Office data shows that 111,000 people claimed asylum in the year ending June 2025 up 14 per cent on last year.
It is higher than the previous recorded peak of 103,000 which was set in 2002.
The number of people claiming asylum in this country has almost doubled since 2021.
And just under half of all those applying for protection in the UK are granted it at the initial decision stage – 48 per cent.
It is lower than in 2022 when 77 per cent of those applying were given the green light.
In the year up to March, the UK was the fifth biggest recipient of asylum seekers in the UK after Germany, Spain, Italy and France.
The sky-high figures come as the number of migrants being housed in hotels has INCREASED since Labour came into power.
A total of 32,059 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels at the end of Labour’s first year in Government up 8 per cent on the same point 12 months ago.
Around 210 hotels are currently open across the UK despite Labour’s manifesto pledge to end their use.
In the year to June, the top five nationalities of people arriving in Dover were Afghan, Eritrean, Iranian, Syrian and Sudanese.
The High Court judgement explained
HIGH Court Judge Mr Justice Eyre has ruled that the owners of The Bell Hotel – Somani Hotels Limited – might have breached planning rules by housing migrants at the site, rather than paying customers.
After a hearing in London’s High Court last week, Mr Justice Eyre said Somani Hotels Limited had “sidestepped the public scrutiny and explanation” by not applying for planning permission for the migrant hotel.
In his judgement, he said that while the council had not “definitively established” that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, “the strength of the claimant’s case is such that it weighs in favour” of granting the injunction.
He said the fear of crime being committed by those accommodated there was a “relevant factor”, albeit one with “limited weight”.
In his judgement, he said it is “understandable” that recent arrests “form a basis for the local concern”.
He added: “The arrests have occurred in a relatively short period and have arisen when no more than 138 asylum seekers are accommodated in the Bell at any time.
“The consequence is that the fear said to be felt by local residents cannot be dismissed as solely speculation based on fear of what might happen from an activity which has not yet begun.”
The judge also said that had the hotel owners, Somani Hotels Limited, applied for planning permission, it would have given Epping Forest District Council and local residents a chance to air their concerns.
Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was “wholly unacceptable” and provided a “feeding ground for unrest”.
He said: “There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.”
Mr Coppel continued: “It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully.
“It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.”
He added: “It really could not be much worse than this.”
The judge granted a temporary injunction in his ruling, meaning the hotel has to be cleared of its occupants by September 12.
Love Is Blind UK is back for another four episodes, with a cast reunion party providing plenty of drama.
*Warning – This article contains minor spoilers for Love Is Blind UK season 2 episode 7.*
Some newly-engaged couples were tested in the second part of Love Is Blind UK season 2, with some of their co-stars opting to stir the pot during the reunion party in episode 7.
However, he eventually decided to commit to Megan, calling things off with Sophie before going down on one knee and asking him to marry her.
Sophie appeared deeply angered by Kieran’s decision, as she stormed off set before the first part of the show had finished.
While things have been going smoothly for Megan and Kieran, their relationship was tested when Sophie appeared at the party.
Megan looked visibly uncomfortable as Sophie walked in, but the pair went on to exchange a quick hug as they greeted one another.
Kieran and Megan were loved up following their engagement(Image: Netflix)
The girls then helped Sophie match the boys’ names to their faces, with one of them telling her Kieran was in the “funky jacket”.
Sophie then said: “Yeah, Meg, I don’t know how you let him wear that.”
Seemingly unbothered, Megan smiled back: “I love it.”
“Okay,” Sophie laughed, as Megan could then be seen telling the camera: “Sophie and I weren’t the closest in the pods, but I know the intention of these little comments being made.
“She’s trying to make me doubt Kieran, so take it with a pinch of salt and chuck it over the shoulder, carry on.”
Later that night, Sophie and Kieran were seen catching up, with the pair keeping it civil and clearing the air.
“I truly do wish you the best,” Sophie told him, with the pair doing a “cheers” before walking off.
Moments later, she said: “I feel like he got closure. I feel very much over the situation.”
Asked how she feels about Kieran having seen him in real life, Sophie later added to the girls: “He’s not my type. Like, not in a horrible way, but I just don’t normally date blondes. Well, at least you guys have good-looking lads.”
Speaking to Megan and Ashleigh about the situation, Kieran admitted: “I’m a little bit confused about everything I’ve heard about Sophie, because I just got the same pod Sophie that I got the whole experiment.”
