MILITANT ATTACKS
Yesterday two separate terrorist related attacks took place on two separate continents. In Ivory coast, 16 people (14 civilians and two special forces) were killed after six gunmen attacked the beach resort town of Grand Bassam, 25 miles east of the commercial capital Abidjan. Al Qaeda’s North African branch, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility. In Ankara, Turkey two suspected perpetrators, a man and woman linked to a militant group set off a car bomb killing 37 people; the second such strike at the administrative heart of the city in under a month. The group responsible for that attack hasn’t been identified but Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to bring terrorism “to its knees.”
SNIPPETS
• The 2016 NCAA tournament brackets were revealed yesterday. There were some surprises (Oregon #1 seed) joining Kansas, North Carolina and Virginia (#1 yet didn’t win a conference title); Yale earned its fourth NCAA bid in school history. The B1G is represented by Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Wisconsin. The NCAA First Four will tipoff March 15; First round game coverage will begin Thursday, March 17, here’s to decline in productivity at work. Get your bracket HERE.
•An Amtrak train heading to Chicago from Los Angeles with 128 passengers and 14 crew on board derailed early on Monday about 20 miles west of Dodge City, Kansas, with 20 passengers reported injured. This is a developing story.
• Beijing-based insurer Anbang Insurance Group became the owners of Waldorf Astoria hotel last year for $1.95 billion and now they are adding 16 U.S. luxury resorts and hotels from Blackstone Group LP to their portforlio to the tune of $6.5 billion, marking a record transaction for Chinese buyers of American real estate. Blackstone which bought Strategic Hotels 3 months ago, was initially looking to only sell a few properties. According to Bloomberg, foreign investors have been betting on U.S. real estate as a safe place to park money while earning higher yields than they might in alternative investments with a similar amount of risk.
•Michael Goguen, who’s been a longtime partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, has resigned to battle a personal lawsuit filed by Amber Laurel Baptiste claiming that he abused her “sexually, physically and emotionally for over 13 years.” #escandalo
ENTERTAINMENT
• Richard Simmons, who’s been MIA from the public for two years, will appear on the Today show this morning, he is speaking with Savannah Guthrie over the phone about his seclusion.
• They could just be friends but speculation that soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Topshop heiress/Marc Anthony ex Chloe Green are dating, surfaced after an instagram pic of the two was posted.
FASHION
• Designer Monique Lhuillier, the contributing creative director for Los Angeles Ballet’s Season 10 Gala which took place March 10, designed the dinner gala’s decor with a “Don Quixote” theme infusing fashion and ballet to show the relevance of the two.
• Mansur Gavriel has earned cult following among fashionistas for their bucket bags and with it comes copycats so they are suing several Italian labels it accuses of copying its “most well-known and popular handbag, its distinctive bucket bag.” The new federal lawsuit aims to compel the defendants to halt production of the bags and reimburse Mansur Gavriel undisclosed damages.
“Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you.” ― Margaret Thatcher
Fiancé certainly sounds way better and that rock on Ciara’s finger is YUUUGE!
After cancelling his Chicago rally, Trumps back at it, but oh no he’s not a racist
Does SNL have a point with this spoof?
LOOK OF THE DAY
Melissa Benoist @ PaleyFest
Would you like this delivered to your inbox every morning? Sign up HERE
Did we miss something? Click here and email us.
