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.









