10 things you need to know today: March 10, 2016

Clinton and Sanders clash in Florida debate, Fiorina endorses Cruz, and more

Bernie Sander flubs a question about Fidel Castro
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

1. Clinton and Sanders spar over bailouts and immigration in debate

Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders clashed bitterly Wednesday in the first Democratic debate since Sanders narrowly upset Clinton in the Michigan primary. Clinton, still the frontrunner for the party's presidential nomination, hammered Sanders for voting against the auto industry bailout. Sanders hit back by repeating his frequent attempts to tie Clinton to Wall Street. They also traded criticism on health care and immigration reform, drawing fresh battle lines ahead of critical primaries in Florida and several other states next week.

2. Carly Fiorina endorses Ted Cruz

Former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina on Wednesday endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the race for the party's presidential nomination. Fiorina urged GOP voters to unite against frontrunner Donald Trump, who solidified his lead by winning in Michigan, Mississippi, and Hawaii on Tuesday. Fiorina said she was among Republicans who are "horrified" by Trump. "The only guy who can beat Donald Trump is Ted Cruz," she said. The four remaining GOP candidates debate in Florida tonight.

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The Washington Post

3. Public invited to pay respects to Nancy Reagan before funeral

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library invited the public to pay their respects to Nancy Reagan through Thursday afternoon. The former first lady, who died Sunday of congestive heart failure at 94, lies in repose at the library in Simi Valley, California, before a private funeral on Friday. About 1,000 people will be invited to the service, including President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, former presidents, first ladies, and other dignitaries.

Los Angeles Times

4. ISIS detainee confesses to mustard-gas plans

U.S. commandos have captured the Islamic State's chemical weapons chief in a raid, military officials said Wednesday. Iraqi officials identified the detainee as Sleiman Daoud al-Afari, who formerly worked on the late Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program. He reportedly has confessed under interrogation that ISIS plans to use banned substances for attacks in Iraq and Syria. ISIS has rudimentary sulfur mustard shells that it used against Kurdish forces last summer, doing limited damage.

ABC News

5. Buckingham Palace denies newspaper claim that Queen Elizabeth backs Brexit

Buckingham Palace on Wednesday made a rare official complaint to Britain's press watchdog over an article in The Sun tabloid newspaper that said Queen Elizabeth II was in favor of exiting the European Union. "The queen remains politically neutral, as she has for 63 years," a royal family spokeswoman said. The Sun, the U.K.'s biggest tabloid, stood by the story, saying it came from two "impeccably placed sources." A referendum on the so-called Brexit will be held in June.

The New York Times

6. Amazon leases planes to handle some of its air freight

Online retail giant Amazon announced Wednesday that it had signed a five- to seven-year lease for 20 cargo planes, making a long-anticipated entry into the air freight business. The move will give Amazon greater control over its logistics chain, which the company says is critical to support the growth of its lucrative Prime subscriptions, which give customers free two-day delivery on many items along with other services, such as streaming video and music, for an annual fee.

USA Today

7. Balkan nations close borders to migrant wave

Four Balkan nations on Wednesday closed their borders to new migrants, effectively shutting off a route that more than one million people have used to get from Syria and other trouble spots to Western Europe. The move by Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, and Macedonia had the implicit support of the European Union. Echoing sentiments from other countries, Serbia's Interior Ministry said the country "cannot allow itself to become a collective center for refugees."

The New York Times

8. 5 killed in shooting at house outside Pittsburgh

Five people were killed and three others were wounded when at least two gunmen opened fire on a cookout at a house in Wilkinsburg, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County police said Wednesday night. Four of the dead — three women and a man — were found dead on a back porch. They appeared to have been fleeing toward the back door when the second gunman opened fire from the side of the yard, police said.

NBC News

9. First U.S. uterus transplant fails

The first uterus transplant in the U.S. has failed, the Cleveland Clinic announced on Wednesday. Doctors removed the organ from the 26-year-old recipient on Tuesday after she developed complications. The transplant was performed two weeks ago. It was the first of 10 planned by the clinic in an effort to enable women without a uterus to have babies. The program will continue.

The New York Times

10. Dr. Luke denies report that Sony Music plans to drop him over Kesha abuse allegations

Sony Music is expected to end its relationship with the controversial and influential producer Dr. Luke, anonymous sources have told The Wrap. The label has faced sharp criticism since Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, was accused publicly of sexually abusing pop star Kesha. She had gone to court to try to be released from a contract that had her working with Dr. Luke and was denied. A lawyer for Dr. Luke denied he was being dropped.

The Wrap Los Angeles Times

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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.