EXCLUSIVE: Trump, affordability central to GOP midterm strategy

In India's capital, Hindu "bhajan clubbing" is electrifying nightlife, with revellers dancing to traditional devotional songs reimagined through guitars and pounding drumbeats, transforming public venues into spiritual hangouts.

ChaiLeela, a cafe in the suburb of Noida, crackled with energy as devotees swayed to rhythmic riffs soaring into crescendos in songs praising the deity Krishna.

"I felt energised and alive," said Himanshu Gupta, a 30-year-old IT professional and regular attendee of the song nights.

Bhajans -- devotional songs with ancient roots in Hinduism -- have long been used as a spiritual bridge between the individual and the divine.

But "bhajan clubbing" represents a modern twist that is gaining traction in New Delhi, which hosted at least five major devotional concerts in March alone, drawing tens of thousands.

One open-air event this month -- at the grounds of the 16th-century Purana Qila fort -- drew about 7,000 devotees, with the atmosphere resembling a rave more than a religious gathering.

"It provides an opportunity for our youth to connect with devotion and spirituality," said Aishwarya Gupta, 31, a nuclear physicist attending the concert, her face dotted with both paint and religious marks. "It feels great to be here."

Musicians performed devotional hits backed by guitars and drums as crowds danced in a near-trance.

"It is a calming feeling," said Kumar Shubham, a 27-year-old doctor and fitness influencer, who said the events also instilled "pride" in Indians.

"When we see today's youth, they seem more interested in things other than religious matters," said businessman Jay Ahuja, 28. "But this... shows them the right path... it's a good way to connect with God."

- 'Spirituality, not spirits' -

The phenomenon reflects a broader revival of public expressions of Hindu identity in India, alongside the growing political and cultural influence of Hindu populist narratives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backed the trend, noting that bhajan traditions had been the "soul of Indian culture for centuries".

The 75-year-old Hindu nationalist leader has praised how bhajan clubbing "incorporated the spirit of devotion into the youth's experiences and lifestyles", speaking in his weekly radio broadcast in January.

When tens of thousands packed Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for a devotional show this month -- with electric guitars and drum beats projected by giant speakers -- it was introduced by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, a member of Modi's party.

Nikunj Gupta, 26, who organised the devotional music festival at Purana Qila, said that "spirituality is necessary to unite the next generation".

He said such events offered young people a festive atmosphere without the alcohol commonly associated with concerts in Delhi, which some conservative Hindus frown upon.

"It gives them a medium to explore a different activity, rather than going to a regular club where they have to consume alcohol with friends," he said.

"We want the youth to be high on spirituality, not spirits."

The movement is also spreading beyond India. In neighbouring Hindu-majority Nepal, more than 3,000 people attended a bhajan club night in February.

"We wanted to raise the interests of youths in bhajans -- the essence of the music remains the same, but we deliver it in a bit more modern style," the night's co-founder, Abhishek Adhikari, 28, told AFP.

"It is for anyone who wants to begin their spiritual journey... People really enjoy it -- and it is growing popular."

In India, fashion figure Ratnadeep Lal compared the shows to flashy international concerts.

"I have attended many international concerts, such as Shakira," he said. "This kind of initiative in India, which uses devotional music to teach and connect with the next generation, is very good."

burs/pjm/lb/abs

Victor Wembanyama bagged a season-high 41 points and scored the fastest double-double in NBA history as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a ninth straight victory with a 129-114 blowout of the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Another dominant all-round offensive performance saw the Spurs pull away decisively after outscoring Chicago 35-19 in the second quarter, after only one point separated the two sides after the first period.

French star Wembanyama was once again the pivotal figure for San Antonio, who have emerged as genuine NBA title contenders since the mid-season All-Star Break with 19 wins and only two losses.

Wembanyama finished Monday's game with 41 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal in a performance which underscored his status as one of the front-runners for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.

Wembanyama's double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds arrived just eight minutes and 31 seconds after he stepped on court, a new NBA record.

