10 things you need to know today: August 6, 2014

1. American general killed in an apparent insider attack in Afghanistan

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Harold Greene was shot and killed in Kabul on Tuesday in an apparent insider attack by a member of the Afghan armed forces. Greene was the highest ranking member of the U.S. military killed in the line of duty since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Greene, 55, was a key figure in the training of Afghan security forces, and he was making a routine visit to a training center when he was shot.

The Washington Post

2. Utah takes its defense of its gay marriage ban to the Supreme Court

Utah on Tuesday became the first state to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on its bid to save its same-sex marriage ban. The voter-approved ban was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge and an appeals court. If the Supreme Court declines to hear the appeal, the appeals court ruling will stand and gay marriage will be legal in its jurisdiction, which includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.

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The Salt Lake Tribune

3. Russian gang pulls off record heist of internet security data

Security researchers say that a Russian crime ring has pulled off the largest theft ever of internet security information, collecting the user names and passwords of 1.2 billion users. The confidential personal data, along with 500 million email addresses, was stolen from 420,000 websites, including both well-known sites and smaller ones, according to Hold Security, which discovered the credential theft.

The New York Times

4. Businessman ousts Tea Party-aligned Rep. Kerry Bentivolio in GOP primary

House establishment Republicans got a lift after former majority leader Eric Cantor's June primary loss, when businessman Dave Trott beat Tea Party-aligned Rep. Kerry Bentivolio in Michigan's 11th District on Tuesday. Trott won in an apparent landslide, taking 66 percent of the vote with 60 percent of precincts reporting. In Kansas, Sen. Pat Roberts defeated a Tea Party challenger in what might have been hard-liners' last chance to oust an incumbent GOP senator this year.

Politico The New York Times

5. Gaza truce holds on its first day

The latest three-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas held early Wednesday, its second day, as negotiators in Cairo prepared to start indirect talks on ending the month-long Gaza conflict. Both Israel and Hamas claimed victory. Israeli military officials said they had accomplished their mission by destroying tunnels used by Palestinian militants to attack Israel. Hamas said the casualties it inflicted on Israeli forces showed the limits of Israel's power.

The Associated Press Los Angeles Times

6. Missouri carries out first execution since prolonged lethal injection in Arizona

Missouri executed inmate Michael Worthington by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 1995 rape and murder of a Lake St. Louis woman. Worthington was the first U.S. inmate put to death since a controversial execution in Arizona last month in which the condemned man was given 15 doses of lethal drugs and was not pronounced dead until two hours after the execution began.

The Associated Press

7. Sprint abandons T-Mobile takeover bid

Sprint has given up on taking over T-Mobile, ending the No. 3 mobile phone carrier's attempt to create a major challenger to Verizon Wireless and AT&T. T-Mobile was reportedly willing to move forward if several sticking points on the financial structure of a deal could be resolved, but both companies doubted regulators would approve the deal because of concerns about competition.

Bloomberg Businessweek

8. Tour buses collide in Times Square, injuring 14

Fourteen people were injured in New York City's Times Square when two double-decker sightseeing buses crashed into each other. Most of the victims were pedestrians with minor injuries — the buses were empty except for the drivers and one tour guide. One of the people injured was a baby in a stroller. Police arrested one of the drivers, charging him with driving while impaired.

CBS News The Associated Press

9. Argentine grandmother finds grandson 36 years after his abduction

A grandmother in Argentina says she has found the grandson who was taken from her daughter shortly before she was executed by the military dictatorship of the 1970s. Estela Barnes de Carlotto, founder of the human rights group Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, said the now 36-year-old man — identified by Argentine media as pianist and composer Ignacio Hurban — had questions about his identity and came forward to have a DNA test.

The Guardian

10. Spurs hire former WNBA star Becky Hammon as assistant coach

The NBA champion San Antonio Spurs announced Tuesday that they had hired six-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon as assistant coach. Hammon is not the first woman to join an NBA team's coaching staff — Lisa Boyer worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2001-2002 — but her high-profile job is still being called historic. Hammon downplayed the significance of her success, saying other women had "trail-blazed the path."

CNN