Monday Scoop: Yellow Vests

The big story…

Paris ‘Yellow Vest’ Protests Turn Violent

The fourth month of the “yellow vest” protests in France took a violent turn over the weekend as rioters ransacked stores and set fire to several buildings and newsstands. Police used to teargas to calm the crowds and ultimately arrested 240 rioters. French President Emmanuel Macron, whose pro-business policies are largely the fuel for these protests, returned to the city for a crisis meeting with his ministers in which he said, “I want us to very precisely analyze things and as quickly as possible take strong, complementary decisions so this doesn’t happen again.”

In global news…

Similarities Found Between Ethiopian and Lion Air Crashes

Preliminary data has been recovered from the black boxes found in the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed last week, revealing “similarities” to the fatal Lion Air plane crash that occurred last October. CNN reports, “Dagmawit Moges said that investigators have recovered all relevant data from the black boxes. Moges did not provide additional details about the purported ‘similarities’ between the two crashes but said they would be ‘subject to further investigation.’” Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed six minutes into its flight on March 10, killing all 157 people on board. This was the second fatal crash of a new Boeing 747 Max 8 aircraft in less than six months. The Lion Air crash occurred last October, going down over the Java Sea in Indonesia and killing all 189 people on board 13 minutes into the flight.

In politics…

Biden Announces 2020 Presidential Run — Or Did He

Over the weekend the former Vice President Joe Biden hinted at a presidential run in a speech to his home state of Delaware: “I know I get criticized. I’m told I get criticized by the new left,” said Biden. “I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the — anybody who would run.” Only time will tell whether the mistake was an accidental slip or Biden’s first campaign announcement. Meanwhile Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced her candidacy in the 2020 presidential race on Sunday.

In television…

Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro Suspended After Interviewing Rep. Ilhan Omar

Fox News host Jeanine Pirro has been publicly rebuked and suspended by the network after questioning Rep. Ilhan Omar’s loyalty to the U.S. in an interview on her show “Justice with Judge Jeanine.” Her show, previously in a prime time spot, did not air over the weekend, causing the president to take to Twitter, saying “Bring back Judge Jeanine Pirro.”

Trending today…

St. Patty’s Day

Last but not least…

CMN Vibes: Almost Spring

Spring is in the air — and we’ve got the perfect playlist for it.

Today’s Morning Scoop was made possible by Hazel Dequito, Natalia Kolenko, and the CMN Staff. We hope the luck of the Irish was with you yesterday — or at least that you didn’t get pinched. P.S. Was this newsletter forwarded by a friend? Subscribe here to get the Morning Scoop straight to your inbox every day.