The speech came at a time when speculation over whether the 76-year-old politician will run for president has intensified.

The school said on Monday night it has already "placed holds on the accounts of students who may be associated with the alleged admissions scheme," preventing them from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts. It did not name specific students, but Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli are among 50 people charged last week with participating in what federal prosecutors called a $25 million bribery and fraud scam. Prosecutors said some students involved in the scandal were not aware their parents had made the alleged arrangements, although in other cases they knowingly took part.

Thousands of people are being forced to leave their homes after a so-called bomb cyclone brought flooding to huge swathes of the American midwest. From Nebraska to Kansas, and Missouri to Illinois, residents have been evacuated amid flooding that has killed at least three people. The governors of Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin have declared states of emergency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into Crimea on Monday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Moscow's annexation of the strategic peninsula from Ukraine which was condemned by the West but remains popular among Russians. Russian flags flew in the main city of Simferopol while posters celebrating Crimea's "return to its native land" hung in shop windows and on public transport. Putin used the visit to officially open two new power stations on the Black Sea peninsula, which was almost wholly dependent on electricity from Ukraine before the annexation.

In the aftermath of the Christchurch terrorist attack, New Zealand is looking to step up on gun control.It's led to the country's biggest online marketplace, Trade Me, stopping the sale of semi-automatic firearms until it receives further instruction from the government.SEE ALSO: Facebook has removed 1.5 million videos of the New Zealand shooting, but questions remain"We have listened to public sentiment following Friday's terrorist attack in Christchurch and decided to remove all semi-automatic firearms sales and parts associated with those weapons today," Trade Me's statement reads.The company said it would aim to remove listings for semi-automatic firearms by the end of Monday. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged that the country's gun laws "will change" following the tragedy, and said on Monday she would start discussing the issue within the government."Rightly ... people are asking the question 'why is it that someone with a firearms licence in New Zealand can obtain a military-style semi-automatic weapon?'" Ardern told Radio NZ.The New Zealand Police Association has backed the action on the country's gun laws."Jacinda Ardern has said emphatically that New Zealand's gun laws will change and that now is the time for that change," Police Association president Chris Cahill said in a statement online."I absolutely agree with her and I believe many New Zealanders will be aghast that in our country someone can amass a cache of weapons like that discovered in this Christchurch tragedy."Unlike neighbouring Australia, whose famously strong gun policy resulted in a ban on semi-automatic firearms, New Zealand allows private possession, as long as the owner is approved by police and licensed. As per Gunpolicy.org, New Zealand has double the guns per person than Australia, and the number of privately-owned guns is estimated to be at 1.5 million. There have also been calls for a gun register, which isn't required in New Zealand for most firearms, according to the BBC. WATCH: Delete Facebook says WhatsApp co-founder