Bagayoko has filed a legal complaint against the CNews television channel, often described as France's Fox News

The downfall of the former prince Andrew has left the British monarchy with a right royal headache -- how to handle his daughters caught up in the scandal of US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The uncertain future of princesses Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 36, the children of Andrew -- now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor -- and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, has filled the British press in recent weeks.

Andrew, the second of the late queen Elizabeth II's three sons and brother to King Charles III, was arrested in mid-February amid new revelations of his ties to the late billionaire Epstein. 

He was questioned for hours at a police station on suspicion of misconduct in public office during his decade-long role as a UK trade envoy. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing, and has not been charged, but remains under police caution.

"We can now also confirm that we are providing early investigative advice to Thames Valley Police in relation to" Mountbatten-Windsor, prosecutors told AFP on Thursday.

Andrew was stripped of his royal titles in October by the king amid the growing scandal around Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

And while his daughters are not active members of the royal family, Buckingham Palace has made it clear they retain their titles as princesses.

They have always been seen as close to the king's two sons, heir Prince William and Prince Harry, and were part of the royal family's inner circle.

In December, they attended the family's traditional Christmas church service on the eastern Sandringham estate even though their parents were not invited.

But the two women and their young families would not be at Windsor this weekend for the traditional Easter gathering, a royal source confirmed to AFP.

The two had made alternative plans, but will be seen at future family celebrations, the source added.

"They want to avoid any association with them, as the York brand has become toxic," said royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams.

New emails released in January showed Andrew remained in contact with Epstein long after the American's conviction for trafficking and sex with a minor.

He also appeared to have shared sensitive UK information with Epstein such as trade documents.

The documents also revealed the extent of the ties between Epstein and Ferguson, with the princesses' names appearing in numerous emails, although there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by them.

- 'Elite network' - 

In one of the documents, Epstein writes that "Ferg and the two girls" came to visit him, less than a week after he was freed from prison in 2009, following a conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

In light of these new revelations "hard questions will need to be asked", said royal expert Ed Owens.

"If it is shown that they have benefited from an elite network, that was partially introduced to them by Jeffrey Epstein... this is problematic," said Owens.

Andrew biographer Andrew Lownie said he believed the sisters are "deeply implicated" rather than "collateral damage", highlighting a 2010 incident in which Fergie was secretly filmed by a tabloid selling access to Andrew.

"This was a family business. The girls were taken on these taxpayer-funded trips," he said.

"They've built up a very useful contact book which they are exploiting to this day."

Both women have successful careers. Beatrice was vice president of strategic partnerships at Afiniti, an AI technology company, for a decade, and has now set up her own advisory group.

Eugenie is a director at Hauser & Wirth contemporary art gallery in London. But last month she quit her role as a patron for the Anti-Slavery International charity.

Both Lownie and Owens believe the royal family must distance itself from the two women.

Their hybrid status "one foot in the monarchy, one foot out" endangers the entire Windsor family, said Owens.

Fitzwilliams added: "We don't know what might come up next. There might be new scandals".

Lownie agreed. "There are scandals still in their cupboard" waiting to be exposed, he said.

adm/har-jkb/am/pdw/lga

Pope Leo XIV is set to mark Easter Sunday for the first time as pontiff, with the Middle East war casting a pall over the most important date in the Christian calendar.

The US-born pope, who has emerged as a leading voice against the war, will hold mass in St Peter's Square from 0830 GMT in front of thousands of faithful.

The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics will then pronounce a traditional blessing at 1000 GMT that will be closely followed this year.

The ceremony will also bring back memories of late pope Francis, who last appeared in public on Easter Sunday last year -- a few hours before he died.

Speaking during an Easter Vigil on Saturday, the pontiff called for "a new world of peace and unity" and decried the divisions created by "war, injustice and the isolation of peoples and nations".

Leo has repeatedly called for peace in the Middle East and this week directly urged US President Donald Trump to find an "off-ramp".

