Morning Must Reads: April 7

Rand to Launch 2016 Bid

The Kentucky Senator is expected to announce a run for the presidency Tuesday, positioning himself as the one man who can “defeat the Washington machine and unleash the American dream”

Duke Takes the Crown

The Duke Blue Devils overcame a nine-point second-half deficit and foul trouble to its two biggest stars to win its fifth national basketball title

B.B. King Hospitalized in Las Vegas

The legendary blues musician, 89, has been hospitalized in Las Vegas. King was admitted due to dehydration from his Type II diabetes

Jon Stewart Sticks Up for Successor Trevor Noah

On Monday night’s episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart stood up for his successor, comedian Trevor Noah, who has been the center of “a large kerfuffle” on social media after some of his tweets were criticized for being sexist and anti-Semitic

Huge Numbers of Sea Lions Are Washing Up in California

Emaciated sea lions are showing up on beaches in Southern California at unprecedented rates, because rising sea temperatures have reduced the availability of their diet. The National Marine Fisheries Service reports that an 2,250 have washed ashore

Obama Nixes Israel Nuke Demand

President Barack Obama said on Monday that making Iranian recognition of Israel a precondition of a nuclear deal would be a “fundamental misjudgment.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been critical of the current framework agreement

What You Need to Know About Snapchat Emojis

Snapchat has launched a major update that allows users to recognize their closest friends, but it’s based on a fairly complicated tier system of emojis that will now appear on incoming snaps from people you connect with the most

France’s Thin Model Ban Would Include Jail Time

According to a bill passed by the lower house of France’s Parliament, models would be required to present bills of health listing their BMI as greater than 18 before they could be hired for a job, and they would be required to maintain that for a few weeks afterward

Iowa Activists Are More Than ‘Ready for Hillary’

While Republican presidential hopefuls are holding town-hall meetings and rallies in Iowa, the presumptive Democratic frontrunner hasn’t visited since October. For many Democrats in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, the quiet brings back bad memories of 2007

Nina Dobrev Leaving The Vampire Diaries

The original cast member of The Vampire Diaries confirmed via her Instagram account that she’ll depart the show after this season. “I always knew I wanted Elena’s story to be a six-season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime,” Dobrev wrote

The NBA Is Going to Cuba for a Basketball Clinic

The NBA is taking a team to Havana for a four-day basketball clinic. Under the auspices of the Basketball Without Borders program, the NBA will coordinate with the International Basketball Federation to bring Spanish-speaking players to meet their Cuban counterparts

New Study Ranks Which Weight-Loss Diets Work Best

With so many ways to lose weight, you’d think it would be easy to tell which diet program works best — Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, Nutri System or Slim Fast. But there isn’t a lot of good evidence on how effective various diets are

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