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[h=4]The Short List: All about Apple Watch; missing Michelangelo letter; 'Empire' star gay[/h]Out of the loop today? We've got what you missed.
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Out of the loop today? We've got what you missed.(Photo: Stephen Lam, Getty Images)
Apple hijacked our afternoon
Apple CEO Tim Cook could barely contain himself before today's Apple event. He wasn't alone. In the half-year since Apple first unveiled what were then very early versions of its long anticipated Apple Watch, everyone has been waiting to hear what Cook would reveal. What we waited for, according to Ed Baig, is a miniature computer that looks pretty awesome and has a battery that will last up to 18 hours. There are three models. The watches start at $350 (not too bad) all the way up to $10,000 (Kardashian-style). They go on sale April 24. Here's what happened during the rest of the event: 1. We learned HBO's new stand-alone streaming video service is launching next month exclusively on Apple TV. (To get everyone pumped, Apple showed a new Game of Thrones trailer. It worked.) 2. Apple announced it's turning iPhone and HealthKit into diagnostic tools by launching ResearchKit next month. (That means you can use your phone to contribute to Parkinson's research. Pretty neat.) 3. Apple unveiled the new, super slim MacBook with retina display that starts at $1,299 and ships April 10. Oh, and it comes in gold. 4. Apple Watch competitor Pebble used Twitter to passive-aggressively respond to #AppleWatch. It was perfect. 5. We all realized our current Apple products are obsolete.
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Apple unveils their new Apple watch. USA Today's tech team share their opinions on the new device. Chris Wiggins for USA TODAY
What else is in #TheShortList:
• Univ. of Oklahoma boots frat after racist chant
• More on Clinton's email controversy
• Thief stole priceless Michelangelo letter
• 'Empire' star puts end to gay rumors
Short on time? Listen to today's top stories:
'Racism is alive at the University of Oklahoma'
And it was caught on tape. Last night, the University of Oklahoma closed its chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity after a video surfaced of members chanting racial slurs. Immediately after the video was posted, an outpouring of tweets echoed the sentence: "Racism is alive at the University of Oklahoma." The decision to close the fraternity came on the same day that thousands of people had gathered in Selma, Ala., to mark the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," a day in 1965 when peaceful protesters marching for voting rights were beaten by police. School President David Boren said Monday that some fraternity members shown in the video could be expelled. "To those who have misused their free speech in such a reprehensible way, I have a message for you. You are disgraceful," Boren tweeted after a campus protest this morning.
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The president of the University of Oklahoma chastised members of a fraternity on Monday who participated in a racist chant caught on video, calling them disgraceful and their behavior reprehensible. (March 9) AP
Welcome to Hillary Clinton's primary
The dust-up over Hillary Rodham Clinton's failure to use government e-mail while secretary of State provides a preview of coming attractions. Given her long record in public life and her and her husband's penchant for secrecy, there will be plenty of stories like The New York Times' e-mail scoop that will portray the overwhelming favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination in a negative light. The intense media scrutiny will serve as Hillary's primary. She's under fire for using a private e-mail account during her years as secretary of State. She hasn't come forward yet to explain why she thought it was necessary for a very public official to have private e-mail on a private server at her home. At a women's equality event on Monday, Hillary continued to stay mum. A White House spokesman said President Obama did trade e-mails with the then-secretary of State but didn't know about her private e-mail system. Our Susan Page wrote last week that just one person could cost Hillary the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. That would be Hillary.
Former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walks onto the stage joining Gates Foundation co-chairwoman Melinda Gates and Clinton Foundation vice chairwoman Chelsea Clinton for the official release of the No Ceilings Full Participation Report which coincides with the start of the 59th session of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women on March 9, 2015, in New York City.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Spencer Platt, Getty Images)
Vatican refuses to pony up ransom for Michelangelo letter we never knew was stolen
It sounds like the plot of a Dan Brown novel, but it's real life. The Vatican is working with authorities to recover a letter handwritten by Michelangelo that was stolen from a Vatican archive back in 1997. The Vatican didn't report the theft until now (it's not explaining that one). The Rome newspaper il Messaggero reported that a former archive employee is asking for a ransom of 100,000 euros ($108,000) to return the rare letter. Michelangelo painted the ceiling and altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. He typically dictated letters to assistants, adding only his signature — that makes the letter in question especially rare, the Vatican said. Since the letter is priceless, we're thinking the thief may want to re-do his math.
This picture shows frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, painted by Michelangelo. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYSGABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: 518026402<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS, AFP/Getty Images)
'Empire' star doesn't come out, because he was never in the closet
A lot of people have been talking lately about whether Jussie Smollett, one of the stars of Fox's hit show Empire, is gay. On the show, he plays Jamal Lyon, a gay singer who's battling his father's homophobia. Last week, Smollett's co-star, Malik Yoba, made headlines when several media outlets and fans accused him of inadvertently outing the actor. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Smollett confirmed he's gay and explained why he's never felt the need to discuss his personal life. "There's never been a closet. That I've been in. I don't own a closet, I got a dresser, but I don't have a closet, but I have a home and that is my responsibility to protect that home. ... So that's why I choose not to talk about my personal life."
Jussie Smollett is one of the stars of Fox's 'Empire.'<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Rachel Murray, Getty Images, for GQ)
Stories you're clicking on today:
Five people die in Japan stabbing frenzy
Sean Penn: 'No apologies' for green card joke
Draymond Green rips Dahntay Jones after Jones bumps him during post-game interview
Dangerous 'microsleeps' follow daylight saving time
The 10 happiest jobs in America
Extra Bites
If our snow days looked liked this, we'd stop complaining. Check out the rest of the Day in Pictures gallery.
People play with snow on a wooden bridge outside Srinagar, India.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Farooq Khan, European Pressphoto Agency)
Have you seen it? This guy proposed to his girlfriend every day for a year.
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An Arizona man decided to propose by asking her every day for a year without her knowledge, then surprising her in Aruba with a year of proposals. Keri Lumm (@thekerilumm) reports.
Video provided by Buzz60 Newslook
Han Solo is said to be "on the mend."
A Swiss-made solar-powered aircraft took off from Abu Dhabi today in a historic first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fossil fuel. Godspeed.
What else is on our reading list today:
Fla. gov. bans the terms climate change, global warming
Universities work to battle drinking culture
Report details Lance Armstrong's 'special relationship'
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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.
Contributing: John Bacon, Kim Hjelmgaard, Arienne Thompson, Greg Toppo, David Jackson, Catalina Camia, Susan Page, Jessica Guynn, Edward C. Baig, Mike Snider, Rem Rieder, USA TODAY
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