Can Team USA and its star-studded lineup and rotation win it all at the 2026 World Baseball Classic? Three games, three wins so far for the USA after beating Brazil, dominating Great Britain, and getting past Mexico. It continues with Tuesday’s Pool B finale against Italy at Daikin Park, home of MLB’s Houston Astros. The game will be Tuesday, March 10 at 9 p.m. ET on FOX. How to Watch the 2026 World Baseball Classic FOX is your exclusive home to the WBC with games spread across the FOX family of networks. FOX is set to air seven games, including three Pool B games featuring Team USA, two quarterfinals games and the World Baseball Classic Championship Game on Tuesday, March 17 from Miami’s loanDepot Park. The remaining matchups will air across FS1, FS2, the FOX Sports app, FOX One and Tubi. All 47 games will be available for streaming. Catch the action on the following streaming options: Team USA Starting Pitcher vs. Italy New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean is officially scheduled to start Tuesday in the final pool-play game against Italy. Team USA Starting Lineup vs. Italy Team USA’s lineup has been announced for its game against Italy. Bobby Witt Jr. remains in the leadoff spot. Gunnar Henderson moves into the two-hole. Will Smith, Paul Goldschmidt, Ernie Clement and Pete Crow-Armstrong return to the starting lineup.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
Last Monday night, viewers saw Michael Garner get one step closer to becoming the next American Idol when he won the sing-off against fellow contestant Jayson Garner. This simple yet impactful performance earned the 16-year-old a spot in the Top 30. Tonight, he brought the energy up on stage in Hawaii with a Cody Johnson hit.
The stakes were especially high this week, with both the looming Top 20 cut and the return of the platinum tickets. Nerves were clearly written on Garner’s face as he spoke to the camera before his performance, knowing that he had the eyes of the judges, his fellow contestants and a group of industry experts on him this week.
“Definitely got to bring my A-game. I got to do something,” he noted.
Michael Garner; Photo by Disney/Yellowshoes
Garner chose to turn things up a notch by performing Cody Johnson’s award-winning song, “’Til You Can’t.” Known for its powerful storytelling and demanding vocal range, it’s safe to assume that this is not an easy track to tackle, but the high school student from Forrest City, AR rose to the challenge. He poured emotion into every lyric and even attempted to hit the high notes, proving that his talent and dedication is well beyond his years.
Feedback from the judging panel was not shown this time around, but a few members of the carefully selected group of Industry executive did give their thoughts.
Up first was Dancing with the Stars pro and choreographer, Sasha Farber, who honestly shared that he wasn’t as impressed by Michael Garner’s delivery as he was hoping to be.
“It felt like something was a little off. Maybe it wasn’t his best performance.”
Rolling Stones co-editor-in-chief, Shirley Halperin, then jokingly described him as being a country version of Justin Bieber.
Unfortunately, as the Top 20 spots were announced one by one, Michael Garner’s name was not called, marking the end of his journey on the show.
Michael Garner; Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
Those who did make the cut will perform on a new stage next week at Aulani, A Disney resort and Spa. Over the next two weeks, contestants will sing for the chance to earn American’s votes. Along the way, they will receive advice and guidance from new mentors, Brad Paisley and Keke Palmer.
New episodes of American Idol air Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and on streaming the following day on Hulu.
Under the bright lights and blue skies of Hawaii, Lucas Leon calmly braced himself for a performance that could get him one step close to achieving his dreams of becoming the next American Idol.
This week, the Top 30 contestants of Season 24 brought their talent to Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii, hoping for the chance to earn a spot in the Top 20. For this week, dubbed the Ohana round, Leon took the stage to perform a powerful rendition of the Miranda Lambert classic, “The House That Built Me.”
Photo Courtesy Lucas Leon
He wasn’t just singing for the judges’ approval tonight. His parents, fellow Idol contestants, and a panel of industry experts were also watching closely as each group collectively got to vote on who would earn a coveted platinum ticket at the end of the episode. He had to pour his heart into the performance and make every moment count, and it’s safe to say he did just that.
