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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers! I hope you all are having a refreshing start to a new week. One thing for sure: there's a lot to look forward to with tonight's NCAA tournament national championship game between Gonzaga and Baylor, the most anticipated one whose pathway started back in March 2020. |
| Monday also continues the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, during which jurors will hear from more witnesses. |
| It's Fatima with today's news. |
| Let's get started with what people are reading this morning. |
| 💰 A huge question many have had since President Joe Biden took office: Will he cancel student loan debt? As college costs spiral, here is what Biden is considering and has directed his education secretary to explore his authority to cancel student debt by executive order. |
| 🏆 A historic night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards was highlighted by the late Chadwick Boseman's win for best lead actor in a film for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." Boseman was one of the four actors of color who earned individual acting honors Sunday — the first time that has happened at the SAG Awards. |
| 🏀 Ending a nearly three-decade national championship drought, Stanford won the NCAA women's national championship game Sunday night, and coach Tara VanDerveer made history. |
| 🏭 The full breach of a Florida wastewater reservoir could unleash hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted industrial water into the nearby area, a threat that prompted officials to issue an evacuation order for residents near Tampa Bay and the governor to declare a state of emergency. |
| ⚾ Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee came under criticism Saturday for a tweet attacking Major League Baseball and several corporations that many found bigoted and insensitive. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, we take a look at vaccine rates around the world. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
Perfect season on the line as Gonzaga, Baylor meet in men's national championship |
| The stage is set. Monday night's national championship game between Gonzaga and Baylor is the most anticipated men's basketball title game in years , matching teams that have been No. 1 and No. 2 most of the season with the Zags trying to finish the first perfect season in the sport since 1976. For both Gonzaga and Baylor, this NCAA Tournament has been about unfinished business. The pathway to the 2021 national championship – not 2020's – began when March Madness was canceled on March 12 of last year, as both teams returned a chunk of their rosters for 2020-21. What Gonzaga didn't have last year, though, is freshman standout Jalen Suggs, who is fresh off of etching himself into college basketball history with his incredible overtime buzzer-beater to down upset-minded UCLA in the Final Four on Saturday. Tip-off for the national championship will be at 9 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The game will air on CBS. |
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Murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin continues |
| Jurors will return to the courtroom Monday to hear more testimony from witnesses in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin , charged with George Floyd's murder. Jurors heard from 19 people last week, including several who witnessed Floyd's death and broke down in tears on the stand as they described their attempts to intervene on his behalf. Several Minneapolis police officers, including Chauvin's supervisor at the time of Floyd's death, testified about what they saw at the scene after Floyd was arrested, police training and the officers' use of force on Floyd. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. |
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More top stories for your morning: |
| • | The culture warriors keep knocking on the White House doors, but President Joe Biden seldom answers. From Dr. Seuss to Mr. Potato Head, Biden steers clear of polarizing culture wars. | | • | There has been a growing consensus that armed officers are not the responders best-suited for mental health emergency calls. It's working in Eugene, Olympia, Denver: More cities are sending civilian responders, not police, on mental health calls. | | • | 'Dennis the Menace' star Gloria Henry dies at 98, one day after her birthday: Reports. | | • | A Georgia church, kicked out of the SBC for allowing gay members, wants to make sure 'everybody's welcome.' Two weeks after being kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention, Towne View Baptist Church celebrated its 32nd anniversary by formally accepting members the SBC believes they should have turned away. | | • | Live COVID-19 updates: The U.S. vaccine rollout may be bumpy, but it's the envy of our neighbors to the north. | | • | "American Idol" returned Sunday, for the first episode of the season filmed at its studio headquarters in Los Angeles. Throughout the night, 12 of the top 24 contestants performed solo songs, as well as duets with celebrity singers. | | • | Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is known for his outspoken opinions, whether it's about basketball or politics. Recently, Barkley called out politicians for stoking racial tensions: 'They divide and conquer.' | | • | Verzuz, the webcast series born out of quarantine earlier this year, has grown into must-see appointment viewing for music fans thanks to its nostalgia factor and behind-the-scenes appeal. Here is everything you need to know about Verzuz, including its latest battle between The Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind and Fire. | |
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers to guest host on 'Jeopardy!' |
| Aaron Rodgers can check "Jeopardy!" host off his personal bucket list. The Green Bay Packers quarterback begins his two-week stint on "Jeopardy!" on Monday , temporarily filling the wide gap left by the death of Alex Trebek as producers seek a permanent host for the popular quiz show. Rodgers is a longtime fan and has been on the "Jeopardy!" stage before: He bested Kevin O'Leary ("Shark Tank") and astronaut Mark Kelly as a contestant in 2015 to win $50,000 for charity. "I thought the best way to honor Alex's legacy was to really understand the game inside out…" the NFL star told USA TODAY. |
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Rapper DMX remains hospitalized, as prayer vigil is set for Monday |
| A prayer vigil is planned for Monday outside of the hospital in White Plains, New York, where DMX, whose legal name is Earl Simmons, was rushed late Friday night after suffering a heart attack, his family announced. The 50-year-old rapper's family released a statement through publicist Angelo Ellerbee on Sunday afternoon saying: "our brother, son, father" was admitted to White Plains Hospital "facing serious health issues." DMX's longtime lawyer Murray Richman also told The Associated Press on Saturday evening that the hip-hop star was on life support, but could not confirm reports the heart attack was caused by a drug overdose. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories from the weekend |
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