Stephon Castle backed Wembanyama with 21 points while four other Spurs players finished in double figures.

"Today wasn't perfect as a team and personally," Wembanyama said. "I wish I was better, but it's still satisfying."

San Antonio's victory left them 57-18 in the Western Conference, just two games behind leaders Oklahoma City (59-16).

"The most fun part is that we've got a healthy locker room and we're just happy as a whole because we get on together well on and off the court," Wembanyama said. "We're just loving the experience."

The Atlanta Hawks boosted their playoff hopes with a 112-102 defeat of the Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference clash.

Jaylen Brown led the scoring with 29 points for a depleted Celtics line-up missing Jayson Tatum, but Atlanta’s balanced offense with 20 points apiece from Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu carried the Hawks to victory.

The Minnesota Timberwolves saw seven players finish in double figures in a 124-94 rout of the Dallas Mavericks.

The Phoenix Suns were similarly emphatic winners in a 131-105 romp over the Memphis Grizzlies.

rcw/pst

Oil prices sank and most stocks rose Tuesday, following a report that indicated Donald Trump was willing to end the Iran war even if the key Strait of Hormuz remained closed.

But investors remain wary as the Wall Street Journal story came on the same day the US president threatened to destroy Iran's key oil export hub and desalination plants unless it accepts a deal, while also suggesting diplomacy was making headway.

The news comes as governments around the world scramble to implement measures to ease the burden of surging fuel prices while also looking to conserve energy, with one-fifth of global crude and gas passing through the waterway.

The Journal, citing administration officials, said Trump and his aides had come to the conclusion that a mission to reopen the waterway would extend the length of the mission past his four- to six-week timeline.

It added that he had decided to focus on battering Iran's missiles and navy, before looking to pressure Iran diplomatically to reopen the Strait.

Both main oil contracts fell Tuesday, though West Texas Intermediate and Brent were still sitting well above $100 a barrel.

And most equity markets rose. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta were all up, while Tokyo fluctuated.

Seoul, Taipei and Manila fell.

However, Trump also threatened Monday to destroy Kharg Island, through which most of Iran's crude passes, if a peace deal is not reached.

He warned US forces would destroy "all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)."

Destroying civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime, experts say.

Iran has previously threatened to retaliate by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants in its Arab neighbours that host the US military, fanning fears of a wider conflict.

But Trump also said officials were speaking to a "more reasonable regime" in Tehran, which has denied any talks and accused the president of lying about negotiations as cover while preparing a ground invasion.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope for working with elements within Iran's government.

Market experts warned that any US ground operation or wider Iranian retaliation could send oil prices to levels not seen since July 2008, when Brent hit almost $150 a barrel.

- 'De-escalation and re-escalation' -

In a sign Iran was determined to keep control of Hormuz, state media reported Monday that a parliamentary commission had approved plans to impose tolls on vessels transiting it.

With Trump flipping between hope for talks and threats, analysts said investors were having to walk a tightrope.

"The market continues to be headline-driven as the Trump Administration has delivered a variety of messages surrounding de-escalation and re-escalation of the war in Iran," Wolfe Research's Chris Senyek said. 

With the war now in its fifth week, governments are moving to shore up their economies.

Economy ministers and central bankers from the G7 club of rich countries met in Paris to discuss the war's effects, with many countries introducing energy-saving measures or cutting fuel taxes to help consumers.

Dubai said it will provide support worth more than $270 million to help businesses and families, while Norway will temporarily cut diesel and petrol taxes and Bangladesh ordered civil servants to switch off lights and turn down air conditioning to save power. 

Sri Lanka announced a nearly 40 percent increase in electricity prices from Wednesday as it battles an energy shortage. Colombo has raised fuel prices three times this month, increasing them by more than a third, and has imposed a four-day working week in a bid to save energy.

"From here, the burden shifts from military outcomes to economic endurance. The question is no longer how high oil spikes, but how long elevated energy costs bleed into growth, margins, and consumption," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell also provided a little support, saying Monday the bank could look past energy shocks because they "have tended to come and go pretty quickly" but monetary policy changes take time to flow through the economy.

