10 things you need to know today: March 17, 2012

1. AFGHAN MASSACRE SUSPECT TO BE CHARGED

Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the suspected killer of 16 Afghan civilians who were murdered in their homes in the middle of the night last Sunday, could be formally charged as soon as today. The 38-year-old father of two is being held at a military prison in Kansas. It remains to be seen whether he's tried in the U.S. or Afghanistan. Bales enlisted soon after the 9/11 terror attacks, and served three tours of duty in Iraq before being sent to Afghanistan in December 2011. [ABC News]

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2. OBAMA TRIES TO CONTAIN AFGHANISTAN FALLOUT

In the wake of the Afghan massacre, President Obama called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss Karzai's demand that the U.S. speed up its exit from the war-torn country. Karzai, frustrated by mounting casualties, wants U.S. troops relegated to major bases by next year. [USA Today]

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3. ARCHIBISHOP OF CANTERBURY RESIGNS IN A HUFF

Though he could've continued in his position for eight more years, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, announced that he would be leaving the Anglican Church and returning to academia. His 10 years in office "has been marked by a slowly growing schism in the Anglican church which he has failed to heal." [The Guardian]

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4. EX-RUTGERS STUDENT GUILTY IN WEBCAM SPYING

A New Jersey jury convicted 20-year-old Dharun Ravi on several counts of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy for using a webcam in September 2010 to spy on his roommate Tyler Clementi as he had a sexual encounter with another man. Ravi, who will be sentenced on May 21, could face up to 10 years in prison and deportation to his native India. [Reuters]

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5. GEORGE CLOONEY LEAVES D.C. JAIL

The actor was freed from a Washington jail Friday after his arrest for trespassing at the Sudanese embassy in D.C. Clooney, along with his father, Martin Luther King III, and several members of Congress, was protesting the Sudanese hunger crisis, accusing President Omar al-Bashir of blocking food and humanitarian assistance from reaching hundreds of thousands of people. [Washington Post]

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6. DETAILS EMERGE ON BIN LADEN'S OBAMA PLOT

In his last days, Osama bin Laden reportedly made plans to kill President Obama and other U.S. officials, including Gen. David Petraeus. Proof of bin Laden's plan was found among documents recovered from the Pakistan compound where he was killed in May 2011. [Los Angeles Times]

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7. WHITE RICE COULD INCREASE TYPE 2 DIABETES RISK

Eating too much white rice can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes by as much as 27 percent, according to a study by Harvard researchers. Because white rice scores high on the glycemic index, which measures how foods affect glucose levels, it is known to cause spikes in blood sugar. [Time]

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8. LETTER GRADES COMING TO CURBSIDE BUSES

The U.S. Senate passed a bill that will require bus companies like Greyhound and Megabus to display safety letter grades, much in the same way that many restaurants do. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) proposed the legislation in 2011 after a series of fatal crashes, including one in the Bronx that killed 15 people. [DNAInfo]

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9. SCIENTISTS CLONE RARE CASHMERE GOAT

Scientists in Kashmir cloned a Himalayan goat to try to increase the numbers of the rare animal, which is known for its silky undercoat used to make pashmina wool, or cashmere. The first clone, named Noori, could increase production of the high-priced wool, which is a major source of income — about $80 million a year — for the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir. [Telegraph]

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10. NCAA UNDERDOGS OUST POWERHOUSES

For the first time in NCAA tournament history, two No. 15 seeds bounced No. 2 seeds from the first round of the men's basketball tournament in the same day. Lehigh shocked heavily favored Duke, and Norfolk State bounced Missouri — who President Obama had picked to go to the Final Four. [Detroit News]