MON SIX

"Saturday Night Live" is saying farewell toKristi Noem.

The show opened its March 7 episode with a sketch addressingPresident Donald Trump'sfiring of Noem as Department of Homeland Security secretary.

In the sketch, Colin Jost playedSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who announced during the mock press briefing that Noem "has been reassigned under the bus."Ashley Padillastarred as Noem, who then entered to give some parting remarks.

"I just want to make it clear that I didn't get fired," she said. "I self-deported. And though I may be leaving this job, I will not be ending my mission. As I told my plastic surgeon, the work is never done. But I gave my all to the DHS, and I have no regrets, because like they say, you miss 100% of the dogs you don't shoot."

'SNL' cold open:NBC's sketch comedy show takes on Iran attacks and Khamenei killing

Trump announced in a Truth Social post on March 5 that Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma will succeed Noem as Homeland Security secretary, effective March 31. The move came afterlawmakers grilled Noem on a number of topics, includinga $220 million ad campaignthat prominently featured her. Noem said she had discussed the campaign with Trump and he approved it, but Trump told Reuters he "never knew anything about it."

In the cold open, Padilla's Noem also said that it's "bittersweet" to have to turn in her "badge, gun, lips, lashes, teeth and forehead," adding that her new office will be in a "WeWork space outside of Denver."

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The rest of the opening sketch featured Jost as Hegseth taking questions about the U.S. military operation in Iran.

"We're treating Iran like the breathalyzer in my car and blowing it the hell up," he declared.

Jost's Hegseth later took issue with a reporter describing the conflict as a war, asking, "Who ever called this a war, except maybe the president a couple of times accidentally?"

"Project Hail Mary" starRyan Goslinghosted, returning to "SNL" for the fourth time with musical guest Gorillaz.

Who's hosting 'SNL' next?

"SNL" will be back with another new episode next week, hosted byHarry Styles. The singer, fresh off his new album "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally," is also serving as the musical guest.

Ahead of his episode, Styles made a surprise appearance in the audience during Gosling's monologue, in which the "Barbie" actor jokingly acted like he was thrown off and distracted by the Grammy winner's presence.

Contributing: Bart Jansen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'SNL' cold open tackles Trump firing of Kristi Noem

Asmissiles and dronescurtail energy production across the Persian Gulf, analysts warn that water, not oil, may be the resource most at risk in the energy-rich but arid region.

APTOPIX Israel Iran US

Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, putting individual systems that supply water to millions within range of Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without them, major cities could not sustain their current populations.

In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination, along with roughly 86% in Oman and about 70% in Saudi Arabia. The technology removes salt from seawater — most commonly by pushing it through ultra-fine membranes in a process known asreverse osmosis— to produce the freshwater that sustains cities, hotels, industry and some agriculture across one of the world's driest regions.

For people living outside the Middle East, the main concern of the Iran war has been theimpact on energy prices. The Gulf produces about a third of the world's crude exports and energy revenues underpin national economies. Fighting has already halted tanker traffic through key shipping routes and disrupted port activity, forcing some producers to curb exports as storage tanks fill.

But the infrastructure that keeps Gulf cities supplied with drinking water may be equally vulnerable.

"Everyone thinks of Saudi Arabia and their neighbors as petrostates. But I call them saltwater kingdoms. They're manmade fossil-fueled water superpowers," said Michael Christopher Low, director of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah. "It's both a monumental achievement of the 20th century and a certain kind of vulnerability."

Early signs of risk

The war that began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran has already brought fighting close to key desalination infrastructure. On March 2, Iranian strikes on Dubai's Jebel Ali port landed some 12 miles from one of the world's largest desalination plants, which produces much of the city's drinking water.

Damage also was reported at the Fujairah F1 power and water complex in the United Arab Emirates, and at Kuwait's Doha West desalination plant. The damage at the two facilities appeared to have resulted from nearby port attacks or debris from intercepted drones, and so far there is little evidence of Iran intentionally targeting water treatment sites, experts said.

