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Golden State advances to a sudden-death matchup against the Suns in Phoenix on Friday to determine the West's No. 8 seed and the Oklahoma City Thunder's first-round playoff opponent. The loss ends the Clippers' season.

"With all the wins we've ever had here," said Golden State coach Steve Kerr, "a lot of them with a lot more at stake - this one is right up there because of where we are, and our age and the decline of our performance this year with the injuries. It was just a beautiful display of competitive will."

Horford's late-game hot streak was part of a game-ending, 27-13 Golden State run. Stephen Curry punctuated a 35-point night by burying a deep 3-pointer with 50.4 seconds remaining, putting the Warriors ahead to stay, 120-117. Curry's seven makes on 12 attempts from beyond the arc paced the Warriors to a 19-of-41 long-range barrage (46.3%).

Curry returned from a knee injury for the closing stretch of the regular season, playing under a minutes restriction. He logged nearly 36 minutes on Wednesday.

"This is why Steph came back," Kerr said. "Everybody out there who thought Steph should have taken the rest of the year off, this is what he does. This is who he is. If he can compete, he's going to compete."

Despite Curry's contributions, it was Horford who stole the show.

The 39-year-old veteran had just two points off the bench before his late onslaught. He finished with 14 points, set up for his pivotal baskets off of two assists from Gui Santos that were sandwiched by a pair of assists from Curry.

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Santos played a key all-around role for the Warriors, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Golden State also got 20 points from Kristaps Porzingis, including six straight points over one stretch in the fourth quarter.

Porzingis followed up converting a successful and-one opportunity with a 3-pointer, the sequence trimming a nine-point Clippers lead to three with 8:17 to go.

Los Angeles answered when Darius Garland converted his own and-one, then Garland fed Brook Lopez for an interior bucket. Garland wrapped up his big stretch with a 3-pointer that pushed Los Angeles' lead back to nine with 6:37 left.

That was the last point the Clippers appeared in control during a game that they led for most of the way.

Garland and Kawhi Leonard, who each finished with 21 points, helped Los Angeles build an advantage of as many as 13 points. The Clippers couldn't shake the Warriors in the second half, however, particularly as Leonard went cold offensively under heavy pressure from Draymond Green.

"We had the game in our hands," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "Some silly plays, not doing the right thing execution-wise. To be up 13 [points] with 10 minutes to go in the game, we've got to finish. So I'm disappointed."

Leonard committed a pair of turnovers in the fourth quarter and scored his only points of the period on a dunk in the final seconds after Golden State had essentially wrapped up the win. Leonard scored 14 of his points in the first half, including going coast-to-coast for a slam just before halftime.

Bennedict Mathurin led Los Angeles with 23 points off the bench.

--Field Level Media

The 18-year-old Australian sprinter finished Friday in a time of 10.19 seconds at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre. He entered the heats with the best qualifying time of 10.0 seconds.

Local media is reporting Gout has his eye on lowering Patrick Johnson's national open record for the 100 of 9.93, set in Japan in 2003.

Last Sunday, Gout ran his 200-meter final at the open national titles in 19.67 seconds, taking 0.02 off Erriyon Knighton's world under-20 mark of 19.69 set at Eugene in 2022.

Knighton also ran a 19.49 in 2022, which World Athletics says is the fastest time ever by an under-20 athlete despite it not being ratified as a world under-20 record.

Gout's time last week placed him abovesprinting great Boltat No. 2 in the all-time under-20 list.

It was the first time that Gout had gone under the 20-second mark officially, after a wind-assisted 19.84 last season, and is the leading time in the world this year. Gout previously had the quickest time by a 16-year-old, setting an Australian record of 20.06 in 2024.

Last Sunday’s mark in Sydney put him ahead ofeight-time Olympic championBolt’s time of 19.93 in 2004. Bolt was 17 when setting what was then a world junior record and never bettered that time as a teenager.

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“This is what I’ve been waiting for,”Gout, who was born in Queensland state to parents from South Sudan, said after his 200-meter win. "There’s a big weight off my shoulders knowing I ran it legally, and I have the speed and my body to run times like that. So, it definitely feels great, and ready for more.”

Gout’s 200 time in Sydney was met with skepticism from several sprinters, mostly in the U.S., who said the record was achieved under questionable wind conditions. Some said that up to seven runners achieved season-best times in the race — although that often happens in national championships.

