Six vessels attacked in Gulf, Strait of Hormuz as war puts merchant ships on front lines

By Aref Mohammed Ahmed Rasheed Jonathan Saul

The Thailand-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree engulfed in black smoke in the Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI/BASRA, Iraq, March 11 (Reuters) - Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.

The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and U.S.-Israeli ‌forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.

Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world's oil, has come ‌to a near-standstill since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28, sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022. [O/R]

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have said that if attacks on Iran continued, they would not allow "one litre of oil" to be shipped from the Middle East to the ​U.S., Israel or their partners.

Trump warned Washington would strike Iran harder if it blocked oil exports, and said oil companies should use the strait because "just about all of (Iran's) navy is gone."

The vessels targeted in Wednesday's late-night attacks in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Malta-flagged Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials said.

Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) said the Safesea Vishnu was chartered by an Iraqi company contracted with SOMO, and that Zefyros was loaded with condensate products from Basra Gas Company. Both were attacked in the ship-to-ship loading area within Iraqi territorial waters, SOMO said.

IRAQI OIL PORTS CLOSED

Iraq's oil ports have completely stopped operations following the assaults, while commercial ports continue to function, Iraq's state news agency said, citing the ‌head of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI).

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade ⁠Operations (UKMTO) said the crew of one ship had been evacuated and were reported safe.

"A boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two vessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships," Farhan al-Fartousi, GCPI's director general, told Reuters.

Iraqi rescue teams continue searching for other seafarers.

"We recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water," one port security official ⁠said.

The Safesea Vishnu's commercial operator and beneficial operator are Safesea Transport Group and Safesea Group, respectively, according to data from Lloyd's List Intelligence.

Those U.S.-based companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

One Iraqi port security source said Zefyros is flagged in Malta and provided Reuters with a list of crew names.

Lloyd's List Intelligence data showed UK-based Cygnus Tankers Limited as the commercial operator and the George & Vassilis Michael family group of companies, a key player in Greek shipping, as the beneficial owner of a tanker matching that name and flag registry.

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Cygnus Tankers did ​not ​immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters was not able to immediately reach the beneficial owner.

REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS HAVE SAID SHIPS WILL BE TARGETED

Iran's ​Revolutionary Guards have repeatedly warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be ‌targeted.

Two projectiles of unknown origin struck the Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel as it sailed through the strait earlier on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship's Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

"Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room," Precious Shipping said.

"The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members," it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images provided by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.

Iran's Guards said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the ship was "fired upon by Iranian fighters", suggesting the first direct engagement by the Guards who have previously fired missiles or drones.

The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too ‌high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump has said the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed.

THREE OTHER SHIPS ​SUSTAIN MINOR DAMAGE

The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 km) northwest of Ras ​Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms said.

Its Japanese owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and a ​spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew are safe, ‌they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the ​cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third ​vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel's crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area whilst anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.

Early on Thursday, UKMTO said an unidentified projectile ​struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali ‌in the UAE. The crew were reported safe.

The Guards' statement included a reference to another ship, which it said was hit by projectiles - usually a reference to drones - on Wednesday morning. Reuters was not immediately ​able to confirm that report.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul and Enes Tunagur in London, Yannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou in Athens, Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok and Kentaro Okasaka in Tokyo, Tala Ramadan, Nayera Abdallah in Dubai, ​Hatem Maher in Cairo and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Louise Heavens, Philippa Fletcher, Michael Perry and Tom Hogue)

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March 12, 2026

Six vessels attacked in Gulf, Strait of Hormuz as war puts merchant ships on front lines

By Aref Mohammed Ahmed Rasheed Jonathan Saul The Thailand-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree engulfed in black...

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FBI joins search for retired Air Force major general missing for nearly 2 weeks

A high-ranking retired US Air Force major general who once commanded a base longassociated with UFO lorehas been missing for nearly two weeks, and authorities are appealing to the public for help locating him, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. William Neil McCasland, 68, left his Albuquerque home on foot at approximately 11 a.m. February 27 and has not been in contact with family or friends since, the sheriff's office said in anews release. His cell phone was left behind, the sheriff's office told CNN.

