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Dolly Parton Makes First Major Public Appearance in Months Amid Health Concerns: “I Got Worn Down and Worn Out”

Dolly Parton shared an update on her health after postponing last year’s Las Vegas residency due to “health challenges,” as well as coping with the death of her husband, Carl Dean, in May.

Parton made an appearance Friday night at the kickoff of Dollywood’s 2026 season in Pigeon Forge, where she opened up about how the grief of losing her husband of nearly six decades had taken a toll on her.

“I’ve been not touring, as you know,” the country music legend said during a keynote speech at the theme park. “I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them.”

Parton also shared insight into what contributed to those health struggles.

“I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on,” she said. “I just got myself kind of where I needed to build myself back up spiritually, emotionally and physically.”

The Grammy winner added that now “all is good” and that the challenges “didn’t slow me down.”

Parton also explained that she has been busy working on her upcoming Broadway show set to debut later this year, as well as music projects including her song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning,” which featured collaborations with several artists.

“I’ve just been doing a lot of writing, a lot of thinking, a lot of praying and a lot of getting ready for a lot of new stuff coming up for the rest of this whole year,” she said. “So, be ready for me. I ain’t done, I ain’t near done.”

Parton’s appearance marked a rare public outing after several cancellations over the past year, including missing the Film Academy’s Governors Awards in November and not attending her 80th birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry in January.

March 14, 2026
Bitcoin holds $71,000 despite Trump warning of strikes on Iran’s oil-rich Kharg Island

Two weeks into a Middle Eastern war and bitcoin is higher than where it started.

The largest cryptocurrency was trading at $71,000 on Saturday morning, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours after the U.S. bombed military targets on Kharg Island, Iran’s main crude export facility.

The reversal from Friday’s $73,838 high was sharp but contained. Bitcoin gave back 3.5% on the Kharg headlines and stopped. A month ago, a comparable escalation would have triggered a much deeper sell-off.

The weekly numbers tell the resilience story. Bitcoin is up 4.2% over seven days. Ether gained 5.5% to $2,090. Dogecoin added 5%. Solana rose 4.2% to $88. BNB climbed 4.5% to $655. Every major is green on the week despite the war intensifying, not easing.

The market is adapting to the conflict in real time. Early in the war, every headline produced an outsized reaction because nobody could price the tail risk. Now, traders have a framework, where strikes happen, oil spikes and bitcoin dips only to recover again.

The pattern has repeated enough times that the reflexive sell-the-headline impulse has faded. However, the $73,000-$74,000 resistance level stays in place, and has now rejected bitcoin four times in two weeks.

Trump’s language on Kharg Island added a new variable in the markets.

In a Truth Social post late Friday, he said he spared oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency” but would “immediately reconsider” if Iran continued blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded that any strike on energy infrastructure would trigger retaliatory attacks on U.S.-linked facilities in the region. That’s a conditional escalation threat that didn’t exist 48 hours ago. If oil infrastructure becomes a target, the supply disruption, which the IEA already called the largest in history, gets dramatically worse.

Meanwhile, the $371 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours reflected the two-way nature of Friday’s session. Short liquidations outpaced longs at $207 million versus $163 million, meaning the initial surge to $73,800 squeezed bears before the Kharg headlines squeezed the longs who had just entered.

Attention now shifts to the Fed meeting on March 17-18. Oil above $100, the largest energy supply disruption in history, and a war entering its third week with no resolution make the stagflation case harder to dismiss.

CME FedWatch still prices a 95%+ probability of a hold at 3.5% to 3.75%, but the dot plot and Powell’s press conference will matter more than the decision itself. Any hint that rate hikes are back on the table would hit risk assets hard, including a crypto market that has spent five months pricing in cuts that keep not arriving.

March 14, 2026
The Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin Have Released an Important New Document Regarding ETH

The Ethereum Foundation has released a new document defining the core principles and mission of the Ethereum ecosystem. Titled “The Ethereum Foundation’s Mission Statement,” the document serves as a guide outlining the foundation’s role, decision-making principles, and the future direction of Ethereum.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated in a social media post that the document in question defends Ethereum’s goal of being a “shelter technology,” meaning a technology that protects users’ technological sovereignty. According to Buterin, Ethereum is positioned as an infrastructure that enables collaboration without coercive authorities, is resistant to censorship, and allows individuals to have control over their digital assets.

The published text specifically states that the Ethereum Foundation is not the “parent or ultimate authority” of Ethereum. It describes its role as a “custodian” rather than a manager of the ecosystem. Within this approach, the foundation aims to contribute to the growth of the open-source community rather than controlling the network’s development alone.

The document highlights ETH’s core principles as decentralization, privacy, security, and open-source development. The foundation states that Ethereum’s continued existence as a censorship-resistant, user-sovereignty-protecting, and secure infrastructure is the raison d’être of the ecosystem. It specifically adds that these features should not be sacrificed for short-term conveniences.

The statement noted that Ethereum initially began as just a protocol idea but has evolved into a global movement and ecosystem, adding that the network’s core purpose is to empower users to have complete control over their assets, identities, and decisions.

