The curious case of Cade Cunningham: Why the NBA should kill the 65-game rule

In 2006, former NBA commissioner David Stern and the league rolled out new synthetic basketballs that were made with a composite material instead of leather. They didn't bounce right. They didn't feel right. It got so bad that they made the players' hands bleed. It became a legitimate health concern.

Three months later, the NBA reversed course and rolled back the balls.

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It's time for the NBA to do the same with the 65-game rule. It was a foolish idea to begin with, thinking load management was the root cause of player absences and not a symptom of an increasingly taxing game. It's time to admit it solved nothing and created more problems than the one it tried to address. Like the ill-fated synthetic balls, the NBA may have a larger player health concern on its hands.

Will Cade Cunningham rush back?

By all accounts, Cade Cunningham has been one of the best players in the NBA this season, leading the Detroit Pistons to the top seed in the Eastern Conference and being the face of one of the feel-good stories in the league.

And then hecollided with Tre Johnsonearly in Tuesday's game against the tanking Washington Wizards. Before the game, Cunningham had been averaging 24.9 points, 10.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds. He was set to become the first Eastern Conference player since Oscar Robertson to average at least 24 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds per game. He currently leads the NBA with 603 assists and no one is particularly close to eclipsing his total.

And yet, despite an incredible resumé throughout the season,Cunningham may not be eligibleto earn an All-NBA spot or receive any MVP votes this season.

That's because in 2023, the NBA implemented a 65-game rule intended to motivate players to play more. Instead, the rule has only exacerbated the NBA's perception problem, artificially drawing more attention to the player health epidemic and unfairly penalizing players for injuries out of their control.

Like, for instance, Cunningham's scary medical issue. On Thursday, it was announced thatCunningham is suffering from a collapsed lung, or what's known in the medical community as a pneumothorax, that will sideline him for the foreseeable future. The team indicated he would be re-evaluated in two weeks, a mark in the schedule that — coincidentally or not — allows him to returnjuuuuustin time to still be eligible for season-long awards.

If Cunningham is cleared in two weeks, in time for an April 2 tilt against Minnesota, there would be six games left in the Pistons' season. With 60 games on his ledger — his most recent game doesn't count because his five minutes played fall short of the league-mandated 15 — Cunningham would have to play a sufficient number of minutes in five of the Pistons' remaining six regular-season games.

Let's hope the timetable was determined purely for his health and not out of concern for his award eligibility under the 65-game rule. For what it's worth, thequickest returnof a collapsed lung in recent NBA history is two weeks by Terrence Jones in 2015, but players like CJ McCollum and Gerald Wallace needed between three and six weeks. The last thing the NBA wants to do is incentivize players to risk serious medical harm in order to fulfill the core tenets of its Player Participation Policy. But unfortunately, Cunningham's case raises legitimate questions about the incentives the league unnecessarily laid in front of the players.

As Iwrotein January, the 65-game rule is a cure worse than the disease. Because of the NBPA-ratified rule that was issued in order to promote player health, Cunningham now has more incentive to potentially rush back against medical advice and put his lungs in danger. Surely, medical professionals will have the final say and Cunningham's long-term health will be prioritized above all else, right?

Let's hope so. Thankfully for Cunningham, this medical concern arose this season and not last season when he qualified for a $45 million bonus by earning All-NBA status. He signed for the maximum 30% maximum and therefore is not eligible for any additional bonuses this season.

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In the case of Cunningham and the 65-game rule, we're left to believe that Cunningham's shortcoming is that he didn't play through injuries enough. Except this injury is not a rub-some-dirt-on-it affliction. A trauma pneumothorax isn't something the NBA wants a player to "tough out."

What is clear is that if the goal of the 65-game rule was to encourage stars to play more, it's not working.

NBA stars are missing more games

Your eyes aren't deceiving you. NBA stars really are more absent than ever. The NBA's official Player Participation Policy defines a star player as one who has been named to the All-Star or All-NBA team in any of the previous three seasons. By this definition, star players have been sidelined to an extent we have not yet seen.

