Duke marks its record 150th No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25, Wisconsin, Louisville back in poll

Duke was chosen No. 1 inthe AP Top 25men's college basketball poll for a record 150th time on Monday.

North Carolina Duke Basketball

The Blue Devils received 56 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel after wins overrivals NC State and North Carolina, leaving them in the top spot for the third consecutive week.Arizona stayed secondand received four first-place votes while Michigan received the other No. 1 ballot after its impressivewin over No. 8 Michigan State.

"We've put ourselves in a position to do something special and make a run," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.

The Blue Devils reachedNo. 1 in the AP pollfor the first time on Dec. 13, 1965, and they've spent more time there than any other men's basketball program. UCLA is second with 134 weeks on top while Kentucky is third (125).

Now, Scheyer's crew heads into the ACC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, but potentially without two of their starters. Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster both were wearing boots in the second half of Duke's win over the Tar Heels on Saturday.

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"I'd be shocked if both of them are playing (in the conference tournament)," Scheyer said. "Our plan is how can we get as healthy as possible and ready as possible for two weeks from now, wherever we go (into the NCAA Tournament)."

Defending national championFlorida climbed to fourthin this week's AP poll, the highest the Gators have been since they were preseason No. 3. Houston moved up to fifth after finishing second to Arizona in the regular-season Big 12 race.

UConn dropped from fourth to sixth afterthe Huskies were upset by Marquettein their regular-season Big East finale.

Rising and fall

St. John's moved up five spots to No. 13 after beating Georgetown and Seton Hall last week. The Red Storm have won 16 of their last 17 games with the lone defeat coming to UConn, and Rick Pitino's squad is seeded No. 1 in the Big East Tournament this week.

Texas Tech, which lost All-American forward JT Toppin to a torn ACL, dropped six spots to No. 16 following losses to TCU and BYU.

In and out

Wisconsin made its fifth appearance in the poll this season at No. 23 after routing Maryland and beating Purdue on the road last week. Louisville also returned to the poll at No. 24 after wins over Syracuse and then-No. 22 Miami.The Hurricanes were the top team outside the Top 25 while Saint Louis dropped out following its loss to George Mason.Conference tournamentsArizona, Houston, No. 14 Kansas and Texas Tech are the top four seeds in the Big 12 and earned double-byes into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Duke, No. 10 Virginia, Miami and No. 19 North Carolina are the top four in the ACC and likewise begin play Thursday, as will the top four seeds in the Big East: St. John's, UConn, Villanova and Seton Hall.Michigan, No. 11 Nebraska, Michigan State and No. 9 Illinois are the top four seeds in the Big Ten and will play their quarterfinal games on Friday. So will Florida, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 22 Vanderbilt, the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament.No. 12 Gonzaga played Oregon State in the West Coast semifinals on Monday night, while No. 21 Saint Mary's played Santa Clara in the other semifinal. The winners will meet for the conference championship Tuesday night.No. 20 Miami (Ohio) is the top seed in the MAC tourney. The RedHawks play UMass in the quarterfinals on Thursday.NET rankingsThe rankings used by the NCAA to help seed its tournamentvaried slightly from the AP poll. The NET had Michigan instead of Arizona at No. 2 behind the Blue Devils, while BYU and Iowa — unranked in the media poll — rounded out its version of the Top 25.The RedHawks, who completed a 31-0 regular season, were ranked 55th by the NET due in large part to their strength of schedule.Conference watchThe Big Ten has six ranked teams while the Big 12 and SEC have five apiece, though the Big 12's five included three of the top seven and all within the top 16. The ACC has four ranked teams, the Big East and West Coast two apiece and the MAC one.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Wisconsin made its fifth appearance in the poll this season at No. 23 after routing Maryland and beating Purdue on the road last week. Louisville also returned to the poll at No. 24 after wins over Syracuse and then-No. 22 Miami.

The Hurricanes were the top team outside the Top 25 while Saint Louis dropped out following its loss to George Mason.

