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5 things you need to know Tuesday


Soldiers receive Medal of Honor nearly 100 years later

One soldier was black, the other Jewish, and this is why they didn't receive Medals of Honor decades ago, lawmakers say. Sgt. William Shemin and Pvt. Henry Johnson will be posthumously honored with the nation's highest award for valor on Tuesday by President Obama at the White House. The honor comes nearly 100 years after their heroic actions during World War I.

Senate vote looms on USA Freedom Act

The White House urged the Senate to revive lapsed surveillance authorities "as soon as possible," and Tuesday could be the day. But bipartisan leaders from the House Judiciary Committee said they will oppose proposed Senate changes in the bill. Passing the USA Freedom Act will restore portions of the Patriot Act that expired at midnight Sunday while ensuring that the National Security Agency ends its bulk collection of the phone data of millions of Americans.

Artifacts from 200-year-old slave ship revealed

Remnants of shackles and an iron ballast used to weigh down the ship and its human cargo are among the artifacts from a 200-year-old slave ship that will be shown for the first time at a Cape Town museum Tuesday. The items are from the São José-Paquete de Africa, a Portuguese ship that was traveling to Brazil with more than 400 slaves when it sank off the coast of Cape Town in 1794. The artifacts could be the first items found from a slave ship that went down with human cargo on board. The ship "represents one of the earliest attempts to bring East Africans into the trans-Atlantic slave trade — a shift that played a major role in prolonging that tragic trade for decades," museum director Lonnie G. Bunch says.

U.S.-Cuba soccer game is the latest diplomatic effort

File under soccer diplomacy — The New York Cosmos become the first U.S. professional team to play in Cuba since Presidents Raúl Castro and Barack Obama announced their countries planned re-establishing diplomatic relations. The Cosmos arrived Sunday night and were training ahead of Tuesday's 5 p.m. ET match at 30,000-seat Pedro Marrera stadium. The game will be televised nationally in Cuba.

U.S., allies to meet on strategy to combat ISIL

The United States and its allies are meeting Tuesday in Paris to discuss ways to counter Islamic State militants. The meeting comes as Iraq's ground forces, backed by coalition air strikes, are struggling to retake Ramadi, a key Sunni city that fell to the militants last month. U.S. leaders say their strategy remains sound but they are considering making adjustments that might more quickly boost the ability of Iraq's security forces. The militants have seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.

And, the essentials:

Weather: The nation's soggiest spots Tuesday will be the Southeast and the Northern Plains.

Stocks: Futures were slightly lower as investors await April factory orders and news of a bailout for Greece.

TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at iZombie and Younger.

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