10 things you need to know today: October 12, 2014

1. Texas health care worker tests positive for Ebola

A Texas health care worker who helped treat Thomas Eric Duncan earlier this week has preliminarily tested positive for the Ebola virus. The new patient was placed in isolation on Friday night after reporting a low-grade fever. Health officials are now identifying any individuals the patient may have come in contact with after his or her symptoms began. "We knew a second case could be a reality, and we've been preparing for this possibility," Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, said.

The Associated Press

2. St. Louis police arrest Ferguson October protesters

St. Louis police arrested more than a dozen protesters early Sunday morning as the demonstrators staged a sit-in at a QuikTrip gas station, in an organized act of civil disobedience. The sit-in comes in the middle of a four-day series of marches and protests, dubbed "Ferguson October," taking place in Ferguson and St. Louis this weekend. Protesters are demonstrating against the August police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, specifically, and police violence generally.

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The Washington Post

3. U.S. pledges $212 million to Gaza in reconstruction assistance

United States Secretary of State John Kerry pledged $212 million in U.S. aid to Gaza at a one-day donor's conference on Saturday. The meeting in Cairo was intended to raise billions of dollars to help Gaza rebuild following this summer's 50-day war between Israel and Hamas. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas estimated $4 billion would be needed to fund reconstruction of the coastal strip, and he promised Western donors that their money would funnel through the Palestinian Authority, thereby avoiding Hamas.

The Associated Press

4. Hong Kong protesters issue petition to Chinese President Xi

Two days after Hong Kong government officials called off talks with pro-democracy protesters, student group leaders issued an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, asking him to reconsider certain political reforms and citing Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying as one of the main impetuses for the protests. "If the central government is confident," the letter read, "it should not be afraid to let Hong Kong people elect their own chief executive." Thousands of protesters turned out in the city's main protest zone again on Saturday, having vowed to continue their demonstrations until China's main government negotiates with them.

The Associated Press

5. FDA approves single medication for hepatitis C treatment

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new daily pill from Gilead Sciences, Inc. to treat hepatitis C on Friday. Unlike other treatments currently on the market, the new pill, which will be sold as Harvoni, combines Gilead's existing pill Sovaldi with another drug, ledipasvir, so patients only need to take one pill each day, instead of three pills that often caused side effects.

Reuters

6. First U.S. airport begins Ebola virus entry screenings

New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport began using Ebola screening protocols on Saturday, taking the temperatures of passengers who arrive from the three West African countries struggling to contain an outbreak of the virus. If a passenger is identified as having a fever, he or she will be further interviewed to determine whether there has been contact with an individual who might have Ebola. The screenings will expand to four other U.S. airports this week: New Jersey's Newark Liberty, Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare and Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta.

The Associated Press

7. Upcoming talks between North, South Korea already in jeopardy

North Korea said upcoming, high-level meetings with South Korea were "all but scrapped" on Saturday after anti-Pyongyang activists sent balloons filled with leaflets decrying North Korea's government across the border. The action prompted troops on the Northern side to open machine-gun fire on South Korean troops, who responded in kind. North Korea's official media agency criticized the South for not stopping activists, and compared the leaflets to "psychological warfare." North Korea added that relations with the South were "disintegrating into catastrophe."

The New York Times

8. California woman exonerated after 17 years in prison

A California woman who spent 17 years in prison was released on Friday after a judge called her conviction "a failure of the criminal justice system." Susan Mellen, 59, was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly orchestrating the murder of a homeless man. But her case hinged on testimony from a witness that a Los Angeles County judge deemed a "habitual liar." An attorney who runs a nonprofit that aims to identify and overturn wrongful convictions took up her case last year, and it paid off as Mellen hugged her three now-grown children. "We're going to have a new beginning," she said.

Los Angeles Times

9. Typhoon Vongfong hits Japan

Thirty-five people have been reported injured in Japan, as a result of Typhoon Vongfong, which hit Okinawa earlier today and is now moving toward the island of Kyushu. Japanese officials have warned 150,000 people to evacuate.

ABC News

10. Anthropologists confirm discovery of Alexander the Great's father's remains

The remains of Macedonian King Philip II, who fathered Alexander the Great, have been confirmed as those found in a tomb in Vergina, Greece. Greek archeologist Manolis Andronikos first discovered the tomb in 1977, one of three that were under a large mound known as the Great Tumulus. One of the tombs had been looted, but the second tomb contained a main chamber that held the remains of a male skeleton. On Friday, experts confirmed that the male remains were indeed those of King Philip II, based on "uncovered pathologies, activity markers and trauma."

Discovery News