From the deserted Old City of Jerusalem to the Christian villages in Lebanon caught in the crossfire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, the Middle East war has set a dark tone for a normally joyous celebration.

In Jerusalem, services in the Holy Sepulchre, the site where Christians believe Christ was resurrected, are being held behind closed doors.

Israel has imposed restrictions on large gatherings as a security precaution because of the constant threat of strikes since the US and Israel began bombarding Iran on February 28.

"It is the first time in my life that I experience a total closure" of the Holy Sepulchre, Jack Straw, a 52-year-old resident of Jerusalem’s Old City, told AFP.

"It's sad. The Sepulchre is empty. It's the symbol of the most important event in Christian history," he said, adding that he hoped the closure would only be for this year.

- 'Situation is tragic' -

"The doors are still closed," the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said in his Easter Vigil homily at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Pizzaballa was prevented by Israeli police from holding mass in the church last Sunday, an incident that sparked international indignation.

"The silence is almost absolute, broken perhaps by the distant sound of what war continues to sow in this holy and torn land," he said, according to a text of his sermon issued by his office.

In Lebanon, majority Christian areas in the south of the country are caught in the crossfire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

In Debel, close to the Israeli border, inhabitants prepared to celebrate Easter Sunday despite the sound of bombardment around their village, now almost totally cut off from the world and dependent on aid deliveries.

"The situation is tragic," town notable Joseph Attieh told AFP by phone.

"People are terrified, and the sound of shelling and gunfire has not stopped for a moment since last night. We haven't been able to sleep.

"We are putting our trust in God," Attieh said, since "this is the only glimmer of hope we will not give up on".

bur-cmk/dt/gv/lga

A Pentagon AI program called Project Maven is at the center of the US strikes against Iran and potentially one of the most consequential transformations of modern warfare.

- What is it? -

Project Maven is the Pentagon's flagship artificial intelligence program, launched in 2017 as a narrow experiment to help military analysts make sense of the torrent of drone footage pouring in from conflict zones.

Operators were drowning in imagery, searching frame by frame for objects of interest that might appear for only a moment before vanishing. Maven was built to find the needle in the haystack.

Eight years later, the program has evolved into something far more expansive: an AI-assisted targeting and battlefield management system that has vastly accelerated what is known in war-making as the kill chain -- the process from initial detection to destruction.

- How does it work? -

Maven functions like both the air traffic control of battle and its cockpit.

Aalok Mehta, director of the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center, described the system as "essentially an overlay" that fuses sensor data, enemy troop intelligence, satellite imagery, and information on troop deployment.

In practice, that means rapidly scanning satellite feeds to detect troop movements or identify targets, while also "taking a snapshot of the operational theater" to determine the best course of action for striking a specific target.

In a recent demonstration posted online, a Pentagon official described how Maven "magically" turns an observed threat into a targeting workflow, weighing available assets and presenting a commander with options.

The emergence of ChatGPT was another leap forward, broadening the use of the technology to a far greater range of users who can interact with Maven in natural language.

For now, this capability is supplied by Anthropic's Claude — though that arrangement is coming to a bitter end after the Pentagon bristled at the AI lab's demand that its model not be used for fully automated strikes or the tracking of US citizens.

- Why did Google say no? -

The ethical question was a factor in Maven's early years, when Google was the program's original AI contractor.

In 2018, more than 3,000 employees signed an open letter protesting the company's involvement, arguing that the contract crossed a line. Several engineers resigned.

Google declined to renew when the contract expired, and subsequently published AI principles explicitly ruling out participation in weapons systems.

The episode exposed a fault line in Silicon Valley between engineers who viewed autonomous targeting as an ethical red line and defense officials who saw it as essential.

More recently, Google removed its AI policy restrictions and said it is leaning further into national security work. The Pentagon has said that Google, along with xAI and OpenAI, are in the mix to replace Claude in Maven.

- What is Palantir's role? -

In 2024, Palantir — founded in part with CIA seed funding and built from the start around government intelligence work — stepped into the space Google vacated.

