Looking Ahead

March 1

Government officials promise March 1 will be the turning point in Beijing’s critical pollution crises, known colloquially as the “airpocalypse.” New government rules going into effect today will result in the closing of many Beijing factories. Pollution in the Chinese city grew so bad in January that official instruments could no longer measure it.

March 2

Environmentalists from around the country will converge on Georgetown University today to protest the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to refineries in Texas. While leaders of the XL Dissent group allege Keystone will ravage local environments, the government disagrees. President Obama should make a decision on the pipeline soon.

March 3

South African Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius will go on trial today in connection with the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting death of his girlfriend. The prosecution will allege Pistorius murdered her in cold blood. Pistorius, whose amputations and blade-prosthetics captured the world’s attention during the 2012 Summer Games, claims the shooting was an accident.

March 4

Christian filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza is scheduled to appear in federal court today ahead of an official trial date for accusations that he illegally funneled money to a Senate candidate in 2012. That was the same year D’Souza released his film, 2016: Obama’s America, which went on to be a surprise box office hit.

March 6

The American Conservative Union’s annual CPAC convention in Washington, D.C., begins today. The three-day conference will feature speakers such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Rand Paul, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.