“Performing for all these people that can really make a difference in my life. It’s pretty nerve-wracking,” he admitted before taking the stage.
The 18-year-old told the crowd that he chose this song as a tribute to his parents who were got a front row seat to tonight’s performance. Emotions began to run high in the audience as soon as Leon let his voice fill the speakers of the open-air setting.
“My parents are here tonight and they’re who really built me,” he stated. “This one goes out to my family.”
Strumming his guitar against the stunning backdrop, he immediately drew the audience in with his soft, raspy vocals. From the very first note, listeners were captivated, with one admitting to getting goosebumps as he poured heart and soul into the already emotional track.
The industry professionals couldn’t help but take notice, praising him as “a true vocalist.” By the end of the performance, the Tennessee native earned a proud thumbs-up from his mom and some high praise from Carrie Underwood on the judging panel.
Carrie Underwood; Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
“I mean, you’re so in control of your instrument. It’s kind of mind blowing,” the superstar told him. “And you have a really beautiful, just soft, sweet spot in your voice that I feel like just draws everybody in. So I would love to hear more of that.”
Y’all Access host and “country music aficionado,” Kelly Sutton, who was chosen as a member of the industry expert group, had tears in her eyes as she shared her thoughts on the heartfelt delivery Leon had just given them.
“That song it’s just, it’s such a sweet song and it means so much. And yeah, it was beautiful. The parents are here hearing it. This is really special,” she said.
Lucas Leon; Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
When the results were revealed at the end of the episode, Lucas Leon learned that he unfortunately did not each one of the three elite platinum tickets. However, things ended on a high note for him as his name was called to join the Top 20.
This means that Leon will join his fellow contestants next week in performing in Hawaii once again, this time guided by mentors Brad Paisley and Keke Palmer.
American Idol continues with new episodes Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and on streaming the following day on Hulu.
On tonight’s episode of American Idol,Hannah Harper channeled her late grandfather’s legacy in a heartfelt performance of a country classic.
Harper has quickly become a standout for her authentic storytelling and stunning vocals, but she reveals the pressure started to really set in, knowing that the Top 20 would be revealed by the end of the night.
Plus, tonight she wasn’t just trying to win over the judges, she also had to impress her fellow Idol contestants, her family, and a panel of industry experts. For the first time, all three groups got the chance to vote to determine which three hopeful singers would earn one of the three esteemed platinum tickets up for grabs.
Hannah Harper; Photo by Disney/Yellowshoes
“Performing in front of the editor of Rolling Stone? Geez, Louise. There’s so many other eyes on us who get a say in our future. It’s a little frightening,” Harper admitted.
The Missouri native quickly put those fears aside to sing a rendition of Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High On That Mountain,” which also happens to be her late grandfather, Pawpaw Lew’s favorite song.
“I’m really excited about the Ohana round to have the chance to honor my grandpa. He was a patriarch. So many branches of talented people that came from him. He played music until the day he died,” she explained.
A slideshow of memories played across the screen, highlighting the profound impact Pawpaw Lew had on Harper and her family. In a 1992 interview about their family band, he said, “Bluegrass and gospel, that will keep us together.” These are words that Harper now hopes to carry forward for her own family.
She continued, “The legacy that he left was such a strong impression on my life. I want to do the same for my kids. I wish my grandpa was here to hear it. My grandma’s going to be here and she’s going to be so thrilled because it was his favorite song.”
Harper’s performance struck an immediate chord, bringing her family to tears as she poured her heart into every note and lyric of the signature song. By the end, she had fully made the track her own, and the judges and audience responded with a well-deserved standing ovation.
Luke Bryan spoke from the judging panel, and once again compared her to the likes of country music great, Dolly Parton.