The Ethereum Foundation also described Ethereum as part of a broader technological vision, stating that it is a crucial component of an ecosystem of open, free, and resilient digital systems called the “Infinite Garden.” According to the foundation, in a world where AI-powered systems and closed digital platforms are becoming increasingly prevalent, the need for technologies that protect user sovereignty and open infrastructure is growing even stronger.

*This is not investment advice.

March 14, 2026
‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ Review: Samara Weaving and Sarah Michelle Gellar in a Sequel That Can’t Quite Conjure the Original’s Dark Magic

Pity the poor horror movie hero. Should they be fortunate enough to survive their unimaginably horrific ordeal with enough ingenuity and panache, odds are good the movie gods will only force them to endure it all over again, at higher intensity and to lower acclaim.

And so it is that Grace (Samara Weaving), who ended 2019’s Ready or Not the sole survivor of the wedding night from hell, barely gets a puff of her cigarette before she finds herself the unwilling participant of another most dangerous game. But though Ready or Not 2: Here I Come doubles down on everything that made the original work, the returns are diminishing. It’s a good enough time, but a downgrade from the last time.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

The Bottom Line

Less fun, but not no fun.

Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Headliner)
Release date: Friday, March 20
Cast: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Elijah Wood, Néstor Carbonell, David Cronenberg
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Screenwriters: Guy Busick, R. Christopher Murphy

Rated R,
1 hour 48 minutes

Much of the pleasure of Ready or Not lay in its simplicity: It was no more and no less than an ultra-violent rendition of hide and seek, backed up by some pretty straightforward “deal with the devil” lore. What kicked it up to the next level was Weaving’s singular performance as a final girl, punctuated by shrieks so blood-curdling they sounded downright operatic, and some nice bits of character comedy in the margins, as most of the new in-laws hunting her proved to be not only evil but hilariously stupid.

Here I Come, which reunites directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, offers more of everything. Where Grace was the sole target in Ready or Not, she’s joined this time by her similarly scrappy, similarly blond, similarly thematically named sister Faith (Kathryn Newton). Where the Le Domases had seemed a singularly devilish family, this film reveals they were just one of six ultra-wealthy Satan-worshipping clans scattered across the globe, and not even the most influential one.

That honor goes to the casino-owning Danforths, whose patriarch (David Cronenberg, in a brief but amusing cameo) wields enough power to call off entire wars with a single phone call. (At a time when it’s become horrifyingly clear how easy it is for one asshole billionaire to start a war, the idea that another could end it just as offhandedly is maybe the most plausible part of the whole movie.) But with the Le Domas lineage annihilated, the high seat of the council of Mr. Le Bail (a.k.a. Satan) is now up for grabs. The remaining families gather at the Danforths’ sprawling Connecticut estate to determine which one will be the first to kill Grace, and therefore to secure the throne.

The element of surprise has mostly worn off, even if Grace tells Faith that one never really gets used to people spontaneously combusting right in front of you. But the appeal is only somewhat worse for wear. Here I Come still may not have much to say about class struggle beyond “the 0.00000001% sure do suck,” but it’s still fun to watch them flail ineptly with their retrograde weapons, whine about their unrelatable problems (“At least sanitize it first,” one complains when he’s handed a sharp pen to sign his name in blood), or get killed off in inventively gruesome ways.

Weaving remains a ferociously magnetic lead, even if she gets less screaming to do this time. And if the character’s Chucks-and-bloodstained-gown look felt like a revelation in the first film, here it might as well be Peter Parker putting on his Spider-Man suit for the way the crowd at my SXSW premiere screening cheered.

Then there are the new additions to enjoy. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy (The Pitt) share a believable toxic sibling energy as the Danforth twins, Ursula and Titus, who’ve been training their whole lives for just this occasion. Francesca (Maia Jae), the daughter of a Spanish TV host (Néstor Carbonell), introduces personal vengeance into the mix as the jilted fiancée of Grace’s own late husband. And a viewing room where heirs are allowed to watch the game becomes the film’s comic highlight, with lesser siblings and children going from boisterously trash-talking one another to quaking in their boots as the possibility of losing the game, and thus dying out completely as a bloodline, becomes horrifyingly real.

But with new pleasures come new perils. One is the expansion of the lore, which grows so convoluted it necessitates the introduction of a whole new character to explain and re-explain the rules. While Elijah Wood, who as just recently seen in Yellowjackets and I Love LA excels at playing weird little guys, is ideally cast as Mr. Le Bail’s unflappable lawyer, he’s not a character so much as an exposition machine.

The other is the pressure to raise the stakes on a story that had seemed intense enough already. Through no fault of Newton’s, Faith functions less as a second protagonist than a prop to give Grace more emotional investment in the proceedings by saddling her with guilt over their estrangement or opportunities to nobly sacrifice herself. Meanwhile, in attempting to give Grace an even bigger, badder, darker villain to face this time, the film overshoots its mark, raising the specter of domestic violence in ways that feel just slightly too plausible to fit with the film’s otherwise cartoonish gore.

Here I Come still comes out ahead, in the end, delivering enough of the good stuff to keep a fan yelping and laughing and cheering throughout. But should its creators be eyeing a third gamble on this universe, it may be time for them to do what so many of the Danforths’ casinogoers surely wish they had: ponder the wisdom of quitting while they’re ahead.

