News briefs

Tribune News Service on Jun 9, 2026

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Trump plans to skip Knicks Game 4 of NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump reportedly plans to skip Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden after getting roundly booed by New York Knicks fans before Monday night’s deflating Game 3 loss.

The president has “scheduling conflicts and obligations” that will prevent him from attending the game Wednesday as the Knicks seek to extend their 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against the San Antonio Spurs, ESPN reported Tuesday.

Trump brushed off the boo birds who serenaded him with Bronx cheers when he was shown on video screens during the singing of the national anthem as he became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

“It was, I think, mostly cheers,” he told reporters after the game before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. “It was loud, and it was very enthusiastic.” Trump also appeared to doze off at times as he sat in a luxury sky box alongside Knicks owner James Dolan and several Cabinet officials and political allies.

—New York Daily News

NC House passes crypto ATM bill to curb scams. Will the Senate take it up?

RALEIGH, N.C. — A bill aimed at regulating cryptocurrency kiosks, often called crypto ATMs, advanced in the North Carolina House on Tuesday.

The measure comes as the machines — which allow users to convert cash into digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum — have spread across the Triangle and the country while drawing increasing scrutiny for their role in fraud and scam schemes.

North Carolina currently has no regulations governing crypto ATMs despite several other states having taken action, with Indiana having completely banned the kiosks.

House Bill 920, the Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection Act, seeks to change that. The legislation was introduced last week as a substitute to another bill and has moved quickly through House committees, where it has been further amended.

—The News & Observer

Chicago aldermen push for stiffer penalties on marijuana smoking, sales around schools and parks

CHICAGO — Aldermen advanced a proposed ordinance Tuesday that stiffens penalties for marijuana-related offenses near Chicago schools and parks — and could include sharp punishments for smoking cannabis in public.

The measure would expand the city’s long-standing “safe passage” laws that already place steep minimum fines and jail sentences for weapons violations near such locations. With Tuesday’s vote, aldermen moved closer to adding more offenses tied to cannabis consumption to the mix.

The ordinance affecting parks, playgrounds and “student safety zones” is an effort to crack down on marijuana sales in areas where children are present, chief sponsor Ald. Gilbert Villegas told the City Council Public Safety Committee.

“If you get two or three tickets for your vehicle, you get the boot. Here, folks are allowed to sell cannabis, and there’s no remediation, no path that (police) can take to address the issue,” Villegas said. “I’m not trying to lock them up and throw away the key, I’m not. But there’s a void here.”

—Chicago Tribune

Xi cements sway over North Korea as Kim names China top priority

Kim Jong Un feted Chinese President Xi Jinping with two days of lavish celebrations in Pyongyang, calling ties with China a “top priority” in a clear message that Beijing, not Moscow, remains North Korea’s most important partner.

Kim’s description of the relationship as “the most important top-priority strategic work” goes beyond standard rhetoric, signaling his recalibration back toward China after years of drawing closer to Moscow. It was the first time the North Korean leader said that to Xi, even as Kim has referred to Putin as his “dearest friend.”

Kim rolled out the red carpet for the Chinese leader’s first visit to the North Korean capital in seven years. In a clear sign the communist neighbors are broadening bilateral ties, the two leaders vowed to expand cooperation in trade, tourism and technology cooperation alongside deeper diplomatic and military ties.

“Russia is already in its corner, along with several of Russia’s close network of friends and partners,” said Jenny Town, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center. “Adding high-level relations with China back into the mix really underscores Kim Jong Un’s rising profile.”

—Bloomberg News