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

Meb Keflezighi
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Steven Senne))

1. The U.S. might cut its Afghanistan force to 5,000

The U.S. next year might cut the number of troops it leaves in Afghanistan below 10,000, which is the minimum military leaders say will be needed to train Afghan forces, Reuters reports. There are close to 33,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan now, down from 100,000 in 2011. White House officials, encouraged by Afghanistan's surprisingly smooth April 5 presidential election, are considering reducing the number below 5,000.

Reuters

2. Keflezighi becomes first American to win the Boston marathon in three decades

Meb Keflezighi, 38, became the first American man to win the Boston Marathon since 1983 on Monday, with an official time of 2:08:37. A huge crowd cheered as Keflezighi completed the first Boston Marathon since last year's deadly bombing at the finish line. "This is probably the most meaningful victory for an American because of what happened last year," he said. Kenya's Rita Jeptoo, 33, won the women's division for the second straight year.

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CNN The New York Times

3. More bodies found inside sunken South Korean ship

The death toll in South Korea's ferry disaster rose to 108 after divers managed to get into the sunken hull and recover more bodies on Monday. Another 198 people, many of them high school students who had been bound for an island vacation, are still missing. Seven crew members, including the captain, have been charged with negligence and other crimes for issuing an early order for passengers to stay in their cabins and for being among the first to exit the sinking ship.

BBC News

4. Court orders administration to disclose its justification for drone strikes

A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the Obama administration must release the core of a Justice Department memo outlining the legal basis for using armed drones to kill American citizens overseas. The court, responding to Freedom of Information Act lawsuits brought by The New York Times and the American Civil Liberties Union, said the administration had forfeited any right to conceal the document by discussing its contents publicly.

Politico

5. Scouts revoke charter of church that stands by gay leader

The Boy Scouts of America has revoked the charter of a Seattle church for letting a gay scoutmaster lead a troop. The Scouts don't allow openly gay leaders, and last month kicked out the scoutmaster, Geoff McGrath, after learning of his sexual orientation. The church — Rainier Beach United Methodist Church — stood by him. The Rev. Monica Corsaro said her church welcomed everyone.

The Chtistian Science Monitor

6. Nepal sets up Sherpa relief fund

The Nepalese government announced Monday that it would set up a relief fund for Sherpa mountain guides injured or killed on the job. The move came after at least 13 Sherpas were killed Friday in an avalanche on Mount Everest. Three others are still missing. Sherpas are considering going on strike as about 400 climbers wait at base camp for spring conditions to permit attempts to reach the summit.

ABC News

7. Defendant killed in Utah courtroom

A U.S. marshal shot and killed a suspected gang member in a Salt Lake City courtroom on Monday. Siale Angilau, who faced racketeering conspiracy charges, was shot several times when he attacked someone on the witness stand, Judge Tena Campbell said in a court document. "There were people yelling at him, telling him to stop," Sara Josephson, who was in the courtroom, said, "and he just didn't stop."

CNN

8. Netflix says it will raise streaming video price for new customers

Netflix says in a letter to shareholders that it plans to increase the price of its streaming service by $1 to $2 for new subscribers. Current subscribers pay $7.99 per month, and the price they pay won't rise in the near future, the company said. Netflix says the revenue from the price hike will allow it to purchase more content and "deliver an even better streaming experience."

Techcrunch

9. Man accuses more Hollywood figures of abuse

A man who has accused X-Men director Bryan Singer of molesting him as a teenager has filed lawsuits against three more Hollywood figures, accusing them of sexual abuse, too. Michael Egan, 31, says the men — TV executives Garth Ancier and David Neuman, and theatre producer Gary Goddard — were part of a sex ring he was lured into 15 years ago with promises of acting and modeling jobs. Goddard's lawyer said the suit was "without merit."

BBC News

10. Poll finds skepticism on Big Bang theory

In the latest skirmish between scientists and public opinion, an Associated Press-GfK poll finds that 51 percent of Americans are "not confident" in the Big Bang theory, which says that a massive explosion set the universe in motion 13.8 billion years ago. Just 21 percent of adults are confident the Big Bang happened and 4 in 10 deny or question global warming. "Science ignorance is pervasive in our society," said Nobel Prize winning biologist Randy Schekman.

The Associated Press International Business Times

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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.