5 things you need to know Thursday
1. Sundance Film Festival brings out indie movies' best
It's a critical darling's delight. Sundance Film Festival kicks off its 11-day run Thursday in Park City, Utah, and, this year, funny business takes center stage amid the serious artistic mission of showcasing independent films. The festival, known for helping to launch the careers of Jennifer Lawrence, Boyhood director Richard Linklater and many others, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Paste BN's own film critic Claudia Puig will be at the festival, so follow her and Paste BN Life's coverage for the latest.
2. Thousands 'March for Life' in D.C. as House abruptly drops abortion bill
Hundreds of thousands of abortion rights opponents are expected to join in the annual March for Life in Washington D.C. to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The march has grown into what organizers say is the "largest pro-life event" in the world. The House had planned to vote on a bill Thursday to coincide with the march that would ban virtually all abortions after 20 weeks, but GOP leaders were forced to abruptly drop the bill due to objections from female House Republicans.
3. U.S. continues talks with Cuba, shifts conversation focus
The talks between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, and her Cuban counterpart — Josefina Vidal, head of the Foreign Ministry´s North American affairs division — continue Thursday. While Wednesday's meetings focused on migration, a senior State Department official said the conversation will move into diplomatic ties.
4. X Games 2015: An Olympic hopeful and some sexy-time pot
Snow will be flying Thursday as the Winter X Games begin and this year, Chloe Kim is going for gold. The 14-year-old snowboarding star took the winter sports world by storm, winning a silver medal at last year's games at just 13. "I didn't really like snowboarding in the beginning," Kim says. "Now, I just love it. I'm in love with it." The games, which last through the weekend, will also mark the debut of something a little more, err, random: a marijuana-infused sex spray for women.
5. Is Doomsday coming closer? We may find out Thursday (sort of)
Scientists will let us know Thursday whether or not the minute hand of the historic "Doomsday Clock" will be adjusted for the first time since a minute closer to midnight in 2012. The closer to a setting of midnight it gets, the closer the symbolic clock is estimated that a global disaster will occur. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the clock in 1947 using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero), to convey threats to humanity and the Earth.
And, the essentials:
Weather: A storm will slog across the southern U.S. Thursday, dropping snow in the Southwest and rain in the South. Another storm will hit the Northwest.
Stocks: Futures made gains ahead of a European Central Bank meeting where a massive stimulus is likely to be announced.
TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at The Vampire Diaries and Mom.
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