March 14, 2026
US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq attacked with missile that hits helipad

The missile attack causes damage on the mission, according to sources, as smoke is seen rising from the building.

Published On 14 Mar 2026

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The United States Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has been hit by a missile attack that caused smoke to rise from the building.

An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the attack destroyed part of its air defence system, without giving further details.

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A missile struck a helipad inside the US Embassy in Baghdad, two security officials told The Associated Press news agency.

The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries in the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, added the security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak with the press.

There was no immediate comment from the US Embassy in Baghdad.

Videos posted by social media users showed smoke rising from the compound after the attack.

Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Baghdad, said there was no immediate statement on whether there were casualties or the exact extent of damage in the attack.

“But we understand that Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq have always pledged to attack US facilities, especially the embassy,” he said, adding that they want to avenge the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader, who was assassinated, along with family members, by a US-Israeli air strike at the beginning of this war.

“In fact, yesterday, they issued a statement putting $100,000 as a reward to anyone who provides information leading to any US diplomatic personnel inside the country,” our correspondent said, adding that some of the personnel were “taking shelter in civilian houses”.

Second attack

It is the second time the US Embassy has come under attack in Baghdad since the start of the war.

On Friday, the embassy renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned armed groups have previously carried out attacks against US citizens, interests and infrastructure, and “may continue to target them”.

The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest US diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly attacked by rockets and drones in the past.

Several Tehran-backed armed groups, which Washington has designated as “terrorist organisations”, allied under an umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have claimed daily drone and rocket attacks against US bases in the region.

Since the start of the war, several attacks against members of those groups across Iraq have been blamed on the US and Israel.

Saturday’s attack took place shortly after two strikes hit the powerful Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah and killed two of its members, including a “key figure”, according to security sources speaking to the AFP news agency.

Iraq has seen attacks from both sides of the conflict: Iran and its proxies target US bases while the US has bombed pro-Iran groups.

Iraq, long a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, was quickly dragged into this sprawling Middle East war triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

March 14, 2026
Starting 5: A historic moment for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The mid-range jumper for 21.

The 127th time in a row for the record.

Consistent. Historic. Shai.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

SGA Passes Wilt: Shai breaks record with 127th straight 20+ point game, comes up clutch as Thunder edge C’s

An All-Time Week: Shai’s streak, Bam’s 83, Tatum’s return and seven days unlike any other

West Puts In Work: Joker, Murray rally Nuggets, Luka’s 50 sparks win, Booker gets 43

East Bubble: Streaking Magic, Heat win to keep Playoff spots, red-hot Hawks pass Sixers for 8th

Tonight On Prime: Wolves, Warriors clash in need of wins, Spida & Beard visit Flagg’s Mavs

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Eight games tip off tonight, highlighted by another Prime doubleheader as the Mavs host the Cavs (7:30 ET | Tap to Watch), before the Wolves visit the Warriors (10 ET | Tap to Watch).

League Pass On Us: NBA ID Member Days are back, meaning any NBA ID member can watch up to 15 games this weekend for free on League Pass, on us — along with other member-only perks. Not an NBA ID member yet? Join the action now.

1. 127 AND A WIN: SHAI BREAKS WILT’S 20-POINT STREAK IN OKC’S CLUTCH WIN OVER C’S

The reigning Kia MVP needed 20 points for history.

But with East 2-seed Boston leading after three quarters, OKC needed more than that from him to win.

Thunder 104, Celtics 102: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points to set the NBA record with his 127th consecutive 20+ point game, and helped deliver a clutch Thunder win with 14 in the final frame, outdueling Jaylen Brown (34 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast) and Boston for a seventh straight win.

Shai hit a contested jumper from the top of the key with 7:04 remaining in the 3rd for 21 points, passing Wilt Chamberlain (1961-63) for the longest streak of 20+ point games in NBA history. | Recap

The record-setting make tied the game at 69, as SGA continued his main mission: Securing a W.

“All the records and the accomplishments are great, but they don’t matter if you don’t win. And that’s all that was on my mind,” SGA said postgame.
- Down The Stretch: After an Ajay Mitchell bucket gave OKC the lead, Boston went on a 12-4 run and held Shai scoreless for the rest of the 3rd, starting the 4th up 83-80
- Lock In: Neither team led by more than 4 throughout the 4th, in a battle between OKC’s top overall defense and a Boston D leading the league since February
- In The Clutch: A Mitchell 3 and a Shai stepback gave OKC a two-possession lead, 98-94, with 3:21 remaining
- Shai Carrying: SGA would break two more ties while sinking OKC’s final three field goals to add six clutch points to his league-leading total (153)
- Brown’s high-arching fadeaway evened the score for a final time, setting Shai up to draw the defense and dish for an open look that ended with Chet Holmgren’s game-winning free throws
“I would have gave the record for the W any day of the week,” SGA said. “I’m just proud of the group… We find a way to win, and that’s what it’s about, no matter what it takes.”

