When Aaron Nola threw the first pitch of Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers, the temperature at Citizens Bank Park was a chilly 45 degrees.
Fans in the stands were bundled up in blankets, and several Phillies wore red balaclavas underneath their baseball caps for the coldest first pitch in Philadelphia since 2019.
For the first eight innings, the Phillies’ bats reflected the weather.
A furious ninth-inning rally spurred some late excitement and forced extras, but the Phillies ultimately fell, 5-4, to the Rangers in the 10th.
“They kept after it,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Two big hits with two strikes. Never gave up.”
The winning run was scored on Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the 10th inning. A single from Wyatt Langford, a bloop just 67.8 mph off the bat, advanced ghost-running Brandon Nimmo, who then came home on a wild pitch. Andrew McCutchen then singled to drive in an insurance run.
With two runners on in the bottom of the 10th and the opportunity to answer back, Kyle Schwarber challenged the strike call on a cutter from Tyler Alexander that barely caught the bottom outside corner of the zone. The call was confirmed, and when Alexander threw a changeup below the zone for a called third strike to Schwarber, the Phillies had no challenges remaining to attempt to overturn it.
“It’s a game of inches. It’s less than inches,” Brandon Marsh said. “I’m still getting used to it. … It’s kind of nuts seeing just how close those balls are to the zone, missing or barely catching it. I feel like we’re all still trying to get a good gauge for it, and as the season goes on, we’ll figure it out.”
Thomson said he had no issue with Schwarber using the Phillies’ final challenge in that situation.
“Especially with those guys late in the game like that, it could change the at-bat,” Thomson said.
With the Phillies down to their final out in the 10th, Bryce Harper cut into the Texas lead with a broken-bat single that scored the Phillies’ automatic runner, but Alec Bohm popped out to shortstop to end the game.
The Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto hits a fifth-inning single against the Rangers on Saturday.
Texas lefty Jacob Latz stepped in for scheduled starter Jacob DeGrom, who was scratched a few hours before game time with a stiff neck. He held the Phillies without a hit for the first four innings. J.T. Realmuto finally delivered a single off reliever Cole Winn in the fifth, but that was the Phillies’ only hit until the ninth.
“They pitched really well,” Thomson said. “Latz threw well. He attacked, threw strikes. Their entire pitching staff attacked; a lot of first-pitch strikes. They did a nice job keeping us off-balance, but I liked the way we fought at the end.”
The Phillies found themselves down early after Corey Seager ambushed Nola in the first inning with a solo home run on the first pitch he saw. The Rangers tacked on to their lead in the third when Nola hung a curveball to first baseman Jake Burger, who hit a two-run shot to the left field foul pole.
The damage could have been even worse. Nola wriggled out of a jam in the second inning after walking the first two batters. He induced a force out at third followed by a lineout, and then struck out Danny Jansen looking to leave both runners.
“Felt pretty good, body and arm felt good,” Nola said. “I think the command in the second inning got out of whack there, but felt like it came back pretty well. I threw a lot of pitches. They worked the counts pretty good. Obviously, those two pitches that those guys hit for homers were tough.”
In the third inning, Justin Crawford made a jumping catch at the center field wall to rob Langford of extra bases.
Nola allowed five hits, two walks, and struck out seven over five innings. The Phillies used three lefty relievers, Tanner Banks, José Alvarado, and Tim Mayza.
The entire ninth-inning rally came with two outs. Bohm started things off with a line drive single for the Phillies’ second hit of the game. Edmundo Sosa, pinch-hitting for Stott, then won an eight-pitch battle by drawing a walk to bring up García.
The Phillies’ Adolis García prepares to bat in the second inning against the Rangers on Saturday.
García popped up the first pitch he saw, but was given another life when Burger dropped the ball in foul territory. He responded by punching a double to left field.
“It’s a crazy, crazy game,” Marsh said. “The wind was howling today, so I know that wasn’t an easy play for him. So thankfully, it fell, and got Garcia’s first knock and kept the boys rolling.”
Marsh fell behind in the count 1-2, but then connected with a splitter for a game-tying, two-RBI single to force extras.
ATLANTA — The U.S. men’s soccer team wanted to test itself against Europe’s best this month, and it got what it asked for on Saturday.
It also failed that test in front of a pro-American crowd.
Belgium rolled over the Americans, 5-2, playing just as well against the U.S. starters as against the many second-half substitutes.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino sprung some surprises with his starting lineup, the biggest being Matt Turner replacing Matt Freese at goalkeeper. Freese had played 12 straight games before Saturday, and seemed locked in as the World Cup starter.
Matt Turner in the U.S. net on Saturday.
There was also a surprise with the 10 players in front of Turner. Pochettino switched out of the three-centerback setup that was so successful in the fall, going with an attack-minded 4-2-3-1 instead.
The starting group would have been remarkably attack-minded against any opponent, but especially one of Belgium’s quality. Tim Weah and Antonee Robinson were the outside backs, and Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman, and Weston McKennie lined up in midfield behind striker Folarin Balogun.