Many Gulf desalination plants are physically integrated with power stationsas co‑generation facilities, meaning attacks on electrical infrastructure could also hinder water production. Even where plants are connected to national grids with backup supply routes, disruptions can cascade across interconnected systems, said David Michel, senior fellow for water security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"It's an asymmetrical tactic," he said. "Iran doesn't have the same capacity to strike back at the United States and Israel. But it does have this possibility to impose costs on the Gulf countries to push them to intervene or call for a cessation of hostilities."

Desalination plantshave multiple stages — intake systems, treatment facilities, energy supplies — and damage to any part of that chain can interrupt production, according to Ed Cullinane, Middle East editor at Global Water Intelligence, a publisher serving the water industry.

"None of these assets are any more protected than any of the municipal areas that are currently being hit by ballistic missiles or drones," Cullinane said.

A long-standing concern

Gulf governments and U.S. officials have long recognized the risks these systems pose for regional stability: if major desalination plants were knocked offline, some cities could lose most of their drinking water within days. A 2010 CIA analysis warned attacks on desalination facilities could trigger national crises in several Gulf states, and prolonged outages could last months if critical equipment were destroyed.

More than 90% of the Gulf's desalinated water comes from just 56 plants, the report stated, and "each of these critical plants is extremely vulnerable to sabotage or military action."

A leaked 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable warned the Saudi capital of Riyadh "would have to evacuate within a week" if either the Jubail desalination plant on the Gulf coast or its pipelines or associated power infrastructure were seriously damaged.

Saudi Arabia has since invested in pipeline networks, storage reservoirs and other redundancies designed to cushion short-term disruptions, as has the UAE. But smaller states such as Bahrain,Qatarand Kuwait have fewer backup supplies.

Climate change could threaten water plants

As warming oceans increase the likelihood and intensity of cyclones in the Arabian Sea and raise the chances of landfall on the Arabian Peninsula, storm surge and extreme rainfall could overwhelm drainage systems and damage coastal desalination.

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The plants themselves contribute to the problem. Desalination is energy-intensive, with plants worldwide producing between 500 and 850 million tons of carbon emissions annually, approaching the roughly 880 million tons emitted by the entire global aviation industry.

The by-product of desalination, highly concentrated brine, is typically discharged back into the ocean, where it can harm seafloor habitats and coral reefs, while intake systems can trap and kill fish larvae, plankton and other organisms at the base of the marine food web.

As climate change intensifies droughts, disrupts rainfall patterns and fuels wildfires, desalination is expected to expand in many parts of the world.

The threat is not hypothetical

During Iraq's 1990-1991 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent Gulf War, Iraqi forces sabotaged power stations and desalination facilities as they retreated, said the University of Utah's Low. At the same time, millions of barrels of crude oil were deliberately released into the Persian Gulf, creating one of the largest oil spills in history.

The massive slick threatened to contaminate seawater intake pipes used by desalination plants across the region. Workers rushed to deploy protective booms around the intake valves of major facilities.

The destruction left Kuwait largely without fresh water and dependent on emergency water imports. Full recovery took years.

More recently, Yemen's Houthi rebels have targeted Saudi desalination facilities amid regional tensions.

The incidents underscore a broader erosion of long-standing norms against attacking civilian infrastructure, Michel said, noting conflicts in Ukraine,Gazaand Iraq.

International humanitarian law, including provisions of the Geneva Conventions, prohibit targeting civilian infrastructure indispensable to the survival of the population, including drinking water facilities.

The potential for harmful cyberattacks on water infrastructure is a growing concern. In 2023 and 2024, U.S. officials blamed Iran-aligned groups for hacking into several American water utilities.

Iran's own water supply at risk

After a fifth year of extreme drought, water levels in Tehran's five reservoirs plunged to some 10% of their capacity, prompting President Masoud Pezeshkian to warn the capital may have to be evacuated.