While the spike in energy prices threatens to send inflation soaring again, he added that officials "feel like our policy is in a good place for us to wait and see how that turns out" and "inflation expectations do appear to be well-anchored beyond the short term".

- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.3 percent at $106.04 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $102.22 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 51,820.30 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 24,869.71

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,935.05

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1474 from $1.1460 on Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3207 from $1.3183

Dollar/yen: UP at 159.71 yen from 159.69 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.88 pence from 86.93 pence

New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 45,216.14 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.6 percent at 10,127.96 (close)

dan/lb

Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are among the Premier League stars "addicted" to chess, helping to spark a surge in the game's popularity among younger people.

Manchester City striker Haaland is so fascinated by the game that he recently invested in a ground-breaking new chess tour to capitalise on the increased profile bestowed by its celebrity players.

As well as Haaland, Liverpool forward Salah and England team-mates Harry Kane, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Anthony Gordon are all avid chess players.

Salah is obsessed by playing the faster 'blitz' version of chess using an anonymous online profile.

"I'm addicted to chess. Every day, literally every day," the Egyptian said.

Arsenal midfielders Martin Odegaard and Eberechi Eze are both keen players, with the latter winning an amateur tournament in 2025.

Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, a five-time world champion, is a huge football fan and the Norwegian's love for both games has played a role in the surprise crossover.

Alexander-Arnold often plays chess with his brothers and once levelled-up to face Carlsen, who defeated the Real Madrid defender in a 17-move rout that lasted just five minutes.

AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic has the queen chess piece tattooed on his arm in tribute to his grandfather, who taught him the game as a child.

France World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann and Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal are also aficionados.

On the surface, the contemplative, cerebral nature of chess is a stark contrast to the physicality and aggression of football.

But dig deeper and there are more similarities than you would expect.

"Chess is an incredible game. It sharpens your mind, and there are clear similarities to football," Haaland said. 

"You have to think quickly, trust your instincts, and think several moves ahead. Strategy and planning are everything."

- 'It's remarkably similar' -

Backed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the new tour will feature four tournaments each year in different cities, with a world champion crowned across three disciplines -- fast classic, rapid and blitz.

Each season will have a minimum prize pool of £2 million ($2.7 million).

"Seeing a world-class athlete like Erling Haaland join the Total World Chess Championship Tour is a powerful signal of the global attention and cultural relevance that chess enjoys today," FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich said.

Chess has its roots in seventh century India.

But those humble origins are a far cry from the technology fast-tracking the chess boom, with online apps taking over from the traditional board as the game's most common battleground.

Online play rocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic and, according to FIDE, at least 1.5 billion people now have a chess app on their phone.

Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" and the impact of celebrity influencers, including footballers, have all contributed to the boom transforming the previously staid image of chess.

The strategy involved in chess also appeals to football managers looking for a mental edge in their tactical battles on the pitch.

Quoted in the book 'Pep Confidential', Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said: "You have no idea how similar the two things are."

Avid Real Madrid fan Carlsen sees his game through the same lens as former Barcelona coach Guardiola: "In chess and football, the important thing is to control the middle. If you control the middle, you control the pitch or the board," he said. "In terms of space, it's remarkably similar."

But will the satisfaction of a successful checkmate ever replace the thrill of scoring a winning goal for chess-fixated footballers?

For Kane, his true love remains football, leaving chess as the perfect way to relax.

"I use chess to switch off," he said. "It's such a mental game. You have to focus on every moment."

smg/kca

Indonesia will make cuts to its free school meals programme from Tuesday as it seeks to set aside billions of dollars to counteract budget pressures brought on by the Middle East war and soaring oil prices.

The programme, which feeds an estimated 60 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding women at a cost of nearly a tenth of the annual budget, is President Prabowo Subianto's signature project.

