Need to know

Stories we’re watching: More on the officer who shot Michael Brown

And other stories making headlines this afternoon

Protesters chant during a peaceful demonstration as communities continue to react to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri August 15, 2014. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Protesters chant during a peaceful demonstration as communities continue to react to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri August 15, 2014. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Here are five of the top stories making headlines this afternoon:

Officer who shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri named. Darren Wilson. After nearly a week of violence, the Ferguson police chief finally named the officer who shot and killed the unarmed Brown, 18, on Saturday. Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Wilson, accompanied by other officers, was responding to reports of a robbery when Brown was shot. Jackson wouldn’t say whether Brown was a suspect in that robbery. Wilson, who has served on the Ferguson police force for six years, has been placed on leave while the investigation into the unarmed teen’s death continues. Earlier in the week, citizens protesting the shooting were met with police dressed in tactical gear who shot tear gas into the crowds. By yesterday, the state highway patrol took over policing the protests, and interactions with police have been more peaceful.

Stats Canada releases new, corrected jobs numbers. Good news: Canada added 42,000 jobs last month. Bad news: Someone at StatsCan messed up big time. The government’s national statistics agency corrected its July jobs numbers Friday, after a “human error” lead to it initially saying the number of jobs in Canada increased by only 200. Though StatsCan is vowing to release more details about the goof after an internal review, it appears the error was related to a redesign of the labour force survey, which will move it more online and won’t rely on telephone or in-person responses.

Canada will help ship weapons into Iraq. After saying that it was only sending humanitarian supplies to Iraq, Canada today confirmed that it will offer two of its cargo planes to move weapons supplied by allies into the northern city of Irbil. The weapons are destined to bolster Kurdish forces who are currently fighting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants (ISIS).

One of two patients being treated for Ebola in the U.S. hopes to be released soon. Dr. Kent Brantly, who was infected with the Ebola virus while treating patients in Liberia, says he is recovering and hopes to be released from hospital in Atlanta soon. Brantly, 33, was working for Samaritan’s Purse and had been in Liberia since October 2013. He developed symptoms of the disease in late July and was flown back to the U.S. for treatment in a special isolation chamber. There is no word on how the second patient being treated in the U.S., Nancy Writebol, 59, is doing. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization released new numbers on Ebola deaths Friday. So far at least 1,145 people have died of the disease in four West African countries. The non-profit group Doctors Without Borders warned that the outbreak is unpredictable and could last another six months.

How not to handle a bomb threat. The union representing Toronto city workers has submitted a formal complaint over how Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, Coun. Doug Ford, responded to a bomb threat made at city hall Monday. Mayor Ford broke policy when he read the bomb threat aloud on live television, says CUPE Local 79 president Tim Maguire. Ford also said he was acting on advice of police, something Toronto police denied. The city’s own policy says employees should not make public comments, or comments to the media, about threats to city property.

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