Unlike many Gulf states that rely heavily on desalination, Iran still gets most of its water from rivers, reservoirs and depleted underground aquifers. The country operates a relatively small number of desalination plants, supplying only a fraction of national demand.

Iran is racing to expand desalination along its southern coast and pump some of the water inland, but infrastructure constraints, energy costs and international sanctions have sharply limited scalability.

"They were already thinking of evacuating the capital last summer," Cullinane of Global Water Intelligence said. "I don't dare to wonder what it's going to be like this summer under sustained fire, with an ongoing economic catastrophe and a serious water crisis."

Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram@ahammergram.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visithttps://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Sixty-one years after state troopers attacked Civil Rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, thousands are gathering in the Alabama city this weekend, amid new concerns about the future ofthe Voting Rights Act.

Bloody Sunday Anniversary

The March 7, 1965, violence that became known asBloody Sundayshocked the nation and helped spur passage of the landmark legislation that dismantled barriers to voting for Black Americans in the Jim Crow South.

But this year's anniversary celebrations — events run all weekend and end with a commemorative march across the bridge Sunday — come asthe U.S. Supreme Court considers a casethat could limit a provision of theVoting Rights Actthat has helped ensure some congressional and local districts are drawn so minority voters have a chance to elect their candidate of choice.

"I'm concerned that all of the advances that we made for the last 61 years are going to be eradicated," said Charles Mauldin, 78, one of the marchers who was beaten that day.

Justices are expected to rule soon on a Louisiana case regarding the role of race in drawing congressional districts. A ruling prohibiting or limiting that role could have sweeping consequences, potentially opening the door for Republican-controlled states to redistrict and roll back majority Black and Latino districts that tend to favor Democrats.

Democratic officeholders, civil rights leaders and others have descended on the southern city to pay homage to the pivotal moment of the Civil Rights Movement and to issue calls to action. Likethe marchers on Bloody Sunday, they must keep pressing forward, organizers said.

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Former state Sen. Hank Sanders, who helped start the annual commemoration, said the 1965 events in Selma marked a turning point in the nation and helped push the United States closer to becoming a true democracy.

"The feeling is a profound fear that we will be taken back — a greater fear than at any time since 1965," Sanders said.

U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures won election in 2024 to an Alabama district that was redrawn by the federal court. He said what happened in Selma and the subsequent passage of the Voting Rights Act "was monumental in shaping what America looks like and how America is represented in Congress."

"I think coming to Selma is a refreshing reminder every single year that the progress that we got from the Civil Rights Movement is not perpetual. It's been under consistent attacks almost since we've gotten those rights," Figures said.

In 1965, the Bloody Sunday marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams walked in pairs across the Selma bridge headed toward Montgomery. Mauldin, then 17, was part of the third pair behind Williams and Lewis.

At the apex of the bridge, they could see the sea of law enforcement officers, including some on horseback, waiting for them. But they kept going. "Being fearful was not an option. And it wasn't that we didn't have fear, it's that we chose courage over fear," Mauldin recalled in a telephone interview.

"We were all hit. We were trampled. We were tear-gassed. And we were brutalized by the state of Alabama," Mauldin said.

By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall

FILE PHOTO: Mojtaba Khamenei visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran

DUBAI, March 7 (Reuters) - Iran's hierarchy is showing signs of fracturing over a war its leaders see as existential, with angry divisions between hardliners and more pragmatic factions laid bare by a row over President Masoud Pezeshkian's promise not to strike Gulf states.

Fissures within Iran's ruling elite were long suppressed under ‌the iron rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but his killing a week ago has allowed them to spill out into the open as U.S. and Israeli strikes ‌pile pressure on Tehran.

The unrelenting bombardment mortally imperils the Islamic Republic and has prompted its fiercest acolytes, the Revolutionary Guards, to seize a bigger role in strategy despite a decapitation campaign that has killed many top commanders.

