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Health officials say federal cuts will hurt Texas’ measles response

GAINES COUNTY – The Trump administration this week announced plans to clawback $11 billion in pandemic-era grants that could harm local Texas public health departments as they battle a historic measles outbreak.

In Lubbock, where many of the 40 Texans infected with measles have been hospitalized, grant funding affected by the announcement has paid for an epidemiologist who has directly responded to the measles outbreak in West Texas that has killed a 6-year-old girl. In Dallas, the grant funding was helping to equip a biolaboratory that will support more testing for pathogens, including measles.

“It’s kind of crazy to have this funding cut,” said Lubbock’s public health director Katherine Wells. “I don’t have a savings account in public health.”

The Trump administration confirmed Tuesday that it was going to eliminate funding that had been created to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritizing instead on projects that address chronic diseases and the president’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. Much of that funding, however, has been used to pay for infrastructure to respond to infectious diseases other than COVID, including measles, local health officials have said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services notified public health departments late Tuesday of the federal government’s plans. State officials have not provided specifics on how much money is cut or how many health departments are impacted.

“DSHS was notified that the federal grant funding for Immunization/COVID, Epidemiology Laboratory Capacity (ELC/COVID), and Health Disparities/COVID, is terminated as of March 24, 2025,” according to the the notice from the agency’s associate commissioner Imelda Garcia. “The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS or System Agency) is issuing this notice to pause all activities immediately. Please do not accrue any additional costs as of the date of this notice.”

Wells said the funding cut will impact her office’s work combating the spread of measles. Lubbock has been using three grants to help pay for extra temporary staff, a part-time nurse and a full-time epidemiologist to help with vaccinations, answering phones and working with testing of patients. Two of the city’s three grants were not set to expire until 2026.

Ten of the state’s 327 measles cases have been confirmed in Lubbock and 226 cases have been in Gaines County, about 90 minutes southwest of Lubbock.

This measles outbreak has further exposed Texas’ threadbare public health system.

The grants, she said, allowed her to hire eight people to help shoulder the workload the outbreak has brought. Since January, Lubbock hospitals have treated many of the more than 300 patients infected with measles, including a 6-year-old who died on Feb. 26.

“We’re trying to figure it out,” Wells said. But with state and federal funds cut, city and county health department that counted on those COVID-19 era grants for new programs and outreach will now have to go to local taxpayers to help shore up the abrupt shortfall.

Dallas County has already broken ground on a $52 million biolab to help combat future health threats. Their health director, Dr. Philip Huang, said the grant money Dallas County had received was going to be used to help equip that new lab.

“It was a lot of equipment,” Huang said. “These machines can help with COVID but these machines also help with our preparedness and ability to test a lot of other pathogens … including measles.”

Like Wells, he and other public health officials are now going to have to determine how to still move forward without this funding.

“The things that we’re doing and using the funds for COVID have great implications for our future preparedness for everything else so we’re not in the same situation at the start of COVID,” he said. “We had seen how little investment there had been in public health, so it’s very short sighted to say, ‘OK, well these were COVID funds it’s over.’ It’s not.”

Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.

3 missing US soldiers found dead in Lithuania, search continues for 4th soldier

(PABRAD?, Lithuania) -- Three of the four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing during a training mission near Pabrad?, Lithuania, last week were found dead on Monday, but the search is ongoing for the fourth soldier, the Army said.

Their identities were not released.

The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle the soldiers were in when they went missing was removed from a swamp early Monday morning after six days of work to retrieve it, the Army said.

The soldiers, who are all based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, went missing on Tuesday during a training exercise, the Army said.

On Wednesday, their 63-ton-vehicle was found submerged in about 15 feet of water and "clay-like mud" in a training area, the Army said.

"Most likely, the M88 drove into the swamp," and the vehicle "may have just gone diagonally to the bottom," Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told ABC News via phone last week.

The multiday search effort was complicated by the swamp's muddy conditions, officials said.

The Army said last week it brought in assets including "a large capacity slurry pump, cranes, more than 30 tons of gravel, and subject matter experts."

"The Polish Armed Forces have also volunteered a unit of military engineers, which is bringing in an additional water pump, tracked recovery vehicles, other additional equipment and supplies needed along with 150 personnel," the Army said.

On Saturday, a U.S. Navy dive team arrived at the site, joining Lithuanian divers, the Army said.

Mortgage company Rocket buying Mr. Cooper

COPPELL (AP) -The mortgage company Rocket is buying competitor Mr. Cooper in an all-stock deal valued at $9.4 billion, just weeks after acquiring real estate listing company Redfin.

Rocket Cos. said Monday that bringing Mr. Cooper Group Inc. into the fold will create a business representing one in every six mortgages in the United States and give it almost 7 million additional clients. The deal will boost loan volumes, the company said, while lowering client acquisition costs.

“By combining Mr. Cooper and Rocket, we will form the strongest mortgage company in the industry, offering an end-to-end homeownership experience backed by leading technology and grounded in customer care,” Mr. Cooper Chairman and CEO Jay Bray, who will become president and CEO of Rocket Mortgage, said in a statement.

The U.S. housing market has been slumping for years with homebuyers, and sellers, buffeted by soaring mortgages rates and sky high prices that have put homes out of reach for many Americans.

