March 19: Does Putin have an exit strategy available? And a winning play at the NCAA tournament — by cheerleaders.

Updated: Mar 19, 2022 / 05:35 AM CDT

AP photo

Good morning! It’s Saturday, March 19, 2022. Here’s a look at your news across the nation:

1️. Denied easy victory, Russia presses reduced goals in Ukraine

FILE – A Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces member holds an NLAW anti-tank weapon, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

2. Lawmakers split over suspending federal gas tax

Gas prices are shown Monday, March 7, 2022, in Tumwater, Wash. The cost of gasoline is pushing even farther above $4 a gallon, the highest price that American motorists have faced since July 2008, as calls grow to ban imports of Russian oil. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

3. Explained: Science entangled in transgender athlete debate

Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, swims for the University of Pennsylvania at an Ivy League swim meet against Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 22, 2022. – Thomas placed first in the 200 yard Freestyle. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP) (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

4. Don Young, longest serving member of House, dies.

390287 13: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK), center, speaks as Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune, left, and Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher, right, look on June 7, 2001 during a press conference concerning air passenger customer service improvements on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

📱 [Trending] this morning

INDIANA GETS A BOOST FROM AN UNLIKELY SOURCE

THE HOOSIERS’ FIRST-ROUND GAME AGAINST ST. MARY’S IN THE NCAA TOURNEY’S OPENING ROUND WAS A WINNING EFFORT FOR TWO OF THE SCHOOL’S STUDENTS.

AP photo

📅 What we’re watching

🔴 The NCAA men’s basketball tournament moves into its second round.

🔴 The Producers Guild Awards provide some insight into the Academy Awards’ best picture category.

🔴 Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts’ new comedy, “The Minutes,” debuts on Broadway.

💻📲 We’ll bring you 🔴 LIVE news updates throughout the day on the NewsNation Now app and NewsNationNow.com.

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