The biggest news to start your morning.
The biggest night in film is almost upon us. ABC will broadcast the Oscars live Sunday (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Jimmy Kimmel will return for his second consecutive stint on the awards show stage. The late-night host told USA TODAY he’s ready for the return gig, so much so that he’s hoping for a repeat performance of last year’s Envelopegate, in which Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the wrong film as best picture. “I want it to happen again,” Kimmel joked. The Shape of Water leads with 13 nominations, including a nod for best picture. Behind it is Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic Dunkirk with eight nominations and the darkly comedic drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which is up for seven awards.
Powerful winds are expected to pound the Atlantic coast Saturday after a nor’easter Friday left heavy snow, flooded streets, grounded flights and stopped trains from Georgia to Maine. At least five people were killed by falling trees or branches and nearly 2 million customers were without power. Airlines canceled more than 2,800 flights, mostly in the Northeast. LaGuardia and Kennedy airports in New York City were brought to a near standstill. Most cancellations were spread across airports in the Northeast, where wind gusts up to 70 mph were possible. The winds were expected to have an unusually long duration, lasting into Saturday.
The NFL scouting combine rolls along this weekend in Indianapolis as a star-studded group of college quarterbacks look to boost their draft stock with on-field workouts. As many as five top college QBs could be selected in the NFL draft’s first round in April. And it’s not just the QBs: wide receivers, tight ends, defensive linemen and linebackers also get their shot to make a lasting impression on NFL teams this weekend. Here’s 10 prospects with something to prove and 10 sleepers that could shake things up.
Italy’s unstable political system has been a punchline for decades: The country has had 65 governments in the 73 years since the end of World War II. The next government, which could be decided during Sunday’s election, will be the 66th. If a populist group of right-wing parties fronted by disgraced former prime minister Silvio Berlusconigarner enough votes to form a coalition, that on its face would call into question whether Italy would stay in the Eurozone. If no party gets enough of the vote, experts say Italy will have a year or two of political chaos. Here’s a look at how Italy’s election system works, and what’s at stake.
Starting this weekend, thirsty Indiana shoppers will no longer have to endure those mildly embarrassing Sunday moments at the cash register when the clerk reminds you alcohol is off limits. Many are celebrating a new law that ends a retail Sunday alcohol sales ban. The law began in 1816 and was reinstated after Prohibition ended in the 1930s. Left unresolved? Another unpopular Indiana alcohol rule that prohibits grocery and convenience stores from selling cold beer. That privilege is reserved in state law for liquor stores.
