10 things you need to know today: March 4, 2016

1. Cruz and Rubio target Trump in debate

Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio urged the Republican Party to unite against Donald Trump during Thursday night's GOP debate, saying the frontrunner lacked the conservative credentials and judgment to be the party's presidential nominee. They traded insults with Trump, who called Rubio "little Marco" and accused both Rubio and Cruz of lying about him. Cruz and Rubio said Trump would lead the GOP to defeat in November, although they and rival candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich said they would reluctantly support Trump if he wins the nomination.

Reuters The New York Times

2. Kim Jong Un orders nuclear weapons to be ready for firing at any time

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to get the country's nuclear weapons ready "to be fired any moment," state media reported Friday. He said the country should be in "preemptive attack" mode in the face of growing threats from its enemies — primarily South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. The comments marked an escalation in tensions over the isolated regime's nuclear program that led the United Nations Security Council to approve harsh new sanctions this week.

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Reuters

3. Romney and McCain deliver one-two punches against Trump

The last two Republican presidential nominees, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, unleashed a barrage of criticism on 2016 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump on Thursday. Romney called Trump a "fraud." Romney said Trump's "domestic policies would lead to recession" and "his foreign policies would make America and the world less safe." McCain agreed, saying he was worried about Trump's "uninformed and indeed dangerous statements on national security issues." Trump responded by blasting Romney as a "failed candidate" who begged for Trump's endorsement four years ago.

The New York Times CNN

4. Obama says 20 million have obtained coverage under health law

President Obama said Thursday that the number of Americans who had acquired health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act had reached 20 million, a new high. The government's last estimate in September was that 17.6 million formerly uninsured people had purchased private coverage on health-insurance exchanges or acquired it through expanded Medicaid programs. The news came a day after Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump unveiled a health plan that starts by repealing ObamaCare.

Bloomberg

5. Hollande warns of 'consequences' if Britain exits E.U.

French President Francois Hollande warned Britain on Thursday that there would be "consequences" if the U.K. leaves the European Union. One of his ministers earlier went further, saying France could end border controls in Calais, where thousands of migrants are camped, hoping to reach the U.K. through the nearby tunnel or by boat. British backers of the exit campaign dismissed the threat as "scaremongering." London Mayor Boris Johnson, who supports voting to exit the EU in a summertime referendum, responded: "Donnez-moi un break."

BBC News The Associated Press

6. U.S. jobs report expected to show solid February improvement

Economists expect the Labor Department to report Friday that employers added a healthy 195,000 jobs in February. That would mark improvement over January, when 151,000 jobs were added, and represent continuing solid job growth. The unemployment rate is expected to fall to 4.9 percent. The performance came as hiring in construction, retail, and health care offset layoffs by manufacturers and oil companies.

The Associated Press

7. Florida revises death penalty law after Supreme Court ruling

Florida lawmakers on Thursday approved revisions to the state's death penalty law, two months after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional because it let judges impose capital punishment regardless of a jury's recommendation. The new law requires at least 10 jurors to recommend a death sentence. Gov. Rick Scott (R) is expected to sign it. The debate delayed two executions in the state, one of the country's most active death penalty states. Also on Thursday, an Alabama judge ruled that state's death penalty statute unconstitutional, citing the Supreme Court's ruling on Florida.

The Washington Post

8. South African high court rejects Oscar Pistorius' murder appeal

South Africa's Constitutional Court on Thursday denied Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius' motion to appeal his murder conviction. He is scheduled to be sentenced in April for fatally shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a bathroom door at his house on Valentine's Day in 2013. He says he thought she was an intruder. He was originally convicted of manslaughter, but an appeals court upgraded the charge to murder in December.

USA Today

9. Indigenous environmentalist murdered in Honduras

Honduran indigenous leader Berta Caceres was murdered Thursday. A member of her group, the Indian Council of People's Organizations of Honduras, said at least two assailants broke into her house and shot her. The Lenca Indian activist won the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for her role in fighting a dam project on the Gualcarque River, considered sacred by the Lencas. She had reported receiving death threats from police, soldiers, and landowners because of her activism.

The Washington Post

10. Brandi Chastain vows to donate brain for concussion research

Retired soccer star Brandi Chastain announced Thursday that she would donate her brain to researchers at Boston University who are studying concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. CTE is believed to be caused by blows to the head, and has become a concern in contact sports such as boxing and football. Researchers also are looking into a possible link to soccer. Chastain said if anything can be learned from her after 40 years of playing soccer — and a half-dozen concussions — it's her responsibility to help.

The New York Times