“Gosh, there are so many parallels with your voice and Dolly [Parton] and it’s just so beautifully country,” he said. “But just remember that key that you got to at the end and really live in that space because your voice really opened up there. You’ve got the goods and that was…your voice is so beautiful to me.”
From the panel of industry experts, Dancing with the Stars pro and choreographer, Sasha Farber pointed out that it felt like she was “missing something” because she didn’t have her guitar in hand this time around.
Hannah Harper; Photo by Disney/Yellowshoes
“But I don’t know. I think she really delivered it and she felt like she was herself,” he added.
Hannah Harper’s performance was not enough to earn a platinum ticket at the end of the night, but she will be moving forward in the competition as she claimed a spot in the Top 20.
Next week, the stay-at-home mom and talented singer/songwriter will return to Hawaii to perform alongside her fellow contestants, this time with guidance from mentors Brad Paisley and Keke Palmer.
American Idolairs new episodes Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the following day on Hulu.
Before chasing music full-time, Bradley held a variety of jobs, from carpentry and welding to construction, but he says music was always calling him.
“Ever since I started, something’s been poking at me, like I’ve got to see how far I can take it,” he explained.
Kutter Bradley; Photo by Disney/Yellowshoes
Bradley’s commitment to hard work, regardless of what he’s doing, is a lesson he learned from his parents. Those values are what inspired him to choose Jason Aldean’s “Amarillo Sky,” a song that reflects the dedication and grit he carries into every performance.
“The reason I picked that song is because it’s a song about hard work. Dedicating it to my parents right here because they showed me what hard work is and it’s rubbed off on me because I’m hard working for my dreams right now,” Bradley explained as he pointed to his parents seated in the front row of his Ohana Round performance.
Sporting a pair of overalls, a look Luke Bryan jokingly praised, Bradley brought the stage to life with an uptempo performance that had the audience dancing in their seats and nodding along to the beat. He hit high notes effortlessly and truly meant every lyric he sung while moving across the stage like a seasoned performer. By the end, he had clearly won over not only the judges but his proud parents and the entire crowd with his energy and authenticity.
Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan; Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
Bryan went on to commend the singer on his “great song choice,” and noted he was impressed not only by his outfit but also by the vocals he delivered.
“I tell you, rocking overalls in Hawaii, I tell you what, that’s pretty amazing. You really impressed me with where you went vocally. I enjoyed it. Great job,” Bryan said.
The stakes were raised for every contestant this week, knowing that three platinum tickets were up for grabs at the end of the night. For the first time, Idol introduced the Ohana round, which invited three different groups: Idol contestants, the contestant’s family members and a panel of Industry experts, who were tasked with voting to determine who would earn the coveted ticket.
Kutter Bradley’s performance did not award him a platinum ticket, but fans will get to see him take the stage in Hawaii next week because the judges believed he deserved a spot in the Top 20.
Kutter Bradley; Photo by Disney/Yellowshoes
The Season 24 American Idol journey continues over the next two weeks, where contestants will sing for America’s votes. They will also be guided by new mentors, Brad Paisley and Keke Palmer.
New episodes of the singing competition show air Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and on streaming the following day on Hulu.
Prince William developed some daily food and beverage habits that many of us can relate to. In his early 40s, he decided to change part of that pattern.
Mashed – Fast Food, Celebrity Chefs, Grocery, Reviews
The Haines Assembly is set to meet on Tuesday. The Chilkat Valley News’ Will Steinfeld joined KHNS’ Melinda Munson, to discuss what’s on the agenda.
Melinda Munson: “It is a dense agenda for the March 10 meeting. Let’s start by talking about the quote, “safety belt” ordinance.
Will Steinfeld: It’s something that was put together by assembly members Kevin Forster and Gabe Thomas, and for me, at least, it’s a little out of the blue. I hadn’t heard about this, but it’s seems related to the ore containerization ordinance that the two assembly members introduced last Assembly meeting.
