Start your week smart: Fani Willis, Russian election, Realtor commissions, Pence endorsement, arrest in poisoning

CNN

By Faith Karimi and Daniel Wine, CNN

(CNN) — The public absence of Catherine, Princess of Wales, has morphed into an international punchline with amateur detectives combining real concern with outlandish conspiracy.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on and prosecute the Georgia 2020 election interference racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 14 of his co-defendants, a judge ruled. Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor with whom she engaged in a romantic relationship, resigned from the case.
• On the third and final day of voting in Russia’s presidential election, lines at some polling stations grew after supporters of the deceased opposition leader Alexey Navalny called on people to protest the election. A wave of Ukrainian drones also targeted various parts of the country, including Moscow.
• The 6% commission, a standard in home purchases, is no more. In a sweeping move expected to reduce the cost of buying and selling a home, the National Association of Realtors announced a settlement with homesellers, agreeing to end landmark antitrust lawsuits by paying $418 million in damages and eliminating rules on commissions.
• Former Vice President Mike Pence said he “cannot in good conscience” endorse presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, a stunning repudiation of his former running mate and the president he served with.
• Blaise Taylor, an analyst at Texas A&M and son of the associate head coach, was arrested after being indicted in the 2023 deaths of his girlfriend and her unborn child, authorities said. Taylor is a former college football star at Arkansas State.

The week ahead

Tuesday
Several states are holding primary elections, including Arizona, Florida and Illinois. The primary for the special election to fill former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s seat is also on Tuesday. He represented California’s 20th Congressional District and announced last year that he was stepping down.

Wednesday
The Fed will announce a decision on interest rates. Federal Reserve officials said the economy is likely to soften this year, allowing the central bank to start cutting rates. The US economy added 275,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Thursday
The owners of a Colorado funeral home accused of improperly storing bodies will be in court for an arraignment hearing. In January, a judge determined there was probable cause for multiple counts against Jon and Carie Hallford, including money laundering, forgery and abuse of a corpse. An investigation began after a foul odor was reported at the funeral home in Penrose.

Friday
Congress is running up on yet another government funding deadline, with one week to go before a potential partial shutdown of critical departments. The federal government has once more begun the mandatory process of planning to bring the affected agencies’ nonessential functions to a halt.

One Thing: Haiti on the brink
In this week’s “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s David Culver and Caitlin Hu explain how gang violence helped lead to the resignation of Haiti’s prime minister, and what comes next for citizens desperate for food and stability. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
“Palm Royale” starts streaming on Apple TV+ on Wednesday. The show, set in the colorful Palm Beach high society circa 1960s, features Kristen Wiig, Kaia Gerber and Allison Janney.

On the big screen
“The American Society of Magical Negroes” premiered Friday in US theaters. It’s rated PG-13. It starts and ends quite well, CNN’s Brian Lowry writes. It’s what’s in between that dilutes the satirical punch.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
March Madness is here for men’s and women’s college basketball, and today is Selection Sunday — with the tournament getting underway Tuesday. Here’s the full schedule.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres are opening the Major League Baseball regular season in Seoul. The two-game series, dubbed the Seoul Series, will be held Wednesday and Thursday. These are the first MLB games to be played in South Korea.

The Los Angeles Marathon is today, with a course that starts at Dodger Stadium and ends in Century City. The race kicks off at 6:30 a.m. local time.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 73% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

Well, hello there, spring!
The first day of spring is Tuesday. Goodbye, weird and indecisive winter. 👋
(Click here to view)

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