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Don Schlitz, Revered Songwriter Behind ‘The Gambler,’ ‘Forever and Ever, Amen,’ ‘When You Say Nothing at All’ and Other Country Classics, Dies at 73

Don Schlitz, one of the most widely revered names in the history of country music songwriting, died April 16 in a Nashville hospital after what was described as a sudden illness. He was 73.

A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Schlitz may be best recognized by the public as the sole author of one of country’s most iconic singles, and possibly the genre’s most quoted song ever: “The Gambler,” a country-pop crossover smash for Kenny Rogers in 1978. It was the first song he ever had recorded by someone, but it was not all downhill from there.

Most of his other hits were co-writes, many of them with fellow songwriting legends like Paul Overstreet. The collaborations with Overstreet include “Forever and Ever, Amen,” an 1987 smash in the hands of Randy Travis; other songs for Travis that included “On the Other Hand,” from 1986, and “Deeper Than the Holler,” in 1988; and “When You Say Nothing at All,” made into a country No. 1 by Keith Whitley in 1992 (and also successfully recorded by Alison Krauss & Union Station, plus Ronan Keating, who had a U.K. No. 1 with it in 1999).

Sometimes Schlitz co-wrote with a recording artist, as with “I Feel Lucky,” a smash he co-wrote with its singer, Mary Chapin Carpenter, in 1992, and “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” which Carpenter turned into another hit the following year.

He had several enduring hits with the Judds, co-written with their producer, Brett Maher, including “Turn It Loose,” “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” and “I Know Where I’m Going,” each of them a No. 1 country hit in the late ’80s for the mother/daughter duo.

Others who recorded his material included Alabama, Sara Evans, Waylon Jennings, George Strait, Ronnie Milsap, Reba McEntire, the Bellamy Brothers, Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Pam Tillis, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Kathy Mattea, the Oak Ridge Boys and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Schlitz’s many honors include his inductions into the Nashville Songwriters Association Hall of Fame in 1993, the (New York-based) Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Grand Ole Opry in 2022.

The Country Hall of Fame is especially notable because Schlitz was only the sixth songwriter to be inducted, at that time. The Opry’s recognization is similarly noteworthy because he was the only non-performing songwriter to be so inducted in the Opry’s history — although he certainly became a performer for his many regular appearances there, as he had in many songwriters’ round appearances at the Bluebird Cafe.

Don Schlitz speaks onstage during the Class of 2023 Medallion Ceremony at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on October 22, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Awards-wise, “The Gambler” won him the Grammy for best country song in 1978, and it became the CMAs’ song of the year the following year. Ultimately he won two Grammys, three CMA song of the year prizes and two ACM song of the year awards. He also was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year for four consecutive years, from 1988-91.

His prowess extended to Broadway, when he wrote both music and lyrics for the 1999 musical “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”

Schlitz often told the story of how he wrote “The Gambler” when he was 23, working at Vanderbilt University as a computer operator, aspiring to be a writer. One day, without a car, he walked 2-3 miles home from work and wrote the entirety of the song in his head along the way, except for the kicker. “I’m just making up this story song; I’m good at rhymes and meter, so I’m putting that in to it…. When I made it back to my efficiency apartment, I sat down at my dad’s old Smith-Corona typewriter — I’m a pretty good typist — and wrote it start to finish…without a last verse. When I was done, I knew it was too long and it didn’t have a love angle, and it wasn’t up-tempo, and it was a pretty linear melody,” he told the Library of Congress in a 2018 interview.

One solution for the song was to have no solution. “At that time, I didn’t have the last verse, though I wrote 50 or 60 options. One version of it had 50 lines, another had another 50 lines. I didn’t know how to end it, how to get out of the song, and finally I just decided to leave it open-ended, let the listener decide what happens in the end, like an O. Henry finish.”

Bobby Bare recorded it, but his record company didn’t think it was worthy of releasing. Three other versions came out, including one recorded by Schlitz himself, which he recalled peaking at No. 61. Then an ASCAP exec took to it and got it recorded by both Johnny Cash and Rogers, and the latter singer’s version was the one to make it to the starting gate.

“Kenny’s version was really special and fit his persona. Then they did this amazing album cover. He changed a couple of words, he modulated after the first chorus. His version was more up-tempo. … The song became ubiquitous. It was everywhere. … Actually, I think it was a hit because it was a story, somewhat linear, and, it had no ‘finished’ ending! It allowed the listener to be involved. It respected the intelligence of the listener. And I say this with humility, or as much as I can muster, it wasn’t dumb. (Bob) McDill once told me, ‘You can’t write country music, looking down your nose at it.’ You have to respect your listener. Listeners are smart people. And it was a good time for a story song…

“I can’t tell you enough about what Kenny did, for the song, for me, and for country music. Kenny has always been loyal, kind, generous with his praise. The power of Kenny Rogers, and Larry Butler — a genius producer. The right people at the right time.”

He added, ” if it’s become an American folk song, I’m good with that. You know, I’m not a card player, not a gambler. I don’t do that. Besides, that’s not what the song’s about anyway. If it is, to some people, that’s great. But [the song’s] really about discretion. It’s about choices and the choices you make. Very simply — but very directly. I think when you hear the song, you hear the meaning of the story in Kenny’s voice. He put the wisdom in there.”

Schlitz had only been performing on the Opry on a few occasions when Vince Gill formally invited him to become a member. Soon, he became a favorite of Opry audiences, regaling them with stories from his songwriting career after bluntly beginning with: “You have no idea who I am.”