The sheriff's office issued a Silver Alert the next day, which remains in effect. An unspecified "medical issue" has added urgency to the search.

Authorities have conducted extensive neighborhood canvassing, interviews and coordinated search operations in an effort to find him. They contacted more than 600 homeowners in the neighborhood, the sheriff's office said.

McCasland is 5-foot-11 with white hair and blue eyes, according to the sheriff's office. He is "an avid outdoorsman" who hikes, runs and cycles in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights neighborhood and the Sandia Mountains foothills.

"Due to his background and established partnerships, BCSO is coordinating closely with multiple agencies," including the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and Kirtland Air Force Base, thesheriff's office said. The FBI has confirmed its involvement.

McCasland held some of the most sensitive positions in the US military,according to the Air Force. An astronautical engineer with degrees from the US Air Force Academy, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, he held a series of high-level posts during his career.

He served as chief engineer on the Department of Defense's Global Positioning System program, system program director of the Space Based Laser Project Office and director of special programs at the Pentagon. He also commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — a base long rumored to houseextraterrestrial debris linked to Roswell, despite Air Force denials.

Following his retirement, McCasland worked withTo The Stars, Inc., a company co-founded by Blink-182 musician Tom DeLonge that says it studies information about unidentified aerial phenomena.

CNN has reached out to the Air Force and McCasland's family for comment.

His disappearance came just days afterPresident Donald Trump announcedin a Truth Social post he was directing the Pentagon and other federal agencies to release government records related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs.

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"I hope and pray this is not one of those cases where a former senior military officer was specifically targeted and that he will be found happy and healthy in the immediate near term for his sake and the sake of his loved ones," Luis Elizondo, a former Department of Defense intelligence officer who now advocates for the release of classified information about UFOs, told CNN.

"Whether or not his disappearance had anything to do with any legacy involvement he may have had in UAP research, I prefer to allow law enforcement the necessary time to do their work before speculating," he added.

"It is true that Neil had a brief association with the UFO community," McCasland's wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, said in aFacebook post. "This connection is not a reason for someone to abduct Neil. Neil does not have any special knowledge about the ET bodies and debris from the Roswell crash stored at Wright-Patt."

Wilkerson said her husband does not have dementia. "He was not confused and disoriented," she said.

McCasland retired nearly 13 years ago, and Wilkerson said it "seems quite unlikely that he was taken to extract very dated secrets from him."

Wilkerson thanked the community and authorities for their support, noting the "dozens of searchers on foot, both official and friends and neighbors of Neil's … horseback searchers, drones with different capabilities, helicopters, three different types of search dogs, neighborhood canvassing and looking for Ring or wildlife videos."

The sheriff's office said it has so far "uncovered no evidence of foul play" but is "still considering all possible scenarios."

Investigators have asked those in the area to contact them if they have any information. Footage and other files can be sent to the sheriff's office through adedicated webpage.

"… Maybe the best hypothesis is that aliens beamed him up to the mothership," Wilkerson said in her post. "However, no sightings of a mothership hovering above the Sandia Mountains have been reported."

CNN's Jason Morris contributed to this report.

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FBI joins search for retired Air Force major general missing for nearly 2 weeks

A high-ranking retired US Air Force major general who once commanded a base longassociated with UFO lorehas been missing ...

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Tornado kills 2 in Indiana with another bout of dangerous storms ongoing

Dangerous storms with tornadoes and giant hail tore across the Central US overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, killing at least two people.

Wednesday evening into early Thursday, this powerful line of severe storms with damaging winds barreled across the Gulf Coast, spawning several tornadoes and toppling hundreds of trees and powerlines. Nearly 150,000 customers were left without power by midnight.

The tornado threat, while less significant than Tuesday, isn't over. A tornado watch remains in effect for parts of southeastern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and west-central Georgia until 8:00 a.m. ET.

Here's the latest:

• Tornado kills two: A married couple in their 80s died in Lake Village, Indiana, after a tornado hit the rural community around an hour south of Chicago, the Newton County, Indiana, coroner said. Several others were hospitalized. First responders said there was "total devastation" in the small community.

