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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers! President Joe Biden is in Brussels attending a special NATO summit and a European Council meeting. Legal experts will weigh in on the final day of Ketanji Brown Jackson's hearings and the NCAA men's tournament resumes with Sweet 16 games in San Francisco and San Antonio, Texas. |
| It's Steve with Thursday's news. |
| 🌎 Diplomat, champion of rights: Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright, the first female secretary of state, who arrived in the USA as a young girl from war-torn Czechoslovakia before becoming a political and feminist icon, died Wednesday at the age 84. |
| 🔵 "Pin diplomacy": Madeleine Albright knew how to deliver a diplomatic message without even saying a word. She sent signals with her decorative pins and brooches. |
 | | Former secretary of State Madeleine Albright in April 2018 | | USA TODAY photo and graphic | |
| 🌏 Tests continue: North Korea test-fired a suspected long-range missile toward the sea Thursday, its neighbors' militaries said. An official from Japan said the missile, which reached a maximum altitude of 3,728 miles was possibly a new type of ICBM. |
| 🌍 "Sirena, sirena, sirena!" There are tense and fearful days in Odesa as Ukraine residents worry about Russian advances. |
| ⛽ Trying to help with the fuel fight: Millions in California could get up to $800 in gas tax refunds to combat high gas prices, the state's governor proposes. |
| ⚾ "All things considered, I feel very fortunate": New York Yankees minor league manager Rachel Balkovec was injured after being hit in the face by a ball in the batting cage. |
| 📽 "See you on Sunday": "West Side Story" star Rachel Zegler, 20, got her Oscars wish after all as she will attend Sunday's show and be a presenter as well. |
| 🏀 "It's crazy. But it's passion.": Miami Heat teammates Jimmy Butler and Udonis Haslem got in an intense verbal altercation during their home loss to the Golden State Warriors Wednesday. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, hear what "phubbing" is and how you can stop doing it. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Biden in Brussels for NATO summit on Ukraine |
| President Joe Biden will attend a special NATO summit in Brussels and a European Council meeting Thursday as leaders seek to reaffirm their unity amid Russia's ongoing assault on Ukraine. NATO is expected to discuss enhancements of the military, humanitarian, and financial support they are giving Ukraine, officials said, while stiffening economic sanctions on President Vladimir Putin and Russia. Poland has proposed creation of a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, but officials said Sunday they do not know if NATO is willing to take such a provocative action. On Friday, Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland, to discuss the Western response to the humanitarian and human rights crisis from the war, according to the White House. |
| 🌍NATO summit: More help for Ukraine, but caution about expanding the conflict |
| 🌍Wednesday Ukraine updates: US has determined Russia committed war crimes, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says |
| 🌎 With Russia at war in Ukraine, US ramps up nuclear weapons mission at Los Alamos. Is it a "real necessity"? |
Just for subscribers: |
| 🏥 Too little, too late: Hospitals needed emergency staff as COVID swept the nation. Trump and Biden fell short. |
| ⚖ From judicial philosophy to child porn sentencing: These are the key takeaways from Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court hearings. |
| 🔵 "The problem is poverty": Florida is removing more children from poor families over alleged 'neglect.' |
| 🏫 "The bottom fell out": For years, Latino college enrollment was on the rise. Then came the pandemic. |
| 🔴 USA TODAY Sports column from Dan Wolken: College athletics used to have a word for shoe companies paying athletes. It was called cheating. Now, it's legit. |
| 🏀 Under a cloud of unresolved NCAA infractions: Arizona and Kansas are Sweet 16 favorites who could also face NCAA penalties after the tournament. |
Legal experts to weigh in on final day of Ketanji Brown Jackson's hearings |
| On Thursday, legal experts and interest groups will weigh in on Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Senate Judiciary Committee wraps up four days of hearings on her historic nomination to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. Interest groups including the American Bar Association and civil rights organizations will testify about Jackson's suitability for the court. Witnesses chosen by Republican senators will also speak. The American Bar Association, which evaluates judicial nominees, already gave Jackson its highest rating, unanimously "well qualified," last week. Brown Jackson defended her record during a third round of hearings Wednesday as Republicans coalesced around themes that she is soft on crime and vague about her approach to the Constitution. She went on to defend her sentencing practices and her views on expanding the Supreme Court . At one point, the judge said – if she's confirmed – she will recuse herself in a case about the use of race in the admissions process at Harvard University. |
| ⚖ Examination: A look at the child pornography cases at issue in Ketanji Brown Jackson's Senate hearings |
| ⚖ Response: Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson fights back against GOP criticism |
| ⚖ From USA TODAY Opinion: Republicans tripped over themselves to take shots at Ketanji Brown Jackson. She knew what to do. |
 | | Leila Jackson, right, watches as her parents Dr. Patrick Jackson, left, and Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, foreground, get emotional during a back and forth with Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., during Jackson's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. | | Andrew Harnik, AP | |
Men's NCAA tournament resumes with Sweet 16 |