“I remember whispering to Vince onstage, ‘Don’t leave me here alone,’” Schlitz recalled of his first Opry appearance to American Songwriter in 2022. “I went out and played ‘The Gambler’ and everyone applauded. As we were driving home, we were quiet like old friends can be. I asked him, ‘Does it ever get old?’ He told me ‘Nope,’ and that has turned out to be true.”

Don Schlitz

Chris Hollo

He had officially quit songwriting some time ago, saying the constant sense of inner mental research had wearied him. ““I woke up and looked at my wife and said, ‘I want to stop. I want to stop thinking about it all the time.’ That was my process. I listened to people talk. I read. I wanted to write songs that I wanted to hear. Most importantly, I wanted to find an honest way of saying something that came from my heart.”

He still marveled at the unpredictable magic that makes for a hit, saying, “You never know what song is going to be the song, You’re going to tell me that a song that is too long about a guy talking to an older guy who is either drunk or doesn’t have any cigarettes of his own is something that needs to be written? Yeah, I wanted to hear that story.”

Schlitz added, ““I’m not gonna think about my legacy yet. But I get to share Kenny Rogers’ legacy. Keith Whitley’s legacy. Randy Travis’ legacy. These are songs that they know from their heroes.”

Schlitz is survived by his wife, Stacey; his daughter Cory Dixon and her husband Matt Dixon; his son Pete Schlitz and his wife Christian Webb Schlitz; his grandchildren Roman, Gia, Isla, and Lilah; his brother Brad Schlitz; and his sister Kathy Hinkley. Service plans are pending.

“We are heartbroken by the news of the passing of Don Schlitz,” said Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern. “Don loved his family, his home state of North Carolina, and above all, songs and songwriters. He carried that love into every room, every stage and every lyric he ever wrote. His work, including timeless classics like ‘The Gambler,’ helped shape our genre and rightfully earned him some of its highest honors.

“In recent years, he found great joy performing at the Grand Ole Opry, mentoring the next generation of songwriters, and sharing his music at Room In The Inn, giving back to the community he helped build. Wayne and I send our love to Stacey and the entire family. Not long ago, we shared a dinner, and as we were leaving, Don picked up a guitar and began to play. That is how I will always remember him, smiling and with a guitar in his hand. His legacy lives on through his music and the many artists and writers he inspired. He will be deeply missed.”

April 19, 2026
Unluckiest Trader Misses $2.6M Profit Opportunity on Asteroid Shiba $ASTEROID

The highly volatile crypto market has witnessed another tragic tale of loss at the brink of a breakout. In this respect, an Asteroid Shiba ($ASTEROID) trader has recently sold their holdings at a loss just before the staggering price pump. As per the data from Lookonchain, the trader has missed a life-changing opportunity of $2.6M profit in this respect. The incident highlights the significance of patience amid the wider market fluctuations.

This is the unluckiest guy I’ve ever seen!

80 days ago, trader 0x5811 spent $542 to buy 7.43B $ASTEROID.

Just one day before $ASTEROID pumped, he sold all 7.43B $ASTEROID for $405, taking a $137 loss.

Today, those 7.43B $ASTEROID are worth over $2.6M.

He missed a… pic.twitter.com/xHDPp5OD8p

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 19, 2026

Trader ‘0x5811’ Offloads $ASTEROID Holdings at Loss, Missing $2.6M Opportunity

As the market statistics suggest, the trader, with the wallet address “0x5811,” has recently made a pessimistic move of offloading their $ASTEROID holdings at a loss. Interestingly, this took place only 1 day before the meme token’s huge upsurge. Hence, the trader could not attain a possible $2.6M profit following the bull rally.

Particularly, the trader’s journey with the $ASTEROID token started 80 days ago. At that time, the trader purchased a notable amount of 7,426,982,235 $ASTEROID tokens by spending 0.20 $ETH, equaling just $541.47. That was the moment when the token was changing hands at just a fraction of the present value it has. However, the trader gave up amid shifting market conditions following stagnation and decided to offload the $ASTEROID holdings.

Incurring $137 Loss Instead of Life-Changing Opportunity Amid Volatile Market

So, the trader, while endeavoring to cut losses, swapped the whole 7.43B tokens in return for just 0.1744 $ETH. This indicates that the trader sold that amount for up to $405, showing a loss of nearly $137. Following that, $ASTEROID started showing shifting market dynamics with significant price increase. As a result, the trader missed a remarkable opportunity as the sold $ASTEROID holdings currently have a value of more than $2.6M.

April 19, 2026
The $292 million Kelp exploit: how it happened, and what it means for DeFi

A roughly $292 million exploit over the weekend has rattled the crypto industry, exposing vulnerabilities in decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure and raising concerns about knock-on effects across lending protocols.

While investigations are still ongoing, early analysis suggests the attack centered on Kelp’s rsETH token — a yield-bearing version of ether ($ETH) — and the mechanism used to move assets between blockchains.

The attacker appears to have manipulated that system to create large amounts of tokens without proper backing, then quickly used them as collateral to borrow and drain real assets from lending markets, mostly from Aave , the largest decentralized crypto lender.

The incident is the latest blow to DeFi, happening only a couple weeks after the $285 million exploit of Solana-based protocol Drift, further denting investor trust in the nearly $90 billion crypto sector.

How the attack worked

At a high level, the exploit targeted a LayerZero bridge component — a piece of infrastructure that enables assets to move across different blockchains, Charles Guillemet, CTO of hardware wallet maker Ledger, told CoinDesk in a note.

Bridges typically work by locking assets on one chain and minting equivalent tokens on another. That process depends on a trusted entity — often called an oracle or validator — to confirm deposits.

In this case, Kelp effectively acted as that verifier. According to Guillemet, the system relied on a single-signer setup, meaning just one entity could approve any transactions.