• Several tornadoes reported Tuesday: Over a dozen tornadoes have been reported from Tuesday's storms in three states: Texas, Illinois and Indiana. A long-lasting supercell spawned multiple tornadoes as it tracked across Illinois and Indiana, including one that ripped through Kankakee and Aroma Park, Illinois, causing damage to several homes and buildings there. This twister was preliminarily given an EF-3 rating by the National Weather Service in Central Illinois. Several people were injured, but no one died, Kankakee's mayor said.

• Monster hail: The storms also produced softball-sized or larger hail that crushed cars and caused damage in Illinois. One hailstone measured 6 inches in diameter, twice the size of a baseball, and may have set a new state record.

'Total devastation' in Indiana

Lake Village, a small town in northwest Indiana, was one of the places in the Midwest hit hardest by the tornado.

"Right before 7 p.m. (Tuesday), a large tornado hit our community, and it hit us hard," Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department spokesperson Lori Postma said.

When first responders made an early assessment overnight, they found "total devastation," fire department chief Rob Churchill said. "There were houses that were collapsed. There were people trapped in houses. There's livestock loose," he said.

The Newton County Coroner's Office on Wednesday said Edward L. Kozlowski, 89, and his wife, Arlene Kozlowski, 84, were killed as the powerful tornado tore through the area.

Coroners preliminarily determined the couple's cause of death to be "multiple blunt force trauma," and an autopsy has been scheduled for Friday.

The Kozlowskis were found by a relative in the yard behind their house, Arlene's sister toldCNN affiliate WLS.

"This is devastating," Christine Kwintera said, sharing that her sister and brother-in-law had lived there for decades and were enjoying a quiet life post-retirement.

"She was good to everyone, all the kids," Kwintera said, breaking down in tears as she described her sister. "She was a good person."

"They were wonderful, just really wonderful human beings," the couple's son-in-law Steve Rehfeldt toldCNN affiliate WBBM."You know, tough old guy and sweet old lady."

The Kozlowskis left behind four children, seven grandchildren and great-grandchildren, WBBM reported.

"[There is] a lot of damage. Please do not come here. Do not try to help," Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said in avideo postfrom Lake Village late Tuesday night. Behind him, the tornado appeared to have reduced at least one home to rubble.

Fire department crews searched hundreds of homes in the dark and under dangerous conditions to look for survivors in the tornado's aftermath, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said.

One survivor, Steven Travis, toldWBBMhe was at home when the storm barrelled down his street. He said the ceiling started coming down as the roof over his bedroom was lifted off.

"I climbed into the closet, and that's where I came out and debris was everywhere," he said. "I mean, the place was destroyed."

At least 100 structures were damaged as of Wednesday's count, including 32 destroyed, Fifield said. Those numbers are expected to rise, as many more homes have been damaged, he added.

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Injuries and widespread damage were reported in other parts of Indiana and Illinois, according to officials.

Several houses and other structures were also damaged after a tornado hit Starke County, Indiana, but there were no injuries or deaths, according to Starke County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Wayne James. The county includes the town of Knox, where the National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency — the most urgent type of tornado warning.

First responders, state and local officials, and the American Red Cross were providing immediate support to communities, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun saidin a post on XWednesday morning. "Maureen and I are praying for the families who lost loved ones and for every Hoosier impacted by the devastating tornadoes," Braun said.

Drone video from Kankakee County, Illinois, showed buildings torn apart and debris scattered across neighborhoods after the tornado moved through. Emergency crews navigated the wreckage overnight with flashlights, stepping over splintered lumber and fallen trees as they searched damaged homes.

Nine people had minor injuries but there have been no deaths or people reported missing in the county, according to Kankakee County Chairman Matthew Alexander-Hildebrand. "While homes, buildings and infrastructure can be rebuilt — lives cannot be replaced," he said.

Jim Horchem saw the tornado as it approached his neighborhood in Kankakee County. "I thought, geez, that's a tornado. It's coming, it's coming, it's coming. And … everything goes into slow motion," Horchem told CorClips journalist Jonathan Petramala.

Horchem and his family hid from the tornado inside a bathtub. As he watched water seep under the bathroom door, Horchem thought his home was already torn open. "I really thought, 'This is it, we're going to die.'"

