Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 10, and we're covering new information in a murder that stunned France, a surge in child migrants, and more. Have feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

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NEED TO KNOW

False Claims in France

A French schoolgirl admitted to lying about a classroom incident involving murdered middle school teacher Samuel Paty, according to leaked testimony revealed yesterday.

The 13-year-old student initially accused Paty of showing obscene depictions of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on freedom of expression, making Muslim students leave the room during the lesson. She claimed to have been suspended after declining to leave. In fact, she never attended the class, having been suspended the previous day for truancy. While accounts differ, Paty did show students the caricatures that sparked the 2015 Charlie Hebdo massacre, but allowed them to close their eyes or step out ahead of time. 

The initial accusations sparked an online furor, fueled by the student's father who named Paty, filed a criminal complaint, and provided the school's address. Paty was subsequently beheaded after class in October, in broad daylight, by a Chechen-born Islamic extremist. Attorneys for Paty's family argue the online outrage is directly connected to the attack. 

Tokyo Olympics

Japanese officials will likely prohibit foreign spectators from attending the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games in person in an attempt to limit potential COVID-19 outbreaks, according to reports yesterday. Originally scheduled for last summer, the pandemic caused the first-ever Olympic postponement for a reason other than war. The games are currently scheduled from Friday, July 23, to Sunday, Aug. 8. 

Should the games be canceled—which appears unlikely at this point—insurers would take a significant loss. Reports suggest the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, and other participating groups had taken out insurance totaling an estimated $2.6B. 

In separate news, China is planning to roll out a digital vaccine passport. The certificate, which uses the popular WeChat messenger app, is intended to facilitate cross-border travel following a more general-use passport approach unveiled by Israel last week.

Border Surge

A record 3,200 unaccompanied migrant children are being held along the US-Mexico border according to new reports; a figure said to have tripled over the past two weeks. About 1,400 minors have been held past the legal limit of 72 hours, after which they are required to be transferred to government-sponsored shelters (see an overview of the process). Those shelters are now reaching bed limits, having already removed a 50% capacity rule designed to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The estimates come amid a broader monthslong surge of migrants—mostly single adults—along the southwest border, with encounters averaging around 74,000 per month since October (see data). It marks the highest level during the same time period in at least eight years, but is less than a 2019 summer surge that exceeded 100,000 encounters per month.

Some critics blame softer border policy by the Biden administration for the surge. Others argue the White House has largely kept the previous administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy intact, while being more accommodating with unaccompanied children.  

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

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> Buckingham Palace responds to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry interview, stating issues raised will be “taken very seriously” and addressed privately (More)

> Nominees for 2021 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) are most diverse ever, including four females nominated for best director (More) | Michelle Obama headlines 2021 class of inductees into the US National Women’s Hall of Fame (More)

> Roger Mudd, longtime Peabody- and Emmy-winning political correspondent, dies at 93 (More) | Disney Plus tops 100 million subscribers worldwide just 16 months after launch (More)

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Science & Technology

> High body mass index and obesity found to be significant risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalization and death, particularly for those under 65 years old (More) | Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine found to work well, with varying degrees of efficacy, against known variants (More) | US reports 527,699 million total deaths, with 1,952 deaths reported yesterday (More) | At least 61 million Americans have received their first shot (More) 

> New guidelines expected to double the number of smokers eligible for lung cancer screenings; those aged 50 to 80 who smoked the equivalent of a pack per day for 20 years, even if they quit 15 years ago, become eligible (More)

> Security firm Verkada hacked, exposing surveillance feeds from 150,000 cameras in factories, jails, police stations, hospitals, and more (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets continue whipsaw (S&P 500 +1.4%, Dow +0.1%, Nasdaq +3.7%); Nasdaq sees largest daily gain since November as tech stocks recover from recent drawdowns (More)

> OECD forecasts the world economy will rebound faster than expected with 5.6% global economic growth in 2021 (More)

> Online gaming giant Roblox to start trading tomorrow on the New York Stock Exchange after setting reference price for its direct listing initial public offering, implying a roughly $30B valuation (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> Sixth woman accuses New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of inappropriate behavior; unidentified woman is the fourth to allege incidents that occurred while working for Cuomo (More)

> Final stimulus vote expected today in the House; $1.9T package would head to President Joe Biden for signature (More) | See what's in the bill (More, $$, WashPo)

> The European Parliament waives immunity for former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont; move allows Spain to extradite Puigdemont, who led a 2017 separatist movement in the country's Catalonia region (More)

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ETCETERA

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