• On Wednesday, students across the country participated in a walk-out protest against gun violence.  The protest lasted seventeen minutes: one for each of the seventeen victims of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida last month.  [NPR]
  • Early Wednesday morning, results indicated that pro-choice Democrat Conor Lamb had won a special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional district, a district that President Trump had carried by 20 points in 2016. [Vox]
  • Renowned scientist Stephen Hawking passed away at the age of 76 this week.  Though his work focused on the intricacies of advanced physics, Dr. Hawking was lauded by scientists and laymen alike: his book “A Brief History of Time” sold over 10 million copies in the 20 years since its publication, and the doctor had made guest appearances on such television shows as Star Trek and The Simpsons. [Al Jazeera]
  • The UK banned three far-right activists from the US, Canada and Austria from entering the country between last Friday and Monday.  The activists were members of anti-immigration groups, and the American, Brittany Pettibone, was a key voice in the spread of the “pizzagate” conspiracy theory that alleged that Democratic officials were trafficking child sex slaves underneath a Washington, D.C. restaurant. [BBC]
  • Three students were injured after a Northern California teacher accidentally discharged a gun inside a classroom during a lesson on firearm safety on Tuesday.  While none of the students were seriously injured, one student reportedly had bullet fragments “lodged in his neck” following the incident.  The school took no action to alert parents to the event.  The teacher has been placed on administrative leave. [TIME]

FACT OF THE WEEK: March 15th, known as the “Ides of March,” is the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC.  The phrase comes from the Latin “Idus Martiae,” which referred to the day of the full moon each month, as each month then began on the day of the new moon. [Volokh Conspiracy, Washington Post]