As risky as the setup felt, the U.S. took it to Belgium early. McKennie got the best in a series of looks, denied from 8 yards by a great save from goalkeeper Senne Lammens in the 17th minute.
Belgium equalized in the 45th with a mighty hit from Zeno Debast. Jérémy Doku started the play with a sprint in from the left flank, then shot hard, but Turner punched it out. Debast corralled the ball, no one pressed him, and the centerback fired through the crowd from some 30 yards.
If Turner didn’t look great on the play, it might have been worse that no U.S. player pressed Debast before he let fly, even if him shooting was unexpected.
Turner then finished the half with one more punch-out save, denying Alexis Saelemaekers’ bouncing shot off a corner from 18 yards.
Pochettino’s first substitution was Cristian Roldan for Cardoso at halftime. But that didn’t stop Belgium from taking control of the game. Amid notable misses from Pulisic and Weah, Amadou Onana put the Red Devils up, 2-1, in the 53rd.
Lots of U.S. players looked bad on the play. Mark McKenzie was caught one-on-one with the terrific Doku on the flank. Roldan came to help, but neither closed the play down, then a trio of Americans failed to stop Saelemaekers from passing the ball back to Onana. Tanner Tessmann was then late to close down Onana, and the shot followed from atop the box.
Five minutes later, Tim Ream was called for a handball in the box, and Belgium had a penalty kick. There was a long video review to judge the contact, but referee Esteban Ostojich stuck with his call, and De Ketelaere converted from the spot.
Mass subs started in the 63rd, when Pochettino sent in Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman, and Sebastian Berhalter for Robinson, Tessmann, and Weah.
Dodi Lukébakio slammed in the fourth in the 68th, catching Arfsten twice along the way: in a two-on-one with Thomas Meunier on the right, then in a one-on-one as he cut in to shoot.
Pochettino then made four more subs, and with it switched out of a four-back formation to three. Patrick Agyemang, Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna, and Joe Scally entered, with Scally taking up a right centerback post; and Balogun, McKennie, Pulisic, and Tillman exited.
Lukébakio struck again in the 82nd, off a give-and-go with Timothy Castagne. Lots of U.S. players were guilty again here. Lukébakio almost walked past Ream, Berhalter, and Arfsten before his pass, then Scally and McKenzie stood to try to block the shot instead of pressuring the shooter.
Agyemang got a consolation goal in the 87th, cashing in a loose ball after Pepi jumped on a poor backpass attempt by Youri Tielemans.
That was a good sign of the Americans’ mentality in the midst of a rout. But the rest of the game was a sign of how far the U.S. remains behind the world’s elite.
Bucks County authorities have charged a nurse with child endangerment for allegedly harming a Bensalem 3-year-old for whom she was providing in-home services, according to a criminal complaint filed last week.
The parents of the child reported Cindy Desser to child welfare authorities after seeing home surveillance video footage in which she “smacked and slammed” the child, who was born early and has “multiple medical issues,” according to the complaint filed by Bensalem police.
The child “lives with a trachea,” according to the complaint, and one video showed the Desser “pull the trach out” and take “her time putting the trachea back in.” The child could be heard “gasping for air,” and Desser, who was the child’s “night nurse,” was recorded saying, “You did this,” the document said.
An attorney for Desser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The family hired Desser, who lives in Jamison, Pa., through Dynamic Home Health Care, according to the complaint. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
The parents told the channel they wished to remain anonymous.
“Thank God my daughter is so strong,” the mother told 6ABC. “It was just horrific. I just couldn’t believe it. It’s like almost like monsters come out at night.”
ALLENTOWN — Zack Wheeler didn’t have to subject himself to this.
In planning out where to pitch in a game for the first time since having a rib removed to relieve a compressed vein 186 days ago, the Phillies ace could have opted for the warmth of Clearwater, Fla., where the A-ball season will begin in a few days.
But Wheeler, whose recovery already is tracking ahead of schedule by several weeks, wanted a bigger test. He took the mound here, then, amid a 46-degree chill Saturday, then threw cold water all over a lineup of triple-A batters.
“It was really my choice,” Wheeler said after holding Toledo, the Tigers’ triple-A club, to two hits and one walk on 38 pitches in three scoreless innings. “I wanted to see more competitive at-bats and more competitive situations. I knew it was going to be cold, but at the end of the day, this is probably where I need to be facing hitters.”
Everyone got what they came for.
Wheeler threw each of his pitches — four-seam fastball, sinker, sweeper, cutter/slider, curveball, and splitter — to a lineup that included outfielder Wenceel Pérez and top Tigers prospects Max Clark and Jace Jung. His fastball sat 92-94 mph, slightly better than in spring training, before dipping in the third inning. His curveball was especially sharp.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler long tosses at spring training in Clearwater, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.
And the IronPigs, the Phillies’ Lehigh Valley-based triple-A affiliate, got to stage “Rehab Ribs Night,” complete with a barbecue buffet in the left-field stands above the bullpen that began an hour before the game and ran through the middle innings for an announced crowd of 6,740.
