USMNT's Noahkai Banks opens the door to Germany switch

U.S. men's national team defender Noahkai Banks has given a clear indication he is still very much open to representing Germany.

Banks has emerged as one of the USMNT's best defensive prospects in years, becoming an automatic starter for Augsburg in the Bundesliga this season despite only recently turning 19.

The defender was born in Hawaii to an American father and German-Spanish mother. After moving to Washington, D.C., Banks relocated to Germany when he was a young child.

Banks has only represented the U.S. at the youth international level and has received one senior call-up.

But speaking after he provided a key assist in Augsburg's 2-0 win over FC Köln on Friday, Feb. 27, Banks admitted that he was "torn" over whether to move forward with the U.S. or switch to Germany.

"It's a difficult decision regarding my nationality. I'm very torn," he said. "I'm in contact with both the USA and Germany and both national coaches," Banks said.

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"I hopefully have a long career ahead of me, so I want to think carefully and speak with my family. I don't want to make it dependent on a World Cup. I'm just happy to be in this position and to be able to make this decision. We'll see what happens."

5. Christian Pulisic - 32 (2016-present; through Nov. 18, 2024)

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USMNT all-time leading goal scorers

Banks' comments were markedly differentfrom only weeks agowhen he said that "there's not a thought of switching" to Germany.

The teenager was called in for the USMNT's September camp, but didn't see the field in friendlies against South Korea and Japan. He was not called in for matches in October and November.

The USMNT will face Belgium and Portugal in March friendlies, the team's final two matches before Mauricio Pochettino names his World Cup roster.

Earlier this month, USMNT legendLandon Donovan predicted that Bankswouldn't just make the World Cup squad, but would be starting in the tournament on home soil.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Noahkai Banks considering making USMNT switch to Germany

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 28, 2026

USMNT's Noahkai Banks opens the door to Germany switch

U.S. men's national team defender Noahkai Banks has given a clear indication he is still very much open to representi...

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2 indicted on firearm charges in connection with shooting outside Utah church

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted two men on firearms charges in connection with a shooting last month in a church parking lot in Salt Lake City that lefttwo people deadand six more injured.

The indictment unsealed Friday charges 32-year-old Ryan Toutai with unlawful disposition of a firearm and 26-year-old Fineeva Maka with felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah said.

Investigators used cellphone videos and photos and GPS ankle monitor evidence to tie the two men to a pistol recovered from theJan. 7 shooting,the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Prosecutors allege the two men are gang members.

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The violence took place in the back parking lot of a place of worship for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. Investigators have said the shooting broke out from a dispute between people who knew each other and were attending a funeral. All the victims were adults. No one has yet been charged in the actual killings.

The church mostly serves Tongan congregants, its website says. In the 1890s, LDS missionaries brought their faith to Tonga, an archipelago in the South Pacific. More than 25% of the U.S. Tongan population resides in Utah, the headquarters of the church.

Toutai and Maka are scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. It wasn't clear if they had attorneys and The Associated Press could not immediately reach them for comment. The federal public defender's office also could not be reached.

Police previously arrested Toutai for a charge of felony obstruction of justice in the case. He was in jail on Saturday. A third man also was arrested on the same charge.

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 28, 2026

2 indicted on firearm charges in connection with shooting outside Utah church

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted two men on firearms charges in connection with a shooting last mo...

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Pakistani and Afghan forces clash as diplomatic efforts intensify

KABUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban military entered its third day on Saturday as foreign governments expressed increasing concern and called for urgent talks.

Aftermath of airstrikes amid Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict, in Kandahar

Pakistan's strikes on Friday hit Taliban military ‌installations and posts, some of them in Kabul and Kandahar, in one of the deepest Pakistani incursions into ‌its western neighbour in years, officials said.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harbouring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, who it says are waging an insurgency inside Pakistan, a ​charge the Taliban denies.

