10 things you need to know today: March 19, 2019

(Image credit: Nati Harnik / Associated Press)

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1. Pence travels to flood-damaged areas in Midwest
2. Netherlands tram shooting suspect arrested
3. Nunes sues Twitter for $250 million
4. O'Rourke raises $6.1 million in presidential campaign's 1st day
5. Democrats call for FBI investigation of pro-Trump massage-parlor owner
6. Venezuelan opposition supporters take over diplomatic facilities in U.S.
7. Mozambique's president warns cyclone death toll could reach 1,000
8. Pennsylvania pediatrician sentenced to 79 years for molesting patients
9. Warner Bros. chief Kevin Tsujihara resigns after scandal
10. Baylor takes top seed in NCAA women's basketball tournament

last updated 19 March 2019

1. Pence travels to flood-damaged areas in Midwest

Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday is visiting Midwest communities affected by record flooding caused by last week's "bomb cyclone" and melting snow. At least four people, including three in Nebraska and one in Iowa, have died in the flooding, which is continuing this week as some rivers continue to rise. More than 8 million people are under flood warnings in 14 states from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. Seventy-four cities, 65 counties, and four tribal areas have issued emergency declarations in Nebraska, where flood records have been set in 17 places and some rivers still haven't crested. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts called the rising waters the "most widespread disaster we have had in our state's history."

Dutch police on Monday arrested a 37-year-old Turkish man suspected of fatally shooting at least three people and wounding several others on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht earlier in the day. The suspect, identified as Gokmen Tanis, was caught after an hours-long manhunt. Authorities locked down the schools, mosques, and the transit system in the city after the attack. The suspect reportedly had been involved in previous run-ins with authorities in the country before the attack, which police said "appears to be a terrorist attack." The threat alert in the province where the shooting occurred was temporarily raised to its highest level. Turkey's foreign ministry condemned the attack, "regardless of the identity of the perpetrator and the motivation behind it."

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Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is suing Twitter and three users he accuses of using the platform in a coordinated attempt to smear him. In a complaint filed Monday in Virginia, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and loyal ally of President Trump cited tweets that accused him of criminal misconduct and made crude jokes about him, including saying he was voted "Most Likely to Commit Treason" in high school. Nunes was a central figure in the House's investigation into Russian election meddling when Republicans controlled the chamber, and critics said he impeded the inquiry to protect President Trump. Nunes is seeking $250 million in damages, accusing Twitter of censoring Republicans and helping their critics.

Former congressman Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign said Monday that it raised $6.1 million in its first 24 hours, more than any other 2020 Democratic candidate has reported. O'Rourke's 24-hour total surpassed that of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who reported having raised $5.9 million in the first 24 hours of his campaign. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) reported $1.5 million raised in her campaign's first day. O'Rourke, who also broke fundraising records during his 2018 Senate campaign against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), said in a statement that "Americans across this country came together to prove that it is possible to run a true grassroots campaign for president."

Top-ranking Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence and Judiciary committees have called for the FBI to investigate Li "Cindy" Yang, a Florida massage parlor operator who has tried to sell access to President Trump. "If true, these allegations raise serious counterintelligence concerns," the Democrats wrote in a letter dated Friday and reported by media outlets Monday. Yang founded the massage parlor where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been accused of soliciting sex. Newspapers in recent weeks have reported that Yang's business advertised claims that it could provide "entry to events, including White House visits, 'VIP activities at Mar-a-Lago,'" and other access to powerful people, The New York Times reported.

Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, recognized by the U.S. and much of the international community as the South American nation's interim president, took over three Venezuelan diplomatic offices in Washington and New York. The move was expected to escalate tensions back in Venezuela, where the government of embattled President Nicolás Maduro vowed to respond. Carlos Vecchio, Guaidó's ambassador to the U.S, said he expected officials loyal to Guaidó to gain control of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington "in the days to come."

Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi said Monday that the death toll from Cyclone Idai, which hit southeast Africa with devastating rains and flooding over the weekend, could rise to more than 1,000 people. The storm was blamed for 122 deaths before it made landfall, and at least 48 more were killed after it reached shore, the United Nations reported. Hundreds more are missing, and extreme flooding continued in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. About 90 percent of Beira, Mozambique, was destroyed. The city's electricity, roads, communications systems, and airport have shut down. At least 1.5 million people have been displaced or otherwise affected by the storm, the Red Cross estimated.

A former Pennsylvania pediatrician, Dr. Johnnie "Jack" Barto, was sentenced to 79 to 158 years in prison for molesting 31 people, most of them his patients. Prosecutors said Barto, 71, sexually abused several generations of children in the examination room in his office, and in area hospitals. Eighteen of the victims, now grown women, gave victim impact statements, calling for a long prison term and calling Barto a "monster." "Today is a bittersweet day for me," said Jennifer Goetz, 42, who said Barto abused her when she was 8. "Twenty years ago, this predator could have been stopped." Barto's wife, Linda, said he "spent his whole sinister life lying and sneaking around so he could carry on his abuse uninterrupted."

Warner Bros. chief Kevin Tsujihara stepped down on Monday after allegations that he promised on-screen roles to an actress with whom he was having an affair. The Hollywood Reporter reported earlier this month that Tsujihara had exchanged text messages with British actress Charlotte Kirk suggesting they were involved in a sexual relationship and that Tsujihara had promised she would be considered for TV and movie roles. "Kevin acknowledges that his mistakes are inconsistent with the company's leadership expectations and could impact the company's ability to execute going forward," WarnerMedia chief executive John Stankey said. Tsujihara's departure made him one of the highest ranking Hollywood executives to be ousted over sexual misconduct allegations.

Baylor was picked as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA women's basketball tournament, which starts Friday. The other No. 1 seeds announced Monday were defending national champions Notre Dame, Louisville, and Mississippi State. Baylor (31-1) is a two-time national champion. Louisville was the runner-up in the 2009 and 2013 tournaments; Mississippi State finished second in 2017 and 2018. For the first time since 2006, UConn was not among the No. 1 seeds. ESPNU accidentally showed the bracket two hours before it was set to be revealed on Monday night; ESPN has since apologized to "the NCAA and the women's basketball community." The Final Four is scheduled to start April 5 in Tampa.

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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.