By Tim Swift, The Baltimore Sun
Expect American productivity to plummet as March Madness officially starts today. President Obama is in Israel and the West Bank in an attempt to restart the Mideast peace process. Meanwhile, Internet activists are after CNN for its coverage of the Steubenville rape case and another White House petition is gaining steam. This one suggests that members of Congress dress like NASCAR drivers. Welcome to your online trends report for Thursday, March 21, 2013.
Trending on: National Twitter, Baltimore Twitter
Why:
From schoolyards to office buildings all across this country millions of people are involved in basketball predictions as the circus known as "The Final Four" The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has come to town. Sixty eight college teams are competing for the right to be crowned champion of the US in men's basketball. The games have begun and the economic bonanza will follow. Billions of dollars will change hands among bettors and the NCAA and its schools will be infused with new riches.[ Forbes ]
— Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports / USA TODAY Sports, Mar. 19, 2013
Trending on: National Twitter, Baltimore Twitter
Why: Hoping to move the Middle East peace process forward, President Obama flew by helicopter on Thursday the short distance from Jerusalem to Ramallah, the seat of Palestinian government. Obama was met by Mahmoud Abbas, the white-haired president of the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians' longtime peace negotiator. [ USA Today ]
— SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images, Mar. 21, 2013
Trending on: Reddit
Why: From the depths of the White House's "We the People" petition website comes this cause created on Tuesday, hoping to force congressional lawmakers to prominently display their financial backers and monetary support from various lobbies. After a slew of petitions calling for everything from a state-by-state secession from the union to the construction of a Star Wars-style "Death Star," the White House upped their signature threshold from the previous 25,000 to 100,000. The "make lawmakers look like NASCAR drivers" one in particular still has a very long way to go.[ The Huffington Post ]
— Christian Petersen / Getty Images, Mar. 1, 2013
Trending on: Reddit
Why: Remember the CNN broadcast a few days ago, when Candy Crowley and friends bemoaned the fates of the Steubenville rapists? That didn't go over well, and nearly a quarter million people want the network to do something about it. In the two days since the verdict was read, a Change.org petition asking for CNN to make an on-air apology ¿ okay, several on-air apologies ¿ has gained over 215,000 signatures and looked to be on track to reach the self-assigned goal of 300,000 in a matter of hours. In other words, a lot of people are not happy with how CNN covered the Steubenville trial, and they're not going to forget about it any time soon. [ The Atlantic Wire ]
— JASON COHN / REUTERS, Mar. 13, 2013
Trending on: Buzzfeed
Why: NBC has settled on two new stars for "The Tonight Show": Jimmy Fallon and New York City. The network has made a commitment to Mr. Fallon, the current host of its "Late Night" program, for him to succeed Jay Leno as the next host of "Tonight," according to several senior television executives involved in the decision. As part of the agreement, the show would move from Burbank, Calif., back to New York, where it started in 1954 with Steve Allen as host. [ The New York Times ]
— Kevin Winter / Getty Images, Mar. 20, 2013
*Average of the past seven days
— TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP/Getty Images, Feb. 3, 2013