Pakistan said it was responding to cross-border assaults, while Kabul complained of a breach of its sovereignty, saying it remained open to dialogue but warning that any wider conflict would have serious consequences.

PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN FIGHTING RAISES FEAR OF LONG WAR

The fighting has raised the risk of a protracted conflict along the rugged 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier.

Diplomatic efforts gathered pace late on Friday as Afghanistan ‌said its foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, ⁠had spoken with Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Farhan about reducing tensions and keeping diplomatic channels open.

The European Union urged both sides to de-escalate and engage in dialogue, while the United ⁠Nations urged an immediate end to hostilities.

Russia urged a return to talks, while China said it was deeply concerned and ready to help ease tensions.

The U.S. State Department said the U.S. supported Pakistan's right to defend itself against attacks by the Taliban.

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A U.S. official, ​speaking on ​condition of anonymity, said Washington did not view Pakistan as the ​aggressor and that Islamabad was under pressure to ‌address security challenges.Exchanges of fire continued along the border overnight.

Pakistani security sources said an operation dubbed "Ghazab Lil Haq" was ongoing and that Pakistani forces had destroyed numerous Taliban posts and camps. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

Both sides have reported heavy losses. Pakistan said 12 of its soldiers and 274 Taliban had been killed while the Taliban said 13 of its fighters and 110 Pakistani soldiers had died.

Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said 52 civilians had been killed and 66 wounded ‌in the Khost and Paktika provinces. Reuters could not verify the ​figures.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Islamabad's patience had run out ​and described the fighting as "open war".

Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin ​Haqqani said in a speech that the conflict would be "very costly", and that Afghan forces had ‌not deployed broadly beyond those already engaged.

He said ​the Taliban had defeated "the world" through "unity ​and solidarity" and through "great patience and perseverance" rather than superior military power.

Pakistan's military capabilities far exceed those of Afghanistan, with a standing army of hundreds of thousands and a modern air force.

The Taliban lacks any conventional air ​force and relies largely on light ‌weaponry and ground forces.

However, the Islamist group is battle-hardened after two decades of insurgency against U.S.-led forces before ​returning to power in 2021.

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Additional ​reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Sam Holmes)

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 28, 2026

Pakistani and Afghan forces clash as diplomatic efforts intensify

KABUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban military entered its third day on Satur...

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Russia condemns US-Israel strikes on Iran as 'unprovoked act of armed aggression'

Russia on Saturday condemnedthe U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranas "a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state," demanding an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy.

In a statement posted to Telegram, the Foreign Ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of "hiding behind" concerns about Iran's nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change.

It warned the attacks risked triggering a "humanitarian, economic and possibly radiological catastrophe" in the region and accused the U.S. and Israel of "plunging the Middle East into an abyss of uncontrolled escalation."

Russia has emerged as a keytrade partner and supplier of weaponsand technologies for Iran, which has faced bruising international sanctions. Though Russia's Foreign Ministry was quick to condemn the U.S.-Israeli attacks, the Kremlin will likely carefully assess its response followinga recent warming of tiesbetween Moscow and Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine, and Moscow and Washington have discussed ways to revive their economic ties.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. Araghchi briefed Lavrov on Iran's attempts to repel the attacks and said Iran would seek to convene an urgent U.N. Security Council session, it said. Lavrov reiterated Russia's condemnation of the U.S.-Israeli strikes and Moscow's readiness to help broker peace.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin discussed the situation in Iran with Russia's Security Council via videoconference, but did not give details.

In the Foreign Ministry statement, Moscow called the bombing of nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards "unacceptable" and said it stood ready to help broker a peaceful resolution, while placing full responsibility for the escalation on the United States and Israel.

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"Responsibility for the negative consequences of this manmade crisis, including an unpredictable chain reaction and spiraling violence, lies entirely with them," the statement said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry also condemned what it called "the serial nature of destabilizing attacks carried out by the U.S. administration," accusing the U.S. of attacking "the international legal pillars of the world order."

Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and militaryties with Iran.

Iranian forces and Russian sailors conducted annual drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean last week aimed at "upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact in January last year as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.

The West alleges that in 2022,Russia and Iransigned a $1.7 billion deal for Shahed drones after Putin sent troops into Ukraine, and the U.S. also believes Iran hastransferred short-range ballistic missiles, but neither Moscow nor Tehran ever acknowledged the actions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced support for the strikes on Iran, calling it "an accomplice of Putin" for supplying Moscow with Shahed drones and the technology to produce them and other weapons during its four-year war against Ukraine.

Russia and Iran also pooled their efforts to shore up Bashar Assad's government during Syria's civil war, but failed to preventhis downfallafter a lightning offensive by the opposition. Assad and his family fled to Russia.

Some observers in Moscow argue that the focus on the confrontation between Israel and Iran could distract global attention from thewar in Ukraineand play into Russia's hands by potentially weakening Western support for Kyiv.

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 28, 2026

Russia condemns US-Israel strikes on Iran as 'unprovoked act of armed aggression'

Russia on Saturday condemnedthe U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranas "a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression ...

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No. 3 Michigan beats No. 10 Illinois 84-70, clinches Big Ten regular-season title

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 10 Illinois 84-70 on Friday night and clinched Big Ten regular-season title.

Johnson, who played for the Illini last season after verbally committing three years earlier, was booed throughout the game by Illinois fans.

Aday Mara had 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting and Yaxel Lendeberg finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines (27-2, 17-1), who are 10-0 on the road and have won 23 games by 10 or more points.

The Wolverines won their first outright conference regular-season title since 2014, when they also clinched with a win at Illinois.

Michigan's 17 conference victories are the most in school history.

Keaton Wagler scored 23 points for the Illini (22-7, 13-5), who have lost four of six, including three in overtime. Wagler scored in double figures for the 21st straight game.

Kylan Boswell scored 15 points and David Mirkovic had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Illini, who entered the game as the Big Ten's top 3-point shooting team. Illinois was just 9 of 29 from distance against Michigan.

Michigan led 38-31 at halftime behind Johnson's 13 points.

Down 16-11 after a four-point play by Wagler, the Wolverines responded with an 11-point run capped by a 3 by Johnson and never trailed again. They led by as many as 21 points in the second half.

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NO. 21 MIAMI (OHIO) 69, WESTERN MICHIGAN 67

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Trey Perry scored on a driving layup with a second remaining and Miami of Ohio rallied to beat Western Michigan to remain the only unbeaten Division I team.

The RedHawks (16-0 Mid-American Conference) remain the only undefeated team in Division I men's basketball. Miami extended the best start in program history and added to its school record for wins in a season. Miami also boasts the best start and longest win streak in MAC annals.

Peter Suder scored 18 points for the RedHawks before fouling out with just over seven minutes remaining. Almar Atlason added 16 points, Perry finished with 14 and Eian Elmer 10.

Jayden Brewer led Western Michigan (10-19, 4-12) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Justice Williams and EJ Ryans each added 14 points.

Miami is used to playing close games and won for the seventh time this season by less than six points.

The RedHawks trailed by four points, 30-26, at the half and fell behind by eight points twice early in the second half before tying the game at 49-all with 11:02 remaining.

Western Michigan ran off eight straight points for a 57-49 advantage with 8:40 remaining and led by nine (59-50) with 6:38 left before Miami chipped away and moved ahead 66-65 on a layup by Antwone Woolfolk with 14 seconds left.

Elmer's free throw with 37 seconds remaining gave the RedHawks a 67-65 edge, but Western Michigan tied it with 11 seconds left on a basket by Williams before Perry made the game winner.

byDaniel Coleman

in

February 28, 2026

No. 3 Michigan beats No. 10 Illinois 84-70, clinches Big Ten regular-season title

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Morez Johnson Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as No. 3 Michigan defeated...

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