Companies like Rocket, which is on an acquisition streak, are attempting to create more of a one-stop shopping experience for frazzled would-be homebuyers.

Bray will report to Rocket Cos. CEO Varun Krishna.

Mr. Cooper shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 11 Rocket shares for each share of Mr. Cooper common stock. Mr. Cooper is based in Coppell, Texas.

Rocket shareholders will own approximately 75% of the combined company, while Mr. Cooper stockholders will own about 25%. The combined company’s board will have 11 members, with nine being from Rocket and two from Mr. Cooper.

Earlier this month Rocket, based in Detroit, announced that it was buying Redfin in an all-stock deal worth $1.75 billion.

Redfin, which was founded in 2004, has more than 1 million for sale and rental listings on its online platform.

The National Association of Realtors announced this month that existing home sales rose 4.2% in February from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units. That was in part thanks to easing mortgage rates and more properties on the market encouraging home shoppers.

The U.S. housing sales began to slump in 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

Eric Adams pushes judge to dismiss charges before ballot deadline

Graeme Sloan for The Washington Post via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked a federal judge on Monday to drop criminal corruption charges before a political deadline this week -- trying to speed up a decision by the judge in the case.

The mayor wants the case dropped before petitions to get on the June primary ballot are due on April 3, according to his lawyer.

“Now, with the petition-filing deadline just days away, we respectfully urge the Court to issue its decision as soon as possible,” the mayor’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a letter to Judge Dale Ho.

The Justice Department has asked the judge to dismiss the charges without prejudice to free Adams to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Without prejudice means the charges could resurface.

Ho accepted a legal brief urging him to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it could not be revived, eliminating an incentive for the mayor to bow to administration demands.

Adams pleaded not guilty in federal court last September to charges related to an alleged conspiracy with Turkish nationals that landed him lavish gifts in exchange for beneficial treatment.

Trump's Justice Department asked in February to dismiss the charges, a move that caused several prosecutors to step down in protest, including the Trump-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, who alleged a quid pro quo.

"It is a breathtaking and dangerous precedent to reward Adams's opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration and other policy matters with dismissal of a criminal indictment," Sassoon wrote at the time. "Nor will a court likely find that such an improper exchange is consistent with the public interest."

Texas Democrats select Kendall Scudder as state party chair

AUSTIN – The Texas Democratic Party’s governing board on Saturday elected Kendall Scudder to lead the party forward as its new chair after a devastating performance in November and years of electoral defeats.

“The challenge that we’re facing right now is terrifying for this country and for this state, and a lot of people are counting on us to come together and do the right thing and make sure that we are building a Texas Democratic Party that is worthy of the grassroots in this state,” Scudder said upon taking the gavel. “Let’s build a party that the working men and women of this state can be proud of.”

Scudder took 65 out of 121 votes, an outright majority in the seven-way race.

Scudder will take over as chair of the state party at a moment when Democrats are grasping for a way forward after blowout losses up and down the ballot last year, including President Donald Trump’s victory and a surge to the right by traditionally Democratic groups, such as Hispanic voters in South Texas.

After proclaiming Texas a competitive state where Democratic candidates had a fighting chance of winning statewide for the first time in three decades, party leaders instead watched as Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz trounced their Democratic challengers by roughly 14 and 9 percentage points, respectively. Democrats also ceded ground in the state Legislature and lost nearly every contested state appellate court race, in addition to 10 judicial races in Harris County — eating away at years of Democratic dominance in Texas’ largest county.

That left many Democrats concerned that, after appearing to come within striking distance of winning statewide in 2018, the party was back at a sobering low.

Longtime Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa announced his resignation shortly after the election, acknowledging the party’s poor performance and a need for a new direction.

That push for a fresh vision defined the race for party chair. Scudder will be the incumbent come 2026, when a broader group of delegates will elect the next full-term chair at the party convention in Corpus Christi. The 121-member State Democratic Executive Committee chose Hinojosa’s successor at the Saturday meeting, its first quarterly meeting of the year, because he resigned in the middle of his four-year term.

During his campaign, Scudder, an East Texas native, emphasized the importance of listening to the “grassroots.” Even before he launched his candidacy, he had accused party leadership under Hinojosa of ignoring those voters and activists. He wants to “recalibrate” the party toward a focus on working people.

“The reality is simply that Democrats on the ground don’t have a lot of confidence in party leadership anymore,” Scudder told The Texas Tribune in an interview on Thursday.

He wants the party to pay attention to areas he says it has previously written off, like rural communities, and put a priority on Spanish-language communications.

Scudder has worked in affordable housing and real estate. He came onto the state party stage through the SDEC, although he began his political activism with the Texas Young Democrats and the Texas College Democrats.

Scudder’s leading opponents, former Harris County Democratic Party Chair Lillie Schechter and former Annie’s List Executive Director Patsy Woods Martin, had offered similar but competing visions to re-establish Democratic credibility on kitchen table issues and reconnect with voters in their communities. During the campaign, Schechter and Woods Martin emphasized their experience getting Democratic candidates elected.

The SDEC hosted a candidate forum in Austin on Friday evening before toasting Hinojosa, the outgoing chair.