In the 496 days of Shai’s 20+ point streak, he has earned an NBA championship, the Kia MVP and Finals MVP awards, a scoring title, two All-Star selections and 1st Team All-NBA honors. | More on Shai’s historic night

After his teammates brought the celebration to him, SGA reflected on all he’s gained through this historic consistency with the NBA On Prime crew:
- “Really just want to say thank you to the people that are around me, the people that see me every day, grow with me every day, and help me just have fun with life.”
- “So focused on getting better – individually and as a group – I stack days, stack plays, stack wins, stack games and I look up and I’ve accomplished a few things.”
2. SEVEN SPECIAL DAYS: INSIDE A ONE-OF-ONE WEEK IN THE NBA

What a week it’s been around the league – from Jayson Tatum’s return to Shai’s record streak and late-night Luka Magic.

Wedged in between? Only the second-greatest single-game scoring performance ever, a Nuggets-Thunder instant classic, Wemby doing Wemby things and Jokić (surprise, surprise) breaking more records.

Before we turn to the weekend, let’s relive a week the basketball world may never forget:

JT’s Return Friday: Seven days ago, Tatum made his season debut, electrifying TD Garden less than 10 months after tearing his Achilles.
- His Opening Pregame Intro? It gives you chills
- His Opening Week Impact? Full force, posting 19.7 pts, 6.7 reb and 3.7 ast in three games, including two wins
- “It was surreal,” said Tatum on his Friday return. “It was everything I could’ve dreamed of.”
Wemby’s Other-Worldly Weekend: After a 25-point comeback to stun the Clippers on Friday, capping what he called “the best 30 hours of basketball in my life,” Victor Wembanyama dazzled on NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball (29 pts, 8 reb, 4 blk, 1 absurd highlight reel) as San Antonio beat Houston.

Shai’s Double Dagger: Monday delivered an all-time thriller between OKC and Denver, with SGA and Nikola Jokić trading haymakers, capped by two titanic 3s from Shai in the final 14 seconds.

The latter? A walk-off winner with 2.7 left – tying Wilt’s 20-point game streak (126) and calling game on the same night.

Then, 83: There have been more than 68,000 games in NBA history. Entering Tuesday, we had only seen two games in which a player scored 80+ points. That’s roughly a 0.003% rarity.

Enter Bam Adebayo.

His 83-point eruption captivated not just basketball but the entire sports world, placing his name between two legends – Wilt Chamberlain (100) and Kobe Bryant (81) – for the 2nd-highest scoring performance of all time.

Eighty. Three.

The scenes? Epic. The internet? Broken. The moment? Timeless.
- “I wish I could relive it twice,” said Adebayo. “It’s Wilt, me, then Kobe, which sounds crazy.”
West Stars Wednesday: One night later, Jokić became the first player to record 25 triple-doubles in four straight seasons, while Kawhi Leonard dropped 45 as the Clippers moved to 33-32 after a 6-21 start.

Then, Thursday: Another electric finish in OKC, coupled with Shai passing Wilt for the most consecutive 20-point games in NBA history. 127 straight. An all-time streak to stamp an all-time week.

The Cherry On Top: A Luka 50-ball and another Jokić masterclass (see Section 3 ⬇️).

3. WEST WINS: NUGGETS STORM BACK, 50 FOR LUKA AND A DESERT DUO

Amid a thrilling week of standout performances, Joker and Luka once again showed they’re capable of making any night in the Association special.

Nuggets 136, Spurs 131: Nikola Jokić (31 pts, 20 reb, 10 ast) and Jamal Murray (39 pts, 7 ast) led Denver on one of its largest comebacks of the season, handing San Antonio its first loss of the season (21-1) after leading by 20 or more to snap the Spurs’ five-game win streak. | Recap
- Climbing Back: Down by 20 in the 2nd, Denver flipped the switch with a 41-point 3rd quarter, with 14 apiece from Joker and Murray
- Pivotal Fourth: With an 11-0 start to the final frame, and a 17-7 overall run, the Nuggets pulled within a bucket, setting up a Murray 3 for their first lead (121-119)
- Denver never looked back, surging to a 39-point 4th, its highest-scoring 2nd half (80 pts) since 2022, and its second 20+ point comeback of this season
“It’s fun honestly,” Murray said after scoring 16 in the 4th for a 30-point half. “Those are the moments you live for, these are the games you live for. It may not be playoffs but these wins mean a lot.”
- Wilt Matched Again: Jokić logged his 10th career 30+/20+/10+ game, joining Wilt (16) as the only players in NBA history with at least 10 such games
- Hold The Line: There have only been 16 30/20/10 games in the last 50 seasons. Joker has 10 of them
- Passing Kareem: It’s the 324th time Jokić hit the 20/10/5 mark, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most such games in NBA history
- With Wemby out (ankle), Stephon Castle (30 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast) stepped up with his own 30+ point triple-double, marking the 9th time in NBA history opposing players put up 30+ point TDs
Denver holds on to 5th place in the West, just a half-game back from 3rd, while the Spurs are 3.5 games behind the 1st-place Thunder.

