10 things you need to know today: June 16, 2015

(Image credit: (AP Photo/David Goldman))

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1. Jeb Bush joins the GOP presidential race
2. Al Qaeda leader in Yemen killed in drone strike
3. Rachel Dolezal steps down from NAACP post
4. Minnesota archbishop resigns over handling of abuse case
5. Gap announces shutdown of a quarter of its North America stores
6. Wildfires destroy dozens of homes in Alaska, and threaten hundreds more
7. Kurds take key Syrian border town from ISIS
8. Tropical Storm Bill threatens flood-ravaged Texas with more rain
9. South Korea starts trials of MERS treatment
10. Blackhawks beat Lightning to win Stanley Cup

published 16 June 2015

1. Jeb Bush joins the GOP presidential race

Jeb Bush formally launched his presidential campaign on Monday, saying that the U.S. "is on a very bad course," and it would be a mistake to hand the presidency "from one liberal to the next." The son of one president and brother of another, Bush would make history if elected by becoming the third person in his family to sit in the Oval Office. The Florida Republican said his two terms as his state's governor gave him executive experience that his rivals, who include Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, lack.

Al Qaeda's second-in-command was killed in a recent U.S. drone strike in Yemen, the terrorist network's Yemeni branch said in a video posted Tuesday. U.S. officials could not immediately confirm the death of the militant, Nasser al Wuhayshi, who was the head of the Yemeni group, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and a former secretary of Osama bin Laden. Wuhayshi reportedly was severely injured in a strike last week outside a Yemeni coastal town militants have been trying to seize.

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Rachel Dolezal resigned as interim president of the Spokane, Washington, NAACP on Monday after facing days of questions about her ethnicity. Dolezal says she is part African-American, but her birth certificate lists both of her parents as white. Some NAACP members challenged Dolezal's integrity, but regional President Gerald Hankerson said the group applauded her civil rights work. A report surfaced Monday that she once claimed she faced anti-white discrimination at historically black Howard University.

St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt and Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche have stepped down after prosecutors charged the archdiocese with failing to protect children from sexual abuse by a priest. The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis had accepted their resignations. Ramsey County prosecutors 10 days ago accused the archdiocese of "turning a blind eye" to numerous reports of inappropriate behavior by Curtis Wehmeyer, a former priest now in prison for molesting two boys.

Gap Inc. said Monday it planned to close a quarter of its clothing stores in North America over the next few years as it faces a sales slump. The closures are expected to cost the company $300 million annually out of global sales of $16.44 billion. Gap lost customers to H&M, Forever 21, Inditex's Zara, and other rivals after several seasons of fashion stumbles. The company plans to close 175 of its 675 Gap specialty stores in North America. It also has 300 outlet stores.

A fast-growing wildfire in Alaska has destroyed at least 25 homes and 20 other structures, state officials said Monday. The Sockeye Fire 80 miles north of Anchorage covered just two acres when it was reported on Sunday, but spread over more than 10 square miles by Monday afternoon, fueled by hot winds. On Monday afternoon, authorities said the fire was at 0 percent containment. Investigators could not immediately determine what caused the fire. A smaller blaze 137 miles south of Anchorage threatened 200 homes.

Syrian Kurdish forces seized most of the northern border town of Tel Abyad from Islamic State militants with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes, the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday. A small number of ISIS militants and other fighters held out in pockets, but a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, which fought alongside the Kurds, said, "The whole city is 100 percent under our control." If true, the victory would deprive ISIS of a key supply route over the Turkish border.

Texas, still recovering from deadly record rains and flooding last month, could get another dangerous soaking as Tropical Storm Bill heads for the coast on Tuesday. "The biggest calling card for Bill should be heavy rains and flooding," said Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth. Flash flood watches were announced in central Texas and the Houston area, which were hit hard by the May floods that killed about 30 people in the state.

Two hospitals in South Korea have begun trials of an experimental plasma treatment for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, the country's health ministry said Tuesday. The treatment, which has been used to fight Ebola, involves giving patients blood transfusions from people who have survived infection. South Korea is facing an outbreak that has killed 19 people and infected more than 150 so far. The crisis began last month when an infected South Korean businessman returned home from the Middle East.

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Monday night to win the Stanley Cup. The victory in Game 6 of the best-of-seven series gave the Blackhawks their sixth professional hockey title, and their third in six years. "I'd say you have a dynasty," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said, presenting the cup to Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews. Defenseman Duncan Keith, who scored in the second period, was the unanimous choice to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

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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.