Good morning!🙋🏼♀️ I’m Nicole Fallert,Happy Pi Day 🥧🍕!
Typically during a government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, those deemed nonessential, are furloughed, or sent home without pay. They are reimbursed when they return.
But this year isn’t normal: Government workers are already hurting amid President Donald Trump’s mass firings.
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team and prosecutors are set to dispute various aspects of the rapper’s trial in a pretrial conference set for Friday afternoon. The embattled hip-hop mogul, who was arrested in September 2024 on federal charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, is set to go to trial on May 5. Counsel are expected to discuss matters including jury selection, submitted evidence and the trial’s court timeline. Diddy’s lawyers want his alleged victims named.
Make Friday fun with our crossword! Sally’s hint: Picture Frames.
~ Sonya Meyerson-Knox, a spokesperson for Jewish Voice for Peace, told USA TODAY in a phone interview from the Trump Tower’s lobby in Manhattan on Thursday. Protesters from the Jewish group occupied the ground floor of the building over the ICE arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student and activist at Columbia University.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he supports but won’t immediately agree to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal for Ukraine because he wants to see an “enduring peace” that removes the “underlying cause of the crisis.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin’s response to the U.S. plan was “very predictable” and “manipulative” and called for more sanctions on Russia to force a deal. Putin’s comments were the first official response from the Kremlin to a U.S.-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire agreed by Ukraine this week.
Selection Sunday is just days away, and the 68-team field for March Madness will soon be revealed. The excitement is building as teams begin their quest to be the last one standing. On the women’s side, UCLA has bolstered its argument to be the top overall seed after avenging two regular-season losses to USC in the Big Ten tournament final. Still, the women’s NCAA Tournament feels wide open. Meanwhile, Duke has taken over as the new No. 1 in the men’s Top 25 rankings after Auburn ended its regular season with back-to-back losses. Here’s what you need to know about Selection Sunday.
For the first time in more than two years, the Earth made its way between the sun and moon, resulting in a total lunar eclipse, also known as the “blood moon.” Missed it? Here’s when a partial solar one is visible.
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.
