A Nepali sherpa reached the summit of Mount Everest for a record 28th time on Tuesday, an official said, completing his second ascent in just a week, as the toll in this year’s climbing season reached 11.

Kami Rita Sherpa, 53, reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit by the traditional southeast ridge route, said Nepali tourism official Bigyan Koirala, following his 27th climb last week.

Pioneered by the first summiteers, New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953, the route remains the most popular path to the world’s tallest peak.

“Kami Rita is on his way down from the summit,” said Thaneswar Guragai, the general manager of his employer, the Seven Summit Treks company, which says climbing is a passion for the sherpa.

“He climbed with other clients but we are waiting for details.”

Kami Rita first climbed Everest in 1994, and has done so almost every year since, except for three years when authorities closed the mountain for various reasons.

“He developed a deep passion for climbing from a young age and has been scaling the mountains for over two decades,” the company said last week.

Another sherpa climber scaled Everest for the 27th time this week, the most summits after Kami Rita.

British climber Kenton Cool last week climbed Everest for the 17th time, the most by a foreigner.

However, the dangers the mountain presents for many climbers were reflected in two more deaths on Everest over the weekend that took the toll to 11 since April.

One was a Nepali sherpa, working to clean the mountain, who died on Monday, the Nepali Army said in a statement. Equipment and other items left by climbing expeditions can litter the mountain for decades.

An Australian engineer died during the descent from the summit on Friday in the death zone above 26,000 feet, which is infamous for the thin air that can cause sudden attacks of high-altitude sickness.

Jason Kennison, 40, probably died due to weakness at the Balcony area between the summit and the final camp, Ang Tshering Sherpa, of the Asian Trekking Co, said on Tuesday.

“He was being carried down by sherpa climbers but collapsed after reaching the Balcony area,” he said.

Strong winds frustrated efforts to carry more oxygen canisters for Kennison from the final camp, hiking officials said.

“He was just on top of the world, literally, on top of the world and that’s what he wanted to achieve and he achieved that,” Kennison’s mother, Gill, told a press conference in his hometown of Mallala, about 60 km (37 miles) north of Adelaide.

“On the descent is when he suddenly fell ill and that’s when he passed away,” his brother, Adrian, added on Monday.

The tally of 11 includes three sherpas who died in April in a serac fall on the lower reaches of the mountain, while others dying of illness, weakness and various causes, they added.

Two climbers, one each from Singapore and Malaysia, have been missing for the last three days, officials said.

When you think of a museum what do you picture? Glass display cabinets full of medieval manuscripts? Classical statues and ancient artifacts? Or perhaps stuffed animals and dinosaur skeletons.

While there will always be a place for those traditional repositories of history, there’s recently been a shift towards a different kind of museum – one that isn’t afraid to embrace change and technology.

Whether they’re leading the way with futuristic architectural designs or high-tech interactive exhibits, here are just some of the museums that are putting innovation front and center.

ArtScience Museum, Singapore

In the heart of Singapore, a lotus-inspired building intertwines art, science and technology.

The ArtScience Museum has become known for its boundary-pushing exhibits. Last year, its VR gallery transported visitors to California’s Sequoia National Park – a forest of giant sequoia trees – as part of a multi-sensory experience called “We Live in an Ocean of Air” by experimental art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF). It used 3D stereo sound, scent dispersal systems and wind machines to immerse visitors in the forest.

ArtScience Museum has also regularly collaborated with award-winning art collective teamLab to create interactive installations. The permanent exhibit “Future World: Where Art Meets Science” is a digital playground, with installations dynamically evolving as audiences pass through.

One installation, called “Crystal Universe,” is a breathtaking trip to the stars. Visitors who walk through are enveloped by over 170,000 LED lights responding to their presence.

Museum of the Future, Dubai, UAE

Museums usually document our past, but Dubai’s Museum of the Future takes the opposite approach.

A cabinet of high-tech curiosities spread across seven floors, there’s a metallic flying penguin that soars above heads, rows of suspended cylindrical capsules containing digital renderings of plant and animal species, and a library of 4,500 animal DNA codes to collect on smart devices – but that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

The museum is also home to a veritable family of robots, including a bot barista named Bob and an AI-powered humanoid robot called Ameca. This year, the latest addition is a friendly robotic dog, designed by US tech firm Boston Dynamics, which roams the lobby interacting with visitors.