There, and at the panel’s meeting on Saturday, party insiders discussed how to rebuild credibility with working class voters, engage young people, fundraise and build a party infrastructure that better facilitates elected officials’ involvement in races around the state.

“The problem is that every Democrat thinks that if they had 10 more minutes, they could explain it to you,” Scudder said on party messaging during the forum. “We’ve got to get to a point where we’re speaking to people at their gut, because people vote with their guts and not their brains.”

While most party chair contests are shaped by region and race and decided at the party’s convention during midterm election years, this race was a more insular affair whose outcome was determined by a small group of the party’s activists, many of whom are progressives dissatisfied with the party’s strategies and operations.

Although the SDEC was prepared to go multiple rounds with their ranked choice ballot, Scudder’s 65 allowed him to win in the first round. Woods Martin took 27 votes, and Schechter took 26. Denton County Democratic Party Chair Delia Parker-Mims took two votes, and Meri Gomez rounded out the count with one vote. Eight candidates appeared on the ballot, but one dropped out before the election.

As the votes were tabulated, members passed out to-go shots of blue liquor — and non-alcoholic options — in an effort to liven spirits after a difficult 2024 election and an unprecedented chair race.

The candidates were largely aligned ideologically. And they especially all agreed on the need for change in the party’s direction.

“We are at an inflection point right now,” Schechter said, “and if we don’t learn lessons from the last election, and continue doing things status quo, we’re never going to win in Texas.”

Article originally published by The Texas Tribune. To read the originally published article, click here.

In brief: ‘Stranger Things’ stage play documentary trailer and more

Ted Danson's wife is joining the season 2 cast of A Man On the Inside. Mary Steenburgen has joined the Netflix comedy series in a lead role for the second season, Deadline reports. The show, which was created by Mike Schur, will follow an anthology format, with Danson's Charles taking on a new case every season. While season 1 found the character undercover at a retirement home, season 2 will see him sleuthing at a liberal arts college ...

Brad Pitt's upcoming film The Heart of the Beast has found its co-star. Anna Lambe will act alongside Pitt in the action-adventure film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. David Ayer will direct the movie from a script by Cameron Alexander. The story follows a former Army Special Forces soldier who fights for survival with his combat dog after his plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness ...

Netflix has taken Hawkins, Indiana, to the stage, and it's giving fans a front row seat to it all. The streamer has released the trailer for Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a documentary about the West End stage play set in the universe of its popular series Stranger Things. The film arrives on Netflix on April 15 ...

Stocks slide as Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs loom

(NEW YORK) -- Stocks fell on Monday ahead of the expected introduction of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on Wednesday, measures the president said will impact "all countries."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 10 points, or 0.03%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 1.5%.

Tesla, the electric carmaker led by billionaire Trump-advisor Elon Musk, dropped nearly 5%.

The downturn in U.S. markets followed a wave of selloffs worldwide.

Japan's Nikkei index fell more than 4% and South Korea's KOSPI slipped 3% after opening on Monday. In Europe, the British FTSE 100 fell by 1.18%, the German DAX index fell by 1.82% and France's CAC 40 dropped by 1.76%.

Gold -- a traditional safe-haven asset -- reached a new record high of $3,128 per ounce.

Trump told reporters this weekend that his tariffs could affect "all the countries."

"The tariffs will be far more generous than those countries were to us, meaning they will be kinder than those countries were to the United States of America," he said.

"Over the decades, they ripped us off like no country has never been ripped off in history and we're going to be much nicer than they were to us, but it's substantial money for the country," Trump said.

Auto tariffs of 25% are among those expected to come into effect on April 3. The measures will apply to imported passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks, according to a White House statement released last week.

Analysts widely expect the tariffs to raise prices for foreign-made cars, since importers will likely pass along a share of the tax burden to consumers.

Cars produced in the U.S. are also expected to undergo significant price hikes since manufacturers will bear higher costs for imported parts and face an uptick in demand as buyers seek out domestic alternatives, experts have told ABC News.

Trump dismissed concerns about auto tariffs this weekend. "The automakers are going to make a lot of money," he said. "American automakers or international automakers, if you're talking about them, are going to build in the United States."

"The people that are going to make money are people that manufacture cars in the United States," he continued. "Outside of the United States, that's going to be up to them. I don't care too much about that. But you have a lot of companies coming into the country to manufacture cars."

ABC News' Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.

Denny Hamlin dominates for first Martinsville win in a decade

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — It didn’t take Denny Hamlin long to find the recipe for success in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.

Hamlin grabbed the lead on Lap 126 of 400 in the seventh NASCAR Cup Series race of the season and never looked back.

With flawless work from his pit crew, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 274 of the last 275 laps — with the only exception a lap credited to polesitter Christopher Bell, who raced side-by-side with Hamlin after the final restart on Lap 326.

Hamlin pulled away toward the end of the final 75-lap green-flag run and beat Bell, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, to the finish line by 4.617 seconds.

The victory was Hamlin’s sixth at the 0.526-mile short track, most among full-time active drivers, but his first at Martinsville since 2015. It was his first victory of the season and the 55th of his career, tying him with Rusty Wallace for 11th on the career victory list.

