You made it! It’s the first day of spring.
Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door.
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1. Mueller probe
Robert Mueller’s office is very busy. Does that mean the special counsel investigation will end soon? No one has any idea, but a Mueller team member yesterdayasked a federal judge for a deadline extension in response to a request to unseal court documents in Paul Manafort’s now-wrapped criminal case. Also, new disclosures in the probe may explain President Trump’s recent erratic behavior. Search warrants related to Trump’s ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, reveal that the inquiry into whether the Trump Organization is implicated in the campaign finance case involving hush money payments to women before the 2016 election is likely still open. The documents also contain more evidence that Trump associates, in this case Cohen, appeared to have at least indirect connections to powerful Russians.
2. Electoral College
Could the Electoral College actually be killed off? In a CNN town hall, Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said shesupports getting rid of it. And she isn’t the first Democrat to propose such an overhaul: Hillary Clinton said in a 2017 interview that she felt it was time to abolish the Electoral College, and US Rep. Steve Cohen this year proposed a bill doing away with it. Warren’s comments have reinvigorated the debate about moving to a popular vote for president, but many experts agree any changes to the electoral system would be complex, likely requiring a constitutional amendment.
3. Christchurch attack
In the aftermath of last week’s terrorist attack in New Zealand, all eyes have turned toward the country’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. She gave a powerful address to Parliament, in which she urged people to not speak the name of the attacker who took the lives of 50 Muslim worshipers. “Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them,” she said. “He may have sought notoriety but we in New Zealand will give him nothing — not even his name.” She also encouraged people to remain vigilant in the weeks after the attack. Meanwhile, the victims’ remains are beginning to be released to their families. More than 30 people are still hospitalized. And members of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh haveraised more than $30,000 for families of the Christchurch attack victims. The synagogue was the site last October of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack on American soil, when a white supremacist killed 11 worshipers.
4. Brexit
The countdown is on: A no-deal Brexit is happening March 29, unless UK Prime Minister Theresa May can get an extension. She’sheaded to Brussels tomorrow to meet with the remaining 27 EU leaders to make the request, and they’ll most likely agree to it. So, no, the yearslong drama that has been Brexit is unlikely to end soon. The question is: How much longer will it drag on?There are two main options: The EU could offer May a short delay to give the UK government more time to get an updated Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament; or, it could offer a longer extension, which would give the UK plenty of time to try to untangle the mess (and the rest of the world plenty of time — possibly years — to stress over the outcome).
5. Monsanto
Monsanto, the controversial agricultural biotech giant, was just dealt a fierce blow in court. A federal jury this week found that the company’s product, Roundup, the most widely-used chemical weed killer in the world, was a “substantial factor” in causing cancer in a 70-year-old man. This is the second case linking Roundup and cancer that’s been brought to court, but there are literally thousands more cases awaiting trial. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the product, was classified in 2015 as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018, says it believes Monsanto’s conduct has been “appropriate” and it ultimately won’t be held liable.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
MLB star Mike Trout nets the largest contract in sports — $430 million
Guess you could say he blows the competition out of the water (I’m so sorry).
Karen Uhlenbeck is the first woman to win a prestigious math prize
Real heroes solve partial differential equations.
James Corden will host the Tony Awards again
And the whole show will just be nominees carpooling and singing karaoke.
Glossier, the beauty company that started as a blog, is now worth $1.2B
Never say playing with makeup doesn’t get you anywhere.
The ‘Toy Story 4’ trailer is here
Wow, we just can’t let movie franchiseslive and die a natural life, can we?
TODAY’S NUMBER
$250 million
The amount in damages that GOP US Rep. Devin Nunes is seeking in a lawsuit that accuses Twitter and three individual Twitter users of defaming him in order to derail his re-election campaign and deter him from the Russia investigation.
TODAY’S WEATHER
AND FINALLY …
I wish I were a quarter as talented as these kids
Are you ready for literally WEEKS of basketball? Hey, if you’re not into March Madness, maybe these incredible kids performing in China will be more your style. (Click here to view.)
