National Champs, US Tailors, & a Mid-flight birth

News without the noise

Adam Rogers
April 07, 2026

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Michigan Wolverines beat the UConn Huskies 69–63 to win the national championship, prevailing despite shooting just 2-for-15 from three and being out-rebounded. Elliot Cadeau led with 19 points.
The game played out differently than expected. Michigan had been scoring 90+ points in recent tournament games but couldn’t find its rhythm, while UConn shot just 30.9% and dealt with foul trouble. Both teams opened the second half missing 11 straight three-point attempts, turning the title game into a slow, physical contest.
UConn was trying to win its third championship in four seasons but couldn’t close, missing a last-minute three that would have cut the lead to one. Michigan finished 37–3 and claimed its first title since 1989, powered by a roster built almost entirely through transfers.

America’s tailoring workforce is disappearing. Fewer than 17,000 tailors remain in US businesses, a 30% drop over the past decade. Plus, the median worker is 54, far older than the overall labor force.
Demand is rising at the same time. The thrifting boom is sending secondhand clothes to alteration shops, while a backlash to fast fashion is pushing shoppers toward better-fitting, longer-lasting pieces. Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are also fueling a wave of resizing. In one case, a customer paid $20 for a thrifted jacket and spent $280 to tailor it, a shift that would have seemed unusual just a few years ago.
The industry is now scrambling to rebuild its pipeline. Low pay (about $44,000 annually) has kept younger workers away, and roughly 40% of tailors are foreign-born. Retailers are responding with training programs. Nordstrom and the Fashion Institute of Technology launched a nine-week course, while brands like Brooks Brothers expand in-store tailoring.

Researchers at Leipzig University have identified a cellular receptor called GPR133 that plays a key role in building and maintaining bone strength. The discovery opens a potential new path for treating osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones and affects an estimated 200 million people worldwide. Often called a silent disease, osteoporosis causes no symptoms until a fracture occurs.
Bones are constantly renewed by two types of cells, osteoblasts that build bone and osteoclasts that break it down. GPR133 boosts osteoblast activity and reduces osteoclast activity, producing stronger, denser bone. A compound called AP503 mimics this natural process. In mice, it significantly increased bone strength in both healthy and osteoporotic animals.
Unlike current treatments that only slow bone loss, AP503 could potentially rebuild bone in osteoporosis patients. The same compound also improves skeletal muscle strength, a double benefit for aging populations. Human trials have not yet begun.

California's Sierra Nevada snowpack hit its second-lowest level on record this April 1, measuring just 18% of the historical average after record March heat melted what little snow had fallen this winter. (More)

Trump endorsed former Fox News host Steve Hilton for California governor, potentially consolidating Republican support ahead of the June 2 jungle primary. (More)

The Supreme Court cleared the way for Steve Bannon's 2022 contempt of Congress conviction to be dismissed, after the Trump administration asked judges to drop the case "in the interests of justice." (More)

Iran sent a 10-point ceasefire response Monday that Trump called "significant but not good enough," leaving a deal before Tuesday's 8 p.m. deadline looking unlikely and major strikes on Iran looking probable. (More)

Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is triggering fertilizer shortages across South Asia, with the World Food Programme warning 45 million more people could face acute food insecurity if the conflict doesn't end by June. (More)

Israel struck Iran's South Pars petrochemical plant for the second time this month, knocking out a facility responsible for about half of Iran's petrochemical output and 85% of its exports. (More)

US stock markets closed higher on Monday (S&P +0.44%, Nasdaq +0.54%, Dow +0.36%) as rumors of a 45-day ceasefire plan circled news outlets. (More)

Bank of New York Mellon and Robinhood will jointly manage Trump Accounts, children's investment accounts launching July 4 with a $1,000 government deposit for kids born between 2025 and 2028. (More)

The Associated Press is offering buyouts to US journalists as it shifts away from its newspaper roots, now focusing on video and AI licensing deals. Newspapers once drove most of AP's revenue, but now account for just 10%. (More)

UNC is reportedly hiring former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone to lead its men's basketball program. (More)

The Tampa Bay Rays return to play at Tropicana Field today for the first time since Hurricane Milton damaged the dome in September 2024. (More)

Angel Reese, a two-time WNBA All-Star and two-time league rebounding leader, is leaving the Chicago Sky for the Atlanta Dream in exchange for two first-round picks. (More)

A new study found female baboons' bodies can reject sperm from genetically similar males by making the vaginal environment more acidic, suggesting reproduction involves biological screening well after mating occurs. (More)

NASA's Artemis II crew swung around the Moon's far side today, setting a new human spaceflight distance record of 252,757 miles from Earth. (More)

Three previously unrecorded orcas have been spotted near downtown Seattle shorelines. Researchers believe the trio came from Alaska, drawn by the region's abundant seals and sea lions. (More)

A passenger gives birth mid-flight en route to New York.

See how a photographer captured the Artemis II launch close-ups.

Kirkland tops Food and Wine’s best jarred pesto list.

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