The company has reportedly become Maven's primary technology contractor, and its AI now forms the operational backbone of the program.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp frames the stakes explicitly.

"This is a have, have-not world," he said at a recent Palantir event, arguing that it was important for the West to achieve capabilities the rest of the world lacked.

A system that compresses a kill chain from hours to seconds makes an adversary obsolete, he said.

- How has it fared? -

The Pentagon and Palantir declined to comment on Maven's performance in the current war with Iran.

US strikes have been carried out at a sustained pace, and it can be assumed that Maven's ability to speed up the targeting and firing process has played a central role.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, after three weeks the US strike campaign settled into a pace of between 300 and 500 targets per day.

In the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury, US forces struck over 1,000 targets, including a school housed in a building previously used as a military complex, according to various media reports. Iran has said the attack killed 168 children aged seven to 12 and wounded many other people.

arp/dw

First it was protein, now it's fiber: the "maxxing" mindset has permeated social media, as wellness influencers insist that loading up on certain nutrients is the key to vitality and a life-changing gut glow-up.

These viral diet trends rooted in extreme optimization are impacting how people eat and what companies sell -- but are they actually healthy?

The concept of "proteinmaxxing" insists that more is better when it comes to the macronutrient found in foods like meat, dairy and nuts, which is essential to a vast array of bodily functions such as repairing tissue or enhancing immune function.

Meanwhile dietary fiber is on track to be 2026's online trend of choice: ingest as much as possible and you'll be less hungry and more regular, say online advocates who wave bowls of chia seeds and oats at the camera.

Brands have taken note: if you can buy it, there's probably a protein-boosted version of it -- even the sugariest cereals are touting their high protein content.

And blue chip companies like PepsiCo and Nestle along with newer firms like Olipop are jumping on the bandwagon, highlighting the fiber content in prebiotic sodas or chips.

"I think fiber will be the next protein," said PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta in an earnings call late last year.

A survey from the consulting firm Bain & Company showed nearly half of US consumers are trying to eat more protein.

Across the United States, Europe and Asia, it's Gen Z and Millennial consumers primarily driving the fad, according to the survey.

The same goes for fiber: according to London's GlobalData, 40 percent of Gen Z and 45 percent of Millennials reported they're trying to improve their gut health.

- More not always best -

Nutritionists say there are grains of truth to the fiber craze.

Andrea Glenn, an assistant professor of nutrition at New York University, called the movement surrounding fiber a "pretty tame wellness trend compared to the other things out there."

Samantha Snashall, a registered dietitian at Ohio State University's medical center, said protein has been "the special child" in recent years -- and fiber has been "pretty undervalued."

"I'm glad it's having some light shed on it."

But those experts along with Arch Mainous -- a professor of community health and family medicine at the University of Florida, who has researched the use of social media in health communication -- said more isn't always best, especially when it comes to protein.

Mainous said eating according to the recommended daily values is one thing -- but "if you say one's good, five's better? I'm not really for that."

He voiced concern that people are putting too much stock in the one-size-fits-all health advice of influencers.

It's part of a broader trend that has resulted in a "lack of trust in health experts," he said -- a "I'll do my own research" mentality that has also been fueled by the likes of US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has spread anti-vaccine misinformation for years.

Few influencers are trained scientists, Mainous said, and many have brand deals or agendas of their own, including products to sell.

- No 'silver bullet' -

So what's an eater to do?

First, talk to your physician, Mainous said. 

As a general guideline, the American Heart Association says that for many people, a day that includes a combination of foods like a glass of milk, a cup of yogurt, a cup of cooked lentils, and a piece of cooked lean meat or fish approximately the size of a deck of cards will be in the ballpark of the average daily protein target.

Fiber-wise, Glenn said 25-38 grams depending on age and sex is a good goal. 

High-fiber foods -- such as beans, fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains like oats or quinoa -- are linked to lower rates of certain cancers, and can help keep cholesterol and blood sugar in check.

Generally, Glenn said, people can eat some whole grains or fruit at breakfast, and then should try to fill half their plates with vegetables at lunch and dinner.

