10 things you need to know today: March 7, 2015

(Image credit: (Kena Betancur/Getty Images))

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1. Sen. Robert Menendez will reportedly face criminal corruption charges
2. Russian officials arrest two men in connection with Boris Nemtsov murder
3. Obama criticizes Ferguson for 'systematic' racial bias
4. Germany approves legal quotas for women to sit on company boards
5. U.S. economy added 295,000 jobs in February
6. NCAA suspends Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim for 9 games, pulls 12 basketball scholarships
7. Apple replaces AT&T on the Down Jones industrial average
8. Russian President Putin takes 10 percent salary cut
9. NASA probe reaches orbit of dwarf planet Ceres
10. Albert Maysles, Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter documentarian, dies at 88

published 7 March 2015

1. Sen. Robert Menendez will reportedly face criminal corruption charges

The Justice Department is reportedly preparing to bring criminal corruption charges against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), sources said on Friday. Menendez is accused of doing political favors for a Florida doctor, Salomon Melgen, a close friend and benefactor. CNN, which first broke the news, said the official announcement from prosecutors may come within weeks. Menendez's office called the allegations a "smear campaign," and denied any wrongdoing by the senator.

Russian authorities announced on Saturday that they had arrested two men in connection with the murder of political opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia's federal security service, named the pair as Anzor Gubashev and Zaur Dadayev, both from the southern region of Caucasus. It was unclear whether authorities believe either detained man is suspected of actually killing Nemtsov, or just of being involved in the murder. Nemtsov, 55, was shot four times in the back while walking near the Kremlin on Feb. 27. Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned the murder of his longtime opponent as a "provocation" and a "vile and cynical murder."

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President Barack Obama on Friday addressed the U.S. Justice Department's report that cited "oppressive and abusive" actions against African Americans in Ferguson, Missouri. "What we saw was the the Ferguson Police Department, in conjunction with the municipality…systematically was biased against African Americans in that city who were stopped, harassed, mistreated, abused, called names, fined," Obama said at a town hall-style meeting in South Carolina. The city of Ferguson is making efforts to reform its practices in order to reach a settlement with the Justice Department; Mayor James Knowles said on Friday that three municipal employees who had demonstrated "egregious racial bias" were no longer working for the city.

Starting in 2016, German companies that include employee representation on supervisory boards will be required to allot 30 percent of their seats to women. The vote by Germany's lower house of parliament on Friday was an "historic step" for equal rights, Family Affairs Minister Manuela Schwesig said. While Angela Merkel has led Germany since 2005, there is not one female chief executive among Germany’s 30 largest firms, and a recent survey found that 59 percent of mid-sized German companies do not include even one woman in a position of leadership.

The latest report from the Bureau of Labor statistics found the U.S. economy generated 295,000 new jobs in February, while the unemployment rate decreased from 5.7 percent in January to 5.5 percent. Average hourly earnings for all workers also rose to $24.78, up from $24.75 in January. The February numbers beat out the expectations of Wall Street economists, who were anticipating 235,000 new jobs. This remains the longest stretch of sustained growth above 200,000 jobs per month since the early 1990s.

The NCAA released its findings on Friday from an investigation into Syracuse University's athletic programs, and it cited multiple infractions dating back to 2001, primarily by the men's basketball program but also by the football program, including "academic misconduct, extra benefits, failure to follow its drug testing policy and impermissible booster activity." The NCAA sanctioned Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim with a nine-ACC-game suspension, and the Orange will lose 12 scholarships over the next four years. Syracuse announced earlier this year that the basketball team would forego participation in the ACC and NCAA tournaments as a self-imposed punishment; the NCAA declared that sufficient and announced it will not impose more postseason bans, although both the basketball and football teams will be on probation for the next five years.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has added Apple Inc. to its Dow Jones industrial average, replacing AT&T. "It would be difficult to pick any 30 companies that would cover the entire economy, especially compared with the S&P 500, but it does give the Dow more credibility," Richard Sichel, a chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co., said. AT&T had been part of the Dow for nearly a century, but investors have said that Apple now better reflects the role of communications and technology within the economy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that he is taking a 10 percent salary cut, effective March 1 through December 31, 2015. Putin's signed decree also cuts the salaries of several other top government officials, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, and Alexander Bastrykin, president of Russia's Investigative Committee. Moscow continues to deny any support of pro-Russia militants in neighboring Ukraine, but skeptical Western leaders have imposed sanctions on Russia in response, which have crippled the country's economy in recent months.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft successfully entered orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday, eight years after scientists first launched the probe on its $473 million mission. Ceres lies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter; Dawn will spend 16 months exploring the dwarf planet, which scientists discovered more than 200 years ago. NASA hopes the new mission will reveal more about the previous Dawn images of Ceres, which show mysterious spots on its surface, that could be signs of ice or liquid water.

Legendary documentarian Albert Maysles died on Friday at 88 years old. Maysles' 60-year career as a documentarian began with the short Psychiatry in Russia, in 1955. In the decades that followed — and often in collaboration with his brother David — he helmed acclaimed documentaries such as Salesman, Gimme Shelter, and Grey Gardens. Maysles' final film, In Transit, debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.