Human Interest

The head of antiquities in Palmyra was tortured, beheaded by ISIS last August, rather than telling the terror group where the ancient city’s treasures were hidden The family of Syrian archaeologist Khaled Mohamad al-Asaad tell their story and the death of a man who served for forty years and eventually died protecting Palmyra’s honor.  The Independent reports: Before his death, Khaled al-Asaad, 81, who was chief of the Unesco world heritage site, had been dubbed “Mr Palmyra” in recognition of his work on the 2,000-year-old buildings and works of art in the city.

Stephen Colbert looks at Republican candidate Donald Trump’s recent loss in Tuesday’s Wisconsin presidential primary and his reluctance to talk about real issues. Business Insider reports: The “Late Show” host called Trump’s loss in the Badger State a “huge upset, because even if you voted for Ted Cruz you’re still pretty upset about it.” So why did the real-estate mogul lose? Colbert joked that “analysts say Trump lost because of ‘things he said and done.'” That’s broad.

A museum dedicated to poo has opened its doors to the public for the very first time in the UK, at the Isle of Wight Zoo. The National Poo Museum exhibits faeces from the animal and human kingdoms.  ITV reports: The National Poo Museum has been created by members of the artist collective Eccleston George and features illuminated resin spheres to show off the different types of poo Various interesting facts are also hidden behind retro toilet lids which line the museum’s walls.

A reader writes:

After Super Tuesday, I pointed out that by remaining in the race after his dismal showing, Marco Rubio was making it materially more-likely that Donald Trump got the nomination. I think the results from Wisconsin yesterday substantially bear that out. Ted Cruz’s share of the state vote looks an awful lot like what the Cruz and Rubio combined votes would have looked like had Wisconsin voted on, say, March 5th. Had Rubio dropped out after Super Tuesday and endorsed Cruz, Cruz would likely have won Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and North Carolina in addition to the states he actually won.