- Updates that remove remaining `metadata.finalizers` from  an object that is pending deletion (non-nil metadata.deletionTimestamp) and has no graceful deletion pending (nil or 0 metadata.deletionGracePeriodSeconds) now results in immediate deletion of the object. ([#77952](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/77952), [@liggitt](https://github.com/liggitt))

* Add the support to the scheduler for spreading pods of StatefulSets. ([#41708](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/41708), [@bsalamat](https://github.com/bsalamat))
* Added support to minimize sending verbose node information to scheduler extender by sending only node names and expecting extenders to cache the rest of the node information ([#41119](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/41119), [@sarat-k](https://github.com/sarat-k))

* Fixed a bug in the apiserver storage that could cause just-added finalizers to be ignored on an immediately following delete request, leading to premature deletion. ([#77619](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/77619), [@caesarxuchao](https://github.com/caesarxuchao))

### API Change

- '`kube-apiserver`: adds `--authentication-config` flag for reading `AuthenticationConfiguration`
  files. `--authentication-config` flag is mutually exclusive with the existing `--oidc-*`

* kube-controller-manager: Add configure-cloud-routes option ([#25614](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/25614), [@justinsb](https://github.com/justinsb))
* kubelet: reading cloudinfo from cadvisor ([#21373](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/21373), [@enoodle](https://github.com/enoodle))

- Fix clearing of rate-limiter for the queue of checks for cleaning stale pod disruption conditions. 

* Fixed an issue reporting lack of progress for a deployment prematurely ([#52178](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/52178), [@kargakis](https://github.com/kargakis))
* [fluentd-gcp addon] Bug with event-exporter leaking memory on metrics in clusters with CA is fixed. ([#52263](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/52263), [@crassirostris](https://github.com/crassirostris))



# v1.7.6