Here's what we know:

- What is being cut? - 

At a cabinet meeting over the weekend, ministers and Prabowo decided to trim the programme from six days per week to five in primary and secondary schools starting Tuesday.

In regions with high malnutrition rates, meals will remain available on Saturdays, when many Indonesian schools are open in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

The move will save "around 40 trillion rupiah ($2.3 billion)," Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, deputy head of the government's National Nutrition Agency, told AFP on Sunday.

The cut may be reviewed if conditions change.

Launched in January 2025, the initiative was touted by the government as a way to tackle a malnutrition and stunting crisis in the country of 284 million people.

The program has a target of ultimately feeding 83 million people, but it has come under the spotlight after thousands of recipients contracted food poisoning.

- A harbinger of more to come? - 

The Indonesian government is also weighing options for curbing fuel consumption as the war in the Middle East has disrupted global energy supply.

The country produces crude but is a net importer of the commodity. It heavily subsidises fuel and natural gas for domestic consumers.

The government has so far defended the subsidy, which at $12.3 billion represents about five percent of the total annual budget for 2026.

Observers say the government's hand may be forced given that Indonesia is required by law to keep its fiscal deficit under three percent of gross domestic product.

The 2026 fuel subsidy calculation was premised on a global oil price of $70 per barrel, but prices have since topped $100.

Firman Noor, a political researcher with the government-funded National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), told AFP the cut to the meal programme "indicates that the pressure on our financial strength stemming from the war is already beginning to be felt".

"This is a warning that we must get prepared like other countries. And just be frank, we need an adjustment because we never know when the war will end, which will surely drive oil prices higher."

Previous subsidy cuts have led to mass riots.

- Is it enough? -

Earlier this month, presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi said the government was seeking to set aside as much as 80 trillion rupiah to shield its economy from the Middle East fallout, without disclosing further details.

Measures under consideration include ordering government workers to work from home one day per week, cutting back on official travel and encouraging bicycle, electronic car and public transport use to preserve valuable fuel.

Analysts said savings from trimming the free meals programme were not nearly enough if the government intends to meet its fiscal deficit limit.

"Without changes in big budget (programmes), I don't see steps taken by the government, such as cutting back on free meals from six to five days or one day work-from-home per week, as adequate to tackle" the widening deficit, said Deni Friawan, a researcher of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). 

mrc/mlr/lga/abs

As soon as Wednesday, NASA is poised to make history -- sending the first woman, the first person of color, and the first non-American on a voyage around the Moon.

Canadian Jeremy Hansen is among the four-person crew, what astronaut and fellow countryman Joshua Kutryk called "a very big deal."

Wearing a traditional royal-blue flight suit, Kutryk -- who is currently training for his own mission to the International Space Station -- made the trip to Florida's Kennedy Space Center to cheer on his colleague, who could take off as early as April 1.

In an interview with AFP, Kutryk discusses the significance of this new chapter of American space exploration:

- How do you feel ahead of this mission? -

It is a huge deal. It's the first -- not just the first Canadian lunar mission -- it's the first mission in the world that isn't purely a US crew.

So, it's a very big deal in Canada. I feel very excited, very proud.

Jeremy is a great friend and a great astronaut and a great ambassador to Canada, and I'm just excited to see him go do this.

- Why does this launch matter for Canadians? -

It's not a coincidence that Canada was invited to participate in this mission. It's because of what we've done in Canada that is valued by NASA, and that's something that makes me excited, but even more so proud to be from Canada right now.

Canada has been partnered with the United States throughout most of human space exploration. We started back with the Space Shuttle Program. We had astronauts flying in the 80s... We helped to construct the space station. We designed and built the suite of robotic systems that still operates a space station, even as you and I speak today.

Particularly with Artemis though, we were the first country to join the United States in this vision of going back to the Moon.

Now there are many countries in the Artemis Accords -- Canada was the first. And we contribute, or rather, we committed to contributing technology to help these missions take place.

And we've committed to developing robotics technology, to developing lunar rovers that are going to help explore the surface.