Seoul Robot and AI Museum, South Korea

Many of us are uneasy about robots and artificial intelligence (AI) merging with our everyday lives, but a new museum is intended to put our minds at rest by bridging the gap in public knowledge.

The Seoul Robot and AI Museum is set to promote science, technology, and innovation in society. Robots will, of course, be exhibited throughout and the museum is also set to become a hub for smart technologies that visitors can interact with, including AI, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Turkey-based Melike Altınışık Architects won a contest to design the building. Originally slated to open in 2023, it is now expected to open in late 2024.

Oman Across Ages Museum, Oman

Recently opened near the ancient city of Nizwa, the Oman Across Ages Museum uses cutting-edge technology to fly visitors through the different dynasties and civilizations that created the country.

The museum used drones to map archaeological sites, 3D-printing to produce replicas and site models, and a mix of CGI and AR to recreate ancient settlements.

Visitors can step into virtual reality to be transported inside the country’s iconic buildings, such as the Al Alam palace, one of the residences of the Sultan of Oman.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C.

This museum maintains the world’s largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft with more than 68,000 objects. It also happens to be taking one giant leap to evolve its galleries and spaces for immersive learning experiences.

Last year, it launched “One World Connected,” an exhibition with a series of interactive experiences, including a 10-foot spherical projection of the globe suspended in the gallery. Using six interactive kiosks, visitors can pull up data visualizations ranging from satellite networks to animal migration routes directly onto the projection.

Beyond the Earth, visitors can feel as if they are on the surfaces of seven different planets in the “Walking on Other Worlds” exhibit, which uses a nearly 360-degree panoramic screen that combines real data and spacecraft images with CGI.

Dalí Museum, Florida

Salvador Dalí once wrote “If someday I may die, though it is unlikely, I hope the people in the cafes will say, Dali has died, though not entirely.” At the Dalí Museum, a technological resurrection has taken place, allowing visitors to interact with the Spanish surrealist using the museum’s AI reimagining of Dalí in the present day.

The project titled “Dalí Lives” is in partnership with ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners which used over 1,000 hours of machine learning to train an AI algorithm to learn aspects of Dali’s face, which were then projected onto an actor’s. They ended up with 125 interactive videos with thousands of different combinations, making a visitor’s experience with the reimagined Dalí just as unique as the artist himself.

Last year, the museum opened “Dream Tapestry” which used OpenAI’s AI generator DALL·E to conjure up images of visitors’ dreams with nothing but a written prompt as input. Each dream contributed to a collective tapestry displayed on a 12-foot screen.

Misalignment Museum, US

Artificial intelligence has the capacity for both good and bad and the Misalignment Museum sets out to show people its potential risks. Sprawled across a wall the text “Sorry for killing most of humanity” hovers over the museum’s pieces including an AI reimagining of Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam” and an army of robotic Spam cans.

The art installation hosts a tongue-in-cheek collation of work explaining aspects of AI technology from an interactive shrine called the “Church of GPT” to a never-ending discussion between AI-generated models of Werner Herzog and Slavo Žižek.

It recently finished its pop-up pilot in San Francisco, and is currently planning its next public exhibit in the city.

There are many things you could buy for $34 million. In various parts of the world, it’ll buy you towering castles, sprawling beachside mega mansions or majestic estates that go on for miles. It could buy you fleets of powerful Lamborghini sports cars or stately Rolls-Royce Phantoms. It could even buy you your own private jet.

In Dubai, it gets you a pile of sand.

OK, not just any pile of sand. The sand in question is an empty plot on luxury Jumeirah Bay Island, which recently sold for more than $34 million – an eye-watering price even in a part of the world where real estate prices can reach as high as the skyscraping architecture.

The undeveloped 24,500-square-foot property was sold by Umar Kamani, a British entrepreneur and co-founder of fashion retailer PrettyLittleThing. The sale – for 125 million dirhams (AED) – marks a whopping 242% gain over his original purchase price of 36.5 million AED, or just under $10 million, in 2021.

The identity of the buyer is unknown.