Sources close to Iran's leadership, ​speaking from inside the country, told Reuters the strains were starting to show among leading figures still alive after a series of killings in the U.S.-Israeli strikes. They spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter.

In a sign of the growing stresses to the system, clerics are accelerating the appointment of a new supreme leader with a decision possible on Sunday - though it is far from clear if Khamenei's successor will wield enough authority to stamp out factional disputes.

While his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is seen as a frontrunner backed by the Guards and his father's powerful office, he is untested, junior to most of Iran's senior ‌ayatollahs, and has alienated moderates within the system.

Other potential candidates could struggle ⁠to uphold the unquestioning obedience of the Guards required to maintain discipline within the system.

"Wartime tends to clarify power structures, and in this case the decisive voice is not that of the civilian leadership but of the IRGC," said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, using an abbreviation ⁠of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS ANGRY AT PEZESHKIAN STATEMENT

Pezeshkian's apology to Gulf states for a week-long blitz of their territory - and his pledge to rein in such attacks - quickly prompted pushback from hardliners in the Revolutionary Guards and clerical elite, forcing him into a partial climbdown.

In one of the most open criticisms of Pezeshkian - and a sign of internal division, hardline cleric and lawmaker Hamid Rasai addressed the president on social media, saying: "your stance ​was ​unprofessional, weak and unacceptable."

When the president later repeated his earlier statement on social media, he left out the ​apology that had so angered the Guards and other hardliners - an embarrassing retreat.

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To ‌be sure, all senior figures within the hierarchy are steadfast in their commitment to defending the Islamic Republic and its revolutionary theocracy from U.S. and Israeli attacks, but there are clear splits over their strategic approach.

Iran's leadership has sometimes played up differences between hardliners and moderates as a tactic in negotiations with the West, but the dispute over Pezeshkian's statement on Saturday revealed genuine divisions, two senior sources said.

A hardliner close to Khamenei's office, which remains a central node in the hierarchy, told Reuters that Pezeshkian's comments had angered many senior commanders in the Guards.

Another senior Iranian source, a moderate former official, said nobody would be able to fill Khamenei's shoes, describing the late leader as a formidable strategist who had led Iran through many difficult periods.

With anxiety increasing in Iran's top ranks, senior ayatollahs began ‌to publicly urge that the clerical body responsible for appointing a supreme leader accelerate its work.

"It should expedite the ​process so that it leads to the disappointment of the enemy and the preservation of the unity and solidarity of ​the nation," Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars News ​Agency.

STRAINS SHOWING EVEN IN TOP LEADERSHIP BODY

In Iran's unusual system, an elected president, government and parliament are subservient to a clerically appointed ayatollah who wields ultimate ‌authority as supreme leader and personally oversees the Revolutionary Guards and other powerful ​bodies of state.

As leader for 36 years, Khamenei often ​played hardline and moderate factions within the ruling system against each other while retaining the ultimate say, allowing them to voice disagreements so long as they bowed to his writ.

When he died, leadership formally passed to a constitutionally mandated interim council that included Pezeshkian, the clerical head of the judiciary and another cleric from a hardline body called the Guardian Council.

In Khamenei's ​absence, strains are showing even inside that tight body, with the judiciary ‌chief, noted hardliner Ayatollah Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, saying some regional states had allowed their territory to be used for attacks.

"Heavy strikes on those targets will continue," he said, contradicting ​Pezeshkian's more conciliatory statement.

Still, even though Khamenei did sometimes allow moderate or reformist voices to carry the day in disputes with hardliners, they were usually overruled when the ​system seemed to come under threat.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Rod Nickel)

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Back on a familiar oval, Josef Newgarden drove back to victory lane and the top of theIndyCarstandings.

Newgarden won Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, where IndyCar is bundled with NASCAR for adoubleheader in the desert.IndyCar last raced on the 1-mile oval in 2018 and Newgarden won that race, too.

