5 things you need to know Monday
1. Justin Bieber gets roasted on Comedy Central
After more than three hours on the receiving end of every type of insult, Justin Bieber said that years ago he had approached Comedy Central executives about being the target of a roast. But he joked backstage that he just wasn't ready until now. "They said I didn't have enough (roast) material. So I worked really hard for a couple of years," Bieber said, smiling. "And here we are," with the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber (Monday, 10 ET/PT). Bieber definitely provided the ammunition. His bratty pop-star antics include egging a neighbor's house, drag-racing in Miami, visiting a brothel in Brazil, urinating in a mop bucket at a New York restaurant, insulting the legacy of Anne Frank, leaving a pet monkey in Germany, physically confronting paparazzi in London. And so on.
2. Institute honoring the late Sen. Kennedy to open in Boston
Before his death from brain cancer in 2009, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy insisted a building that would one day bear his name be less about his own legacy and more about the institution he loved and toiled in for more than half his life. "He never envisioned this place as being about one man," said Victoria Reggie Kennedy, his widow and president of the board of directors of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. "He saw it as being about the nearly 2,000 men and women who have served in the United States Senate and about the future senators who will be walking through those doors." On Monday, the $79 million facility that sits adjacent to the presidential library of his brother, John F. Kennedy, is scheduled to be dedicated at a politically star-studded event attended by President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and a host of current and former senators of both parties.
3. Late vets' family members to have their say about VA care
A construction contractor will relive the "most painful day" of his life when his veteran son died at a Wisconsin Veterans Affairs' center. A widow will recount receiving bags of pills in the mail for a husband who hadn't been home for months. A daughter will chronicle the final lucid hours of her veteran father as he waited hours for care, then slumped over limp and unresponsive. All are set to testify at what promises to be an emotional congressional hearing in Tomah, Wis., on Monday. It will be their first chance to publicly face VA officials overseeing the facility since news reports drew national attention to their struggles and triggered investigations by several state and federal agencies, including the VA and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
4. Pentagon to propose new benefits for military personnel
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter plans to push a series of proposals aimed at attracting and retaining troops with the skills needed to fight modern wars. Among the initiatives he plans to offer will be a 401(k)-style pension plan, student-loan forgiveness for those with skills in cyber warfare and mid-career breaks for those who want to go earn a degree or raise a family. It's believed Carter will begin to roll out these proposals during a two-day trip that starts Monday.
5. Ken Burns tackles history of cancer
Ken Burns' new. three-part PBS documentary, Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies begins Monday night. Burns, the film's executive producer, says his approach changed as he learned more about the history of cancer research, and the challenges facing doctors and patients today. "When we first started talking about it, we had this unbelievable optimism that we were on this cusp" of a new era, Burns says. Over time, "we began to realize how many times people had said, 'The cure is around the corner.'"
Bonus: Music mogul Jay Z is expected on Monday to unveil his blueprint for high-resolution music streaming service Tidal.
And, the essentials:
Weather: The national weather forecast for Monday calls for rain in the Southeast, Northeast and Pacific Northwest. Most of the U.S. west of the Mississippi River will be dry.
Stocks: U.S. stock futures gained Monday, and Asian stocks were mostly higher.
TV Tonight: Can't decide what to watch? TV critic Robert Bianco looks atBroke Girls and the Bieber roast.
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