The win was also Hamlin’s first with crew chief Chris Gayle, who took over the pit box on the No. 11 Toyota this season. Hamlin has now won Cup races with seven different crew chiefs.

“You know, Chris Gayle, all the engineers, the pit crew, everybody really on that wall right there, just deciding they were going to come here with a different approach than what we’ve been over the last few years,” said Hamlin, who won at Martinsville for the first time with the Gen 7 race car.

“It was just amazing. The car was great. It did everything I needed it to do. Just so happy to win with Chris, get 55 … Obviously, back here in Martinsville where I spent so many years racing late models and whatnot — gosh, I love winning here.”

Bell’s No. 20 Toyota was too loose over the final run to keep up with Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry.

“We were back and forth on balance a little bit,” Bell said. “I asked to be freer throughout the whole race. That last run, I just went a little bit too loose and lost my drive off (the corners).

“It was a great weekend for Joe Gibbs Racing. Showed a lot of pace. All four of the cars were really good. Really happy to kind of get back up front. The last two weeks have been rough for this 20 team … Really happy for Denny. He’s the Martinsville master. Second is not that bad.”

Bubba Wallace finished third for the second straight race, as Toyotas claimed the top three finishing positions at the paper-clip-shaped track.

“That final restart, I let that second (place) get away,” said Wallace, who drives for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan.

“I don’t know if I had anything for Denny. It would have been fun to try.

“But all in all, hell of a day for Toyota. Top three. That’s nice. Keep the momentum going, having fun.”

Chase Elliott came home fourth, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. Ross Chastain, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe and Todd Gilliland completed the top 10.

Before Hamlin took control, a debris caution on Lap 31 resulted in a dramatic change to the running order. Josh Berry led a group of six drivers who stayed on the track under caution and maintained the top spot for 40 laps, the first circuits led by the No. 21 Wood Brothers car at Martinsville since 2005.

A caution for Chris Buescher’s spin on the frontstretch ended Berry’s stint at the front. A collision with Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota on pit road and subsequent alternator issues cost Berry two laps and took him out of the mix.

Logano stayed on the track under the Lap 71 yellow and won the first 80-lap stage over Alex Bowman in a two-lap sprint, but it was an up-and-down day for the reigning Cup champion.

On Lap 317, Briscoe’s Toyota bounced off the inside curbing in Turn 3 and sent Logano’s Ford spinning toward the outside wall. Logano pitted for fresh tires, restarted 25th and drove back to eighth place by Lap 400, scoring his first top 10 of the season.

William Byron, who finished 22nd after a lengthy pit stop under the first caution, retained the series lead by 17 points over Larson.

The Cup Series races again next weekend in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as part of NASCAR Throwback Weekend. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski is the defending winner.

NOTE: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed, confirming Hamlin as the race winner. The No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota was disqualified for failing to meet the minimum height requirement. The No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet and No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota will go to the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina, for further inspection.

Contributing: Staff reports

March Madness: Top seeds South Carolina, UCLA reach Final Four of women’s NCAA Tournament

At least two No. 1 seeds will be in the Final Four of women’s NCAA Tournament.

Two more could book trips to Tampa, Florida, on Monday.

South Carolina kept its repeat championship hopes alive and reached its fifth straight Final Four with a grinding 54-50 win over Duke on Sunday. The Gamecocks will face the winner between top-seeded Texas and TCU on Monday in their bid to become the first repeat NCAA champion since UConn’s run of four straight from 2013-16.

UCLA followed that up with an impressive performance, knocking off third-seeded LSU 72-65 behind another big game by Lauren Betts. The 6-foot-7 All-American had 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots despite sitting out the second quarter.

UCLA will face the winner of Monday’s Elite Eight game between No. 1 seed Southern California and No. 2 seed UConn.
Games to watch

Texas (34-3) vs. TCU (34-3), Birmingham, Alabama. Former Big 12 rivals will play for a spot in the Final Four. The Frogs are in the Elite Eight for the first time. Coach Mark Campbell’s “Under Frogs” went from having to hold open tryouts to find enough healthy players to the cusp of a Final Four behind the trio of Sedona Prince, Haley Van Lith and Madison Conner. Prince has been nearly unstoppable inside, the well-traveled Van Lith scored 26 points in a Sweet 16 win over Notre Dame, and Conner is shooting 45% from 3. The Frogs will need to click on all cylinders if they’re going to beat the top-seeded Longhorns. Texas has one of the nation’s best defenses and is holding NCAA Tournament opponents to 56 points per game. The Longhorns also have All-American Madison Booker. The 6-foot-1 forward was the Southeastern Conference player of the year and is averaging 16.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. She’s part of a dominating front line that includes 6-4 Taylor Jones and 6-6 center Kyla Oldacre, so the Frogs will have their hands full inside.

USC (31-3) vs. UConn (34-3), Spokane, Washington. UConn All-American Paige Bueckers has been one of college basketball’s best players during her time in Storrs, with the only missing part of her resume a national championship. The 6-foot guard has done her best to get that title, dominating throughout her final March Madness. She scored 34 points against South Dakota State in the second round and topped that with a career-high 40 in a Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma. USC will be without its best player, All-American JuJu Watkins. She suffered a season-ending knee injury against Mississippi State in the second round, but it didn’t slow the Trojans in a Sweet 16 win over Kansas State. Freshman Kennedy Smith stepped into the void left by Watkins, scoring 19 points in the 67-61 victory.
How can I watch the tournament?

Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule — on ESPN’s networks and streaming services with select games on ABC.
Who are the favorites?

The top four betting favorites at the start Sweet 16 week were (in order): UConn, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Who is playing?

There were 31 automatic bids that went to conference champions and they were combined with 37 at-large picks by the NCAA selection committee. Selection Sunday unveiled the bracket matchups.
When are the games?

First- and second-round games concluded Monday on campuses across the country. Sweet 16 weekend (March 28-31) put games at two sites once again: Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington.

The Final Four is in Tampa on Friday, with the championship game next Sunday. A year ago, the championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark.

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Houston’s defense carries Cougars into 7th Final Four with 69-50 March Madness win over Tennessee

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Houston’s relentless, harassing defense had Tennessee’s shooters dancing around.

Now, the Cougars are two-stepping it back to Texas.

L.J. Cryer finished with 17 points, Emanuel Sharp scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and the nation’s stingiest defense delivered a historic NCAA Tournament performance, leading top-seeded Houston past second-seeded Tennessee 69-50 on Sunday for the Midwest Region title and its seventh trip to the Final Four.

Next up is Cooper Flagg and five-time national champion Duke on Saturday in San Antonio, just a 3 1/2-hour drive from Houston’s campus. First, the Cougars wanted to savor the journey they took to this net-cutting celebration, one that failed to materialize each of the past two seasons when they were eliminated in the Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed.

“It’s a good feeling knowing what we’ve been through,” Sharp, the region’s most outstanding player, said of Houston’s first Final Four appearance since 2021. “A lot of people doubted us.”

The Cougars (34-4) broke the school’s single-season record for wins, extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 17 games and gave coach Kelvin Sampson a third chance to reach his first national championship game.

Houston has played on college basketball’s biggest stage twice, losing title games in 1983 to N.C. State and in 1984 to Georgetown during the Phi Slama Jama era.

They’re back this time thanks to Sharp, who made two of his four 3-pointers in quick succession to thwart a second-half charge from Tennessee.

Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey scored 17 points apiece for the Volunteers (30-8), who again fell short of the program’s first Final Four appearance. Coach Rick Barnes’ team was also eliminated in a regional final last year.

Houston won this one with a familiar formula.

The nation’s top scoring defense held the Vols to 15 first-half points, the fewest in an Elite Eight game since 1979. It was also the lowest first-half scoring total by any No. 1 or No. 2 seed in a tourney game since seeding began that same year.

“I feel like we always want to throw the first punch,” said Milos Uzan, who scored four points after making the decisive basket against Purdue. “Emanuel was able to get a jump ball early. I feel like that shook those guys up a little bit and it was super important to keep our foot on their neck.”

The Cougars stayed locked in even when the Vols could have cut the deficit to single digits in the second half. The nation’s top 3-point shooting team quicklye extended the margin back to 17.

How bad was it for the Vols?

They made only 6 of 28 shots in the first 20 minutes and missed their first 14 3s before Zakai Zeigler finally ended the drought with 38 seconds left to make it a 34-15 game, an all but insurmountable advantage. Tourney teams that trailed by 19 or more points at halftime fell to 0-244 all-time.

Tennessee’s top scorers, Lanier and Zeigler, were a combined 5 of 27 from the field. Zeigler had five points and five assists.

“When Zakai came off, it hurt me because I knew how much he cared. He said, ‘I’m sorry,’” Barnes said. “He’s got nothing to be sorry about because he gave us everything. I know those guys. They know I’m an older guy, they know I’d love to win a national championship, but they have not one thing to hang their head down or be sorry about.”

As the Vols head home, Houston is getting ready for this season’s last dance — close to home.

“There’s probably 16,000 Tennessee fans here,” Sampson said when told the attendance was about 18,500. “That’s awesome for Tennessee — jump on the interstate and get here. That’s what we’ll do next week — jump on the interstate and head down to San Antonio.”
Points at a premium

Georgetown had the previous lowest-scoring first half in March Madness with 16 points in a second-round victory over SMU in 1984. That Hoyas team went on to win the national title. The paltry first-half total was matched by Miami in a 2013 Sweet 16 loss to Marquette and by Michigan in a 2019 Sweet 16 loss to Texas Tech.
Hello, friends

Peyton Manning watched his alma mater, Tennessee, from a courtside seat Friday. On Sunday, it was Jim Nantz’s turn.

The longtime CBS Sports play-by-play man wore a sweatshirt from his alma mater, Houston. Nantz retired from calling NCAA Tournament games in 2023 but continues as the network’s lead announcer for NFL games and, perhaps most notably, the Masters — which he hopes to continue calling through the 100th edition in 2036.

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Auburn star Johni Broome leaves March Madness game with arm injury, returns to huge roar

ATLANTA (AP) — Auburn star Johni Broome left the court with his right arm dangling by his side, looking very much like he might be done at the NCAA Tournament.

Not to worry.

Broome, an Associated Press All-American, returned to help finish off Auburn’s run to the Final Four, leading the top-seeded Tigers to a 70-64 victory over Michigan State on Sunday.