His victory continued what could be a Team Penske sweep at Phoenix: David Malukas won the pole for the IndyCar race,Joey Loganowon the pole for theNASCARrace, Newgarden won the IndyCar race and Ryan Blaney is the BetMGM favoriteto win Sunday.

Team Penske is celebrating its 60th season in racing this year and this doubleheader weekend allowed Roger Penske to bring his combined six drivers from the two series together to commemorate the anniversary.

Newgarden, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time IndyCar champion, avoided a winless 2025 season by winning the season finale at his home track at Nashville Superspeedway.

Newgarden has won 12 of the past 25 races on ovals and this victory snapped Alex Palou's stranglehold on the IndyCar standings.

Palou hit the wall when he had contact with Rinus Veekay very early in the race and logged just his 10th DNF in 100 career IndyCar starts. Three of the DNF's came his rookie year when Palou had yet to join Chip Ganassi Racing.

Since moving to Ganassi, the Spaniard has won four of the past five championships and has been the IndyCar points leader since June 2024.

Now Newgarden is on top as IndyCar heads next weekend into the inaugural event on the streets of Arlington, Texas.

"Do we really have the lead? I mean, it's two races in, so it's early," Newgarden said.

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Palou, who won last week's season opener, dropped to fifth in the standings after finishing 21st.

Kyle Kirkwood finished second for Andretti Global and Malukas was third as Penske went first and third. Scott McLaughlin was eighth in the third Penske entry.

"Definitely really satisfied," Malukas said.

Christian Rasmussen was probably the most dominant driver of the race but he hit the wall when trying to pass Will Power on the outside. Power, who was leading at the time, cut a tire on the contact and Rasmussen's car was damaged enough to allow Newgarden to run him down.

Rasmussen finished a disappointing 14th and said Power ran him into the wall.

"We were the class of the field, I had the best car out there," Rasmussen said.

Power, who had crashed in qualifying, rallied from starting at the back of the field to lead the race until the late incident with Rasmussen. Power finished 16th.

Mick Schumacher started fourth in his oval debut but the son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher faded quickly and finished 18th.

Romain Grosjean didn't start the race because of an issue with his Dale Coyne Racing entry. He didn't turn a lap.

AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Colorado footballcoachDeion Sandersdelivered a eulogy for quarterbackDominiq Ponderon Saturday, March 7, telling Ponder's family, friends and teammates that Ponder was "chosen" by God to unite themafter dying in a car accident March 1at age 23.

Sanders gave the final tribute, speaking for about four minutes at a memorial service for Ponder on the university campus in Boulder.

He asked a big question: Why did this have to happen?

"When we're successful and we're excelling and we're overcoming adversity, we never ask God why then," Sanders said. "But only in our demise and the sadness of life, we challenge and ask God why. I think I got the solution. Because as I look right there and look at a young man that was so full of life, full of respect, hustle and hard work and integrity… God, for real? And He whispered, `Dom was chosen.' Dom was chosen to unite y'all. Dom was chosen to bring you together. Dom was chosen to override all ethnicities, social climates, background and ideologies and thought process. Dom was chosen."

'I'm struggling with this,' Pat Shurmur says at memorial

Ponders' death stunned his teama day before the Buffaloes began spring practice March 2. After playing high school football in Florida, Ponder redshirted at Bethune-Cookman in 2023 before arriving atColoradoas a non-scholarship quarterback in 2024. He only appeared in two games in 2025 as the team's fourth-string quarterback.

But his big smile and personality touched the lives of many, including former Colorado offensive coordinatorPat Shurmur, who was asked to return to campus to speak about Ponder on Saturday after his contract expired in January.

"I'm struggling with this," Shurmur said at the memorial, which was also livestreamed online.

Ponder's father notes the significance of No. 7

Shurmur said Ponder inspired him and recalled Ponder's "bright smile." He said he said he could talk about him "for days" and noted he graded players in different categories on a scale of zero to five.

"He's all fives," Shurmur said of Ponder.

