SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) -

CIF-Central Section Division 1 Semifinal: St. Joseph 67, Bakersfield Christian 57: #1 seed Knights will play #2 Buchanan in title game on Saturday, February 28 at 8 p.m. in Fresno.

Division 2: Atascadero 69, Hoover 52: #1 seed Greyhounds will meet #2 Clovis in title game on Friday, February 27 at 8 p.m. in Fresno.

Division 5: Santa Maria 103, California City 76: #1 seed Saints will play #2 Coalinga in championship game on Saturday, February 28 at noon in Fresno.

Division 6: Orosi 54, Orcutt Academy 43:

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UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - The Gauchos had all the momentum and then they let the Matadors off the hook with a series of late blunders at the Thunderdome.

Northridge scored 4 points in five seconds late in regulation and went on to edge UCSB in overtime 85-83. The win allows CSUN(17-10, 10-5) to leap ahead of the Gauchos(17-10, 10-6) for third place in the Big West.

Tied at 69 UCSB freshman CJ Shaw buried a three-pointer with 47 seconds left. He finished with a team-high 22 points.

Aidan Mahaney added two free throws to put UCSB up 74-69 with 32 seconds remaining.

The Matadors had no time outs but they got a break when Gauchos head coach Joe Pasternack used one of his two remaining time outs to set up is defense.

But it allowed the Matadors to run a well-designed full court offensive play and Larry Hughes II drained a three-pointer with 26 seconds left to pull the Matadors within 74-72.

Mahaney hit two more free throws after he was fouled with 24.8 seconds left and UCSB led by 4.

This time Pasternack did not call time out and the Matadors went down the court and Hughes II missed his three-point attempt. But Colin Smith was beaten to the rebound by Joshua O'Garro who grabbed the ball and scored the layup with 15.9 seconds to go.

No time out was called by UCSB and Smith inbounded the ball into the corner to Shaw who was immediately trapped by two defenders. His attempted pass back to Smith was stolen by Josiah Davis who fed a wide open Grady Lewis under the basket and he tied the game at 76.

Mahaney missed an off-balance driving shot as time expired and the game went to overtime at 76.

Josiah Davis scored 5 of his game-high 31 points in overtime and CSUN escaped with the two-point win after Zion Sensley missed a three-pointer before the buzzer sounded.

The Gauchos threw away what would have been a nice home win due to a questionable time out, a failed defensive rebound and a turnover, all in the final 32 seconds of the game.

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Por Mostafa Salem, Farida Elsebai y Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN

Mientras Estados Unidos continúa con un importante aumento de su presencia militar en Medio Oriente, Irán ha tomado medidas para indicar que está listo para la guerra, incluyendo la fortificación de sus sitios nucleares y la reconstrucción de instalaciones de producción de misiles.

Los negociadores iraníes y estadounidenses mantuvieron conversaciones indirectas en Ginebra durante tres horas y media el martes, pero concluyeron sin una resolución clara.

El principal diplomático de Irán, Abbas Araghchi, afirmó que ambas partes acordaron un conjunto de “principios rectores”, pero el vicepresidente de EE.UU., J. D. Vance, afirmó que los iraníes no habían reconocido las “líneas rojas” establecidas por Donald Trump.

A pesar de las conversaciones en curso, la Casa Blanca ha sido informada de que el ejército estadounidense podría estar listo para un ataque el fin de semana, después de una acumulación en los últimos días de activos aéreos y navales en el Medio Oriente, comentaron a CNN fuentes familiarizadas con el asunto.

Ante la amenaza de guerra, Irán ha dedicado los últimos meses a reparar instalaciones de misiles clave y bases aéreas gravemente dañadas, a la vez que oculta aún más su programa nuclear.

Teherán ha nombrado a veteranos de guerra para sus estructuras de seguridad nacional, ha realizado simulacros de guerra marítimos en el Golfo Pérsico y ha lanzado una intensa represión contra la disidencia interna.

En junio del año pasado, Israel lanzó un ataque sorpresa contra Irán que destruyó parte de su programa nuclear, dañó gravemente plantas de producción de misiles y mató a comandantes militares clave.

Durante los 12 días de conflicto que siguieron, Irán respondió lanzando cientos de misiles y drones contra ciudades israelíes, mientras que Estados Unidos atacó tres instalaciones nucleares del país persa, las cuales el presidente Trump afirmó haber sido “totalmente destruidas”.

Las naciones occidentales han fracasado sistemáticamente en su intento de persuadir a Irán para que detenga su programa de misiles, que Teherán considera un pilar central de su fuerza militar y un derecho a su autodefensa.

A pesar de sufrir grandes pérdidas en la guerra con Israel, el análisis de imágenes satelitales revela que Irán ha reconstruido las instalaciones de misiles dañadas.

Imágenes satelitales de la Base de Misiles Imán Alí en Jorramabad, captadas el 5 de enero, muestran que, de las doce estructuras destruidas por Israel, tres han sido reconstruidas, una ha sido reparada y otras tres se encuentran actualmente en construcción.

La instalación alberga plataformas de silos, cruciales para el lanzamiento de misiles balísticos, con terraplenes y construcciones a su alrededor.

Otras dos bases militares también han sido sometidas a extensas reparaciones. En la instalación aérea de Tabriz, al noroeste del país, vinculada a los misiles balísticos de mediano alcance de Irán, se han restaurado las calles de rodaje y las pistas de aterrizaje.

