10 things you need to know today: April 8, 2019

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1. Nielsen resigns as Homeland Security secretary
2. Mulvaney says Democrats will 'never' get Trump tax returns
3. Baylor wins 3rd NCAA women's basketball championship
4. Report: Trump to designate Iran Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group
5. U.S. forces evacuate Libya as violence escalates
6. American woman, guide freed after Uganda kidnapping
7. Boeing cuts 737 MAX production as airlines extend flight cancellations
8. U.K. proposal would hold tech giants accountable for harmful posts
9. Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, and Kacey Musgrave lead ACM Awards
10. Duke 'looking into' Michael Avenatti allegation

published 8 April 2019

1. Nielsen resigns as Homeland Security secretary

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is stepping down, President Trump announced Sunday. "Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service," Trump tweeted Sunday. "I am pleased to announce that Kevin McAleenan, the current U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, will become Acting Secretary for @DHSgov. I have confidence that Kevin will do a great job!" Nielsen's resignation, which came after a meeting with Trump, is part of a shakeup in the department directed by Trump adviser Stephen Miller, a senior U.S. official told CBS News. Trump had criticized Nielsen for failing to stem a surge of Central American migrants requesting asylum, and the announcement of her departure came two days after Trump said he wanted "tougher" immigration enforcement.

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that congressional Democrats would "never" get President Trump's tax returns, which the Democrat-controlled House Ways and Means Committee formally requested from the IRS last week. "Nor should they (obtain the documents)," Mulvaney told Fox News Sunday. "Keep in mind, that's an issue that was already litigated during the election. Voters knew the president could have given over his tax returns, they knew that he didn't, and they elected him anyway. Which, of course, is what drives the Democrats crazy." Trump broke with a precedent respected by other recent presidents by declining to release his returns during the campaign, saying he couldn't because he was under audit.

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Baylor University defeated Notre Dame 82-81 on Sunday to win this year's women's NCAA basketball tournament in a thrilling final matchup. At one point, Baylor had a 17-point lead over Notre Dame, but that fell apart in the third quarter. During the fourth quarter, with just 3.9 seconds left on the clock, Baylor's Chloe Jackson made a layup, giving the Lady Bears a two-point lead. Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale was then fouled, but only made one of her free throws, giving Baylor the win by one point. This is Baylor's third women's NCAA championship, after the team won titles in 2005 and 2012.

The Trump administration plans to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard a "foreign terrorist organization" as soon as Monday. Iran vowed to retaliate. The move would cap a month of escalating rhetoric against Iran and its backing of militia groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. It also would mark the first time that the U.S. has branded an entire foreign government entity as a terrorist entity, although the U.S. has previously assigned the status to the Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force. The designation would result in sanctions, including the freezing of Guard assets in U.S. jurisdictions and penalties against businesses linked to it. In Lebanon, the policy could limit U.S. contacts because of Iran's ties with Hezbollah, which is part of the country's government.

American forces that were operating in Libya have temporarily evacuated, Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of U.S. Africa Command, said in a statement on Sunday. The move came after other countries and international corporations pulled personnel out of the country as rival militias clashed in the outskirts of the capital, Tripoli. A renegade commander from eastern Libya has launched an offensive in an effort to take control of the city, which the United Nations-backed government has vowed to defend. The offensive has threatened to tip the troubled North African nation back into an all-out civil war in the biggest escalation of violence since the 2011 toppling of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a rebellion backed by NATO airstrikes.

Kim Sue Endicott of Southern California and her safari guide, Congolese national Jean-Paul Mirenge Remezo, were rescued Sunday after being held for five days by armed captors. Endicott and Remezo were kidnapped at gunpoint during an evening game drive in a Ugandan wilderness park. Their captors demanded $500,000, and reportedly let the pair go after a ransom was paid. Ugandan authorities did not immediately make public the amount of the ransom, or who paid it. The government said Endicott and Remezo were "recovered unharmed, in good health" and were in the "safe hands of the joint security team."

American Airlines is canceling flights into June as the nationwide grounding of Boeing 737 MAX planes continues. American has canceled 90 daily flights due to the temporary loss of its 24 737 MAX 8s, which have been grounded since March 13 following two deadly overseas crashes of the Boeing model in five months. Southwest Airlines took a similar step on March 29, when it decided to keep its 34 MAX 8s off its flight schedule through May, possibly beyond. Boeing said Friday that it would cut production of the 737 MAX from 52 planes per month to 42 as it focuses on fixing flight-control software suspected of contributing to the crashes. Last month, the company suspended deliveries of the MAX line after regulators around the world grounded the plane.

British regulators on Sunday unveiled a proposal to punish Facebook, Google, and other tech companies if they fail to stop the spread of damaging online content. The plan was drafted by U.K. consumer-protection authorities with the backing of Prime Minister Theresa May. It targets harmful web posts promoting or enabling child exploitation, fake news, terrorist activity, and violence. "The era of self-regulation for online companies is over," U.K. Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright said in a statement. Google declined to comment. Facebook responded by noting its recent investments to step up identifying and removing harmful content and said the U.K.'s proposal "should protect society from harm while also supporting innovation, the digital economy, and freedom of speech."

Keith Urban, Kacey Musgrave, and Grammy-winning duo Dan + Shay emerged as the big winners at Sunday's Academy of Country Music Awards. Dan + Shay won several awards to cement their status as country's hottest group. Urban won the top prize, taking the entertainer of the year honors with his ninth nomination for the prize. He beat out Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, and three-year reigning title holder Jason Aldean. Urban also won entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards in November. Kacey Musgraves won three awards. She dedicated her female artist of the year award to any "woman, girl, or anybody really" who has been told "her perspective or style is too different."

Duke University's athletic director, Kevin White, said over the weekend that the school is "looking into" allegations by attorney Michael Avenatti that Nike paid the mother of Blue Devils basketball star Zion Williamson for consulting services while Duke was recruiting him. Avenatti, who was charged last week with trying to extort more than $20 million from Nike, tweeted that Nike paid Williamson's mother, Sharonda Sampson, for "bogus" services in 2016 or 2017 "as part of a Nike bribe to get Zion to go to Duke." White said: "Duke is fully committed to compliance with all NCAA rules and regulations." Nike, which has sponsored Duke athletics since 1992, said it "firmly believes in ethical and fair play" and declined to comment further.

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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.