With that visualization, "you'll easily hit that target without needing to meticulously count how much fiber you're consuming," she told AFP.

But if you're not currently eating much fiber -- most people aren't -- "maxxing" is not a good course, Snashall warned.

Shake things up overnight and "your GI system is going to have a strong reaction," she said. "Slow and steady wins the race."

And Glenn noted that powders and supplements can't serve as a replacement for whole, real foods.

Perhaps most importantly, no nutrient is a cure-all -- those "fiber-rich" chips probably won't change your life.

"I think it's important to never view these things as a silver bullet to all your problems," she said.

mdo/sst

School shootings are a tragically common occurrence in the United States, but rarely do they grace the stage of one of the world's premier opera houses.

But on Monday, Kaija Saariaho's "Innocence" -- which explores how a devastating attack at an international school in Finland reverberates through the lives of its survivors and the community -- will debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

For celebrated US mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, taking on the piece at the current time was necessary.

"It was the subject matter and feeling the importance of telling the story and telling the story in America in 2026," DiDonato told AFP ahead of the premiere.

The 110-minute piece, first performed at the Aix-en-Provence music festival in 2021, has been performed around the world, but takes on particular resonance in a country where at least eight school shootings have occurred this year, according to CNN.

The action in "Innocence" shifts constantly between a well-heeled wedding ceremony in Helsinki, where the groom is revealed to be the brother of the man responsible for a shooting a decade earlier, and the fraught moments before and after the calamity.

DiDonato plays the waitress Tereza, the mother of a shooting victim who unexpectedly finds herself at the wedding, serving wine to family members she met after the tragedy but who don't recognize her. She eventually erupts in anger.

The opera's 13 characters are forever changed -- the shooter's relatives face stigma, while the survivors are told to move on despite the lingering effects of trauma.

The Kansas-born DiDonato said she is "horrified" by shootings but sees "Innocence" as also addressing a normalization of violence that extends into other areas such as deportations and war.

"It's important to participate in these things and shine a light on injustice, shine a light on inhumanity, shine a light on suffering," DiDonato said.

The opera "speaks to the obscene glut of violence that we're living through right now," she added.

- Opening minds -

The New York production of "Innocence" marks its second run at an American opera house after performances by the San Francisco Opera in June 2024.

Finnish American tenor Miles Mykkanen, who will play the groom Tuomas in New York as he did in San Francisco, said while audience members have hailed Saariaho's artistry, some see the piece -- performed without intermission -- as too grim to see more than once.

During a month of rehearsals before opening night, Mykkanen made exercising and walking through Central Park part of his ritual to escape from the opera's dark themes.

But he told AFP he still wakes up sometimes in the middle of the night "wide awake thinking about this piece."

"Opera singers, we often carry the heavy grief and drama and trauma in our own work," he said. "But I've never encountered a piece that has to carry so much violence."

DiDonato, one of the Met's biggest names following star turns in bel canto works, also won plaudits for her performance as Sister Helen Prejean in "Dead Man Walking," another modern opera with heavy subject matter -- the death penalty debate.

She spoke of one audience member, a relative of someone who was murdered, who became more open to a debate about the merits of capital punishment after seeing the opera.

That gave her hope that "Innocence" could prompt a rethink of gun violence in America and other issues.

"These kinds of stories can put cracks in the hearts of people in a good way," she said. "It can crack open people."

jmb/sst

Taiwan's main opposition leader will make a rare trip to China on Tuesday, weeks before US President Donald Trump, with Beijing expected to use the visit to increase its influence over the democratic island.

Cheng Li-wun, who will become the first sitting chairperson of the Kuomintang (KMT) to travel to China in a decade, said she wants to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to build cross-strait "peace".

Taiwanese officials and experts, however, say Xi sees an opportunity to reinforce Cheng's standing in the KMT and stymie further US weapons sales to Taiwan. 

The KMT has long advocated for closer relations with China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threated to use force to seize it.

