Notre Dame students are smart—no doubt about that—but there’s a difference between being intelligent and being informed. You may excel in the classroom, but education needs worldly context beyond your ND bubble. This weekly column exists to keep you up to date with the latest happenings around the nation in 500 words or less. We do the research, you do the reading. HCNDXO
Around the world…
Panama papers
11.5 million documents have been anonymously leaked from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, revealing the shady investments of many global politicians, officials, and celebrities. Many of these “Panama Papers” concern secretive stores of wealth offshore that by themselves aren’t unlawful but may have be used to illegally avoid paying taxes. This compromising list includes 12 national leaders, the father of Brit Prime Minister David Cameron, relatives of major Chinese politicians, and even Italian soccer star Lionel Messi. Talk about a “messi” situation. Iceland’s PM resigned Monday after the big reveal, and investigators are looking into a $2 billion deal that could possibly lead to the wallet of Russian Prez Vladimir Putin.
In the polls…
Wisco primaries
If you’re tired of hearing about frontrunners Trump and Hillary, you may want to check out Wisconsin. On Tuesday, the Midwestern state held its primaries, as Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) won the GOP vote and Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) claimed the Democrats’. This could be a big push for Cruz as historically many top Republican names have come out of Wisconsin, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. So hang on tight – political tensions are building as we await both parties’ nominee choices at their July conventions.
Supreme Court rules
In Evenwhel v. Abbott on Monday, the Supreme Court upheld the “one person, one vote” policy that influences where voting districts are drawn. Often, states use the rule to gain more voting influence by including ineligible voters in their count of the voting population, including immigrants and children. Conservatives in TX sued their state for skewing the voting power away from rural areas and toward more populated districts that tend to lean democratically. However, the Supreme Court unanimously said “nope” to the plaintiffs and upheld the rule in favor of Texas.
On the court…
Wildcats and Huskies win titles
In Monday night’s thrilling back-and-forth battle between the Wildcats and Tar Heels, Villanova eeked out on top. The ‘cats beat UNC by a score of 77-74 to claim their first NCAA Basketball Championship title in 31 years. With 4.7 seconds left on the clock, UNC’s Marcus Paige hit a three to tie the game; however, junior Kris Jenkins answered on the other end with a Villanova buzzer-beater 3 as time expired. Nova’s leading scorer Ryan Arcidiacono finished as the 2016 tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The Women’s NCAA title game, however, was a bit of a different storyline. The overall #1 seed UConn Huskies took hold of the basketball at tip-off and never looked back, beating Syracuse 82-51 Monday night. This marks their fourth year in a row with a championship trophy in hand, and Coach Geno Auriemma officially surpassed John Wooden to become the most decorated coach in America.
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