Broome finished the South Region final with 25 points, 14 rebounds and a thick wrapping on his ailing elbow.

“I didn’t get any diagnosis,” coach Bruce Pearl said. “When Johni came out of the locker room, I had not talked to the doctor. I just said, ‘Are you good to go?’ He said, ‘I am,’ so I said, ‘Get your (butt) in there.’”

Broome, the top-seeded Tigers’ leading scorer and rebounder, exited after he leaped above the rim attempting to block a drive to the basket by Frankie Fidler of Michigan State.

Fidler missed the shot, and Broome’s elbow bent at an ugly angle when he put down his right hand, trying to brace his fall.

Broome stayed down on the court, grimacing and holding his elbow, while a Spartans trainer signaled hurriedly for the Auburn staff at the other end to check on the player.

The 6-foot-10 senior forward untucked his shirt heading off the court and went to the locker room with 10:37 left in the second half and the Tigers leading 50-40.

The AP’s Southeastern Conference player of the year, Broome returned with 5:39 left and Auburn still holding a 10-point edge, drawing a huge roar from the pro-Tigers crowd at State Farm Arena.

The crowd really erupted when he swished a 3-pointer to make it 60-48.

“All the glory to God for allowing me to be healthy,” Broome said. “We have a great support staff. They checked the arm out and doc said, ‘There’s nothing wrong. You’re good.’ At that moment, I just wanted to help my teammates. If it was coming back out and playing, hitting my shots and grabbing rebounds, I was going to do it.”

Pearl said he should know more Monday about Broome’s status for the Final Four, though it certainly appears he will be ready to go. The coach described the injury as “maybe a slight hyperextension.”

“Obviously, the doctor checked it out and said it was OK,” Pearl said, before adding, “I bet he’ll be pretty sore tomorrow, though.”

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Auburn completes sweep of No. 1 seeds into Final Four, beating Michigan State 70-64

ATLANTA (AP) — Johni Broome held his injured right arm through most of Auburn’s Elite Eight postgame celebration.

That didn’t keep the star forward from climbing a ladder to cut down the net he then wore around his neck.

Broome had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Auburn took command with 17 unanswered points in the first half to beat Michigan State 70-64 on Sunday and complete a sweep of No. 1 seeds advancing to the Final Four.

“You talk about delivering again at the biggest moments,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said of Broome.

Auburn (32-5) earned its second Final Four trip, while Michigan State (30-7) fell short in its bid to send coach Tom Izzo to his ninth national semifinal. Pearl also led Auburn to its only previous Final Four appearance, in 2019.

The South Region champion Tigers, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, became the last of the No. 1 seeds to advance to the Final Four — joining Florida, Duke and Houston.

Auburn will face Florida, which beat Texas Tech 84-79 in the West Region final, in an all-Southeastern Conference semifinal on Saturday in San Antonio.

“Unfortunately there will only be one SEC team playing for the national championship,” Pearl said, also wearing a net around his neck.

Jaxon Kohler led the Spartans with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jaden Akins had 15 points.

Broome fell on his right arm while attempting to block a shot with 10:37 remaining and left the game. He was escorted to the locker room for a quick examination. Broome, the Associated Press SEC player of the year and a first-team All-America selection, appeared to hurt his right elbow on the fall.

Broome returned with 5:29 remaining, drawing an immediate ovation from Auburn fans. He had the elbow wrapped and sank a 3-pointer less than a minute later. He also grabbed a rebound with one hand.

“It was a scary moment,” Broome said. “I went down but my team had my back.”

Broome said he was told by a team doctor “nothing serious” was wrong with the elbow, which appeared to bend at an ugly angle on his fall.

“I bet he’ll be sore tomorrow,” Pearl said.

Broome made 10 of 13 shots from the field, including each of his two 3-pointers.

“That’s why he’s an All-American,” Izzo said. “That’s why he’s a player of the year candidate. Did a hell of a job. … We did most of the things we wanted to do except guard Broome a little better.”

Auburn was the only Elite Eight team to win each of its first three March Madness games by double digits, including its 78-65 Sweet 16 victory over Michigan. Michigan State rallied for a 73-70 win over Mississippi in the Sweet 16.

The Spartans led 8-6 before the Tigers took command with the 17-0 run. The Spartans were held scoreless for 5:46 while missing 10 consecutive shots during the Auburn run.

A 3-pointer by Broome capped the run for a 23-8 lead.

Auburn led 33-24 at halftime. The Spartans pulled within five points at 35-30 early in the second half but got no closer.
Top seeds — and selection committee — shine

It’s the first time all top seeds have reached the Final Four since 2008, which was the only previous year of all No. 1-seeded semifinalists since seeding began in 1979. And higher-seeded teams went 12-0 in regional semifinals and finals for the first time since the tournament expanded in 1985.

“That means the people that get the criticism … the selection committee, must have done a damn good job,” Izzo said.

Added Pearl: “I think the four teams that advanced are the four best teams in the country and that doesn’t always happen.”
Pride in the Spartans

Izzo, who won the 2000 national championship and was participating in his 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament with Michigan State, said he was proud of his players’ “connectivity and camaraderie.”