Conference tournaments

Arizona, Houston, No. 14 Kansas and Texas Tech are the top four seeds in the Big 12 and earned double-byes into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Duke, No. 10 Virginia, Miami and No. 19 North Carolina are the top four in the ACC and likewise begin play Thursday, as will the top four seeds in the Big East: St. John's, UConn, Villanova and Seton Hall.Michigan, No. 11 Nebraska, Michigan State and No. 9 Illinois are the top four seeds in the Big Ten and will play their quarterfinal games on Friday. So will Florida, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 22 Vanderbilt, the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament.No. 12 Gonzaga played Oregon State in the West Coast semifinals on Monday night, while No. 21 Saint Mary's played Santa Clara in the other semifinal. The winners will meet for the conference championship Tuesday night.No. 20 Miami (Ohio) is the top seed in the MAC tourney. The RedHawks play UMass in the quarterfinals on Thursday.NET rankingsThe rankings used by the NCAA to help seed its tournamentvaried slightly from the AP poll. The NET had Michigan instead of Arizona at No. 2 behind the Blue Devils, while BYU and Iowa — unranked in the media poll — rounded out its version of the Top 25.The RedHawks, who completed a 31-0 regular season, were ranked 55th by the NET due in large part to their strength of schedule.Conference watchThe Big Ten has six ranked teams while the Big 12 and SEC have five apiece, though the Big 12's five included three of the top seven and all within the top 16. The ACC has four ranked teams, the Big East and West Coast two apiece and the MAC one.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Arizona, Houston, No. 14 Kansas and Texas Tech are the top four seeds in the Big 12 and earned double-byes into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Duke, No. 10 Virginia, Miami and No. 19 North Carolina are the top four in the ACC and likewise begin play Thursday, as will the top four seeds in the Big East: St. John's, UConn, Villanova and Seton Hall.

Michigan, No. 11 Nebraska, Michigan State and No. 9 Illinois are the top four seeds in the Big Ten and will play their quarterfinal games on Friday. So will Florida, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 22 Vanderbilt, the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament.

No. 12 Gonzaga played Oregon State in the West Coast semifinals on Monday night, while No. 21 Saint Mary's played Santa Clara in the other semifinal. The winners will meet for the conference championship Tuesday night.

No. 20 Miami (Ohio) is the top seed in the MAC tourney. The RedHawks play UMass in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

NET rankings

The rankings used by the NCAA to help seed its tournamentvaried slightly from the AP poll. The NET had Michigan instead of Arizona at No. 2 behind the Blue Devils, while BYU and Iowa — unranked in the media poll — rounded out its version of the Top 25.The RedHawks, who completed a 31-0 regular season, were ranked 55th by the NET due in large part to their strength of schedule.Conference watchThe Big Ten has six ranked teams while the Big 12 and SEC have five apiece, though the Big 12's five included three of the top seven and all within the top 16. The ACC has four ranked teams, the Big East and West Coast two apiece and the MAC one.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The rankings used by the NCAA to help seed its tournamentvaried slightly from the AP poll. The NET had Michigan instead of Arizona at No. 2 behind the Blue Devils, while BYU and Iowa — unranked in the media poll — rounded out its version of the Top 25.

The RedHawks, who completed a 31-0 regular season, were ranked 55th by the NET due in large part to their strength of schedule.

Conference watch

The Big Ten has six ranked teams while the Big 12 and SEC have five apiece, though the Big 12's five included three of the top seven and all within the top 16. The ACC has four ranked teams, the Big East and West Coast two apiece and the MAC one.___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The Big Ten has six ranked teams while the Big 12 and SEC have five apiece, though the Big 12's five included three of the top seven and all within the top 16. The ACC has four ranked teams, the Big East and West Coast two apiece and the MAC one.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphere. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 09, 2026

Duke marks its record 150th No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25, Wisconsin, Louisville back in poll

Duke was chosen No. 1 inthe AP Top 25men's college basketball poll for a record 150th time on Monday. Nor...

