1. Great Pacific Garbage Patch Research

2. A huge, swirling pile of trash in the Pacific Ocean is growing faster than expected and is now three times the size of France.
According to a three-year study published in Scientific Reports Friday, the mass known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about 1.6 million square kilometers in size -- up to 16 times bigger than previous estimates. Ghost nets, or discarded fishing nets, make up almost half the 80,000 metric tons of garbage floating at sea, and researchers believe that around 20% of the total volume of trash is debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami. The study -- conducted by an international team of scientists with The Ocean Cleanup Foundation, six universities and an aerial sensor company -- utilized two aircraft surveys and 30 vessels to cross the debris field. Along with nets to survey and collect trash, researchers used two six-meter-wide devices to measure medium to large-sized objects. An aircraft was also fitted with advanced sensors to collect 3D scans of the ocean garbage. They ended up collecting a total of 1.2 million plastic samples and scanned more than 300 square kilometers of ocean surface. The bulk of the pile is made up of larger objects while only 8% of the mass is microplastics, or pieces smaller than 5 millimeters in size. It's estimated 640,000 tons of fishing gear is lost to the marine environment each year. Additionally, plastic pollution is a major reason for the enormity of the “isle.” The patch is so big that last fall environmentalists called on the United Nations to declare the Great Pacific Garbage Patch a country, called "The Trash Isles," complete with its own passport and currency, called debris.

3. In Other News
One person has been killed and others taken hostage at a supermarket in southern France. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told local media that there was a hostage situation in the town of Trebes. Apparently a man opened fire and that the incident was unfolding at a Super U supermarket. It has been reported that the attack appeared to be “ISIS-inspired.”
Trump removed national security adviser H.R. McMaster and will replace him with John Bolton, an ex-US ambassador.
After President Trump announced new tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, China's Commerce Ministry said it might slap tariffs on $3 billion worth of US imports.
The Sacramento Kings beat the Atlanta Hawks in an NBA game, but they did it in front of an almost-empty arena, after Black Lives Matter protests blocked entrances. They were protesting the death of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by police in his grandmother's backyard. Police thought Clark had a gun, but only a cell phone was found on him. Police and the team made the decsion to stop admitting people into the game as hundreds of demonstrators linked arms and chanted "Join us or go home" at basketball fans.
A teen girl injured in this week's Maryland high school shooting will be taken off of life support. Jaelynn Willey was one of two students hurt when a fellow student -- who had a prior relationship with Willey -- opened fire in a hallway at Great Mills High School. The shooter was shot by a school resource officer and later died. Meanwhile, when students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School return to class after spring break, they'll have to wear clear backpacks. It's all part of an effort to ramp up security at the school where a gunman killed 17 people last month. Many students from the school will be in Washington tomorrow for the March for Our Lives protest.
Toys 'R' Us founder Charles Lazarus was dedicated to the chain he started. He passed away just days after it was announced its US stores were closing.

4. Friday Photos