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He also was No. 7, as his father Wendell told the congregants. He previously wore jersey No. 22 at Colorado but hadearned the right to wear No. 7 for the first timewhen spring practice started March 2, the day after he died.

"Seven serves as a stamp of God," Wendell Ponder said. "The seven is mentioned in the Bible — the number seven — over 700 times. Seven represents perfection, completion and fulfillment. It signifies God's complete work, something finished, the way God intended. Now you were all number seven. Dom was with all of you. Forever. Amen."

'This should have never happened,' Ponder's sister says

AGoFundMe pagehas been created to help Ponder's family with funeral expenses and had raised more than $14,000 by Saturday afternoon. His mother Catrina also spoke at the memorial and read a written tribute from his younger sister, Monroe, who stood on stage as she read it.

"My brother was one of the funniest, most outgoing people you could ever meet," Monroe said through her mother. "He laughed at everything. He made jokes about everything. And if he was comfortable with you, you definitely saw his weird side. He would say the most random, corny things and somehow make them hilarious."

She said she talked to him every day and wanted to be like him.

"You were an amazing big brother, and I honestly don't know what I'm gonna do without you," she said. "This should have never happened, but I know you're OK. I know you're up there smiling, probably already telling jokes, probably fighting for that starting position in heaven. And I feel so honored that I got to be your little sister. I love you."

Sanders appeared to get emotional at one point during his final tribute when he spoke again about how parents send their children to college to grow into adults,not to never come back.

"Your parents sent you here and you chose to come here to evolve into a man, not to not make it back home," Sanders said. "But Dom… was chosen. God bless you."

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer@Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Deion Sanders delivers eulogy for Colorado QB Dominiq Ponder who died

Daniel Berger shot even-par through 15 holes to maintain the lead in the weather-interrupted Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday in Orlando.

Berger will carry a two-shot lead into play Sunday on the Bay Hill Club course, where he'll have a busy day.

He's at 13 under for the tournament, with Akshay Bhatia, his playing partner, at 11 under after finishing the 16th hole with a birdie. Bhatia is at 3 under in the third round.

"Just need to keep doing what I'm doing," Bhatia said. "It's fun to be in the hunt."

Austria's Sepp Straka shot 66 to move to 9 under, while Cameron Young's 67 also put him at 9 under. Collin Morikawa also holds a 9-under mark after finishing with 70 by completing the final round after the horn.

Australia's Min Woo Lee (68) finished the round at 8 under.

Berger took a five-stroke lead into the weekend. He and Bhatia have multiple holes to finish in the third round before waiting to start their final rounds.

"It's going to be a mental challenge," Bhatia said. "It's going to be nice to come out, play a couple holes, and then go back, eat breakfast and then go through my routine."

A 66-minute weather delay in the afternoon put the round off schedule.

Young said he expects movement on the leaderboard, but how that shakes out is uncertain.

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"Any time you get a golf course this difficult, and this many good players within a couple shots of each other," Young said. "After Daniel, there's a ton of guys I think between -7 and -9. There's so many good players, any one of them could take a really difficult golf course and make it look easy. So, I wouldn't expect a ton of low scores (Sunday)."

Morikawa said it will be interesting to assess the top of the leaderboard after all golfers complete the third round Sunday morning. He won't have to swing a club until later in the day.

"Just being able to wake up and sleep in, and just kind of get the day situated, it's a huge kind of momentum thing I think for the routine, especially teeing off pretty late," Morikawa said.

Straka liked the conditions after the delay.

"The greens were definitely a little slower, a little more receptive," he said.

Scottie Scheffler (72), the world's No. 1 golfer, had four consecutive birdies as part of a 5 under stretch across six holes on the backside before a double-bogey on the final hole.

"I think the rain created a little bit of friction to where your ball was more rolling I think instead of kind of skidding is how I would describe it," Scheffler said.

Four bogeys on the front nine also were costly, so he's at 3 under.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland withdrew prior to the third round citing a back injury. He had rounds of 72 and 68 to begin the tournament.

--Field Level Media