“There are always going to be haters, if you’ve got haters it means you’re doing something right,” Gout told the Brisbane Times on Friday, referring to the critical comments. “It is what it is, I never take it (to heart), I just keep running, and obviously, it was pretty fast so that’s maybe why they were a bit mad. It motivates me to do it in even bigger races, for sure.”

Gout will go into Saturday's semifinal as a firm favorite.

“I definitely have more in the tank. Last week was a great run, and I’m hoping to keep the same" in Brisbane, he said. “Hopefully, the wind stays pretty calm, and anything’s possible. It was a good run, definitely saved myself for finals. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Gout has indicated that he will skip the Commonwealth Games, which begin in Glasgow on July 23, to focus on the world under-20 championships in Eugene, Oregon from Aug. 5-9.

Brisbane is hosting the2032 Olympics, where Gout is likely to be in his prime as a sprinter and could become the star of the Games. He grew up nearby in Ipswich, where he completed high school late last year.

AP sports:https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Golfreporter Ryan French said during an X Spaces broadcast that he had "some pretty good sources" tell him "LIV is shutting down," according to the FlushingItGolf account that was listening.

"I’ve got everything from, and these are people that I trust, that you guys know," French said, per the account. "Players didn’t get paid today, power went out because the bill wasn’t paid, employees didn’t get paid. Stuff like that."

Click Here For More Sports Coverage On Foxnews.com

Telegraph Sportreported Wednesday that LIV Golf executives have been called into an emergency meeting in New York amid speculation about the league's future.

Chamblee, who has been one of LIV Golf’s biggest critics since its inception, backed French’s report, believing the tour will crumble.

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Brooks Koepka Should Face Penalty If He Rejoins Pga Tour, Golf Pundit Says

"Given that the product was so ill-conceived and ended up being worse than anyone could have imagined – with shotgun starts, initially 54 holes, a team concept that was nothing but laughable and tournaments that meant and continue to mean nothing, and such a paltry number of viewers, losing billions along the way – would it surprise anyone if the Saudis came to their corrupted senses and finally euthanized the whole lame-brained tour," Chamblee wrote on X in response to the reports.

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The days of a potential merger between LIV Golf and thePGA Tourseem to be a pipe dream now, especially as LIV stars like Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed come back to their old roots.

In fact, Koepka is a part of a new Returning Member Program, which allows LIV golfers who have won a major or Players Championship since 2022 to return to the PGA Tour under specific conditions and financial penalties.

And while they haven’t done so,Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith are all eligible for Koepka’s program. Reed isn’t in the program, though he is working through a suspension period, where he plans on returning to the Tour as a non-member in August 2026 before hopefully regaining full status in 2027.

Meanwhile, LIV Golf is set to tee off at itsMexico eventthis week, and they still have nine events scheduled for the rest of the 2026 schedule.

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But, as French said on X Spaces, "Things are not good."

Follow Fox News Digital’ssports coverage on Xand subscribe tothe Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Original article source:Golf analyst Brandel Chamblee rips LIV Golf as reports fuel speculation about its future: 'Lame-brained tour'

Haiti conflict drives thousands toward famine

About 5.8 million Haitians - more than half the population - are facing acute food insecurity, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said, with more than 1.8 million of them in the emergency phase ‌and in urgent need ⁠of food assistance.

The crisis has been fueled by worsening insecurity, economic shocks and repeated disruption to markets and ⁠farming, the report said. Armed groups have expanded their control in parts of the country, while more than 1.4 million people have been displaced, straining ​food supplies ​and pushing vulnerable households deeper into ​hunger.

The latest IPC projection is ‌slightly below an earlier estimate of 5.91 million people facing acute food insecurity, and the number in the emergency category has also edged lower, improvements that agencies have linked in part to food assistance, easing inflation and better harvest conditions in some areas.

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The World Food Programme (WFP) has ‌said sustained food aid helped about 200,000 ​Haitians move out of emergency levels of ​hunger since last year, ​yet aid groups said some recent gains were fragile.

"Fighting ‌hunger is essential to restoring stability ​in Haiti. We cannot ​build peace if families cannot feed their children," WFP Haiti Country Director Wanja Kaaria said in a statement.

Humanitarian agencies warned conditions ​could deteriorate again without ‌more support, citing the spike in global fuel prices caused ​by the Iran war which has further strained transportation and ​agricultural production costs.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac; )

She bakes homemade sourdough bread and dreams of attending culinary school. Her favorite dish to prepare is beef short rib à la Martha Stewart. Phillip longs to play the piano again, a hobby she first took up at 5. Now 37, she spends any free time she can grasp away from the swarm of New York City’s bar-crawling social scene.

