4.2.2018

All your news in a single email. We scour 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more - all packaged in a 5-minute read below.
 

Notre Dame Wins Thriller (Again).
Notre Dame won the NCAA women's basketball national championship last night beating Mississippi State at the buzzer, 61-58. Both teams were #1 seeds - Notre Dame beat favorite and perennial heavyweight Connecticut in Friday's semifinals in an overtime thriller, 91-89 (Mississippi State took down another #1 seed in Louisville, 73-63). Both of Notre Dame's games were thrillers, and star guard Arike Ogunbowale was the hero in both - she drained a deep, game-winning two-pointer in overtime against Connecticut (see video), and then did the same thing again with a leaning, game-winning three with 0.1 seconds left on the clock. It was Notre Dame's first title since 2001 and second in the history of the program. 

In men's action, Villanova (beat Kansas, 95-79) enters tonight's final against Michigan (beat Loyola-Chicago, 69-57) as the biggest favorite in a championship game since 2010, at 6.5 points.

Worst Israeli-Palestinian Clash Since 2014.
15 were killed and over 750 injured after demonstrations along the Gaza border turned violent on Friday afternoon. An estimated 30,000 Palestinians had gathered on the Gaza side of the Israeli-Gaza border for what was meant to be the beginning of a peaceful, six-week protest of land rights and an Israeli blockade on goods and people entering the territory. After protesters began throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails across the fence, along with reports of gunmen opening fire, Israeli forces opened fire on the crowd. Israel - which surrounds the vast majority of the Gaza Strip (see a 101 on Gaza), a roughly 20-mile-long stretch home to almost 2 million people - has tightly restricted border crossings for close to a decade, citing security concerns. The Strip is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas (Vox has one of the better explanations on the conflict).

Israel rejected calls for an inquiry into the shooting and says it is prepared to go into Gaza if necessary. 

World's Largest ICO Doubles.
Telegram Group Inc., the technology company behind the eponymous encrypted messenger app, has raised $1.7B to finance the development a new digital (or crypto-) currency. The company had previously raised about $850M during the first round of its initial coin offering (ICO), and raised a second round of $850M from 94 investors during the month of March, according to SEC filings. The new currency would be similar to existing currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum - the ICO allows investors to give the company cash now in exchange for units of the new currency, called Gram, at a fixed price once they become available (see a video explainer on ICOs here). The messenger app already has about 200 million monthly active users - the company says each will receive a wallet to conduct financial transactions using Gram. The news comes at a time when regulators are racing to keep up with the emergence of new digital currencies. 

This is a complex topic but we expect to see moves like this increase during 2018 and beyond - keep an eye out for our 101 on the underlying blockchain technology coming out soon. 
 

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> Steven Bochco, 10-time Emmy winning creator of NYPD Blue, dies at 74 (More)
> LeBron James breaks Michael Jordan's record of consecutive double-digit scoring games with 867 (More)
> Swedish soccer superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores two goals in debut with LA Galaxy (More)
 

> FCC approves SpaceX's plan to provide space-based internet service using network of 12,000 satellites (More)
> Ultra-slow brain waves shown to be linked to state of consciousness in mice, reverse direction when mice are under anesthesia (More)
> Model shows concussions originate from 'ringing' deep inside brain, supports notion that stretching and shearing from reverberations is more damaging than initial collision (More)
 

> Hackers stole credit card info for 5M Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor customers (More)
> Advertisers will spend $40B more on internet ads vs TV; last year was first time online surpassed TV (More)
> China retaliates against US steel and aluminum tariffs with $3B in tariffs on US imports, mostly agricultural like pork and fruit (More)
 

> Baton Rouge officer involved in 2016 shooting of Alton Sterling fired for excessive force after body camera footage released (More) | See the video here (contains graphic content) (More)  
> Oklahoma teachers begin state-wide walkouts today, despite Gov. Mary Fallon signing off on raises last week (More)
> President Trump signals withdrawal of support for DACA deal, NAFTA talks over border security concerns (More)

A bus-sized, Chinese space station fell back to Earth last night. 

Winners of the Scottish nature photo awards, designed to give you more wanderlust. 

Time Magazine's best podcasts of 2018 (so far). 

Four decades of comedies that changed the way we talk (WashPo). 

40 bucket list foods worth traveling the world for (via Thrillist). 

The most beautiful drives in the US according to long-haul truckers (also via Thrillist). 

Curbed visits four cities to figure out why the next big thing is living small. 

Scientists close to finding the elusive reason behind why knuckles crack.

Fed-up chef breaks down deer leg in front of protesters.

Clickbait: Florida family finds 11-foot alligator in home pool. 

Historybook: Charlamagne born (742); Ponce de Leon is first European in Florida (1513); HBD Marvin Gaye (1939); Rita Johnston becomes 1st female Premier of a Canadian province (1991); RIP Pope John Paul II (2005).
 

"If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else."
- Marvin Gaye
 

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