10 things you need to know today: March 15,2015

1. U.S. could negotiate with Syria's Assad, Kerry says

Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday the U.S. may need to negotiate with Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad to end the nation's four-year-old civil war. "We have to negotiate in the end," Kerry said in an interview with CBS. "We've always been willing to negotiate in the context of the Geneva I process." The war has killed more than 215,000 people, according to a monitoring organization. The Obama administration has insisted since the conflict began that Assad must step down to allow for a peaceful resolution.

Reuters

2. White House warns Senate to back down on Iran legislation

The Obama administration on Saturday issued a stern warning to the Senate that pending legislation on Iran would "likely have a profoundly negative impact on the ongoing negotiations" with Tehran. "Put simply, it would potentially make it impossible to secure international cooperation for additional sanctions, while putting at risk the existing multilateral sanctions regime," White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough wrote. Introduced by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the bill would give Congress final approval over any nuclear agreement. Senate Democrats have said they won't vote on the bill until March 24.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Associated Press

3. Kurds say ISIS used chemical weapons

Kurdish authorities on Saturday claimed to have evidence that Islamic State militants used weaponized chlorine gas against Peshmerga fighters in a Jan. 23 suicide truck bomb attack. The Kurdistan Region Security Council said in a statement that fighters found "around 20 gas canisters" at the scene of the attack in northern Iraq, and that a lab analysis of clothing samples from Peshmerga forces found chlorine traces. While ISIS has not responded to the allegations, it is not the first time officials claimed the group used low-grade chemical weapons.

The Guardian

4. Dozens feared dead after Cyclone Pam slams Vanuatu

A state of emergency has been declared for the island nation of Vanuatu after one of the Pacific's most powerful storms ever tore through the region from Friday into Saturday. Thousands are homeless and eight are confirmed dead, though the death toll is expected to climb after communications systems come back online and once aid crews begin to pick through the rubble. With winds approaching 200 mph, the cyclone snapped trees, leveled homes, and washed away infrastructure in what the aid organization Oxfam said would "likely to be one of the worst disasters ever seen in the Pacific."

NBC BBC

5. Jeb Bush discussed sensitive info on personal email account

Jeb Bush discussed troop movements and nuclear plant security using a personal email account during his tenure as Florida governor, according to a Washington Post review of public documents. A spokesperson for Bush called the emails "innocuous," noting that the former governor voluntarily released them. The revelation comes amid intense scrutiny of Hillary Clinton's exclusive use of a personal email account during her tenure in the State Department.

The Washington Post

6. Gay groups march in Boston's St. Pat's parade for first time

In a historic first, two gay rights groups will on Sunday participate in Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade. Boston Pride, an LGBT rights organization, and OutVets, which represents gay veterans, will march in the parade after years of acrimonious exclusion. "With this year's parade, Boston is putting years of controversy behind us," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement.

Reuters

7. Vatican endorses military action against ISIS

The Vatican on Saturday said force may be necessary to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria if a peaceful solution proves impossible to reach. "We have to stop this kind of genocide," Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's ambassador to the U.N., said in an interview. "Otherwise we'll be crying out in the future about why we didn't do something, why we allowed such a terrible tragedy to happen." The remark was a notable break from the Vatican's traditional opposition to military force in the region.

BBC

8. Sandy Hook survivors sue estate of gunman's mom

Eight families who lost children in the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting have filed lawsuits against the estate of Nancy Lanza for her alleged negligence in not securing the gun used in the attack. Filed in January, the two suits seek unspecified damages. At least eight lawsuits have been filed this year in relation to the attack. Lanza's son, Adam, killed his mother in Dec. 2012 before driving to the school and killing 26 more, including 20 first-graders.

CNN

9. Study: 3 million whales killed in 20th century

It is being called "the largest hunt in human history." Researchers who tallied the number of whales killed as a result of advancements in hunting technology and illegal catches in the 20th century say about 2.9 million whales were killed for commercial use during that span. The new number may still be "an underestimate," Dr. Howard Rosenbaum, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Ocean Giants Program, told NBC News. "The question is, given the state of today's oceans and the status of some whales, can depleted populations recover to their pre-whaling, historic levels?"

NBC

10. March Madness begins today

Today is Selection Sunday, when the field for the 2015 NCAA Tournament will be set. The tournament selection committee will arrange 68 teams — 32 conference champions and 36 at-large bids — into the bracket's four regions. Undefeated Kentucky is a lock for the top overall seed, with Duke, Virginia, Villanova, Wisconsin, and Arizona the favorites vying for the remaining No. 1 seeds.

CBS