10 things you need to know today: October 2, 2015

Gunman kills nine at Oregon college, Hurricane Joaquin batters the Bahamas, and more

Mourners gather for a vigil.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

1. School shooter kills nine in Oregon

A gunman opened fire in a writing class at Umpqua Community College in southern Oregon on Thursday, killing at least nine people. The alleged shooter, identified as Chris Harper Mercer, 26, died in an exchange of gunfire with police, although it was not immediately clear whether an officer shot him or he killed himself. A frustrated President Obama issued a statement saying it was time for Congress to strengthen gun laws. "This is a political choice that we make to allow this to happen every few months in America," he said.

The Oregonian

2. Hurricane Joaquin hits the Bahamas but U.S. landfall looks less likely

Hurricane Joaquin hit the central Bahamas with heavy rains overnight, flooding homes, after strengthening into what forecasters called an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm with top sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. The storm began to make a slow turn to the north on Friday as it battered the island chain for a second day. Forecasters have been split on whether Joaquin would hit the U.S. East Coast as it headed north. The latest tracks have it staying offshore, and threatening Bermuda.

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Tampa Bay Times The Miami Herald

3. Iranians troops join offensive against Syrian rebels as Russian airstrikes continue

Hundreds of Iranian troops arrived in Syria to participate in a ground offensive against rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's military, Lebanese sources said Thursday. The news came as the commander of CIA-backed rebels said one of his group's camps had been targeted in Russia's first two days of airstrikes in support of the Syrian government. Moscow insisted it was attacking the Islamic State. American and Russian military leaders held a video conference Thursday to discuss avoiding clashes as they support rival military forces combating ISIS.

Reuters

4. Bernie Sanders gains on Hillary Clinton in fundraising

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders nearly caught up to Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the party's nomination, in fundraising over the last three months. His campaign announced Thursday that he had hauled in $26 million from July through September. Clinton collected $28 million in the same period, much of it from big-ticket fundraising events. Sanders relied largely on 1.3 million small online contributions, putting him on a quicker pace than President Obama set in 2008.

USA Today

5. Judge blocks Obama administration fracking rules

A federal judge on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Obama administration’s first attempt to regulate hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking. The ruling only affects a small portion of lands where the technique, which has led to a boom in domestic oil and gas production, is used. It only covers federal and tribal lands, but nearly 90 percent of fracking is done on state and private land covered by state and local laws.

The New York Times

6. Biden not expected to join presidential race in time for first debate

Vice President Joe Biden is delaying a decision on whether to jump into the race for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination and is not expected to participate in the first primary debate, scheduled for Oct. 13, several Democrats said Thursday. Biden reportedly has not been preparing for the debate. People close to Biden said he would probably announce his plans in late October. Biden has said he doesn't know whether he and his family are emotionally prepared for a campaign so soon after the May death of his son Beau.

CNN

7. Virginia executes man convicted of three murders

Triple murderer Alfredo Prieto was executed by lethal injection in Virginia on Thursday. He was convicted of killing two people in Virginia in 1988 — raping one as she lay dying — and another in California. He was linked by DNA and ballistics evidence to six other killings. Prieto's lawyers tried to stop the execution over concerns one of the execution drugs would cause unnecessary pain. Prieto also asked the Supreme Court to step in, saying he was intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty.

The Washington Post

8. Job gains expected to have continued at around 200,000 in September

Economists expect the federal government to report Friday that the economy added about 200,000 jobs in September. That would be close to the average monthly gains in nonfarm jobs this year. If the Labor Department reports a higher number, pressure will increase on the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. Lower numbers will fuel questions about how long the Fed will hold off.

USA Today CNBC

9. Authorities blame arsonist for Planned Parenthood fire in California

Police said on Thursday that a small fire that damaged a Planned Parenthood facility in Southern California was caused when someone threw a container of flammable liquid at the building. About six weeks ago, someone threw rocks at the same facility, breaking several windows. Planned Parenthood has faced sharp criticism since conservative activists released videos on its supplying of fetal tissue for medical research. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the arson was the result of the "toxic rhetoric."

The Associated Press

10. Serena Williams cuts short stellar season

Serena Williams, the world's top-ranked women's tennis player, cut her season short Thursday, pulling out of two tournaments due to nagging injuries. Williams, 34, played hurt much of the year but still managed to win five titles — the Australian Open, Miami, French Open, Wimbledon, and Cincinnati. She came within two wins of becoming only the fourth woman to win a calendar-year grand slam, losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Open to Roberta Vinci last month. Her record for the year was 53-3.

Tennis

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.