President Obama said he’s going to “reassess” parts of the U.S. relationship with Israel. ISIS claims responsibility for the Tunisia museum attack. And March Madness brackets are already busted.
It’s Friday, and here are the 5 things to know for your New Day.
ISRAEL ELECTIONS
Congrats, but … : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a congratulatory call from President Obama yesterday on his big election win, but it also came with a warning. Obama told Netanyahu that the United States would “reassess” aspects of its relationship with Israel after Netanyahu’s provocative statements leading up to Tuesday’s Israeli election. The prime minister had said before the election that he no longer supported a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, although he walked those comments back somewhat yesterday.
TUNISIA ATTACK
ISIS involved?: Yesterday ISIS said it was behind Wednesday’s terror attack at a museum in Tunisia that left 23 people dead. In audio posted online, the terror group ID’d a pair of men it said used “automatic weapons and hand grenades” in the attack. The two attackers were also carrying explosives, Tunisia’s President revealed in an interview with French media. U.S. officials think the attack was carried out by a local “franchise” of ISIS, rather than being centrally directed by ISIS leadership. ISIS warns that Wednesday’s bloodshed was “just the start.”
FETUS CUT
A grisly crime: She was simply looking to buy some clothes for her unborn child. Instead she ended up losing the fetus in a most unthinkable way. A 26-year-old woman who was seven months pregnant went to a Colorado home seeking to buy baby clothes advertised on Craigslist. The woman ended up being stabbed in the stomach and the fetus was removed. The fetus died, but the mother is expected to survive. The woman accused of the crime, a 34-year-old former nurse aide named Dynel Lane, is being held on $2 million bail. Prosecutors are still deciding whether to charge her with killing a fetus.
MEDICARE DEAL
Let’s make a deal: Bipartisanship in Washington! Yes, it can happen, as it did yesterday when House Speaker John Boehner and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced a plan to advance a bill to fix the reimbursement rate for Medicare physicians. The bill would replace the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate with a new payment system as well as other options to streamline how Medicare doctors are paid. A vote is expected on the House floor next week.
MARCH MADNESS
Bracket busters: If you’re telling people today you picked Georgia State or the University of Alabama at Birmingham to win their NCAA basketball tournament games, you’re probably a liar. Those two teams, both 14 seeds, busted pretty much every bracket in the country with their upset victories yesterday afternoon. And Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter supplied what will probably be the image of the tournament when he fell out of his chair as his son hit the winning shot. A second day of tournament fun starts up midday today.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
One long walk: Watch as a man takes a selfie a day as he tries to walk from Germany to China.
Not happy: Cats big and small — like this tiny leopard — hate bath time.
Up in the air: An aerobatic pilot takes his friends up for a ride — and scares the hell out of them.
Smart dog: As long as the questions can be answered with a “yes” or a “no,” this dog has all the answers.
How long was I there?: Teen thinks he was at the dentist’s office for two years. As much fun as it sounds.