Through every teams' first 68 games in the schedule, NBA stars have played just 67.5% of their games. In other words, stars are missing about one out of every three games. And we haven't even gotten to the final stretch in the season when playoff teams begin to rest stars ahead of the playoffs. It will likely get worse before it gets better.

To put this in perspective, 67.5% through 68 games is a massive drop from last season. At the same juncture last season, the play percentage for stars was 79.5%, a rate of playing four out of five games. Again, now it's just two out of every three. The season before that, in 2023-24, the inaugural season of the 65-game rule, star players played a tick more at this point, suiting up in 80.4% of their games.

Trends are going in the wrong direction, and it's creating a lot of unhappy fans and battered stars. The only star who may be happy about the 65-game rule is Karl-Anthony Towns. Believe it or not, he's the only member of last year's All-NBA team who is currently eligible for awards. That's right: the other 14 members of the All-NBA team are either already disqualified for missing too many games or in jeopardy of missing the criteria altogether.

Among All-NBA First Team members, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum have already been eliminated from postseason award qualification. Nikola Jokić can miss only one more game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell are one moderate injury away from being ruled ineligible.

Elsewhere on the 2024-25 All-NBA list, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Williams have already been disqualified. Jalen Brunson and James Harden are on track to make the cut, but Anthony Edwards, Evan Mobley and Cunningham will need luck on their side.

As of Friday morning, only seven players from the 2024-25 All-NBA squad are on pace to be eligible for awards. Seven of the 15. That means more than half of the team is positioned to miss the cut. And that's not even considering other All-Stars from last year who have been too injured to qualify for All-NBA. Damian Lillard, Pascal Siakam, Trae Young, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Jaren Jackson Jr., Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving would also miss the All-NBA cut as well.

Towns being the only eligible reigning All-NBA player is a fitting face to the NBA's conundrum. The Knicks big man has seen his scoring plummet to levels unseen since his rookie season and his productivity measures are down across the board. Without the 65-game rule, he'd have little to no shot of making the team again. But with the 65-game rule, he might fall backwards onto the first-team honors and take the spot of more-deserving players like Cunningham.

What a difference a month makes. A few weeks ago,Cunningham was seen as the default MVPas a result of his star peers like Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić falling prey to injury. Now, after a fluke elbow to his back, it's Cunningham who is in jeopardy of losing eligibility status for both MVP and All-NBA. Cunningham's trauma pneumothorax is a cold reminder that a player's health status can change instantly without their control.

Towns making All-NBA First Team by default is one thing, but there are trickle-down effects of these star-crossed injuries. We're not far away from a world in which Payton Pritchard or Towns' teammate Mikal Bridges make All-NBA simply because all the more deserving players caught the injury bug here and there. The Pritchards of the world certainly deserve praise for avoiding injuries that captured their peers. So, here's an idea: instead of a 65-game rule, why not go the other way and establish an Iron Man team?

Before we know it, the league awards will become a copy-and-paste Iron Man team across the board rather than celebrating greatness. Before the league incentivizes Cunningham or a future star to aggravate a serious medical condition, the 65-game rule should take its rightful place alongside the composite ball and go on the shelf of ill-fated NBA ideas.

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March 20, 2026

The curious case of Cade Cunningham: Why the NBA should kill the 65-game rule

In 2006, former NBA commissioner David Stern and the league rolled out new synthetic basketballs that were made with a co...

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Georgia Tech hires Troy's Scott Cross as next coach

Georgia Tech named Troy's Scott Cross as its new head coach of the men's basketball team on Friday morning.

ESPN reported that the university agreed to a five-year deal with Cross.

Cross, 51, has 10 seasons with 20 wins or more in 19 seasons as a head coach at UT Arlington and Troy, amassing 350 career victories.

