Morning Must Reads: February 19

Record Cold Targets Eastern U.S.

Meteorologists predict large swaths of the eastern U.S. will see historically low temperatures on Thursday and Friday thanks to a cold front called the “Siberian Express.” Regions of New England can also expect heavy snow

The American History Class Fight

It’s a question of American exceptionalism — though it’s nearly as old as the nation to which it refers, its meaning is still up for debate

Ukraine Wants U.N. Peacekeepers

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for the U.N. to intervene in his country’s escalating internal crisis on Wednesday

The Sneaky Way Movie Theaters Are Making Up for Falling Ticket Sales

Fewer people are actually going to the movies, but that hasn’t stopped AMC Entertainment from making money. Here’s how they’re doing it

These Are the Worst Paid College Majors

Engineering majors earn on average $57,00 per year, almost twice that of the average high school graduate in the same field. But some majors aren’t so lucrative. One study has identified those that barely earn more than the average high school educated colleague

‘We Are Not at War With Islam,’ Obama Says

President Obama took pains to avoid characterizing extremism as solely a byproduct of Islam, noting “no religion is responsible for violence and terrorism,” and saying the best antidote to ISIS’s ideology is making everyone feel they have a rightful place in society

Kate Brown Becomes First Openly Bisexual U.S. Governor

Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown was sworn in as the governor of Oregon Wednesday, after the resignation of Governor John Kitzhaber last week. Brown will be the first openly bisexual U.S. governor in history, the sixth woman currently to lead a state

District 9 Director Neill Blomkamp Is Making an Alien Sequel

Sci-fi fans rejoice: Neill Blomkamp — lauded director of District 9 and the upcoming Chappie — is set to helm a sequel to Alien. Sigourney Weaver, who starred in the 1979 original, said that she would be open to starring in the new film

Why Hundreds of Sea Lion Pups Are Washing Up in California

There are now so many young sea lions being stranded on the West Coast that officials can’t keep up. Since Jan. 1, rescuers in California have taken in about 1,000 pups — nearly four times the typical total for the first four months of the year

‘Revenge-Porn King’ to Plead Guilty

The owner of a “revenge porn” website, accused of posting stolen nude photos of women online, has agreed to plead guilty to federal computer-hacking and identity-theft charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday. He faces up to seven years in prison

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Upends the Notion of the Silent Justice

The oldest Supreme Court Justice has been on a media tear recently, making headlines with interviews about everything from feminism to her workout routine, even slyly revealing that she was “not 100 percent sober” during the State of the Union

Read an Eye-Witness Account of the Battle of Iwo Jima

70 years ago, on Feb. 19, 1945, U.S. Marines struck the island of Iwo Jima, the start of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles. Read TIME Correspondent Robert Sherrod’s account of the horror and bravery of this defining moment in history