Police chief resigns post in Ferguson
FERGUSON, Mo. – The police chief in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson has resigned in the wake of a scathing Justice Department report prompted by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer.
The city says in a statement that it reached a mutual separation agreement with Chief Thomas Jackson. He’ll get a severance payment and health insurance for a year.
Lt. Col. Al Eickhoff will become acting chief March 19 while the city searches for a new chief.
Jackson had previously resisted calls by protesters and some of Missouri’s top elected leaders to step down over his handling of the August shooting of Michael Brown and the weeks of sometimes-violent protests that followed.
Secret Service agents crash into barrier
WASHINGTON– The Homeland Security Department is investigating two senior Secret Service agents accused of crashing a car into a White House security barrier, an agency spokesman said Wednesday.
Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said recently appointed Director Joseph Clancy has been briefed on the March 4 incident. Clancy has asked the Homeland Security Department’s Inspector General’s Office to investigate the incident.
The agency said the two agents have been reassigned to non-supervisory, non-operational jobs.
The Washington Post first reported the investigation Wednesday afternoon. The newspaper reported that the agents drove a government car into a security barrier near the White House after a night of drinking.
Democrats supporting Clinton over emails
WASHINGTON – Democrats closed ranks around Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday after her public explanation of her email practices yet party officials in important election states appeared resigned to the prospect that her all-but-certain presidential campaign will be saddled with drama and controversy.
The mood among Democrats around the country suggested Clinton has work to do to bolster party enthusiasm as she nears the launch of her 2016 campaign, though there’s still no sign she’ll face a robust primary challenge.
Brady Quirk-Garvan, the Democratic Party chairman in Charleston, South Carolina, said the intense focus on Clinton’s use of her private email account as secretary of state leaves him concerned that side issues could overshadow the party’s message.
IMF gives $17.5B in loans to Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine – The International Monetary Fund agreed Wednesday to extend $17.5 billion in loans to Ukraine as part of a program designed to pull the country back from the verge of economic collapse.
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement that the new four-year extended arrangement will support economic stabilization and wide-ranging reforms in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said earlier in the day that the government expected to receive $5 billion from the IMF in the “coming days.”
Associated Press
