Today’s Big Story

It’s Easy Being Green

How did St. Patrick’s Day become such a big thing in America?

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Did you remember it was today? Just under 10% of the United States population claims at least some Irish ancestry, according to the most recent data from the American Community Survey. Less than 10% and yet, we’re about to see a whole lot of green today. Maybe you even saw some celebrations over the weekend …so how did this become a thing?

Modern celebrations of the day, at least here in the States, are likely to be characterized by commercial lucky charms, a dyed green river and many, many glasses of green beer—all of which has very little to do with the historical figure of the saint.
 Of course, that’s par for the course with most of our holidays in America (Cinco de Mayo, anyone?)

St. Patrick had been Patron Saint of Ireland who had died around the fifth century. Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of St. Patrick on March 17. But the first St. Patrick's Day parade took place not in Ireland but in America. Records show that a parade was held on March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony that’s now St. Augustine, Florida.

It wasn’t until the early 18th century that many of today’s traditions were kicked into high gear. Since the holiday falls during Lent, it provides Christians a day off from the prescriptions of abstinence leading up to Easter. And then around the 1720s, the church found it “got kind of out of control,” one historian tells TIME. But what about those lucky shamrocks? Modern legend has it that St. Patrick used the three-leafed plant to explain the Holy Trinity while preaching, but despite attempts to link the real-life figure to the practice, historians agree it’s just a fable.

While North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated around the world in locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia. Traditionally Irish foods, everything from champ and Irish soda bread to corned beef and cabbage are enjoyed—with plenty of beer of course. However, back in its homeland, St. Patrick’s Day has traditionally been a spiritual and religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17th.

White House Says 137 Immigrants Deported Under Alien Enemies Act

How the White House ignored a judge's order to turn back deportation flights

The Trump administration moved one large step closer to a constitutional showdown with the judicial branch of government when airplane-loads of Venezuelan detainees deplaned in El Salvador even though a federal judge had ordered that the planes reverse course and return the detainees to the United States. More than half of the 261 immigrants expelled were swept out of the country using the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime authority from 1798.

The Trump administration says it ignored the court order to turn around two planeloads of alleged gang members because the flights were over international waters and therefore the ruling didn't apply, two senior officials tell Axios. “Court order defied. First of many as I've been warning and start of true constitutional crisis,” national security attorney Mark S. Zaid, a Trump critic, wrote on X. “This sure looks like contempt of court to me,” said David Super, a law professor at Georgetown University. “You can turn around a plane if you want to.”

Two senior Trump administration officials told NBC News they expect the court fight over the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to ultimately head to the Supreme Court, where they believe the administration will win. Trump’s advisers contend U.S. District Judge James Boasberg overstepped his authority by issuing an order that blocked the president’s actions. The Alien Enemies Act gives the executive extreme immense power to deport noncitizens without a judicial hearing. But it has been little-used, particularly in peacetime.

Gmail and Outlook Users Beware

FBI officials warn against potentially costly Medusa ransomware attacks

The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are warning against a dangerous ransomware scheme. In a recently-posted advisory, government officials warned that a ransomware-as-a-service software called Medusa, which has launched ransomware attacks since 2021, has recently affected hundreds of people. Medusa uses phishing campaigns as its main method for stealing victims’ credentials, according to CISA.

Originally, Medusa operated as a closed ransomware variant where all development and associated operations were controlled by the same group of cyber threat actors. It has since shifted toward an affiliate model, where developers and affiliates—called “Medusa actors”—use a double extortion model “where they encrypt victim data and threaten to publicly release exfiltrated data if a ransom is not paid,” according to the advisory.

To prevent ransomware attacks like Medusa’s, the agencies warn anyone using webmail services like Gmail and Microsoft Outlook, as well as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), to start using multifactor authentication — which, via text, email or an app, sends a security code that must be inputted to access the relevant account. The simple technique adds a “critical, additional layer of security to protect assets accounts whose credentials have been compromised,” according to the CISA.

Bottled Water Was Supposed to Be Healthy

Scientists make stunning discovery about the amount of microplastics in those little bottles

Plastic bottles have long been considered an imperfect yet convenient solution for staying hydrated with clean, healthy water. But the latest science proves that you should think twice before drinking from them. Because they’re full of microplastics—more than ever before as they tend to break off from the interior of the bottle itself, especially now that the bottles are thinner, which makes it easier for them to flex or heat up.

Those microplastics have now been shown to harm your health in a range of ways, from raising your blood pressure, increasing your risk for dementia and helping you gain weight. Just how much microplastics are we sucking down when we chug a bottle? It depends, but a recently published paper in Genomic Press says that swapping out bottled water for filtered tap is the easiest option to cut out the majority of your microplastic intake in one move.

The New York Post covered the paper, which was produced by three physicians from the U.S. and Canada. It examined what evidence we have so far on the effects of microplastics and recommended cutting out the biggest dietary sources of these particles. “Given the widespread presence of microplastics in the environment, completely eliminating exposure is unrealistic. A more practical approach is to reduce the most significant sources of microplastic intake,” the researchers wrote. They found that getting rid of bottled water, exposure went from 90,000 particles to 4,000 particles per year, a reduction of more than 90%. They also suggested quitting the practice of heating food in plastic to reduce your overall microplastic consumption.

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Made to order in England's undisputed shoe capital

Roll with the punches.