5 things you need to know Friday
Funeral service to be held for Kalamazoo victim
A memorial service will be held Friday for Dorothy Brown, 74, in Battle Creek, Mich. Known as Judy to her friends, she was among the six people who were killed last weekend in a shooting spree around the Kalamazoo, Mich., area. Services for the other victims — Barbara Hawthorne, 68; Mary Lou Nye, 62; Richard Smith, 53, and his 17-year-old son, Tyler; and Mary Jo Nye, 60 — will take place this weekend. Jason Dalton, 45, has been arrested in the attacks and faces 16 charges, including six murder counts, two counts of assault with intent to murder and eight counts of felony firearm possession.
Iranians vote for members of parliament
Iranians go to the polls Friday to vote for members of parliament for the first time since Iran’s reformist President Hassan Rouhani won the lifting of international sanctions tied to a landmark nuclear agreement with six world powers last year. The elections will be far from free, however, casting doubt on whether Rouhani’s supporters will benefit from the deal, as President Obama and others in the West had hoped. The candidate selection process, which is controlled by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, disqualified many of Rouhani's supporters, including 50 sitting members of parliament.
Top NFL prospects on parade at NFL Scouting Combine
Individual workouts begin Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. College football players will do the 40-yard dash, bench press and other tests in hopes of impressing coaches, general managers and scouts ahead of the April 28 NFL Draft. While the combine is often criticized as a poor predictor of players' real value, it still is a highly-watched showcase for the game's top prospects. Live TV coverage begins at 9 a.m. ET on the NFL Network.
World soccer gets a new leader
The governing body of international soccer, FIFA, votes for a new president Friday in Zurich. Five nominees are vying to succeed Sepp Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 until he was banned for financial wrongdoing. The candidates considered front-runners are Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation, and Gianni Infantino, the General Secretary of UEFA, the administrative body of soccer in Europe. The FIFA governing body will also vote on reforms designed to root out bribery and corruption.
'Fuller House' debuts to fulfill our nostalgic TV dreams
Twenty-one years after Full House went off the air, ABC's schmaltzy family sitcom is moving into new digs on Netflix, which launches a nostalgia-fueled revival on Friday with Fuller House. The spin-off follows now-widowed mom D.J. Tanner (Candace Cameron Bure), who gets a hand from her sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and childhood neighbor Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) as they join forces to co-parent D.J.'s three boys and Kimmy's pre-teen daughter. Where's Michelle? We'll find out. Cue the catch phrases.
And the essentials:
Weather: Most of the nation will see rather calm, uneventful weather on Friday.
Stocks: U.S. stock futures were higher Friday.
TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch this weekend? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at Fuller House, the Academy Awards and Vinyl.
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