China has moved to get rid of presidential term limits
The ruling Communist Party overwhelmingly approved a measure to remove term limits for the country’s president from its constitution. The move would enable President Xi Jinping to remain in power, possibly indefinitely.
Xi, who took office in 2013, spent the past few years consolidating his power and influence. A presidential term in China is five years, and this means Xi will likely be able to hang on longer than his two predecessors.
This shift is significant particularly because the term limit was first imposed as a protection against future leaders hanging on to power indefinitely (see: former dictator Mao Zedong).
Of the 3,000 delegates who voted on the amendment to the constitution, only two voted against it.
Trump released his school safety plan. It involves arming teachers.
President Donald Trump wants to use Department of Justice funding to help states train and arm school personnel. Under the plan, the government would help states partner with law enforcement agencies to train school personnel who volunteer.
Trump’s plan will also help military veterans and retired law enforcement into "new careers in education."
Arming educators is controversial — Trump floated it shortly after a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17. Survivors of the shooting and parents of the victims panned the idea.
How fentanyl took over the US drug market in just five years
It was a quick and lethal rise. Fentanyl now kills more people than any other drug in the US. This trend seems to have started back in 2013, with 14 overdose deaths in Rhode Island in the space of two months.
Since then, fentanyl and its chemical cousins have racked up the death count, rising to around 20,000 deaths in 2016 and an estimated 25,000 in 2017.
We drew up a detailed, year-by-year history of how fentanyl began to spread across the US.
Twitter just suspended a ton of accounts known for stealing tweets
Twitter’s not playing anymore. The social media company suspended several popular accounts known for stealing tweets or mass-retweeting tweets into manufactured virality.
Many of the accounts, like @dory and @girlposts, had hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers.
In addition to stealing people's tweets without credit, some of these accounts are known as "tweetdeckers": They team up in exclusive groups and mass-retweet one another's — and paying customers' — tweets into forced virality.
Quick catch-up
Black Panther: In just its fourth weekend, Black Panther has become the first superhero origin story to hit $1 billion at the box office.
Stormy Daniels: Trump’s lawyers are considering legal action to prevent 60 Minutes from airing an interview with Stephanie Clifford, the adult film performer and director who goes by Stormy Daniels. Anderson Cooper interviewed her, and it’s set to air on March 18.
An actual horse: A Miami Beach nightclub has been shut down after videos of a woman riding a spooked horse onto the dance floor surfaced on social media. The incident has sparked widespread allegations of animal cruelty. The mayor of Miami Beach said it "could only be described as insane stupidity and irresponsibility."
Figure skating coach: A top US figure skating coach has been suspended after allegations of sexual misconduct. Richard Callaghan, 72, was suspended from US Figure Skating on March 6, but allegations against him go back to the 1990s.
The Mountain West is experiencing a second gold rush — this time, they’re mining bitcoin
Imagine your peaceful rural home. You wake up with the birds. Wildlife roams your backyard. It’s nice out here.
Then you notice it: the roar. Not piercing, it’s just constant. Kind of always there. Every day. All the time. Your neighbours complain of trouble sleeping, of newfound anxiety and depression, and a growing feeling of desperation that the roar may never end.
The roar is the sound of rows of servers and fans feverishly whirring in an effort to solve complex cryptographic puzzles that could unearth digital money.
Thanks to their plentiful land and cheap power, rural Montana, Washington, and Wyoming are now home to a new crop of cryptocurrency prospectors.
Their neighbors aren’t too happy about it. Read Charlie Warzel’s excellent account of life beside massive cryptocurrency server farms.
Blue’s Clues is looking for a new host, and I have all kinds of feels about it
Look, it’s a comfort thing. If you grew up in the late ’90s, then it’s possible Blue's Clues is your favorite children's TV show of all time.
Well, it’s coming back for a new 20-episode season, and Blue needs a new Steve. Nickelodeon is looking for women and men of all ethnicities who can play ages 18–25. If this is you, get after it.
I’ll just be over here in tears about my childhood, it’s fine.