Lakers 142, Bulls 130: Luka Dončić’s (10 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl, 9 3s) first 50-ball for the Lakers helped L.A.’s starters overpower Josh Giddey (27 pts, 8 reb, 15 ast) and the Bulls, and jump to 3rd-place in the West. | Recap
- Starters Go Off: Austin Reaves (30 pts), Deandre Ayton (23 pts), LeBron (18 pts) and Rui Hachimura (15 pts) joined Luka to contribute 137 of L.A.’s 142 points (96.5%)
- It’s the 4th-highest scoring game by a starting five, in the regular season or postseason, since starters were tracked in 1970-71, and the most in regulation
- Lakers 50-Ball Club: Luka joined Reaves as the first Lakers teammates to each score 50 in the same season since 1961-62
- “He was phenomenal tonight,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Luka. “He’s been high-volume, high efficiency for a couple months now.”
LeBron (7 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl) was everywhere in his return from a three-game absence, sporting a new patch on his jersey honoring his achievement as the all-time FGM leader.

Suns 123, Pacers 108: Devin Booker ignited for 43 points and Jalen Green added 36 in his highest-scoring night for the Suns, as Phoenix shot past Andrew Nembhard (23 pts) and Indy for a fourth straight win. | Recap
- Big Game, Big Frame: Book (7 reb, 5 ast) had 41 points through three quarters after a 19-point surge in the 3rd quarter
- One Step Closer: The win brings Phoenix within a game from the 6th and final Playoff seed
Mavericks 120, Grizzlies 112: With his team’s 20-point lead down to 2, Khris Middleton (8 3s) erupted for 22 of his 35 points in the 4th quarter, his highest-scoring game for Dallas, as the Mavs snapped their eight-game losing streak. | Recap

4. EAST STREAKS: MAGIC, HEAT & HAWKS STAY HOT; ATLANTA TOPS PHILLY FOR 8TH

Four of the five teams closest to the East’s Playoff cutline played and won on Thursday.

Fifth-place Orlando set the pace, with 6-seed Miami right behind, while Atlanta passed Philly to take 8th.

Magic 136, Wizards 131 (OT): Orlando led by as many as 16 in the 4th but Washington stormed back, scoring 42 in the quarter with Bilal Coulibaly splashing a 3 with 5.4 remaining to force overtime.

Jalen Suggs rallied the Magic in OT with a team-high 28 points, breaking a tie at 131 with the game-clinching 3 while netting the game’s final five points. Orlando extended its season-long win streak to six games. | Recap
- Career Nights: Tristan da Silva (7 reb, 4 stl) supported Suggs with a career-high 26 points, while Coulibaly posted his own career-best to lead the Wizards with 29
- The B&B Crew: Desmond Bane added 22 points, while Paolo Banchero tallied 18 points, 10 boards and five assists
Heat 112, Bucks 105: Pelle Larsson (28 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) set a new career-high in scoring and drilled the dagger 3 with 28 seconds left to push the Heat past Giannis (31 pts) and the Bucks for a seventh straight win.

Bam Adebayo scored 21 in the follow-up to his 83-point extravaganza. | Recap

Hawks 108, Nets 97: Jalen Johnson (21 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast) and Zaccharie Risacher (19 pts, 9 reb) kept Atlanta rolling right into 8th-place with an eighth straight win, overcoming a late burst from Josh Minnot (24 pts) and Brooklyn. | Recap

Pistons 131, Sixers 109: Duncan Robinson (19 pts, 5 3s) led seven Pistons in double figures to a wire-to-wire win over VJ Edgecombe (10 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk) and the Sixers. | Recap
- Detroit Duo: Jalen Duren (14 pts, 10 reb) secured a double-double and Cade Cunningham (8 pts) threw out 13 assists in three quarters of work for Detroit’s All-Star pair
5. TONIGHT ON PRIME: WOLVES FACE WARRIORS, CAVS VISIT MAVS

The West, as they say, is wild.

Again.

For the 4th straight year, half a game separates four of the conference’s top eight teams with 50-plus games played.

Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves have a spot in that race. Tonight, they visit the Warriors (10 ET, Prime), when a victory could have them climb up the ranks.
- Fire Ant: The two-time All-NBA selection has dropped 30 or more points in six of 10 games since the All-Star break, and shot 40.2% from beyond the arc in that span
- Fine Line: If there’s been a magic number for Minnesota in 2025-26, it’s 115. The group is 32-6 when allowing 115 or fewer points
The Timberwolves also aren’t the only team on a three-game slide. So are the 9th-place Warriors, who are fighting for Playoff positioning.

“The beauty of what we’ve been able to accomplish and what we’re still trying to do is just in the quest,” said coach Steve Kerr. “We’re fighting, and we’re going to continue to fight.”