The plot is one of 128 that were originally made available on the artificial island, which is connected to the mainland via a 1,000-foot bridge. Its skyrocketing price is a reflection not only of the resilience of some of Dubai’s real estate to downward trends in global economies, but also, say realtors, of what the mega rich want to spend their dollars on.

“Jumeirah Bay is the most exclusive of the exclusive,” says Andrew Cummings of Knight Frank Dubai, the real estate agency which handled the sale. “It’s for the ultra-high net worth individuals asking themselves, ‘“What’s the best I can get?’ It represents the best in class for location and property in Dubai.”

Shaped like a seahorse

The 6.3 million-square-foot island is shaped like a seahorse and features a five-star hotel developed in collaboration with Italian luxury brand Bulgari, which opened in 2017 and was promptly crowned best new luxury hotel in the world. Jumeirah Bay Island is also home to plenty of sandy beaches and a marina for dozens of yachts, high-end restaurants, a gym and a spa center. A limited number of luxury apartments is also available in the Bulgari hotel complex.

In 2022, two similar plots on the island were sold together for 180 million AED, or just over $49 million, signaling that land value is on the rise. “The land has appreciated hugely, not least because of the location, very close to not just Bulgari but also the Four Seasons as well as downtown Dubai and the business district,” says Cummings. “But it’s also because of the privacy and exclusivity that comes from an island that only has 100 or so plots, as opposed to somewhere like the Palm Jumeirah which has thousands of properties.”

Welcome to LA

In fact, the Palm Jumeirah is perhaps the best known of Dubai’s artificial islands. Famously shaped like a palm tree, it’s also the biggest artificial island in the world, at around 2.2 square miles.

Jumeirah Bay Island, on the other hand, is much smaller at just 0.22 square miles, and is considered more exclusive. “It’s really for the 1% of the 1%, building their forever homes or their long-term vacation homes,” explains Cummings. “And the type of property that’s being built there now is not like anything you’ve seen in Dubai. Jumeirah Bay is going to look far more like Beverly Hills or LA.”

The real estate market in Dubai has been on a roll recently, with 93 sales of properties worth $10 million or over in 2021, which was more than the previous seven years combined, according to Cummings. In 2022, that number rocketed to 221 sales. This year has already seen 88 within the first quarter.

The pandemic played a significant role in this upturn. “Over the past two years, people have wanted to move to more spacious places, they’ve wanted to live on the beach,” says Cummings. “If you look at New York, people moved out to the countryside, the same thing in London and other major cities. In Dubai, we saw that but also a huge influx of international investors who were drawn by the country’s incredible handling of Covid, its high vaccination rate, the safety and security – but also really the lifestyle.”

What $34 million gets you

The original 128 plots on the island have been reduced to just over 100, due to some buyers purchasing more than one to build larger villas. Most are still empty, and Cummings estimates that just about one in 10 is currently inhabited. However, he predicts that this sale will increase the value of the plots further – as well as that of the of the mansions that may eventually come to the market once they’re built. “We have one under construction that we’re expected to bring to market towards the end of the year, which is going to be asking probably over $100 million,” he says.

Current listings show an empty plot for sale on Jumeirah Bay Island for 90 million AED, or about $24.5 million. A three-bedroom, four-bathroom apartment in the Bulgari complex on the island is being offered for 60 million AED, or about $16.3 million.

As for Kamani, he likely isn’t regretting the loss of his plot of land – because he owns an identical one right next to it. Who knows if he will sell that too – at an even higher price.

“He’s set the benchmark,” says Cummings, “so now he might as well set another record.”

For most of the year, the vast and rugged terrain of the Namaqualand region of the Karoo, South Africa, is desolate and dry. Few travelers venture this far, deterred by the long distances and because most prefer to explore the country’s greener, more scenically dramatic regions.

But after the winter rains have fallen and soaked the soil, colorful daisies, scented arums, bright bonnets, aloes, herbs and countless other varieties of flowers transform the once lifeless landscape into a breathtaking wonderland.

Nieuwoudtville, on the southeastern edge of Namaqualand, forms part of the grand spectacle that draws in flower enthusiasts worldwide. While flowers bloom throughout the year, the pinnacle of the flower showcase begins in early August and mid-September, when the famous spring flowers come into bloom, and the area is enlivened by the displays of thousands of colors.

