10 things you need to know today: March 26, 2016
1.
A top Islamic State commander named Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, also known as Haji Imam, was killed in an airstrike earlier this month, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Friday. Carter would not disclose the details of the airstrike, including where it took place. Imam was ISIS's second in command, serving as a finance minister for the terrorist group. Taking Imam out impedes the group's efforts to recruit and execute plans, Carter said.
2.
Ted Cruz denied Friday the accusations published in the National Enquirer that he's had at least five extramarital affairs. "I want to be crystal clear: These attacks are garbage," the Republican presidential hopeful wrote on Facebook. "For Donald J. Trump to enlist his friends at the National Enquirer and his political henchmen to do his bidding shows you that there is no low Donald won't go." Trump said he had nothing to do with the tabloid story.
3.
Najim Laachraoui, one of the two men who blew themselves up at the Brussels airport Tuesday, also made the suicide vests for the November attacks in Paris, Belgian authorities said Friday. Authorities found Laachraoui's fingerprints, along with the fingerprints of Paris suspect Salah Abdeslam, in a Brussels apartment back on Dec. 10. In March, Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels after a four-month manhunt. Belgian authorities reportedly asked for help in finding Laachraoui one day before the airport attack.
4.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are set to face off in three Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday. Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska are all preparing to weigh in on the nomination. All three contests are expected to be favorable for Sanders, who trails Clinton significantly in the overall delegate count. Altogether, 142 delegates are up for grabs in the contests, which are not winner-take-all.
5.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee banned non-essential travel by city employees to North Carolina on Friday in protest of the state's newly approved law that prohibits local governments from enacting anti-discrimination laws. "We are standing united as San Franciscans to condemn North Carolina's new discriminatory law that turns back the clock on protecting the rights of all Americans including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals," Lee said in a statement.
6.
Women infected with the Zika virus should wait at least eight weeks after the start of their symptoms before trying to get pregnant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Men should wait six months before having unprotected sex. The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which originated in Brazil, is thought to be linked to birth defects. In February, the World Health Organization declared the virus a public health emergency.
7.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in an Iraqi soccer stadium Friday that killed at least 29 people and injured 60 more. The attack took place during a trophy ceremony in a small stadium south of Baghdad. ISIS militants have carried out many attacks around Baghdad recently, as Iraqi forces work to reclaim parts of the country from the terrorist group.
8.
On Friday, the Rolling Stones became the first international rock band to play in Cuba after the nation started restoring diplomatic ties with the U.S., drawing hundreds of thousands of people to a free concert in a sports complex. "Years ago it was difficult to hear our music, but here we are," Mick Jagger told the crowd in Spanish. "The times are changing." President Obama visited Cuba in March, a huge sign of the improving relationship between the two nations.
9.
Microsoft apologized Friday for offensive comments made by Tay, the company's artificially intelligent chatbot. "We are deeply sorry for the unintended offensive and hurtful tweets from Tay, which do not represent who we are or what we stand for, nor how we designed Tay," wrote Peter Lee, head of Microsoft Research. The company took the bot offline Thursday, a day after its launch, due to xenophobic, sexist, and racist comments on Twitter.
10.
As the NCAA tournament's Sweet Sixteen wrapped up Friday, all four No. 1 seeds punched their tickets to the Elite Eight. Four of the eight remaining teams are from the dominant Atlantic Coast Conference. No. 10 Syracuse fought hard for a 63-60 comeback victory over No. 11 Gonzaga. Oregon-Oklahoma and Kansas-Villanova games go down Saturday, with the other four Elite Eight squads squaring off Sunday.