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Another Severe Weather Outbreak, With Threat Of Strong Tornadoes, Is Expected In Storm-Fatigued Midwest, South

Another severe weather outbreak, including a threat of strong tornadoes, is once again forecast in parts of the South, Midwest and East, including areas still recovering from damaging storms late last week.

The National Weather Service already confirmed at least 18 tornadoes from last Thursday through Saturday, from Texas to Michigan. That included four killer tornadoes, two each in Michigan and Oklahoma.

The map below shows where current watches and warnings are in effect.

Here is our latest daily forecast for this week's second chapter of severe weather.

Monday

Monday, the severe weather threat is focused from parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Hail, possibly golf ball size or larger, is the main threat with these storms. Strong wind gusts, tornadoes and locally flooding rain are lower threats, but are also possible.

Tuesday

The tornado threat looks to be highest Tuesday afternoon and evening in parts of Texas and the Midwest. The Storm Prediction Center have an enhanced risk of severe storms, their level 3 of 5, stretching from northwestern Missouri to northern Indiana. On Monday afternoon, they upgraded central Texas to an enhanced risk as well.

Starting with the Southern Plains, we expect severe thunderstorms to flare up Tuesday afternoon, where hail larger than golf balls, gusts over 74 mph and tornadoes, some of which could be EF2 or greater, are possible. The greatest threat for all of these are in Texas.

By late afternoon or early evening, severe thunderstorms are expected to become more numerous in parts of the Mississippi Valley and western Great Lakes, especially from Missouri and southeast Iowa to Illinois, northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Tornadoes, some of which could be at leastEF2 intensity, large hail greater than 2 inches in diameter and damaging wind gusts are possible.

This severe threat could last through the night in spots from the western Great Lakes to Texas. There will also be a threat of locally flooding rain.

Wednesday

We expect there will be thunderstorms in progress in the morning from the eastern Great Lake to the Ohio Valley to eastern Texas.

In general, Wednesday's primary severe threat will be damaging thunderstorm wind gusts from parts of the Appalachians and interior Northeast to eastern Texas.

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But a few tornadoes are still possible, along with locally heavy rain.

Thunderstorms, some of which may be severe, will persist into the night in the Southeast from the Tennessee Valley to the northern Gulf Coast.

Thursday, at least a few severe thunderstorms are possible near the Southeast coast and Florida before the cold front sweeps through.

(MAPS:7-Day US Rain/Snow Forecast)

Flood Threat

Along with the severe threat, these storms will also bring heavy rainfall. Some of these areas saw heavy rainfall from last week's storms, so rain will be falling on already-soggy soil in some cases.

Another 1-3 inches of rainfall is possible, with higher totals expected across areas where slow-moving storms train over the same location for a few hours.

Prepared, Not Scared

You can stay as safe as possible during severe thunderstorms by following these general tips:

- Have multiple ways of receiving official watches and warnings from the National Weather Service, including fromyour smartphoneand fromNOAA weather radio. Make sure your smartphone and NOAA weather radio are fully charged and notifications are turned on, in case a warning is issued while you're sleeping.

- Before a storm threatens, determine where the best place to take shelter is when a warning is issued where you live. If you live in a manufactured home, you should consider where the nearest community storm shelter or nearby home is that you can get to quickly.

- When a warning is issued, take shelter immediately, including for severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. Don't waste precious time looking out a window. Some tornadoes are hidden by rain or may not be visible at night if lightning isn't frequent enough.

(MORE:14 Things You Should Know About Severe Weather)

Rob Shackelfordis a meteorologist and climate scientist at weather.com. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Georgia studying meteorology and experimenting with alternative hurricane forecasting tools.

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 09, 2026

Another Severe Weather Outbreak, With Threat Of Strong Tornadoes, Is Expected In Storm-Fatigued Midwest, South

Another severe weather outbreak, including a threat of strong tornadoes, is once again forecast in parts of the South, Mi...

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A Jan. 6 rioter doesn't want Trump's pardon. Supreme Court weighs in.

WASHINGTON − A presidential pardon?

