1.
Seventeen people were arrested after violence erupted during a protest outside a Donald Trump rally in Southern California on Thursday night. Hundreds of demonstrators blocked traffic, some of them waving American and Mexican flags. Some protesters hurled rocks, and smashed the windshield of a police vehicle. Scuffles between Trump supporters and protesters calling them racists left a man wearing a pro-Trump shirt with his face bloodied. Many demonstrators said they had come to peacefully protest Trump's harsh rhetoric against Mexican immigrants.
2.
North Korea on Friday sentenced a U.S. citizen, Kim Dong Chul, to 10 years in prison with hard labor after a brief trial on espionage charges, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported. Kim, 62, was accused of stealing state secrets to help his native South Korea, and spreading religion. He allegedly confessed, although Pyongyang frequently forces confessions from foreign prisoners. South Korea's main spy agency says it has no connection to Kim.
3.
Vice President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Thursday to bolster Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and call for unity in the fight against the Islamic State. Abadi is locked in a stalemate with Parliament over his cabinet, and faces anti-corruption protesters demanding reforms. Biden planned to urge all sides to set aside sectarian and political differences and work together to confront a host of threats. The White House kept plans for the trip quiet due to security concerns.
4.
FBI agents on Thursday arrested the older brother of San Bernardino gunman Syed Rizwan Farook on charges related to marriage fraud and lying to federal investigators. The brother, Syed Raheel Farook, his wife, Tatiana Farook, and her sister, Mariya Chernykh, were all arrested. The indictment alleges that Chernykh fraudulently married Enrique Marquez Jr. — who has been charged with providing weapons used in the deadly 2015 attack — to get legal status in the U.S.
5.
President Obama said Thursday that the U.S. will be able to meet the goal of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees this year despite delays, some linked to efforts to screen the new arrivals and address security concerns. After last year's terrorist attacks by Islamist extremists in Paris and San Bernardino, Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have called for keeping out Muslim refugees, saying terrorists could hide among them. Obama says welcoming the refugees is "the right thing to do."
6.
Former House Speaker John Boehner, who retired last fall, candidly criticized Sen. Ted Cruz during a talk at Stanford University on Wednesday night, referring to the Republican presidential candidate as "Lucifer in the flesh." Boehner, who had previously accused Cruz of putting his own interests before those of Congress, said, "I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life." Cruz responded that he barely knew Boehner, and he criticized the former speaker for his friendly relationship with GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
7.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump escalated his controversial claim that Hillary Clinton is playing the "woman card" to get votes, saying Thursday on NBC's Today show, "Without the woman's card Hillary would not even be a viable person to run for city council positions." Trump had already faced a backlash for saying Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, would be getting 5 percent of the vote if she weren't a woman. Clinton's campaign responded with an email offering supporters a "woman card" to keep in their wallets in exchange for a $1 donation.
8.
The death toll from airstrikes and mortar fire rose to more than 60 in the contested city of Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday. Dozens were killed in a hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders in a rebel-held area. More than 22 people were killed later in a barrage of more than 1,000 mortar rounds and rockets fired into government-held districts. The violence was the worst seen since a partial ceasefire began at the end of February. A government military buildup around the city has raised fears of further escalation.
9.
Cable giant Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, said on Thursday that it would buy DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. Comcast's Universal Pictures, maker of such popular films as Despicable Me, will add to its family fare with the deal, making it a stronger competitor for Disney. DreamWorks Animation made the Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, and Kung Fu Panda franchises, and owns rights to iconic characters such as Lassie and Casper the Friendly Ghost. "It's a sensible strategy," Moffett Nathanson analyst Craig Moffett said. "They are buying characters."
10.
The Los Angeles Rams had the first overall pick at Thursday night's NFL draft in Chicago, and they chose Cal quarterback Jared Goff for their newly relocated franchise. The other contender being floated for first pick, North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz, was picked second overall, snapped up by the Philadelphia Eagles. Another one-time contender for first pick, Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, went at No. 13 after embarrassing videos and images were posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts; Tunsil said his accounts had been hacked.