10 things you need to know today: August 28, 2015

Over 70 migrants were found dead in a truck on an Austrian highway.

(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ronald Zak))

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1. Dozens of bodies, presumably refugees, found in truck on Austrian highway
2. Dow makes big gains for a second day
3. Obama praises New Orleans citizens for Katrina recovery on storm's anniversary
4. Government dramatically increases estimate of quarterly economic growth
5. Tropical Storm Erika moves on to Puerto Rico after killing 4 in Dominica
6. Labor board changes company relationships with franchise workers
7. Apple announces Sept. 9 event, launching speculation about a new iPhone
8. Guatemalan protesters demand president resign over corruption scandal
9. British ISIS hacker reportedly killed in Syria drone strike
10. Former NBA slam-dunk master Darryl Dawkins dies at 58

published 28 August 2015

1. Dozens of bodies, presumably refugees, found in truck on Austrian highway

The bodies of 71 people were found in an abandoned truck in Austria on the main expressway between Vienna and Budapest on Thursday. Investigators suspect the dead — 60 men, eight women, and three small children — were refugees from Syria, based on travel documents in the truck. Hungarian police arrested the truck owner and two drivers. In another tragedy in Europe's growing refugee crisis, 200 migrants were feared dead when their boat sank off Libya.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a second straight day of big gains, climbing 369 points, or 2.3 percent, on Thursday. The rally came as markets around the world stabilized and began clawing back from losses over a turbulent week. China's benchmark Shanghai index, which stoked panic with a six-day free fall, closed up 5.3 percent, its biggest one-day gain since June. The U.S. gains were fueled partly by a Federal Reserve official's suggestion the turmoil might cause the central bank to rethink raising interest rates in September.

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President Obama visited New Orleans on Thursday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and praised the people of the city for working together to recover. "You inspire me," Obama said in a speech at the Andrew P. Sanchez Community Center in the city's Lower Ninth Ward, a predominantly African-American neighborhood hit hard by the storm. "Folks have been watching what happened here and they've seen a reflection of the very best of American spirit."

The Commerce Department on Thursday significantly upped its estimate of the economy's growth in the second quarter, saying GDP rose at a 3.7 percent annual rate rather than 2.3 percent, as originally estimated. Economists said that suggested the economy is following a pattern like last year's, with a bumpy start followed by a surge. The better-than-expected picture helped boost stocks and soothe fears of investors worried about fallout from market troubles in China, the world's second biggest economy.

Tropical Storm Erika hit Puerto Rico with heavy rains and top sustained winds of 50 miles per hour on Friday, after killing at least four people and causing extensive flooding on the island of Dominica in the eastern Caribbean. The storm is on a track that could lead it to South Florida by early next week. Forecasters are not yet sure whether the storm will break up over Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, or strengthen into a hurricane in the coming days.

A split National Labor Relations Board revised its "joint employer" standards in what could be a major victory for unions pushing for higher wages for fast-food workers. Under the ruling, a company that hires a contractor could be considered a joint employer of the contractor's employees, meaning that if workers at a fast-food franchise unionized, they could directly negotiate with the parent company as well as their bosses, although companies like McDonalds and Yum Brands are expected to challenge the NLRB decision if that happens.

Apple fueled expectations of a looming unveiling of the next iPhone when it invited journalists to a Sept. 9 event. Analysts said they expected Apple to announce not only the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6 Plus S, but possibly a new version of its Apple TV set-top box, as well. Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross said she expected the latest incarnation of Apple's wildly popular smartphone to have a faster processor, among other tweaks. She said there might be a new iPad coming, too.

Thousands of protesters joined a national strike in Guatemala's capital on Thursday to demand that the Central American country's president resign. President Otto Perez Molina has been accused of bribery, and at least five of his cabinet ministers have quit since Saturday. Lawmakers formed a five-member committee of randomly selected legislators on Thursday to look into whether Perez Molina led a tax fraud plot. Former vice president Roxana Baldetti resigned in May and already has been jailed for the scheme.

British hacker Junaid Hussain, a leading member of the Islamic State unit that broke into the United States Central Military Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts this year, was killed this week in a drone strike on his car in Syria, U.S. officials said Thursday. Hussain, 21, also was a central figure in ISIS' social media recruitment efforts. Hussain served six months in prison for hacking into former prime minister Tony Blair's address book, then fled to Syria while awaiting trial on a violent disorder charge.

Legendary former NBA star Darryl Dawkins died early Thursday at a Pennsylvania hospital from a heart attack. He was 58. Dawkins earned the nickname Chocolate Thunder for his backboard-shattering slam dunks, which helped push the professional basketball league to adopt breakaway rims. "Darryl touched the hearts and spirits of so many," his family said in a statement, "with his big smile and personality, ferocious dunks, but more than anything, his huge, loving heart."

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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.