Brandy Peppin said she had only minutes of warning before the storm reached her house. Her brother called to say he could see the tornado heading straight toward her home.

"Thank God," Peppin told CNN. "And I ran, grabbed my dog who was already in the closet where we go down into the crawl space and literally pulled the door open. He fell into the crawl space, and I went down there and we rode the tornado out. It was so loud."

"There would be little 'bang bangs' and then big ones," she said. "You could just tell that there was debris hitting the house and hear things hitting the house — it was so loud."

TheKankakee County Sheriff's Officeactivated its Emergency Operations Center and filed an emergency declaration with Illinois.

"I want to remind area residents to check on their neighbors and loved ones but to avoid unnecessary travel, if at all possible," Sheriff Mike Downey said.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzkersaid he had been briefed on the storm damage and was monitoring the situation.

"Keeping in our thoughts all Illinoisans impacted by the severe weather – we'll be here to help them recover," he said.

Thursday's forecast

Storms are pushing east after intensifying Wednesday afternoon from Texas to the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic.

Wednesday night's severe storm potential is lower than Tuesday's, but could still be dangerous. More than 18 million people from the Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic are under a Level 2 of 5 threat for severe storms. Over 32 million others are under a Level 1 of 5 severe storm threat.

Damaging winds are the primary concern, but a few tornadoes are possible. A few storms could also pack large hail, but not to the extreme size that pelted parts of the Plains and Midwest on Tuesday.

Severe storm potential will diminish Thursday as a weather pattern change begins to envelop the US. That break will continue as the week comes to an end.

CNN Meteorologists Briana Waxman and CNN's Diego Mendoza and Karina Tsui contributed to this report.

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Tornado kills 2 in Indiana with another bout of dangerous storms ongoing

Dangerous storms with tornadoes and giant hail tore across the Central US overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, killing at le...

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No. 10 Virginia chases 3-game season sweep of NC State

CHARLOTTE -- Now might be a good time for North Carolina State to become a bit greedy.

The seventh-ranked Wolfpack snapped out of a funk to capture a victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Wednesday in Charlotte, putting them in a Thursday afternoon quarterfinal against second-seeded and 10th-ranked Virginia.

Virginia beat NC State twice during the regular season, rolling 76-61 in Raleigh, N.C., and 90-61 in Charlottesville, Va. Sam Lewis had a total of 39 points in those two games for the Cavaliers.

"We've gotten our doors blown off twice by Virginia," NC State coach Will Wade said. "We need to try to play better and see if we can make a game of it. ... We've got to find a way to see if we can just hang in there and see what we can do, but we've been outclassed both times."

Virginia (27-4) has lost only two games since the calendar flipped to 2026, but its two most recent results were narrow home escapes against Wake Forest, 75-70, and Virginia Tech, 76-72, following a lopsided loss at top-ranked Duke.

The Thursday contest will mark the ACC tournament debut as a head coach for Virginia's Ryan Odom.

NC State's 98-88 victory against Pitt on the second round on Wednesday gave Wade, who was in his first ACC tournament game as a head coach, his first postseason victory with the Wolfpack (20-12). Six Wolfpack players scored in double figures, led by Quadir Copeland with 24.

"I got teammates that trust me, and we just went with it," Copeland said. "It allowed me to open up more shots also for my teammates, then we got our threes going."

The Cavaliers are just 3-15 all-time in ACC tournament meetings with NC State.

Wade said NC State's offense encountered major issues when facing Virginia earlier this season.

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"They've blocked a ton of our shots in both games," he said.

By snapping a four-game losing streak in the Pitt game, NC State's status for at-large NCAA Tournament consideration should be much sturdier. Knocking off a Top 10 team on a neutral court could do wonders for the Wolfpack.

"We're not going to take anything for granted," Wade said. "We're going to put everything we have into seeing if we can find a way to chip away at Virginia."

In Odom's coaching career, he has reached 28 wins in a season only once -- in 2024-25 with Virginia Commonwealth.

He has called for a calculated approach in games this season.

"You're not going to win a game in the first five minutes or the first 10 minutes," Odom said.