Pronounced knee-vote-ville, this charming town, founded in 1897 on a piece of land bought by a farmer named Nieuwoudt, also has a reputation for being the “bulb capital of the world.” It was one of the few parts of the Northern Cape to receive reliable rains and has since become part of the Namaqualand flower tour.

Last year, its air quality stood out as a beacon of freshness, making it into the 2022 World Air Quality Report as one of the least polluted areas across Africa.

“Visiting Nieuwoudtville literally is a bucket list experience,” says Craig Taljaardt, tour guide and owner of Capey Tours, who has witnessed the wonder this region inspires in visitors for nine years.

“And its people are the salt of the Earth,” he adds.

The tranquil farming town has seen a migration boom in recent years, with city dwellers seeking a respite from the urban hustle and bustle. “It’s not just retirees moving to Nieuwoudtville, but young families too,” says Mandie Kotzé, chairwoman of Nieuwoudtville’s Info and Tourism Office, adding that she and her husband made a move to the town 16 years ago and haven’t looked back since.

According to Nieuwoudtville’s tourism website, run by Kotzé, there are some areas where up to 25,000 bulbs grow in one square meter of soil. The diversity of geophytes (bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes) – plants that store water and nutrients seasonally – is partly explained by the diverse geology, which gives rise to many different soil types suitable for varying plant and flower species.

The natural floral displays extend to Hantam National Botanical Gardens, the ninth official botanical garden in South Africa. The biodiversity treasure attracted British naturalist David Attenborough in the 90s (when it was still a farm), who returned to photograph the area during the dry season with his team. According to Kotzé, during one peak season, CCTV footage captured nearly 800 tour buses, packed with tourists, entering the vast 6-300-hectare garden to witness the wildflower bonanza.

Threatened daisies

Research from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2022 revealed that climate change is adversely altering the timing of the celebrated Namaqualand daisies’ blooming season, jeopardizing tourism and the very survival of these celebrated wildflowers.

“The annual Namaqualand daisy flowering spectacle is a world-renowned environmental event,” the researchers wrote. “The advances in the timing of Namaqualand daisy flowering will have a significant impact on the tourism sector in the region, as flower viewing tours need to be pre-arranged months in advance.”

But there are opportunities for improvements: co-author Jennifer Fitchett, a professor of physical geography, explains that intervention measures, such as data-driven research, could effectively combat this problem. “I presented this work to SANParks [South Africa National Parks] last year, and they were very interested in integrating these findings into their monitoring programs,” she says.

Quiver tree forest

If you continue north and reach the sign for Gannabos (about 12 miles from Niewoudtville), locals and visitors recommend turning right and driving on a gravel road until you encounter the Quiver Tree Forest – the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Here you’ll find a remarkable colony of tree aloe (Aloidendron dichotomum), known as kokerbooms or quiver trees.

These peculiarly shaped aloes, which grow over eight meters (up to 29 feet) high, got their name because their hollow branches were used as quivers for holding arrows by San and Khoi-Khoi hunters. They are protected plants, and cost a pretty penny at nurseries, says Jade Leon, who’s previously experienced the wildflower season. “Yet they grow so naturally there. Every hill is covered with the quiver trees.”

Kokerbooms can live up to 400 years and come in various shapes and sizes. In Nieuwoudtville, the forest is privately owned by a farmer and his wife. They don’t mind visitors and charge a small entrance fee in exchange for a guided route tour.

Waterfall in the wilderness

With enough winter rains, there is another natural wonder in town: the Nieuwoudtville Waterfall, located around four miles north of the village, on the R357 (Loeriesfontein Road). Measuring 90 meters (295 feet), the waterfall cascades down the Doring River, leaving visitors with a “spectacular sight,” says Ian Renecle, owner of African Moon Adventures. “People don’t believe there’s actually a waterfall of that size in the area.”

To round out your day, stop by Blou Huis in Voortrekker Street, a fully licensed restaurant and hangout spot offering self-catering accommodation and live Afrikaans music. “Nieuwoudtville has also been nominated as Town of the Year, a competition currently being run by the weekly Afrikaans magazine show kykNET Kwêla,” Johan Kotze, owner of Blou Huis, says proudly.

