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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, March 21, 2022:
REFUSE TO SURRENDER
Russia has gone all-in on attacking Mariupol, which stands defiant today, refusing to surrender even after a weekend of air, sea, and land assaults. City leaders alleged thousands of residents have been forcefully evacuated across the border into Russia. Meanwhile, Russia claims it used hypersonic and cruise missiles in other regions this weekend. Workers who have kept the Chornobyl nuclear power plant running for the last three weeks, after Russia seized it, finally got some relief as 46 volunteers arrived. There are also reports that young Russians who are critical of the war are defecting to Armenia. NY TIMES
LEARN IT: BA.2
The new Covid variant making the rounds now is BA.2, which the CDC says is already making up a greater share of cases, especially in N.Y and N.J. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he expects to see an uptick in cases since the variant seems to be 50 to 60% more contagious than omicron, but there are no signs yet that it's more dangerous. Health officials are reminding everyone now is as good a time as any to get vaccinated or boosted. CNBC
SUPREME COURT
THOMAS HOSPITALIZED: Justice Clarence Thomas spent the weekend in the hospital with flu-like symptoms, but his illness doesn't appear to be Covid-19. The Court is supposed to hear oral arguments early this week, which Thomas will miss, although he still plans to participate in the ruling; a Supreme Court press release said, "Justice Thomas will participate in the consideration and discussion of any cases for which he is not present on the basis of the briefs, transcripts, and audio of the oral arguments.” ABC NEWS
NOMINATION HEARING: The four-day Senate Judiciary hearing is getting underway for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. Today Senators will make their opening statements and tomorrow they begin asking questions. While some Republicans have suggested she was soft on crime during her career, which included time as a public defender and on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the attacks may not be as vicious as some we've seen in the recent past because this time the balance of the Court is not at stake. There could be a final vote from the full Senate before lawmakers leave for their two-week break around Easter. WASH POST
CAR SHOW SHOOTING
One person was killed and more than two dozen were injured when gunfire erupted at an Arkansas car show Saturday. The festivities were going on in Dumas, about 75 miles south of Little Rock. At least six children were among those injured. Two people were involved in the gunfight and police are currently looking for at least one of them. ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
MORTGAGE RATES RISE
For the first time since 2019, mortgage rates have jumped above 4%. For the last few years, non-existent federal interest rates helped homebuyers score record-low loans as they fled cities during the pandemic or tried to upgrade their homes as work-from-home became part of the public lexicon. Now we're at a point where home prices are through the roof, mortgage rates are rising, and inventory is low, probably slowing the real estate market, which has been absolutely on fire for two whole years. CBS NEWS
Does this mean our parents are going to start charging us rent?
YES, CLERKS MUST ISSUE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LICENSES
Honestly, we didn't realize this was still up for debate, but a federal judge just ruled that Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, was legally required to issue marriage licensees to same-sex couples. Davis refused to do so in 2015 and landed herself in jail for five days for contempt of court. She claimed that her religious beliefs prevented her from signing the documents, but courts have ruled that her religious beliefs do not give her the ability to block other people from enjoying their own rights. HUFFPOST
Glad that’s settled. Again.
BIKE VS. TRUCKER CONVOY
A group of truckers are still circling DC highways to protest Covid regulations, but this weekend they got tripped up by a single, slow-moving bicyclist. Despite honking and a bunch of angry semis gathered behind the biker, nothing seemed to speed up the cyclist who was enjoying a slow ride right down the middle of the lane. SLATE
MARCH MADNESS
It was another big weekend for college basketball. On the men's side the round of 32 has been whittled down to the Sweet 16 with several more upsets. In the men's tourney, 15th seed St. Peters upset 7th seed Murray State on Saturday, marking the first time the small Jesuit college from N.J. has ever sent a team this far. The round of 32 wraps up tonight for the women, but there have already been more upsets as the 10-seed Creighton knocked out No. 2 Iowa, with Lauren Jensen, a recent transfer from Iowa, scoring the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute of the game. Another 10-seed also knocked out a No. 2 when South Dakota beat Baylor last night. LATEST BRACKETS: MEN WOMEN
THE METAVERSE - BUT WHY?
Imagine getting into the metaverse — ironically. That's what Heineken did last week when it said that the launch of its "virtual beer" in a "virtual brewery" in the virtual online space Decentraland was actually just a gag. It's clear there is an opportunity for exposure, but is there any actual business case to be made for companies diving into the metaverse? Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo decided to ask the question that has definitely crossed our minds. CHEDDAR
We won’t see you there.
LEFTOVERS: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AFGHAN FINANCE MINISTER?
A year ago Khalid Payenda was managing the $6 billion federal budget in Afghanistan. Now he's driving an Uber in Washington, DC, and trying to figure out what went wrong. It's an interesting question less than a year after Afghanistan fell back to the Taliban. He has a lot of thoughts about what his compatriots got wrong, what the world got wrong, and whether anything could have been done to better stabilize the country in the 20 years that it received international aid. WASH POST
Who knew we’d be taking financial advice from an Uber driver?
YOU DON'T SEE THAT EVERY DAY
@cheddar: Good luck parking that. A restored version of the world's longest car broke its own Guinness World Record.
Need2Know Podcast Note: The Need2Know podcast is taking a break for now. We're looking forward to bringing you more context and analysis on the big stories of the day in a few weeks. In the meantime, check out our archive on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
