10 things you need to know today: September 8, 2014

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1. Obama's ISIS battle plan could take three years
2. Prince William and Kate Middleton are expecting a second child
3. Children hospitalized with severe respiratory virus
4. Serena Williams wins her sixth U.S. Open title
5. Massive rescue effort underway as floods hit Indian-controlled Kashmir
6. Clashes threaten Ukraine truce
7. Chik-fil-A's founder, S. Truett Cathy, dies at 93
8. Allies criticize Obama for putting off immigration action
9. Hawks owner says he will sell his share of the team over offensive email
10. Celebrities pack Joan Rivers' funeral

last updated 13 January 2015

1. Obama's ISIS battle plan could take three years

The Obama administration is planning a three-year campaign to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Senior administration officials say the first phase is the air campaign already underway in northern Iraq. Next will come a stepped up effort to train and arm Kurdish and Iraqi forces once Iraq forms a new, more Sunni-friendly government. The third phase, likely to last after Obama leaves office, will involve airstrikes on ISIS' home base in Syria. President Obama is scheduled to unveil the plan on Wednesday.

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband, Prince William, are expecting their second child, the British royal household announced Monday. The news came two months after the first birthday of their first baby, Prince George, who is third in line for the throne. As with the her first pregnancy, Middleton is suffering from acute morning sickness and undergoing treatment at Kensington Palace, which will limit her public appearances.

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Hospitals in Colorado and Missouri are treating hundreds of children for a rare and severe respiratory virus called Enterovirus D68. Children have been admitted to facilities in eight other states across the Midwest and South with similar symptoms, including runny nose, fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing. An investigation into the outbreak is underway at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The spike in hospitalizations could be "just the tip of the iceberg," a virologist there said.

Serena Williams handily defeated Caroline Wozniacki on Sunday to win her third straight U.S. Open title. Williams beat Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3, finishing the two weeks of the tournament without losing more than three games in a single set. The win gave the world No. 1 women's tennis player her sixth U.S. Open championship and her 18th Grand Slam singles victory, tying her with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18 Grand Slam singles titles, the fourth most in history behind Steffi Graf's record 22.

India dispatched soldiers to its side of the Kashmir region on Sunday after six days of rain caused the worst flooding there in 60 years. An estimated 2,500 villages were at least partially inundated. The death toll reached 175 in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Sunday, and flooding and landslides killed about 200 in northern and eastern Pakistan. The military said soldiers had rescued 22,000 people from flooded villages. "This is a national disaster," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Violence broke out Sunday in eastern Ukraine, testing a cease-fire agreement reached Friday by the country's government and pro-Russian separatist rebels. Shelling reportedly killed a woman in the key port city of Mariupol. If confirmed, she would be the first person killed in the conflict since the peace deal. The two sides each accused the other of violating the truce. An aide to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said five NATO members had agreed to send the country weapons and advisers.

Chik-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy died early Monday, a company spokesman said. He was 93. Cathy opened the chain's first restaurant in Atlanta in 1967, and the popularity his signature chicken sandwich fueled an expansion to more than 1,800 outlets in 39 states and Washington, D.C. Cathy — a religiously conservative billionaire — established a policy of keeping restaurants closed on Sundays, pleasing conservatives, but his son's denunciation of gay marriage has angered many others.

Latino lawmakers slammed President Obama on Sunday for delaying executive action on immigration reform. Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) accused Obama of playing politics, suggesting he was avoiding the issue out of fear it could cost vulnerable Democrats votes in the mid-term elections. Obama denied he was dodging election year fallout. He said he still planned to do something about the immigration impasse but wanted to rally support for his plans first.

Atlanta Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson said Sunday that he would sell his controlling interest in the basketball team. The announcement came after Levenson voluntarily reported an email he sent two years ago, in which he suggested that the team's black fans kept white fans away. Levenson said the email was "inappropriate and offensive," and that he reported it because he believes the NBA should have zero tolerance for racism. The news came less than a month after Donald Sterling lost the Los Angeles Clippers over secretly taped racist remarks.

Legendary comedian Joan Rivers' grieving relatives and celebrity friends gathered on Sunday for an invitation-only memorial service in New York City. Rivers, who died last week from complications after routine throat surgery, left directions for her own funeral, and the ceremony followed them faithfully. "I want my funeral to be a big showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action...," Rivers said in remarks reprinted in the program. "I want it to be Hollywood all the way. I don't want some rabbi rambling on."

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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.