“It seems the attacker was able to sign a message … allowing him to mint large amount of rsETH,” he said. He added that it remains unclear how that access was obtained.

Michael Egorov, founder of Curve Finance, pointed to the same weakness in the system’s configuration.

“Things can happen when you trust one single party — whoever that would be.”

That setup allowed the attacker to effectively create unbacked tokens, even though no corresponding assets were locked on the source chain.

Once minted, the tokens were quickly deployed. The attacker “immediately deposited them in lending protocols mostly Aave to borrow real $ETH against,” Guillemet explained.

That maneuver shifted the problem from a single exploit into a broader market issue. DeFi lending platforms are now left holding collateral that may be difficult to unwind, while valuable and liquid assets are already drained.

“Aave was left with rsETH which cannot be really sold and maxborrowed [sic] $ETH, so no one can withdraw $ETH,” Curve’s Egorov said.

As a result, Aave and other lending protocols may be sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable collateral and bad debt, he warned, raising concerns of a potential “bank run” dynamic as users rush to withdraw funds.

Aave saw about a $6 billion drop in assets on the protocol as users yanked their assets following the incident. The token associated with the protocol was down about 15% over the past 24 hours’ trading.

What we still don’t know

Key questions remain around how the validator was compromised. The system relied on LayerZero’s official node, raising uncertainty over whether it was hacked, misconfigured or misled.

“Was it hacked? Was it fooled? We don’t know,” Egorov said.

The attacker’s identity is also unknown, though Guillemet said the scale of the attack suggests a sophisticated actor.

“Clearly not some script kiddies,” he said.

Big blow for trust in DeFi

Beyond the immediate losses, the exploit the episode serves as another reminder that as DeFi grows more interconnected, failures in one layer can quickly cascade across the system.

Egorov argued that non-isolated lending models, where assets share risk across pools, amplify the impact of such events.

He also pointed to shortcomings in how new assets are onboarded to lending platforms, saying configurations like Kelp’s 1-of-1 verifier setup should have been flagged earlier.

However, Egorov said there’s a silver lining. “Crypto is a harsh environment which no bank would have survived — yet we are working with that,” he said. “I think DeFi will learn from this incident and become stronger than before.”

Still, even as incidents like this lead to protocol upgrades and redesigns, they also chip away investor confidence in the broader DeFi sector.

“All in all, the trust into DeFi protocols is eroded by this kind of event,” Guillemet said.

“And 2026 will most likely be the worst year in terms of hacks, again,” he added.

Read more: ‘DeFi is dead’: crypto community scrambles after this year’s biggest hack exposes contagion risks

April 19, 2026
Madonna, SZA, Snoop, Olivia Rodrigo: Why Is Coachella Weekend 2 Crushing Weekend 1?

Coachella has had countless bombshell moments over the years, and so far this year it’s had guest appearances from Madonna, SZA, Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, Olivia Rodrigo and Billy Idol, among others.

But Coachella 2026’s biggest surprise is this: All of those guest appearances, and more besides, took place on the traditionally less-newsworthy Weekend 2.

For example: On Weekend 1, Justin Bieber brought out Dijon and Mk.Gee; on Weekend 2, he brought out Dijon and SZA, Billie Eilish (who was serenaded but did not sing) and Sexyy Red. Giveon brought out Kehlani on Weekend 1, but for his second performance, he was joined by Snoop Dogg and Teddy Swims. On Weekend 1, Addison Rae didn’t bring out any guests — but for her second set, there was Olivia Rodrigo, joining her not only for “Headphones On” but also the live debut of Rodrigo’s new single, “Drop Dead.”

And on Weekend 1, sure, Sabrina Carpenter had cameos from Susan Sarandon and Will Ferrell — but on the second, she did three songs with Madonna (leading one Variety staffer to moan, “Why oh why did I go last weekend?!”).

It didn’t stop there: On Weekend 2, Alex G didn’t just walk into the pit during one song, he went straight into the crowd and did his best to keep singing amid the mayhem. And the Strokes only played their fiercely political video montage, which assailed decades of U.S. meddling overseas as well as the ongoing loss of life in Gaza and Iran, at the close of their second set. (The reasoning behind saving that for Weekend 2 is more obvious.) And PinkPantheress threw a full-on party during “Boy’s a Liar” on her second Saturday night, filling up the stage with Janelle Monae, Zara Larsson, Chase Infiniti, Manon (on hiatus from Katseye), Blood Orange, Slayyyter, Tyriq Withers and DJ Ninajirachi.

Sombr and Teddy Swims split the difference, the former by bringing out a pair of Billys (Corgan and Idol) on successive weekends, while Swims was joined by David Lee Roth for both sets.

Traditionally, most artists have basically played the same set since the festival expanded to two weekends in 2012, and the second is usually musically superior — which makes sense, because there’s less pressure, and they know the “room” better. Occasionally in the past, artists have brought out a different guest or had a unique surprise on Weekend 2 — but it has never even come close to overshadowing if not crushing Weekend 1, which is traditionally the world’s biggest stage for music except for the Super Bowl.

So what’s going on? According to informal (and off the record) conversations with several live-music insiders on Sunday, several factors are at play beyond the shortest and most obvious one: on Weekend 2, a surprise is going to be more of a surprise.

Of course, that’s not the only reason — the headliner being upstaged by their guest(s) is a big one. “My theory would be that the artists wanted to make sure the spotlight was on them for Weekend 1, and then came back more relaxed and wanting to make another, maybe bigger statement on Weekend 2,” said one agent who has worked with the festival for many years.

