5 things you need to know Friday
1. Tech kings and wannabes take on SXSW
The leaders of the technology world — and those who would like to be someday — descend on Austin Friday for the SXSW Interactive Festival. The five-day exhibition and schmoozefest is a showcase for some of the coolest, weirdest, most-cutting-edge technology and digital media. If you're not going, you can watch selected sessions from your couch. Or, follow Paste BN Tech reporters @jswartz, @edbaig, @jeffersongraham, @MikeSnider, and @johnshinal for live updates. If you do go and your device runs out of juice, you can tweet for a dog to bring you a Mophie power boost. Here's what to expect this year:
2. Obama checks in on the VA scandal
President Obama will visit the giant VA medical complex Friday that has been the focal point of a nationwide scandal over delayed care for veterans, falsified data and other management failures throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs. Obama will get a report on the progress of reform measures taken to meet the needs of Arizona veterans. The president was criticized for not visiting veterans when he was in Phoenix two months ago.
3. Anniversary march ends in Montgomery
A week-long march from Selma, Ala., to the state capital concludes Friday, bringing the commemoration of Bloody Sunday — one of the most significant moments in and often credited as a turning point for the Civil Rights Movement — to an end. The group of 100 people have walked 10 to 11 miles every day since Monday, retracing the steps of marchers from 50 years ago. Their march will end with a rally at the state capitol.
4. Francis celebrates two years as pope
Friday marks the second anniversary of when a little-known Argentine native named Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to lead the Catholic Church. Since then, Pope Francis has surprised much of the world with his style, words and philosophy. From taking on bureaucracy to recasting views on gays, women and divorced Catholics, he has embraced change — but not without controversy. Take a look at some of the pontiff's most memorable quotes over the last couple years.
5. Cook offered Jobs his liver, new bio reveals
Excerpts from a new book on Apple's Steve Jobs, which will appear in Fast Company magazine's March 18 issue, offer insights into Jobs' iconoclastic thinking in different phases of his life. Perhaps the most striking anecdote involves the company's current boss. Tim Cook was so upset at his mentor's condition — Jobs died in 2011 of pancreatic cancer — that he was thrilled to discover he could help improve his boss's health by donating a portion of his liver.
And, the essentials:
Weather: Friday brings rain in most of the Mississippi Valley, rain showers in the Ohio and Tennesse valleys and thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast.
Stocks: Global stocks pointed higher on Friday.
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