Earlier in the evening, the Cavaliers take on the Mavericks (7:30 ET, Prime) and are 1.5 games behind the Knicks for 3rd place in the East.
- Definitive Duo: James Harden (20.2 ppg, 7.9 apg) and Donovan Mitchell (26.1 ppg, 5.3 apg) have combined for 46.3 points and 13.2 assists per game en route to a 7-3 stretch playing together
- Power Of Youth: For Dallas, 19-year-old Cooper Flagg is on pace to be the youngest player ever to lead his team in total points, rebounds and assists
The climb could continue for the Clippers tonight on League Pass with a win over the Bulls (10:30 ET), while the Rockets try to gain more ground against the Pelicans (8 ET).
- Grizzlies at Pistons, 7:30 ET
- Knicks at Pacers, 7:30 ET
- Suns at Raptors, 7:30 ET
- Jazz at Trail Blazers, 10 ET
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March 14, 2026
‘Crash Land’ Review: Crass Humor Meets Poignancy in Coming-of-Age Dramedy About Grieving Canadian Stunt Boys

Much has been theorized about how “Jackass,” the MTV stunt show from the early 2000s that spawned multiple movies and enthralled a generation of young people with its gross-out and pain-inducing antics, exhibits an absurdist version of hyper-masculinity and genuine camaraderie. These men hit each other relentlessly, put their bodies at risk, and reveled in sidesplitting laughter as a warped way of bonding with each other physically.

Such an unruly approach to brotherhood also fuels “Crash Land,” actor Dempsey Bryk’s directorial debut, a movie as poignant as it is rooted in the crass humor, recklessness, and idiocy of young men whose preferred mode of diversion is to endure bodily harm for the sake of a “cool” video or simply a shared cackle. Punches to the genitals, stupidly daring acts involving fire or firearms while under the influence of alcohol are the daily bread of Bryk’s trio of amateur stuntmen, or stunt boys, in the small, isolated Canadian town of Inch.

When Darby (Billy Bryk, the director’s brother) dies unexpectedly, from an aneurysm and not as consequence of a stunt, his closest buds, Lance (Gabriel LaBelle) and Clay (Noah Parker) refuse to acknowledge those who claim his life and theirs amounted to nothing. To prove their detractors wrong, Clay suggests they make a movie, “the greatest of all time,” to be precise, which will combine preexisting footage of Darby and new scenes in which Clay will play him wearing a paper mask (it’s as ridiculous as it sounds). There’s a heartwarming idiocy to their pursuit, yet what festers underneath is their inability to process grief consciously and the fear that those who deem their existence meaningless might be right.

The technology available to the characters — a low-grade digital camcorder and flip phones — suggest they exist some time in the early 2000s. Grainy footage of the goofy, but nonetheless risky stunts they’ve carried out over the years reflects their carefree, extremely rough-around-the-ages personas and the wildness of their banter. That those clips come off as authentic outside of their aesthetic shoddiness, attests to Bryk’s casting choices and how these young actors can convincingly portrait lifelong friends with a shared, foolish devotion. LaBelle gives in to the walking ruckus that is Lance. An agent of chaos, his one-track-minded character is perpetually on the verge of an explosive reaction, which provides a healthy dose of amusement, but also makes him erratic and dangerous.

The film’s revelation is Parker, a Quebecois actor recently seen in the French-language drama “Who By Fire.” He holds the heart of “Crash Land” on his endearingly confused visage. Clay’s innocent expression of sadness after Darby’s passing gradually gives way to the face of a young man whose inner world is expanding as he considers that maybe amateur and vulgar stunts may not be a sustainable path forward — especially if other opportunities await outside of Inch’s limits. Each time Parker comes on screen works as a warm reminder that there’s soulfulness here, not just a trite “boys will be boys” tirade.

“Crash Land” takes a turn into the realm of expected tropes when introducing a romantic interest for Clay, who arrives as a catalyst for the guys to consider growing up. The soft-spoken, overprotected Jemma (Abby Quinn), a girl from Quebec in town for a while, doesn’t judge the boys, but takes their silly bravado and poor decision-making as a sincere, if misguided expression of who they are, but not the only thing they are. That includes the humorous neuroticism of Sander (Finn Wolfhard of “Stranger Things” fame), a third man in the operation (and an orphan) tasked with directing the Damsy tribute film. There’s a bit of a meta element at play since “Crash Land” is the newest feature from Kid Brother, a production company that Wolfhard and Billy Bryk co-founded, after “Hell of a Summer.”

The psychology that Bryk wrote for these young men is the key as to why these brutes are more lovable than unbearable. They move through the world unaware of the disconnect between how they understand their actions and how they are perceived. Despite what they’re known for in town — crashing out before ever taking off — Clay is heartbroken when learning that their neighbors see them as “bad boys.” In his mind, their wacky and irresponsible outings don’t come from a place of malice or a desire to harm anyone, but function as the language through which him and his friends communicate. Through the timid charisma of Quinn’s performance as Jemma, as the damsel in the equation who is not in distress but a voice of reason, Bryk doesn’t suggest Lance and Clay or even Sander should forsake the playfulness that bonds them, but allow themselves a chance to explore other facets of their selves. In turn, Jemma gets from them a modicum of their fearlessness.

A new entry into the “dudes rock” canon (movies that celebrate male camaraderie at its most earnest and less toxic) and simultaneously a coming-of-age yarn, “Crash Land” moves through familiar avenues structurally, yet its winsome nitwits become its greatest virtue.

