US News
Hawaii Judge Extends Block on Trump Travel Ban
US District Judge Derrick Watson has prolonged the hold on President Trump's executive order restricting entry to the US from six Muslim-majority nations. Watson agreed to a motion by the state of Hawaii to extend the temporary restraining order on the travel ban into a more lasting preliminary injunction. Hawaii's Attorney General Douglas Chin argued Trump's revised order was like a "neon sign flashing 'Muslim Ban, Muslim Ban'."—NBC News
North Carolina Moves to Repeal Notorious Bathroom Bill
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in North Carolina reached a deal to scrap House Bill 2, the state's contentious bathroom bill that forced transgender people to use public restrooms according to the gender they were assigned at birth. Democratic Governor Roy Cooper said the "repeal compromise" would be introduced today and would "repair our reputation," though questions were quickly raised about whether it went far enough to protect LGBTQ people.—ABC News
Ivanka Trump Takes Up Formal White House Role
Ivanka Trump is to become a government employee, taking an official position in the Trump administration as an assistant to the president. Having been criticized for only "voluntarily" complying with ethics rules despite having an office at the White House, Trump said her formal, unpaid position would be "subject to all of the same rules as other federal employees."—The New York Times
Energy Department Staffers Stop Using Term 'Climate Change'
Staffers inside the Department of Energy's Office of International Climate and Clean Energy were asked by a supervisor to stop using phrases like "climate change" and "emissions reduction," according to unnamed sources. A department spokeswoman insisted no words or phrases were banned, but officials at the DOE said they've been avoiding phrases associated with climate change since President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday rolling back environmental protections. —Politico
International News
Turkey Ends Military Operation in Syria
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has declared Operation Euphrates Shield, its military campaign in northern Syria, both "finished" and "successful." Turkey's efforts to keep ISIS and the Kurdish Popular Protection Units away from its border began in August last year. But Yildirim did not discount the possibility of further action in Syria. "Any operation following this one will have a different name," he said.—BBC News
Arab League Urges Two-State Solution
The leaders of the Arab League have called on the UN Security Council to reaffirm the need for a two-state solution to the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. At a summit in Jordan, Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said the international community should "reject the inception of an apartheid system in the 21st century."—Al Jazeera
Truck Bomb Kills At Least 15 in Baghdad
A suicide bomb attack killed at least 15 people and left roughly 45 others wounded in Baghdad, according to local officials. The bomber detonated a truck carrying explosives at a police checkpoint. Although no group claimed the attack, ISIS has carried out bombings in Baghdad in the past as they retreat toward the northern city of Mosul.—AP
Ex-Cyclone Forces Schools to Close in Australia
Torrential rain and heavy winds brought by since-downgraded tropical cyclone Debbie forced all schools in southeast Queensland to close until Monday. Though the cyclone has degenerated into a storm, at least 52,000 homes in the Australian region remain without power and flood evacuation orders have been issued in some cases.—The Guardian
Everything Else
Mary J. Blige Reveals New Album Details
Mary J. Blige has revealed song titles, cover art, and an impressive array of collaborators for her forthcoming album Strength of a Woman. Kanye West, Missy Elliot, and Kaytranada will feature on the 14-track album, which will drop at the end of April.—Pitchfork
Jeff Bezos Becomes Planet's Second-Richest Person
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has become the second-richest person in the world, moving ahead of Warren Buffett and just behind Bill Gates. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, now has a fortune of $75.6 billion.—Bloomberg
Bob Dylan to Formally Accept Nobel Prize
Bob Dylan has confirmed that he will appear in the flesh to accept his Nobel Prize for Literature in Sweden this weekend, but there won't be much of a show. The Swedish Academy said members would "show up" at one of his Stockholm gigs to give him the award.—Billboard
Lana Del Ray Teases Album in Spooky Video
Lana Del Ray has released a teaser for her forthcoming album Lust for Life. In the monochrome video, the singer talks about her creative process, and hints at a possible collaboration with The Weeknd by flashing the XO logo.—Noisey
Growing Number of Americans Support Legalizing Weed
A new University of Chicago study shows support for legalizing weed has risen from 52 percent of Americans in 2014 to 57 percent in 2016. More than 60 percent of Independents and Democrats support legalizing it, compared to 40 percent of Republicans.—VICE
US Heroin Use Grows Five-Fold in a Decade
A new study by health researchers at Columbia University found the number of Americans using heroin jumped five times in just over a decade between 2001-02 and 2012-13. Single white men in their 30s and 40s with no degree or only a high school degree were found to be the most prone to heroin use.—Motherboard
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