10 things you need to know today: November 22, 2014

U.S. troops
(Image credit: (Scott Olson/Getty Images))

1. Obama quietly approves expanded U.S. role in Afghanistan

Over the past few weeks, President Barack Obama reportedly gave the go-ahead on new guidelines for U.S. missions in Afghanistan. The new orders will not affect the number of U.S. troops stationed in the country — total American forces in Afghanistan are expected to be lowered to 9,800 by the end of 2014 — but they will impact the scope of the remaining troops' missions. Previous plans had limited troops to counterterrorism missions against al-Qaida, but the new guidelines will allow U.S. forces to provide air support to Afghan operations and target Taliban members who "directly threaten the United States."

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.