10 things you need to know today: November 2, 2016

Bill Clinton campaigning for Hillary Clinton

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1. FBI unexpectedly releases file on Bill Clinton's 2001 Marc Rich pardon
2. 2 Iowa police officers killed in 'ambush-style' attacks
3. Obama says Army Corps mulling ways to 'reroute' Dakota Access pipeline
4. Ryan says he fulfilled his promise to vote for Trump
5. Pope Francis says ban on women priests could last forever
6. Election uncertainty upsets markets
7. Open enrollment begins as ObamaCare's fate faces election test
8. Russia gives Syrian rebels deadline to leave Aleppo
9. Report: Florida dunes devastated by Hurricane Matthew
10. Cubs beat Indians to force decisive Game 7 in World Series

published 2 November 2016

1. FBI unexpectedly releases file on Bill Clinton's 2001 Marc Rich pardon

The FBI unexpectedly released documents from a 2001 investigation into former President Bill Clinton's controversial pardon of Marc Rich, who was the husband of a Democratic donor and fled to Switzerland after being indicted on tax evasion and other charges. The presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, heading into a Nov. 8 election with her lead over Republican Donald Trump narrowing, questioned the timing of the release, which came days after the FBI disclosed it was looking into a new batch of emails possibly linked to Clinton's private server. "Absent a FOIA litigation deadline, this is odd," Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon tweeted. "Will the FBI be posting docs on Trump's housing discrimination in '70?"

Two central Iowa police officers were killed Wednesday in "ambush-style attacks" as they sat in their patrol cars, the Des Moines Police Department said. The first attack occurred at about 1 a.m. in Urbandale, where an officer was fatally shot while sitting alone in his vehicle. Twenty minutes later, police found another officer with a fatal gunshot wound in a patrol car at an intersection about two miles away in the city of Des Moines — the first officer killed in the line of duty in Des Moines since 1977. The identities of the officers were not immediately released.

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President Obama said in an interview released Tuesday that the Army Corps of Engineers is examining whether it would be possible to "reroute" the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline. A stretch of the $3.8 billion pipeline in North Dakota would run under the Missouri River less than a mile from the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, and protesters say construction would threaten sacred lands and the local water supply. Obama's comments came after a week in which hundreds of law enforcement officers in riot gear used pepper spray and rubber bullets on activists refusing to disperse, and arrested 141 people.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has clashed openly with Donald Trump, but said Tuesday that he had followed through with his pledge to vote for the GOP's presidential candidate. "I stand where I've stood all fall and all summer," Ryan told Fox News. "In fact I already voted here in Janesville for our nominee last week in early voting. We need to support our entire Republican ticket." Despite his differences with Trump, Ryan said he preferred the GOP nominee to Democrat Hillary Clinton, saying "there's always a scandal" surrounding her.

Pope Francis said Tuesday that the Catholic Church would probably never allow women to serve as priests. Pope John Paul II wrote in 1994 that Jesus chose only men as his apostles, and that, "The exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God's plan for his Church." Francis said the letter indicated that the ban would likely endure forever. The pope raised hopes of advocates for ordaining women when he created a commission earlier this year to study the possibility of women serving as deacons, who perform many of the functions of priests. Women served as deacons early in the church's history.

Global stocks and oil fell early Wednesday, after U.S. stocks lost ground on Tuesday as uncertainty increased ahead of next week's presidential election, with Democrat Hillary Clinton's lead narrowing and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, even edging ahead in one national poll. Clinton is expected to largely stay the course on the economy, while Trump has spoken out against existing trade deals. "There is concern over Trump being unexpected, because the market has really priced in a Clinton win and it hasn't priced in a Trump win at all," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O'Neil Securities.

Open enrollment began on Tuesday for 2017 ObamaCare. Despite increasing prices and decreasing choices on the marketplace, an estimated 11.4 million are expected to re-enroll or sign up for ObamaCare policies between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31. The Obama administration hopes to hit closer to 13.8 million enrollees for the year. ObamaCare has become a big focus of the presidential election, now just days away. Democrat Hillary Clinton vows to improve the existing law, and Republican nominee Donald Trump promises to swiftly repeal and replace it.

Russia on Wednesday warned Syrian rebels to leave the besieged, divided city of Aleppo by Friday night. The news suggested that Russia, which is supporting President Bashar al-Assad's forces, would extend its moratorium on airstrikes on rebel-held parts of Aleppo "to avoid senseless victims," the Russian Defense Ministry said. Rebels have been told to leave via two corridors, while civilians, the sick, and the wounded will be allowed to leave using six other routes.

A United States Geological Survey report released this week found that last month's Hurricane Matthew washed over and damaged 15 percent of Florida's sand dunes. The Category 4 storm only grazed the state, traveling up the coast with its strongest winds just offshore. Still, the storm washed out some beach roads and blasted through 12 feet of dune on a barrier island, creating a new inlet joining the Atlantic Ocean and the Matanzas River near St. Augustine.

The Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 9-3 on Tuesday night to force a seventh and final game of the World Series. Shortstop Addison Russell gave the Cubs a lift with a grand slam and six total RBIs, tying a record for a World Series game. The Cubs are looking for their first World Series title in 108 years. The Indians are trying to end a 68-year World Series drought. Game 7 will be played at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Wednesday.

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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.