| The NCAA men's basketball tournament picks back up Thursday with the Sweet 16 and a pair of No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds are among the eight teams in action.Gonzaga, the No. 1 overall seed, gets the evening's slate of games started when the Bulldogs face off against No. 4 seed Arkansas (7:09 p.m. ET, CBS).Staying in the West Region, No. 2 seed Duke will look to extend Mike Krzyzewski's coaching career the Blue Devils face No. 3 Texas Tech (9:39 p.m. ET, CBS). Both games will be played in San Francisco. In the South Region, No. 2 seed Villanova will look to end No. 11 seed Michigan's surprise run in the tournament, as the two teams square off for the chance to advance (7:29 p.m. ET, TBS). And in the final game of the evening, Arizona, the top seed in the South Region, will take on No. 5 Houston (9:59 p.m. ET, TBS). Both of those games will be played in San Antonio, Texas. |
| 🏀 Gonzaga in the Sweet 16: What's the top Chet Holmgren highlight? His teammates have thoughts. |
| 🏀 'Let it rip': Arizona is flying high to the Sweet 16, but NCAA dread lurks in the background. |
| 🏀 Column from Dan Wolken: Ranking the Sweet 16 coaches in the men's NCAA Tournament |
 | | Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski addresses the media at Chase Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. | | Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports | |
Miami Beach instates curfew to curb spring break violence |
| A temporary midnight curfew in the city of Miami Beach will go into effect Thursday after five people were wounded in two shootings over the weekend in the spring break destination. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber declared a state of emergency Monday, saying in a news conference that tourists who came for a few days of uncontrolled fun have created an "unacceptable" environment in South Beach. The rule went into effect Thursday at 12:01 a.m. and it will remain until 6 a.m. on Monday, March 28. Miami Beach officials announced a similar curfew last year in an effort to curb excessive drinking and violence, which led to the arrest of more than 1,000 people. |
| 🌊 Miami Beach is setting a spring break curfew: Is it 'heavy-handed' or a matter of public safety? |
NYC to lift mandate, paving way for unvaccinated Nets, Yankees, Mets to play home games |
| New York City mayor Eric Adams plans to lift the private-sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate for professional athletes Thursday, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The Associated Press reports the mandate will be lifted for performers as well. This will pave the way for unvaccinated NBA star Kyrie Irving to play in home games for the Brooklyn Nets and for unvaccinated New York Yankees and Mets players to also play in home games when the MLB season begins next month. The city's sweeping vaccine mandate for workers will still apply to people with other types of jobs, including government employees. Adams had said he felt the vaccine rule was unfair when it came to athletes and performers because a loophole in the measure, imposed under his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, allowed visiting players and performers who don't work in New York to still play or perform even if they are unvaccinated. "We're going to make the right decision," Adams said Wednesday. |
 | | Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving drives against Memphis Grizzlies guard De'Anthony Melton (0), forward Dillon Brooks (24), and center Steven Adams, right, during their matchup in Memphis on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. | | The Associated Press | |
The Oscars are rapidly approaching |
| 📽 All of these films bear Hollywood's highest honor – but how do they compare with one another? These are the 93 Oscar best picture winners ranked from worst to best. |
| 📽 Oscar predictions: This is who will win Sunday's Academy Awards – and who should. |
 | | Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin in "CODA" | | Apple TV+ via AP | |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday |
| 🔵 "We apologize unreservedly to the people affected by Pastor Brian's actions": Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston has resigned after allegations over his conduct with women surfaced. |
| 🐶 New forever home: A dog abandoned at a North Carolina animal shelter for being 'gay' gets adopted by a gay couple. |
| 🏀 Incident aftermath: Arizona star Bennedict Mathurin says he reached out to a TCU cheerleader following an incident at the NCAA Tournament where he may have made contact with her. |
| 🎾 USA TODAY Sports column: No. 1 tennis player Ash Barty's retirement at the age of 25 was shocking but not surprising, writes Dan Wolken. |
| 🏈 Another huge NFL trade: The Kansas City Chiefs have traded six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks. |
📸 Photo of the day: Duchess Kate continues trip with Prince William📸 |
 | | Duchess Kate of Cambridge was caught in a reflective mood during a visit to Shortwood Teacher's College in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 23, 2022. | | Samir Hussein/WireImage | |
| Prince William and Kate, known formally as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are in the middle of a week-long tour of Central America and the Caribbean with stops in Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas. |
| The royal couple has managed to look good and smile for the cameras, but the trip has already suffered hitches as a planned visit to a cacao farm in Belize was scrapped because of local opposition. And before the pair arrived in Jamaica Tuesday, protesters in front of the British High Commission in Kingston raised their fists. The protest came after dozens of prominent leaders in Jamaica publicized a letter demanding that Britain apologize and award its former colony slavery reparations. |
| Click here to see more photos of Duchess Kate on this trip and past photos of her royal style. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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