En otra base de misiles al norte de la ciudad, se han realizado extensas obras tras la guerra.

Todas las entradas se reabrieron tras ser cerradas por los bombardeos, la zona de apoyo junto a la entrada se reconstruyó en su mayor parte y algunos túneles ya están abiertos, según un análisis de CNN y Sam Lair, investigador asociado del Centro James Martin para Estudios de No Proliferación (CNS).

En la base aérea de Hamadan, en el oeste de Irán, se han rellenado

By Steve Contorno, Kristen Holmes, Austin Culpepper, CNN

(CNN) — Earlier this month, as the latest disclosures in the Epstein files rippled through right-wing media, the conservative morning television show “American Sunrise” devoted several segments to calls for harsher consequences and sustained attention on the scandal.

“We need to make an example of all of this,” co-host Emily Finn said during the February 9 broadcast on the pro-Trump cable channel Real America’s Voice. “And not just let this go and let this slip under the radar.”

Moments later, the program handed off to the conservative network’s marquee show, “War Room,” hosted by Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist. Over the next two hours, Bannon ticked through topics animating his audience — from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance to a contentious Republican Senate primary in Texas.

He did not mention Jeffrey Epstein.

Silence has largely defined Bannon’s public posture toward Epstein since the Justice Department released records on January 30 detailing a close personal relationship between the two men. In the weeks that followed, Bannon has not broached the release of the files or the frequency with which his own name appears in the newly public records, a CNN review of dozens of hours of programming found.

Even when Bannon showered praise on Attorney General Pam Bondi for her combative Capitol Hill appearance earlier this month, he didn’t explicitly mention the Epstein files, the subject of many of her heated clashes with lawmakers.

It’s similar to an approach Bannon once suggested for Epstein as allegations about the financier’s sex crimes resurfaced. In February 2019, Epstein said in a text message he would like “true facts out.” Bannon replied, “you should just want this to go away.”

As Epstein contemplated responding to some of the coverage, Bannon was blunt. “Have you lost your f**king mind,” he wrote, “the moment you say ANYTHING this is global story #1!!!!!”

Bannon did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. In a statement to The New York Times, Bannon said he was working on a documentary film about Epstein and “that’s the only lens through which these private communications should be viewed.” Bannon told the newspaper he captured 50 hours of footage of Epstein, and that the film would expose Epstein and “destroy the very myths he created.” Last month, the Department of Justice released two hours of Bannon interviewing Epstein.

As a leading voice in the GOP’s conspiratorial flank, Bannon has long trained his audience to distrust convenient explanations. Since its inception in 2019, his podcast has served as a platform for guests to push unproven theories about election fraud and other topics. Until recently, a placard bearing one of his favorite sayings sat over his shoulder during broadcasts: “There are NO conspiracies but there are NO coincidences.”

Mixed reactions from MAGA

Now, some longtime allies are pressing him for answers.

Laura Loomer, a Trump loyalist with a large online following, told CNN that Bannon should be “100% forthcoming” about his ties to Epstein. Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, another far-right figure, wrote on X that an e

By Brad Lendon, CNN

(CNN) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has blocked a request from US President Donald Trump to allow US forces to use UK air bases during any preemptive attack on Iran, saying it could break international law, according to multiple reports in British media citing government sources.

According to The Times of London, which first reported the split over airbase access, Starmer has denied the use of RAF Fairford in England and Diego Garcia – the British overseas territory in the Indian Ocean – for any strike on Iran.

The two bases have long served as crucial overseas US military staging posts for operations far from home, with Diego Garcia a key airfield for the US’ heavy bomber fleet.

The Times reports Britain is concerned that allowing the US to use the bases “would be a breach of international law, which makes no distinction between a state carrying out the attack and those in support if the latter have ‘knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act.’”

The Times cited UK government sources. The BBC, The Guardian and The Telegraph also subsequently published their own reports on the UK blocking access to the bases, citing sources.

American requests to use UK bases for operational purposes historically have been considered on a case-by-case basis, with precise criteria withheld for security reasons under long-standing agreements.

“All decisions on whether to approve foreign nations’ use of military bases in the UK for operational purposes considers the legal basis and policy rationale for any proposed activity,” Veterans Minister Al Carns wrote in response to questions from independent British member of parliament Jeremy Corbyn, according to a January report from the UK Defence Journal.

Starmer and Trump held a phone call on Tuesday evening, with readouts saying the two discussed peace in the Middle East and Europe.

The following day Trump took to his Truth Social platform to withdraw support for a deal that would see sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, the Indian Ocean chain that is home to the joint US-UK Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, handed to Mauritius in return for a 99-year lease on the military base.

CNN has approached the White House for comment.

Britain had split the Chagos Islands from Mauritius before that colony gained independence, something that has been a source of diplomatic friction as well as multiple legal battles with locals who were evicted. In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled Britain should return the islands “as rapidly as possible,” so that they could be decolonized.

A deal to return them has been making its way through British government channels since, with London arguing a lease compromise would ward off further expensive and likely futile legal battles while maintaining military access in the Indian Ocean.

After initially opposing the UK-Mauritius deal, Trump in early February said it was the “best” Britain could get under the circumstances.

But as the US has been surging forces into the region for a possible attack on Iran, Trump reversed course, saying in a Truth Social post that Starmer is “making a big mistake” in agreeing to the lease deal with Mauritius.

“Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature,”