10 things you need to know today: November 13, 2014

Tank convoy near Donetsk
(Image credit: (AP Photo/ Mstyslav Chernov))

1. Russia invades Ukraine... again

Russian tanks and troops entered Ukraine near strongholds of pro-Moscow separatists, NATO officials said Wednesday. Russia, which had been accused before of invading, denied it was intervening in the conflict. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow was resuming the Cold-War-era tactic of flying bomber patrols near U.S. territorial waters due to NATO's "anti-Russia inclinations."

2. Philae makes first landing on a comet in history

A European Space Agency probe from the mothership Rosetta made the first landing on a comet ever on Wednesday. The 220-pound Philae lander's two harpoons, designed to anchor it to the surface of the comet, failed to deploy, but scientists said Philae will still be able to take samples that could unlock how planets and life formed.

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National Geographic

3. Courts rule in favor of same-sex marriage in Kansas and South Carolina

Gay-marriage advocates added to a string of victories on Wednesday when the Supreme Court ended a stay that had prevented Kansas from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Earlier the same day a federal judge in Charleston struck down South Carolina's gay-marriage ban as unconstitutional.

Los Angeles Times

4. New Orleans watchdog says sex crimes were not investigated

Five New Orleans police detectives charged with investigating sex crimes failed to look into the vast majority of cases assigned to them over three years, according to a city inspector general report released Wednesday. Out of 1,290 sex crime calls, the detectives dismissed 840 as "miscellaneous" and did nothing.

The New York Times

5. Minor earthquake hits Kansas and Oklahoma

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake rattled parts of Kansas and Oklahoma on Wednesday. It was the strongest temblor since a series of minor quakes began over a year ago. Wednesday's earthquake came a day after a 2.6-magnitude quake in southern Kansas. The only damage reported from Wednesday's quake: Trees fell and damaged one house's foundation.

The Christian Science Monitor

6. NOAA confirms cyberattack by China

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Wednesday that four of its websites were attacked by Chinese hackers. NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service, said hackers struck a few weeks ago. An internal report warned in July that NOAA had grave technology security problems.

NBC News

7. Turkish nationalists rough up U.S. sailors

A group of young Turkish ultranationalists assaulted three U.S. sailors on shore leave in Istanbul early Wednesday. The attackers shouted anti-American slogans, such as "Yankee, go home," threw red paint at them, and called them murderers. The sailors escaped. The U.S. Navy called the attack "appalling."

The Huffington Post

8. New York prosecutor directs $35 million to testing rape kits

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced Wednesday that he would dedicate $35 million for helping U.S. prosecutors clear a backlog by testing tens of thousands of rape kits. Vance was flanked by Law & Order actress Mariska Hargitay, whose Joyful Heart Foundation will put up some of the money.

New York Daily News

9. Stranded window washers saved at World Trade Center tower

Emergency crews rescued two window washers from scaffolding dangling at the 68th floor of the 104-floor One World Trade Center building in New York City on Wednesday. The rescuers cut through three layers of glass to get to the men and pull them to safety. The men were taken to a hospital to be treated for mild hypothermia.

CNN

10. Kershaw and Kluber win Cy Young Awards

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw won his second straight National League Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote on Wednesday. Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians narrowly beat the Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez, who won the pitching prize in 2010, to win in the American League.

Fox News

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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.