But Cheng, whose unexpected rise to the top of the KMT drew congratulations from Xi in October, has been accused by critics, including inside the party, of being too pro-China.

Cheng's visit comes as the United States -- Taiwan's most important security backer -- intensifies pressure on Taiwanese opposition lawmakers to approve a proposal for defence purchases, including billions of dollars worth of US weapons, to deter a potential Chinese attack.

The KMT leader, who has railed against the government's NT$1.25 trillion ($39 billion) plan, faces deepening divisions inside her party over how to counter China's military threats.

Cheng backed a KMT proposal to allocate NT$380 billion for US weapons with the option for more acquisitions, but more moderate senior figures in the party are pushing for a much higher budget.

Beijing sees "a need to rescue Cheng Li-wun" from a "power crisis", Albert Tzeng, a former KMT adviser, told AFP.

Xi's endorsement of Cheng will make her critics wary of attacking her, Tzeng said.

And Xi, who has tied taking Taiwan to his vision of the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation", can show Beijing is "not losing Taiwan altogether to the United States", he said.

Taiwan's top China policy body warned Beijing had "summoned" Cheng for the purpose of cutting off "Taiwan's military purchases from the US and cooperation with other countries". 

"Beijing's intention, in short, is to internalise the cross-strait issue, treating it as a domestic matter for China, with foreign intervention prohibited," Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said Thursday.

Cheng hit back, saying: "This trip is entirely for cross-strait peace and stability, so it has nothing to do with arms procurement or other issues."

- Public views mixed - 

While KMT party members regularly fly to China for exchanges with officials, its last leader to visit was Hung Hsiu-chu in 2016.

China severed high-level contact with Taiwan that year after Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency and rejected Beijing's claims on the island.

Cross-strait relations have worsened since then as China ramped up military pressure with near daily deployments of fighter jets and warships near Taiwan and regular large-scale military drills.

Xi's invitation to Cheng shows Beijing has identified her "as part of the force who support unification," said Tzeng Wei-feng, from National Chengchi University's Institute of International Relations.

Taiwanese people have mixed views about Cheng's trip.

"If you're talking with other democratic countries, I think agreements might still have some effect," 47-year-old Mac Peng told AFP.

"But if you're negotiating with the Chinese Communist Party, that's just suicidal."

Glen Ger, 60, was more optimistic, saying the KMT would "let everyone know that public opinion isn't completely one-sided, so they can understand that people want peace". 

- US arms sales - 

The trip enables the KMT to tell voters that they "are the ones who can actually lead Taiwan towards the direction of peace and stability", said Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.

A friendly meeting with Cheng could help Xi "undermine the argument for US-Taiwan defence cooperation" ahead of the summit with Trump in May, said Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub. 

While the United States has long been ambiguous about its willingness to defend Taiwan, Washington remains Taipei's biggest arms supplier, which angers Beijing.

The United States approved the sale of $11 billion worth of arms to Taiwan in December. More deals are in the pipeline, but there have been doubts about whether they would proceed after Xi warned Trump against sending weapons to Taiwan.  

Cheng has insisted she supports Taiwan having a strong defence, but said the island does not have to choose between Beijing and Washington. 

James Yifan Chen, a political analyst at Tamkang University, said Cheng will have to "work harder to assure Washington that she is also a partner of the US".

aw-joy-amj/lga

Rory McIlroy, whose emotional 2025 Masters victory completed an incredible career grand slam, chases an even rarer feat this year -- repeating as champion at Augusta National.

The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland hopes to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only golfers to capture back-to-back green jackets when the 90th Masters tees off Thursday.

"I know defending the Masters tournament is a pretty rare feat, and it's something I'd love to do." McIlroy said.

"I've won it once and I feel like that will make it a bit easier for me to win again."

McIlroy delivered an image for the ages when he fell to his knees last April after ending a 10-year major win drought by defeating Justin Rose in a playoff to win the Masters.

McIlroy joined a career grand slam group that also includes Nicklaus, Woods, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.

