Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke dies at 29: ‘He was the gentlest soul’
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke has died at the age of 29, his sports agency has confirmed.A cause of death was not announced.“We are beyond devastated by the passing of Brandon Clarke,” Priority Sports said.“He was so loved by all of us here, and everyone whose life he touched.He was the gentlest soul who was the first to be there for all of his friends and family.
Our hearts are so broken as we think about his mom, Whitney, his entire family and all of his friends.From high school to San Jose State to Gonzaga to the Grizzlies, Brandon impacted everyone who was part of his life.”According to NBC, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical emergency shortly after 5pm local time at a home in the San Fernando Valley.Clarke was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics.Police believe Clarke may have died of an overdose and do not suspect foul play.
Clarke had a standout college career with San Jose State and Gonzaga before he was picked by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 21st overall selection of the 2019 draft.He was named to the NBA All-Rookie team in his first season in Memphis.He signed a four-year extension with the Grizzlies in 2022 but missed most of the past season after undergoing knee surgery.He also suffered a torn achilles in March 2023 that forced him to miss most of the next season.“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement.
“Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.We express our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”Clarke was born in Vancouver before his family moved to the United States when he was a child.He was active in the Memphis community and celebrated his 29th birthday by donating books and resources to a local elementary school.“Every time I talk to kids, I try to get that in their minds that school is important, teachers are important and grades matter,” Clarke told the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“I couldn’t have made it here without locking in on reading, writing and all of that stuff.”“We are devastated to learn of the passing of Brandon Clarke,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement on Tuesday.As one of the longest-tenured members of the Grizzlies, Brandon was a beloved teammate and leader who played the game with enormous passion and grit.Our thoughts and sympathies are with Brandon’s family, friends and the Grizzlies organization.”
Google announces raft of free upgrades for Android phones
Google has announced a range of features coming to Android phones this year, including a new Gemini Intelligence AI system and a tool to help users avoid distracting apps.Revealed in a livestreamed “Android Show” event, the free upgrades are scheduled to arrive in waves over the next year for high-end new and old phones alike, including Samsung and Pixel devices. Google also revealed that a new lineup of laptops will arrive in the autumn.Gemini Intelligence will combine the company’s top AI tools into one system aimed at being more proactively useful.It will be able to automate tasks by directly interacting with the apps already on a phone
Head of Microsoft’s Israel branch to step down after inquiry into dealings with Israeli military
The head of Microsoft’s Israeli subsidiary will step down in the wake of an inquiry that has scrutinised its business dealings with the Israeli military.Microsoft ordered the inquiry last year in response to a Guardian investigation revealing the military had used the company’s technology to operate a powerful surveillance system that collected Palestinian civilian phone calls on a mass scale.The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found the military’s elite spy agency, Unit 8200, had used Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store a vast trove of intercepted calls from Gaza and the West Bank.The inquiry commissioned by Microsoft is understood to have recently concluded. Its findings are unclear; however, sources familiar with the situation said they prompted an announcement last week that Microsoft Israel’s general manager, Alon Haimovich, would leave the company
GameStop’s $55.5bn bid for eBay rejected as ‘neither credible nor attractive’
The board of eBay has rejected the US video games retailer GameStop’s surprise $55.5bn bid (£41bn) for the online marketplace, describing the proposal as “neither credible nor attractive”.Earlier this month, GameStop made an unsolicited bid for eBay, publishing a letter on its website outlining a half-cash, half-stock proposal.This was despite the US games company – which became a global household name during the meme stock craze of 2021 – being worth far less than its takeover target. GameStop had a market valuation of roughly $12bn before its bid, almost a quarter of eBay’s $46bn valuation
Trump heads to China to spread the gospel of American tech
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian.Donald Trump is headed to China this week. If his guest list is any clue, he wants to discuss technology with Xi Jinping, though perhaps after the war in Iran.On Monday, news broke that outgoing Apple CEO, Tim Cook, as well as SpaceX and Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, would join Trump
Trump heads to China to spread the gospel of American tech while emulating Xi Jinping on AI
Donald Trump is heading to China this week. If his guest list is any clue, he wants to discuss technology with Xi Jinping, though perhaps after the war in Iran.On Monday, news broke that outgoing Apple CEO, Tim Cook, as well as SpaceX and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, would join the US president. Other guests from the tech sphere include Meta’s recently appointed president, Dina Powell McCormick; Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of computer memory maker Micron; Chuck Robbins, CEO of longtime telecom giant Cisco; and Cristiano Amon, CEO of semiconductor maker Qualcomm, according to a White House official.Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO – who is close to Trump but criticized the US’s limitations on chip sales to China in an April interview, saying that he didn’t want a “loser mentality” to cost the US its edge in AI – will not be joining the president
Molière Ex Machina: AI used to create ‘new work’ by beloved French playwright
Molière is to the French what Shakespeare is to the English: the last word in historical literature, drama, wit and satire.Now, more than 350 years after his death, the 17th-century dramatist has been revived after scholars at the Sorbonne University in Paris used artificial intelligence to help write an experimental play in his style.L’Astrologue ou les Faux Présages (The Astrologer, or False Omens), a three-act comedy, made its debut at the Royal Opera at the Château de Versailles last week.The two-hour play tells the story of a wealthy bourgeois Parisian who, under the instruction of a charlatan astrologer called Pseudoramus, insists his daughter Lucile marry a debt-ridden and elderly wigmaker.While the theme could well have been dreamed up by Molière, the dialogue, music, costumes and scenery were all created with the help of a French AI tool called Le Chat (The Cat)
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