What this is, is it looks to be a really comprehensive, wide-ranging set of different proposals all packaged together towards one goal. The two assembly members say they’re trying to find a way to balance two competing issues in the borough. One is securing an economic future for the economy, and the other is also protecting the land, putting into place environmental protections for the community to be able to get value out of whatever economic activity is going on. And they say they want to do it in a way that is both effective and avoids litigation from firms, companies, anyone coming into the borough.
It’s targeting large scale, what they call mega-industries. So it wouldn’t apply new regulations or payments or anything like that to small scale, local industries that are already here.
It looks to my first read to have two broad categories. One is codifying environmental protections and borough codes, so putting into place in writing things like spawning stream setbacks, or containerization that they brought up last meeting.
And then the other half of this that I saw was ways to retain value for the borough. So that’s when companies are coming in for, let’s say, timber harvest or mining, that the borough finances see some measurable bump from that.
So what we’re looking at is suggestions of a severance tax, which would tax goods that have been extracted in the borough, but are being exported and sold elsewhere.
And so, there’s a lot going on here.
And so, while the Assembly is a nonpartisan body, where do Forster and Thomas generally sit politically?
They included this as part of their pitch for this legislation. They say, in their words, that often they’re on different sides of the so-called aisle. They don’t always agree on everything. And what they’re saying is the fact that they can come together and find common ground on this is a sign that it’s necessary and balanced. And so they’re hoping that’s the message that citizens residents take away from this.
Up again is cell tower regulations. This is the final vote. Tell us about that.
This could be the end of the road for now, at least for this legislation, that has been running back and forth and through and through the Assembly for months and months now. The main part of this would be a 1,500 foot setback for any proposed cell tower, setback from schools, daycares, youth centers. If it’s voted into place, which it seems like it has a lot of support from the Assembly, that’ll kind of close this chapter of cell tower regulations.
But at the same time, it’s probably not gone for good. The Assembly said last meeting that they hope to send this to committee even after it passes, to keep trying to refine it, make edits and then maybe bring forth an amendment in the future.
Where did the borough land for conditional use permits on cell tower regulation?
If this passes, as it’s written right now, the commercial cell towers – the ones you’re thinking of, when you think of cell towers – would have to go through conditional use permitting process to to get built.
There’s an accessory dwelling unit ordinance on the agenda. We’ve seen this before. It’s come back.
This is something that the Assembly talked a lot about last year, accessory dwelling units. It’s pitched as a way to increase housing supply in the borough in a way that’s pretty low impact. That’s what the proponents of this would say. It was eventually just tabled by the Assembly last year. They said we’re going to put it aside, not vote on it. No one’s ready for that. No one wants to vote on it. Yet, it’s now come back after a few months with some changes, and so we’ll see if the Assembly chooses to take it up. And if so, that that debate will be revived again.
Let’s talk about what happened at planning and zoning with [George and Lynette] Campbell’s conditional use permit for their heliport.
If this sounds familiar to you, that’s because it probably is. This is an issue about a proposed heliport at 26 Mile that has been in and out of litigation for three years. The borough has faced four different lawsuits over this heliport. And most recently, this was brought back to the Planning Commission. Last month, the Planning Commission denied the conditional use permit for the Campbell’s heliport, and it’s back to the Assembly now as an appeal of that decision.
And something there’s been a lot of chatter about is the public hearing on taxability of mobile homes.
Based on public comment in recent weeks, I think this is something that at least some people will want to weigh in on. There’s a proposal to change how mobile homes are taxed.
In the past, mobile homes that were on the land connected to utilities, if they were in a designated trailer park, they weren’t taxed as as property. And now, with this change, all mobile homes, whether they’re in a trailer park or not, would be taxable as an improvement on the parcel.”