With a 125-99 record in seven seasons at Troy, Cross led the Trojans to back-to-back Sun Belt championships and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons. He was named the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.

"I am truly honored and humbled to be named the head coach of Georgia Tech men's basketball," Cross said. "I want to thank President (Angel) Cabrera and director of athletics Ryan Alpert for their belief and trust in me and my vision for this program.

"We will build a culture defined by discipline, toughness and accountability. Our players will represent Georgia Tech with pride, compete relentlessly and embrace the responsibility that comes with wearing the jersey. This is a program with a proud tradition, a world-class institution and a passionate fan base. I'm excited to get to work."

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No. 13 Troy fell to No. 4 Nebraska, 76-47, on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season at 22-12 with a 12-6 record in league play.

The Yellow Jackets' head coaching position was left open by the firing of Damon Stoudamire, who went 42-55 in three seasons at the helm. He also failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia Tech finished in the basement of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, managing just two wins in league play and ending the season on a 12-game losing streak for an 11-20 record.

"We're thrilled to name Scott Cross the 16th head coach in Georgia Tech men's basketball history," Alpert said. "Coach Cross is a proven winner with 350 career victories and seven conference championships on his resume. His combination of experience, success and development of student-athletes, both on and off the court, makes him the perfect person to carry on the proud tradition of Georgia Tech men's basketball. He is a great fit for our program, the Institute and the Georgia Tech and Atlanta communities."

Cross also made an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 after UT Arlington won its first-ever Southland Conference Tournament championship.

He went 225-161 at UT Arlington from 2006-18 and was fired despite three straight 20-win seasons, a move largely considered a blunder for the Mavericks team that has had just one 20-win season since.

--Field Level Media

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March 20, 2026

Georgia Tech hires Troy's Scott Cross as next coach

Georgia Tech named Troy's Scott Cross as its new head coach of the men's basketball team on Friday morning. ...

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TSA workers pushed to the brink as DHS shutdown forces some to get 2nd jobs

The ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown is taking its toll on the thousands of Transportation Security Administration employees at airports who have been working without pay.

Approximately 60,000 TSA officers who have gone over a month with partial pay began receiving their first $0 paychecks last week.

Many say they are living in fear, with some taking on extra jobs or even leaving the agency altogether to make ends meet.

And if there is no relief soon, veteran TSA leaders fear that the stress and uncertainty could impact operations for years.

"Who wants to go work in public service in the public sector when you're treated like a yo-yo?" a TSA worker who asked to remain anonymous told ABC News.

The current partial shutdown, now in its second month, comes close to last fall's 43-day federal government shutdown, which paused payments to thousands of TSA workers, who were still required to work their shift.

Video TSA agent on working without pay: No 'fuel to continue coming to work'

Angela Grana, a TSA officer at Durango-La Plata County Airport in Colorado, told ABC News Live on Monday, the first day that TSA workers missed their checks, that the entire situation has been humiliating for her co-workers.

"The stories I get are very demoralizing," Grana, who serves as the state's regional vice president for AFGE TSA Local 1127, said. "To go ahead and do the Uber Eats or any other kind of side job, we have to have extra permission. For now, we can't just do it."

Senate Democrats have vowed to block funding for DHS until reforms are made to Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal law enforcement.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on Democrats Monday to join a discharge petition that would fund all DHS agencies except for ICE.

A vote on similar legislation failed earlier in the Senate. Jeffries would need at least four Republicans to sign on with all Democrats for the discharge petition to move forward.

TSA says nearly 10% of its officers called out sick Tuesday

Grana said the stress of making ends meet and keeping the airports safe is getting to a lot of TSA officers. Several airports across the country have begunfood pantriesfor their employees affected by the partial shutdown.

"Let me tell you, for us to be concentrating on our jobs without the hunger pains in our stomachs. It's really difficult to do. We can't get it wrong," Grana said.  "We have to get it right every time. We cannot miss a bag, we cannot miss a threat."

