March 2012 Current Events: U.S. News
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Here are the key events in United States news for the month of March 2012.
Super Tuesday Still Provides No Clear GOP Winner (Mar. 6): In the Super Tuesday primaries, Mitt Romney wins six states, including a crucial victory in Ohio, Rick Santorum takes four states and Newt Gingrich wins one. Romney leads in delegates, but still does not have the commanding front-runner status which usually comes with Super Tuesday. In the general election battleground state of Ohio, Romney narrowly wins, getting 37.9 percent of the vote to Santorum's 37.1 percent. After strong showings in Virginia and North Dakota, Ron Paul is remains in the race. With his big win in Georgia and more southern primaries coming up, Gingrich vows to stay in the race as well. (Mar. 10): Santorum has a big win in the Kansas primary, receiving 51.2 percent of the vote. Romney comes in second (20.9), Gingrich third (14.4) and Paul fourth (12.6). Romney easily wins primaries in the Virgin Islands, Northern Marianas Islands and Guam. (Mar. 13): Santorum wins two big states, Alabama and Mississippi, which supports his argument that the GOP presidential nomination is now a two-man race. In Alabama, Santorum receives 35 percent of the vote, Romney and Gingrich tie for second with 29 percent; Paul comes in last with 5 percent. In Mississippi, Santorum gets 33 percent of the vote. Gingrich comes in second (31), Romney third (30), and Paul fourth (4). Romney wins Hawaii easily, receiving 45 percent of the vote. Santorum comes in second (25), Paul third (18), and Gingrich fourth (11). (Mar. 18): Mitt Romney easily wins the primary in Puerto Rico with 88 percent of the vote. Santorum comes in a distant second (8.5), followed by Newt Gingrich (2.2) and Ron Paul (1.3). (Mar. 20): Mitt Romney scores a commanding win in the Illinois primary, receiving 46.7 percent of the vote. Santorum comes in second (35.0), followed by Paul (9.3) and Gingrich (8.0). (Mar. 24): Rick Santorum wins the Louisiana primary with 49.0 percent of the vote. Romney is a distant second with 26.7 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich (15.9) and Ron Paul (6.1).
Fired Teacher Kills Headmistress (Mar. 6): Shane Schumerth, a 28-year-old teacher at Episcopal High School in Jacksonville, Florida, returns to the campus after being fired and shoots and kills the headmistress, Dale Regan, with an assault rifle.
Florida Police Chief Steps Down as Protests over the Trayvon Martin Case Continue (Mar. 22): Bill Lee Jr., the chief of police in Sanford, Florida, announces he is stepping down. Lee has been overseeing the investigation into the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a case which has captured national attention. One the same day, thousands gather at a rally in Sanford to protest the way the police department has handled the case. The protest is streamed live on the internet. Other rallies are scheduled around the country via Facebook and Twitter as people continue to call for the arrest of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who claims he shot Martin in self-defense.
U.S. Supreme Court Reviews the Affordable Health Care Act (Mar. 26): The U.S. Supreme Court begins reviewing the constitutionality of the Affordable Health Care Act, President Obama's health care law. (Mar. 27): The Supreme Court suggests that Obama's health care law may be unconstitutional. (Mar. 28): The judges reach a decision on a ruling over the Affordable Health Care Act, but the verdict will not be known until June 2012.
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