One more day of World Baseball Classic group-stage action before we turn to the quarterfinals. Here’s how it’s shaping up. On Wednesday, Canada clinched Pool A with Puerto Rico finishing as runner-up.Japan won Pool C with Korea finishing as runner-up. The Dominican Republic and Venezuela have clinched the quarterfinal spots out of Pool D. Those teams play on Wednesday night with the loser of that game facing a matchup against Japan in the quarterfinals. In Pool B, it’s all up for grabs ahead of Italy vs. Mexico, with Team USA shockingly not in control of its destiny. Below are up-to-date pool standings and the remaining games in each pool. * indicates a team has advanced to the quarterfinals. All times below are in Eastern Time. Pool A Cuba 3, Panama 1Puerto Rico 5, Colombia 0Canada 8, Colombia 2Puerto Rico 4, Panama 3Cuba 7, Colombia 4Panama 4, Canada 3Colombia 4, Panama 3Puerto Rico 4, Cuba 1Canada 3, Puerto Rico 2Canada 7, Cuba 2 Pool B Mexico 8, Great Britain 2USA 15, Brazil 5Italy 8, Brazil 0USA 9, Great Britain 1Italy 7, Great Britain 4Mexico 16, Brazil 0Great Britain 8, Brazil 1USA 5, Mexico 3Italy 8, USA 6 [WBC Tiebreaker Rules: How Can Team USA Still Advance?] Pool C Australia 3, Chinese Taipei 0Korea 11, Czechia 4Australia 5, Czechia 1Japan 13, Chinese Taipei 0Chinese Taipei 14, Czechia 0Japan 8, Korea 7Chinese Taipei 5, Korea 4Japan 4, Australia 3Korea 7, Australia 2Japan 9, Czechia 0 Pool D Venezuela 6, Netherlands 2Dominican Republic 12, Nicaragua 3Netherlands 4, Nicaragua 3Venezuela 11, Israel 3Dominican Republic 12, Netherlands 1Israel 5, Nicaragua 0Dominican Republic 10, Israel 1Venezuela 4, Nicaragua 0Israel 6, Netherlands 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals FinalLatest Sports News from FOX Sports
Now, consider Iraq more than 20 years after the U.S.-Iraq war. Iraq is still an authoritarian state governed by political parties with deep institutional ties to Tehran. Iranian-backed militias operate openly on Iraqi soil – some holding official positions within the Iraqi state.
The country the U.S. spent US$2 trillion and 4,488 American lives to remake is, by any reasonable measure, within the sphere of Iran’s influence.
As an international security scholar specializing in nuclear security and alliance politics in the Middle East, I have tracked the pattern of U.S. military success across multiple cases.
But the military outcome and the political outcome are almost never the same thing, and the gap between them is where wars fail.
Two and a half millennia ago, Thucydides recorded the Athenian empire at its most confident in his “History of the Peloponnesian War”: “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.” Athens then destroyed Melos and launched the Sicily Expedition with overwhelming force and no coherent theory of governance for what came next.
The lesson, then and now, is not that empires cannot destroy. It’s that destruction and governance are entirely different enterprises. And confusing them is how empires exhaust themselves.
The U.S. military can destroy the Iranian regime. The question that the Iraq precedent answers – with brutal clarity – is what fills the power vacuum when it does?
Order 1 dissolved the ruling Baath Party and removed all senior party members from their government positions, purging the administrative class that ran its ministries, hospitals and schools. Order 2 disbanded the Iraqi army but did not disarm it. Approximately 400,000 soldiers went home with their weapons and without their paychecks.
Washington had just handed the insurgency – the Sunni-led armed resistance that would turn into a decade-long war – its recruiting pool. The logic behind Bremer’s de-Baathification was intuitive: You cannot build a new Iraq with the people who built the old one. The logic was also catastrophic
L. Paul Bremer prepares to board a helicopter in Hillah, Iraq, during a farewell tour of the country on June 17, 2004. AP Photo/Wathiq Khuzaie
Political scientists have long observed that countries are held together not by ideology but by organized coercion. That is, by the bureaucratic machinery, institutional memory and trained professionals who keep the lights on and the water running. Destroy that machinery, and you do not have a clean slate. You have a collapsed state, and collapsed states do not stay empty of leadership.