A few miles from Blou Huis, you’ll spot the neo-gothic Dutch Reformed Church on Kerk Street. Built in 1906, just after the devastating Boer War, the church is made entirely from Table Mountain sandstone and is one of the last remaining churches in South Africa built with this material.

Following the scent to the nearby market offers a chance to try its famous pancakes. While some recipes skimp on ingredients, the creators of this tasty treat remain loyal to a costly recipe guaranteed to please palates, says Kotzé.

Where to stay

Visitors should secure their accommodation well ahead of time as every available room for miles around is snapped up during peak season. Options range from cozy B&Bs and self-catering units converted from old sandstone homes to rustic guest houses tucked away on local farms and campsites within town limits.

Die-hard “Star Wars” enthusiasts will be delighted to discover the extraordinary glamping destination, Starwors Village. The campsite is steeped in the iconic themes and characters of the series, from Darth Vader to Yoda and Jar Jar Binks. “It’s a very underrated campsite, and it’s on our accommodation wishlist for our next trip,” says Leon.

Earlier this year, Selma and Andre Ohlsson visited the campsite and found it particularly unique. “Interesting artwork is scattered throughout the terrain, and it feels like you’ve stepped into a movie set.”

If accommodation in town is fully booked, surrounding regions also boast a range of inviting options, including the highly sought-after Letsatsi Lodge in Vanrhynsdorp – the gateway to Nieuwoudtville. According to tour guide Craig Taljaardt, accommodation at this lodge must be booked several months in advance to secure a spot.

As you make your way past Vanrhyns Pass, a marvel constructed by the legendary road builder Thomas Bain in 1880, visitors strongly suggest you take in the breathtaking views of the rugged plains below.

“The views blew me away as we ascended Vanrhyns Pass, and … made me realize how amazing South Africa is and how many ‘hidden gems’ there are,” says Arzelle van der Merwe, who toured Nieuwoudtville in 2019. Jade adds that the view from the top offers an aerial-like perspective akin to that seen from an airplane window, a rare opportunity that ought to be cherished.

Through the flowers

For many, organized tours are the best way to access Nieuwoudtville and its flowers. But if you’re traveling privately, call the West Coast’s flower hotline at (+27) 79 741 0113. This little tip will provide information on the latest blooms and their whereabouts, allowing visitors to confidently embark on their floral odyssey.

Nieuwoudtville, is no stranger to the whims of nature. Just a few years ago, the town weathered a severe drought. Fortunately, the return of the rainy winters has relieved locals of their weather woes. “In fact,” says Taljaardt, “locals proclaimed 2021 as the best season in 30 years,” and while last year wasn’t too far behind, it was still exceptional in its own right.

Still, it’s best to do research – find out when the winter rains fell – and plan a trip so that it coincides with when the flowers are in their full glory.

Visitors can step out of their vehicles and explore the fields on foot but must avoid picking any flowers. “There are many thousands of people who come after you, so it’s important that you preserve it,” says Taljaardt. “There’s a saying in tourism: ‘Once you’ve been to a place, leave no trace.’”

Those that time their visit just right and witness the gorgeous carpet of pastel hues, will be thrilled they did, says Van der Merwe.

“There is something surreal about it. You can’t quite believe that this arid earth can produce something so magnificent.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan Saturday, the first in-person meeting between the two since Russia’s invasion began.

Modi – who has so far refused to condemn the invasion – said India would do “everything we can” to help end the war.

“The war in Ukraine is a big issue for the whole world,” he said. “It has also had many effects on the whole world. But I don’t consider it to be just an issue of economy or politics. For me, it is an issue of humanity.”

For his part, Zelensky invited Modi to join Ukraine’s peace efforts to bring the war against Russia to an end.

Zelensky’s in person attendance at the G7 – unconfirmed by host country Japan until just Saturday morning – gives the wartime leader the opportunity to meet with the member nations who already squarely back Ukraine – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – and press them for continued military aid.

But it also offers Zelenksy a chance to seek support for Ukraine and its vision for peace with leaders from a handful of other nations also attending the summit – some of which have not joined the West in leveraging sanctions against Russia or those, like India, that have refused to condemn Russia at the United Nations.