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Jill DeJanovich, a TSA officer at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and single mom of four, was one of the nearly 2,700 TSA workerswho called out sickthis week, because of the demands put on her.

DeJanovich, who is the a AFGE Local 1260 Chief Administrative Point of contact in Nevada, said she is frustrated with Congress for not moving forward and ending the quagmire over funding.

"Someone needs to cross the line before Congress goes on break for Easter recess," she said.

While some TSA officers said they had to power on through, for others, like Robert Echeverria, the strain of a second DHS shutdown in five months proved to be too much.

After nine years working at Salt Lake City International Airport a lead TSA officer, Echeverria told ABC News that he left his job after the current shutdown. Echeverria said his family's life savings were depleted after the last shutdown.

"Emotionally, we couldn't go through that strain anymore," he told ABC News.

"It was just really hard for my wife and emotionally to see my kids going through a hard time asking for things, and we wouldn't be able to actually help them out," he added.

A TSA worker who asked not to be named warned that the loss of employees can't easily be fixed.

"Losing seasoned employees is very difficult to replace," the TSA worker said. "New hires take two years to get off probation."

Airports collect donations for TSA staffers during government shutdown

The worker added that the accumulating debt borne by government employees will also affect staffing.

"One of the requirements is that you have a great credit rating. A lot of our officers are not going to have that now," they said.

Joseph Cerletti, a TSA officer at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport, told ABC News that he struggles to explain to his kids about their financial issues now that his family has to depend solely on his wife's income.

Cerletti relented that he and his coworkers "don't have the upper ground here" when it comes to fighting for their rights.

"It's very hard to find words in the English language to describe how I feel about it, other than speechless," he said. "This is just what I've been describing lately as figuratively an uphill gunfight."

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March 20, 2026

TSA workers pushed to the brink as DHS shutdown forces some to get 2nd jobs

The ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown is taking its toll on the thousands of Transportation Security Admin...

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WNBA players briefed on a transformational 7-year CBA with a $7M 2026 salary cap

NEW YORK (AP) —WNBAplayers are having information sessions over the next day or two to learn more about the new collective bargaining agreement that wasagreed to in principleearly Wednesday morning.

Basketball WNBA-CBA

Through zoom calls and one-on-one conversations, the players are hearing about some of the details of the transformational new deal that will last for the next seven years with an opt-out after six, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.

Lawyers on both sides are finalizing the term sheet, which should be done in the next day or so. It will then get put to a vote of the players with a majority needed to ratify the CBA. The league's Board of Governors will then need to approve the deal before it becomes official.

The deal came after the two sides spent the past eight days inintense in-person negotiationsthat lasted for more than 100 hours. They came to the agreement about 2:20 a.m. Wednesday after spending more than 10 hours of discussions on Tuesday.

"This is historical for women's sports. I told Cathy it's not just for the players that are entering the league or the players that aren't already here," union president Nneka Ogwumike said of her conversations with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "We're just really grateful to be able to come to a deal. We're proud of ourselves."

Here are a few key points from the CBA.

Salary cap

The salary cap for the 2026 season is expected to be $7 million with average salaries more than $585,000, according to the person. Top players can make over $1 million for the first time in the league's history with a supermax salary close to $1.4 million. The cap could grow up to $11 million in 2031 if revenue projections go well. The salary cap can change a maximum of 10% in either direction each year with the exception of after the first season when it could up or down 13%.

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The minimum salary for this year would be around $300,000 as the league enters its 30th season. This would increase salaries fourfold from last season. The average salary, which was about $125,000 last year, should be around $584,000 before revenue sharing in 2026.

"For the first time, player salaries are tied to a truly meaningful share of league revenue, driving exponential growth in the salary cap, increasing average compensation beyond half a million dollars and raising the standard across facilities, staffing and support," Ogwumike said after the verbal agreement Wednesday morning.

