NEWS

5 things you need to know Monday

Editors
USA TODAY

Women get NHL assist as USA Hockey meets 

In this Nov. 4, 2014, file photo, Team United States' Monique Lamoureux, right, celebrates her goal against Team Finland with teammate Alex Carpenter at Four Nations Cup women's hockey tournament in Kamloops, British Columbia.

USA Hockey, reeling from slapshots by female and now male players over the fast-approaching world championships, hopes its emergency meeting Monday can Zamboni over any hard feelings. That may be a tall order. First, the women's team told USA Hockey they were going to skip the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championships in protest of what they say are low pay and inadequate resources. USA Hockey started looking for replacements, but at least several would-be substitutes declined publicly on Twitter. Now, U.S. players in the NHL are set to boycott the men's championships if replacements hit the ice for the women, according to a person with knowledge of talks among NHL players. Unions for the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball have also voiced support for the women's protest.

Should Wall Street’s ‘Fearless Girl’ statue stay?

'The Fearless Girl' statue.

The artist behind the statue of a little girl in front of Manhattan’s iconic Charging Bull will be honored Monday by a bipartisan group of prominent women asking that it stay on Wall Street. Kristen Visbal will be recognized on the steps of New York’s City Hall for her sculpture, which was installed on a temporary basis to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8. It’s scheduled to come down April 2, but has sparked an online petition to let the statue stay. Public art in the area is controlled by New York City, but a spokesman didn’t say when a decision would be made. "The girl has changed the meaning of the bull forever," said David Levi Strauss of Manhattan's School of Visual Arts.

NFL's Raiders in formation for Vegas move

The Oakland Raiders appear all set to go really long — by relocating to Las Vegas. NFL owners meet Monday to consider the move, and there is no sign of significant opposition. "It's a done deal," one owner says. Speaking anonymously to USA TODAY Sports because the measure hasn't been formally discussed, the owner estimates a vote count in the range of 28-4 — comfortably above the 24 votes needed. A $2 billion stadium project in downtown Vegas and public funding for moving the team owned by Mark Davis are powerful lures. A last-ditch effort by Oakland's mayor to keep the team there was deemed not "viable" by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Those were the days: The late Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler talks to coach John Madden on the sidelines in 1976.

British Airways launches Dreamliner service to New Orleans

British Airways said it would begin flying to New Orleans on Monday, making the Louisiana city the carrier’s 23rd destination in the United States. The airline announced four flights a week on its 214-seat Boeing 787-8 “Dreamliner” aircraft last fall, offering service to British Airways’ hub at London Heathrow.  British Airways says New Orleans customers will be able to connect via Heathrow to 130 other cities “throughout Europe and beyond.”

British Airways planes at Heathrow.

Calif. community grapples with slayings of 4, including mom and 2 kids

Grief counselors will be available Monday at schools attended by two children found dead with their mother and another woman last week in a home in Sacramento, officials said. Police said they found 14-year-old Mia Vasquez and 11-year-old Alvin Vasquez along with their mother, 45-year-old Angelique Vasquez, on Thursday after receiving a tip from a relative. They also found the fourth victim, 21-year-old Ashley Coleman, in the home. Authorities have not said when or how the killings took place, but arrested 56-year-old Salvador Vasquez-Oliva on suspicion of homicide.

Investigators on Thursday walk to the home where four people were found dead in Sacramento.

Contributing: Associated Press