Here are links to the biggest stories in the world today.
Trump touts GOP candidate – and talks drug dealers, 2020 and Oprah in whirlwind rally
Trump rallied outside Pittsburgh for state Rep. Rick Saccone ahead of Tuesday’s special congressional election for a seat in the heart of America’s steel industry, where Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 20 percentage points in 2016. But after immediately endorsing Saccone when he hit the stage, Trump pivoted to a 75-minute torrent of policy musings, political attacks and presidential campaign previews.
Trump: I know Oprah’s ‘weakness’
President Donald Trump said the person he most wants to run against in 2020 is Oprah Winfrey, predicting the campaign “would be a painful experience for her.”
China clears way for Xi Jinping to rule for life
Inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, nearly 3,000 delegates to the National People’s Congress (NPC) cast their ballots on a series of proposed amendments — including removing the restriction that had limited the presidency to two consecutive five-year terms. Out of 2,964 ballots, just two delegates voted against the move and three abstained, suggesting minimal opposition to Xi’s push to rule for life.
NY Times: Trump looking at adding impeachment lawyer to WH team
The Times, citing four people familiar with the matter, said Trump met with lawyer Emmet T. Flood in the Oval Office about joining the team as Trump and his allies continue to deal with the special counsel investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
‘Black Panther’ to cross $1 billion worldwide in less than a month
The Disney and Marvel Studios film will cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office, Disney announced on Saturday. The film, which stars Chadwick Boseman and is directed by Ryan Cooler, joined the billion dollar club on its 26th day of release.
Exclusive: Trump getting a military parade but no tanks
President Donald Trump will get his military parade, but it is unlikely to mirror the Paris Bastille Day event which inspired him as it will not involve any heavy military vehicles like tanks to avoid doing damage to the streets of Washington, according to a Pentagon planning memo shown to CNN.
GOP: Actually There Are Lots Of Women In The White House, Like Our Wives
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Republican National Committee’s Instagram account is setting the record straight about the number of women in the Trump administration. How could we possibly be one of the most male-dominated administrations in recent history? the GOP seemed to ask in its Friday post.
Nightclub Shut Down After Woman Rides Horse Into Crowd Of Partygoers
The city of Miami Beach shut down a nightclub on Friday after video surfaced showing a woman in a bikini riding a spooked horse into a crowd of people. The incident happened at the Mokai Lounge sometime between Wednesday evening and the early morning hours of Thursday, according to a city document obtained by HuffPost.
Vladimir Putin Blames U.S. Election Interference On ‘Jews’ And Ukrainians
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied any accusations that he meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election during an interview with NBC News’ Megyn Kelly. During the tense interview, Putin appeared defensive and even suggested Jewish people were to blame for the United States’ election breach.
Prepare To Binge: The Obamas Are Negotiating A Deal With Netflix
Barack and Michelle Obama are reportedly in talks to bring “inspirational stories” to Netflix’s 118 million subscribers.
‘Black Panther’ Hits $1 Billion Mark In Worldwide Box Office Numbers
“Black Panther” has surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, challenging industry norms about films with black casts. The Marvel blockbuster passed the major benchmark on Friday, Forbes reports. The film is now the United States’ ninth domestically highest-grossing film of all time, and had the second-largest four-day domestic opening weekend.
Twitter Bans Popular Accounts Accused Of Stealing Jokes And Selling Retweets
Twitter suspended several popular accounts on Friday in a major crackdown on “tweetdeckers,” a secret network of accounts that make tweets go viral by retweeting the same content in exchange for money. The company suspended several notably large accounts in Friday’s cleanup, including @GirlPosts, @Dory, @CommonWhiteGirl, @SoDamnTrue and @memeprovider.
Russia ‘launches hypersonic missile’
Russia says it has successfully test-launched a hypersonic missile, one of a range of nuclear-capable weapons announced by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month. The country’s defence ministry released video footage showing the missile detaching from a fighter jet and leaving a fiery trail behind it. It said the intended “target” was hit.
The president and the porn star: The story explained
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is suing President Donald Trump over a so-called “hush agreement”. Daniels claims she and Mr Trump had an affair starting in 2006, but he denies the allegations. So why is this story important? And what do you need to know? Stormy Daniels was born Stephanie Clifford in Louisiana in 1979.
Trump: N Korea talks could be ‘greatest deal’
President Donald Trump said his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could either fail or bring about the greatest deal for the world. At a political rally in Pennsylvania, Mr Trump told supporters he believed North Korea wanted to make peace.
Nun in Katy Perry lawsuit ‘dies in court’
A nun embroiled in a property dispute with singer Katy Perry collapsed and died during a court hearing on Friday, US media report. Sister Catherine Rose Holzman was 89. She was one of two nuns locked in a legal battle with Perry and the Los Angeles Archdiocese over a former convent in the city.
Lightning kills many at Rwandan church
A lightning strike killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more at a Seventh-Day Adventist church in Rwanda on Saturday, an official said. Most of the victims died instantly when lightning hit the church in the southern district of Nyaruguru, local mayor Habitegeko Francois told AFP.
‘The New York Times’ profiled the most selfish person in America
Everybody who has dealt with any minor amount of stress has had the fantasy of packing up and running away from all of their problems, disappearing from the modern world almost entirely. Erik Hagerman, dubbed “The man who knew too little” by The New York Times, did just that.
Elon Musk drops epic Falcon Heavy launch trailers made by ‘Westworld’ co-creator
Attendees of the the Westworld panel at SXSW got a surprise visit from Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO used the panel to not only inspire a new generation on space exploration, but also drop two epic highlight reels of the Falcon Heavy rocket launch that carried Starman riding in a Tesla Roadster into deep space.
Scientists found a new type of water in diamonds, holy crap
Scientists have found a new type of water known as Ice-VII from diamonds deep in the Earth’s crust. This type of ice is about 1.5 times as dense as what we’re used to (Ice I), with a different atomic composition similar to what’s most commonly found on ice moons orbiting Jupiter or Saturn.
Marvel is ‘absolutely’ making a sequel to ‘Black Panther.’ Obviously.
In today’s least surprising news, Marvel is going to make a sequel to Black Panther. Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, revealed that there will be another Black Panther movie following the critical and commercial success of the first film, Entertainment Weekly reported Friday.
