10 things you need to know today: January 27, 2013

A Brazilian nightclub fire kills more than 200, hundreds march for gun control, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

People participate in a rally on the National Mall for stricter gun-control laws on Jan. 26.
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1. FIRE IN BRAZILIAN NIGHTCLUB LEAVES MORE THAN 200 DEAD

A fire in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria left at least 245 people dead early Sunday when a band's pyrotechnic show set the building ablaze. Many of the fleeing patrons weren't able to locate the emergency exits. An estimated 500 people were in the Boate Kiss nightclub when the fire broke out. Television footage showed people sobbing outside the club, while shirtless firefighters used sledge hammers and axes to knock down an exterior wall to open up an exit. The Boate Kiss nightclub is a popular venue in Santa Maria, a university town of more than 275,000 people. [Reuters]

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Frances is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, managing the website on the early morning shift and editing stories on everything from politics to entertainment to science and tech. She's a graduate of Yale and the University of Missouri journalism school, and has previously worked at TIME and Real Simple. You can follow her on Twitter and on Tumblr.