The average revenue share over the length of the deal will be around 20%, according to the person. It's still unclear whether its the gross revenue the players asked for or the net revenue the league pushed for.

Housing

Teams will continue to pay for housing for the first three years of the deal according to the person. In 2029 and 2030, teams will pay for housing for players earning $500,000 or less. After that, teams will only pay for the housing of developmental players.

Rookies contracts

Rookie contracts will remain for four years with a bump in pay for all players still on rookie contracts. Players who earn All-WNBA honors can get the maximum salary in the fourth year of their contract if they stay with their team. So far Caitlin Clark would be eligible for that in 2027, Paige Bueckers in 2028 and Aliyah Boston this season.

AP WNBA:https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

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March 20, 2026

WNBA players briefed on a transformational 7-year CBA with a $7M 2026 salary cap

NEW YORK (AP) —WNBAplayers are having information sessions over the next day or two to learn more about the new collectiv...

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March Madness upsets: Tracking broken NCAA tournament brackets as High Point stuns Wisconsin, VCU knocks off North Carolina in OT

Big upsets are arguably one of the most exciting parts ofMarch Madness, despite the pain they might bring youralready-busted bracket. As the NCAA tournament began in earnest on Thursday, the first game of the day, between No. 9 TCU and No. 8 Ohio State, did not disappoint. Shortly after, another Big Ten squad went down as No. 12 High Point stunned No. 5 Wisconsin. By Thursday night, several more upsets had been finalized.

We'll break down all the major losses of the men's tournament below:

No. 9 Saint Louis 102, No. 8 Georgia 77:The Bulldogs never stood a chance here.

Saint Louis, led by star center Robbie Avila, rolled to a blowout win over Georgia on Thursday night. The Billikens led the entire way, and went on an extended 23-0 run through halftime that broke the game wide open. By the time Georgia finally scored again, the Billiken's lead had exploded up to 35 points.

Avila — who has earned some incredibly creative nicknames, including Cream Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Nerd — had 12 points and five rebounds. Dion Brown led the way with 18 points after he went 9-of-10 from the field. The Billikens, who probably should have earned a higher seed than what they got, will now take on No. 1 Michigan on Saturday.

No. 10 Texas A&M 63, No. 7 Saint Mary's 50:The Aggies led the entire way in this one and cruised to a double-digit win without any issue. After opening the contest on a long 9-0 run that kept the Gaels scoreless for the first four minutes, they took an 11-point lead into the break at halftime.

While the second half was much closer, the Gaels simply couldn't narrow that gap. Saint Mary's failed to score in the final 2:30 of the contest as the Aggies simply rode out the 13-point win into the next round.

No. 11 Texas 79, No. 6 BYU 71:Texas was in control of this one just about the entire way.

Texas, after a bit of a back-and-forth early on, surged ahead of AJ Dybantsa and BYU in the second half and held on to grab the eight-point win. That sent the Longhorns, who had to beat NC State in the play-in on Tuesday, into the second round.

Dybantsa had 18 points in the first half alone to keep BYU in it, and Texas coach Sean Miller was very blunt when asked how he could stop them at the break.

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"I don't think we can," hesaid plainly.

The Cougars, after falling down by 17 points in the second half, got back within four points with just under a minute left. But that was as close as they got. The Longhorns held them scoreless the rest of the way to grab the win.

Dybantsa ended up finishing with 35 points and 10 rebounds. He's now the first freshman with at least 30 points in his NCAA tournament debut since Stephen Curry did so with Davidson back in 2007.

No. 11 VCU 82, No. 6 North Carolina 78:Well, North Carolina completely fell apart.

The Tar Heels, who led by as many as 19 points in the second half, let the Rams climb all the way back to force overtime. Then, after both teams went cold in the extra period, it was Terrence Hill who drilled the eventual game-winner. Hill, with about 15 seconds left on the cock, pulled up from the top of the key and drained a step-back 3-pointer.

