5 Things to Know This Morning

— -- Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.

1. Police Officers Shot During Ferguson, Missouri Protests

Two police officers were shot during overnight protests in Ferguson, Missouri, the St. Louis County Police Department said.

A St. Louis County officer, 41, was struck in the shoulder, while a Webster Groves police officer, 32, was struck in the face, said county police chief John Belmar, who spoke to media members outside of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

“These police officers were standing there, and they were shot just because they were police officers,” Belmar said.

2. Witnesses Stunned as Shots Ring Out

Witnesses were stunned as shots rang out on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri early this morning, a shooting that left two police officers wounded. The gunman remains on the loose.

Freelance journalist Bradley Rayford was nearby when the shooting occurred.

“As we were about to pack our cameras up, we hear what we thought were fireworks up the street,” Rayford told ABC News. “Turns out, happened three more times. It was gunfire because we saw the muzzle fire from the gun up top of the street.

3. 'Dirty Brigades': US-Trained Iraqi Forces Investigated for War Crimes

U.S.-trained and armed Iraqi military units, the key to the American strategy against ISIS, are under investigation for committing some of the same atrocities as the terror group, American and Iraqi officials told ABC News. Some Iraqi units have already been cut off from U.S. assistance over "credible" human rights violations, according to a senior military official on the Pentagon's Joint Staff.

The investigation, being conducted by the Iraqi government, was launched after officials were confronted with numerous allegations of “war crimes,” based in part on dozens of ghastly videos and still photos that appear to show uniformed soldiers from some of Iraq's most elite units and militia members massacring civilians, torturing and executing prisoners, and displaying severed heads.

4. Secret Service Agents Probed for Allegedly Drinking, Crashing Car Into WH Barrier

Two U.S. Secret Service agents are under investigation over allegations that they were under the influence of alcohol while driving a government vehicle near the White House and crashing it into a barrier, a Secret Service official confirmed to ABC News.

The incident, which was first reported by the Washington Post, is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.

The two senior members of the president's detail had left a late-night party for a retiring agent when they allegedly hit the barricade near the White House.

5. Astronauts All Smiles After Returning to Earth from International Space Station

Barry Wilmore sat, bundled in cold, foggy Kazakhstan, and smiled.

The U.S. astronaut was back on earth after spending nearly six months aboard the International Space Station. Wilmore, along with Russians Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova, returned to earth on the Soyuz spacecraft Thursday, completing a 249-mile free-fall.