10 things you need to know today: September 7, 2015

1. Germany promises $6.6 billion to care for migrants

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government pledged late Sunday to spend $6.6 billion to care for an unprecedented wave of people fleeing violence in Syria, Iraq, and other hot spots. Thousands of people crossed into Germany and Austria over the weekend after spending days stuck in Hungary due to questions about the European Union's migration policy. The EU said Monday that Germany would accept 40,000 refugees and France 30,000 under a quota system to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers now in Italy, Greece, and Hungary.

USA Today Reuters

2. Kentucky clerk's lawyers appeal contempt ruling

Rowan County, Kentucky, Clerk Kim Davis' lawyers on Sunday officially appealed the contempt of court ruling that landed her in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis, an apostolic Christian who believes gay marriage is a sin, stopped issuing all marriage licenses in June after the Supreme Court said same-sex couples had the right to marry nationwide. Davis' staff began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday after Davis was jailed.

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The Associated Press

3. U.S. revising Syrian rebel training program

The Pentagon is revamping its plans for creating a moderate rebel force capable of fighting the Islamic State in Syria. Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate attacked the rebel unit of some of the first 54 graduates of the military training program, revealing that the rebels were poorly prepared to face an attack. The Pentagon now is looking at stepping up combat training for the rebels, sending them into Syria in greater numbers, putting them in safer zones, and providing them with better intelligence.

The New York Times

4. Obama to order paid sick leave for federal contractor employees

President Obama will mark Labor Day by signing an executive order requiring federal contractors to provide their employees up to seven paid sick days a year. As many as 300,000 workers could benefit from the move, which Obama plans to announce with labor leaders in Boston. It is the latest in a series of executive orders Obama has issued in an attempt to pressure Congress to improve labor conditions for all workers. Many Republicans argue that Obama has been overstepping his authority.

Los Angeles Times

5. Guatemalans go to polls days after president resigns over corruption scandal

Millions of Guatemalans voted Sunday in the first round of an election to pick the country's next president, days after ex-president Otto Perez Molina's arrest in a corruption scandal. The vice presidency, 158 seats in congress, and 338 mayoral positions were also up for grabs in the election. A run-off was expected in the presidential race, as none of the 14 candidates was expected to get the 50 percent support needed to win outright.

CNN

6. North and South Korea launch talks on family reunions

North and South Korea on Monday started talks on resuming the reunions of families separated by the Korean War in the early 1950s. The talks, which are being held in a border village between representatives of the rival nations' Red Cross organizations, were made possible under a deal to avert war after an exchange of cross-border fire last month. About 22,500 Koreans have participated in brief, highly emotional reunions, but none have taken place since early last year.

The Associated Press

7. Investigators challenge Mexican government's account of students' abduction

A team of international experts on Sunday rejected Mexico's official account of the abduction and apparent killing of 43 students last year, stepping up already intense criticism of the government's handling of the case. In a report commissioned by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, investigators from Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, and Spain disputed the government's central claim that the victims' bodies were burned to ashes in a garbage dump. "That event never took place," one of the investigators said.

Reuters

8. Hunter who killed lion in Zimbabwe returns to work

Dentist and big-game hunter Walter Palmer, who killed a well-known lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe in July, ended weeks of silence on Sunday and said he would be resuming his Bloomington, Minnesota, dental practice on Tuesday. Palmer has stayed away from work as he faced an angry backlash over the hunt. In his first interview since the scandal erupted, he maintained that the hunt was legal. His professional guides have been charged with participating in an illegal hunt.

Star Tribune

9. Researchers find huge ritual site near Stonehenge

Archaeologists have found what could be the largest Neolithic ritual monument in the U.K. less than two miles from Stonehenge. About 90 stones up to 15 feet long were found using remote sensing and geophysical imaging technology. The 4,500-year-old stones are lying on their sides under three feet of earth at Durrington Walls, also known as "superhenge." The discovery was made by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes team in its five-year project to create an underground map of the area.

BBC News

10. Serena Williams advances to U.S. Open quarterfinal match against her sister, Venus

Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys, 6-3, 6-3, on Sunday to advance to a matchup against her sister, Venus Williams, in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. The Williams sisters have met many times before, with No. 1-seeded Serena Williams usually dominating. Winning Tuesday's quarterfinal match would put Serena Williams two victories away from her 22nd Grand Slam title.

SBNation