SANDERS SURPRISES, TRUMP KEEPS ROLLING

Bernie Sanders notched a surprise win over Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's Democratic primary in the state of Michigan, even as the former first lady won easily in the smaller southern state of Mississippi. Sanders, the underdog anti-establishment challenger, edged Clinton by 49.9% to 48.2% in Michigan, a key northern industrial state. The win keeps the race for the party nomination alive, heading into upcoming contests in even bigger states like Florida and Ohio. On the Republican side, brash billionaire Donald Trump continued to stay ahead of his nearest rival, Senator Ted Cruz, with wins in both Michigan and Mississippi, as well as a caucus victory in Hawaii. Cruz won in Idaho. Read more coverage from The Washington Post.

TOP ISIS LEADER "LIKELY KILLED" IN STRIKE

The U.S. military is assessing whether Abu Omar al-Shishani, the red-bearded top ISIS leader dubbed "the Chechen," was killed in an airstrike carried Friday near al-Shaddadi, Syria. The jihadist, who was born in the former Soviet state of Georgia to an ethnic Chechen mother, was "likely killed," a Department of Defense official told CNN.

WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO

Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was detained last week as part of a widespread corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras. But the probe could actually prove to be the spark to help him succeed Dilma Rousseff, Clóvis Rossi writes for Brazilian daily Folha de S. Paulo: "The latest poll from the Datafolha institute shows that Lula has 20% support among voters a full two years out, which is an excellent starting point for a potential candidate, especially one who has been dogged for months by accusations. As a matter of fact, Lula himself seems to hold the same view. ‘I won't bow my head,' he said from the Workers' Party headquarters after he was released by police, explaining that what happened had instead ‘ignited in him the flame to keep up the fight.'"

Read the full article, Why A Tainted Lula Could Be Back As Brazil President.

VERBATIM

"The nuclear warheads have been standardized to be fit for ballistic missiles by miniaturizing them," North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying by the country's official news agency KCNA. North Korea has claimed today that it has developed a nuclear bomb small enough to fit into a warhead. This is the latest in a series of threats and provocative behavior from North Korea, as tension with South Korea and the U.S. has escalated after new UN sanctions were imposed following Pyongyang's latest nuclear test and missile launch.

SNAPSHOT

Photo: He Changshan/Xinhua/ZUMA

Although some clouds spoiled the view, millions of sky gazers across the Pacific were able to experience a total solar eclipse, here pictured from Belitung island, Indonesia.

QUEEN DENIES BACKING BREXIT

Buckingham Palace has insisted the Queen is "politically neutral" over the EU referendum, following claims by The Sun newspaper that she "backs Brexit", the BBC reports.

Quoting anonymous sources, the tabloid daily alleged that the Queen told pro-EU former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg back in 2011 that he was "heading in the wrong direction."

BIDEN'S ISRAEL VISIT MARRED BY ATTACKS

A series of knife attacks and shootings is rocking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden kicks off his two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. Shorty before Biden landed Tuesday, a Palestinian man stabbed an American tourist to death and wounded at least nine other people in the Jaffa port area of Tel Aviv, before being shot, Al Jazeera reports. And early Wednesday, two assailants opened fire near a public bus in Jerusalem, seriously injuring one person in the third attack to hit the city in 24 hours.

Biden is expected to meet separately today with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

ON THIS DAY

Celebrating 57 years of Barbie dolls in today's 57-second shot of history.

RIP 5TH BEATLE

Sir George Martin, the London-born producer, arranger, composer, conductor, audio engineer and musician sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle" for his work as a producer of the Fab four, has died at age 90. Without his arrangements, Yesterday, Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby or A Day In The Life wouldn't have sounded the same.

MY GRAND-PERE'S WORLD

GHOST MELODY

Google celebrates Lithuanian theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, born March 9, 1911, by letting you play this spooky-sounding ancestor of electronic instruments.