“For the 30th year (as coach), I don’t know if I’ve ever been prouder of a team,” the 70-year-old Izzo said. “It was a tear-jerking locker room because they knew they spilled it all and yet we started off poorly. … We just couldn’t recover from that 17-0 run.”
Takeaways

Michigan State: Coen Carr, who received his first career start against Ole Miss, was back in the lineup against the Tigers. The forward, a native of Stockbridge near Atlanta, earned the nod after scoring 15 points against the Rebels, while 7-foot center Szymon Zapala, normally a starter, returned in a reserve role against Auburn after not playing against Ole Miss. Carr scored four points against Auburn while Zapala had two points in 14 minutes.

Auburn: Miles Kelly had three field goals in the 17-0 run. After making back-to-back jumpers to start the run, Kelly added a steal and 3-pointer. He finished with eight points. Tahaad Pettiford scored 10.

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Flagg, Broome, Clayton are among the Final Four players to watch in a showdown between No. 1 seeds

Looking for an inspiring underdog or a glass slipper lying around in San Antonio? This year’s version of the Final Four is not for you.

Fittingly for an NCAA Tournament in which big schools from big conferences took record numbers of spots in the first week, then hogged them all for the Sweet 16, the last week will bring a collection of all four teams seeded No. 1 to the sport’s biggest stage to play for the title.

When Florida meets Auburn in an all-Southeastern Conference clash and Duke faces Houston in a meeting between the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences, it will mark only the second time since seeding began in 1979 that all four No. 1s have made it to the final weekend.

The last time it happened, in 2008, one of the teams was Memphis, which hailed from Conference USA.

This time around, there are no mid-majors or small majors. Only the best teams from the best conferences — except the Big Ten, which will hasn’t had a team win it all since 2000 — who also have the nation’s best players.

Here’s a look at the best player on each team (for Auburn, Duke and Florida, they are AP All-Americans ), along with another who might make an impact in San Antonio once the games start Saturday.
Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn

Broome hit his elbow hard in the second half of the Tigers’ 70-64 win over Michigan State. He left the court, but then came back, saying team doctors told him there was nothing wrong. He averages 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds and had 20-10 games in both wins this week. Clearly, his health will be a storyline.

If NBA scouts only look at backup guard Pettiford’s tournament, where he has averaged 17.2 points and sparked Auburn on a huge run in the Sweet 16 win against Michigan, they’d pick him in the first round. If they look at his overall body of work, they might say he still needs work. Either way, he could be a difference-maker over two games.
Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, Duke

There are times — see the 30-point, seven-rebound, six-assist skills clinic against BYU — when Flagg just looks like he’s toying with everyone. There are other times — see Saturday’s win over Alabama — when he looks human. Which is more than enough, considering all the talent surrounding him.

Maluach is 7-foot-2 and has a standing reach of 9-8. If any opponent overplays him, they can expect a lob for an alley-oop dunk. He shot 12 for 15 over Sweet 16 weekend, and pretty much all the shots were from 4 feet or closer.
Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, Florida

Clayton made the tying and go-ahead 3s in Florida’s ferocious comeback against Texas Tech. He finished with 30 points and his coach, Todd Golden, said, “There’s not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment.”

During one two-game stretch in February, Richard had two points in one contest and 21 the next. During another, he scored zero, then 30. Fill in the blanks here, but he could be a big factor for the Gators either way.
Joseph Tugler and L.J. Cryer, Houston

Fittingly for the team with the nation’s best defense, a player who only averages 5.5 points could be the most valuable for the Cougars. Tugler is on everyone’s all-defense list, and for Houston to have any chance at stopping Flagg, it’ll have to figure out ways to use Tugler to do it.

Cryer is Houston’s leading scorer at 15.2 points a game. If the Cougars end up as national champs, it will have to be because he played the two best games of his life.

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All about the D: Final Four teams have been locked in on defense all season

Tennessee has one of the nation’s best defenses, a bruising crew who leave opponents black and blue.

Houston gave the Vols a lesson in defensive dominance in the Elite Eight.

Swarming and switching, the Cougars had the Vols feeling like they were stuck in an escape room with no exit during a 69-50 thumping on Sunday.

“They do what they do,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “That’s why they’re where they are, that’s the standard of their program.”

This year’s Final Four, in San Antonio next weekend, will be the second since seeding began in 1979 to have all four No. 1 seeds, joining the 2008 bracket.

All four teams can really D it up, proving the cliche true.

How much does defense matter? Of the last 10 national champions, only Baylor (22nd) in 2021 ranked outside the top 11 in defensive efficiency.

Houston is No. 1 in the KenPom defensive efficiency ratings, Duke is fourth, Auburn eighth and Florida 10th.

Duke gets a lot of attention for its offense and for good reason. With players like All-American Cooper Flagg, sharpshooter Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor on the floor, the Blue Devils are going to score.

But what has made Duke such a dominant team this year has been the D to go with that O.

The Blue Devils have superb on-ball defenders, players who can switch with ease and a back-line eraser in 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach.

Alabama learned just how good this Duke team is defensively in an 85-65 Elite Eight thumping.