Virginia is led by All-ACC first-team selection Thijs De Ridder, who averages 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3% from the field. Teammate Ugonna Onyenso was named to the All-ACC defensive team.

The Cavaliers might not be totally stocked with superstars, though the team as a whole has found a stride.

"There's going to be a common theme of sacrifice throughout (a season)," Odom said. "The individuals on this team have done a really good job of sacrificing a bit of themselves for the greater good of the team."

This will be Virginia's second game this season at Spectrum Center, where the Cavaliers defeated Dayton in December.

--Bob Sutton, Field Level Media

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No. 10 Virginia chases 3-game season sweep of NC State

CHARLOTTE -- Now might be a good time for North Carolina State to become a bit greedy. The seventh-r...

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After historic rout, No. 7 Iowa State gears up for No. 16 Texas Tech

Iowa State steamrolled Arizona State by a Big 12 tournament-record 49 points on Wednesday.

Its reward? A date with well-rested Texas Tech.

The fifth-seeded Cyclones lost at home to the fourth-seeded Red Raiders on the final day of last month and now get another shot at Texas Tech in Thursday's quarterfinals of the fearsome tourney in Kansas City.

There's no easy path in the Big 12 tournament. The No. 7-ranked Cyclones (26-6) played Wednesday and the No. 16 Red Raiders (22-9) had the day off due to Texas Tech's recent 82-73 victory at Iowa State.

"They have an unbelievable team this year and they continue to do great things," Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said of the Red Raiders. "So we know what a tough challenge it's going to be, and we know what a great team that they are, so we're going to do everything that we can to be at our absolute best."

Iowa State certainly played at a high level in its 91-42 victory on Wednesday in what turned out to be Bobby Hurley's final game as Sun Devils coach. The Cyclones also defeated Arizona State 86-65 in last Saturday's regular-season finale to end a two-game slide.

Milan Momcilovic made four 3-pointers while scoring 21 points in Wednesday's second-round rout and Joshua Jefferson added 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Cyclones. Blake Buchanan also excelled with 17 points.

"I think our guys came out with a great level of energy and intensity from the start," Otzelberger said. "We knew it was going to be important to try to speed them up and score from our defense, and our guys did a great job there.

"We're always at our best when we're doing that."

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Meanwhile, Texas Tech is eager to get its own postseason started in the ultra-tough environment.

"This is the best time of the year, not even close, being in March playing postseason basketball is a blessing," Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland said. "The Big 12 tournament in Kansas City is remarkable. It's a great opportunity for our team to take advantage of. The opportunity to compete in what I think is the best college basketball tournament outside of the NCAA Tournament is something I'm really looking forward to."

Texas Tech will be playing for the sixth time since losing star big man JT Toppin to an ACL injury against Arizona State on Feb. 17.

The Red Raiders are 3-2 without their star, including the takedown of the Cyclones when Donovan Atwell scored 18 points on six 3-pointers and Christian Anderson added 14 points and seven assists.

But since beating Iowa State, the Red Raiders lost 73-65 to visiting TCU and 82-76 at BYU to close the regular season. Yet McCasland said he's not fretting over a possible third straight setback.

"I know people like to talk about streaks or whatever," McCasland said. "I don't really care about it honestly. As a coach, I look and see, 'What do we need to improve on to give ourselves a chance to win the next game. Do we want to win? 100%.' "

Atwell has made a Texas Tech-record 121 3-pointers this season while Anderson (103) also passed the previous school mark.

Momcilovic has set a new Iowa State mark with 118 treys. He is second in the Big 12 in made 3-pointers per game this season behind Atwell.

--Field Level Media

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March 12, 2026

After historic rout, No. 7 Iowa State gears up for No. 16 Texas Tech

Iowa State steamrolled Arizona State by a Big 12 tournament-record 49 points on Wednesday. Its rewar...

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Providence draws tough task of shutting down Zuby Ejiofor, No. 13 St. John's

Providence has at least one more game under Kim English. And that game could not feature a juicier opponent.

The ninth-seeded Friars rode a historic game from freshman Stefan Vaaks to a Big East tournament win over eighth-seeded Butler on Wednesday, setting up a second-round showdown with top-seeded St. John's on Thursday afternoon in New York.

