Dispatches

Memorial march

Thousands of persons gathered in Selma, Ala., to observe the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the 1965 civil rights march that turned violent after state troopers clubbed and tear-gassed the freedom marchers on Edmund Pettus Bridge. The incident spurred the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

March 17

Netanyahu wins big

As Election Day in Israel neared, polls showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trailing his chief political rival Isaac Herzog. But when the voters weighed in for the March 17 election, Netanyahu’s Likud Party was the big winner. Likud won 30 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while Herzog’s Zionist Union party won 24. Netanyahu, who ran on continued growth in settlements and opposition to Iran, dropped his commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state as he faltered in pre-election polls. Following victory, Netanyahu began efforts to form a coalition government—one analysts say may be the most conservative in Israel’s history.

March 12

United we stand

The University of Oklahoma football team, donning all black, skipped practice to hold a silent protest against a video showing members of the school’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity reciting a racist chant. The fraternity’s national office has since shut down the university’s SAE chapter, and university President David Boren says the group is permanently banned from campus. Additionally, Boren, in a move some deemed unconstitutional, expelled two students who played a “leadership role” in the incident. Families of the two men—identified as Levi Pettit and Parker Rice—issued statements apologizing for the behavior.

March 9

Dog Days of Winter

The official start of the 43rd Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race got underway as 78 mushers left the starting line in Fairbanks, Alaska. On March 12, Aaron Burmeister, a 15-time Iditarod racer, became the first of the teams to reach the halfway point in Huslia after warm temperatures and reduced snow on the traditional route forced officials to modify the race trail. It is only the second time in Iditarod history that officials have changed the route. The nearly 1,000-mile race ends in Nome after the last musher crosses the finish line.

March 13

Ferocious cyclone

Cyclone Pam plowed into the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu, flattening crops, smashing boats, flooding streets, and reportedly damaging 90 percent of housing and buildings in some areas. Early reports indicated the storm was bigger than expected and is likely the worst hurricane to hit the region since at least Cyclone Zoe in 2002. With a population of about 250,000 persons, Vanuatu is made up of more than 80 islands. The death toll, initially set at 11, was expected to rise as rescuers reached vulnerable island areas. Vanuatu’s President Baldwin Lonsdale said recent development had been wiped out: “So this means we will have to start anew again.”

March 10

ISIS in retreat

Iraqi security forces and allied Shiite militias reclaimed large parts of Tikrit amid reports that ISIS militants had begun retreating from the city. The advance was the Iraqi forces’ biggest counteroffensive so far against the Islamic State militants, who seized control of Mosul and Tikrit last June. Paramilitary leader Hadi Al-Amiri said he is confident Iraqi forces can succeed without help from the U.S.-led coalition: “The people of Iraq will liberate this country and put an end to ISIS.” Once Tikrit is back under Baghdad’s control, government forces plan to make a move on Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, now under ISIS control.

March 10

Self-server

Analyzing Hillary Clinton’s presidential prospects began after she held a press conference aimed at squelching the firestorm over her use as secretary of state of a private email server. Clinton said her choice was for “convenience,” but many questioned that decision, which gives her control over limiting access to her email archives. Meanwhile, President Obama and many fellow Democrats declined to rush to her defense, instead distancing themselves from the controversy. Clinton says she will not turn over the private server for review.