The center of Tikrit was retaken almost*, but there were still pockets of ISIS resistance in a large area *. There are few civilians there, but former residents say local police tell them dozens of houses and shops that survived a nine-month ISIS occupation are now gone. The residents believe some were rigged with bombs by ISIS, others hit during clashes. But they also think the government’s allies, Shiite militias, purposely destroyed some property in the Sunni-majority area motivated by sectarian anger. Alice Fordham, NPR News, Baghdad. 

 

Pope Francis today described the mass killing of Armenians by Turkish soldiers 100 years ago the first genocide of the 20th country. His comments were welcomed by Armenians, but as NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports, Turkey has responded by summoning the Vatican ambassador and recalling its ambassador to the Vatican.

During a mass, Pope Francis spoke of the century-old killings using words of one of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II, who called the killings genocide in 2001. That comment drew anger from Turkey then, and while Ankara has tried to put the Armenian controversy behind it in the recent years, Turkish leaders stubbornly refuse to accept the view of many historians, who have concluded that the deportations and mass killings do fit the international legal definition of genocide. This year the centenary of Armenian Remembrance Day takes place on April 24th, one day before the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign of World War I, an important victory for the Ottoman Turkish army. Turkey and Armenia have competed for world leaders to attend their respective ceremonies. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul.    

 

Hillary Clinton plans to visit Iowa Tuesday—her first as an official candidate for the Democratic nomination for president. Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus tells CBS’s Face the Nation she’s the ideal candidate for the GOP to run against. 

“If you were me, and you were chairman of the National Party, and you had someone on the ticket that would unite your party, would help you raise a lot of money, and help you recruit a ton of volunteers, you do want nothing more than Hillary Clinton to be on the other side.”

The Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar tells the same program Clinton is great at reaching out to people. 

“I saw her as a senator and one to one on those bread-and-butter issues and that’s all I hear about Minnesota. The farm bill, those guys that just announced on the Republican side, they didn’t even vote for it. She’s going to go to Iowa and say, talk about rural policy, things that matter.”

Clinton announced her run today. The former secretary of state says she will focus on the middle class. Iowa holds the first vote in the party’s presidential nominating process. 

 

Jordan Spieth has won the Masters Gulf Tournament at the age of 21. 

 

This is NPR. 

 

Secretary of State John Kerry says Congressional opponents to the framework agreement with Iran over its nuclear program should hold off until the final agreement comes later this year. Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Kerry says the administration should be free to negotiate until the June 30th deadline. But on Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to debate a bill that would give (Congressional) Congress (rather) say on any deal.

 

This week marks the end of an American retail giant in Canada. After announcing earlier this year that it was pulling out of the Canadian market, Target’s remaining stores will close for good by the end of today. Dan Karpenchuk has more. 

It was the final drama in Target’s failed attempt to crack the Canadian market. The retailer’s 133 Canadian locations began closing shortly after the January announcement, more than 17,000 employees told their jobs would be gone. A week ago, there were only 37 stores remaining, the last closing this weekend. Business analysts have weighed in on the reasons for Target’s demise—poorly stocked shelves and inventory problems, discounts that didn’t fly with savvy Canadian consumers and even a decline in consumer traffic to malls, as well competition from growing online business took its toll and a misunderstanding of just how competitive Canada’s retail market had become. For NPR News, I’m Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto. 

 

Defense Secretary Ash Carter flies home from Hawaii today following his first Asian visit on the job. Carter consulted with Japanese and South Korean leaders, giving pep talks to American troops and stressing the U.S. military’s stabilizing influence in the area.