🐘🥎Alabama Softball Sweeps No. 6 Florida State Behind Pupillo’s Two-Homer Day in Tallahassee

Crimson Tide Improves to 12-0 as Jocelyn Briski Fans Career-High Nine; Elon Game Halted by Rain at Dugout Club Classic

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | Statement made.

The Alabama Crimson Tide softball continued its early-season surge Saturday, securing a weekend sweep of No. 6 Florida State Seminoles softball with a commanding 5-1 victory at the Dugout Club Classic. One night after an 8-0 shutout, Alabama (12-0) leaned on timely power and dominant pitching to leave Tallahassee unbeaten.

The Tide’s second scheduled game against Elon was called in the third inning due to rain and will not be resumed, but the headline belonged to Alabama’s continued dominance against one of the ACC’s perennial powers.

🐎 No. 1 Auburn Tigers equestrian Rides Past No. 4 SMU Mustangs equestrian, 13–7, in Dominant Home Return

Top-Ranked Tigers Sweep MOP Honors, Win Three Events at Auburn University Equestrian Center Ahead of Showdown with No. 3 Georgia

AUBURN, Ala. | The nation’s top-ranked team made a statement in its first home appearance of 2026.

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers equestrian returned to the Auburn University Equestrian Center and powered past No. 4 SMU Mustangs equestrian, 13–7, in a weather-delayed Saturday showdown that showcased Auburn’s championship depth.

Head coach Jessica Braswell praised her squad’s poise after the one-hour delay and lauded the Auburn faithful who packed the stands despite the storms. The Tigers (7-2) rewarded that energy by winning three of four events and sweeping all four Most Outstanding Performer (MOP) honors.

Western Sets the Tone

Auburn struck first with a 3-2 edge in Reining. Senior Alexia Tordoff delivered a commanding 70.25-0 ride to secure MOP honors, while freshman Michelle Fumagalli sealed the event with a clutch 69-66.25 victory.

Horsemanship provided the knockout punch. The Tigers dominated 4-1, highlighted by Brooke Jolstad’s MOP-winning 75-74.5 ride and Sydney Swallom’s meet-clinching performance.

🏀 Warhawks Rally Early but Fade Late: AUM Drops Final Road Game to West Alabama, 79-62

Brooks’ 26-Point Effort, Flatgard’s Five Threes Not Enough as Tigers Pull Away in Second Half

LIVINGSTON, Ala. | The AUM Warhawks closed out their final road game of the season with a hard-fought effort but ultimately fell 79-62 to the West Alabama Tigers inside Pruitt Hall Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, Auburn University at Montgomery moves to 3-23 overall and 3-17 in Gulf South Conference play, while West Alabama improves to 13-11 (11-10 GSC).

Fast Start Fuels Early Lead

The Warhawks came out with urgency, setting the tone early behind Samya Brooks, who opened the scoring and sparked a 6-0 run. AUM controlled the tempo in the first quarter, capitalizing on second-chance opportunities and perimeter shooting.

Andie Flatgard connected on two three-pointers in the opening frame as AUM built a commanding 17-9 lead after one quarter, showcasing disciplined shot selection and strong defensive rotations.

✊🏾'TELL IT LIKE IT IS Black History Series': The Hidden Figures of the Manhattan Project-Benjamin Franklin Scott’s Scientific Legacy

From Morehouse to the Manhattan Project, the South Carolina Chemist Helped Shape the Nuclear Age—and Advanced Radiochemistry for a Generation

In the annals of American scientific achievement, the story of the Manhattan Project is often told through the names of its most famous architects. Yet behind the headlines and the history books stood a cadre of African American scientists whose work proved essential to one of the 20th century’s most consequential undertakings.

Among them was Benjamin Franklin Scott (1922–2000) — a chemist born in Florence, South Carolina, whose work at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory contributed to the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

As part of 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS’ Black History Series, Scott’s life offers a powerful reminder that the American scientific enterprise has always been broader—and more diverse—than the conventional narrative suggests.

🎸U2 Surprise-Drops Politically Charged ‘Days of Ash’ EP on Ash Wednesday, Tackling Ukraine War, Middle East Turmoil and U.S. Protest Tragedy

Six-Track Digital Release Features Tribute to Renée Good, Collaboration With Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian Front-Line Musician Taras Topolia; Full-Length Album to Follow With ‘More Joyful’ Tone

In a move that blends liturgical symbolism with geopolitical urgency, U2 has surprise-released a six-track EP, “Days of Ash,” timed to Ash Wednesday and steeped in themes of grief, protest, and global unrest.

The digital-only collection marks the band’s most substantial body of new material since 2017’s Songs of Experience, offering what frontman Bono describes as “songs of defiance and dismay” written in response to what he calls “mad and maddening times.”

Produced by longtime collaborator Jacknife Lee, the EP will not roll over into the band’s forthcoming full-length studio album. That record, Bono promises, will pivot toward a “much more joyful tone,” positioning Days of Ash as an urgent dispatch rather than a commercial bridge.