Indeed, Madonna — who also made a surprise appearance at the festival during Drake’s 2015 headlining set — announced the July release of her “Confessions on a Dance Floor II” album last Wednesday, teased her new single on Friday afternoon and released it officially a couple of hours after her appearance with Carpenter — obviously a carefully timed strategy. But if she’d done any of that during Weekend 1, she would have stolen the headliner’s thunder.

That reasoning applies less to Bieber, although his two pre-Coachella warm-up shows and his Weekend 1 set showed that he very much wants to keep the focus on his new material. But by Weekend 2, he’d done that, and possibly felt he could loosen up a bit.

Other factors are in play as well. “Weekend 1 is driven heavily by influencer culture,” the agent added. “But the artist guest area and VIP sections thin out massively for Weekend 2, and there are also less late-night off-site parties, which means less of that [superficial] L.A. crowd makes the trek into the desert.”

A second insider noted, “I think it’s also [artists] giving more to the Weekend 2 crowd, which is generally there more for the music than the scene.” A third added, “Weekend two is always better in my opinion — there’s more to see and less to be seen.”

All agree that this year’s Weekend 2 trend is almost definitely not part of a larger plan, or an effort by Goldenvoice, the show’s founder and promoter, or to boost buzz and attendance to the former stepchild weekend — “It’s hard to see Goldenvoice inserting themselves into an artist’s creative,” another agent said.

However, they also agree that it’s definitely the end result. “It does bode well,” the agent concluded, “for weekend two not feeling like the afterthought next year.”

April 19, 2026
ZEC Price Sinks 6% Despite Mining Pools Deploying Zcash Security Updates

The Zcash price has moved lower even after the network disclosed that critical software fixes had been deployed across major mining operations. $ZEC was trading near $325.95, down about 5.47% over 24 hours, while its market capitalization stood at $5.42 billion. Daily trading volume reached $476.94 million.

The decline came after Zcash Open Development Lab and the Zcash Foundation announced coordinated patches for vulnerabilities in both zcashd and Zebra.

The network said the flaws were not used to affect the consensus chain. It also said all user funds remained safe and user privacy was not at risk. According to the disclosure, none of the vulnerabilities could on their own have been used to inflate $ZEC supply. Even so, the market reaction stayed cautious, with traders focusing on near-term price weakness rather than the fact that the fixes were already in place before the public update.

Critical Patches Were Deployed Before Public Disclosure

Zcash said the updated releases included zcashd v6.12.1 and Zebra v4.3.1. The fixes addressed four vulnerabilities, including an Orchard action-encoding bug that could crash nodes processing certain transactions. The disclosure also referred to a consensus enforcement gap between the two implementations that could have triggered a chain split, a bug tied to zcashd turnstile accounting, and undefined behavior linked to unchecked integer arithmetic in pool balance calculations.

The project stated that mining pools representing a supermajority of network hash power had already deployed the patches. The main operator using Zebra in mining production had also updated before disclosure. Zcash said there was no evidence that any of the issues had been exploited. That reduced the risk of disruption at the network level, but it did not stop the token from slipping during the session.

The security update arrived at a time when market participants were already watching several moving parts across privacy coins and mid-cap crypto assets. In that setting, even a controlled disclosure can affect short-term sentiment, especially when traders react to the headline before reading the full technical explanation.

Network Data Remains Firm Even as Price Retreats

While $ZEC moved lower, several on-chain and network indicators remained steady. Zcash said the shielded pool recently reached an all-time high, with 31% of all $ZEC now held in the encrypted pool. A year earlier, that share was 11%. The project also said 59% of transactions are now shielded, pointing to continued usage of its privacy features.

Zcash is also testing NIST-standardized lattice-based cryptography, including ML-KEM and ML-DSA, as part of its post-quantum work. The update came after a Google paper published on March 31 raised new discussion around quantum computing timelines. At the same time, Zcash network hash rate reached a record 16.54 GS/s, showing continued mining participation even during the latest market pullback.

These metrics show that the selloff did not come with signs of network failure. Instead, the price move appeared to reflect a gap between market sentiment and network conditions. Traders often respond to immediate price pressure, while technical improvements and usage data tend to shape longer-term views.

$ZEC Price Chart Keeps Focus on Support Near $310

On the 12-hour chart, $ZEC price is still trying to transition from a recovery phase into a broader reversal structure. The chart shows a rounded base forming from the February lows, with price moving back into the $310 to $330 zone. That area now acts as a key support band after the recent attempt to break higher.

Source: X

$ZEC recently touched the $380 area before pulling back, which suggested that buying momentum cooled ahead of the next resistance test. As long as price stays above the $310 to $330 range, the higher-low structure remains in place. A stable retest of that area could support another move upward if buyers return.

The next major resistance zone remains between $430 and $450. That band has rejected price several times before, making it the main upside level on the chart. If support near $310 fails, traders may look back toward the mid-$200s, where the rounded base began to form.

April 19, 2026
BREAKING: U.S. Seizes Iranian Ship, Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Again – Bitcoin Plummets, Oil Prices Rise

Tensions between the US and Iran have risen again following a new maritime incident in the Gulf of Oman. US President Donald Trump announced that the USS Spruance, a US Navy destroyer, intercepted a cargo ship named “Touska,” believed to be linked to Iran, in the Gulf of Oman. Trump stated that US Marines had secured the ship and launched an investigation into its cargo.

From the Iranian side, harsh statements were issued. The Iranian military claimed that the US violated the ceasefire by firing on a commercial ship. Officials stated that the attacked ship was sailing from China to Iran, and accused the US of “maritime piracy” and “armed robbery.” Iran’s top military command said that a response to this action would be given soon and that retaliation was inevitable.