March 14, 2026
‘Drag’ SXSW Review: Come for the Petty Theft, Stay for the Unexpected Serial Killings

At this fraught moment in our culture, it comes as a small surprise that a movie called “Drag” is not about the terrors of “gender ideology,” nor the apparent threat to Western civilization of people dressing up in garb generally associated with the opposite sex. Instead, writer-directors Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer’s debut feature draws its title from the simple action of pulling a dead-weight object along the ground or floor. That item happens to be a woman — and she isn’t even one of the victims (at least yet) of a serial killer figuring significantly in the plot. Grievous bodily harm, nonconsensual drugging, murder, yes…still, thank god there’s nothing unwholesome here, like say a man in a dress.

Actually, there is quite a bit of John Stamos in underwear. But his character’s heterosexual bona fides are a given, however eccentrically those desires may manifest themselves. Nonetheless, “Drag” is mostly a sister act, with Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito as quarrelsome siblings who find themselves in ever-deepening trouble during a house robbery gone wrong. It’s a narrow, somewhat one-note, crisis-driven premise that might’ve worked just as well as a short. To the filmmakers’ credit, though, tension and edgy humor are sustained for nearly 90 minutes of caustic entertainment. Their enthusiastically nasty little bon-bon is likely to go over well as an opening-weekend premiere in SXSW’s Midnighter selection.

Sparring with the familiarity of lifelong familial conflict, the two protagonists do not enjoy the benefit of being named — a final cast scroll designates Caplan simply as “Fuckup,” and DeVito as “Sister.” (Two remaining dramatic personae get the even more generic labels of “Man” and “Woman.”) The more ignobly categorized heroine is a ne’er-do-well who’s scraping by as a bartender, with various dubious side gigs and an even more dubious relationship history. Her sibling — a comparatively upstanding grownup with husband, daughter and restaurant business — has once again gotten reluctantly corralled into assistance, this time as driver/lookout while sis breaks into the home of “some guy who owes me money.”

That is a likely fib, as the long-suffering lady behind the wheel is all too aware. Things do go well enough for a couple minutes, as surprisingly this well-isolated rural house full of valuable-looking objets d’art does not have any evident security system. Once inside, however, the miscreant sister communicates (via walkie-talkie) in a squeal of wordless agony. Forced to investigate, DeVito finds Caplan immobilized in an upstairs jacuzzi bathtub. Against all odds, in reaching for some item to steal, she’s managed to fall and throw out her back.

This is but the first in a series of escalating misfortunes. Sis can hardly move. But she must be moved, before the owner’s expected return in a half hour or so. An unnoticed protrusion on the floor she’s dragged across renders her injury considerably worse, turning temporary acute discomfort into a real medical emergency. Such new problems delay exit until they can only hide from the sole occupant (Stamos), a successful painter of abstract female portraits. He is perilously close to discovering the intruders when the doorbell rings. Turns out he has a date this evening, a younger woman (Christine Ko) who’s an aspiring artist herself, met via a dating site.

Suffice it to say, this invited guest should be a lot more careful about accepting invites from strangers. By the time Responsible Sis reports “He’s roofied a girl or something!,” it has become clear that quite a number of women have entered this household — but possibly none have ever made it out alive. Our heroines must somehow rescue themselves as well as an oblivious third party, while keeping the host unaware of their presence.

It initially seems like a mistake to have the main protagonists so consistently at each other’s throats, one sick of being pulled into another’s messes, while the second resents her fed-up sister’s moral superiority. The co-directors’ script is eventful enough, however, to keep their squabbling more as comedic background noise than an irksome dominant element. Caplan effectively negotiates a gamut of punishing physical pains, played close to slapstick, while DeVito mingles exasperation and sympathy — we know she won’t abandon her sister, much as she might like to. Ko from the FX “Dave” sitcom is funny as a flirtatious guest so brashly overconfident, she stays unaware of her peril even in the most extreme circumstances.

Cast against type, Stamos has fun slyly underplaying a thoroughly depraved character. Though when he’s finally seen in full evil flight, the actor is arguably allowed to wax a little too cute about it. Speaking of which, the soundtrack also overdoses a bit on the calculated wackiness of vintage cuts by Bonzo Dog Band, the Monty Python-adjacent 1960s British novelty music act.

In contrast to those comedy elements, Patrick Stump’s original score takes a useful straight-suspense approach. Cinematographer Ben Goodman straddles the line between both with sharp lensing that places particular emphasis on overhead shots, underlining Caplan’s horizontal helplessness. Production designer Neil Patel has outfitted Chez Stamos with a lot of eye-catching decor detail, not least the paintings attributed to that malevolent “Man,” but in fact daubed by Yagolnitzer.

Some viewers may find “Drag’s” denouement a tad more cruel than strictly necessary. But this modest, resourceful exercise in gallows humor can’t be faulted for not sticking to its guns.

March 14, 2026
“$1 Billion Soon”: Hugo Philion Predicts 500% Growth for XRP on Flare

Flare Network cofounder Hugo Philion confirmed that the XRPFi ecosystem is on the verge of a historic breakthrough as the volume of assets in FXRP, which is wrapped $XRP on the Flare network, has already come very close to the $200 million mark.

The goal, however, according to Philion, is more ambitious, as he states that reaching the $1 billion level is a matter of the near future, which literally implies a 500% increase in liquidity within the network.