“It’s a little aggressive,” Wheeler said, smiling. “Made my bone hurt a little bit, and it’s not even there. No, whatever can help these guys out. It’s minor league baseball. They run a bunch of promotions. Whatever makes a little bit of money, I’m here for it, I guess.”
Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering was here, too. He followed Wheeler into the game and threw 10 pitches, including two of his newly minted splitters, in a scoreless fourth inning.
Wheeler and Kerkering returned to Philadelphia after the game but will rejoin the IronPigs next week in Durham, N.C. Kerkering expects to make back-to-back appearances Tuesday and Wednesday before possibly coming off the injured list; Wheeler will start Friday night, then make at least one more minor league start for double-A Reading.
After that? He could join the Phillies’ rotation.
Certainly nothing that happened in his first start for Lehigh Valley suggested otherwise.
“Yeah, it went well, obviously,” Wheeler said. “Felt good. At the end of the day, coming out of it healthy is really all that mattered to me.”
Wheeler produced seven swings-and-misses, four of which came off his curveball. He struck out Pérez on a curveball to open the game and got Trei Cruz to chase a breaking ball in the dirt to end the first inning, probably his best pitch of the start.
But despite the results, Wheeler said he wasn’t necessarily satisfied with the spin on his off-speed pitches.
“Whether it be the curve, sweeper, or even the cutter, they weren’t doing necessarily what I needed them to do,” Wheeler said. “But the curveball, it had good shape on it and it was moving so much that it was effective. It’s something that’ll come with more reps and the higher intent and stuff.”
Jung had the only hard-hit ball against Wheeler, a scalded single to right field that registered 109.5 mph off the bat. Otherwise, Wheeler got mostly soft contract. All three strikeouts came in the first inning.
Wheeler, who lost considerable weight after the surgery, said he’s still about 10 pounds lighter than usual for this time of the season. Maybe it has something to do with why he didn’t feel as comfortable pitching out of the stretch in spring training.
But he was encouraged by his effectiveness out of the stretch. Two of his higher-velocity readings — a 94-mph sinker and a 94.3-mph four-seamer — came out of the stretch to Eduardo Valencia in the first inning.
Wheeler credited a recent mechanical tweak with pitching coach Caleb Cotham in the way he comes set with his front foot.
“Just kind of thinking back over the years, what’s worked for me, we made a little adjustment and today I felt a lot better, more in sync-wise,” Wheeler said. “Sometimes you just need those little reminders along the way even though I’ve been doing it for a while. Sometimes it’s the small stuff that you kind of need to nail down as you build up.”
Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering, seen here in a simulated game earlier this spring, threw 10 pitches in a scoreless fourth inning on Saturday.
If you blinked, you missed Kerkering.
He was slowed in spring training by a strained right hamstring. He also is introducing the splitter to complement his fastball-sweeper tandem. He spiked one in the dirt and got Cruz to foul off another. It remains a work in progress.
“I think I’m comfortable right now that I can go into a big league game and throw a split,” Kerkering said. “I think tweaking it here, knowing what guys see, kind of judging their swings and trying to reevaluate from there, I think that’s what’s helpful.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian-backed Houthi rebels entered the month-old war in the Middle East on Saturday, claiming two missile launches at Israel. About 2,500 U.S. Marines arrived in the region. And Pakistan’s government said that regional powers plan to meet Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting.
The war has threatened global supplies of oil and natural gas, sparked fertilizer shortages and disrupted air travel. Iran’s grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz has shaken markets and prices. The United States and Israel continue to strike Iran, whose retaliatory attacks have targeted Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states. More than 3,000 people have been killed.
The Houthis’ entry could further hurt global shipping if they again target vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade typically passes.
There could be limited relief after Iran on Friday agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following a U.N. request. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has given Iran until April 6 to reopen the strait.
Witnesses in Tehran reported heavy strikes late Saturday. Israel’s military earlier said that it targeted Iran’s naval weapons production facilities, and said that it would finish attacking essential weapons production sites within “a few days.” Iran fired missiles toward Israel. The U.S. said that it has struck more than 11,000 Iranian targets in the war.
Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on the rebels’ Al-Masirah satellite television station that they launched missiles toward “sensitive Israeli military sites” in the south.
If the Houthis increase attacks on commercial shipping, as they have in the past, it would further push up oil prices and destabilize “all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. “The impact would not be limited to the energy market.”
The Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is crucial for vessels heading to the Suez Canal through the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has been sending millions of barrels of crude oil a day through it because the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed.
Houthi rebels attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels, between November 2023 and January 2025, saying that it was acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.
The Houthis’ latest involvement would complicate the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the aircraft carrier that arrived in Croatia on Saturday for maintenance. Sending it to the Red Sea could draw attacks similar to those on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2024 and the USS Harry S. Truman in 2025.
The Houthis have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014. Saudi Arabia launched a war against the Houthis on behalf of Yemen’s exiled government in 2015, and they now have an uneasy ceasefire.