Related News Watch Out: A Large Number of Token Unlock Events Are Scheduled for 24 Altcoins This Week—Here’s the Day-by-Day, Hour-by-Hour List

These developments immediately impacted global markets. US index futures saw sharp declines; S&P 500 futures fell by approximately 0.9%, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost nearly 1%. In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin’s price dropped to $74,148.

Tensions also rose in energy markets. Following Iran’s renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Brent crude oil prices increased by 7.3% to $96.94 per barrel.

*This is not investment advice.

April 19, 2026
Starting 5: LeBron’s dimes lead Lakers, Joker & Murray take control, Knicks & Cavs take Playoff Game 1 wins
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took Game 1 over the Rockets, as The King handed out 13 assists.

Not in our house.

Saturday was for the home teams, as higher seeds opened the 2026 Playoffs 4-0.

With four more Game 1s on the way — two on ABC, two on NBC & Peacock — what does today have in store?

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

April 19, 2026

LeBron & Luke: James, Kennard lead Lakers over Rockets with Durant out

Denver’s D: Joker & Murray boost scoring while Nuggets shut down Wolves to win Game 1

East Winners: Spida’s 32 lead Saturday’s scorers, Brunson opens & KAT closes as Knicks, Cavs take Game 1’s

ABC Doubleheader: Sixers, Celtics meet for record 116th Playoff game, Thunder’s road to repeat begins

NBC Sunday Night Basketball: No. 1 Pistons clash with No. 8 Magic, Wemby makes Playoff debut

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Reloaded with four more Game 1’s…

Sunday brings four more Game 1’s to get all first-round series underway.
- ABC Doubleheader: No. 2 Celtics meet No. 7 Sixers (1 ET) and No. 1 Thunder start title defense vs. No. 8 Suns (3:30 ET)
- SNB On NBC & Peacock: No. 1 Pistons clash with No. 8 Magic (6:30 ET) before Wemby makes his Playoff debut vs. No. 2 Blazers (9 ET)
1. HOLLYWOOD NIGHT: LEBRON & LUKE SHOW TAKES GAME 1 FOR L.A.

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Houston and L.A. began their First Round series Saturday without the matchup’s top-3 scorers.

In response, the game’s all-time leading scorer came out with seemingly one thing on his mind:

Make something happen.

Lakers 107, Rockets 98: James (19 pts, 8 reb) dished out eight 1st-quarter dimes, on his way to 13 total, and Luke Kennard netted Playoff career-highs of 27 points and 5 3s (100 3P%) to help the Lakers take a 1-0 lead.

L.A. was without top scorers Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, while Houston missed Kevin Durant (knee contusion) after a practice collision. | Recap
- “For me, I gotta do a little bit of everything,” LeBron said postgame. “That’s what the job requires. So that’s being a triple-threat: being able to rebound, being able to pass, being able to shoot. Also defend.”
- James’ 5th assist – to Kennard – put him at the 2,100 mark for his Playoff career, joining only Magic Johnson as the only players to log that many
- Getting to 8 in that 1st frame, LeBron set a career Playoff high for any quarter, and a Lakers record for most in any Playoff quarter in the play-by-play era
- Finishing with 13, James became the first player age 41 or older with both double-digit assists and a points/assists double-double in a Playoff game
Sean M. Haffey/NBAE via Getty Images

The passing game wasn’t the only area where LeBron made history, as he and Bronny became the NBA’s first father-son duo to win a Playoff game together.
- “That’s probably the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me in my career,” LeBron said of playing in the Playoffs with Bronny. “That’s just insane.”
- Kennard’s Turn: The sharpshooter’s 27 points equal the 2nd-highest total ever for a player in his Lakers postseason debut, trailing Nick Van Exel by a bucket
- Houston filled in for Durant with five 15+ point scorers, including Alperen Sengun (19), Amen Thompson (17), Reed Sheppard (17), Tari Eason (16) and Jabari Smith Jr. (16)
Durant gets an extra day to heal his bruised knee, as the series picks up on Tuesday with Game 2 from L.A. (10:30 ET, NBC/Peacock).

2. NUGGETS WIN GAME 1: 2ND-HALF SHUTDOWN COOLS RIVAL WOLVES

Matthew Stockman/NBAE via Getty Images

Nikola Jokić had 6 points at halftime. He finished with a 25-point triple-double.

Jamal Murray went 0-for-8 from 3. He logged a game-high 30 points.

Denver started 6-for-22 (27.3 FG%) from the field. They won by double-digits.

Showing no panic, the 3-seed Nuggets let their game find its own way in time, and that paid off for a 1-0 First Round lead.

Nuggets 116, Wolves 105: Denver shook off a quiet start to catch the Wolves by halftime and lead the rest of the way, with Joker (25 pts, 13 reb, 11 ast) and Murray guiding the group past Anthony Edwards (22 pts, 9 reb, 7 ast) and their rival Wolves.