The Blue Devils stuck a stick in the spokes of the nation’s highest-scoring team, holding the Crimson Tide more than 25 points below their season average and to 8-for-32 shooting from 3, two days after Alabama set the NCAA record with 25 from the arc against BYU in the Sweet 16.

“They’ve got length all over the place,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “When they’ve got a rim protector, it’s hard to get rim shoots.”

Florida has a similar makeup to the Blue Devils.

The Gators have a star player in All-American Walter Clayton Jr. and multiple big men who can score inside. Florida’s length and depth also gives it an advantage on defense.

The Gators’ four players at least 6-9 in their rotation, including agile 6-11 forward Alex Condon, creating a nearly-impenetrable wall in front of the basket. Combined with Clayton and the rest of Florida’s ball-hawking guards, the Gators rallied from nine points down with three minutes left to beat Texas Tech 84-79 in the Elite Eight.

“We’re strength in numbers, similar to the Warriors used to say back in the day,” Golden said. “That’s our team as well. Having those four bigs out there playing consistent minutes is really important to us.”

Auburn’s roster is full of bouncy, rangy players who switch with ease and extend opposing offenses well beyond the 3-point arc. Dylan Cardwell, all 6-11, 255 pounds of him, is the anchor inside, blocking shots and bullying anyone who dares venturing into the lane.

And while All-American Johni Broome isn’t exactly an above-the-rim player, had has great defensive instincts and quick hands.

Put it all together, the Tigers’ defense is just as good as their formidable offense, holding their four NCAA Tournament opponents to an average of 65 points per game.

“When we drove, we see four or five guys coming at you. so you’ve got to try to make a play,” said Michigan State guard Jase Richardson, who had 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting against Auburn. “They rotated really fast. They rotated well. They were defending really well and it was tough for us.”

It’s going to tough on every team in San Antonio, adding some black and blue to chalk on the Riverwalk.

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Desperate search for survivors continues in Bangkok high-rise collapse from 7.7 quake

(BANGKOK) -- A desperate search for survivors continued Sunday -- from a collapsed high-rise building that was under construction in Bangkok, Thailand, to the rubble of ancient buildings in neighboring Myanmar -- as a series of powerful aftershocks from Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake made it precarious for rescuers digging through debris, officials said.

The death toll in the Bangkok metropolitan region rose to 18 on Sunday, according to government officials. In Myanmar, the epicenter of Friday's earthquake, at least 1,644 people were dead and another 139 were officially missing. At least 3,408 people were injured in Myanmar alone, officials said.

The number of deaths across the devastated region is expected to rise, officials said.

In the Bangkok metropolitan area, home to more than 17.4 million people, search-and-rescue workers were focused on a collapsed high-rise building in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok. At least 11 people, believed to all be construction workers, have been confirmed dead and another 78 people remain missing in the rubble of the 34-story Sky Villa condominium, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan administration.

More than 30 people were injured when floors of the building that was under construction began to pancake on top of each other around 1:30 p.m. local time on Friday, trapping construction workers in the debris and creating a large dust cloud that enveloped the area, officials said. The building collapsed about half an hour after the powerful earthquake, centered in Myanmar, struck.

Family members of the missing construction workers gathered near the collapsed building as search-and-rescue crews dug through the pile of debris by hand, racing against time in a search for survivors.

One brother and sister told ABC News their parents were among the workers who were in the building at the time of the collapse and are now among those unaccounted for.

American tourists Garret Briere and his wife told ABC News they never could have imagined that their first vacation to Thailand would end up being one of the most terrifying experiences of their lives.

The couple from Washington state was in the mall across the street from the Sky Villa construction site when the massive earthquake hit. Briere said he watched in horror as the building fell in the quake's aftermath and described panicked people running for their lives away from the structure. Briere said a huge dust cloud enveloped the area.

"We ran out of the building because it started shaking," Briere said. "I grabbed my wife’s hand and I said, 'Don’t let go.' Immediately, we were just covered in dust and debris, and we couldn’t see, and there were thousands of people just in a panic."

It took just several seconds for the entire building to be reduced to a 7-story-high pile of rubble, the couple said.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in Mandalay, Myanmar, the country's second-largest city. Bangkok is about 600 miles from the epicenter.

A series of aftershocks continued to shake the region Sunday. A 5.1 magnitude aftershock struck about 17 miles north of Mandalay on Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS also recorded another strong aftershock as a 4.2 magnitude quake struck near Shwebo, which is about 68 miles northwest of Mandalay, earlier on Sunday.

Several videos emerged Sunday showing rescuers pulling survivors from the rubble in Myanmar. The Myanmar Fire Services Department released a video overnight showing rescuers pulling a woman alive from a collapsed building. People could be heard cheering in the background as the woman was taken to medics for treatment.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted Friday about the potential U.S. response to the earthquake.

"My prayers go out to the people of Burma and Thailand who are impacted by the earthquake," Rubio wrote in a social media post. "We've been in contact with these countries and, as @POTUS said, stand ready to provide assistance."

Rubio also confirmed the State Department’s teams in the affected countries were "safe and secure."

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has suspended nonemergency consular services for the time being. The U.S. mission to Thailand has not reported any disruption in services.

ABC News' Karson Yiu, Gamay Palacios and Preechaya Rassadanukul contributed to this report.