10 things you need to know today: November 4, 2013

Mohamed Morsi goes on trial, Kenyans win the New York City marathon, and more

Morsi
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Amr Nabil))

1. Morsi goes on trial in Egypt

Egyptian security forces were placed on high alert on Monday as ousted President Mohamed Morsi and 14 Muslim Brotherhood leaders went on trial for inciting violence that led to the killing of protesters last December. The judge promptly adjourned until January 8 and ordered Morsi, who wore civilian clothes and insisted he was still the country's duly elected president, to appear in prison garb. [Bloomberg, Reuters]

………………………………………………………………………………

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

2. Germans recover $1.35 billion in art confiscated by Nazis

German authorities investigating a suspected tax cheat found 1,500 paintings, including works by Matisse, Picasso, and Chagall, that were confiscated by the Nazis during World War II, according to media reports on Sunday. The art was found in a 2011 search of the home of Cornelius Gurlitt, son of a Munich art dealer, the news magazine Focus reported. The find, if confirmed, is one of the largest discoveries of looted art. [Forbes]

………………………………………………………………………………

3. Hedge fund nears a plea deal on insider trading

The government is expected to announce Monday that SAC Capital Advisors has agreed to a deal calling for it to plead guilty to insider trading charges and pay a whopping $1.2 billion fine. Six of the hedge fund's former traders have pleaded guilty to insider trading. Federal regulators are also suing the firm's owner, billionaire money manager Steven A. Cohen, saying he failed to supervise his employees. [New York Times]

………………………………………………………………………………

4. Snowden's clemency request goes nowhere

The White House and leading senators from both parties rejected a plea for clemency from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who fled to Russia in June to avoid espionage charges for leaking secret documents on NSA surveillance programs. White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday that Snowden broke the law and must face justice. In a letter he gave to a German politician, Snowden said, "Speaking the truth is not a crime." [BBC News]

………………………………………………………………………………

5. Investigators believe LAX shooting suspect acted alone

Los Angeles International Airport shooting suspect Paul Ciancia told authorities that he acted alone. Ciancia, 23, was shot four times in the Friday attack, which left a Transportation Security Administration officer dead and three other victims wounded. He is under sedation and armed guard at a hospital, but at the scene he told authorities that a friend who dropped him off at the airport had no idea what he planned to do. [Associated Press]

………………………………………………………………………………

6. Kenyan marathoners win in New York City

Two Kenyan runners won the New York City Marathon on Sunday as the race returned after being canceled last year because of Hurricane Sandy. Geoffrey Mutai took the men's crown in 2:08:24. Priscah Jeptoo, 29, won the women's title, overtaking Bronx resident Buzunesh Deba with a late kick that left Deba in second place for the second time in a row. With memories of the Boston Marathon bombing fresh, police were "everywhere," spectators said. [New York Daily News]

………………………………………………………………………………

7. Syrian rebel colonel quits to protest infighting

A top Syrian rebel leader, Col. Abdul Jabbar Akaidi of the Free Syrian Army, resigned Sunday to protest infighting among opposition groups. He said the squabbling allowed government forces to retake a strategic northern town on Friday, restoring a supply line between Damascus and Aleppo. Civilian opposition leaders cast doubt on planned peace talks, saying Sunday they would only go if President Bashar al-Assad said when he would step down. [Voice of America, Reuters]

………………………………………………………………………………

8. Kenya charges four suspects with helping mall attackers

A Kenyan court on Monday charged four Somali men with terrorism for allegedly helping al Qaeda-linked militants execute a September attack on an upscale shopping mall that left 67 people dead. Investigators say the men — Mohamed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah Omar, Hussein Hassan, and Adan Mohamed Ibrahim — sheltered the assailants and provided them with false documents. The Somali Islamist group al Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. [Reuters]

………………………………………………………………………………

9. Eminem takes top honors in the first YouTube music awards

YouTube held its first music awards ceremony on Sunday, streaming the event live online. Eminem took Artist of the Year, Taylor Swift took the YouTube Phenomenon prize for I Knew You Were Trouble, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won YouTube Breakthrough Artist. The New York Times described the jumble of award presentations, performances, and comedy sketches as "often inexplicable but surprisingly easy-to-watch." [New York Times]

………………………………………………………………………………

10. Eagles QB Nick Foles throws for seven TDs

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles tied a National Football League record on Sunday by throwing seven touchdown passes in a single game. Foles completed 22 of his 28 passes for 406 yards to help his team trounce the Oakland Raiders, 49-20. Five other players have equaled the feat. The latest was the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning, who threw for seven TDs in his team's season opener against the Baltimore Ravens this year. [USA Today]

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
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.