10 things you need to know today: April 4, 2016

Migrants prepare to take a boat from Greece to Turkey.

(Image credit: Ozan Kose/Getty Images)

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1. Panama Papers leak provides look at tax havens used by rich and powerful
2. Greece sends first migrants back to Turkey under EU deal
3. Cruz gains momentum ahead of Wisconsin vote
4. Alaska Airlines wins bidding war for Virgin America
5. Amtrak accident in Pennsylvania leaves two dead
6. Syrian forces beat ISIS in strategically important town
7. U.S. and Philippines start annual military exercises
8. Earthquake hits Vanuatu but tsunami danger quickly passes
9. Syracuse and UConn win spots in women's NCAA basketball finals
10. Last Plains Indian war chief Joe Medicine Crow dies at 102

published 4 April 2016

1. Panama Papers leak provides look at tax havens used by rich and powerful

A team of journalists on Sunday published a trove of leaked documents describing how world leaders, business tycoons, and criminals hide assets using offshore banks and shell companies. The investigators spent months digging through the so-called Panama Papers, 2.6 terabytes of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The data showed links to 72 current or former heads of state, including Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Iceland's prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. Australia and New Zealand are investigating. Mossack Fonseca denied any wrongdoing.

The Greek government is bracing for violence as the European Union begins to deport Syrian refugees and other migrants back to Turkey on Monday under a landmark deal aiming to stem the flow of migrants to Europe. Boats carrying the first 131 migrants out of about 750 people leaving by Wednesday shoved off from the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday, headed to Turkey's port of Dikili. The effort has triggered unrest among detained migrants — 800 broke out of a detention center on the island of Chios on Friday.

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North Dakota Republicans elected 25 unaligned convention delegates on Sunday. Most of the delegates favor Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, although they do not have to back him as the nominee at the Republican National Convention this summer in Cleveland. North Dakota party leaders argue this could make their delegation more influential. Polls show Cruz has a lead over frontrunner Donald Trump in Tuesday's Wisconsin primary. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders has a 2-point lead over Hillary Clinton in the state.

Alaska Airlines announced Monday that it has agreed to buy Virgin America for about $4 billion. Alaska Airlines won a bidding war with JetBlue by offering $57 a share in cash — a 47 percent premium on Friday's closing price. Alaska Airlines said the deal, which would make it the fifth biggest U.S. airline, would let it expand its West Coast presence and help "provide more choices for customers" and "increase competition." Virgin America shares jumped by 32 percent in pre-market trading.

Syria's military on Sunday drove Islamic State fighters out of the town of al-Qaryatain, which the Islamist extremist group had held since August. Syrian forces, with Russian air support, closed in on the town after retaking the ancient city of Palmyra, 60 miles away, last week. The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said taking al-Qaryatain was a big strategic victory because it disrupts ISIS supply routes and secures access in the Damascus area to oilfields in eastern Syria.

The U.S. and the Philippines on Monday are starting two weeks of annual military exercises as tensions remain high in the region due to China's claims on nearly the entire South China Sea. The Philippines is one of several nations that have claims to part of the disputed waters, which are believed to have big oil and gas deposits. About 8,000 U.S. and Filipino troops will simulate numerous missions, such as retaking an oil-and-gas platform. China warned "outsiders" against interfering in territorial disputes.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu on Sunday. There were no reports of injuries or significant damage. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned of the possibility of "hazardous tsunami waves," but for coastal areas near the epicenter, but the threat quickly passed. Vanuatu is located in the Ring of Fire, an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean that is prone to earthquakes. The United Nations University has ranked the nation as the world's most at-risk for natural disasters.

Syracuse beat Washington, 80-59, and Connecticut trounced Oregon State, 80-51, on Sunday to claim spots in the women's NCAA basketball finals. When the finalists meet on Tuesday, the Huskies will be playing for their fourth straight NCAA national title and their 11th overall, which would set a record. The Huskies are 10-0 all-time in championship games, and have won a record 23 straight NCAA tournament games. Villanova and UNC play in the men's final Monday night.

Native American historian Joseph Medicine Crow, the last surviving war chief of Montana's Crow Tribe, died on Sunday. He was 102. Medicine Crow grew up hearing stories of the Battle of Little Bighorn from people who were there — his great uncle, White Man Runs Him, was a scout for Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. "I always told people, when you meet Joe Medicine Crow, you're shaking hands with the 19th century," said Herman Viola, curator emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American Indians.

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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.