| | | | | A pair of bombings signals an absolutely horrifying start to our week. It's Monday and here are the 5 things you need to know today to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. | | | ISIS targeted two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday, killing at least 49 people. At one church, an explosive device was placed under a seat. At the other, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside. Witnesses described hellish scenes: marble pillars covered with blood, bodies and body parts scattered everywhere. Egypt's president declared three days of mourning and will soon issue a three-month state of emergency. Coptic Christians are a minority in the country -- about 10% of the population. Many of them say the government hasn't done enough to stop attacks against them. | | | At the start of last week, the Trump administration was saying it could live with Bashar al-Assad in power. Now Team Trump feels Assad has got to go. The 180 was sparked by the deadly chemical attack on civilians last week that led to a US airstrike on a Syrian air base. On Sunday talk shows, Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the UN, laid out the rest of the Syria to-do list: fight ISIS, drive out Iran's influence there and find a political solution. That's a tall order. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Moscow, where he'll press the Russians to press the Syrians to finally get rid of their chemical weapons. | | | The US is flexing a little muscle in the western Pacific. An aircraft carrier-led strike group is headed toward the Korean Peninsula as a show of force. That's really no surprise given the uptick in tensions there. A week ago, the North Koreans fired off a Scud missile into the sea. Last fall, the North said it successfully tested a nuclear warhead. So the US is sending the nuke-powered USS Carl Vinson there, along with a pair of guided-missile destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser. | | | Protesters and security forces have been mixing it up for days in the capital city of Caracas. And the confrontations turned violent over the weekend. The protesters want all seven justices of the Supreme Court gone, after the court issued a ruling (later reversed) that would have transferred power from the National Assembly to the court. The court is stacked with government loyalists, by the way. The government also banned a popular opposition leader for 15 years, sparking more protests. | | | Got a kid that'll be starting college soon? You might want to move to New York. The state will soon be the first in the nation to make college tuition free for middle class students at two-year and four-year public colleges. Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed for the plan earlier this year. Lawmakers OK'd it in the state budget over the weekend. | | | People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. | | Finally!
After probably half a dozen near-misses, golfer Sergio Garcia finally won his first major, triumphing in a sudden-death playoff at The Masters. | | Horrible news
A news anchor in India read the story of a fatal car accident and then realized her own husband was a victim. | | Here it comes
A big asteroid is headed toward Earth, but don't worry, it won't end up like "Deep Impact" or "Armageddon." | | Skip the salad
Yet another reason to hate veggies: a dead bat was found in a package of salad mix in, where else, Florida. | | Love story
They survived acts of hate and violence -- acid attacks -- to find love amid their suffering.
 | | | Here's what's happening later | | A bit like high school
When Neil Gorsuch is sworn in today as the junior most justice, he'll discover the Supreme Court has its own tradition of seniority and hazing. | | Power plays
Impeachment hearings start today for Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. A new report says he abused his power to cover up an affair with an ex-staffer. | | | | | | |
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