Start your week smart: Pope at Easter Mass, bridge recovery, AT&T data leak, no Ukrainian election, Indianapolis shooting

By CNN Newsource

Published March 31, 2024 5:58 am

By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN

(CNN) — The Easter Bunny’s wallet is a lot lighter this morning. Retail chocolate prices rose nearly 12% across all of 2023, in large part because the price of cocoa — a key ingredient for chocolate — has spiked. Let’s hope Hoppy has a good 401(k) plan.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• Pope Francis called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in his traditional Easter message delivered following renewed concerns over the health of the 87-year-old pontiff. Tens of thousands gathered at St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on the most important day in the Christian calendar.
• Crews are working to remove the first portion of Baltimore bridge wreckage — the starting point in a complicated and extensive cleanup process. Reopening the Port of Baltimore could take weeks, officials said.
• AT&T launched an investigation into the source of a data leak that includes personal information of 73 million current and former customers. The company said the data was “released on the dark web” about two weeks ago.
• In another world, Ukraine would be voting today. But with Russian forces still inside the country and millions of Ukrainians displaced from their homes, fighting on the frontlines or living overseas, there is no election in sight.
• At least seven children between the ages of 12 and 17 were wounded in a shooting in downtown Indianapolis, where a large group was gathered, police said.

The week ahead

Monday
On this day 24 years ago, Google announced its new Mentalplex Technology — a proprietary system that reads your mind when you want to search for something. It was the first of many April Fools’ Day pranks pulled off by the search giant. Other notable corporate hoaxes include Taco Bell purchasing the Liberty Bell and renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell” and Burger King introducing the Left-Handed Whopper. Bottom line: don’t believe everything that arrives in your inbox.

Tuesday
Presidential primary season continues with voters in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin heading to the polls.

Thursday
The clock runs out for Donald Trump to post a reduced $175 million bond as he appeals the civil fraud judgment against him in New York. Trump — along with his adult sons and his company — was fined more than $464 million, including interest, after Judge Arthur Engoron found the former president and his co-defendants fraudulently inflated the value of his assets. An appeals court lowered that amount in March.

And did you know that April 4 is International Carrot Day? Neither did we!

Friday
We cap the week with the employment report for March. The US economy has seen 38 consecutive months of job growth through February (the fifth-longest period of employment expansion on record), and the nation’s unemployment rate has been below 4% for 25 straight months — the longest stretch in more than 50 years.

One Thing: What Tennessee can tell us
In this week’s “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s Van Jones explains what one-party rule in Tennessee can tell us about America’s extreme political landscape. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
“Ripley” — as in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and not the hero of the “Alien” franchise — is the tale of a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York. Based on Patricia Highsmith’s bestselling novels, the limited series stars Andrew Scott, Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning. “Ripley” hits Netflix on Thursday.

On the big screen
Dev Patel stars in the revenge thriller “Monkey Man,” which he also co-wrote and directed. The film’s title comes from the story of Hanuman, the Hindu deity who takes the form of a monkey and symbolizes strength and courage, as well as wisdom, loyalty and devotion. Think “John Wick,” but in India.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
The NCAA men’s college basketball Elite Eight wraps up today, setting the stage for Saturday’s Final Four. On the women’s side, the Elite Eight round begins today, and the Final Four is Friday.

And while football season is still months away, the NFL made some big changes last week to how the game will be played that will take some getting used to, including a ban on a particular tackle that creates “an unreasonable risk of injury” and new rules for kickoffs.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 55% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

‘Roll With It’
More than 40,000 people are expected to gather on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday for the annual Easter Egg Roll — a tradition that dates back to 1878 and President Rutherford B. Hayes. (Click here to view)

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