Hidden Figures of the Manhattan Project: The African American Scientists Who Helped Build the Atomic Age

Long Overlooked, Black Scientists and Technicians Played Critical Roles in America’s Most Secretive Wartime Mission

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a crash program in October 1941 to develop an atomic bomb, he set in motion the most ambitious scientific mobilization in U.S. history. The effort—later known as the Manhattan Project—would ultimately change global geopolitics, end World War II, and usher in the nuclear age.

Yet buried within the classified corridors of laboratories at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Los Alamos Laboratory was a small but extraordinary group of African American scientists and technicians whose contributions have remained largely absent from mainstream history.

⚖️Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Sweeping Tariffs in Major Rebuff of Executive Power

In a 6–3 ruling, the high court rejects President Donald Trump’s reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, wiping out broad import duties and signaling limits on unilateral trade authority.

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down former President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, delivering a significant setback to a core pillar of his economic and geopolitical strategy.

In a 6–3 decision, the conservative-led court ruled that Trump lacked clear congressional authorization to impose across-the-board import duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the 1977 statute he cited as the legal basis for the tariffs.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority and joined by Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch as well as the court’s three liberal justices, concluded that the president’s asserted authority to impose tariffs of “unlimited amount, duration, and scope” required explicit congressional approval.

“The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope,” Roberts wrote. “He must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.”

The court found that IEEPA “falls short” of granting such sweeping trade authority.

💰 💵A Pre-SOTU Guide to Trump’s Economic Claims

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has made a series of claims about the economy, a topic that should feature prominently in his State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24.

“We have the hottest country anywhere in the world,” Trump said at a White House press briefing on Jan. 20, adding later that “America is booming.” He made similar comments the following day, asserting that “we were a dead country” a year ago.

But his economic boasts include false or misleading claims, and he sometimes pushes an incorrect narrative of an abrupt change in some economic indicators since he came back to the White House.

As preparation for what we might hear in Tuesday night’s speech, we offer a guide to a dozen of Trump’s recent claims about the economy, most of which we’ve written about before. They touch on inflation, economic growth, manufacturing, wages, jobs, the deficit, stock market and more.

🎖️VA Halts Enforcement of Controversial Disability Ratings Rule as Lawmakers Demand Full Rescission

Doug Collins says interim rule tying VA disability ratings to medicated symptom levels “will not be enforced,” but members of Congress—including Mark Takano—insist the policy must be formally withdrawn.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has paused enforcement of a controversial interim final rule that would have altered how disability ratings are calculated—triggering bipartisan calls on Capitol Hill for the regulation to be permanently rescinded.

In a Feb. 19 statement posted on X, VA Secretary Doug Collins announced that the department “is halting the enforcement of the interim final rule,” which had taken effect Feb. 17, the same day it was published in the Federal Register.

The rule—filed under docket RIN 2900-AS49—directed VA medical examiners to base disability ratings on the reduced level of impairment if medication improves a veteran’s condition. Disability ratings directly determine monthly compensation levels for millions of former service members.

Collins pledged that the policy “will not be enforced at any time in the future,” though the rule technically remains in place pending the close of the public comment period on April 20.

Lawmakers: ‘Halting Enforcement Is Not Enough’

The announcement followed swift backlash from lawmakers and veterans service organizations, who warned the rule could penalize veterans for complying with prescribed medical treatment.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-Calif.) argued the change would place veterans “in a position of deciding between managing their health and receiving their full benefits.”

🏢📽️Exclusive: Montel Williams on Serving Veterans, Leading Military Makeover and Why His Naval Academy Roots Still Drive His Mission

From the United States Marine Corps to the United States Naval Academy and national television, Montel Williams says service remains the throughline of his life—now focused on restoring homes and hope for combat veterans across America.

Before he became a household name through The Montel Williams Show, Montel Williams wore the uniform. A veteran of both the Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, Williams graduated from the United States Naval Academy after becoming the first Black Marine selected to attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School. He later earned a commission and served nearly 22 years in uniform.

In an exclusive interview with 'TELL IT LIKE IT IS' Defense News, Williams described his military experience as “the most important foundation” of his life.

“I’ve had three almost 20-year careers,” Williams said. “The Marine Corps and Navy first, then the Montel show, and now medical initiatives and veteran support. The military gave me the discipline and mission focus for everything that followed.”

Today, that mission focus is channeled into one of television’s longest-running veteran-support programs: Military Makeover.

🎬Eric Dane, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Euphoria’ Star, Dies at 53 After Battle With ALS

The actor behind Dr. Mark Sloan and Cal Jacobs leaves behind a legacy of complex performances and tireless ALS advocacy.

Eric Dane, the charismatic actor who became a primetime icon as Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on Grey's Anatomy and later delivered a haunting turn as Cal Jacobs on HBO’s Euphoria, has died at 53 following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

His family confirmed that Dane passed away on February 19, surrounded by loved ones, after publicly revealing his ALS diagnosis in 2025.

“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” his family said in a statement. “He will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered always.”