Not to be lost in Saturday’s Playoffs excitement, Denver has now won 13 straight games, dating back a full month to its last loss on March 18. | Recap
- Cold Open: The Nuggets’ 6-for-22 start had them facing their largest deficit of the game (12 pts), and still trailing by double-digits going into the 2nd quarter
- Tale Of Two Lines: With 3s not falling, Murray started driving, getting to the foul line eight times in his 14-point, 2nd-quarter rally. He finished 16-for-16 from the stripe
- “We just had to keep shooting,” Murray said. “Myself included. I didn’t make a 3 today. But I didn’t stop shooting. And I was able to find guys and keep the defense on their toes.”
- A Breakthrough: Then early in the 3rd, a 17-2 Denver run built a double-digit lead, with Jokić going on the attack for 12 of his 25 points in that quarter
- Joker credited homecourt advantage: “Whenever we needed a little spark, [the fans] were behind our back, and I love to play in front of our crowds. I think they’re great.”
From there, the Nuggets held the Wolves to just four made 3s and 43 points in the 2nd half. Minnesota had only seven halves all season of 43 points or fewer.
- AE & KG: Edwards passed Kevin Garnett twice with his 237th career Playoff assist, in his 32nd career 20+ point playoff game, taking the franchise lead in both categories
- Murray Joins Jokić: Murray reached his 20th career 30+ point Playoff game, joining Joker (35) as the only Nuggets ever with 20 or more such games
- Jokić Tops MPJ: Joker passed former Nugget Michael Porter Jr. (166) for 2nd-most Playoff triples made in franchise history
Game 2 from Mile High comes our way Monday night (10:30 ET, NBC/Peacock).

3. EAST WINS: BRUNSON OPENS, KAT CLOSES, SPIDA LEADS ALL SCORERS

Elsa/NBAE via Getty Images

Floater in the lane: ✅

Contested wing 3-ball: ✅

Fadeaway bank shot: ✅

Transition triple: ✅

Face-up fadeaway J: ✅

Pull-up from long-range: ✅

Jalen Brunson started Saturday 6-for-6 for 15 points in under 6 minutes.

All that, and the Knicks were up just six, as both New York and Atlanta shot over 85% in the opening 4 minutes of their First Round series opener.

Knicks 113, Hawks 102: Brunson scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in that 1st quarter, and Karl-Anthony Towns (25 pts, 8 reb) took control down the stretch, as New York outlasted CJ McCollum (26 pts, 4 3s) and Atlanta for a 1-0 series lead. | Recap
- 2nd-Half KAT: After a 1-for-6 1st half, Towns took the baton from Brunson, scoring 19 of his 25 points in the 2nd half
- “I was just rusty,” Towns said of his 1st half. “12 days, 13 days without playing… It takes a toll. So just trying to knock the rust off early in the game.”
- It was Towns who sealed the win in the 4th, sinking a triple followed by an and-1 take for back-to-back 3-point plays, capping a 10-0 Knicks run and stretching their lead to 19
- “I knew I was gonna get a chance to show what I could do in a pivotal moment,” said Towns. “I felt good about the 4th quarter and I’m glad I was able to make those shots for my teammates.”
- JB Ties Clyde: Brunson recorded his 29th Playoff game of 25+ points as a Knick, tying Walt Frazier for the 2nd-most in franchise history. Only Patrick Ewing (43) has more
New York and Atlanta tip off Game 2 at The Garden Monday night (8 ET, NBC/Peacock)

Jason Miller/NBAE via Getty Images

With 2:01 remaining, the Cleveland crowd rose to its feet.

The Cavs’ first unit subbed out to a standing ovation, up 16.

Playoff basketball was back in The Land, celebrating a First-Round, Game 1 win for the third consecutive year.

Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113: Donovan Mitchell poured in a game-high 32 points, setting an NBA record with his ninth straight 30+ point performance in a series opener, as the Cavs rolled to a 1-0 lead over RJ Barrett (24 pts), Scottie Barnes (21 pts, 7 ast) and the Raptors. | Recap
- Applause-Worthy: Backing up Mitchell, Max Strus went for a Playoff career-high 24 pts, James Harden (22 pts) dished out 10 assists, and Evan Mobley (17 pts, 7 reb) controlled the paint
- Go Time: In a 4-point game with 1:11 to play before halftime, Cleveland exploded into the 2nd half with a 27-9 carryover run, leading the rest of the way. Strus had 11 points (3 3s) in that decisive stretch
- “Coming out in the 3rd quarter, we upped our intensity defensively,” Mitchell said of the getaway run. “And then obviously, offensively, we did what we do.”
Mitchell’s record-setting nine-game, 30+ point streak in Game 1s has helped him to a 33.1 ppg average across 12 career Game 1s.

This was his 32nd-career 30+ point Playoff game, and 13th for Cleveland, passing Kyrie Irving for 2nd-most in Cavs history.
- “32 is 32, but I’m happy I got a steal…” Mitchell said. “I’m finding ways to get rebounds… Those are the little details that carry over to wins.”
- Harden’s History: The Beard passed Larry Bird (3,897 pts) for 13th place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list
- “It’s tough for defenses to try to figure out which ways to guard both of us,” Mitchell said of his first Playoff pairing with Harden. “We gotta keep it up for the series.”
4. TODAY ON ABC: 76ERS-CELTICS RIVALRY, CHAMPS START TITLE DEFENSE

Isaiah Vazquez/NBAE via Getty Images

The reunited 2024 champs and the Divisional rival who played them closer than anyone this season.

The well-rested defending champions and the red-hot shooting squad who won the West Play-In Finale.

ABC’s Playoff matineé doubleheader delivers on drama and deep storylines. Here’s what to watch for:

(7) Sixers at (2) Celtics (1 ET): NBA Playoff Sunday tips off with the 116th postseason meeting of Philly and Boston, the most in NBA history. The Celtics lead this series all-time, 66-50.