India toes a careful line

India is historically a major purchaser of Russian weaponry and has long-standing ties to Moscow. It has also ramped up purchases of Russian energy – providing a key economic lifeline to leader Vladimir Putin’s government, even as the West slaps extensive controls on this key revenue source.

Though New Delhi has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine throughout the course of the war, it has abstained from UN resolutions calling for its withdrawal and condemning its invasion.

Winning support or understanding from leaders like Modi could be a key motivation also driving Zelensky to attend the G7, analysts have said. Other participating nations include Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Korea, and Vietnam.

In Modi’s case, close ties to Russia could mean the potential to both leverage pressure on Putin, or keep his economy going.

Last year, Modi spoke to Putin of the need to “move onto a path of peace” during a face-to-face with the Russian leader on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan in September, according to a readout from the Indian side – viewed at the time as a sign of impatience from New Delhi as the conflict dragged on.

But months later the Indian leader has appeared committed to walking a careful line, neither explicitly condemning the Kremlin or calling for its withdrawal from Russian territory.

Modi has spoken with Zelensky over the phone several times since Russia’s invasion, most recently in December, where the Indian leader reiterated his call for the “cessation of hostilities” and “dialogue” to resolve the conflict.

Zelensky’s peace plan, in contrast, calls for the restoration of Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Western leaders have criticized calls for a ceasefire that do not also include a withdrawal of Russia troops, saying they are tantamount to helping Moscow solidify the territory it has annexed.

Zelensky also attended the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday, where he urged sympathy from leaders in Saudi Arabia who “turn a blind eye” to the war in Ukraine.

At the G7, Zelensky is scheduled to sit down with leaders from G7 member countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as participate in a larger session on peace and stability including other invited nations, Japan said Saturday.

Carmelo Anthony, one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen, has announced his retirement from basketball at the age of 38.

The third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Anthony enjoyed an illustrious 19-year career that included 10 NBA All-Star appearances, six All-NBA selections, a scoring title and a place on the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.

His ability to score the basketball made him one of the most feared and box office players in the league for much of his time in the NBA and his 28,289 career points places him ninth on the all-time scoring list.

During his college career, Anthony famously led Syracuse to its first national men’s basketball title when he was a freshman, before going on to play for the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA.

As a member of Team USA, Anthony won three Olympic gold medals – Rio in 2016, London in 2012 and Beijing in 2008 – and one bronze at Athens 2004.

“I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and dream of something more,” Anthony said in his retirement video. “But basketball was my outlet, my purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way.

“I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me: Carmelo Anthony.

“But now the time has come for me to say goodbye – to the court where I made my name to the game that gave me purpose and pride, but this is a bittersweet goodbye to the NBA. I am excited about what the future holds for me.”

Anthony began his career with the Nuggets and quickly cemented his place among the league’s leading talents.

In 2009, he guided Denver to its first Western Conference Finals appearance since 1985 where they were eliminated by the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.

During the 2010/11 season, he moved to the New York Knicks in a highly publicized trade but would advance past the first round of the Playoffs just once in his time at Madison Square Garden.

Anthony recorded his career high and the Knicks’ franchise record with a 62-point performance in the Garden against the Charlotte Bobcats in January 2014.

He was traded to the Thunder in 2017 and then to the Rockets in 2018, where he played just a few games before being held out of the team.

In November 2019, more than a year after he last played in the NBA, he signed a deal with the Trail Blazers and enjoyed something of a renaissance, going on to play a crucial role in the team reaching the playoffs during the NBA bubble.

After two seasons in Portland – during which Anthony broke into the top 10 of the NBA’s all-time scoring list – he signed for the Lakers for the 2021/22 season for what would be his final active year in the NBA, as the team finished 11th in the Western Conference.

“You’re such a legend and beyond my brother,” LeBron James, who went No. 1 overall in the same draft class, wrote on an Instagram story.

“Congratulations on a helluva ride.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a tweet, “Carmelo Anthony is one of the NBA’s all-time great players and ambassadors. We congratulate him on a remarkable 19-year career and look forward to seeing him in the Hall of Fame.”

Life after basketball

During his time in the NBA, Anthony began a venture into the winemaking industry and is hoping to build a legacy well beyond the basketball court.

