10 things you need to know today: April 6, 2014

Kentucky celebrates after clinching a spot in the NCAA Tournament title game
(Image credit: Tom Pennington / Getty Images)

1. Searchers detect possible signals from Flight 370

Raising hopes that Flight 370 will yet be found, search crews over the weekend detected three faint signals that may have come from the plane's flight recorder. A Chinese ship picked up two signals, one on Friday and another Saturday, and an Australian ship picked up another signal Sunday. Australian Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, who is leading the search operation, said the discoveries were "important and encouraging," though he cautioned that the news "does not confirm or deny the presence of the aircraft locator on the bottom of the ocean."

CBS CNN

2. Kentucky, UConn make NCAA tournament history

The seventh-seeded UConn Huskies and the eighth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats advanced to the NCAA Tournament title game with victories Saturday night, setting up a final showdown with the highest combined seed total ever. The previous high came in 2011 when No. 3 seed UConn defeated No. 8 seed Butler. UConn bested top overall seed Florida on Saturday 63-53, while Kentucky topped No. 2 seed Wisconsin 74-73. Of the 11 million brackets filled out through ESPN, only 1,780 — or 0.016 percent — correctly predicated the final matchup.

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Yahoo Sports

3. Protesters rally nationwide for immigration reform

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets Saturday calling on Congress to pass immigration reform and demanding that President Obama curb deportations. Organizers said protests were held in about 70 cities across the country, including one in Washington, D.C., that attracted a few hundred participants. In addition to protesting the federal government's immigration policies, demonstrators also said they were showing solidarity with the hundreds of detainees in Washington and Texas who are engaged in a hunger strike to draw attention to the conditions of their facilities.

NBC Al Jazeera

4. U.S. sends two warships to support Japan

The United States on Sunday announced it would send two missile defense ships to Japan to allay that nation's mounting security concerns over North Korea and China. The move comes after North Korea vowed to conduct a "new form" of nuclear test. Yet in announcing the decision, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel also warned China, which he called a "great power," that with that power "comes new and wider responsibilities as to how you use that power, how you employ that military power."

Reuters NBC

5. Israeli PM warns of 'unilateral' response to Palestine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his nation would take unspecified "unilateral moves" should Palestine continue its push for United Nations recognition. Netanyahu said Palestine threatened to derail peace talks between the two nations when it last week appealed to join 15 UN agencies and treaties. Netanyahu said Palestine could "achieve a state only through direct negotiations and not through empty proclamations or unilateral moves."

Haaretz BBC

6. Mormon leader reaffirms church's opposition to gay marriage

A top leader with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday reiterated the church's staunch opposition to same-sex marriage. "While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not," Neil Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve — the church's second-highest governing body — said at the church's biannual conference in Salt Lake City.

Christian Science Monitor Associated Press

7. Atlanta Archbishop to sell $2.2 million mansion

Acknowledging that his residence's opulence does not jibe with "the phenomenon we have come to know as Pope Francis," Atlanta's Archbishop Wilton Gregory said Saturday he would soon move out of and sell his $2.2 million mansion. The 6,000 square-foot home was built with the help of a fortune donated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta by Joseph Mitchell — nephew of the author of Gone with the Wind — that was intended for "general religious and charitable purposes."

Los Angeles Times

8. Funerals begin for Washington mudslide victims

Mourners gathered on Saturday for the memorial services of three victims of the deadly March 22 Washington mudslide. So far, 30 people have been confirmed dead in the colossal landslide, and more than a dozen remain missing.

The Washington Post

9. The Goonies may finally get a sequel

Hey you guys: A sequel to the 1980s cult classic The Goonies may be on the way. Richard Donner, the producer and director of the 1985 hit, told TMZ he's making a follow-up film. Still, the remark was made somewhat extemporaneously, and Goonies sequel rumors have been floating around for years so it's uncertain whether a new film will truly ever hit theaters.

TMZ Variety

10. Craig Ferguson guaranteed Letterman's job — or millions of dollars

The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson may seem like an apt replacement for David Letterman, who announced Thursday he would retire from The Late Show sometime next year. And if Ferguson doesn't get the job, he is reportedly in line to receive a payout anywhere in the range of $5 million to $12 million thanks to an "out" clause in his contract with CBS that stipulates he be given the vacant seat or cash once Letterman leaves.

New York Post New York Daily News

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.