Oddsmakers have made top-ranked Scottie Scheffler a slight favorite over world number two McIlroy, even though the defending champion said he has recovered from a back injury that forced him to withdraw last month at Bay Hill.

American Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, took the American Express title in January and last year's British Open and PGA Championship.

Scheffler, who withdrew from last month's Houston Open as he and his wife are expecting their second child, is working on mental aspects of his game.

"My expectations all are based around what I want mentally," Scheffler said. "So far throughout this season I've been really good in some spots and some other spots I feel like I can improve in terms of my commitment to the shot."

Tiger Woods, a 15-time major winner, will not attend after pleading not guilty to DUI charges stemming from a March 27 car crash.

"I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in," Woods said. "I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health."

Masters chairman Fred Ridley and the PGA Tour supported the 15-time major winner's decision.

Five Americans with multiple major titles seek their first green jacket -- Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, who withdrew from the PGA's Texas Open with a sore back.

DeChambeau and Jon Rahm from LIV Golf also are fancied by oddsmakers. DeChambeau won titles last month in South Africa and Singapore while Rahm won in Hong Kong.

"I know I have to dial in my wedges. That's going to be a big thing for me," DeChambeau said when asked about the Masters.

"If I'm five more percent consistent, I have a better chance than what I did last year at the Masters."

- 'Probably going to win' -

PGA Valspar Championship winner Matt Fitzpatrick was asked about Masters confidence after his first PGA title in almost three years.

"I'm probably going to win," Fitzpatrick said with a laugh. "No, I mean, I'm obviously very confident in my game right now.

"But what it takes to win a major is very different to what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, particularly the Masters. There's extra pressure on the Masters, no matter who you are. It just has that standing above all the other events, as well as the majors."

England's Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open winner, seeks a hot start at Augusta.

"There's stuff I want to improve," he said. "I want to make sure I'm ready for when I get to Augusta and to be ready that Thursday morning."

Players Championship winner Cameron Young said winning at TPC Sawgrass was "the best prep you could ask for."

"My goal is to be prepared to be playing late on Sunday at Augusta... it's to be ready and comfortable when that moment comes."

js/bb/rcw

Nikola Jokic scored 40 points to propel the Denver Nuggets to a 136-134 overtime victory over Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio on Saturday, halting the Spurs' 11-game NBA winning streak.

Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added eight rebounds, 13 assists and three blocked shots for Denver, who won their eighth straight game and inched closer to the Los Angeles Lakers for third seed in the Western Conference.

MVP candidate Wembanyama, back after missing one game to rest a sore ankle, scored 34 points with 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots for the Spurs, who led most of the contest but couldn't resist the Nuggets' late surge.

Aaron Gordon, fed by Jokic, threw down a dunk to tie it at 124-124 with 6.2 seconds left in regulation.

Wembanyama's jumper as time expired clanged off the rim and they went to overtime, when Gordon's dunk in the opening minutes put Denver ahead for good.

"It was indicative of what we can be as a group," said Gordon, who finished with 15 points.

Johnson scored 17 points and Jamal Murray scored 15 points and handed out 10 assists for the Nuggets in a contest marked by playoff-level intensity.

"We like the intensity," Gordon said. "That's a really good ball club over there that plays really hard. So they brought it out of us."

Two weeks before the start of the playoffs, Gordon said the victory over the West's second-placed team was an important marker.

"It's big," he said. "I just want us to be ready when the time is coming. This was a good step in that direction."

Denver's Johnson drilled a three-pointer to open the contest, but Devin Vassell quickly tied it and the Spurs didn't trail again on the way to a 72-65 halftime lead.

Things got testy late in the first quarter, when Wembanyama inadvertently caught Jokic in the face with his hand and no foul was called.

Angry Nuggets coach David Adelman and forward Aaron Gordon both received technical fouls.

Denver cut the deficit to one on Jokic's layup early in the third quarter and trailed by four going into the fourth.

San Antonio pushed their lead to 11 on a Wembanyama dunk with 9:08 left in regulation, Denver battling back to briefly take a one-point lead before they finished regulation all-square.