No thanks, said Glenn Brooks, who was convicted for his role in theJan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He would rather try to clear his name through the courts than accept a pardon fromPresident Donald Trump.

TheSupreme Courton March 9 declined to give Brooks a chance to do that.

Lower courts had canceled Brooks' conviction for entering the Capitol and dismissed his appeal as no longer relevant after Trump last yearpardonednearly 1,600 people charged in the 2021 riot.

More:Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump convicted of child sexual abuse

January 6 defendants march in DC five years after attack on Capitol

But Brooks, a home remodeling contractor and a "deeply religious man," argued he has the right to try to fully exonerate himself.

"A forced pardon operates as a compelled confession, branding the individual with guilt and stripping him of his chosen appellate forum," Brooks' lawyerstold the Supreme Court.

His lawyers also said the issue is "of profound national importance given the increased use of presidential pardons in politically sensitive cases."

The Department of Justice waived its right to respond to Brooks'Supreme Courtappeal.

Brooks, who traveled to Washington from Huntington Beach, California, to support Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, is one of a few people who found their pardons from Trump unpalatable for one reason or another.

'The worst day of my life'

Pamela Hemphill, aformer Trump supporterwho served two months in prison for storming the Capitol, formally rejected thepresident's pardon.

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But, unlike Brooks, Hemphill had pleaded guilty to joining the angry mob of protesters.

The senior citizen said she turned down the pardon because she wanted to be honest.

"How could I live my life knowing that I was guilty and then I took that pardon?" shepreviously said. "It's kind of like a message that it was OK that day − it was not OK that day. That was the worst day of my life."

More:Pamela Hemphill, who rejected her Jan. 6 pardon, says 'it was not OK that day'

Brooks, by contrast, fought the four misdemeanors he was charged with for entering the Capitol and wants the chance to overturn his conviction. He argues that the government lacked sufficient evidence, particularly that Brooks knew what he was doing was a crime.

Member of his prayer group contacted FBI

Brooks was arrested after a fellow member of his prayer group told the FBI that Brooks had texted fellow church members photos of himself inside the Capitol. Security cameras showed Brooks, wearing a knit "Trump" hat, climbing through a broken window on the Senate side of the Capitol.

"Although he now recognizes entering the building was not appropriate and certainly entering through a window was inappropriate, at the time, he was following the crowd and walking through a window was not abnormal to him, as he worked on many construction sites in the past," an attorney for Brooks wrote in a filing.

After a jury convicted Brooks in 2024, he was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay $500 in restitution and a $2,000 fine.

Forcibly removed from prison for a pardon he didn't want

Near the end of his sentence, Brooks said, he was "forcibly awakened and removed from prison" despite his refusal to accept Trump's pardon.

"By forcibly imposing a pardon – an instrument historically associated with mercy for the guilty – the government conscripts the defendant into a narrative of culpability," his lawyers told the Supreme Court, "and cuts off the very process that could correct the record."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:A Jan. 6 rioter doesn't want Trump's pardon. Supreme Court weighs in.

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 09, 2026

A Jan. 6 rioter doesn't want Trump's pardon. Supreme Court weighs in.

WASHINGTON − A presidential pardon? No thanks, said Glenn Brooks, who was convicted for his role in theJan. 6, ...

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Seventh US service member killed in Iran war is identified as Army sergeant

A US soldier died after sustaining injuries during an attack last week in Saudi Arabia, the military said, bringing the number of American troops killed inthe Iran warto seven.

The military on Monday identified the service member as Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. Pennington, who was injured at Prince Sultan Air Base, was assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, a unit within Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

"Last night, a U.S. service member passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime's initial attacks across the Middle East," US Central Commandsaid Sunday on X. "The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on U.S. troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 1."

The news of the fallen service member came a day after thedignified transferfor thesix soldierswho were killed last week in Kuwait. President Donald Trump and other top officials joined the families of those troops at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the soldiers were brought home.

