10 things you need to know today: March 12, 2015

Police investigate the scene of the shooting.

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson))

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1. Two police officers shot outside Ferguson's police station after chief resigns
2. AP sues for Hillary Clinton's State Department emails
3. Two other universities look into whether SAE frat members used racist chant
4. Apple online stores suffer outage
5. Search continues for survivors after Florida Army helicopter crash
6. Utah House approves gay-rights bill
7. Obama approves non-lethal military aid to Ukraine
8. Iraq takes back Tikrit from ISIS
9. Secret Service agents under investigation for crash at White House gate
10. Bill Badger, hailed as hero for tackling Giffords shooter, dies at 78

published 12 March 2015

1. Two police officers shot outside Ferguson's police station after chief resigns

Two police officers were shot outside the Ferguson, Missouri, police station early Thursday during a protest hours after embattled Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned. One of the officers was shot in the shoulder, the other in the face. Both were expected to survive, and an investigation into the shooting suspect is underway. Jackson was the latest of several officials, including city manager John Shaw, who have resigned since a scathing Justice Department report accusing city officials of unfairly targeting blacks with fines to raise money.

The Associated Press on Wednesday filed suit against the State Department demanding Hillary Clinton's email records from her time as secretary of state, saying it was "in the public interest" to see what was in them. The lawsuit came a day after Clinton defended herself by saying she used her personal account for "convenience" to avoid using two accounts and two devices. The State Department says it will release Clinton's work emails publicly after a months-long internal review.

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At least two new investigations are underway to determine whether a racist chant used by Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members at the University of Oklahoma had been used by students in chapters at other schools. The president of the University of Texas at Austin said Wednesday that the school is checking into "rumors" that members of the SAE frat there used the same song, and the national fraternity office in Evanston, Illinois, said a similar investigation was taking place at least one other college.

Apple experienced a 12-hour outage at its iTunes and App stores on Wednesday. Frustrated customers from around the world flooded social media sites with reports of receiving error codes when they tried to access the Apple sites. "ALL of my Apple products won't accept my password," one user wrote. "Life today is going to suck." Apple issued a statement apologizing for the outages, saying it was "working to make all of the services available to customers as soon as possible."

Military officials said Wednesday some human remains had been recovered on the shore near where an Army Blackhawk helicopter crashed during a training mission in Florida Tuesday night. Search and rescue crews, hampered by fog, were looking for survivors, but the seven Marines and four Army reservists who were on board were presumed dead. The identities of the Marines, who were based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and the Louisiana National Guard soldiers were not immediately released.

Utah's Republican-dominated state legislature passed a bill Wednesday night banning discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, but giving religious institutions and charities some leeway if they object to homosexuality. Both the Mormon church and gay-rights groups back the bill, which is seen as a potential model for other conservative states looking to shield gays and lesbians from housing and employment discrimination. Gov. Gary Herbert (R) is expected to sign the bill into law Thursday evening.

President Obama on Wednesday approved $75 million in non-lethal aid to Ukraine as its military contends with pro-Russian separatist rebels in the eastern part of the country. The assistance will include small reconnaissance drones, radios, and military ambulances. In a separate move, Obama also has approved sending Ukraine 30 armored Humvees, and as many as 200 unarmored ones in a show of U.S. support for "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," an anonymous official said.

Iraqi forces seized control of the strategically important city of Tikrit from the Islamic State on Wednesday, although sporadic fighting continued Thursday in pockets still held by ISIS. If the Iraqi military and allied militias can hold onto the city it will mark a significant victory for 30,000 pro-government fighters involved in the offensive against ISIS, and a big step in the effort to reclaim Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

The Obama administration is investigating reports that two Secret Service agents drove a government vehicle into White House security barriers following a night of drinking at a party last week. Officers on duty wanted to arrest the agents and give them sobriety tests, but were told by a supervisor to let them go home. The agents under investigation are Mark Connolly, the second-in-command on President Obama's detail, and George Ogilvie, a senior supervisor in the Washington field office.

Retired Army colonel Bill Badger, who helped tackle the gunman who shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson four years ago, died Wednesday of pneumonia. He was 78. Badger was wounded before he got to the shooter, Jared Loughner, and helped hold him down. Six people were killed in the attack outside a grocery store while Giffords was meeting with constituents. Thirteen, including Badger and Giffords, were wounded. Giffords called Badger "a hero," saying his "selfless, brave actions" saved lives.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.