Diplomacy attempts as U.S. beefs up troop numbers
Pakistan said that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt will send top diplomats to Islamabad for talks aimed at ending the war, arriving Sunday for a two-day visit. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held “extensive discussions” on regional hostilities.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Turkish counterpart by phone that Tehran was skeptical about recent diplomatic efforts. Iranian state-run media said that Araghchi accused the United States of making “unreasonable demands” and exhibiting “contradictory actions.”
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar later spoke with Araghchi and urged “an end to all attacks and hostilities.”
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has said that Washington delivered a 15-point “action list” to Iran for a possible ceasefire, with a proposal to restrict Iran’s nuclear program — the issue at the heart of tensions with the U.S. and Israel — and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran rejected it and presented a five-point proposal that included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the waterway.
Meanwhile, U.S. ships with around 2,500 Marines trained in amphibious landings have arrived, adding to the largest American force in the region in more than two decades. And at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, trained to land in hostile territory to secure key positions and airfields, have been ordered to the Middle East.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Washington “can achieve all of our objectives without ground troops.”
U.S. troops wounded at Saudi base
More than two dozen U.S. troops have been wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base in the last week, according to two people briefed on the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly.
Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at the base Friday, injuring at least 15 troops, five of them seriously, they said.
The base, about 60 miles from the Saudi capital Riyadh, was attacked twice earlier in the week, including a strike that wounded 14 U.S. troops, according to the people briefed on the matter.
More than 300 U.S. service members have been wounded in the war. At least 13 have been reported killed.
Death toll climbs
Iranian authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed in the Islamic Republic, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.
In Lebanon, where Israel has started an invasion in the south while targeting the Hezbollah militant group, officials said that more than 1,100 people in the country have been killed since the start of the war.
In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have died.
In Gulf states, 20 people have been killed. Four have been killed in the occupied West Bank.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Crowds of people protested Saturday against the war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s actions, in No Kings rallies across the U.S. and in Europe. Minnesota took center stage, in what organizers expected to be mass demonstrations involving millions of people.
Thousands of people stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the Minnesota Capitol lawn and surrounding streets in St. Paul. Some held upside down U.S. flags, historically a sign of distress.
The event’s headliner was Bruce Springsteen, who performed “Streets of Minneapolis.” He wrote the song in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement.
Before he launched into the song, Springsteen lamented Good and Pretti’s deaths but said people’s continued pushback against U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement has given the rest of the country hope.
Bruce Springsteen performs during the No Kings protest Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.
“Your strength and your commitment told us that this was still America,” he said. “And this reactionary nightmare, and these invasions of American cities, will not stand.”
People rallied from New York City, with almost 8.5 million residents in a solidly blue state, to Driggs, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in eastern Idaho, a state Trump carried with 66% of the vote in 2024.
Biggest crowds yet expected
U.S. organizers have estimated that the first two rounds of No Kings rallies drew more than 5 million people in June and 7 million in October. This week they told reporters they expected 9 million participants Saturday, though it was too early to tell whether those expectations were met.
Organizers said more than 3,100 events — 500 more than in October — were registered, in all 50 states.
In Topeka, Kansas, a rally outside the Statehouse had people impersonating a frog king and Trump as a baby. Wendy Wyatt drove with “Cats Against Trump” sign from Lawrence, 20 miles to the east, and planned to drive back to her hometown for a later rally there.
Wyatt said “there are so many things” about the Trump administration that upset her, but “this is very hopeful to me.”
GOP officials dismissive of protests
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson characterized them as the product of “leftist funding networks” with little real public support.
The “only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” Jackson said in a statement.
The National Republican Congressional Committee was also sharply critical.
“These Hate America Rallies are where the far-left’s most violent, deranged fantasies get a microphone,” NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole said.
Protesters have a long list of causes
The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement, particularly in Minnesota, were just one item on a long list of protester grievances that also included the war in Iran and the rollback of transgender rights.
In Washington, hundreds marched past the Lincoln Memorial and into the National Mall, holding signs that read “Put down the crown, clown” and “Regime change begins at home.” Demonstrators rang bells, played drums and chanted “No kings.”
Bill Jarcho was there from Seattle, joined by six people dressed as insects wearing tactical vests that said, “LICE,” spoofing ICE as part of what he called a “mock and awe” tour.
“What we provide is mockery to the king,” Jarcho said. “It’s about taking authoritarianism and making fun of it, which they hate.”
About 40,000 people marched in a No Kings event in San Diego, police there said.
In New York, Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said during a news conference that Trump and his supporters want people to be afraid to protest.
“They want us to be afraid that there’s nothing we can do to stop them,” she said. ”But you know what? They are wrong — dead wrong.”
But organizers said two-thirds of the RSVPs for the rallies came from outside of major urban centers. That included communities in conservative-leaning states like Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota, and Louisiana, as well in competitive suburban areas of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.
