TODAY'S TALKING POINTS 2-10-15

TODAY'S TALKING POINTS The FBI plans to create a better system to track fatal police shootings. After sweeping outcry around police brutality this year, the FBI admitted that it didn’t have a great system in place to track such incidents. But this week, it vowed to upgrade its system by 2017 and expand the information it gathers, including any occasions where an officer causes injury or death by pepper spray or similar means. In the wake of protests around the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel apologized and vowed a "complete and total reform of the system." But his words weren't enough for some residents who filled the streets and rallied for his resignation. Germany’s first female chancellor was named Time Person of the Year. Angela Merkel became the first woman in 29 years — and the fourth woman in history — to receive the honor. Merkel, who also happens to be the world’s most powerful woman, helped lead the European Union through the Greek debt crisis, the refugee crisis and terrorist threats this year. The Supreme Court heard a case that could limit or nix race as a factor in college admissions decisions. The top court appeared divided after debating a case brought by a white woman who was denied admission to the University of Texas and claimed racial discrimination as the reason. But conservative justice Antonin Scalia made his views on the matter clear — and sparked outrage in the process — when he said, “there are those who contend that it does not benefit African-Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school where they do well.” Meanwhile, the Senate passed major legislation that replaces the No Child Left Behind Act and puts local districts back in control of their schools. Two gun rights groups are organizing a mock mass shooting outside of the University of Texas at Austin campus. Come and Take It Texas and DontComply.com plan to stage an armed march this weekend, as well as a “crisis performance event” — complete with actors, fake blood and cardboard weapons — to protest gun-free zones. In the wake of the San Bernardino rampage, some law enforcement officials have encouraged people to arm themselves, and a spike in gun sales shows that Americans are doing just that. Officials said Wednesday the couple who committed the San Bernardino attack was radicalized at least two years ago, and one of the shooters may have planned another attack in 2012. As officials investigate, one man israising hundreds of thousands of dollars from Muslims for victims' families. In other gun-related news, the FDA approved a device that can plug a gunshot wound in 15 seconds.