- Why should we return to the Moon? -

There's a lot of things in the world right now -- more than enough -- to leave people, myself included, feeling pessimistic about things.

This leaves me optimistic... it shows us that we can still do this stuff, the really hard stuff.

We can still do it together -- Canada, working with the United States, international cooperation -- and we haven't backed down from doing the really hard, next to impossible things, which are going back to the Moon.

That's really cool as an astronaut, to think that I have a friend who's going to go around the far side of the Moon.

But it's more than just cool. It's important for us. It's important for societies. It's important for Canada. It's important for our future, because this is how we get better.

It's how we advance and develop new technologies, make new scientific discoveries that chart a better course for us going forward.

And so for me, space is opportunity, and missions like this make me optimistic.

- What's different about the Artemis mission? -

What we're trying to do, technology wise, is very different. 

The Apollo program was designed to send small crews there for short periods of time and bring them back, and not really to do anything there.

The whole mission with Artemis is sustained, permanent exploration and presence.

If you think about what we do in low Earth orbit now, we have humans working from all over the world together for long periods -- six, seven, eight, 12 months at a time -- that's what I'm getting ready to go do.

We want to do that on the surface of the Moon. That's what Artemis is about, and that's something that we couldn't have done during Apollo because we didn't have the technology to do it.

Another difference that I think is worth pointing out is that Apollo was just the United States, for good reasons at the time.

But Artemis is entire collaboration of dozens of countries from around the world -- and it's an important difference from that point of view.

cha/mdo/pnb/mlm

Don't call it the "Marty Supreme" effect: table tennis is a growing sport in the United States, in part because of a new professional league giving the parlor game an ultra-competitive edge.

Founded three years ago by tech entrepreneur Flint Lane, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT) is now home to several ping pong players in the global top 100, including Amy Wang and Lily Zhang, who represented Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

At a weekend MLTT match in Princeton, New Jersey, about 100 spectators watched Kotomi Omoda secure victory for the Portland Paddlers against the Florida Crocs.

Nikhil Kumar, who also plays for the Paddlers and competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, told AFP he was "a little bit skeptical" when he first heard of Major League Table Tennis.

Now that the league has been around for a few years, however, "there's been a lot of progression for us in terms of the level of the play and the players that are coming to play stronger," he said.

The Olympic sport's growing US fandom is evident in MLTT ticket sales, which are up 50 percent compared to last year, according to founder Lane.

"I don't know if I would be a season ticket holder, but I'm killing a Saturday afternoon," Richard Kurland, a spectators at the match, told AFP.

"It's something different. I'll have stories to tell my friends for the next few weeks, some photos. I would definitely come back."

Despite the league's professional status, MLTT players hold day jobs to support themselves.

"I hope one day that it could be enough," said Kumar, who works as an engineer at a New York tech startup. "I'd love to play table tennis as a living."

- 'A good boost' -

Lane told AFP that MLTT ranks among the top professional leagues in the world, though it still trails the Chinese, Japanese, French and German leagues.

"But we're not competing against them either," Lane said, comparing it to Major League Soccer, the US football league that generate billions of dollars without being among the top leagues globally.

To grow the American audience for the sport, MLTT launched its own streaming channel in September, Table Tennis TV. It also created a ranking system, Spindex, with the hopes of making it a ratings scale similar to golf handicaps.

USA Table Tennis, the nonprofit governing body for the sport in America, had around 14,000 members as of late 2025.

PingPod, a chain of table tennis venues in the United States, reported it had 160,000 registered users.

"Having a well-funded, well-organized professional league in the United States is a good tailwind, a good boost for the sport, both in terms of participation and spectatorship," PingPod co-CEO David Silberman told AFP.

The sport also came to recent prominence in popular culture with the release of the Oscar-nominated film "Marty Supreme," which saw famed actor Timothee Chalamet portray table tennis player Marty Mauser in 1950s New York, based loosely on real-life player Marty Reisman.

