5 Things To Know For Your New Day -- Wednesday, March 25

GERMANWINGS CRASH

Aviation tragedy: Rescue crews will begin again today to try to recover bodies from yesterday’s Germanwings Airbus A320 crash. Authorities weren’t able to retrieve bodies yesterday, due to the mountainous terrain and cold weather conditions. Snow is in the forecast for today. One-hundred-fifty people are presumed dead in the crash, which occurred in a remote area in the French Alps. Germany’s foreign minister, after flying over the crash site, called the scene a “picture of horror.” One of the plane’s black boxes has been found, but it’s still too early to tell what brought the plane down.

AFGHANISTAN TROOP LEVELS

Drawdown slowed: The U.S. military presence in Afghanistan will stay at the current level of 9,800 troops through the end of the year, President Obama announced yesterday, rather than dropping to 5,500 as planned. Obama, who met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani yesterday, said the delay was needed to give Afghan forces enough time to improve the security situation in the country and to make sure U.S. troops “don’t have to go back.” The President emphasized, however, that almost all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016.

OBAMACARE

Cruz’s surprise: After years of fighting for its destruction (and a day after launching his presidential bid), Sen. Ted Cruz stunned many yesterday by announcing that he’ll be going on Obamacare. The Texas Republican is signing up for the Affordable Care Act because he will no longer have health coverage via his wife’s employer, Goldman Sachs. Heidi Cruz is on unpaid leave while her husband runs for president. Cruz dismissed the obvious irony of the situation, saying that he was simply following a law he disagrees with.

CLICK HERE to read story

source: CNN.com