But his journey as a wine lover started off as a lonely one.

“I was drinking wine, going to a restaurant, sitting at the bar, asking for a glass of wine with [teammates] just looking at me like, ‘Man, what is he doing?’”

Anthony recalled how most players would laugh and tell him it was not a healthy habit.

He began to understand the value and quality of wines during road trips to Sacramento, California, where he’d visit wine clubs serving varieties from nearby Napa Valley and other parts of the world.

In 2011, when Anthony was traded from the Nuggets to the Knicks, his appreciation for wine heightened.

“It just exposed me to a whole new world of wine lovers, different wines, different chats, different palates. And from that point on, I knew this was a genre that I wanted to be a part of.”

Slowly, Anthony said, other players around the league came around to appreciating Burgundy, Bordeaux and Beaujolais.

This was uncharted territory for Michael Block.

Playing in the final round of a major, paired alongside one of the greats of the game, was like a dream for the 46-year-old who works full-time as a golf instructor. And that was before he drilled a hole-in-one.

On the 15th hole on the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship, from 151 yards, Block sent his ball straight into the hole and, in turn, sent the crowd wild. Even his playing partner, former world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, seemed in shock.

“I’m going: ‘What is going on right now?’ He goes: ‘It went in the hole.’ I was like: ‘You’ve got to be kidding, right now under these circumstances that it went in the hole.’ Crazy.”

The moment was a crowning one on what was a weekend that catapulted him from outsider to household favorite.

With a critical par save at the end of his final round, Block finished with a share of 15th place, earning him an automatic spot at next year’s event, as well as $288,333 in prize money.

To put that into perspective, that is almost four times his previous highest payout.

In describing the moment, Block reference the 1996 movie “Tin Cup” which sees Kevin Costner play a golf professional working at a driving range who tries to qualify for the U.S. Open to win the heart of his successful rival’s girlfriend, per IMDB.

“It is a “Tin Cup” moment without a doubt. I am a club pro, I teach golf, I’m the head golf professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo,” he said.

“And for me to be out with these guys, Rory McIlroy on Sunday, Justin Rose on Saturday, and to have the Rochester people out here that are the biggest supporters of golf I have ever seen in my life was absolutely unbelievable and it was a dream come true.”

But it was the whole weekend which meant so much to Block.

The major was his 25th PGA Tour start – he had made four cuts in those 24 previous events, with his best tour finish being tied for 69th at the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship.

As he made his way off the final green, his spot at next year’s event secured, Block was met with a vice-like hug from his wife. He said she “almost choked” him such was the force of the hug.

To cap off a memorable trip to Rochester, New York, Block was given sponsor exemptions into two upcoming PGA Tour events – the Charles Schwab Challenge this week and RBC Canadian Open in June.

In a touching moment, which the PGA Tour tweeted, Block and his wife broke down into tears as they received their invite to the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Being emotional wasn’t something he was accustomed to, but the tears have flowed over the last 24 hours, he said.

“She hadn’t seen me cry outside of one other time in my life until this week and I literally woke up on my bed crying this morning, it was pretty crazy,” he said.

Understandably, the new additions to his calendar has meant teaching back at his club in California is going to have to wait.

And Block is hoping his students will understand his reason for canceling this week’s lessons as he flies to Fort Worth, Texas.

“I won’t be back at work until next week so I need to cancel a couple lessons. It’s a good thing. I think they understand why. I think they understand why I can’t teach them tomorrow,” he said.

Five days ago, Block was a club pro working full-time as a golf instructor, charging $150 dollars for a lesson. Now, he thinks there might be pressure to up those rates.

“I have a feeling my wife is going to make me charge more,” he joked.

Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, but weather does not always follow the calendar and forecasters are already monitoring a system in the Atlantic this week.

The National Hurricane Center has highlighted an area of showers and thunderstorms northeast of the central Bahamas with a low chance of developing into a tropical system over the next 2 to 7 days.

Despite sea surface temperatures across much of the Atlantic, including near the Bahamas, being about 1 to 2 degrees Celsius above normal, the system has an uphill battle if it were to develop into a tropical depression or storm.