Looking fed up, Megan said: “It’s hard for me. It’s annoying because I’ve seen so many sides of her that you’ve not seen.
Megan is a professional dancer(Image: Instagram)
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“I don’t want anyone to manipulate you – especially when they’re acting the way they are,” she added.
Checking to see if Megan was okay, Kieran clarified: “You know I don’t care about anyone else other than you.”
“I know that; it’s just frustrating,” Megan admitted. “And it’s really hard when I’ve told you. It’s really hard for me, now I have this relationship with you that this girl is…”
“Maybe it’s naivety from me, because I always see the best in people regardless of who they are,” Kieran reflected.
“I just struggle when you’re like ‘everything is fine’ and you’re giggling and I’m like…” Megan added with a grimace. “I just don’t want people mugging you off.”
“I’m definitely protective of Kieran and I don’t want him to look like he’s being mugged off, basically,” she reiterated to the cameras.
Love Is Blind UK season 2 episodes 1-8 are available to watch on Netflix now.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is doubling down on its trade war against much of the world despite increasingly harrowing economic numbers emerging at home, with stock markets and Treasury yields tumbling Friday on news of the most significant slowdown in job growth since the pandemic.
Government data showed the U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs in July — far fewer than expected — and issued revised numbers for the prior two months that showed only 19,000 jobs were created in May, and 14,000 in June, amid widespread uncertainty over President Trump’s tariff policies and deep cuts to government employment.
The unemployment numbers came a day after Trump signed an executive order increasing tariffs on 66 countries, further roiling a decades-old system of global trade.
The chair of the White House council of economic advisors reacted to the unemployment report by saying the numbers are “not what we want to see.” But Trump responded by directing his team to fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an ostensibly nonpartisan position responsible for overseeing the statistical analysis of jobs data, suggesting the numbers were politically “manipulated.” She was fired hours later.
“I was just informed that our Country’s ‘Jobs Numbers’ are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
McEntarfer was confirmed by a Senate vote of 86-8 in January 2024. He did not offer evidence to support his accusations of manipulated data, either for this year or before the 2024 election.
“We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
Paradoxically, Trump and his team also seemed to acknowledge the authenticity of the numbers by blaming the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, for the unflattering results.
For months, Powell has resisted pressure from Trump to lower interest rates amid concerns over stubbornly high inflation — and the prospect that prices will increase further if the president’s trade war persists. The Federal Reserve chairmanship is another position meant to operate with independence.
“Inflation has cooled, wages have increased, unemployment is stable, and the private sector is growing,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement to The Times. “President Trump’s America First agenda has ensured new jobs go to American citizens, instead of illegals or foreign-born workers. The tariffs are raking in billions of dollars to make our country wealthy again. Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell needs to cut rates so our economy can continue to boom.”
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones industrial average had fallen over 500 points, while the NASDAQ was down over 2.25%. The U.S. dollar fell against other currencies. But the most telling moves may have occurred in the bond market, which saw the most drastic slumps in 10-year and two-year Treasury yields in a year.
The increased unemployment rate, to 4.2%, came off government data reported earlier in the week that showed a dramatic decrease in imports and consumer demand to the United States, figures that have temporarily inflated economic growth numbers. Overall, economists are warning that U.S. gross domestic product could grow less than 2% this year, its worst performance since the height of the pandemic.
Trump has had issues with unemployment data for many years, often using one of his favorite terms, “fake,” to describe them. During his 2016 campaign, he argued that unemployment was worse than the government figures showed; once in the White House, he suggested the official data understated the strength of the economy.
The timing of the latest jobs report comes at a politically inopportune moment for Trump, who had set Friday as a deadline for countries around the world to negotiate trade deals with the United States on his terms, or else face steep tariff rates.
Only a handful of framework agreements were struck — with the European Union, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, among others — while dozens of other nations were hit with rate hikes. Major trading partners faced brutal increases, including Brazil, which now faces a 50% rate on most goods, and India, hit with 25% import duties.
Switzerland was slammed with a 39% rate, but most countries on the list released by the White House were given 15% tariff rates. The new import taxes are to take effect Aug. 7.
Economists have warned since April 2, when Trump declared “Liberation Day” from a global system of free trade, that his new policies would devastate the U.S. economy, raising prices and slowing growth in the short term while depressing living standards for years to come.
