OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA has fined Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams $25,000 for wearing clothing with profane language during a postgame media session, the league announced Monday.
Williams’ actions came Sunday after the Thunder’s 125-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their conference semifinals playoff series. Williams scored 24 points to help the Thunder advance to the Western Conference finals. Oklahoma City will open the series at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Williams was a first-time All-Star this season. He averaged 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists during the regular season for the Thunder, who finished with a league-best 68-14 record.
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) works around a pick set by Alex Caruso (9) against Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, left, in the second half of Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) celebrates in the second half of Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Oklahoma City Thunder's Jalen Williams celebrates as he walks off the court after the team's win against the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)
The massive military parade commemorating the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army, which coincides with President Donald Trump ’s 79th birthday is being staged Saturday in Washington, D.C. The event is expected to include about 6,600 soldiers, 50 helicopters and 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks, as well as possibly 200,000 attendees and heightened security to match.
Opponents of the president’s agenda are simultaneously rallying in hundreds of cities nationwide at “No Kings” protests following days of nationwide demonstrations against federal immigration raids, including in Los Angeles, where Trump deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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It’s a festive atmosphere in the shadow of the Georgia state capitol, where the American Civil Liberties Union is handing out blue wristbands to keep count of the crowd in Liberty Plaza, which can hold up to 5,000 people.
Many of the “No Kings” demonstrators are carrying American flags. It’s a diverse crowd, mostly people in their 50s or older, and some families with children.
One woman is carrying a sign saying “when cruelty becomes normal, compassion looks radical.” Taylar W. — she didn’t want her full last name used — said “there’s just so much going on in this country that’s not OK, and if no one speaks up about it, who will?”
A day ahead of the military parade in Washington, about 60 veterans and family members were arrested on Friday after authorities said they crossed a police line.
Organizers with Veterans for Peace said they were planning to hold a sit-in at the U.S. Capitol in protest of the presence of military members on the nation’s streets. That includes for Saturday’s military parade, as well as National Guard and active-duty Marines in Los Angeles.
Police say participants were arrested after they crossed a perimeter of bike racks intended to keep them away from the U.S. Capitol.
The tanks are staged and ready to roll. Fencing and barriers are up. Protective metal plating has been laid out on Washington’s streets.
And more than 6,000 troops are poised to march near the National Mall to honor the Army’s 250th anniversary on Saturday, which happens to be President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
One big unknown: Rain is in the forecast and lightning could cause delays, but the White House said the parade must go one, rain or shine. And Trump said Thursday night that the weather “doesn’t matter ... Doesn’t affect the tanks at all. Doesn’t affect the soldiers. They’re used to it.”
Daylong festivities celebrating the Army are planned on the National Mall — featuring NFL players, fitness competitions and displays — culminating in the parade, which is estimated to cost $25 million to $45 million. The Army expects as many as 200,000 people to attend.
A special reviewing area is being set up so that the president can watch up close as each formation passes the White House.
Cities large and small were preparing for major demonstrations Saturday across the U.S. against Trump, as officials urge calm and National Guard troops mobilize.
A flagship “No Kings” march and rally are planned in Philadelphia, but no events are scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C.
The demonstrations come on the heels of protests flaring up around the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.
Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades while officials enforced curfews in Los Angeles and Democratic governors called Trump’s Guard deployment “an alarming abuse of power” that “shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement.”
The massive military parade that President Trump has long wanted is set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday evening, with tanks, bands and thousands of troops.
And the biggest question marks are whether it will be overshadowed or delayed by either the weather in Washington or planned protests elsewhere around the country.
Falling on Trump’s 79th birthday, the parade was added just a few weeks ago to the Army’s long-planned 250th anniversary celebration. It has triggered criticism for its price tag of up to $45 million and the possibility that the lumbering tanks could tear up city streets. The Army has taken a variety of steps to protect the streets, including laying metal plates down along the route.
The daylong display of America’s Army comes as Trump has shown his willingness to use his fighting forces in ways other U.S. presidents have typically avoided, inviting an array of lawsuits and accusations that he is politicizing the military.
A fence blocks access to the White House ahead of an upcoming military parade commemorating the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A man bicycles with several flags past a helicopter on display during preparations for an upcoming military parade commemorating the Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin).
People walk in between security fencing and concrete barricades toward a large photograph of President Donald Trump and President Abraham Lincoln, draped on the USDA building, Friday, June 13, 2025, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Members of the California National Guard and U.S. Marines, guard the entrance outside the Wilshire Federal Building, ahead of Saturday's nationwide "No Kings Day" protest, in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, June 13, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Soldiers prepare ahead of wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, honoring the Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