They fill, and they fill with whoever has the most organizational capacity on the ground. Iran had been building that capacity in Iraq since the 1980s, cultivating Shia political networks, exile parties and militia groups during and after the Iran-Iraq War and beyond with the explicit goal of ensuring a post-Saddam Iraq would never again threaten Iranian security.
Tehran did not need to build infrastructure in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, because it had spent the previous two decades building it. When the old order collapsed, Iran’s networks were ready.
The lesson is that military success created the precise conditions for political catastrophe, and that chasm is where American strategy has gone to die – in Iraq and in Libya, where the Obama administration helped bring about regime change in 2011, but where political instability has endured since. And perhaps now in Iran.
The vacuum is not neutral
The fundamental misunderstanding at the heart of American regime-change strategy is the assumption that destroying the existing order creates space for something better.
It does not.
It creates space for whoever is best organized, best armed and most willing to fill it. In Iraq, that was Iran.
The question now is who fills it in Iran itself.
In Iran, the group that meets all three criteria – organized, armed and willing – is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Revolutionary Guard is not simply a military institution. It controls an estimated 30% to 40% of the Iranian economy and runs construction conglomerates, telecommunications companies and petrochemical firms. And it has cultivated a parallel state infrastructure for decades.
Since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death at the start of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign, the Revolutionary Guard has taken effective control of decision-making. As one Iran expert told NBC News: “Even if they replace the supreme leader, what is left of the regime is the IRGC.”
The succession confirmed it: Mojtaba Khamenei, with deep ties to the Revolutionary Guard, was named supreme leader on March 8, 2026. It’s a Revolutionary Guard-backed dynastic succession that represents maximum continuity with the old regime, not regime change.
You cannot dismantle the Revolutionary Guard without collapsing the economy, and a collapsed economy does not produce a transition government; it produces a failed state. Washington has already run that experiment in Libya.
You cannot leave the Revolutionary Guard in place without leaving the regime’s coercive core intact. There is no clean surgical option of dropping bombs, killing certain people and declaring it a new day in Iran.
The Iranian opposition in exile, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq; the monarchists who support the return of the late-shah’s son to lead the country; and the various democratic factions all present the same problem Chalabi did in 2003: Washington access, no domestic legitimacy.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq is listed as a terrorist organization by Iran and is widely despised inside the country. The monarchist movement has not governed Iran since 1979, and its corrupt, despotic leader was overthrown in the revolution. The democratic reform networks that had been building momentum inside Iran were not saved by the U.S. strikes. The regime had already crushed the movement in January, detaining and killing thousands.
Decades of research on rally-around-the-flag effects confirm what common sense suggests: External attack fuses regime and nation even when citizens despise their leaders. Iranians who were chanting against the supreme leader are now watching foreign bombs fall on their cities.
Approving or rejecting candidates from Washington requires a functioning political process, a legitimate transitional authority and a population willing to accept an American imprimatur on their leadership — none of which exists.
Washington has a preference; it does not have a plan. If the objective is eliminating the nuclear program, then why does Iran still hold an unverified stockpile of weapon-usable uranium eight months after the 2025 strikes? The strikes have not resolved the proliferation question. They have made it more dangerous and less tractable.
If the objective is regional stability, why has every round of strikes produced a wider regional war?
Washington has no answer to any of these questions – only a theory of destruction.
Farah N. Jan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Hudson Williams is sending some fans to the penalty box.
The Heated Rivalry actor had a message for part of the show’s fandom, calling them out for unwanted behavior.
“Don’t call yourself a fan if… E! Online (US) – Top Stories
Hudson Williams is sending some fans to the penalty box.