Springsteen’s Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour has a No Kings theme and kicks off Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Before the rocker known as “the Boss” took the stage, organizers played a video from Robert DeNiro. The actor said he wakes up every morning depressed because of Trump but was happier Saturday because millions of people were protesting. He also congratulated Minnesota residents for running ICE out.
An event on the Minnesota Capitol grounds in June drew an estimated 80,000 people and Minnesota organizers expected 100,000 on Saturday.
Protesters held up a massive sign on the Capitol steps that read, “We had whistles, they had guns. The revolution starts in Minneapolis.”
A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty takes part in the “No Kings” protest in Paris on Saturday.
Rallies planned outside the U.S.
Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries, from Europe to Latin America to Australia, Ezra Levin, a co-executive director of Indivisible, a group spearheading the events, said in an interview. Countries with constitutional monarchies call the protests “No Tyrants,” he said.
In Rome, thousands of people marched with defiant chants aimed at Premier Giorgia Meloni, whose conservative government saw its referendum for streamlining Italy’s judiciary badly fail earlier this week amid criticism that it was a threat to the courts’ independence. Protesters waved banners protesting the Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran, calling for “A world free from wars.”
In London, people protesting the war in Iran held banners that said, “Stop the far right” and “Stand up to Racism.”
And on Saturday morning in Paris, several hundred people, mostly Americans living in France, along with French labor unions and human rights organizations, gathered at the Bastille.
“I protest all of Trump’s illegal, immoral, reckless, and feckless, endless wars,” Ada Shen, the Paris No Kings organizer, said.
FORT WORTH, Texas — UConn coach Geno Auriemma is ripping the double-regional format being used in the women’s NCAA Tournament, saying it doesn’t make sense for the teams still playing or for efforts to grow the game.
Auriemma brought up attendance, bad shooting percentages, and teams having to come to the arena early and late on the same day when taking aim at the format that’s in place for the fourth year and set to continue for at least five more.
“Well, I think the first question you’d have to ask is why did they go from four [sites] to two. What was the rationale?” the 12-time national champion coach, who grew up in Norristown and graduated from Bishop Kenrick High School and West Chester University, said Saturday. “If they can explain it legitimately and then prove that it works, then great. So what was the reason?”
NCAA officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from ghe Associated Press.
Hannah Hidalgo (3), Malaya Cowles (5), Iyana Moore (23), and their Notre Dame teammates will face UConn on Sunday.
The Huskies held their required media availability Saturday morning, after the Fighting Irish had already completed their session and before two Sweet 16 games in Fort Worth Regional 3 were played at Dickies Arena. UConn and Notre Dame had scheduled practice times there later in the evening.
“So we had to get our kids up, come over here. You already knew who we were playing last night, but we can’t get on the court, and neither can the other teams,” Auriemma said. “Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, ‘Hey, does this work?’”
“Everyone’s trying to figure that out right now,” Fudd said. “Every team is going through that. There’s no excuse in that. So we’ll figure it out. We’re making it work, but it definitely isn’t the most ideal setup.”
Auriemma, the winningest men’s or women’s NCAA basketball coach with 1,287 victories, didn’t wait for a question from reporters to share his thoughts on the format, opening his session by reading a sequence of numbers off a piece of paper: 4 for 20, 4 for 22, 1 for 17, 5 for 17, 4 for 16, 7 for 26.
“That’s the three-point shooting yesterday across the country. How many arenas are we going to sell out with that [expletive]?” he said. “Now, maybe it was just a bad day shooting by everybody. These are all teams that average probably 30 [percent], over 30, for the season. Know what time our shootaround was yesterday? Six in the morning, 6:20, I think, for half an hour.”
He also mentioned the total combined attendance (18,821 announced) at the two venues Friday, in Fort Worth and Sacramento, Calif.
UCLA coach Cori Close, whose team is the top seed in Sacramento Regional 2 and plays Duke in an Elite Eight game on Sunday, said it is important to get maximum exposure and coverage while also looking for the best setup to have high-level basketball played on the court.
“I think that I was in favor of going to the two regional sites when that happened,” Close said. “I think every year we should look and go, Where are we in our game? How did this play out, efficiency-wise, from a student-athlete wellbeing side. Is there some ways in which we can organize to make things a little bit more cohesive so teams aren’t going back and forth from media coverage to practices later and those kinds of things?’”
Auriemma said there is a lack of input from coaches, and that nothing changes, even when the NCAA sends representatives to schools every year after the tournament.
“Hopefully I’m speaking for the other coaches,” he said. “Some coaches might think I’m full of it. And this is not about UConn. I hope everybody understands that. This is not about us, because we’ve managed to go to the Final Four and win national championships, no matter where they’re played, when they’re played, what time they’re played, whatever.
“I think there is a level of frustration right now among the coaches that’s higher than any time I’ve ever seen it.”
Duke coach Kara Lawson would like more practice time on the game court, especially more than the designated half-hour on game days for shootarounds, which routinely last about an hour the rest of the season.