That strike, whichcame without warning, occurred on a makeshift operations center at the civilian port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on March 1. All six soldiers were assigned with the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit out of Iowa.

The president told ABC on Sunday that meeting with the families of the six troops did not give him pause about the war.

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"The parents would be upset if I did that," he said. "The parents said to me, every one of them, 'Please sir, win this for my boy,' and in one case a young woman, as you know. 'Please, win this for my child.'"

The president has previously said there will likely be more US casualties in the Iran war. Asked Saturday whether he thought he would have to attend more dignified transfers, Trump said, "I'm sure. I hate to … but it's a part of war."

CENTCOM also announced Sunday in a separate social mediapostthat a US National Guard soldier died in a "health-related incident in Kuwait on March 6 during a medical emergency."

Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, of Queens, New York, died at Camp Buehring, the Pentagon said. The incident is under investigation. Davius was a New York City police officer since 2014, the department said.

This story and headline have been updated with additional information.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 09, 2026

Seventh US service member killed in Iran war is identified as Army sergeant

A US soldier died after sustaining injuries during an attack last week in Saudi Arabia, the military said, bringing the n...

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U.S. "likely" responsible for bombing of girls' school in Iran, per early U.S. assessment

The U.S. may be responsible for the bombing ofa girls' school in Iranthat killed 168 people, many of them children, on Feb. 28, sources told CBS News.

The preliminary U.S. assessment suggests that the United States is "likely" responsible for the deadly attack but did not intentionally target the school and may have hit it in error, possibly due to the use of dated intelligence which wrongly identified the area as still part of an Iranian military installation, a person briefed on the preliminary intelligence told CBS News.

Israel's military was also not operating in the area, two sources told CBS News.

An additional source familiar with the ongoing inquiry told CBS News that investigators believe the U.S. military may have been responsible because it was operating in the area while Israel's military was not, though no final conclusions have been reached.

And an Israeli government source told CBS News that Israel was not behind the attack and its military was not operating near the school.

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News in a statement that the "investigation is ongoing," and "There are no conclusions at this time, and it is both irresponsible and false for anyone to claim otherwise."

CBS News has confirmed the school building was located in close proximity to two sites controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Minab, a city in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan.

Footage filmed from a parking lot showed black smoke billowing from a damaged building adorned with murals featuring drawings of crayons, children and an apple. The CBS News Confirmed team geolocated the video to a building in Minab. Iranian media identified the building as the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school.

Iranian state media said at least 168 people, including schoolgirls ages 7 to 12, were killed in the strike which occurred last Saturday, on thefirst day of the war. Saturdays are regular school days in Iran.

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Alist publishedin Iranian state media from authorities in Iran's Minab county claimed to show the names of 57 of those killed.Human Rights Watch has saidat least 48 of those names appear to be children, according to their birthdates on the list, along with their school principal and teachers.

Without providing evidence, President Trump said Saturday that the U.S. believes the bombing "was done by Iran" and cited information that he had seen.

"We think it was done by Iran, because they're very inaccurate with their munitions, they have no accuracy whatsoever, it was done by Iran," Mr. Trump said aboard Air Force One after attending thedignified transferof six U.S. soldiers who were killed in an Iranian strike in Kuwait on March 1.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command have both said an investigation was ongoing and did not echo the president's assertions.

Questioned about the incident in aCBS News "60 Minutes"interview that aired Sunday, Hegseth said "unlike our adversaries, the Iranians, we never target civilians," and "it's being investigated, which is the only answer I'm prepared to give."

The New York Times and Reuters were first to report that the U.S. may be behind the fatal bombing.

Source: Havana Syndrome investigation is "a massive CIA cover-up" | 60 Minutes

"Framed": Highlighting the art that surrounds art

Uncertainty deepens over Iran as U.S. and Israeli attacks continue

byDaniel Coleman

in

March 09, 2026

U.S. "likely" responsible for bombing of girls' school in Iran, per early U.S. assessment

The U.S. may be responsible for the bombing ofa girls' school in Iranthat killed 168 people, many of them children...

Read More