Daily Briefing: March just got madder

Americans are making their annual guesses in NCAA Tournament bracket competitions. Also in the news: Cease-fire talks are expected to resume in Qatar after negotiations between Israel and Hamas stalled before Ramadan and the Supreme Court will weigh on Monday how far the government can go in fighting social media misinformation.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Here's some Easter Basket inspiration.

Here's the news to know Monday.

Selection Sunday makes for a mad Monday

College basketball launched fully into March Madness 2024 as the field for the NCAA Tournaments were announced on Selection Sunday. Now fans are racing on Monday to select their very-best bracket ahead of tip-off this week.

While some men's teams are prepping for the dance, others are grousing about being left out as a chaotic championship weekend left once top-10 teams on the outside looking in. Meanwhile, there’s more parity in women’s college hoops than ever before — and more eyeballs on the game, too — which means we’re in for some major madness this month.

• Undefeated South Carolina earned the top overall women's seed. Iowa and Caitlin Clark are poised for another Final Four run, with LSU's Angel Reese, Stanford's Cameron Brink, Connecticut's Paige Bueckers and South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao hoping to stand in the way of Clark's first national title.

• Who clinched the top spot in the men's tournament? UConn, which won the national championship last year, will enter the tournament with an even bigger target as the No. 1 overall seed. The Huskies will play in the East Regional, and they are joined as a top seed by Houston in the South, Purdue in the Midwest and North Carolina in the West.

• When's tip off? The men's First Four starts Tuesday and the women's First Four contests start Wednesday.

More March Madness from the USA TODAY Network:

• Here's are printable men's and women's brackets.

• Which teams got snubbed on Selection Sunday?

• These are sure to be the best women's games to watch.

• Play both tournaments for a chance to win $2,500 in our Survivor Pool.

• Enter USA TODAY's NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas expected to resume

Stalled talks aimed at securing a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in earnest in Qatar, according to Egyptian officials. The talks would mark the first time both Israeli officials and Hamas leaders join the indirect negotiations since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. International mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before Ramadan started last week, but Hamas refused any deal that wouldn’t lead to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, a demand Israel rejected. Read more

• Biden praised Schumer's blistering criticism of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

More news to know now

• Suspects are at large after a shooting in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

• Three people are dead in Philadelphia suburb shootings that prompted shelter-in-place orders.

• Missouri is one of 13 states weighing abortion-related ballot measures, most of which would protect abortion rights.

• On today's The Excerpt podcast, what you're hearing (or not) about health care on the campaign trail. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Putin hails preordained electoral win

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed his preordained electoral victory Sunday as a sign of the country's "trust" and "hope" in him, and after stifling any real attempt at unseating him. Despite several opposition protests across Russia, Putin easily claimed another six-year term by getting 87% of the vote. Putin has been in power since 1999 and the predetermined victory will allow him to surpass Josef Stalin's 29-year tenure, making the former KGB agent the longest-serving Russian leader in more than 200 years. Read more

Mike Pence refuses to endorse Trump

Former Vice President Mike Pence accused former President Donald Trump of “walking away” from the Constitution, days after refusing to endorse the Republican frontrunner. Pence told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that his divide with Trump stretches beyond the events of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, when Pence refused to intervene in Congress' certification of the 2020 election. Pence said Trump was abandoning "a commitment to fiscal responsibility, a commitment to the sanctity of life, a commitment to American leadership in the world," while adding what he'd like to see from Trump on abortion rights and the debate over TikTok's future. Read more

• Nathan Wade resigned as Trump special prosecutor, saving Fani Willis' Georgia election case.

• The Supreme Court defined when public officials may block critics on personal social media accounts.

Must-reads

• The death of Nex Benedict has prompted calls for action for LGBTQ teens and their peers.

• A worrying number of ski resorts could be snow-free in decades.

• The Hulu password sharing crackdown is officially here.

• Here's why spending credit card points doesn't always add up.

• Eclipse lovers will travel anywhere to chase shadows on April 8.

• Another QB domino falls as Chicago Bears traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• This cherry blossom super fan never misses peak bloom in Washington, D.C.

Did the White House go too far fighting online misinformation?

What the White House viewed as efforts to correct misinformation about a life-saving vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic, critics called an example of a broad pressure campaign by the federal government to quash views it doesn’t like. The Supreme Court takes up the issue on Monday, and if the justices place too many restrictions on how the government can work with private social media companies in areas such as public health, election integrity and foreign interference, it could impede efforts to stop harmful misinformation, experts say. But if there aren’t enough guardrails, the government – whether a Democratic or Republican administration – could have too much power to influence public debate. Read more

Photo of the day: The luck of the Irish celebrated around the world

Cities dyed their rivers green. Friends clinked mugs full of green beer. Dogs donned their best green outfits. Sunday was St. Patrick's Day, a national holiday in Ireland that is observed by many Americans regardless of their Irish heritage. It's a day of parties and spectacle that draws millions of Americans together. Click here to see photos of the celebrations across the U.S. this weekend.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness, Israel-Hamas War, Mike Pence, Putin, Trump, St. Patrick's Day: Daily Briefing