10 things you need to know today: February 22, 2016

Cruz and Rubio battle for anti-Trump votes, Denny Hamlin wins the Daytona 500, and more

Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio talk after a Republican presidential primary debate, Jan. 28, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa
(Image credit: AP Photo/ Chris Carlson)

1. Cruz and Rubio jostle over who can beat Trump

Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio battled on Sunday over which GOP candidate offered the most viable alternative to billionaire Donald Trump, the decisive winner in South Carolina's Saturday primary. Rubio, who edged out Cruz for second place, attracted 3,000 supporters at a rally in Tennessee, the biggest crowd of his campaign. "Last night was truly the beginning of the real Republican primary," Rubio said on CNN. Cruz, who won the Iowa caucuses, said, "If you want to beat Donald Trump, you've got to go with the only campaign that has demonstrated that they can beat Donald Trump."

2. Denny Hamlin wins Daytona 500 in photo finish

Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 on Sunday in a photo finish, edging out Martin Truex Jr. by .011 seconds in the closest ending in the history of NASCAR's marquee race. Hamlin slipped past teammate Matt Kenseth, who was leading on the last lap, and got to the finish line about four feet ahead of Truex. It was the first victory for team owner Joe Gibbs in 23 years. "I can't even figure out what I did," said Hamlin, 35. "It just all came together."

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USA Today

3. Suicide bombings kill 129 in Syria after cease-fire announcement

Suicide bombings killed at least 129 people in Syria on Sunday, the same day that Secretary of State John Kerry announced a deal brokered by the U.S. and Russia for a provisional cease-fire in the country's civil war. The truce, in theory, would apply to all combatants except for terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the Sunday bombings. "There is a stark choice for everybody here," Kerry said in Jordan. "Will every single party agree automatically? Not necessarily."

Bloomberg

4. San Bernardino victims back government effort to unlock killer's iPhone

Several victims of the deadly San Bernardino attack are filing a legal brief backing the Justice Department's effort to force Apple to help unlock the iPhone of one of the shooters, a lawyer for the victims said Sunday. "They were targeted by terrorists, and they need to know why," the lawyer, Stephen Larson, said. Apple says providing a backdoor into the iPhone would damage security. FBI Director James Comey said in an open letter Sunday that the FBI just wants a way to "guess the terrorist's passcode without the phone essentially self-destructing."

Reuters The Washington Post

5. Kalamazoo police say shooting victims chosen at random

Local authorities said that the shooter in a Michigan rampage that left six people dead Saturday appeared to have chosen his victims at random over four hours. Kalamazoo police arrested a suspect identified as Jason Brian Dalton, 45. Dalton was working as an Uber driver. Police believe he continued picking up fares between the shootings, which took place at three locations.

The Washington Post

6. Uganda opposition leader detained after election loss

Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was detained on Monday, days after challenging the validity of elections he lost last week to longtime President Yoweri Museveni. Besigye has been detained four times in eight days. He has 14 days to challenge the results in court, and his party says the government is trying to prevent him from collecting evidence that the vote was rigged. International observers said the Feb. 18 election lacked transparency and was conducted in an atmosphere of intimidation.

International Business Times

7. Iraq finds missing radioactive materials, ending dirty-bomb fears

Iraqi officials said Sunday that they had found a missing industrial device containing radioactive materials. The device was recovered, undamaged, inside its laptop-sized case. It had been dumped near a gas station in southern Iraq. Iraq's government had been searching for the device since it was stolen in November, fearing it might fall into the hands of the Islamic State or another terrorist group, and be used to make a radioactive "dirty" bomb.

CNN

8. Kasich signs Ohio bill seeking to defund Planned Parenthood

GOP presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Sunday signed a bill aiming to cut funding for Planned Parenthood in the state. The legislation does not specifically name the women's health organization, which receives about $1.3 million in funding in Ohio, but it would affect Planned Parenthood by targeting any organization that "performs or promotes nontherapeutic abortions." Planned Parenthood's government funding supports breast cancer screening, STD testing, and other care. Government funding for most abortions already is prohibited by law.

NBC News

9. Samsung unveils latest iPhone competitor

Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones on Sunday at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. The South Korean tech giant's high-end competitors for Apple's iPhone look nearly identical to its S6 line, but Samsung brought back a memory-card slot and removable batteries with extended life. The S7 has a 5.1-inch screen while the S7 Edge has a 5.5-inch screen, the same size as the iPhone 6s Plus. Samsung also showed off the Gear 360, a new 360-degree camera designed to work with the S7 and boost sales in a slowing smartphone market.

Bloomberg

10. Bill Cosby's wife due to give deposition

Comedian Bill Cosby's wife, Camille, is scheduled to be questioned under oath on Monday by lawyers for seven women who have claimed her husband sexually assaulted them decades ago, and are suing him for defamation. Lawyers for the Cosbys have argued that Camille Cosby should not be forced to give a deposition because she has no information regarding the women's claims, and her conversations with her husband should be treated as confidential under Massachusetts' marital disqualification rule. A judge ruled Friday that the deposition should proceed.

CBS News

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Harold Maass, The Week US

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.