“That would be the only thing I’d change. I mean two regionals, I think the arena thing is the thing that’s hard,” Lawson said. “It’s not that we’re in the same city, it’s that we don’t get long enough practice or shootaround times in the venue for your most important games of the season.”
For the second day in a row, Auriemma mentioned new rims and new basketballs being used during NCAA Tournament games and the impact those have on shooting.
“It’s hard to make shots in the postseason. They just break out these new baskets, new rims, and then it gets in the kids’ heads,” Auriemma said Friday after UConn’s 63-42 win over North Carolina, in which the teams were a combined 8 of 42 on three-pointers.
The coach on Saturday again brought up “new basketballs right out of the box” and the rims.
“Got people dribbling the ball off their feet,” he said. “You got people missing layups all over the place. You bounce the ball, and it goes up to the ceiling. There’s just no concept of how basketball is played. Not that I have any of the answers. Believe me, I just have questions.”
In step with demonstrators nationwide Saturday, thousands took to streets across the Philadelphia region — from Center City, to Ardmore, to Camden — denouncing President Donald Trump, his policies, and his administration.
It was the third No Kings protest in roughly nine months, signaling the breadth of dissent and concern over what protesters see as Trump’s authoritarianism and his attempts to consolidate and expand his power. Protesters condemned the gamut of the president’s agenda, including escalating immigration enforcement, the war in Iran and rising gas prices at home, and the dismantling of foreign aid programs.
“The people in power are making decisions that they won’t have to live through,” said Electra Powers, who brought her Grays Ferry family to the demonstration outside Philadelphia City Hall. “The future they’re setting up for our kids is horrible.”
On a brisk March afternoon, chants reverberated throughout Center City, drums beat in time, and homemade signs swung as participants marched down the Ben Franklin Parkway to a rally at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Near City Hall’s north entrance, Meoshe McQueen unfurled a large American flag, a tribute to her father, she said, who served as an airman in World War II.
“My father fought for equality and justice,” the North Philly native said. “The world we live in today threatens that. We want fairness, regardless of a person’s color, creed, or race. None of that matters.”
“We need a world where kids can be safe, and not hauled off based on the color of their skin,” said Pamela Schott of Jenkintown, who held up a sign pleading for “peace and safety” for her grandchildren.
Energy was also building in pockets of the region where Trump has more political capital, and those who oppose the president feel their voices drowned out.
“I grew up in an America where I saw change for the good,” said Betsy Tucker of Bucks County. “Now, I’ve seen that change ripped away.”
Michelle Dupree, 67, was one of the first of roughly 150 people at the Northeast Philly No Kings rally at Bustleton Field. She had hoped more people would show up in the Northeast.
She was tired. But not defeated.
“It’s important to me,” she said, waving her sign for the modest, but steady stream of drivers, who registered their approval with a honk or three. “My knees hurt. My back hurts. It’s so frustrating to be at home and to watch the news — you want to scream. You want to be heard.”
Olivia Hayes was among a couple thousand ralliers in Ardmore. Hayes was cheered by reports of robust crowds at No Kings events in other suburban spots, like Wayne and nearby Havertown. For a few hours, at least, a sense of pride pierced the anger and hopelessness, she said.
“It’s great to see such a community,” she said. “When you’re in your day-to-day life, and not around so many people, it can be hard to have hope.”
Betsy and Al Tucker attend the Northeast Philly No Kings protest on Saturday.
Across the river, Camden hosted its first No Kings protest (previous events were held in Collingswood and Haddon Heights). The change in locale was driven by increased immigration enforcement and presence in the area, said Michele Messer, of Cooper River Indivisible. Camden city’s population is about 54% Hispanic, according to U.S. Census data. Last month, a nearby ICE operation made a group of Camden County fourth graders and fifth graders run away from a bus stop in a panic, according to the Lindenwold School District.
“We’re a united front,” she said, “no matter where you land on the political spectrum, we need to work together and build coalitions to fight back against what this administration continues to try to pile on us.
“And the stronger that fabric, the stronger we’ll be.”
In a statement to the Associated Press, the White House dismissed the nationwide protests as the product of “leftist funding networks” with little real public support.
Center City attendees said the sense of urgency is growing.
“We wanted to show our support for the movement,” Peter Maiolino said. “If we weren’t outraged last time, we definitely are now.
“Things have only gotten worse.”
In a video message to the crowd, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle — who was stuck in Washington, D.C., as congressional leaders haggle over the partial government shutdown, which has forced Transportation Security Administration employees to work for weeks without pay — encouraged people to continue their protest, even after the rally concluded.
“This is a fight we cannot lose, but we need to be crystal clear about what is that stake in this country,” Boyle (D., Philadelphia) said. “Our president is more concerned about building his ‘big beautiful ballroom’ than he is about the poor and working-class people in this country.”
Avenging The Ancestors Coalition (ATAC) leader and attorney Michael Coard echoed Boyle’s sentiments, calling the attendees “the revolution.” ATAC stewarded the President’s House Site on Independence Mall, a slavery memorial removed — and later partially restored by court order — in what some have called an attempt by the Trump administration to sanitize history.