Why $1 billion milestone is within reach for $XRP: Key growth drivers

Major developers on Flare, such as Quantic, note that millions of dollars are flowing daily from the $XRP Ledger into Flare, raising the main question for builders: how to use this flow effectively.

Philion’s forecast that $1 billion will soon be locked in $XRP can be supported by several arguments. For example, the fact that FXRP is currently the only possible option for spot trading $XRP on the Hyperliquid platform — the main decentralized environment in the crypto industry.

We are at almost $200m USD in FXRP now. We will soon be at $1Bn. https://t.co/0woU9HxqRm?from=article-links

— Hugo Philion (@HugoPhilion) March 13, 2026

In addition, FXRP staking integration with the Xaman wallet has been implemented. This allows $XRP Ledger users to directly route their assets into Flare for staking and receiving yield in $XRP inside the wallet. Major companies, such as VivoPower and Everything Blockchain, have already begun using Flare infrastructure to generate yield on their $XRP reserves.

Moreover, modular lending protocols Morpho and Mystic allow FXRP holders to use their tokens as collateral, while today it also became known that FXRP received integration with Base, Coinbase’s network, where the total value locked currently stands at $4.2 billion.

The numbers are on Philion’s side, and $87 billion in $XRP market cap makes this $1 billion prediction much more real than it seems from first glance.

March 14, 2026
BlockSec Joins Morph Payment Accelerator as Official Audit Partner

Morph has recently announced that BlockSec is joining the Morph Payment Accelerator as its official audit partner. The partnership gives payment companies building on Morph direct access to professional smart contract audits and penetration testing, with a 20% discount on audit services exclusively for Payment Accelerator participants.

🔐 Security is foundational for real payment infrastructure.@BlockSecTeam joins the Morph Payment Accelerator as an official audit partner, helping teams launch secure, audited payment products on Morph.

Built for payments. Secured for scale.

Learn more ↓ pic.twitter.com/6kvo2Fhwrz

— Morph (@MorphNetwork) March 13, 2026

For a program designed to scale real-world payment products on Morph mainnet, having a dedicated security partner in place before companies go live is a meaningful structural addition.

What BlockSec Actually Does

BlockSec is not a generalist security firm that added smart contract audits to its service list after the fact. The company was built around the principle that security research and real-world protection belong in the same organization.

Its work spans smart contract audits, infrastructure security reviews, and real-time threat monitoring through its Phalcon product suite, which gives clients ongoing visibility into live protocol activity rather than a one-time pre-launch check.

Its client base covers a wide range of onchain environments: DeFi protocols, centralized exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and crypto payment providers across multiple markets. That range matters here.

Payment infrastructure sits at the intersection of several of those categories simultaneously, and a security firm that has only ever audited DeFi code is not the same as one that has worked directly with payment-focused products handling continuous user fund flows.

As part of the Morph partnership, BlockSec will provide participating companies with smart contract audits, penetration testing, and security guidance throughout the build and deployment process. Eligible Payment Accelerator projects can reach out directly to begin the audit process and access the discounted rate.

Why Payment Products Face a Different Security Bar

There is a tendency in the onchain space to treat security as a universal concern with universal solutions. Smart contract audits are smart contract audits. In practice, payment infrastructure operates under a distinct set of requirements that most audit checklists were not originally designed around.

A DeFi protocol experiencing an exploit typically affects liquidity providers and traders who understood the risk profile of what they were using.

A payment gateway processing thousands of daily transactions for merchants and end consumers operates in a different accountability environment entirely. Downtime is a business failure. A fund loss event is potentially a regulatory one. The threshold for what counts as acceptable security is higher, and the consequences of falling short are less contained.

This is before factoring in the specific attack surfaces that payment products introduce. High-frequency transaction patterns, predictable settlement windows, and integration with off-chain systems all create vectors that standard DeFi audit frameworks may not fully address.

Penetration testing becomes relevant in ways it rarely is for isolated onchain protocols. BlockSec’s experience across both smart contract and infrastructure security makes it suited to cover that broader surface area.

About the Morph Payment Accelerator

The $150 million Payment Accelerator, backed by the BGB ecosystem, is a performance-based program for payment companies, financial institutions, and infrastructure providers building on Morph.

Most accelerator programs pay out on milestones or proposal quality. This one pays on volume. Incentives are tied to verified stablecoin payment settled on Morph mainnet, so the companies that move more money earn more. There is no optimizing for program mechanics here.

Target verticals include crypto cards and digital issuing, cross-border remittance platforms, and merchant payment gateways. Participants build on Morph’s near-instant settlement infrastructure, lower operating costs relative to traditional payment rails, and programmable onchain functionality designed for payment flows at scale.

Final Words

The BlockSec partnership adds a security standard to that foundation. Rather than leaving each participating company to independently source and fund its own audit process, the accelerator now provides a direct path to credible security coverage at a reduced cost.

For early-stage payment companies where budget constraints can push security timelines later than they should be, that structure removes a real friction point. It also raises the overall quality floor for what gets built and shipped within the program, which benefits every participant as the ecosystem grows.

March 14, 2026