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

1. Obama OKs removing Cuba from terror-sponsor list

President Obama recommended on Tuesday that Cuba — America's Caribbean neighbor and former Cold War foil — be removed from the U.S. list of states that sponsor international terrorism. The news came several days after Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro met during the Summit of the Americas in Panama, the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries' leaders in half a century. Obama and Castro announced late last year that they were working toward resuming normal diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the communist island nation.

ABC News

2. Congress sends Obama bill fixing Medicare's formula for paying physicians

The Senate on Tuesday approved a bill to change the way Medicare pays doctors, just in time to avert a 21 percent cut in fees. The 92-8 vote was the last step in Congress for the "doc fix" bill — the House passed it two weeks ago. President Obama called the bill a "milestone for physicians, and for the seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health care needs," and said he would be "proud to sign it into law." The bill replaces a formula linking doctor pay to economic growth with one more focused on quality of care.

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Reuters Los Angeles Times

3. Judge sentences educators to prison in Atlanta cheating scandal

An Atlanta judge sentenced eight educators to prison terms ranging from one to seven years on Tuesday for their role in one of the nation's worst public-school cheating scandals ever. Two other defendants took plea deals. One, a former teacher, got a year of home confinement. The other, a former testing coordinator, got six months of weekends in jail. An attorney for one defendant called the sentences "unjust and unfair," but the judge said the scandal damaged the education of hundreds of thousands of students. "This is not a victimless crime," he said.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Los Angeles Times

4. Bill giving Congress oversight of Iran deal advances with bipartisan support

The White House said Tuesday that President Obama would sign a bill letting Congress vote on any deal to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved a compromise version of the legislation. The bill now goes to the full Senate, which is expected to pass it. Both Obama's GOP critics and Democratic allies are pushing for a say on the deal as negotiators work on finalizing the terms before a June 30 deadline.

The New York Times

5. Obama promises Iraq $200 million in humanitarian aid

The U.S. will send Iraq $200 million in humanitarian aid as it combats the Islamic State, President Obama announced Tuesday after meeting with new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi in the White House. Obama also gave Abadi a strong endorsement, crediting him with helping to reverse ISIS gains and doing more to include Sunnis and Kurds in the Shiite-led government. Abadi left, however, without a pledge for the increased military aid he has said is needed to "finish" ISIS.

USA Today The Associated Press

6. EU accuses Google of favoring its own shopping service in search results

The European Union's antitrust chief, Margarethe Vestager, formally accused Google of tweaking internet search results to steer users to its Google Shopping service. Vestager also announced the opening of an antitrust investigation into Google's Android mobile platform to ensure the company isn't using it to impose "anticompetitive constraints" on wireless companies. Google had no immediate formal response, but an internal memo leaked online called the developments "very disappointing news," and said Google had "a very strong case."

Financial Times Reuters

7. Drone strike kills high-ranking al Qaeda leader in Yemen

A U.S. drone strike killed a top spokesman of al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, the Islamist group said Tuesday. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said via Twitter that the Saudi man, Ibrahim al-Rubeish, was killed Monday in a "hate-filled Crusader strike" along Yemen's southern coast. Rubeish, 35, was a spokesman for the group who had been held by the U.S. for five years at Guantanamo Bay. A half dozen senior Qaeda members in Yemen have been killed over the past year by U.S. strikes.

The New York Times

8. Nokia taking over Alcatel-Lucent in $16.6 billion deal

Finnish telecom heavyweight Nokia announced Wednesday that it had agreed to buy France's Alcatel-Lucent in an all-stock deal worth about $16.6 billion. After the deal closes next year, Nokia shareholders will hold 66.5 percent of the company's stock, with Alcatel-Lucent shareholders holding the remaining 33.5 percent. The combined company will be the world's second largest maker of mobile equipment, close behind Sweden's Ericsson and ahead of low-cost Chinese rival Huawei.

The New York Times Reuters

9. SpaceX fails in latest attempt to bring home reusable rocket

SpaceX successfully launched a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying a crewless cargo spacecraft toward the International Space Station on Tuesday, but failed shortly thereafter to land the booster rocket on a platform floating in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that the rocket had landed on the drone ship, "but too hard for survival." SpaceX tried to land a Falcon 9 in January, but it exploded. SpaceX hopes to master bringing the rockets back to reuse them and cut costs.

CNN

10. Singer Percy Sledge dies at 73

R&B legend Percy Sledge has died at his Baton Rouge home after a long battle with cancer. He was 73. His career spanned nearly half a century, but Sledge was best known for the 1966 hit song "When a Man Loves a Woman," which launched his career. The song charted at No. 1 for 13 weeks, and was later covered by artists including Bette Midler and Michael Bolton, whose own version became a No. 1 hit.

KATC