Rick Pitino and 13th-ranked St. John's (25-6) went 18-2 in the league to take a second straight regular-season title. However, the Red Storm's first league loss came Jan. 3 at Madison Square Garden against Providence, which rallied from a 13-point hole to prevail 77-71 on Feb. 14.

The return game in Rhode Island got ugly. Duncan Powell fouled ex-Providence forward Bryce Hopkins hard when he went up for a layup, causing a fight and six ejections before St. John's won 79-69. Powell served a three-game suspension.

"I think (the fight) was all, truthfully, blown out of proportion, to tell you the truth," English said Wednesday. "Again, it was a hard foul, a couple guys got in each other's face, there was some pushes. I mean, I think it got completely blown out of proportion."

He repeatedly declared "there's no beef" between Providence and St. John's.

"We have a game in the greatest arena in the world," English said, "and it's one of the best coaches in the history of college basketball against the Big East Player of the Year (Zuby Ejiofor). It's a team, a program we have a lot of respect for. That's all it is. There's no beef between us and St. John's."

That doesn't even touch on Pitino putting his thumb on the scale of the Friars' coaching search from afar.

It was reported last week that Providence will part ways with English after this season, and a rogue report last month indicated that Pitino's son, Richard Pitino, would consider leaving his post at Xavier for the Providence job. The younger Pitino has since denied interest, and Rick Pitino -- who coached the Friars from 1985-87 -- also stated his son wouldn't be leaving Xavier.

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Providence looked like a lost cause Wednesday when it fell behind 15-2 to start the game, but Vaaks sparked the comeback and finished with career highs of 28 points and eight 3-pointers. He tied the Big East tournament record for threes in a game, while Ryan Mela added 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Jaylin Sellers went for 23, seven and four.

Vaaks scored 16 and 20 in the two games against St. John's, and Sellers had 15 and 13 before he was ejected from the latter matchup.

"No extra motivation," Sellers said. "They're on the list, so we got to take care of business to keep our season alive. Me personally, I learned from the situation, and now it's just time to be a leader and make sure that my guys are ready to play the next 40 (minutes)."

The focus will have to be on stopping Ejiofor, named the conference's Player of the Year on Wednesday. He posted 33 points and 15 rebounds in the first meeting with Providence but just 14 and four in the rematch. Ejiofor is averaging 16.0 points (54.6 FG%), 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks this season.

Hopkins has added 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest in his first season at St. John's after three injury-ravaged years at Providence. He said at a team autograph signing earlier this week that he had a gut feeling the Red Storm would draw a third matchup with the Friars.

"I don't know what made me feel like that, but it was just a feeling I had that we were going to match up with them again ... so I mean, it is what it is," Hopkins said.

All this comes amid the backdrop of Madison Square Garden, the Red Storm's home away from campus that has attracted plenty of Providence supporters as well.

"I got my team together this morning talking about the Big East tournament, how spectacular it is," Pitino told Hoops HQ on Tuesday. "I said, 'Guys you're not going to fully appreciate this until you leave New York, but you guys just played 11 or 12 games as your home court in the World's Greatest Arena.'"

--Field Level Media

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Providence draws tough task of shutting down Zuby Ejiofor, No. 13 St. John's

Providence has at least one more game under Kim English. And that game could not feature a juicier opponent. ...

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South Korea to discipline officials over delays in recovering remains of Jeju Air crash victims

SEOUL, March 12 (Reuters) - ‌South Korean ‌President Lee ​Jae Myung has ordered tough ‌disciplinary ⁠action against officials ⁠responsible for ​delays ​in recovering ​the ‌remains of victims from the 2024 Jeju ‌Air ​crash ​that ​killed ‌179 people, his ​office ​said Thursday.

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(Reporting ​by ‌Kyu-seok ShimEditing ​by Ed ​Davies)

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March 12, 2026

South Korea to discipline officials over delays in recovering remains of Jeju Air crash victims

SEOUL, March 12 (Reuters) - ‌South Korean ‌President Lee ​Jae Myung has ordered tough ‌disciplinary ⁠action against offic...

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