5 things you need to know this weekend
1. Joaquin is unlikely to hit the East Coast — but another threat looms
Joaquin will move north this weekend, but the storm will avoid a direct hit of the U.S. East Coast, the National Hurricane Center says. A bigger concern this weekend is the potential historic flooding from a separate weather system that's forecast in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The combination of a low-pressure area, a stalled front and a plume of moisture streaming from Joaquin will lead to extremely heavy rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast has prompted some college football games to be rescheduled and could complicate the final weekend of major league baseball.
2. Weather or not, MLB's regular season is beginning to wrap
It's the final weekend of major league baseball's regular season, but there's still plenty at stake with three games remaining for each club. A playoff spot in the American League remains and home-field advantage for next week's wild card games and division series are still up for grabs.
3. Germany to mark 25 years of reunification
On Saturday, Germany will commemorate its Day of Unity to mark the 25th anniversary of the unification of East and West Germany. The ceremony, to be held in Frankfurt, will include German Chancellor Angela Merkel (who was raised in East Germany), President Joachim Gaucker, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and other European dignitaries. On Oct. 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany ended 45 years of post-World War II division and near total separation to become a single country. The Berlin Wall had fallen less than a year earlier, a dissolution that immediately — within 48 hours — saw 2 million people pour into the western-friendly West from the communist-supported East.
4. Live from New York, it's Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton will make her 2016 election debut on Saturday Night Live this weekend, The New York Times reported, in what will be her latest television appearance aimed at showing voters a lighter side. Clinton will star with her comedic double, Kate McKinnon, though the Clinton campaign would not confirm the report. Clinton declined the opportunity to give the keynote address to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights organization, in order to make the Saturday appearance,The Times reported; she will speak to them on Sunday instead. To prep for Clinton's SNL appearance, here's a roundup of memorable candidate appearances on the show, dating to Gerald Ford.
5. World beard championships celebrate the frizzy, fluffy and scruffy
The 2015 World Beard and Moustache Championships take place Saturday in Leogang, Austria. If you've never seen a beard and mustache competition, check out these fabulous looks from the 2014 Just For Men World Beard and Moustache Championships in Portland, Ore.
And, the weekend essentials:
Giving those eyes of yours a weekend break? Listen to the top stories:
Ready for some football? Here's the college football TV schedule and Paste BN Sports' picks for Week 4 of the NFL.
Need a break? Try playing some of our games.
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