“The good news,” Trump wrote on Friday, “is that Tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!”
Tariff discussions remain unresolved for Canada and Mexico, two of the United States’ largest trading partners. Though Trump said this week that Friday was a firm deadline and would not be extended, on Thursday he said new tariffs on some Mexican goods would be delayed 90 days while the two countries continue to negotiate.
Canada, on the other hand, remains at an impasse with the president over his demands.
“We will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship,” Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, said in a statement, but, “the Canadian government is laser focused on what we can control: building Canada strong.”
“We can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take away,” he added.
Devon Newberry is closing in on two years as a professional beach volleyball player. Yet for the last 731 days, “professional” has always felt like an elusive label.
The former UCLA standout is accustomed to life as a beach volleyball player — hauling her equipment on the beach, tugging her bag across the uneven sand while weaving through sunbathers and surfboards. She’s used to hearing provisional bleachers creak under sunscreen-slathered fans as music buzzes through nearby portable speakers.
There’s charm in that chaos. But it’s nothing like the entrance Newberry made Friday at the Intuit Dome.
Above her, the sweeping halo scoreboard glowed, flashing beneath the thump of blasting pop anthems. Around her, where NBA chants once echoed, beach volleyball fans cheered. And strangest of all, tons of sand created a faux indoor shoreline.
After two years chasing it, Newberry found her label.
“I walked into the Intuit Dome today and I was like, ‘I feel like a professional athlete walking in,’” Newberry said. “I haven’t felt like that as a beach player. There’s very rare moments when you’re like, ‘Wow, I am really a professional athlete.’ And when I was going underground here and looking all around me, I was like, ‘I really am a professional athlete.’ And that’s because we’re playing at the Intuit Dome.”
In what began as a head-scratcher for the players themselves, 300 tons of sand were poured into the Intuit Dome, turning the Clippers’ arena into a pop-up beach — where the L.A. Launch kept their perfect run afloat for the start of AVP League Week 5.
The Launch struck first and last — with Megan Kraft and Terese Cannon opening with a win, and Hagen Smith and Logan Webber closing it out — both pairs dismantling the San Diego Smash. Sandwiched between those victories, Palm Beach Passion’s men’s and women’s teams both made quick work of the Miami Mayhem.
The moment Newberry described — descending into an NBA arena re-imagined as a sand-strewn battleground — was the AVP’s moonshot: to re-imagine the sport in lights, not solely sunlight.
“Playing in such an amazing place, brand new building, with everything going on, with the new building around here, it’s really cool,” said 2016 Olympian Chaim Schalk. “To get to play at such an iconic arena is an honor.”
Logan Webber of the L.A. Launch spikes over Chase Budinger of the San Diego Smash at the Intuit Dome on Friday night.
(Joe Scarnici / Getty Images)
Beach volleyball rarely has ventured beyond its coastal roots. But at the Intuit Dome, the sport embraced a new direction.
“This shows that beach volleyball is growing and it’s trying to adapt to the world we live in, finding a new way for fans to interact with the players, and new ways for the sport to be exciting,” said Chase Budinger, a former NBA player who became a beach volleyball player. “This will get more people in the stands because it’s so new and so different.”
In place of sun-worshiping fans camped out on makeshift bleachers, parents lounged on cushioned seats as kids nestled beside them balancing chicken wings and pizzas on their laps.
The sport welcomed a combination of newcomers hunting for Friday night entertainment and AVP devotees.
“There’s so many people who love beach volleyball, and so many people who would love beach volleyball if they were just given the opportunity to go watch,” Newberry said. “And not everybody can make it out.”
Change comes with tradeoffs. With no wind, the court became something of a power chamber — the compact sand lending itself to higher and cleaner jumps, the still air enabling blistering serves and monstrous spikes that might have drifted wide on the beach.
Rallies became quicker and tighter. The margin for error shrank, tightening the grip on the crowd.
“For a lot of people watching beach volleyball for the first time, it’s really hard to conceptualize how wind, how deep the sand is, might affect play,” Newberry said. “So it feels like more of an even playing field which allows everybody to watch really entertaining volleyball.”
By re-imagining the boundaries of where its sport can potentially thrive, the AVP might have sketched out a novel blueprint for other sports.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if other sports follow and start expanding their ideas of where they could play,” said Olympic silver medalist Brandie Wilkerson. “I’m excited to see where this is going to go and see other sports try to catch up.”