Michael Coard, of the Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, speaks Saturday at the third No Kings rally in Philadelphia.
“When I say fascism, I want you to know that I say it without hyperbole,” he said. “Today America is where Italy was in 1926, but we are not going to do the same. We are going to fight a good fight and we are going to win.”
The No Kings’ trajectory has been atypical compared to other social movements, where enthusiasm historically wanes over time, according to Billie Murray, an associate professor of communication at Villanova University. No Kings has, instead, gained momentum: Organizers say more than 5 million people took to the streets in June, followed by more than 7 million in October. Organizers projected 9 million people would participate Saturday.
“The issues don’t seem to be getting resolved,” Murray said, “people see that as a motivating factor — ‘We have to keep pushing, we have to keep trying, we have to keep organizing.’ … People aren’t seeing the change that they want to see.”
FBI Director Kash Patel is pressing to release a decade-old investigative file involving Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) and a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, recently dispatching agents in the bureau’s San Francisco office to quickly redact the files before they are released publicly despite no evidence of wrongdoing by Swalwell, according to three people familiar with the effort.
The potential release is part of the Trump administration’s aggressive push to investigate Swalwell, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, according to the people familiar with the effort. It is highly unusual for the FBI to release case files tied to a probe that did not result in criminal charges.
As FBI director, Patel has focused on trying to bring a criminal case against the outspoken Democrat, reassigning multiple agents in San Francisco to work on the matter, the current and former officials said. FBI leaders have even discussed sending agents to China to talk to the suspected intelligence operative, believing she could have damaging information about Swalwell, according to two of the people familiar with the investigation. The people familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an investigation that has not been made public.
The Chinese woman at issue is Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, who reportedly courted Swalwell and other California politicians in the United States from 2011 to 2015. She helped with fundraising for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign and even helped place an intern in his congressional office. When federal agents conveyed their concerns about Fang to Swalwell around 2015, he reportedly cut off ties with her and said he helped investigators.
Swalwell was not accused of any wrongdoing when the FBI investigated his relationship with Fang a decade ago. In 2023, the Republican-led House Ethics Committee closed a two-year investigation into the congressman, deciding to “take no further action.”
Despite that, FBI leaders have recently suggested in internal discussions that the government could try to arrange for Fang to get a U.S. visa in exchange for speaking with FBI agents about the Democrat, according to the three people with knowledge of Patel’s efforts. It would be highly unorthodox to grant a visa to a person suspected of being an intelligence agent for a foreign superpower.
An FBI spokesperson disputed any notion of improper motives. “The contentions in this story are incorrect,” the spokesperson said. “This FBI, being the most transparent in history, prepares documents for numerous different reasons, including for release to different agencies and departments to further review investigations that may have been opened under previous administrations.”
The push to publicly release the investigative files, the people interviewed said, suggests that the FBI has struggled to so far build a criminal case against Swalwell. Even if there is no incriminating evidence in the files, an extensive case file could contain revealing and personal details about Swalwell and his campaign operations.
The lengths that Patel’s circle is going to in the bid to pursue a political foe of the president has raised alarms within the bureau, where some officials fear that releasing the files — even with redactions — could compromise law enforcement sources and investigatory methods, making it harder for the FBI to gain trust with potential witnesses.
They also said they feared the repercussions of sending agents to the territory of an adversarial nation to dig up information on a sitting congressman. Such an interview, legal experts said, would be impossible without Chinese interference, and Fang would be considered an unreliable witness.
“Most troubling about this is that we are now literally at war. We also face threats against the homeland,” Swalwell said in a statement to the Washington Post. “Kash Patel should be spending every moment trying to keep us safe, not scoring political points. A lot of people have bent the knee to this administration. But I will not, and neither will the people of California.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) speaks to reporters after a campaign event on Nov. 3, 2025, in San Francisco.
Swalwell, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, has been an unusually aggressive and colorful critic of the president, frequently criticizing the president in media interviews and on the dais as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. Swalwell also was a House “manager” — essentially, a prosecutor — in Trump’s 2021 impeachment for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Swalwell’s district in Northern California includes a large Chinese American population. Republicans and media personalities frequently criticize Swalwell for his ties to Fang and the Chinese community, suggesting that he is improperly working with them.
But FBI agents typically need a specific investigative reason to reopen a closed investigation. The people familiar with the probe said it is unclear how or why the FBI reopened its examination of Swalwell.
Internal Justice Department policy has long said that law enforcement should refrain from taking any public investigatory steps against a political candidate in the 60 days before an election, to prevent even the appearance of the department using its power to sway the vote.
The Justice Department is not legally bound to follow this rule, however, and it is unclear whether it would do so in Swalwell’s case. The California gubernatorial primary is June 2.
In California’s primaries, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the November general election. Two Republicans currently lead the governor’s race in recent polls, despite the state’s liberal leanings, as a large number of Democrats — led by Swalwell — split the vote. Democratic leaders hope their voters ultimately coalesce around one or two candidates, but the outcome remains uncertain.