On one recent March morning, she compared her role managing a rotating panel of liberals and conservatives on her sometimes-combative CNN show to her off-air priorities: raising her 4-year-old daughter, Naomi.

Beefing with Trump, bashing Biden,Charlamagne Tha God storms American politics

"One of the things that you learn pretty early on is that if you match their energy with your energy, things just spiral out of control," Phillip told USA TODAY from her New York abode last month. "So sometimes you have to just sort of get people's attention calmly."

"NewsNight" premiered two years into PresidentJoe Biden's term in 2023, swiftly finding an online audience with panelists across the political spectrum. She hosts an additional Saturday morning version, "Table for Five." Phillip – the only Black woman to helm a primetime news program in the United States – has garnered praise for keeping her cool amid the show's heated hour-long runtime.

Phillip has also fielded her share of criticism. Conservative media personality Megyn Kelly and podcaster Katie Miller, who is married to Trump immigration policy czar Stephen Miller, are among those on the right to label Phillip as biased. "I am not a Republican Party official or Democratic Party official," Phillip said in a contentious on-air conversation with Miller, who accused the host of being slanted during a discussion about free speech.

Dubbed "next-gen CNN" by The New York Times, Phillip rose to fame after reporting stints at Politico, The Washington Post and ABC News. She grew up in Bowie, Maryland, about 40 minutes from the White House, and joined CNN in 2017 to cover the first year of President Donald Trump's first term.

Pictured here from left, Executive Editor at Bloomberg View and Bloomberg Gadfly Timothy O'Brien, White House correspondent at the Washington Post Abby Phillip, moderator and special correspondent at Vanity Fair Gabriel Sherman speak onstage during Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit on Oct. 4, 2017.

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See CNN star Abby Phillip from the anchor desk to the red carpet

Dubbed"next-gen CNN" by The New York Times, Phillip rose to fame after reporting stints at Politico, The Washington Post and ABC News. She grew up in Bowie, Maryland, about 40 minutes from the White House, and joined CNN in 2017 to cover the first year of President Donald Trump's first term.Pictured here from left, Executive Editor at Bloomberg View and Bloomberg Gadfly Timothy O'Brien, White House correspondent at the Washington Post Abby Phillip, moderator and special correspondent at Vanity Fair Gabriel Sherman speak onstage during Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit on Oct. 4, 2017.

Dubbed"next-gen CNN" by The New York Times, Phillip rose to fame after reporting stints at Politico, The Washington Post and ABC News. She grew up in Bowie, Maryland, about 40 minutes from the White House, and joined CNN in 2017 to cover the first year ofDonald Trump's first term. She became a star at the network by 2020, moderating a debate of Democratic presidential contenders that year and then adding deeper context to CNN's coverage of Trump's tumultuous White House exit.

'Americans with different perspectives' engage with Phillip

Six years later, on the April 8 edition of "NewsNight," Phillip was joined by The Root publisher Ashley Allison; Republican advisor Brad Todd; former Democratic National Committee spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa; right-leaning strategist Shermichael Singleton; and journalist Reena Ninan.

"Americans with different perspectives aren't talking to each other, but here they do," Phillip said in a pre-recorded opening, as she does at the top of each show.

Could she be Democrats' greatest Hope?Meet Tim Walz's TikTok famous daughter.

The White House's ceasefire with Iran landed on the roundtable menu. Ashley Allison, the former national coalitions director for Biden's 2020 campaign, chimed in about Trump's handling of the war.

"Everyday Americans, including myself, are not going to know the intimate war plans, or at least, we shouldn't when you don't accidentally send them over Signal," Allison said.

That last reference was to Pentagon chiefPete Hegsethand other members of the Trump administration'suse of an encrypted messaging servicelast year to discuss a covert military operation in Yemen, in a chat that accidentally included The Atlantic editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.

"We should not know the war plans," Allison continued, arguing that Trump's original reason for entering the Iran conflict was unclear. "You had to put that in, huh?" Republican strategist Singleton joked, referencing the Signal shade. "I did. I keep my receipts," Allison responded.

While the program has produced lighter moments for political junkies, such as the Allison-Singleton banter, clips of occasional spats between panelists have made the show a messy must-watch for virtual viewers who casually tune in to the tussles on social media.

'It's important to just really tell the truth'

The content is reminiscent of the Elisabeth Hasselbeck vs. Rosie O'Donnell matchup on "The View." That daytime pair dished out opposing takes during the George W. Bush era, whereas "NewsNight" debuted as Trump resurrected his political career.

