The Round of 64 is underway on this, one of the best two days of March Madness. Iowa State looking a bit shaky against UAB.

Here are some less frantic midday news/views treats:

* NOAA announces planet had warmest winter on record. But wait: didn’t it snow a lot in the Northeast?

* Charlie Pierce pens epic post on the demise of Republican moderates.

* Matt Bruenig offers contrarian take on economics of relationships ending.

* RCP’s Caitlin Huey-Burns presents the awful specter of Nikki Haley, King-Maker.

* Jeb Bush and Ludacrus cross paths at Georgia State Capitol.

And in non-political news:

* Words I never thought I’d type, for several reasons: “Eminem’s Daughter Is All Grown Up.”

As we break for lunch, here’s another early Zombies hit: “Tell Her No.”

YouTube video

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.