10 things you need to know today: March 20, 2015

A Tunisian policeman guards the entrance to Tunis&#039; Bardo museum.

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Christophe Ena))

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1. ISIS claims responsibility for Tunisian museum massacre
2. Obama uses video greeting to urge Iranians to support nuclear deal
3. Netanyahu backs down after ruling out Palestinian state
4. Arctic sea ice levels reach record winter lows
5. Congressional Republicans advance budget plans
6. Police investigate hanging death of black man found in Mississippi
7. Judge blocks release of grand jury testimony in Eric Garner chokehold death
8. Google announces development of smartwatch
9. Nigeria makes gains against Boko Haram ahead of election
10. March Madness kicks off with two upsets

published 20 March 2015

1. ISIS claims responsibility for Tunisian museum massacre

The Islamic State on Thursday claimed responsibility for a Wednesday attack on a Tunisian museum that left 20 foreign tourists and three Tunisians dead. ISIS called the attack "the first drop of rain" in the northern African nation, although there was no proof of its involvement. Tunisia said it had arrested nine people in connection with the attack, and that it would deploy soldiers to major cities to ramp up security against terrorists. The foreign victims came from Japan, Italy, Spain, and the U.K.

President Obama made a direct appeal to young Iranians to pressure their leaders into accepting a proposed agreement to curtail the country's controversial nuclear program. "A nuclear deal now can open the door to a brighter future for you, the Iranian people," Obama said. The message was included in Obama's greeting to Iranians for Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebration. The message came two weeks after Senate Republicans sent a letter to Iranian leaders warning that any deal with Obama could be unraveled after his term ends.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh off a parliamentary election upset victory, backed away Thursday from a late campaign promise to block the establishment of a Palestinian state as long as he remained in office. He said Thursday that he still supported creating a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes Israel, but that circumstances would have to change for a two-state solution to work. In a sign of how far relations between the two leaders had deteriorated, U.S. President Barack Obama reportedly told Netanyahu directly that his campaign comments had forced the United States to "re-assess" its options on the two-state solution.

Arctic sea ice reached record lows for winter this year, scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center announced Thursday. The levels fluctuate from year to year — summer ice levels hit record lows in 2012, then rebounded some in the next two years. Another recent study, however, found Arctic sea ice had thinned dramatically in recent decades as global temperatures have risen, thinning ice in the Arctic by 65 percent between 1975 and 2012.

The Republican-controlled House Budget Committee on Thursday signed off on a budget proposal calling for cutting Medicaid and other social programs, and repealing ObamaCare. The plan promises $5 trillion in deficit reduction over a decade, largely due to those cuts. The proposal advanced on a 22-13 party-line vote. Senate Republicans are trying to advance their version, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said gave the rich tax breaks while cutting programs for "some of the most vulnerable" Americans.

A black man was found dead, hanging by a bed sheet from a tree in Mississippi on Thursday. The man was believed to be 54-year-old Otis Byrd, who had not been seen since March 2 and was reported missing March 8. The tree was just over a quarter mile from a house belonging to Byrd's family. It is too early to say "what happened out there, if it is a suicide, a homicide," said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack. The man's arms were not bound.

A New York judge refused Thursday to release testimony heard by the grand jury in the case of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died after a white police officer put him in a chokehold. The grand jury decision not to indict the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, sparked protests. Civil rights groups tried to make the evidence from the hearing public, but District Attorney Daniel Donovan argued that would "damage the credibility of prosecutors" guaranteeing witnesses and jurors confidentiality.

Google announced Thursday that it was entering the smartwatch war. The internet search giant is teaming up with Intel and watchmaker TAG Heuer to create a luxury smartwatch using Intel hardware and Google's Android Wear operating system. The announcement suggested Apple's newly unveiled Apple Watch, which goes on sale April 24 for $349, could be in for stiff competition. Google did not provide details on the pricing or features of its device.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who is up for reelection next week, said in an interview aired Friday that soldiers could retake all of the towns seized by the ISIS-linked group Boko Haram within a month. At the start of the year, Boko Haram controlled an area the size of Belgium, with 20 local government districts. Now it has just three, thanks to a regional offensive by Chad, Niger, Cameroon, and Nigeria, the Nigerian army says.

Two No. 3 seeds fell in the first full day of the NCCA men's basketball tournament on Thursday. First, No. 14 seed U.A.B. beat Iowa State, a No. 3 seed ranked the ninth best team in the country, by a score of 60-59; then, No. 14 Georgia State upset Baylor, 87-86, on a late 3-point shot. Another of the four No. 3 seeds, Notre Dame, held off a surprisingly strong challenge, beating No. 14 seed Northeastern, 69-65.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.