The show's star conservative commentator, Scott Jennings, made headlines in December after former Democratic state Rep. Bakari Sellers, of South Carolina, gave him a friendly nudge on the arm during a testy on-air debate about Trump and gas prices. "Don't touch me," Jennings fired back.

Jillian Michaels breaks silence on'Biggest Loser' Netflix doc, co-star Bob Harper

Phillip frequently challenges Jennings, but her most notable rebuke involved fitness trainer Jillian Michaels in August last year. During a discussion about the Smithsonian, Phillip chided Michaels for peddling false claims about the history of slavery in America.

The former "Biggest Loser" coach wasparroting a longstanding claim, often circulated online, that misrepresented slave ownership in America by claiming that"less than 2% of White Americans owned slaves."

Phillip cut into the debate and said that she was "surprised" that Michaels was "trying to litigate who was the beneficiary of slavery and who was not." When Phillip asked Michaels what she'd meant by the comments, the former TV wellness guru responded that "every single thing is like, 'Oh, no, no, no. This is all because White people bad'" in reference to the museum's exhibits.

In a lengthy statement emailed to USA TODAY from a spokesperson, Michaels said Phillip mischaracterized their exchange on the air. Phillip told USA TODAY that clashes like the one involving Michaels are no laughing matter.

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"It's important to just really tell the truth in moments like that," Phillip said. CNN notedin an April 7 press releasethat the show was nominated for a News & Documentary Emmy for the slavery debate segment.

Phillip on 'remaining calm' amid chaos

Phillip's even-keeled demeanor may account for the show's acclaim. "The show gets heated – there’s no denying that," Singleton said April 6 over email, but added, "Abby's ability to lead the discussion – even when it goes off the beaten path – speaks to her agility as a host."

"It helps that I'm the person who's not doing what everybody else is doing at the table and is remaining calm ... It's just how I actually go through the world," Phillip said.

Can this red state Democrat andpolitical heir win back the working class?

Harkening back to her first time meeting Phillip in makeup at CNN, before "NewsNight" existed, Allison said, "Abby is able to do what she does on air because she does it off air." Phillip instantly knew Allison's name. "She was like, 'Oh my gosh, Ashley, how are you? How are you doing?'"

"That interaction with her from the first time is how she shows up on the show," Allison continued. "She hears people. She sees people. She'll push people if she thinks what they're saying might have some factual inaccuracies."

Genuine bipartisan friendships

Behind the scenes, friendships have bloomed between panelists. Phillip offered Sellers and Kentucky native Jennings, two of her most frequent and popular guests, as an example.

Jennings was once a key aide to former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, years before the seven-term Republican from Kentucky became persona non grata to Trump. Sellers, a Democrat, found his footing on the network after losing a buzzy race for lieutenant governor of South Carolina in 2014. Sellers, a CNN commentator since 2015, authored "My Vanishing Country," a memoir about the rural South.

Opinion | Scott Jennings owns the libson CNN. His new book goes after something much bigger.

Both men are Southerners who have bonded over fatherhood. "Some people think that's inauthentic," Phillip said. "I think that's real life because we all – I think, many of us have friends, we have family who have different points of view.

"I am friends with Scott Jennings," Sellers said in a phone interview. "I think that the first thing that we talk about when we see each other are our families ... you understand the pressures that we go through ... how the outside world sometimes views you."

Sellers said, "At the end of the day, we have a, you know, we have a level of dignity in our arguments that sometimes may not (have) shone through to viewers, but those individuals who know us know that our respect for each other is kind of unwavering."

'Is she perfect?'

Phillip is settling back into her soft offscreen life in New York after embarking on a promotional tour for a book she authored last year, "A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power." Phillip traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, the hometown of the late civil rights icon, to revisit his storied life.

She mined the origins of Jackson's childhood in the segregated Jim Crow South and his political rise as the first Black man to launch a major presidential campaign. After Jackson's death in February, Phillip attended his March 6 funeral service in Chicago.

"He had all of these different chapters, and it struck me that we were getting, we were risking a whole several generations of people not knowing who he is," Phillip said.

The same knack for unplumbed context in political commentary helped her first carve out a singular lane in Washington.

Jesse Jackson dies at 84: Tributes pourin for civil rights icon

It is rare for somebody like Phillip to become marquee talent on a broadcast like "NewsNight." There are no others who look like her – a Black woman – and none in her age bracket except Kaitlan Collins, 34, a CNN counterpart and personal friend.