The film grossed almost $100 million in the United States, becoming the top-grossing picture for independent film distributor A24.

"The buzz about Marty Supreme, the way that I talk about table tennis at work, or at the store in public, is completely different with the movie," said table tennis fan Revan Raguindin, who supports the Princeton Revolution MLTT team.

"I think there's so much more recognition of the sport this way, and I am really grateful for it."

tu/hpa/jgc/mlm

Italy have one last obstacle standing between them and a return to the World Cup in the shape of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who host the Azzurri on Tuesday in what promises to be a tense qualification play-off final in Zenica.

A battling win over Northern Ireland in last week's semi-final did little to ease Italian supporters' fears about missing out on a third straight World Cup, goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean stopping a lacklustre display from turning into another disaster.

Coach Gennaro Gattuso called Tuesday's showdown in Zenica "Everest" due to the weight of expectation on his shoulders to guide Italy back to the world's biggest football tournament after 12 years away.

The prize for Italy is a spot in Group B at this summer's finals alongside co-hosts Canada, Switzerland and Qatar, and something to look forward to for a powerful football nation that has fallen behind its rivals since last lifting the World Cup in 2006.

Gattuso has said that he's not "interested in the performance" of his players in what will be a soaking and rowdy Bilino Polje Stadium, which has seen snow in the last few days.

"When you do this job you want to experience nights like this, there's nothing better," Gattuso told reporters on Monday.

"Throughout our history we have got our greatest victories not necessarily by playing the best football but digging in, showing pride and an impeccable mentality."

But his players have also come under fierce criticism for the way they greeted Bosnia's win on penalties over Wales in Tuesday's other semi-final.

A group of players, most prominently full-back Federico Dimarco, were filmed fist-pumping in celebration when Kerim Alajbegovic shot Bosnia's winning spot-kick in Cardiff.

That gesture led former Roma and Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic to tell the Gazzetta Dello Sport that "Bosnia is waiting for them with open arms".

- 'No disrespect' -

The controversy even caused former Italy goalkeeper Dino Zoff, a World Cup winner in 1982, to criticise the current team for making their task in Bosnia more difficult than it needs to be.

"It wasn't a good thing to do because it will just further fire up our opponents, I would have behaved differently," Zoff told newspaper Il Giornale.

Dimarco was wheeled out on Sunday to put an end to the controversy, the Inter Milan star insisting that he "wasn't showing disrespect for Bosnia or the Bosnian people".

"I've heard people say we were arrogant. There's really no reason to be, we've missed the last two World Cups," said Dimarco.

That so much attention is being placed on such an innocuous gesture from a group of players is emblematic of the tension surrounding Tuesday's match.

Italian media have even suggested that Clement Turpin being selected as referee is a bad omen, as the Frenchman was the official in charge of the play-off disaster with North Macedonia which cost Italy a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

But more than superstition it will be a dangerous opponent and hostile crowd that will be Italy's biggest hurdle.

Bosnia captain Edin Dzeko showed with his late equaliser in Cardiff that at the age of 40 he can still do damage up front and his successful career in Italy with Roma and Inter will also add to the fear factor.

Dzeko could play alongside Red Bull Salzburg forward Alajbegovic, a promising 18-year-old who will join Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, and who set up his veteran teammate's goal on Thursday.

"Italy won't underestimate us, but they don't have players like (Francesco) Totti or (Alessandro) Del Piero anymore. They have good players, but it's a different type of player than once upon a time," said Dzeko on Monday.

"It's up to us to show what we're made of. We're playing at home with the support of our fans. Italy could find themselves in a lot of trouble against us."

td-jr/nf/dmc

Junior Trent Pierce announced his intent to return to the Mizzou men's basketball program for the 2026-27 season via Instagram on Monday. It will be his fourth year with the program. 

Pierce finished his junior season averaging 10.4 points per game. He entered the mix after recovering from a lower-body injury that sidelined him for the team's nonconference games.

