10 things you need to know today: March 2, 2016

Trump and Clinton win big, astronaut Scott Kelly returns to Earth after 340 days in space, and more

the two big winners of Super Tuesday
(Image credit: Reuters/Jim Tanner)

1. Trump and Clinton both win 7 states on Super Tuesday

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton emerged as the big winners on Super Tuesday, each winning seven states. Clinton won Massachusetts and swept the South, taking Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee. Her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders, won his home state of Vermont, as well as Colorado, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. On the GOP side, Sen. Ted Cruz won his home state of Texas, as well as Alaska and Oklahoma. Sen. Marco Rubio got his first win, in the Minnesota caucuses. Trump's wins solidified his control of the GOP race, but fell short of the 10-state near sweep some expected.

2. Astronaut Scott Kelly returns after nearly a year in space

Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth late Tuesday after 340 days in space. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft brought him and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov from the International Space Station to the landing zone in the Kazakhstan desert. Kelly's mission was the longest ever for a U.S. astronaut. Next he and his twin — retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who remained on Earth — will undergo physical tests to help NASA determine the effects of weightlessness and other factors on humans during extended space travel, a key step before sending astronauts to Mars.

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CNN

3. Supreme Court to hear Texas abortion case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments on whether Texas' strict regulations on abortion clinics interfere with a woman's constitutional right to an abortion. It will be the first major abortion case for the court in nearly a decade. Texas says the law protects women's health, but abortion providers challenging the law say it only aims to force clinics to close. The case comes as the seat of the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia remains vacant, raising the possibility of a 4-4 split on the court.

Reuters The New York Times

4. GOP leaders meet with Obama and repeat vow to block Supreme Court nominee

Republican Senate leaders met with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday and reiterated their vow to block anyone he nominates to replace the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. In their first in-person meeting with Obama on the matter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told Obama they would not let him make an appointment that would shift the court's ideological balance.

The Hill

5. South Dakota governor vetoes transgender bathroom restrictions

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have required transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to their biological gender, rather than the one with which they identify. Daugaard said the legislation "invites conflict and litigation, diverting energy and resources from the education of the children of this state." He said school administrators were equipped to deal with any "rare situations" where a transgender student's choice of bathroom was met with conflict.

The New York Times

6. Judge tosses challenge to Cruz's eligibility to run

An Illinois judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by a voter who questioned whether Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was eligible to run for president, since he was born in Canada. Lawrence Joyce, a pharmacist and lawyer, argued that Cruz was not a "natural born" citizen, a constitutional requirement for holding the office. Cruz has dismissed the challenge as "political mischief," saying he is legally eligible because his mother was a U.S. citizen. The judge said Joyce simply failed to serve papers to Cruz as required.

USA Today

7. No-confidence vote fails against South African president

South African President Jacob Zuma survived a no-confidence vote thanks to support from other ruling party leaders. The showdown came as opposition politicians have increasingly criticized Zuma over a scandal involving state spending on his private house, and other issues. Opposition leaders also have asked a court to reinstate corruption charges against Zuma. Ruling party leaders say the opposition lost national elections so it is trying other ways to oust the president.

The Washington Post

8. Bin Laden left millions for "jihad"

Osama bin Laden left behind a will calling for most of his fortune, estimated at $29 million, to be spent "on jihad," according to documents released by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday. The handwritten will was among more than 100 newly released documents seized in the 2011 raid in which Navy SEALS killed the al Qaeda leader at his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Another batch of documents was released in May. Bin Laden left behind his money when he left Sudan, and instructed his relatives to "spend all the money" as he instructed.

NPR

9. France continues dismantling migrant camp after clash

French authorities on Tuesday resumed a push to clear part of a migrant camp in Calais known as the Jungle, a day after refugees and activists clashed with riot police. Three pro-migrant activists and one other person were arrested Monday, and 11 police officers suffered minor injuries when the violence erupted as bulldozers were brought in to clear the shacks of some of the more than 3,000 migrants living in the makeshift village. French lnterior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Tuesday that "the activism of a few No Borders militants, radical and violent, cannot stop it: This operation will go on in the next days, with calm and discipline."

CNN

10. Rolling Stones to play in Cuba for the first time

The Rolling Stones announced Tuesday that they were extending their Latin American tour to include a stop in Cuba. The free show, dubbed the Concert for Amity, will be held at Havana's Ciudad Deportiva on March 25th. It will mark the first time the British rock band has performed in the Communist Caribbean nation. "We have performed in many special places during our long career, but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba, too," the band said in a statement.

Rolling Stone

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Harold Maass, The Week US

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.