Though Henri Veesaar reached the free throw line at the other end and had the chance to tie the game again, he missed both of his shots from the stripe. That paved the way for the Rams to secure the upset win, which was the largest first-round comeback victory in NCAA tournament history.

No. 12 High Point 83, No. 5 Wisconsin 82:Not a bad time to make your first two-pointer of the year, Chase Johnston! And so a rough day for the Big Ten continues. High Point made its first NCAA tournament appearance last year, and this year heads to the round of 32 for the first time.

No. 9 TCU 66, No. 8 Ohio State 64:This result might've seemed fated at halftime, when the Horned Frogs held a 15-point lead, but the Buckeyes stormed back in the second half to make the first game of the day everything you'd want to kick off March Madness. TCU's Xavier Edmonds hit a shot at the rim with 4.3 seconds to go, and Ohio State wasn't able to get a good look before time expired.

While it may not have been a true upset, TCU was a 2.5-point underdog and will be moving on to the round of 32 for the first time since 2023.

Follow along throughout the NCAA tournament as we track every single upset.

byAdministrator

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March 20, 2026

March Madness upsets: Tracking broken NCAA tournament brackets as High Point stuns Wisconsin, VCU knocks off North Carolina in OT

Big upsets are arguably one of the most exciting parts ofMarch Madness, despite the pain they might bring youralready-bus...

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Iran threatens world tourism sites and says it is still building missiles nearly 3 weeks into war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisted it was still building missiles. Friday's show of defiance came nearlythree weeks into U.S.-Israeli strikesthat have killed a slew of Tehran's top leaders and hammered its weapons and energy industries.

APTOPIX Iran War

Iran fired on Israel andenergy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab statesas many in the region marked one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. Iranians were also marking the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally festive holiday thatis more subdued this year.

With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained since the war began Feb. 28 or even whowas truly in charge of the country. But Iran has showed it is still capable of attacks that are choking off oil supplies and denting the global economy,raising food and fuel pricesfar beyond the Middle East.

The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, fromhoping to foment an uprisingthat topples Iran's leadership to eliminating itsnuclear and missile programs. There have been no public signs of any such uprising, and it's not clear what capabilities Iran retains or how the war might end.

Iran remains defiant despite weeks of attacks

Iran's top military spokesman warned Friday that "parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations" worldwide won't be safe for Tehran's enemies.

Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi made the threat as Iran continues to be hit by American and Israeli airstrikes. It renewed concerns that Iran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic in the war.

U.S. and Israeli leaders have said that weeks of strikes have decimated Iran's military. Airstrikes have also killed its supreme leader, the head of its Supreme National Security Council and araft of other top-rankingmilitary and political leaders.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran's navy was sunk and its air force in tatters, while adding that its ability to produce ballistic missiles had been taken out. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard disputed the missile claim on Friday.

"We are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling," spokesman Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini was quoted as saying in Iran's state-run IRAN newspaper.

Naeini added that Iran had no intention of seeking a quick end to the war. "These people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted," he said.

A short time after the statement was released, Iranian state television said Naeini was killed in an airstrike.

The country's new Supreme Leader AyatollahMojtaba Khameneialso released a rare statement, saying Iran's enemies need to have their "security" taken away.

Khamenei hasn't been seen since he succeeded his father, the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war.

A refinery comes under attack in Kuwait and explosions shake Dubai

Iran has stepped up its attacks on energy sites in Gulf Arab states after Israel bombed Iran's massiveSouth Pars offshore natural gas fieldearlier in the week.

Two waves of Iranian drones attacked a Kuwaiti oil refinery early Friday, sparking a fire. The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, which can process some 730,000 barrels of oil per day, is one of the largest in the Middle East. It was damaged Thursday in another Iranian attack.