The last time these two franchises met in the Playoffs, the 2023 East Semis went a full seven games, with Jayson Tatum delivering an iconic 50-ball to end it.
- Jay & Jay: Scoring 20+ points in each of his last seven games, Tatum (21.8 ppg in 16 gm) is reunited with Jaylen Brown, who set career-highs (28.7 ppg) while leading the C’s all year
- Before Tatum’s return, these two teams lived up to their thrilling history with three early season matchups, each decided by the final possession (2-1 PHI)
- Philly’s Answer: The Sixers will look to attack with the duo of top-5 scorer Tyrese Maxey (28.3) and two-way talent VJ Edgecombe, the first rookie in 7+ years with 1100 points and 100 steals — not to mention Paul George, who’s averaged 21.2 ppg in his Playoff career
Christian Petersen/NBAE via Getty Images

Following Philly and Boston, OKC takes off on its road to two in a row.

(8) Suns at (1) Thunder (3:30 ET): The reigning champs begin their quest to repeat, taking on Devin Booker, Jalen Green and the hot-shooting Suns.

No NBA team has repeated since the Warriors in 2017-18, with seven straight unique champions since.
- The Thunder are the NBA’s youngest champion in 50 years, and boast the league’s best defensive rating (106.5) since the 2019-20 Bucks, holding opponents 3.5 FG percentage points below the league average
- Phoenix joins OKC with a top-10 defensive rating (112.9, 9th), while both teams rank top-5 in steals per game (9.5+)
- The Reigning MVP: SGA is the first guard in NBA history to average 30+ ppg on 55% shooting. He also ranks 2nd in ppg (31.1), 2nd in iso ppg (8.3), 2nd in 30-pt games (43), and 1st in total clutch points (175)
- Suns all-time leading scorer Devin Booker has the help of a hot hand in Jalen Green, who enters off the 2nd-ever back-to-back 35+ point performances in Play-In history
5. SNB: NO. 1 PISTONS, NO. 8 MAGIC COLLIDE BEFORE WEMBY’S PLAYOFF DEBUT

NBC & Peacock’s Sunday doubleheader features two of this Playoff field’s strongest contenders, in East 1-seed Detroit and West 2-seed San Antonio.

But their respective First Round opponents are uniquely qualified to make this matchup tougher than seedings might suggest.

(8) Magic at (1) Pistons (6:30 ET): Detroit begins its Playoff after its first 60-win season since 2006-07.

The league leader in both steals (10.4) and blocks (6.4) per game, the Pistons operate with the identity of defensive physicality – something Orlando just utilized to overpower the Hornets in its Play-In win to get here.

The Pistons are led by the rising All-Star duo of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren.
- Cade is back from his collapsed lung, and Detroit’s offensive engine was missed: The Pistons have a 120.4 OffRtg with Cade on-floor, and a 111.1 with him off; a 9.3-point swing
- First-time All-Star Duren dominates the paint with the league’s 3rd-most PITP, while Ausar Thompson logged the most steals in a season (146) by a Piston since Ben Wallace in 06-07
The Magic enter the series coming off a Play-In game statement, making their third straight Playoffs. The team split its four-game series with Detroit this season.
- Paolo Banchero has 336 points through his first 12 career Playoff games (28.0 ppg), and led the way for Orlando in its Play-In win, with 12 first quarter points and a game-high 25 overall
- Acquired last offseason, Desmond Bane has delivered offensively, leading the team in total points (1647) and total 3s (167), and ranking 2nd in assists (338)
Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images

After a year of bending physics on the court — and transforming the Spurs into one of the league’s toughest teams — third-year superstar Victor Wembanyama’s about to make his debut on the league’s biggest stage: The Playoffs.

(7) Blazers at (2) Spurs (9 ET): Wemby is set to make his first Playoff appearance against a Portland team that beat San Antonio once in three tries this season.
- The Spurs return to the Playoffs for the first time since 2018–19, with their first 60-win season since 2016–17. They flipped from 60 losses to 60 wins in just two years
- February March: Half those wins came in the final 2.5 months of this season, losing just four games after the start of February (30–4 record)
- With Wemby on the floor, opposing teams shot 5.7% worse – the largest on/off difference of the decade – and the Spurs posted a 103.6 defensive rating, which would rank as the best in the league over a full season
But it’s not just Wemby. He’s backed by a dynamic trio of guards.
- Stephon Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year, took a leap this season, increasing his points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
- De’Aaron Fox, a two-time All-Star, finished second on the team in scoring and led the team in total clutch points.
- Dylan Harper, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, provides a spark off the bench for this Spurs squad.
Portland features the league’s third-best defense since the All-Star break, and an international All-Star on the rise, who’s coming off a huge performance.
- Deni Avdija became the first player to record 40 points and 10 assists in a Play-In game, capping off a breakout year in which he joined Joker and Luka as the only players to average 24/6/6
April 19, 2026
Trump says US seized Iranian ship trying to get past blockade near Hormuz

US president says his country’s forces ⁠stopped cargo ⁠ship Touska by ‘blowing a hole’ in ‌its engine room.

Published On 19 Apr 2026

US President Donald Trump has said United States forces have seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to get past his country’s naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz.

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump said the ship, named Touska, was warned by a US Navy guided missile destroyer in the Gulf of Oman to stop, but its “crew refused to listen”.

He added that the US Navy “stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engine room” and that US Marines had custody of the vessel, and were “seeing what’s on board”.

Early on Monday, Iran’s top joint military command said the US had violated a ceasefire reached earlier this month by firing at an Iranian commercial ship that was heading from China to Iran.

It added that after the US attack on the vessel, Iranian forces also targeted US military ships with drones and vowed that Iran would soon retaliate against this “maritime and armed robbery” by the US military.

The development comes amid a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for the shipment of about a fifth of the world’s oil, amid threats from Iran and a US blockade on ships heading to and from Iranian ports.

Earlier on Sunday, Iranian officials said ships would not pass while the US blockade – in place since April 13 – remained in effect. “It is impossible for others to pass through the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot,” Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.

