Thomas Morgenstern of Austria soars through the air during the men’s ski jumping Individual HS 106, at the Nordic Ski World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, today. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

HERE ARE THE things we learned, loved and shared today.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#HORSEMEAT Fianna Fáil’s Agriculture spokesperson Éamon Ó Cúiv called for Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to step away from the horsemeat investigation today, and also called for the process to be independent. In response, Minister Coveney said that the investigation is independent – and he is happy to give Deputy Ó Cúiv a briefing on it. Meanwhile, horsemeat was found in lasagne in Italy.

#DECEASED The man whose body was found in a Carlow hotel room yesterday has been named by gardaí as 44-year-old Colm Kavanagh from Killeshin, Co Laois. His body was found at around 1.15pm yesterday afternoon. A post-mortem was inconclusive and gardaí investigating the death are awaiting the results of toxicology and other tests.

#JOAN BURTON Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has said that hecklers gave Dundalk a ‘bad image‘, after she had to cut short a trip to a shopping centre in Co Louth yesterday. She was at the centre to launch a JobsPlus scheme, but was heckled with chants of “shame on you”.

#HEALTH INSURANCE Laya Healthcare said today that it is to increase its premiums in April amid a ‘healthcare crisis’. The company’s managing director Dónal Clancy said that Ireland’s healthcare market needs ‘radical reform’.

#MASSACHUSETTS Reports that a gunman was present on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus – causing the area to go into lockdown – were a hoax, authorities said today. Cambridge police said that officers searched for a man reported to be carrying a long rifle and wearing body armour, but found nothing.

THINGS WE LOVED

• Michelle Obama rules. Rules, we tell you!

(latenight/YouTube)

• What is Thon? It’s a two-day dance marathon run by students from the US’s Penn State University, and it’s in aid of charity. Photographer Fred R Conrad captured the spirit of the event in black-and-white photos.
• Want to see the passport photos of some very iconic figures? Here you go.

THINGS WE SHARED

• Why do human skulls found near Mexico City baffle scientists? This video from The Guardian explains more.
• Who are the 11 people that wreck your head on social media? Why, these folks.
• This is what happens when you mix Taylor Swift and screaming goats… (via Reddit)

(Christopher DrifterSX)

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