Elsewhere the Miami Heat, 10th in the East and jockeying to improve their play-in position, beat the Washington Wizards 152-136.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a game-high 32 points off the bench for Miami.

Fellow reserve Kel'el Ware added 24 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocked shots and seven Heat players scored in double figures.

That included Bam Adebayo, who was heavily guarded after scoring 83 in Miami's last game against Washington and finished with 14.

Center Will Riley scored 31 points to lead eight Wizards players in double figures, but Washington never led after the opening quarter.

bb/rcw

After getting outscored 25-5 in the first two games, Cierra Harrison shut down No. 20 LSU 1-0 to avoid the sweep. The Tigers, who came into the weekend on a five-game win streak, left with something to build on.

Harrison pitched her first SEC shutout since 2024, holding LSU to just four hits while striking out three. In the sixth, Harrison provided defense too, catching two straight lineouts coming right back at her to end the inning.

“Those are huge momentum changing plays,” Missouri coach Larissa Anderson said after the game. “They obviously squared it up right at her and for her to be able to have the cat like reflexes and be able to react fast, it just immediately fires up the team.”

Missouri’s lone run came in the third, as Abby Hay hit an RBI single to bring in Addy Waits from second base. The hard hit ball bounced off LSU shortstop Kylee Edwards' glove to drive in the lone run and give Mizzou the lead.

Missouri failed to add anything else as LSU pitchers Paytn Monticelli and Jayden Heavener limited the Missouri batters. In relief, Heavener continued her momentum from Thursday by holding Missouri to zero hits in her two innings pitched.

Missouri’s defense stole the show with two double plays to hold off leadoff runners. The first came in the fifth, as a popped up bunt went straight to Waits at third base who made the timely throw to catch the leadoff runner. In the seventh, Madison Uptegrove caught a soft line drive before throwing out the runner trying to retreat to first.

The game ended on a groundout to Uptegrove, who threw an errant throw to first where Hay jumped to catch the ball before tagging the runner.

“Making incredible plays behind me, I have to give it to my defense today,” Harrison said after the game. “They made great plays today and had my back the whole game.”

Offensively, Missouri finished with just four hits on the day, but managed to work four walks and a hit by pitch. Anderson emphasized after the game that a message the coaching staff gives to its batters is to produce "quality at bats," even if they don't result in hits. 

“If you have an eight pitch at bat, that’s a quality plate appearance, you hit the ball hard, that’s a quality plate appearance” Anderson said. “Reward them for those little wins, and then eventually the ball’s gonna fall because they feel like the process is easier for them.”

The win is a statement for a Missouri pitching staff that struggled over the first two games of the series. Now sitting at 5-7 in SEC play and 21-20 overall, the win keeps the Tigers above .500, a threshold required for postseason play.

Missouri continues conference play with a three-game series against Georgia next weekend. All games will be streamed on SEC Network+. The first game starts at 5 p.m. on Friday in Athens, Georgia.

The Los Angeles Lakers were handed another devastating injury blow on Saturday after confirmation that star guard Austin Reaves will miss the remainder of the regular season with a muscle injury.

The Lakers, still reeling from Friday's news that Luka Doncic will miss the remainder of the regular season with a hamstring strain, said in a statement Reaves would not play before the postseason.

"Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury and will be out for the remainder of the regular season," the team announced.

No timetable for Reaves' possible return was given.

The news is another hammer blow to the Lakers' hopes of mounting a serious challenge for the NBA title during the playoffs.

Reaves and Doncic had been key figures in the Lakers' resurgence in March, where the team won 15 of 17 games to climb into third place in the Western Conference standings.

But the Lakers' impressive momentum was brought to a juddering halt in a brutal 139-96 mauling by the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday which left two of their biggest offensive stars -- Doncic and Reaves -- with regular season-ending injuries.

The Lakers (50-27), have five more regular season games remaining, starting with Sunday's road game against the Dallas Mavericks.

rcw/bb