Iran had announced the strait’s reopening after a 10-day truce between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah took hold on Friday.

But Iran said it would continue enforcing its restrictions there after Trump said the US blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with Washington.

After a short-lived rise in transit attempts on Saturday, ships in the Gulf once again stayed put, after reports of vessels coming under fire mid-passage and being forced to withdraw.

Trump’s statement came hours after he said US negotiators would travel to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Monday for possible talks with Iran aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran.

That had raised hopes of extending the fragile ceasefire that is set to expire by Wednesday. But Iranian state media reported that Tehran had not agreed to a second round of talks.

April 19, 2026
Canadian PM says close economic ties with US have become a ‘weakness’

Mark Carney says Canada must build economic ties with other countries amid its shifting relationship with the United States.

Published On 19 Apr 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that after decades of partnership with the United States, close economic ties between the two countries have become a “weakness” that must be corrected.

Carney gave remarks on Canada’s relationship with the US in a 10-minute video on Sunday, in which he signalled that Canada must move away from excessive reliance on any one country.

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“The world is more dangerous and divided,” Carney said. “The US has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.”

“Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become weaknesses,” he added. “Weaknesses that we must correct.”

The comments are the latest from Carney to signal the shifting nature of US-Canada relations after decades of economic integration, as threats of higher tariffs from US President Donald Trump upend trade ties with foes and allies worldwide.

Trump’s comments that Canada should become a US state have also rattled Canadians.

At one point in the video, Carney held up a toy soldier depicting General Isaac Brock, a British military commander who fought against US forces during the War of 1812 invasion of what is today Canada.

“The situation today feels unique, but we’ve faced down threats like this before,” Carney said.

Carney’s Liberal Party government secured a parliamentary majority in special elections earlier this month, giving him more room to manoeuvre on key economic issues such as US trade relations. A review of the free trade pact between the US, Canada, and Mexico is scheduled for July.

Carney became prime minister in 2025 after a campaign in which he promised to take a firm stance towards what many Canadians have perceived as unwarranted hostility from the US.

While tensions have eased between Trump and Carney, and some tariffs have been rolled back, the Canadian leader has sought closer economic ties with countries such as China to reduce Canada’s dependence on the US.

“We have to take care of ourselves because we can’t rely on one foreign partner,” Carney said on Sunday. “We can’t control the disruption coming from our neighbours. We can’t control our future on the hope it will suddenly stop.”

April 19, 2026
How a Gold House Dinner Helped ‘Beef’ Creator Lee Sung Jin Land Season 2 Star Charles Melton

When Beef creator Lee Sung Jin finally settled on the premise for season two of the hit anthology series, he had one actor in mind — Charles Melton.

Lee decided to take matters into his own hands, calling up Gold House founder Bing Chen to cash in a favor. The writer-director asked to be seated next to Melton at a dinner they’d both be attending to honor the actor, so he could pitch him the second season. “I remember just being immensely flattered because I didn’t know he went to the extent that he went to sit next to me,” Melton tells The Hollywood Reporter during the show’s season two junket.

“It was amazing to have Lee Sung Jin, Sonny, the creator, show me a picture of my face and say, ‘This is in the writer’s room and we’re writing it for you,’” Melton continues. “I was completely astonished.”

Beef’s second season leaves behind the parking lot feuds, instead focusing on two couples, one millennial (Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan) and one Gen Z (Melton and Cailee Spaeny), working at a California country club. The new season follows “a Gen Z couple [who] witnesses an alarming fight between their millennial boss and his wife,” according to the synopsis.

“Newly-engaged Ashley Miller (Spaeny) and Austin Davis (Melton), both lower-level staff at a country club, become entangled in the unraveling marriage of their general manager, Joshua Martín (Isaac), and his wife, Lindsay Crane-Martín (Mulligan),” the synopsis continues.

Charles Melton as Austin Davis, Cailee Spaeny as Ashley Miller, Carey Mulligan as Lindsay Crane-Martin, Oscar Isaac as Josh Martin in episode 202 of ‘Beef.’

Courtesy of Netflix

Melton says he and Lee “really got to know each other” over the course of season two. “One of the many great things about Sonny as a collaborator, as a filmmaker, he creates so much space. There’s this vulnerability of just trust,” Melton says. “Sometimes we would speak on the phone, I promise you, 60 plus hours, just in a week.”

Isaac and Mulligan also say they’d spend several hours a week speaking with Lee about the show. “My Oura rang legit says I’ve averaged four hours of sleep for the last two years,” Lee jokes. “So, it comes at a cost.”

Similar to the genesis of season one, Lee took inspiration from a real-life event for the central beef of season two, which came after cycling through several ideas of what the latest installment’s premise could be. “It just goes to show that real life is so much more interesting than anything my writer brain can come up with,” says Lee.

The writer says he overheard a real-life “heated debate” coming from a couple’s home in his neighborhood. When he relayed what he’d overheard, he realized one key difference in how the generations reacted to the tale. “I found that my younger peers were a lot like Ashley and Austin [asking], ‘did you call the police?’” he recounts. “My similarly aged or older peers were just kind of like, ‘yeah, big deal.”

He adds, “I just thought, ‘oh, that’s a show.’” Lee says he hadn’t seen anything juxtaposing younger love versus older love since Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and that he felt like TV and film tended to examine just one couple.

“Then as you dig in, we find that the passage of time became such a bigger theme, and you have actually four Russian nesting dolls of couples showing the four seasons of life,” the creator explains. “I think at the end, it became a meditation of [the idea that] the stages of life come for everybody, and what are you going to do at the end of it?”

April 19, 2026