Morning Update: Do The British Ever Really Leave Anything

Bad floods expected in the US, a memorial in Christchurch, your weekend longreads. Your BuzzFeed News newsletter, March 22.

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Forecasters warn flooding could be the worst on record in much of the US this spring

Days of torrential rainfall in the central US has caused devastating flooding. The problem is: experts say it’s going to get much worse.

Rain, in combination with snow melt and ice jams, has already brought historic flooding to the Plains. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says heavy rain will make the situation worse — major or moderate flooding is expected in 25 states. This could mean the worst flood season the US has ever seen.

The big picture: As a result of climate change, heavy rainfall has become a particular trend in the Midwest. It’s causing problems for farmers, damaging homes and buildings, and contaminating groundwater.

The bleak picture: Experts say if If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase as predicted, heavy rain and snow events are expected to happen up to five times more often.

The EU has set Britain a deadline of April 12 if MPs don’t back May’s Brexit deal

It’s like asking for an extension because you don’t know how to do the assignment. The European Union has extended the Brexit deadline beyond next week, and set some strict conditions on it.

EU leaders said if UK Prime Minister Theresa May could get Parliament to approve a Brexit agreement by next week, then the UK can have until May 22 to finalize Brexit.

However, if May’s deal isn’t approved, the UK would be on a shorter leash and would have only until April 12 to either present an alternative plan or crash out without a deal.

SNAPSHOTS

“New Zealand is unbreakable” — Christchurch victims were honored at a memorial. Thousands of people gathered in the New Zealand city to pray and remember the 50 victims of the horrific mosque shootings.

The Marine Corps commandant warned that deploying troops to the US-Mexico border is posing an “unacceptable risk.” The warning marks the first instance of active military officials airing concerns about the impacts of Trump's immigration policy on troops.

The mail bomb suspect has pleaded guilty to sending explosive packages to prominent Trump critics. Authorities said Cesar Sayoc, 57, mailed more than a dozen pipe bombs to prominent Democrats and critics of the president. He pleaded to a total of 65 felony counts as part of a plea agreement.

A transgender student said he’s being forced to run as prom queen even though he was nominated as prom king. Dex Frier was nominated by his peers as prom king. He says his school is giving him one of two options ahead of prom: Either run on the prom queen ballot, or not at all.

Emilia Clarke revealed her life-threatening battle with brain aneurysms during her time on Game of Thrones. The actor wrote for the New Yorker about needing emergency brain surgery after the first season of the hit show.

Schitt’s Creek is ending after its upcoming sixth season. The show found legions of new fans in the last few years. The last season will air in 2020.

Tech platforms obliterated ISIS online. They could use the same tools on white nationalism.

The suspected gunman in the Christchurch mosque shootings knew how to use social media to his advantage. But his coordinated strategy is not unique — we’ve seen the same approach used by ISIS at its peak.

Over the last few years, mainstream social media platforms have become aggressive about removing pro-ISIS content from users’ feeds. And this was an active decision, a will to crack down on the group’s presence. And it worked.

Meanwhile, far-right extremism and white nationalism have thrived on social media platforms.Only the most egregious manifestations have been removed, but the rest still exists.

Will Christchurch be the moment tech changes its approach to these threats? Ryan Broderick and Ellie Hall dig into this question.

Slow down the time and dive into these essays

Fillers Let People Reshape Their Faces Without Surgery. The idea of “having work done” doesn’t carry the same stigma it used to. Zan Romanoff wrote about the surging popularity of fillers and what it means for the cultural conversation. A sample: “we’re rapidly heading into a world where fillers and Botox are considered in the same category as daubing on a little lipstick: Why wouldn’t you, if it makes you feel the way you want to feel, and look the way you want to look?”

This 28-Year-Old Irish Writer Really Captures Millennial Life. Sally Rooney’s first novel, Conversations with Friends, was a hit. Before her next novel, Normal People, comes out in the US, Elizabeth Donnelly wrote about Rooney’s resonance. From the piece: “The millennial concerns in Rooney’s books feel specific to a generation in their twenties and thirties, learning about the first blush of love and sex and power in a world that’s radically different from their parents”

Elizabeth Holmes’ Scam Is Over, But Her Story Will Go On Forever. Holmes is the scammer who has captivated America. That captivation has lead to documentaries and TV specials and forthcoming movie. But what does it say about us that we’re so interested in this story? Here’s Alison Willmore: “To consume any or all of the Theranos retellings is to begin to feel that Holmes' true calling was not to become a visionary, but to become a vector of content.”

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