Ava Thompson Greenwell, a Northwestern University journalism professor whose research explores Black women behind the scenes in the TV industry, said, "The reality is she is representing for a lot of Black women, and I think she does a great job."

"Is she perfect? No one's perfect, right?" Thompson Greenwell said.

Earlier this month, Phillip was joined by a panel that included Sara Fischer, an Axios media reporter; Neera Tanden, a former senior advisor to Biden; liberal YouTuber Leigh McGowan; and Peter Meijer, an American supermarket chain heir and ex-Republican congressman from Michigan.

The "NewsNight" anchor threw her show to a commercial break when McGowan squabbled with another guest, Noah Rothman, author of "Unjust: Social Justice and the Unmaking of America." There was an ad pause for peace.

Then a composed Phillip opened the next segment, continuing to make history in the same terrain she's spent years helping others understand.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:CNN star Abby Phillip finds calm amid political chaos

Taylor walked stiffly off the court and went up the tunnel behind one basket at Intuit Dome with 8:51 left in the third quarter. He was replaced by alternate referee Sean Corbin after a brief delay.

The NBA sends a fourth alternate referee to every postseason game for exactly such a situation.

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Taylor is an 11-year NBA veteran referee, while Corbin is in his 31st season on the job.

The ninth-seeded Clippers led the 10th-seeded Warriors 61-53 at halftime of the elimination game.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/NBA

Sex scandals rock Congress

Scandal on Capitol Hill:USA TODAY congressional reporter Zachary Schermele weighs in

Trump’s wish: No More Powell

PresidentDonald Trumpstill wants a new Federal Reserve chair, and it sounds as if he’s getting a little antsy. Jerome Powell, whom Trump has long labeled“Too Late Powell”because the president insists he has been too slow to lower interest rates and juice the economy, has suggested he’ll stay on at the Fed past May 15, when his term ends, if Trump’s nominee to replace him hasn’t been confirmed by then. If Powell did stay, “thenI’ll have to fire him,” Trump told Fox Business. “I’ve held back on firing him. I’ve wanted to fire him. But I hate to be controversial. I want to be uncontroversial.”

Americans ‘celebrate’ Tax Day

Tax Day came and went as millions of Americans scrambled to file by midnight April 15,requested extensionsor waited on (or already collected) their refunds, while restaurant chains such as Krispy Kreme, Subway, Wendy’s, Potbelly and Popeyes got in on the hoopla by offering Tax Day freebies and discounts. Many Americans found they had more cash to spend on those treats; taxpayers were seeing refunds of $3,800 on average, the IRS said,up more than 11% from a year ago. The fattest refunds were in Florida, at $4,433 on average, a study by the travel perks research company Upgraded Points found; the lightest checks, an average of $3,057, were in Maine.

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Happy Tax Day, America:But you’re still being robbed | Opinion

Eight acts achieve rock ’n’ roll royalty

Eight new inductees will now live foreverin the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland: Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan.Hoping for better luck next timewere nominees The Black Crowes, Jeff Buckley, Mariah Carey, Melissa Etheridge, Lauryn Hill, INXS, Pink, Shakira and New Edition − a disappointment to the more than 1 million people who put the iconic R&B group at the top of the fan vote.The ceremony is set for Nov. 14at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will air on ABC and Disney+ in December.

Rory McIlroy closed out the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National with a final‑round performance that secured victory on Sunday.

These images tracked McIlroy through the final round as he finished on top of the leaderboard at the Masters.

Above, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland played his shot from the seventh tee during the final round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

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Rory McIlroy earns a second green jacket at the 2026 Masters

Rory McIlroy closed out the2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta Nationalwith a final‑round performance that secured victory on Sunday.

These images tracked McIlroy through the final round as he finished on top of the leaderboard at the Masters.

Above, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland played his shot from the seventh tee during the final round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Georgia.

Rory McIlroy is head of the Masters class

That green jacket “still fits,” Rory McIlroy said − andit’s a good thing, because he had just slipped it on for a second straight year after making history withback-to-back Masters tournament titles, only the fourth golfer ever to do so. McIlroy finished 12 under par on April 12 at Augusta National, holding off Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose, who had held the lead halfway through the final round. It was the sixth major for McIlroy,still in his prime at 36. “I don’t want to put a number on it,” he said. “But I certainly don’t want to stop here.”− Compiled and written by Robert Abitbol

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Sex scandals rock Congress, Tax Day is here and gone: Week in review