10 things you need to know today: September 30, 2013

(Image credit: (Win McNamee/Getty Images))

last updated 8 January 2015

1. Shutdown looms for U.S. government

The U.S. government appears to be on the verge of shutting down for the first time in 17 years. The slow-motion budget crisis will continue Monday with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) set to reject measures the House approved early Sunday to delay President Obama's Affordable Care Act for one year, repeal a tax on medical devices, and guarantee that paychecks are sent to active-duty military service members. House GOP leaders are likely to again face a decision about how to handle the simpler six-week government funding bill the Senate approved last week. [Washington Post]

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Breaking Bad's highly anticipated series finale aired Sunday night on AMC. As millions of viewers tuned in to see how the saga of chemistry teacher turned meth dealer Walter White ended, cast member Aaron Paul hosted a finale viewing party in Los Angeles's Hollywood Forever Cemetery, raising $1.8 million for his wife's anti-bullying nonprofit. As for the finale itself, The Week's Scott Meslow noted, "Walt got what I suspect many Breaking Bad fans were looking for," while Variety said the finale "got the chemistry just right." [The Hollywood Reporter, Variety]

Mortified that the world may be warming up to Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to tell the White House and the United Nations this week not to be fooled by Tehran's new leadership. Netanyahu says Iran is using conciliatory gestures to conceal a march toward a nuclear bomb. He will deliver that warning, and some new intelligence to bolster it, to President Obama today in an attempt to persuade the U.S. to maintain tough economic sanctions and keep the threat of military action on the table. [Associated Press]

Twitter plans to make its IPO filing public this week, following a September 12 filing with U.S. regulators. Twitter, which is expected to be valued at up to $15 billion, filed confidentially and without disclosing a timeline, under a process available to emerging companies. The IPO could still be delayed by a variety of factors, from changes to the prospectus to a shutdown of the U.S. government. [Quartz]

Pope Francis announced Monday morning that Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints on April 27, 2014. The pope said in July that he would canonize two of his predecessors, after approving a second miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II. Poland-born John Paul, the first non-Italian pope for more than 400 years, led the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005. Pope John XXIII was pontiff from 1958 to 1963. [BBC News]

Japanese automakers Nissan and Mazda issued separate recalls on Sunday for more than 260,000 cars. Doors in up to 98,000 recent Mazda 6 vehicles may open while the car is in motion, the automaker announced. For its part, Nissan stated that its M35 and M45 models may stall while moving. No injuries have been reported as a result of the issues. Both automakers said they would notify vehicle owners this fall. [CNN Money]

Amanda Knox's second appeals trial opened Monday in Knox's absence. Italy's highest court ordered a new trial for Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, overturning their 2011 acquittals in the gruesome 2007 killing of Meredith Kercher. The appellate court in Florence is expected to re-examine forensic evidence to determine whether Knox and her former boyfriend helped kill the 21-year-old Kercher while the two women shared an apartment in the town of Perugia. The appellate court hearing the new case could declare Knox, now a University of Washington student, in contempt of court, an act that carries no additional penalties. [ABC News]

The civil trial of oil company BP begins its second phase today. This part of the trial will determine the amount of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 workers and soiled hundreds of miles of beaches. While BP insists it was properly prepared to respond to the disaster, plaintiffs' attorneys will argue that the London-based company could have capped the well much sooner. The plaintiffs' lawyers also say BP repeatedly lied to federal officials and withheld information. [USA TODAY]

The NBA Finals is reportedly returning to its former 2-2-1-1-1 home-court advantage format. The league’s current 2-3-2 championship format allows the team with home-court advantage to host the first and last two games, with the lower-seeded team hosting the middle three. Critics say the current format disproportionately favors the higher seed, leading to more-predictable contests. The NBA Competition Committee voted unanimously for the change, and the decision is now awaiting owner approval. [Sports Illustrated]

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Terri is a freelance writer at TheWeek.com. She's a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism and has worked at TIME and Brides. You can follow her on Twitter.

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