The investigatory files are likely to include numerous interviews with Swalwell, his aides, friends and others about the congressman’s interactions with Fang, details about his campaign and more.
Under a long-standing legal principle, agencies do not release potentially damaging material about people against whom they were unable to build a case strong enough to take to court.
The department recently released the investigatory files in the case of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who had been indicted on federal sex trafficking charges but had not yet faced trial before killing himself. But in that case, the department’s hand was forced by political pressure and ultimately an act of Congress.
Republicans and Democrats criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein release, saying the rollout was disorganized with few effective systems in place to ensure that appropriate redactions were made.
Since Trump took office, his administration has mounted an aggressive campaign to use federal law enforcement agencies to pursue his political adversaries.
The Justice Department filed criminal cases against former FBI Director James B. Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, for example. A judge threw out both indictments in November, ruling that Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor overseeing both cases, had been unlawfully appointed.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte — a staunch Trump ally — referred Swalwell to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution over mortgage fraud allegations, but the department never indicted Swalwell. Swalwell sued Pulte, saying he unlawfully looked used his position to look through private mortgage fraud documents, but he ultimately dropped the lawsuit.
The department is also investigating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell over the cost of the Fed’s recent building renovations. A federal prosecutor acknowledged in a closed-door hearing this month that the department did not have evidence of wrongdoing, the Post has reported.
Even against this backdrop, a proposal to release extensive files, send agents to China to interview a suspected intelligence operative and offer her a U.S. visa in exchange for revelations about a U.S. congressman would be extraordinary.
Patel, who before becoming FBI director was a conservative firebrand who attacked the “deep state” and vowed to “come after” Trump’s adversaries, has long been a critic of Swalwell. In his 2023 book Government Gangsters, Patel published a list of 60 names in an appendix that has been widely viewed by Patel’s critics as a sort of enemies list. It includes Trump foes, Democrats, and FBI agents who were involved in investigations into the president.
Swalwell was among those named by Patel, who has said that his critics are mischaracterizing the appendix by calling it an enemies list.
At a congressional hearing last year, Swalwell asked Patel if he would recuse himself from any investigation of people on the list, and Patel said no.
Garrett Stubbs is remaining in the Phillies organization.
The team announced Saturday that the catcher has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to triple-A Lehigh Valley. Stubbs had been designated for assignment on Wednesday.
The Phillies had searched for a trade partner for Stubbs, who also saw time in the outfield and at third base this spring, to potentially find a major league opportunity for him last week. Stubbs, 32, could have elected free agency after clearing waivers, but he accepted the minor league assignment and the Phillies retain some crucial catching depth at triple A.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said this week that on a personal level, he had hoped Stubbs would find a major league job, but from a Phillies perspective he hoped he would stay in the organization.
“He’s meant so much to this place, the energy that he brings, the type of teammate that he is, and he’s a good player, too,” Thomson said. “Unfortunately, when he was here, he was behind the best catcher in baseball, so he didn’t get a whole lot of playing time, but I think he showed us enough in spring training that he’s a potential super utility guy.”
Stubbs spent most of last season with the IronPigs, where he hit .265 with a .754 OPS in 71 games. He has a career .215 batting average and .603 OPS in 197 games with the Phillies and Houston Astros.
The Phillies opted to keep Rafael Marchán, a 27-year-old switch-hitter, as J.T. Realmuto’s backup for the second consecutive season. During spring training, the Phillies considered keeping Stubbs on the roster as the 26th man, which was why he took reps at other defensive positions than catcher. That spot ultimately went to former Gold Glove utility player Dylan Moore.
Thomson said that the conversation he had with Stubbs informing him that he had not made the team was one of the toughest of his career.
deGrom scratched
Several hours before first pitch on Saturday at a chilly Citizens Bank Park, Texas Rangers starting right-handed pitcher Jacob deGrom was scratched from the game with neck stiffness. Lefty Jacob Latz started in his place.
Thomson opted not to change his batting order after the pitching change, with Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh both remaining in the lineup against the left-hander rather than drawing out for their right-handed platoon partners Edmundo Sosa and Otto Kemp.
Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh will remain in the lineup against Texas left-handed pitcher Jacob Latz.
The Phillies are expecting to face a string of left-handed starters this homestand, and Thomson said he did not want Stott or Marsh sitting on the bench for too many days in a row, especially following Friday’s off day.
Extra bases
Zack Wheeler (thoracic outlet decompression surgery) and Orion Kerkering (hamstring strain) both began rehab assignments on Saturday in Lehigh Valley. Wheeler is scheduled to start again Friday in Durham in triple A, and will make another start after that for double-A Reading. Kerkering is next scheduled to pitch a back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday in triple A. … Jesús Luzardo is scheduled to start Sunday (1:35 p.m., NBCSP) against Rangers lefty MacKenzie Gore. The Phillies announced Saturday that The Jesús Luzardo Family Foundation has pledged to donate $150 to the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Philadelphia for every strikeout he records this year.
