"Game of Thrones" ends, Sanders and Biden hit the trail: 5 things you need to know this weekend
Sanders to call for a ban on for-profit charter schools
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will call for a federal ban on building for-profit charter schools in a major education policy address to be delivered Saturday in South Carolina, a senior campaign official for the 2020 presidential contender tells USA TODAY. Sanders also will pledge to impose a moratorium on using taxpayer funds on charter school expansion in communities if he's elected president, a position that the NAACP has been advocating. The speech by Sanders comes one day after the 65th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools to be illegal. Sanders wrote about the case in an op-ed for the Asheville Citizen-Times, also noting that segregation in schools is still prominent today. "Our school system can no longer put up fences for black and brown children," Sanders wrote. In response to Sanders' position, Amy Wilkins of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools said, "Sanders' call is out of touch – as usual – with what African Americans want." Sanders is the first major 2020 Democratic candidate to call for a ban on for-profit charters or a moratorium on funding the expansion of charters.
"Game of Thrones" comes to an end, for better or worse
"Game of Thrones", the sprawling HBO series that featured dozens of characters, settings on two continents, dragons, giants, direwolves and enough backstabbing and broken alliances to make a war historian's head spin will come an end with its 73rd and final episode Sunday night. Despite fans calling for a complete redo of the season, there's no doubt that the "Thrones" phenomenon is bigger than just ratings. There are the memes, the celebrities created among the cast, the quotes and the watch parties. However, there's no way "Thrones" can sew up every loose plot thread in 80 minutes, and TV critic Kelly Lawler has predicted what fans won't learn from the last episode.
To get you ready for the finale:
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Biden kicks off 2020 campaign
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading the pack of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, will hold a kickoff rally in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Saturday. In the days after Biden launched his campaign, he courted union workers in Pittsburgh and schmoozed donors in Philadelphia. Flipping Pennsylvania may have been Trump's biggest victory in 2016, but according to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University, Biden is leading Trump 53% to 42% in the state.
Muslims invite fellow Americans to Open Mosque Day
Muslims across the country will open their mosques to neighbors of all backgrounds Saturday, inviting people for conversations and a meal. During a time where attacks on places of worship are trending, Ahmadiyya Muslims are hoping to build understanding and connections through the community events, said Harris Zafar, spokesperson for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA. The Open Mosque Day will be staged in about 40 locations across 25 states, featuring question-and-answer sessions as well as traditions of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.
Preakness Stakes to go on without Kentucky Derby winner
Despite the controversy still swirling around this year’s Kentucky Derby finish, horse racing must go on. Saturday's 144th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is one of the most wide-open races in recent memory. "There's four or five horses that can win it," Improbable co-owner Elliott Walden said Friday, according to the Associated Press. Country House — the horse who came in first at the Derby after Maximum Security, the horse that finished first, was disqualified — will not be competing due to illness. The post time for the race is set for approximately 6:48 p.m. ET and it will air on NBC. Here is the Preakness field in post-position order and with morning-line odds.
More on Preakness:
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: "Game of Thrones" ends, Sanders and Biden hit the trail: 5 things you need to know this weekend
