Catching up on your Monday morning news? Here are your top five stories:
1. Gun violence between an armed assailant and four detectives in plain clothes erupted in Ferguson during demonstrations marking the first anniversary of Michael Brown's death late Sunday night. Around 40-50 shots were fired along West Florissant Ave., where the public outrage over the killing led to massive demonstrations that caused a wide-scale altercation between protesters and police last summer. The four officers involved in last night's shooting were immediately put on administrative leave and the assailant was sent to a local hospital for surgery and appears to be in "critical, unstable condition," according to Chief Jon Belmar of the St. Louis County Police Department.
2. Hillary Clinton will propose a $350 billion student debt reform plan to help make college more accessible for young Americans on Monday. In response to an issue that Clinton hears most about on the campaign trail and the recent explosion of student loan debt -- which has increased to $1.2 trillion -- Clinton's so-called "New College Compact," details how students will be able to attend an in-state public university to get a 4-year degree without taking loans out. Of the $350 billion raised, the money will be allocated to grants for states, public universities, and non-profit colleges, debt relief for students, and innovative education models. Clinton's plan comes after both her main rivals, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley, have put forward their own college debt reform plans.
3. President Obama defended his speech on the Iran deal at American University in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Sunday. In the speech, which was dedicated to pointing out the flaws in his critics' arguments, he compared Republicans opposed to the deal to anti-western powers in Iranian society. In the interview with Zakaria, Obama stood by this comparison. After his speech, Obama's case was made both weaker and stronger: influential democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, came out in opposition to the deal on Thursday but 29 of the nation's top nuclear scientists praised the deal on Saturday.
4. According to an NBC News online poll conducted by SurveyMonkey over Friday night and into Saturday, Donald Trump is still the most dominant force among the Republicans, so much so that a majority of Trump supporters would vote for him if he were to run as an Independent instead of a Republican. However, the poll also shows that among Republican and Republican leaning-voters who watched either of the debates or followed debate coverage, Carly Fiorina is the clear winner of the debates with 22% saying that she had the best performance. Fiorina is followed by Trump who garnered 18% of the votes.
5. The Megyn Kelly-Donald Trump feud continued on into Sunday during NBC's "Meet the Press." After tension during the Republican debate on Thursday and a long-winded Twitter feud, in which Trump made and quoted disparaging remarks regarding Kelly, RedState, a conservative group, dis-invited Trump to their annual gathering. On "Meet the Press," Trump said that he has, "so much respect for women" and that he, "will help women in terms of the health issues." However, Trump has not offered an apology to Kelly.
In case you missed it:
- Target got critical about gender in their own stores and decided to ditch boys' and girls' labels on toys in order to avoid unnecessary gender-based signs.
- Miley Cyrus called Taylor Swift out about her "Bad Blood" music video, questioning whether it is "violence revenge." (Us Magazine)
- Perhaps there is life on Mars, after all. (Mashable)
- Surprise: Coca-Cola agrees with scientists who think you should exercise more and worry less about cutting calories. (The New York Times)
- The boogeyman is coming back. New Line Cinema has started developing a new "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film about the creepy slasher, Freddy Krueger. (The Wrap)