New Zealand Christchurch mosque shootings, Selection Sunday, St. Patrick's Day: 5 things to know this weekend
International community mourns with New Zealand after mosque attacks
The international community remains in mourning this weekend following the terrorist attack in New Zealand that left 49 dead and 48 wounded when a gunman opened fire at two mosques during prayers, the most deadly massacre in the nation's history. Police have a suspect in custody who seemed to have been radicalized by white supremacist ideology he found online. The suspect, a 28-year-old white male, captured the deadly incident at Masjid Al Noor mosque in a 17-minute video taken on a helmet camera. Meanwhile, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., the two freshmen congresswomen who were the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress, reacted with both pain and worry for Muslims across the world. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed that her country's gun laws would change in the wake of the tragedy.
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March Madness brackets set on Selection Sunday
It's officially the most exciting time of the year for college basketball: March Madness. All the major conference tournaments come to a conclusion leading up to a tense and exciting Selection Sunday when the NCAA tournament field is announced. Elite teams, including ACC powers Virginia, North Carolina and Duke, will find out their seeds, while mid-major teams on the bubble like Belmont and those from power conferences will sweat until they hear their names during the live reveal starting Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Need some help filling out your bracket after the show? We have you covered with our wall-to-wall March Madness guide.
Beto O'Rourke and Democrats flock to Iowa
A Texas-sized shoe dropped in the Democratic presidential primary last week as former Congressman Beto O'Rourke joined an already crowded field of candidates vying for a chance to challenge Donald Trump for the White House next November. O'Rourke will hit the trail in Iowa this weekend nearly a full year ahead of the Hawkeye State's primary in 2020. Although the Texas Democrat lost his challenge to incumbent Senator Ted Cruz in 2018, his viral fame and outpouring of national support made him a party darling overnight. The 46-year-old spent part of Friday acknowledging membership as a teenager a "long, long time ago" in a computer hacking group, in which he posted a fantasy piece about running over children with a car.
Players Championship: Tiger still in the hunt despite late quadruple bogey
Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy sit atop the crowded leaderboard at the Players Championship this weekend at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Fleetwood and Mcllroy are currently at 12 under after two rounds and three strokes ahead of Jim Furyk, who is in a four-way tie for third. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods, who struggled on the 17th hole where he hit the ball in the water twice and recorded a quadruple bogey, remains 3 under for the tournament after shooting a second-round 71. Among the big names to miss the cut are Sungjae Im, who had an ace on No. 13 during the second round, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and Harold Varner III.
Saving green this St. Patrick's Day
This Sunday is St. Patrick's Day, and while you'll see plenty of green out and about, you could be saving some pretty serious green, too, with great holiday deals. St. Patrick’s Day is the top day of the year for bars and lounges and the fourth best day for local restaurants, according to an analysis by Womply, a small business software provider. Big chains are also offering holiday specials, like green donuts at Krispy Kreme and, of course, the Shamrock Shake at McDonald's.