Bahrain said a fire broke out after shrapnel from an intercepted projectile landed on a warehouse, and Saudi Arabia reported shooting down multiple drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

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Heavy explosions shook Dubai as air defenses intercepted incoming fire over the city, where people were observing Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

In Iran, meanwhile, many were marking Nowruz even as Israel said it had launched new strikes, and explosions were heard over Tehran. The Persian New Year, which coincides with the spring equinox, is a tradition observed across southwestern Asia that dates back thousands of years.

Loud explosions could also be heard in Jerusalem after the Israeli army warned of incoming Iranian missiles. First responders said they treated two people around 70 years old who were lightly wounded.

In addition to steadily striking Iran, Israelhas regularly hit Lebanon, targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants who have been firing rockets and drones into Israel.

On Friday, Israel broadened its attacks to Syria, saying it hit infrastructure there in response to what it described as attacks on the minority Druze population. Syria's state-run SANA news agency did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war. Israeli strikes in Lebanon have displaced more than 1 million people, according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 1,000 people have been killed. Israel says it has killed more than 500 Hezbollah militants.

In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. Four people were also killed in the occupied West Bank by an Iranian missile strike.

At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.

The war is raising risks to the world economy

Iran's attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf combined with itsstranglehold on shippingin theStrait of Hormuz, astrategic waterwaythrough which a fifth of the world's oil and other critical goods are transported, has raised concerns of a global energy crisis.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, has soared during the fighting, and was around $107 in morning trading on Friday, up more than 47% since the start of the war.

Surging fuel prices come at a moment when many world leaders were already struggling to bring down high prices of food and many consumer goods. Asia is gettinghit hardas most of the oil and gas exiting the Strait of Hormuz is transported there.

But the price shocksare reverberating throughout the world economy. Key raw materials — like helium used in making computer chips, and sulfur, a raw material in fertilizer — have been obstructed and could be in short supply soon, raising the prices of goods all the way down the supply chain.

This story has been updated to correct the headline to show the war is nearly three weeks in, not four.

Mednick reported from Jerusalem and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami contributed.

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March 20, 2026

Iran threatens world tourism sites and says it is still building missiles nearly 3 weeks into war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisted it was...

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Nearly 90,000 Bottles of Children's Ibuprofen Recalled After Contamination with Foreign Substance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a recall of nearly 90,000 bottles of children's ibuprofen over contamination

NEED TO KNOW

• Strides Pharma, the manufacturer of the product, initated the recall after reports of black particles and a gel-like substance inside the medication

• Affected products include specific lot numbers with a 2027 expiration date

A widely used children's pain reliever is being pulled from shelves across the United States after reports of contamination, prompting a nationwide recall of nearly 90,000 bottles, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In anenforcement report, the agency said 89,592 bottles of liquid children's ibuprofen are affected. The recall was initiated by the manufacturer, Strides Pharma, after the company received complaints describing a "gel-like mass and black particles" inside the medication.

The product, manufactured in India for Taro Pharmaceuticals, was distributed nationwide and is commonly used by parents to treat pain and fever in children. The recall applies specifically to 4-fluid-ounce bottles, with affected products identified by lot numbers 7261973A or 7261974A and an expiration date of Jan. 31, 2027.

Federal regulators classified the recall asClass II, a designation used when a product may cause temporary or medically reversible health effects, though the risk of serious harm is considered low. These recalls are typically carried out at the retail level, meaning products are removed from store shelves rather than homes, unless further action is advised, according to the FDA.

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Still, health experts urge caution. Parents and caregivers are advised to avoid giving children the recalled medication. If a child may have already consumed the product, concerned caregivers should contact a health care provider.

Additional guidance fromWhat to Expectrecommends consulting a pediatrician before administering any medication to a child under 2 years old.

PEOPLE has reached out to the FDA and Strides Pharma for comment.

Read the original article onPeople

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March 20, 2026

Nearly 90,000 Bottles of Children's Ibuprofen Recalled After Contamination with Foreign Substance

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a recall of nearly 90,000 bottles of children's ibuprofen over co...

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