Robinson enters transfer portal

While Pierce decided to stay with the Tigers through his senior year, Anthony Robinson II entered the transfer portal for the 2026-27 season, according to On3. 

Robinson, who played three seasons in Columbia, took a step back in his junior season. He was predicted to be a key part of the Tigers' plans, both offensively and defensively, after a standout sophomore season by the point guard. 

Robinson finished his time at Missouri averaging 8.9 points per game. He capped off his season with a stellar performance against Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, tallying 11 points, five assists and three steals.

Four spots remain open for the Tigers to fill as they sit at 11 players currently. 

Future Tigers meet in McDonald's All American game

Mizzou signees Jason Crowe Jr. and Toni Bryant are set to face off in the McDonald's All American game at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Glendale, Arizona. 

Bryant is playing for the East while Crowe is playing for the West. Bryant is ranked as the No. 2 center and No. 19 player nationwide by Rivals whereas Crowe is ranked as the No. 4 shooting guard and No. 11 overall player.

The McDonald's All American game annually showcases top high-school prospects, with Crowe and Bryant becoming the sixth and seventh players to represent Mizzou. The Tigers are one of three programs to have multiple signees playing in the game, alongside Duke and Southern California.

Crowe, Coleman to play in Jordan Brand Classic

In addition to the McDonald's All American game appearance, Crowe made the roster for the 2026 Jordan Brand Classic alongside another recruiting target for the Tigers, Quentin Coleman.

The Jordan Brand Classic is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. April 17 for the boys competition in Torrance, California. The JBC is known to showcase future stars, including past stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Napheesa Collier. 

Coleman is a four-star recruit out of Principia High School in suburban St. Louis. Coleman and Crowe faced off in the Norm Stewart Classic back in December, when Principia defeated Inglewood 85-69. Principia won the MSHSAA Class 3 title for the second year in a row. 

Though Coleman received an offer from Mizzou on March 1, he officially visited Illinois on Monday, according to 247Sports.

NASA began its two-day countdown Monday ahead of what is slated to be its first crewed moonshot in more than half a century, a long-anticipated loop around Earth's satellite that is to pave the way for future exploration.

The first window to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida opens Wednesday, April 1 at 6:24 pm (2224 GMT), and NASA officials said the countdown began at 4:44 pm.

"The vehicle is ready, the system is ready. The crew is ready," Amit Kshatriya, the US space agency's associate administrator, said in a briefing.

"Behind this flight stands a campaign," he continued, noting recently announced plans including constructing a lunar base.

If Wednesday's launch is cancelled or delayed for any reason, there are more liftoff opportunities through April 6.

As of Monday evening, NASA officials voiced confidence that engineering operations and final preparations were proceeding smoothly.

"We'll fly when this hardware is ready," launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told journalists.

"But certainly all indications are right now we are in excellent, excellent shape."

The four astronauts set to carry out the Moon voyage -- Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian colleague Jeremy Hansen -- are in quarantine ahead of their journey.

NASA officials said Monday evening that they would have the opportunity to have dinner with their families at a Florida beach house.

- Cloudy with a chance of history -

The odyssey will mark a series of firsts: the first time a woman, a person of color and a non-American will venture on a Moon mission.

It is also the inaugural crewed flight of NASA's new lunar rocket, dubbed SLS.

The mammoth orange-and-white rocket is designed to allow the United States to repeatedly return to the Moon in years to come, with the goal of establishing a permanent base that will offer a stepping stone for further exploration.

But getting it off the ground has not been simple. The Artemis 2 mission was originally due to take off as early as February but repeated setbacks stalled that goal and even necessitated rolling the rocket back to its hangar for analysis and repairs.

And then there is the weather: as of Monday, NASA reported that the forecast shows "an 80 percent chance of favorable weather conditions."

"Cloud coverage and potential for high winds on the ground" were their primary concerns, the agency said.

Teams are also monitoring solar weather.

"I'm just gonna make an appeal to the space gods, okay?" Kshatriya said to laughter on Monday.

mdo/js