“Strong upper-level winds and dry air are expected to prevent development while the system moves generally, north northeastward at 5 to 10 mph over the southwestern Atlantic during the next day or so,” the hurricane center said.

However, it is a good reminder hurricane season is right around the corner and now is a good time to review your hurricane plans if you live along the coast or in a flood prone region.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced it will be issuing its first forecast Thursday for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

You can check back here for NOAA’s hurricane season outlook later this week

Colorado State University released its first forecast for the season back in April and are calling for slightly below-average activity, in large part due to current neutral conditions for the El Niño Southern Oscillation.

The oscillation is a reoccurring climate pattern originating across the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean which affects weather across the globe and has three phases; neutral, El Niño, and La Niña.

Conditions are not expected to remain neutral for long, as El Niño is expected to develop in the Pacific over the next couple of months, according to the Climate Prediction Center.

According to the climate center “a potentially significant El Niño is on the horizon.”

El Niño traditionally inhibits hurricane activity in the Atlantic, whereas La Niña or neutral conditions create a more favorable environment for tropical storm development.

“A big wild card with this season, though, is the extremely warm Atlantic that we have,” Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University told us. “If these warm anomalies persist through the hurricane season, it has the potential to cause less of a shear impact than we normally see.”

Shear is the change of wind speed and direction with height. The more shear you have, the more it disrupts tropical systems from forming.

Klotzbach has been closely monitoring several climate models and he tells us at least three of the main models are expecting a moderate to strong El Niño to develop this summer or into the fall, but the same models are only forecasting slightly above normal shear.

The absence of strong shear conditions combined with very warm ocean temperatures across the Atlantic may indicate, despite El Niño, this year’s Atlantic hurricane season may be more active than traditional El Niño years.

Only time will tell.

However, many meteorologists will tell you it only takes one hurricane landfall to impact your area to make for an active season.

Rick Hoyt, the man who was pushed in a wheelchair by his father in 32 Boston Marathon races, died Monday morning.

Hoyt, 61, died due to complications with his respiratory system, according to a family statement posted on The Hoyt Foundation’s Facebook.

“It is with profound sadness that the Hoyt Family announce the passing of our beloved brother and uncle, Rick Hoyt this morning,” the Hoyt family said in a statement Monday. “As so many knew, Rick along with our father, Dick, were icons in the road race and triathlon worlds for over 40 years and inspired millions of people with disabilities to believe in themselves, set goals and accomplish extraordinary things.”

Rick and his father, Dick, who passed away in March 2021, ran their first Boston Marathon in 1980 with a custom racing chair for Rick, according to the Boston Athletic Association.

The father and son began running in races in 1977 when Rick told his dad he wanted to participate in a 5-mile race to benefit a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident, according to the Hoyt Foundation’s website.

Rick was a 36-time Boston Marathon finisher, according to the marathon race organizers.

“Rick Hoyt will always be remembered as a Boston Marathon icon and for personifying the ‘Yes You Can’ mentality that defined Team Hoyt,” the Boston Athletic Association said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have been able to call Rick a friend, mentor, pioneer, and Boston Marathon finisher.”

A “Yes You Can” race is planned for this Saturday in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, in honor of Dick, but the family says they will make a decision at a later date whether it will be postponed.

The Transportation Security Administration has announced an expansion of TSA PreCheck access just as the busy summer travel season is about to kick off.

The agency said Monday that teenagers from 13 to 17 may accompany parents or guardians who are enrolled in PreCheck through security screening when they are traveling on the same reservation and when the PreCheck designation is shown on the teen’s boarding pass. Children 12 and younger had already been allowed to accompany adults without restriction and that policy remains in place.

See the full policy here.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske said Monday that the agency is prepared for this summer, touting better staffing levels than last year and higher pay for screening officers.

The agency has recently deployed new Credential Authentication Technology that allows officers to verify flyers’ identification documents without a boarding pass. So far, 2,054 CAT units have been deployed to 223 airports.

New carry-on screening technology is also being rolled out in airports. Computed Tomography (CT) allows officers to review a 3D image of a bag, cutting down on physical searches. The new technology also means passengers in CT lanes won’t have to remove liquids or laptops from their bags. TSA has deployed 678 CT units to 218 US airports.