President Obama touches down in Cuba
The wheels of Air Force One touched down on the single runway of Jose Marti International Airport Sunday, kicking off a history-making presidential visit and breaking decades of tense relations with communist Cuba. It's the same airport the CIA once bombed in the 1960s. Its broken down airplanes and colorful, antiquated terminals give testimony to the impact of 50 years of U.S. sanctions. President Obama's three-day visit will focus on increasing long-neglected commercial ties between the United States and Cuba, but also drawing a harder line on human rights abuses by the Castro government. Obama is the first U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge arrived by battleship in 1928.
Trump blames 'agitators' for violence at rallies
Violent clashes continued to shadow the campaign of Republican front-runner Donald Trump this weekend. On Saturday, a man draped in an American flag was repeatedly punched and kicked as he was being escorted out of a Trump rally in Tucson. Videos have also circulated of Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski reaching for a protester's collar at another rally as a security guard grabs the protester from behind. On Sunday, Trump characterized the protesters as "agitators" and suggested he was more concerned that events were being disrupted than he was about violence.
Official: Paris terror suspect was planning new attack
Accused terrorist Salah Abdeslam, suspected of planning the Paris attacks that killed 130 people, has told investigators he was plotting another major assault when he was arrested in a Brussels suburb last week, a Belgian official said Sunday. Abdeslam, 26, was taken into custody Friday by heavily armed police who swept into his apartment, guns blazing, less than a half-mile from his family's home in the Molenbeek neighborhood.
62 dead as Dubai plane crashes in bad weather in Russia
A Dubai airliner making a second attempt to land during strong wind and rain crashed in a fireball short of the Rostov-on-Don airport in southern Russia on Saturday, killing all 62 people aboard. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said the Boeing 737-800 operated by FlyDubai was carrying 55 passengers, most of them Russians, and seven crewmembers of various nationalities, including a captain from Cyprus. Russian aviation investigators began examining the damaged "black boxes" on Sunday.
U.S. Marine killed in ISIL rocket attack on base in northern Iraq
One U.S. Marine was killed and several others were wounded Saturday at a northern Iraqi base after it came under rocket attack from Islamic State militants, Pentagon officials said. The marine was identified Sunday as Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin. The last American servicemember to be killed in combat in Iraq was Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, 39, who died in October.
March Madness delivers cheers, tears
The NCAA Tournament never fails to produce plenty of highlights, and this weekend was no exception. Classic hoops powerhouse Indiana and Kentucky clashed in a back-and-forth battle that ended with the fifth-seeded Hoosiers advancing to the Sweet 16 with a 73-67 victory. The 11th-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs became Cinderella once again, blowing out No. 3 Utah 82-59. And once again, a band member — this time a sax player from Kentucky — went viral when they couldn't hold back the tears. And it's not over; Sunday brings eight more second-round games.
Jury awards Hulk Hogan $115M in Gawker sex tape suit
A Florida jury sided with ex-pro wrestler Hulk Hogan on Friday and awarded him $115 million in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media. The jurors reached the decision less than six hours after they began deliberations. Hogan was awarded $55 for economic injuries and $65 million for emotional distress. Hogan sued Gawker for $100 million for posting a video in 2012 of him having sex with his former best friend’s wife. Hogan contended it was a violation of his privacy. He cried when the verdict was announced.
Contributing: The Associated Press
